"In Flanders Fields"--recited by Luke and Kimberly

We are loving and praying for all our veteran's and active duty family members..

May God Bless you all, here on earth and up in Heaven. 

Kimberly Learning to Walk---Day 4

 Kimberly getting some exercise with Gracie out in the beautiful fall leaves on a beautiful autumn day. 

 The pumpkin pose...

Best buddies~~

Day 4 of Kimberly learning to walk...I don't like how her legs. (both) are turning in...Her recovering leg is her left leg.

Kimberly Photos of the Day....Learning to walk, day 2

 Kimmy's first time "sitting on the floor" in almost 5 weeks.

Baking Becky's birthday pumpkin pie...with no crutches.

The learning to walk video of the day..This kind of gives me me the creeps...but hopefully we will see progress soon. 

Peter Pan--The Musical

Kimberly as a lost boy in Peter Pan the Musical.

A glimpse at the Holy Cross spring concert

Amy begins this song....everyone did a wonderful job

Men of Erin--and Holy Cross Academy

What a great show!!

My teenage girls, and the entire Holy Cross Choir, had the joy of performing with the great Irish Band....The Elders.

It was a wonderful night for everyone, especially the kids, who got to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity!!

film canister rocket

Backyard science---Daniel + a film canister + baking soda + vinegar = a rocket that shoots 20 feet into the air, just be careful of the vinegar trail it leaves on the audience...

A Couple songs from the Holy Cross 2010 Spring Concert

Danny is the soloist at the biginning and end of the song "Lazarus".



Laura is the soloist at the beginning of the song "The Voice".

Trimming the Tree--in the "little house"-Makes My Monday

Trimming the Christmas tree certainly Makes My Monday, especially when 11 of us are taking part in the annual event .

First we enjoyed a delicious dinner and then it was onto the decorating.
It also Makes My Monday to see how many people we can actually fit in the 12x14 foot living room.
It is a squeeze, but we can do it! :-)

Luke had a "ball" decorating.

I was so pleased that Patrick wanted to come home to help us with this tradition, no matter how chaotic is was.

We actually had to wait until he was available this evening.

Danny can take care of the top of the tree, Mark.-a little bit lower.

Kimberly remembered making these angels last year.

If you look closely at this photos, I can only fit so much into the frame,( I took pictures standing on the couch ) so every photo has arms or legs or the backs of kid's head--mainly because they didn't fit in the camera lens.

Every home should have a nine year old boy--they make life very "interesting"--notice what his shirt says!

It is a beautiful tree, and almost all the ornaments are homemade.

We had a wonderful time. I am soooo sorry Becky was not able to be here, but we saved her favorite ornaments so she could put them on when she gets home.

Does trimming the Christmas tree in the "little house" look peaceful and serene? Just click on the above video and see the truth! This video is entitled "Putting iciles on the tree for the first time"

Also, make sure your watch our rendition of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on this previous post.

What "Makes You Monday"? Link up at Twinfatuations and share in the fun!

Rudolph-sung by all -- but with only the least shy kids "on screen"

We have some talent?!?!

A Homemade Rainstick: We Made It!!

This weeks Unplugged project was sound , and in honor of this theme we made a giant rainstick.

We started with a big mailing tube, a hammer and nails.
Being a little man, Mark had the honor of nailing the nails into the tube.
We used 6 nails and hammered them in at 90 degree angles to each other down the tube.
We realized after the fact that we could have used twice as many nails and had a good sound from our rainstick.
Gracie then painted the tube brown.

She used acrylic craft paint.

For decorations, Kim and Luke stuck these re-enforcement stickers onto the tube.

This was a real cute activity for them be a part of making the rainstick.

It is also great for those fine motor skills little ones need to practice.

Luke was especially excited about this design.

I let them fill up the tube with stickers and then got beans and rice ready to add to the tube.

We added about 2 cups of rice and 2 cups of lime beans-this tube is big!

I also used some purple duct tape to secure the lids onto each end of the tube.

I also used some duct tape to add a little more decoration to the tube.

To keep the stickers in place and to keep the paint from flaking off, I put clear contact paper onto the tube.

It sounds just like rain as you tip it from one side to the other.

You can listen to the fun here. You will also get to hear Kimmy singing along with the rainstick.

Check out all the Unplugged project here.

Next week's Unplugged Project is feather

Happy New Year!

Getting ready for a Happy New Year!!

Hey Diddle Diddle in the Sunlight

The nursery rhyme of the week is Hey Diddle Diddle the Cat and the Fiddle and I will post our activities in the Tot-School post, but I couldn't resist putting up Kimberly's performance early.

For your information, Kimberly turned 2 in May, and I have never had a little one as verbal as she is--we may be in for some trouble!LOL