Christmas

We went to Midnight Mass last night. I was able to get all 8 kids ready myself, and we met Joe there (he was lucky enough to make the last flight home!). So, we were home by 2 am, and we put the kids down to bed. The first time they went to bed, they were warned that no presents would be open unless rooms were cleaned. I noticed when I woke them up for Mass that no one took that warning seriously. I stuck by my guns, and they had to wait until rooms were cleaned this morning. It also gave me some extra time to sleep! We took turns opening gifts one at a time (youngest to oldest), and that went really well. Everyone was excited to see what their siblings received. We did the stockings at the end 2 at a time. I think this is definitely the way to go for us next year too!

The big hits were M's guns, P's art supplies, T's Baby and stroller, and stocking stuffers (G liked his batteries and R liked his Leapster game). The girls really liked their generic American girl dolls that I bought at Target. It is a new line called Our generation. Since we could not afford a 100 dollar American girl dolls for the girls, this worked out well. B was actually happiest with gummy bears that he received in his stocking (and he likes T's baby and stroller)!

Christmas Eve with Mama and Papa

Opening presents with Mama and Papa




Papa and B



P, Mama, and G



M
and Papa

I am going on a picnic.....

The kids were playing a game in the car the other day, and I remembered a game from my past. Do you remember the old "I am going on a picnic, and I am going to bring.....(fill in the blank with an "A" word)". Then the next person says, "I am going on a picnic, and I am going to bring an (what the first person said with A) and a word that starts with "B". You continue the game to go down the alphabet, needing to remember all the items that the people before you brought too.

The kids were naming Saints from A to Z, so I was thinking, "Wouldn't it be neat to have a game like the picnic game, yet instead of picnic, it be a Saint game?" So, how about "I am going to Heaven, and I am going to meet....(fill in the blank with a Saint's name.)....? Just go down the alphabet with Saints' names. My kids are having problems with the Q.....? Can you think of any?

St. Quintian
St. Quadratus
St. Quarta

Looks like I have some Saints to research for our next game!

School play- "Small One"

The kids had their school play tonight, and everyone had a part. All the kids did a very nice job, and the best part was that they had such a nice time!

Cheap Christmas exchange gift for kids

K-mart has their Mr. Potato Suitcase on sale for 10.00. Go here to print a coupon for $5.00 off. Pay 5 dollars for a suitcase full of fun! It is 36.99 on Amazon.com! Remember that if Walmart or Target carries it, you can get them to price match, if you have K-mart's ad!

T learns to ride a bike!

T has taken over the bikes while the big kids are at school, and she can ride a bike on her own! YEA! We are so proud of her!

Church Picnic

Sister helping with the little ones' games


The adults compete in games too.
Our Church had a picnic on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and it was a huge success! The Sisters and Helen Ann put in a lot of work to make the day run so smoothly. There was a chili cook-off (we didn't place, so we were so disappointed!), a cookie contest, games, and a soda concoction contest. I was pretty excited to get a copy of the winning cookie recipe, and I look forward to making them for Christmas!


Playing games with the Sisters at the picnic.