Oh Henry

What a temper; but his super cuteness helps to balance out the stress of it all.


This pic is esp sweet because Jason bought me this hat the first time we went out (as friends) in 2000. I was a freshman in high school, and he spent over $50 on me that night trying to impress me at the Carolina Hurricanes hockey game. It took three years and a lot of patience on Jason's part before we became a couple, but we look back on this hat as the beginning of it all. Margaret Mary likes to wear it a lot too.

Sweet Sayings

Margaret Mary said two things today I don't ever want to forget.

1) After art time, I hung her two pictures up on the wall. She didn't see me doing this and a couple of minutes later looked suprised to see them. Her jaw dropped and she said in the most sweetest, gracious way "oh, thank you mommy!" She was so endeared that I had hung her artwork up on the wall. (Note: we used to do this all the time at the old house, but with putting the house on the market, the move, and settling in, its been a while since we've hung up her work)

2) MM is a PAPA'S GIRL. She seems to think that Love is an either/or thing and says that she only loves Papa and the Papa only loves her. When I say I love her, she says "no, papa loves me," and she often says "i'm papas. Henry's mamas." Nothing can convince her otherwise. Today she was feeding me cheerios and I started eating them in a funny way. Her face light up and she said "I love you Mama!" As soon as the words left her mouth, she paused for a minute and corrected herself: "I love Papa." It was sweet to hear her love for her mama slip out. It was even sweeter to see her fierce devotion and loyalty to her Papa as she corrected herself.



This pic was taken at taken at a fair this week. I was holding Henry and put him down to walk. He walked right over to where Jason and Margaret Mary were, cuddled up, and stayed there for a while. Too sweet.

John Henry's Buddy

There is no one that John Henry has taken to as well as our dear friend Jimmy Mitchell. Jimmy works with Jason at Fraternus and we had the privilege of hanging out with him the past week at training. We would like to think that John Henry is so attracted to Jimmy because of their shared devotion to Blessed John Henry Newman. Jimmy went to Rome for John Henry Newman's beautification and sent us a text from the ceremony saying he was praying for me and my upcoming labor (we didn't know if I was having a boy or girl yet).

Jason and I knew we would name our baby John Henry (if it was a boy) after we heard a piece about his life on EWTN radio. Newman is a convert, like us, and wrote a beautiful poem when he was stuck at sea trying to get home to England. He was overwhelmed by all the work he had to do (he says he was "sobbing bitterly") and on his last leg of the trip, got stuck at sea for a week. Filled with anxiety and frustration, the Lord's sweet will was his only source of comfort, and soon Newman was filled with a great peace. Thus "Lead Kindly Light" was written:

Lead, kindly Light, amid th’encircling gloom, lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home; lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years!

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on.
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till the night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile, which I
Have loved long since, and lost awhile!

Meantime, along the narrow rugged path, Thyself hast trod,
Lead, Savior, lead me home in childlike faith, home to my God.
To rest forever after earthly strife
In the calm light of everlasting life.

Jason and I were in tears after hearing this poem for the first time, and we were so excited at the thought of naming our son after Blessed John Henry Newman.

Did I mention that Jimmy Mitchell made sure to include the hymn "Lead Kindly Light" on the new Marian Grace Album, "What Wondrous Love?" No wonder our John Henry loves him! A man after Blessed John Henry Newman's own heart.

We are sad to say that Jimmy is leaving the Fraternus family to work with Mysterium full time in the next couple of months. You can't really ever leave a family, but it means we will be seeing Jimmy a lot less, unless the radio show he and Jason are planning takes off...

We will miss you Jimmy!

What A Lady

Henry's 10 Month Post

I realize I am a little behind on this post, as Henry is almost 11 months now. Please forgive me. Henry is really growing up to be a determined, strong willed, intelligent and handsome child. He has this great joy about him that I hope he never loses. Margaret Mary tells me at least once a day that she loves Henry and thinks he is super silly.

He loves my cell phone and likes to carry it around with him all day tucked under his arm. He has learned to snuggle and loves to give hugs: big bear hugs where he squeezes you as he hugs you. They are unbelievable. He also kisses on command. Henry has an amazing sense of understanding how things work. He tries to put on his shoes, do his sister's puzzles, uses a fork (with great success), wash himself with a washcloth, etc. A big feat this month is that he is beginning to use baby signs! He says more, milk, help, all done and please. We think he is saying Mama and Papa, but mostly as an imitation if we say it first.

Henry LOVES his big sister and wants to play with everything she is playing with. When she is in time out, he goes over beside her and stands with his nose to the wall. He imitates her when she talks and dances to all her songs. Margaret Mary is very patient with him but is entering this intense play stage where she plays/ reads really intensely and doesn't want to be interrupted.

Henry's temper is also coming out. He gets REALLY upset when you tell him no or when he can't play with something he wants to. Not just a protest cry, but it takes a few minutes to calm him down. It is intense sometimes...

Another challenge we have had with Henry this month is that he seems to be getting bored with his toys. I am finding that I have to be more and more creative in how I display them or he takes no interest in them and is fussy. This is a challenge because I'm used to my little boy who plays by himself with his toys all day. I think its time for some new toys.

Last but not least, his appetite is up again (he abandoned solids during a bad teething episode) and he eats a lot!

The send off...

Today is Jason's FIRST DAY OF GRAD SCHOOL!!!! We couldn't be MORE proud of him! This weekend has been a busy weekend of returning home from Fraternus training, new student orientation, dinner, Mass and reception. We (the kids and I) couldn't go to all the events with Jason but we had fun sending him off with lots of kisses, face grabs, and blessings.

Margaret Mary REALLY wants to "go to school with Papa." At the Mass, Jason went up and signed his name in the Augustine Institute book, signifying the studious undertaking he is about to undergo, Margaret Mary got upset because she wanted to sign HER name in the book too. When we talk about buying Jason notebooks and making sure he has a school bag, she asks for notebooks and tells us she needs a school bag too. What can I say? The girl loves her papa!

We love you so much Jason and are excited to embark on this great adventure with you!

To learn more about the Augustine Institute, where Jason is studying, click here.

Our Anniversary Present

Jason and I celebrated our five year wedding anniversary August 5th. Having an anniversary out of town, with two kids at a work conference isn't easy, but everyone pitched in and helped Jason plan a romantic surprise dinner under a pavilion at the hotel. I felt so loved and cherished.

One of the sweetest things was that another couple at the conference was having their five year anniversary on the same day! They gave us a bottle of their "honey mead" which is where the word "honeymoon" comes from. It is a honey wine that is given to a couple when they get married. (They get fifty bottles of this stuff!). Every year on their anniversary, they open a bottle and drink it together, and every year the wine gets sweeter and sweeter, just like their marriage. I was so grateful for the generosity of this couple and LOVE this little tradition. We will have to buy 45 bottles of it. :)

Another sweet highlight of the night is that Margaret Mary stayed with a babysitter (and with another little girl whom MM loves). When Jason went to go get her, she was cuddled up with our friend Colleen on the couch. It is hard to leave my little girl, but knowing she is being loved on so well makes it much easier.

It has been the most amazing, wonderful, grace filled, challenging five years of my life. Here's to many more to come...

Check out God's anniversary gift to us...



Late April!

"its not yours mama"

Margaret Mary is now almost 27 months. She is amazing. She is tough. She is stubborn. She is passionate. She is loving.

* MM labels everything around her as a "momma, papa and baby." When people walk by, she correctly identifies the mama, papa and baby. Whenever there is three of anything, she points out which ones are which. It seems to give her confidence being able to organize her world in this way.

*MM is talking up a storm and it is funny hearing her spit out phrases that I tell her in the wrong contexts. For example:

I touch one of her toys. She gives me a stern look "Its not yours Mama."

I ask for something. She says "No Mama, it will make your belly ouchy."

I ask for some of her food. She says "No, Mama, its spicy."

As you can tell, I spend alot of the day correcting MM's behavior and she is picking up on all the nos. Its a hard, but extremely fun age.

*She loves her Papa and spends most of the day yelling "Papa, dance with me!" She has us turn on classical music, she puts on her ballet dress and her shoes, and tiptoes in circles around the house. It is beautiful.

*She LOVES her little friends and seemed really touched when one of them told her the other day that they missed her. She came up to me and with the sweetest voice said "friend miss me!"

*She also loves to sing and is starting to sing along to all her kid songs. Her favorite right now is "A ram sam sam" and can do all of the hand motions.

*One of the cutest words she says is "pizzut" for pizza. :)

*She has really enjoyed learning about her life as a baby and has us tell her stories and show her pictures all the time. She even goes through phases where she wants Jason to hold her like a baby and rock her. He loves it. She really is growing up so fast.

*She is a little bargainer. When I give her something, she always asks for "one more" and holds up one little finger while saying it. The other day I asked her for one of her M&M's after Mass (which she gets for being good). She said "sure!." Testing her generosity, I asked for two. She looked at me sternly and said "just one."

its getting harder...

It's getting harder and harder to blog now that Henry is so crazy active. When I'm at the computer, I spend more time pulling him away from the computer, the books, Jason's shoes that I hardly can focus on my task at hand. So, until I figure out how to get more blog time in, here are a few pics of my sweet, passionate, persistent, creative little guy...