Happy 5th Birthday Xavier!

April 10th was on a Sunday this year. On that day we had godparents and grandparents over for a small party. He got some fireman Megablocks, a Mater car ramp, a Starwars transformer, and a bubble machine. It was a fun afternoon!

Here he is with his twin Gabriel... and his brother Zachary..

and his bubble machine...

The icecream cake was something we will do again. It was a hit and really easy to order :)

Happy Birthday Xavier!

Blaise's First Communion day

April 3rd, 2011 ~ Blaise Alexander received his First Communion! He has been preparing for a long time for this day and it was finally here. For the last 9 days he has been praying a novena and making a "garden" of beautiful flowers representing virtues in his soul. Blaise's seriousness about this big step outweighed his excitement by far. He knows how important this sacrament is. He was almost nervous about it, but I know Jesus is pleased and so happy to get to come to Blaise. May He shower him with graces and grow Blaise into the strong virtuous man we know he will be. May his faith and love for Christ be strengthened, especially through these "little visits." We didn't get pictures of the Mass but here are some afterwards... There were 12 other children in his class. 2 girls and 11 boys. Here they are being enrolled in the scapular... and the miraculous medal:

My dad's sister on the left and my oldest brother James on the right. Mom and dad in the middle.

Immaculate Conception's First Communion class of 2011

Godparents Mr & Mrs Stock

Mena is really looking like her dad in this picture!

We thought Blaise couldn't get much higher than receiving our Lord for the first time. I guess we were wrong

Pilgrimage to Minnesota and Wisconsin

Tom had a three day weekend so we took an impromptu trip to St Paul/ Minneapolis to see the Cathederal (and Mall of America) and then to LaCross Wisconsin to visit Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine. On the way, we even got to stop and visit our pastor in his home town and meet his family.

This is the cathedral in St Paul. It is a replica of St Peter's in Rome and is an amazing sight to see. We arrived an hour before 7am Mass started. I didn't get any pictures of the inside but here is the website. http://www.cathedralsaintpaul.org/ In the basement there is a LEGO Cathedral that fascinated the boys.

After Mass we went to IHOP and then over to the Mall of America. First stop... LEGO land!!!

...then a bit of time at Nickelodeon Universe http://www.nickelodeonuniverse.com/

We went to check in at the hotel, took our naps, had some turkey sandwiches and then went back to the Mall for the evening.

Dominic and Xavier next to Woody

The next morning we packed up, went to Mass at Holy Trinity and then drove to Winona where our pastor is from. http://www.visitwinona.com/

After a short visit, tour of the town, and lunch at Beano's for some wonderfully unique sandwiches, we headed to Lacrosse for our final pilgrimage stop. http://www.guadalupeshrine.org/ It was cold and a little rainy but, hey, it's a pilgrimage. And it was well worth the 1\2 mile! What a beautiful church! I didn't even think to take a picture.

...but we got plenty of pictures of the SPAM Museum on the way back :) The Hormel plant is in Austin and we were driving right through. It was a really fun and interactive museum! Much more than expected. Admission was free and we learned all we could ever want to know about SPAM!

Blaise on the assembly line...

Mena is 3 months on this trip and showing her sweet personality.

That night we made it back in time for the Cub Scout Pack meeting with our guest speaker Alex Henery --record breaking Nebraska kicker!

And today we celebrate the Feast of the Incarnation! What a fruitful week it's been!

It's a GIRL!!!

We have a GIRL!!!

Philomena Marie

12-17-10

6#1oz

21 inches

Philomena has been a name we have been thinking of since before we were married. Well, Tom liked it a lot. It grew on me. Now there is no doubt. This girl was meant to be a Philomena. I agreed to the name when hearing what she will go by : Mena! I love it and it fits perfectly.



Not only is Philomena named after a beautiful saint who is very close to our Lord, but it has Greek, and Italian ties. "Meena" is a popular Korean name meaning beautiful. and I just found out that there are many women named Philomena in Ireland!

Anyway. She wasn't due until the 23rd but I was trying to go into labor early. On my way up to my 39week appointment I decided to take the stairs and jog up. By the time I got in to see the doc I was 3cm and 70%effaced. During one of the contractions, which were 2.5min apart, her heart rate dropped. That concerned the doc enough to monitor me for a while and then send me over to labor and delivery. I was in LABOR!! Yay!

My brother came over to watch the boys while Tom hurried to the hospital and hoped he could get off work that night. A couple hours after they put me on the IV fluids, my contractions had noticeably started slowing down. So pitocin was started at 8pm. At 11pm my water was broken. Active labor started at 1:30 when I hit 6cm. Next thing we knew it was nearly 3am and I was 9cm. At that point the doctor was called. He came right in, and caught the baby. 3:06am! 2pushes! As far as labors go, this one was as easy as it gets (minus the epidural of course) I don't know if I would have had time for one if I had wanted one anyway. What a blessing! Stacey my labor and delivery nurse.

Dominic is a big brother again!

and Zachary is a big brother for the first time! He calls her Philomena

but it sounds like "Pretty Mena"


Xavier holding Mena for the first time

Blaise is more excited to meet her than anyone. He has been talking to her in the womb pretty regularly and telling her how much he wants to meet her.

Mena Marie Day1
We left the hospital Saturday afternoon and welcomed our new daughter home.

She was a little jaundiced when we brought her home so she would sit in front of the window with a heater nearby.

Mena's first bath was December 23rd, the day after her cord came off. She ENJOYED the warm water in our bathroom sink. She's so precious.

At a young age, Saint Philomena died a martyr's death instead of denying our Lord and giving herself to Diocletian. He had her imprisoned, scourged, thrown into the Tiber with an anchor, then dragged through the streets of Rome. She was even shot with arrows but they all missed. Nothing worked until he finally had her beheaded. In the meantime, many people came to Christ because of her Christian fortitude and our Lord's protection of her.

St Philomena, pray for us.

A Christmas Baptism

Philomena was baptized into the life of Christ on Christmas Day after the 10:30 Mass by Father Brancich. Meg and Shane Knopp are her godparents.


And Dominic got to serve!

All the prayers and rituals involved in the traditional baptism have such deep meaning. From the actual entrance into the church to the dedication at the end. Oh I'm a sucker for anyone's baptism but especially of my own children. Is there anything more beautiful than bringing a soul to Christ? Thank God for this great blessing!

Grotto of the Redemption

We took a weekend and drove to Westbend Iowa to visit the Grotto of the Redemption.

"The Grotto is a composite of nine separate Grottos, each portraying a scene in the life of Christ. It includes the largest collection of precious stones and gems found anywhere in one location. The beautiful artistry has to be seen in order to be appreciated, and the message it inspires is beyond words."

"The Grotto is frequently considered the "Eighth Wonder of the World" and The Iowan magazine has described the Grotto as a "Miracle in Stone"

http://www.westbendgrotto.com

This was built mostly by Fr. Paul Dobberstein. It was his vision and he lead the construction and collection of rocks. How about that for using an interest and a talent for the glory of God?
"The designed purpose of the Grotto is to tell in silent stone made spiritually eloquent, the story of man's fall and his redemption by Christ, the savior of the world."

There is much symbolism in the way the rocks are displayed.

This scene represents Paradise Lost. Notice the stained glass window. It is lit up on the other side and is of Mary accepting the angel Gabriel's Annunciation. God's promise is fulfilled.
Behind Tom is the Annunciation window. The reverse of Paradise Lost.

The Word became Flesh.

The laying of Jesus in the tomb.

This is carved from one block of marble!

Zachary stopping to smell the flowers

Our Lord's Agony in the Garden

The Nativity surrounded by tons of petrified wood

Jesus' childhood home made of white quartz.

St Joseph is in the other corner with a saw.

Swans and geese on the lake
It was a beautiful weekend! We had dinner at the Wagon Wheel and went swimming in the hotel.

Four years ago we came here with the boys but they didn't remember the grotto. Dominic did remember the waffle iron in the hotel though. lol. That just makes me laugh.

It was a nice little get-away.