A Mother's Prayer to Mary

I found this prayer today.  Isn't it beautiful?

Dear Mother of Christ, each day I kneel before you to ask for you blessings on my loved ones. They are my treasures, flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone, as Christ truly was yours.

Let their days be happy ones, rich with your grace and filled with the spirit and strength of Christ.

Let no harm or evil befall them, no temptation prove too strong for them, nor any sorrow or setback be beyond their power to endure in patience and love.

May they face each day's trials and problems with courage and confidence.

May they share the good things of this life, both spiritual and material, in harmony with their fellow man and in gratitude to their heavenly Father, from Whom all blessings come.

May each setting sun find them at peace with God, with their loved ones, and with all those who walk with them as pilgrims on life's journey to our eternal home.

Amen.

-Father Eugene

Baptismaversary

2 years ago today, my little boy received the Sacrament of Baptism!  He gets so excited about Jesus already, and we can't wait to watch him grow in the Faith!  Dada and I love you, sweetheart!

We went to Mass, had Subway for dinner, and dessert to celebrate!

3rd Anniversary

Our 3rd anniversary was on June 28th!  I am so happy to be married to this wonderful man, and so grateful that God has blessed our marriage with two little ones.  It has been an exhausting, but very fulfilling 3 years.  Love you babe!

New stroller

Well, new to us anyway.  And I got it completely FREE on Craigslist!  When I inquired about the post I saw, the guy told me he would give it away to someone who would use it.  It's old and has a stain on the cushion, but works for us!  It will be especially nice when one of us is alone with the kiddos.  Here they are at the grand opening of the new spraygrounds they recently built in one of the nearby neighborhoods.  

Happy Birthday, Alexander Paul!

Just born- June 29, 2009

One Year Old:

 

2 years old!

 May God bless you this year with much joy, and lots of opportunities to grow, learn and laugh!

Some recent pics:

Mary at 4 months

Miss Mary Clare is growing every day and is lots of fun.  She smiles, coos and laughs a lot and loves to entertain herself by blowing raspberries during car trips.  Although she is not any bigger than little Alex was at this age, she has very chubby legs with lots of rolls.  Alex calls her tree trunks :) She finally rolled over last week, but hasn’t done it since, and is usually content to be on her tummy for awhile.  Our biggest challenge right now is trying to control her terrible eczema.  We have been struggling since she was 2 months old, and I have yet to find something that soothes her skin well.  The topical steroid creams clear it up right away, but I am nervous about using them long term as there can be side effects with extensive use, especially in young babies.   Right now I give her daily baths w/ bleach or oatmeal powder and then put lotions on right away to help seal it the moisture, and the re-apply the lotions several times a day.  She has started scratching too, so I know it is bugging her. Poor thing.  And possibly associated with this is the frequent nighttime wakings we have been experiencing.  The swaddle wrap we were using lost its magic, and lately she won’t sleep for long periods unless she is in the swing.  She falls asleep while nursing, but wakes up 20 minutes later.  So either her eczema is bothering her, she is hungry (in which case I may have to start supplementing with formula or start solids) or she is just reverse cycling and wants to nurse all night because she doesn't get to much during the day.  I know some women that work encourage this, so they don't have to pump as much during the day, but I NEED my sleep.   I guess we can be grateful for the blissful nights we had when she was younger and would sleep 6-7 hours. 

Denver trip 2011

Mid-June we flew back to Denver to visit my family. It was hard on little Alex since he is more aware of his surroundings now, but once he got used to things he had fun playing with everyone and especially loved the swing in my parents backyard.  I now realize how important routines are to a toddlers sense of security, and how scary it must be to travel and to sleep in new places.  My wonderful parents took great care of us though and things went as smoothly as possible.  Thanks for everything guys!  We love you lots! 

Dinner at Casa Bonita.  The food is horrible (except for the all-you-can-eat sopapillas!), but the entertainment is great.  You can dine near a waterfall and watch cliff divers, mariachi bands, and various comedy skits.  They also have a puppet show and other activities for kids.

Bobby's girlfriend Ericca cut little Alex's hair since it was looking pretty shaggy.

We did a combined 2^nd birthday party/Father’s Day celebration with the extended family on Sunday.  It was great to see everyone, and they enjoyed meeting Mary.

Since we were in Denver for Father's Day, we celebrated at home a week earlier with dinner, dessert, and presents!  Here are a few pics of that and of Alex's b-day from last month:

Ok, back to the Denver trip:

A few pics from our visit with the Neuenschwander family.  Jenna had fun holding and playing with Mary.

Yikes!  Her eczema looks really bad in this picture.

The plane ride there.  We are so glad little Alex had his own seat (thanks Mom and Dad!).  He was a bit nervous when the windows were open, but did well overall.  The ride home was more challenging , as he started screaming as soon as we got on the plane.  Luckily, he fell asleep soon after and slept most of the way home.