Squeee!

I think all the essential family members have been informed by now, so it should be safe to post this:

Aren't Katie & Stefan the cutest? The starry-eyed newly-engaged look becomes them well. :) And I'm so happy it happened here in DC! It's come full circle -- I was staying at Katie's house when Mr. Pickles proposed to me.

We're so happy for them! They are SOOO good for each other, and now they have the joy of learning and growing together. It's such a pleasure to see someone I love so much so happy.
God bless you guys!

Back from Retreat

With a soul all fresh and sparkley-new! I even made it all the way to 9:30 this morning without yelling once at the kids! :)

Thanks to everyone who was praying for me -- I could really feel your prayers surrounding me. It was a wonderful weekend -- something I was much in need of. Half the beauty of the weekend was in the location itself -- this amazing stone English-style mansion on gorgeous grounds in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mtns. I kept expecting to run into Bertie Wooster around every corner. And the stars at night!! There were so many, I had a hard time picking out the constellations I knew.

I took Daniel with me on the retreat -- I was so happy they accommodate babies. There were two other moms with babies, and I think the rest of the retreatants were grandmothers who missed their grandbabies, so I didn't have any trouble finding someone willing to hold Daniel so I could go to confession, or eat a meal. It was very nice spending the weekend with him alone -- we both got very spoiled.

I've been feeling so overwhelmed lately that I really needed a weekend free from all responsibility, to be able to rest in the Lord and renew my spirit. I still have a ways to go before I will feel whole again, but I was able to be still and let the Holy Spirit show me some essentials that had gotten buried under the stuff of my life. I came home with some ideas for daily strengthening my relationship with God the Father, as well as taking the time each day to be renewed, so I don't get so burned out again. It will be a little while before I can get away for a weekend again (until Daniel is weaned, pretty much), but I've realized the importance of regular mini-retreats to recharge my spiritual batteries and remind me of what's really important when I get too busy and anxious about many things.

Thanks again for all the prayers, and especially to Theresa for her example and encouragement to go on this retreat -- and also to the wonderful Mr. Pickles for making it possible!

Gratuitous Boy Cuteness

Egad, I've got a lot of cute stuff to sort through! I just uploaded a month's worth of pictures and videos -- and a very eventful month it was. But until I climb out from under the Laundry Pile Monster, here is but one gratuitously cute baby video to tide you over until I have time to post again. (Say a little prayer for me, if you will -- I'm on retreat this weekend.)




Grandpa Mike should be proud. Only 4 months old and already playing his thumb! Such talent there is in our family.

September Photodump

Just some random cuteness, mostly of ma boyz.

Brothers hangin'.

Yes, archery is an essential aspect of a well-rounded education, in addition to catechism and good penmanship.

Mini-portraits of the Whirling Dervish and the Michelin Baby.


So much for mental stimulation...

The very hungry babypillar.

Ooo, 'cary face!

More posts coming down the pipeline!

What We Did for Labor Day Weekend

Aaaaah, I can't believe I haven't posted this yet! Well, beloved family and friends, we've got some catching up to do! As most of you know we've been extremely busy lately -- even more than usual, and that's saying a lot -- but it's time to get this family journal up to date.... -ish.

So, Labor Day Weekend. Mr. Pickles (who is full of Great Ideas) had the Great Idea of driving to Steubenville for a super-quick visit, as most of our family members there are spending the semester in Europe, lucky dogs! Our primary motive for visiting was to provide free babysitting for the cousins so the parents could pack. It was a whirlwind time, but great fun.

The kids are such troopers -- we've been blessed with great car travelers. Of course, Daniel needed more stops which made the trip a bit longer, but we took our breaks at fun places with play towers. Joseph found an eensie slide that was just right for his size!

To keep all the kiddos busy, we spent a good part of the day at the park. Wow, was it cold and windy! Refreshing, compared to DC, but still cold! It's hard packing for someplace that you know is going to be about 30 degrees colder than your present location.


These floating island things were cool. I had a mild heart attack every time one of the 3-and-under crowd got on them (you can see how high off the ground they are in the picture of me with Lucy above), but I was impressed with how well said crowd navigated them. Joseph figured out how to lean to get them to swing close to the next step. That kid has a real gift for physical coordination -- like his Daddy.

This was probably the coolest aspect of the park -- a giant spider web... thing. All the big kids were all over this thing.

They like giving their mother heart attacks, it seems.


(The sky while we were there was a-MAZ-ing.)


Of course, what playground is complete without slides which you can climb up?


Daniel liked the swings.

It was a great, fun time, as these visits always are. We only wish we'd had more time together! We miss everyone so much. What a blessing family is. And Skype!

Family life from a 5.75yo POV

Katie really, really wants her own camera. Occasionally she'll ask to borrow ours, to take "just a couple," and 1/2 hour later it would be returned (or finally confiscated) with a couple dozen shots like these. True candids -- she shows it like it is.

Those cups may or may not have been washed before they were used for drinking...

How pleasant it is when brethren dwell in unity!

"I hate candids!"

working working...

Guard Bear hittin' it off with the ladies

Why are stupid Happy Meal Toys always the favorites? This one would announce, "It's clobbering time!" whenever it was smashed down. A great motto for The Boy.

Lest you think I am anything like a competent housekeeper...


Aaaand a self-portrait.

Random Summer

Several more posts in the queue, and a ton to upload from the camera, but meanwhile here are some random shots from late summer.

Aren't they cute? (and photogenic!)


portrait of Smokey


Daniel showcasing his talents -- grabbing stuff, and sleeping in the swing


The reason it will be a miracle Daniel survives to his first birthday.

I took Joseph to a real barber for his first haircut. I had been putting it off for months, dreading what an ordeal it might be. (he is two, after all) But the last haircut I gave him was so less than satisfactory that I decided it was time to hire a professional -- someone who knew what he was doing and could do it quick.

The Shag

Hey, he got his ears lowered!

He did great -- he balked at sitting in the chair at first, but eventually complied, albeit sullenly. The lady took a lot longer than I hoped -- but Joseph sat very patiently at the promise of a lollipop afterwards. Never underestimate the power of a good bribe.

Now Joseph really looks like a little boy. He's been acting like one for a while -- he's the reason we hear ourselves saying things like: No, don't lie down on the baby; or Hey, get your feet out of the baby's face; or Stop, the baby doesn't want to play swords right now. Joseph and Daniel are going to have great fun in about 2 years, or whenever Daniel is big enough to punch back.

In Which Mrs. Pickles Cures Her Taedium Vitae

bang bang smash tinkle tinkle vroom rumm rumm beep beep beep bang bang bang

*whew!* There, pretty new look for the blog, all bright and shiny. Enjoy!

In Which We Play Tourist, and Mrs. Pickles Is Filled With Unaccustomed Humility

The day after Aunt Katie left us (sniff sniff) we had to assuage our grief by doing something fun, so we played tourists in DC.

When you sit in the very front of the metro train car, it looks like you're riding a roller coaster.

We went to the Air & Space Museum, along with everyone else on the eastern seaboard, it seemed. (Well, it was a Saturday in summer.) We looked at amazing photos of planets, walked through a space station prototype, and were amazed by all the dials and switches in an airplane cockpit. We bought some astronaut ice cream and a wind-up airplane for Jojo.

We also watched an IMAX 3-D movie about the Hubble Telescope, which was pretty darn awesome. The girls were way super impressed by the part about how stars are born in nebulae.

I was really looking forward to this movie. We had followed the Space Shuttle Atlantis' mission last year, as they were installing new cameras and gyroscopes and batteries to make the Hubble telescope even awesomer. Every day we would watch the videos posted on Nasa's YouTube page about the day's activities. I heard that the astronauts were also doing some filming with a 3-D camera, and that the old equipment they removed from Hubble would be put in the Smithsonian, so I kept my ears open for news. I was very excited when the IMAX movie came out.

Following the mission was eye-opening in two ways. First, I had never really thought about all the teamwork that went into a shuttle mission. I had always thought of the astronauts as the super stars who got to do all the cool stuff in space. But then I watched the videos of the ground crew as they communicated with the astronauts, trying to solve problems with the installation of some equipment on the telescope. The tension on the ground was intense -- I saw one woman dissolve in tears when the task was finally completed successfully. I then thought of the astronauts as the apex of a pyramid -- sure, they had trained for the more glamorous aspect of the mission, but they couldn't be there without the support of all the people who helped them get there, who trained them, taught them, even suited them up for launch. It was inspiring.

Secondly, the mission was literally eye-opening, not to mention mind-bending. Looking at some of the images taken by Hubble filled me with wonder at the awesomeness and beauty of our universe. I had never fully realized how immense the universe was. Then I read the story of Hubble Deep Field -- do you know it? Astronomers wanted to take the deepest picture of the universe to date, so NASA pointed Hubble at one of the darkest parts of the sky, and then took pictures for 10 days. The returned image revealed galaxies -- GALAXIES -- of stars, where before we had seen nothing. It's mind-blowing. I feel so minuscule in such a huge universe, and yet so loved -- that God should have seen fit to create all these worlds for His sheer pleasure, and then chose our planet to inhabit with us creatures made in His image. It's an honor to be a part of such a vast, beautiful universe. I really feel part of the Great Dance described in C.S. Lewis' Perelandra.

For Aunt Tatie

We are bereft. The summer passed all too quickly, and all good things come to an end. After a wonderful summer, Aunt Katie had to go back to school in August, and we sadly had to let her go (only because they were out of manacles at Lowe's).


Everybody loves Aunt Tatie.

She is also talented at bouncing babies to sleep...

And helping with bedtime reading...

And scolding naughty children...

And giving necessary chubs.
(Apparently this is an aunts-only privilege. Me: "Can Mommy chub you?" Jojo: "No, Aunt TATIE chub.")

Aunt Tatie leaving makes us sad.

with her honey, Stefan

What a crew!

We love and miss our Katie!