Picture (book) Perfect

Today was another doctor day. Beedle failed his eye exam at his pediatric appointment this summer. They said he had 20/50 vision. Today we had an appointment with Dr Leblanc to check his eyes out more fully. We did squeeze in a quick log in our nature journal this morning. Yesterday the kids had a silly day with Gigi and we did not get to it. We also read Noah's Ark and the kids worked together to retell the story on our story board. Aunt Steph bought Gus his first copy of Lucy Cousin's book when he was born. I think we are now on our sixth copy.

We grabbed a quick lunch and then ran our errands. Today we finally got to J&R's. This is our local school supply. The kids love to go to J&R's, and it is always a fun outing for me as well. We scored a few books on some of the founding fathers, and could not pass up the Curious George books. They sale children's books for $2.00 and the Curious George books have been a dollar lately. We went to Beedle's appointment after that. He did well. His fears are definitely dissipating. I was proud of him for following directions and not being scared at all. Dr Leblanc said that his vision was 20/20. Gracie and Gus sat in the waiting room all by themselves reading their new books. Because we made it through a potentially disastrous situation, (doctors appointments always interfere with naps and they generally don't have big exam rooms) I took the kids to TCBY. When we got in the car Gus tells me that Gracie spit on the floor in the waiting room and did a headstand on the couch. Okay, so maybe disaster was not averted! I just kept picturing someone sitting next to her watching this little petite girl spit. Oh well, no yogurt for her. As the boys were ordering she informed me she was "gonna say bad words at" me. No surprise, she still did not get any yogurt. All was forgiven as we got to eat every one's favorite Cajun Power Chili for dinner. This was probably the only way they would have eaten dinner after eating yogurt at 4:00.

Gracie decided to behave like a little angel tonight. She lead our evening prayers and she even burst into song. This is a second take (we don't bring our camera to prayer time!) Some days are picture (book) perfect!

Make New Friends, But Keep the Old

Everyone was so happy to have BJ back today! This summer he stayed home with his mother who is a teacher. It will still be another week before she goes back to school but she let him come play today. The kids were so excited they ran up to him and overwhelmed him the second he arrived. They greeted him with some of his favorite toys. He has grown up a lot this summer and Gus was so proud of all the things BJ is saying and doing. Gracie kept calling him "her prince". They all had fun playing in what BJ lovingly calls "Miss Cindy's mess." Dado offered to take Beedle to therapy for me and I gladly accepted. We dropped him off at the bank after lunch and he proudly carried his booster to his Dado. BJ entertained us the whole way home by pointing out all the vehicles we were passing. "Look! Miss Cindy, it's a Hummer!" "Miss Cindy, cement truck!" "Look, it's a Jeep!" How do boys know so much about vehicles? Gracie cried all the way home because she already missed her brother.

After nap time we had a snack outside and Gus offered to do Gracie's hair. Ever since swimming lessons she is fascinated with putting a lot of barrettes in her hair. Apparently one of the little swimmers had this hair style and she quite liked it. Gus played well with Gracie but he also missed his brother. While watching Word Girl he said "I am glad that I am getting to watch TV but it would be more fun if Beedle were here". The two of them like to do the little monkey dance and laugh when they watch this program, but without his brother he just sat and watched. Dado took Beedle out to see "Wall-E" after they finished up at the office. He said that Beedle kept telling everyone "That's my dad!" when they came into the bank. It is going to be great meeting lots of new friends this year but we are happy that we have our good old friends also!

Did you Hear That...

I think that is the sound of ADULT conversation. Okay, so you already heard about Saturday night. After reading my husband's well-written post, it dawned on me how different we see things. What he shared was all correct, but his perspective was soooo different from mine. First off I must say thank you so much to Carolyn for such an excellent evening. Getting to take a tour of the house was so much fun. The new drapes were so well done and the colors in the rooms were well chosen! I know that she put a lot of time and effort into all her choices and the house is beautiful! I must also say I was proud of James for sitting happily on my lap for our visit. After appetizers I was able to feed him and let him play on a blanket while we dined. I heard only a few happy coos during our salad before he went off to sleep. When I say salad, I mean a delightful arugula salad with goat cheese and pecans sprinkled on top of a pear and topped with a homemade dressing (made with a touch of Steen's syrup) and fresh raspberries. The table was set with beautiful initialed china set in a fun gold charger. The lilies set in the middle of the dinner candles were just aromatic enough to enjoy without overpowering the taste of the food. Our Italian soda's were very refreshing and continually cleansed our pallets so that we were able to enjoy another bite of the perfectly cooked tenderloin. All of this while we had an ADULT conversation. Mrs Melanie and Mr Tim were great dinner companions and it was nice to catch up with them. After pecan pralines were passed we enjoyed coffee and tiramisu for dessert. James did not stir until I was on my second cup of coffee. What a blessing! Thank you both Don and Carolyn for a wonderful evening. We were not worthy, but we were appreciative.

When we returned home after 10pm Nanny Wanna was sleeping on the couch with the Gracie and Beedle. Apparently everyone was happy to have Nanny there and did not want her to leave. They did their best to tangle up with her so as to keep her next to them. I enjoyed an uninterrupted conversation with Nanny as well. What a life we have! I felt totally spoiled.

Our Weekend with Family & Friends

Saturday and Sunday were great to the Chopins! Our Saturday morning started early. It was decided the night before that the majority of Saturday morning would be dedicated to yard work. The boys wasted no time. Gus, Beedle and I were up before 7am. While I was taking my morning run, the boys started picking up pine cones (Gus' cash cow!) and branches. I came back and made Saturday's staple breakfast--pancakes! Gracie was a big help making the pancakes. After breakfast, we mowed, edged, weed-eated and blew. In fact, Beedle had a major accomplishment. Usually he won't even stay outside when the mower, weed-eater or blower is being used. Not only was he outside for these, but he even decided to help out...For those of you who know Beedle, you know this was a big deal!

After a long morning and midday in the hot sun, we enjoyed a nice lunch prepared by Mom. This gave us the fuel we needed for ladderball (pics to come soon--once we get better at it). It's a great family game. We took a break to go do some shopping and found ourselves hurrying back to get home in time for Nanny Wanda. Yes, Mom and Dad had a special night planned (we'll get to that in a minute), so Nanny Wanda graciously volunteered her time to spend the evening with Gus, Beedle and Gracie. This was heaven for the kids! Nanny showed up with pizza... They got to have silly time with Nanny, watching Mary Poppins (yes, a repeat of last weekend--it was a weekly rental and we wanted to get the most bang for our buck) and popping popcorn.

While the kiddos were having Nanny Wanda time, Mom, Dad and James had the pleasure of attending a dinner party hosted by some of Dad's friends--the Tanners. Have you ever had an evening of dining where you really felt you were not worthy to eat the food being served to you? That's kind of how we felt! The food was incredible! It did not diminish the company, however, as we got to have some very pleasant conversation with Don and Carolyn and Tim and Melanie Reynolds. James was extremely well behaved (we really did not expect that)! We were treated to scrumptious appetizers. Our palates were alert, but were never fully ready for the delicious delicacies that awaited us--beef tenderloin stuffed with mushrooms and shallots, twice-baked potato casserole, and asparagus in a hollandaise sauce. WOW! I must have said "WOW!", like 100 times! And then (like we needed it) came dessert--tiramisu! Oh my! It's one thing to be full after eating, but to be full after eating something that you know you have no more room for, but it was so good that you would find a way to squeeze in a few more bites, just for the taste. We were so gluttonness! We're not proud, but we felt so well taken care of. A thousand thank you's to Don & Carolyn for inviting us for an evening of dining and fellowship we will certainly never forget!

We didn't get back home until after 10:30pm (late for us old fogies!) and arrived to find Gracie and Beedle cuddled up asleep with Nanny Wanda on the couch. Nanny said she was in heaven. I'm sure they were too. Thank you Nanny for not only helping Mom and I out but for being heavenly to our kiddos!

Sunday started slowly and we were pretty sure we weren't going to make it to 9am mass at the Cathedral. Since we were going to Grandma Dee's for the day we decided to make 10am mass at St. Landry's Church in Opelousas, therefore giving us a little more time after our slow start. You know, we sometimes forget that we live in what has been affectionately called "Catholic Disneyworld", an area inundated with Catholic churches. Most communities around the country don't have more that one or two Catholic churches and you don't have a lot of masses and mass times to choose from. Here, you can make a mass at pretty much any time you want on Saturday evening and all day Sunday. One church even has mass at 10pm on Sunday! Taking full advantage of that luxury, we made the 10am mass. The kids were pretty well behaved.

We made it to Grandma Dee's just after 11am and enjoyed our visit. Lunch was fantastic! The gluttony continued! We usually don't have rice and gravy too often, but we certainly don't mind when we go to Grandma Dee's as we seem to make absolute pigs of ourselves. The kids got to play with their cousin Dylan. One of their highlights was letting Dad take them for a spin in the wheel barrow...As Dad quickly tired, the kids found other ways to entertain themselves: playing ladderball and hide-and-go-seek, watching movies, drawing, reading and entertaining James.

Can you tell which one Beedle enjoyed the most?

After a long day, the kids, once again, tuckered out on the way home. A perfect ending to a wonderful weekend!

You Might Be a Redneck...

This is how we fly a kite in Cajun Country!

St James Pray for US

Today, on St James feast day, we ask for special prayers for our little James and his Papa (James) Barron. May God bless their efforts as laborers. We also ask St James to intercede for Aunt Annie so that she might overcome her arthritis. St James pray for us that we may all be willing to leave everything to follow Jesus as you did. Help us to become special friends of Jesus as you were. Amen.

Fun with Friends

Today we enjoyed a visit from Grant. I told the kids that Grant would arrive when they woke up Thursday morning. They woke me up thirty minutes early this morning to let me know that he was NOT at our house yet. I was making my bed when I heard Gus screaming "He's here, he's here." By the time I made it to the door he was already outside greeting Grant. We had a great day. Grant brought his marbles so they went outside to play. I had to call him back to eat some breakfast. They were back outside in no time at all.

When James took his morning nap we all worked together to make some homemade bread. Each of the kids took turns adding the ingredients and deciding how many scoops it would take to equal each measurement. I never give them the right measuring cup! Gracie was quickly banished from the process as she decided to sneak a fingerful of butter. What is it with young kids and butter! The boys were most excited about kneading the bread. They punched and pulled and were amazed at how tough the bread was. I let them poke at the bread after it rose and they were so excited (they were actually giggly but you can't say that about boys) about how soft it had become.

After lunch we worked on our paper mache projects. They are coming along and we hope to finish them this weekend. Grant thought it was funny that we were going to get our hands all messy again. While I cleaned up a bit they had a little Star Wars battle. Although James was having a lot of fun watching and learning how to be a little boy, he could not keep up with the older boys! Thank you Grant for coming to play today. We hope that you can come back to visit and we can have more fun.

Thanks Gigi

Tuesday was a great day for all. We abandoned our school work and the kids went with Gigi to the summer movie. It is a great bargin that we have not taken advantage of yet this summer. The kids love that they get a drink and a popcorn with the summer movie. Next, Gigi took them to the park. We have a wonderful park downtown that has water spouts. The kids got to play in the water and have a lot of fun. When they loaded up to come home there were lots of grunts and groans. Gigi, who never says no to the kids, took the kids back to her house to rest. (yea right!) They had a great time a made some great memories. Thanks, Gigi, for all that you do.

Cost of Account, $50; His Face, Priceless

After Gus's financial windfall yesterday, he needed a place to keep his money. Mom and Dad keep his money in mutual funds and bonds. Boring!!! Gus has decided that he is old enough to invest his own money. He has decided to invest in an Alaskan cruise. Today, after our trek to Abbeville, we headed to our favorite bank. Gus knew who would help him diversify his portfolio. Dado was so proud to assist him in opening his first savings account! Gus talked about it all morning and kept giving me a count down to when we were going to get to the bank. "There is still two hours before we go to the bank." "I think we will go in fifteen minutes." Well we did make it, and the staff was so kind. MRS. Heather was very helpful and even let Gus sign his own documents. (They will not hold up in court, but it made Gus very proud.)

The excitement was contagious as Beedle decided he could get a haircut. Not only did he get his hair cut, with clippers, but he also paid for the cut. He had his coupon and money in his wallet (or a Gulf Coast Bank money bag.) He put it in his pocket and was such a little man.

After all that grown up activity mom decided that a trip to the park was definitely necessary. Everyone got to play and behave like little kids.

Ending the day with some great food was icing on the cake. Gigi made shrimp stew and stewed crabs. They had a successful trip to HollyBeach this weekend! We had a nice visit and stuffed our bellies. And least we forget, there was ginger cake with whipped cream for dessert. Thanks to Gigi for some quality family time.

When You Least Expect It...

Sometimes a great day comes when you least expect it! Sunday was that day! We went to mass yesterday so we could have a lazy morning before heading to Eunice to see Grandma Dee & Poppa. But at the last minute plans changed and we were left with nothing to do all day Sunday. It started off pretty dull. We just laid around and played lazy. It seemed very bleak, as if we were going to stay unmotivated and get nothing accomplished. After lunch we decided to read a book Gus picked up from the library--"Grossology". (For the weak, skip this next sentence). It is a book about all natural body functions and oddities, such as saliva, boogers and vomit. And yes, these were the mildest of topics in this book (It's actually a cute and informative book). With that on the brain, the kids had rest time and so did Mom & Dad. We watched the Water Horse (the movie the boys watched last night). Good movie! Mom and I also shared a great moment with James as we dwelled on just how beautiful he is and how we could not imagine what it would be like without him. And he's just 5 months old! When rest time was over Mom came up with a great creative project--paper marche heads.

The boys put a good messy layer on their balloons and will put another layer tomorrow. A good project for Beedle especially as he is quite fond of hands-on art.

Next, the kids got to do one of their favorite things--wash the cars! The kids love to get in their bathing suits and play with suds and the hose. It's taken me a few years to realize that it doesn't matter if the cars actually get clean or not. They just want to have fun! And I've realized that the less I make it seem like tedious work, they loosen up and actually help (go figure!) wash the car.

While finishing up Mom's vehicle, I thought of an opportunity for Gus. As some of you may know, Gus is saving money to take a trip to Alaska. In an effort to help him raise some money, hopefully teach him the meaning of hard work, and tidy up the yard (the trifecta!), I offered to pay him one penny for every pine cone he picked up in the yard. He and Gracie grabbed their wagon and went to work.

To my surprise, after a little over an hour of work, Gus collected 873 pine cones! That is a lot of pine cones! Due to his diligence, we agreed to give him a 27-cent bonus, so he was paid an even nine dollars. Not bad for an hour of work, and he got paid the same day! But more than the pay, I think Gus felt very fulfilled by his hard work. I was very proud of him; he worked so hard and never once complained. He was focused on a goal and did what it took to reach it. He's such a great kid!

Gracie and Beedle helped me with dinner. Gracie was in charge of counting the fish sticks (37) and Beedle was the official salad artist. Their culinary creativity made tonight's dinner a joy!

The kids bathed, brushed teeth, said their prayers and went to bed shortly after. Most nights Mom and I feel that this doesn't come fast enough. Tonight was one of those rare nights where I wished they could have stayed awake a bit longer just to see in what other ways they could amaze us some more.

Like (God) Father, Like (God) Son!

Saturday was a great family day and a time for cutting up! The Thomas family came over for lunch. We had them over to celebrate Kessie's birthday (Sunday). Shrimp and tasso fettucine was served and Mom blessed us with some of her homemade bread. The kiddos played while the adults attempted to visit. One of the highlights of the day was the kids playing with various hats and wigs. Eventually some of the adults paricipated. Even one of the babies did too! (See above pictures)



After the Thomas family left, our kids were pretty wiped out, but we saw an opportunity to make it to afternoon mass which made idea of a fairly lazy Sunday possible. It's not as easy as it seems to make it to afternoon mass with four little ones who all did not get any rest time. But fortunately Gus really set the tone for the younger ones. He was very well behaved in mass, and Beedle and Gracie had above average performances. Mom and I said that we felt very rewarded by God for our children being so well behaved. After mass we decided to reward our kids with movie night! We brought the brood to Blockbuster and let them pick out two movies--Mary Poppins and the Water Horse. The kids enjoyed a picnic and got to watch the movies in the living room in their sleeping bags.






Mom, Dad & James got play a few games, Farkle and Ziggity, while the others enjoyed Mary Poppins. Gus & Beedle stayed up for the encore presentation of the Water Horse. Mom and Dad went to bed just past 10pm and could still hear Gus & Beedle giggling. We're always encouraged when the boys get some good fun time together. What a perfect ending to our day!

Wouldn't You Have Had a Great Day?

Giving Thanks

Today was a great chance for our family to slow down. We have been running around this week taking care of annual doctor visits, finishing up summer classes, and scheduling activities for our next school year. We have been very busy. This morning we put things aside. Gus read the The Daily Advertiser (A friend from Church was in the paper), and we all ate a slow breakfast together. We went outside to journal and read The Secret Garden (second time this week!) On this odd day, we were happy to work together to clean out the flower beds and do some tidying up in the yard. After lunch I got to work on a lesson with the kids. We had the opportunity to mix some science and religion as we planted seeds. We talked about Matthew 13: 1-23 and how to prepare the soil for the seed. It always awes me when I want to teach the kids something and they teach me instead. Watching the kids interact, and the older ones teaching the younger ones, was beautiful.

After we finished they ran off to clean their rooms. I had a chance to spend some time with James. Kissing him, and smelling that sweet organic smell that comes from baby slobber, it hit me hard that I could be missing this experience. Everyone has a different calling in life. Some moms need to work, and I am most grateful that there are women that can offer me assistance at the bank, teach a library class, or sell me a scapular. Today though, I am so thankful that I am able to witness my children interact with each other. I am thankful that I am with them so they can teach me. I am thankful that I have seen their first smile, first tooth, first step. What a blessing to hear (or see) their first words and understand what was most important to them. I am in awe that I would be given such a heart-filled gift from God. Each of my children is a gift to me, but each day is a gift as well. Thank you God and thank you Carey for helping me in this life. Thanks to all my friends and family who help and support our decisions. I know that my life could be a lot less full without all of you!

Summer Errands

Today was another errand day for us. Carey's scapular fell apart, so we started with a trip to the Carmelite Monastery. This is always a peaceful experience. Next we dropped off the cookies we made to Nanny Kristin at HER bank. They kids associate each bank location with who works there. We also left some cookies for Pa-B and Aunt Caroline at their house. A stop by the library provided amusement for Gus. He said "Hey, look at me. I look like a dog!" as I allowed him to hang out the window to drop the books into the book return. Then we were off to the doctor. Last month was Gus and Beedle's visit to the doctor. This time Gracie and James had their turn. Gracie was relieved when they assured her that she was not getting a shot. She was the only one to escape shots this year! I am sure she will not be as lucky next year! She is growing and weighs almost thirty pounds now. I think she may pass up Beedle this year. James took his shots like a champ. Actually he was exuberant. Elevator rides always get him excited and his laughter was contagious. When the door opened all the kids were laughing. The kids took a vote and decided that a short trip to Books-a-Million was what they wanted to do next. Gracie found a book that had several princess stories in it and the boys played a little Thomas the Tank Engine. It is not like they have a Thomas table in their room;) We were able to finish listening to A Wrinkle in Time on the ride home. This was an excellent story for both young and old. We quite enjoyed the audio version done by the author herself. The day ended with a call from dad telling us to meet him at Hub City after mass. What a wonderful way to end such a busy day. The kids love to go to Hub City on Tuesday nights for kid night and we enjoy it as well. The balloon man made sure to include even the littlest of the children.

Monday Mail

Well you might have guessed that we were dragging around the house today. Monday slapped us with a big hello. After such an eventful weekend we were rudely awakened this morning with exhausted kids and a filthy house! We eeked by, making a basket of cookies for Dr. Chauvin's office. Today was Blessed Keteri Tikawitha's feast day so the kids got to hear several stories about her witness. They have been fans for a couple of years now (I think they like the way her name sounds.) We took a pretty short trip to Beedle's therapy in Abbeville as all five kids fell asleep in the car :)





The day got so much better when the mail came and we all got fun mail from TEXAS! The kids were excited and Uncle Garland and Aunt Michelle did not forget about the big kids either. The kids were most impressed with each of their awards. Uncle Garland and Aunt Michelle gave Gus the award for most slides down the water slide, Beedle the best Darth Vader impression, and Gracie the award for finding the most feathers. What a way to bring some excitement to a boring Monday. The day ended with Gus helping mom make more cookies before going off to bed. I guess some days two batches of cookies are necessary. Dad did get a little clip of Star Wars in for the boys while Gracie went to bed. We hope that everyone else got a good start to their week.

Sunday Fun with Friends

On an absolutely gorgeous day filled with brilliant sunshine, the Chopin family migrated south to Abbeville to spend our afternoon with the Thomas family. We always enjoy our time with the Thomas family and were looking forward to a great day of family fun. Mr. Coby had a wonderful surprise for Dad, Gus and Beedle--an afternoon of boat-riding, tubing and wake-boarding! The Thomas family lives right off the Vermilion River so it was just a hop, skip and a jump to get the boat in the water. The kids packed their snacks and their excitement and headed for the water. Grant, the veteran, went first...
Not bad! Grant knocked off the rust real quick and proved that tubing is just like riding a bicycle--you don't forget. Next was Zoe. She was fearless the whole day! Mr. Coby could not drive the boat fast enough.
Next up was Gus. This was a first for Gus and he handled it like a champ!
And last, but certainly not least, it was Beedle's turn. Now Beedle played the safe route and went with Dad the first time. But after going a couple more times with someone else, he built up enough courage to do it on his own........and he loved it!
After everyone had a turn, the kiddos paired up in the tube and also took turns wake-boarding. Talk about some excited kids!





The kiddos also got to perform their feats in front of their mothers and remaining siblings who were waiting by the river. There were cheers galore for these wonderful water sport athletes!

After docking the boat, we went back to the Thomas' house and spent the remainder of the evening doing what we families do best--playing, laughing, and of course, eating! We got to spend some time with our newest favorite friend, Malia! Lots of kisses and hugs. This went on well after twilight as we journeyed home hours past their bedtime! It didn't take long for the kids to fall asleep (all of them). They certainly burned off all the energy they had.

A special thanks goes out to the Thomas family for inviting us for such a wonderful day. We appreciate you choosing to spend a Sunday Fun-day with us!

You Say It's Your Birthday...

The kiddos had big fun at Emma's early birthday party on Saturday. Emma's turning seven (Wow! Where did the time go?) and a big shindig was held at her grandparents' house. The kids (and some childish adults) stayed entertained by a huge waterslide. It's fun to come up with 101 ways to go down the waterslide. There was also a pair of little swimming pools for the young ones who chose to accept less risk. The kids and adults were also treated to ice cream cup cakes--incredible! While the kids played and played and played, the adults got to catch up. All in all it was a day of great fun and laughter and a wonderful way to honor Emma turning seven! We look forward to the Billeauds moving back one day soon!