A Busy Week

There is snow on the ground and temperatures are getting colder, so we are finding ways to stay happy inside day after day. 

We made some new pieces for our alter...a purple set and a green set to match the vestments we have. 

Logan was at conference the first week in January, so we didn’t make it to Sunday Mass on time at our own parish. We went to “Max & Martyrs” as Elias refers to it, which cracks us all up because our good friend Max is indeed a parishioner there! Since I was solo (and Augustine was with G&G) we took The Brick Bible to keep the boys quiet during Mass. It’s a giant book and I feel slightly embarrassed to have it in Mass, but survival was necessary that day. 

The boys found the incensor sitting outside the sacristy after Mass and we’re enthralled. Thank goodness they didn’t touch it because I quickly realized they were blowing on the coals to watch them turn red. It was still quite hot. 

Father had a gold vestment on and Elias was very impressed. He thought it was very fancy. 

Elias: How you did get your vestment gold?

Father: That’s a sophisticated question for a boy your age!

Elias: How you did do it?

Father: God made it that way.

(Me: 🤔) 

We had a good schedule over Christmas break, and kept it up while Logan was gone. The boys earned screen time each morning and afternoon by doing three chores each. We got in such a good rhythm that by the second week they would say “what are my three things?” and get right to them. 

Logan loaded us up with library books and playaways. Elias loves the idea of playaways. He especially likes to plug in the “hearphones”. 

Elias is still dairy free, and he was thrilled that his “pretend cheese” company is making all sorts of new products. Cheesy noodles and cheese slices for grilled cheese are new favorites. 

Lewis made a cool bookstore during quiet time one day. He got a cash register with pretend money in it for Christmas so he’s been making all kinds of shops and restaurants. 

He also made a real smoothie for himself because I just didn’t have the energy to do it for him. He did a good job and the mess was surprisingly minimal. 

A few of the snowy days were really nice, so the big boys went out to play quite a bit. Elias went out a few times when Daddy could go too. Elias didn’t mind watching them build snow creations from his warm rocking chair. 

Another family cooked a meal with us and we took the Sisters’ dinner. The boys helped me deliver our half of the meal, and got some chapel time with Sr. Teresa Marie (Augustine’s teacher).

Guitar Lessons

Augustine came home excitedly from school one day with a piece of paper in his hand. On it was the hand written notes of Mary Had A Little Lamb.

“I want to play this!”

Excited that he had an interest in music I asked, “On what?”

He thought for a while and decided he wanted to play it on the guitar, so we borrowed cousin Thomas’ kid-size guitar and started lessons today!

We know lots of people who play, and Mrs. Butler was happy to give him a few lessons to see if he really enjoys it. She showed us how to tune the guitar. 

She taught him two chords and how to strum. Then she played those two chords to a song the kids sing all the time at school Mass. It was a brilliant teaching technique and a perfect amount to start with. 

She also had him do some written work to help him memorize the two chords he learned, as well as read guitar chords when written down. 

Augustine is doing really well and enjoys each lesson!

Playing

Elias read a book from the library about a boy’s first haircut. He got his first hair cut quite a while back, but Bibbity Bop Barbershop is quite the new favorite. Elias found Lewis’ shaving kit and now we all get our first haircut repeatedly. 

He doesn’t often get to play with small legos, but it’s serious thinking when he does. 

Play Mass with Elias is easy. He fiddles around with the stuff on his altar while I sing my favorite hymns out of the hymnal and receive communion (soup crackers) quite a few times. 

Christmas #4

We spent the day with just my immediate family and had lots of fun!

The cousins

We opened gifts from one another. Augustine got lots of fun things to play, including more legos. 

Lewis got a lot of fun activities too...and finally his own LEGO set that he actually built himself! His big brother answered his questions, but he did the work himself!

I think Elias finally understands opening gifts. He would open one and then play quite a while before opening the next. It was lovely. 

Cousin Thomas spent the whole day playing with Elias. He gets major points. I can’t count all the wheelbarrow rides, shoulder rides, wrestling matches, and games they played. You’re a good big cousin, Thomas!

What more can a garbage truck loving toddler want?! He loaded all the paper up and dumped it into Grandpa’s hopper. 

Here’s the hopper. Grandpa gets a shout out too for curbing the daily morning fit by going for a walk in the rain with Elias. 



Grandma had lots of fun in store for us. We played family feud, attempted a 2000 piece puzzle, and took turns cooking delicious food.  The highlight though was the gingerbread house decorating. 

Augustine is really getting good at piping frosting. He also did some nice fondant work. 

Elias enjoyed it, but didn’t work for long because there was playing to be done. 



Logan was a good sport. There aren’t many things funnier to watch than Logan trying to have (mandatory) craft fun. He really did try to be creative!

Augustine had the cool idea of a flag on top. 

Lewis made a very fancy roof! He is also good at piping the frosting. 

He worked for a long time and his house turned out very cute!

I made a house too. Then everyone was supposed to title their own house, as well as one other person’s house. 

I titled mine, and Logan added to it. 

Lots of people titled Logan’s, my suggestion being on the left there. 

And Elias’ day wouldn’t be complete without a story read by Thomas!

Christmas #3

Christmas morning at home. 

A full morning of anticipation, joy, and playing. Oh...and breakfast if anyone remembers to eat. :)

The End of Advent

The last few days of Advent can be long. Christmas vacation has begun, everyone is out of routine, no parties to attend yet, and no gift opening either. 

We decided it was the perfect time for cleaning up the house, and a few more Daddy adventures.

Elias has been asking to go to the capital for weeks, but it’s been too cold to go to the top. We had some warmer days this weekend, so Logan decided to go for it. Elias was one happy kid! They rode the small elevator to the top, looked out the viewing area, and saw the big Christmas tree. When they got home, Elias was carrying around a pamphlet with a picture of the capital on the front. He just couldn’t stop talking about his experience, and then saved the pamphlet in his treasure drawer. 

Each boy had a turn at G&G’s to help with holiday preparations. While Lewis was having his turn, these boys had hot chocolate for dessert after dinner. 

We made our new stage into a Christmas story time area.

When Logan and Elias got home from the capital (Lewis was still helping at G&G’s), Augustine said he’d like to go to the park to climb trees and play soccer, football, baseball, and frisbee. He and Logan checked everything off the list!

Decorating the tree and listening to Christmas music  is always fun. The boys now have their favorite ornaments to hang, and it’s fun to watch them find them after a year of forgetting what’s in the collection. 

Elias helped our next door neighbors pull a joke on their family and friends. We found it quite funny, and Elias found it quite worth the candy cane he earned for smiling so sweetly. 

Christmas #2

We had Christmas with Grandma Kathleen on Christmas Eve! 

The boys could barely wait to open gifts, so we did that first. Augustine got the LEGO Firehouse. He was over the moon because he’s wanted it for two years. He built half of it in two hours...would’ve been less time but he was forced to take a break and eat dinner. 

Elias really likes opening the gifts, but then doesn’t really try them out. It isn’t until a big boy takes interest in what he got, and sits down with him to play that he really takes to the idea. Not a bad way to bond as brothers. :)

Lewis got a alphatab board, and he liked it even more than I thought he would. Grandma admitted to playing with it for quite a while too! Grandma also surprised Lewis with a donut pillow...and it was a HUGE hit. 

Working on the legos together. 

Working on forming letters of the alphabet...with the pillow close at hand. 

We had a delicious meal too. I always think “what a pretty table” every year Kathleen hosts, and every year I forget to take a picture.