Lissie's New Friend

Earlier this summer, Lissie was quite intrigued by the pictures of Pope Francis and our bishop that she saw at Mass.  She kept asking about their hats and their clothes and said that she really wanted to meet them to see what they were like.  I told her that they are both very busy people, but if she wanted we could draw them pictures and write them letters.

To our surprise, not even a week later, we got a response from the bishop!

Lissie was ecstatic!  She treasured the picture greatly and was quite thrilled to be invited to have breakfast with the bishop.

I called his secretary to give her a few dates that would work with our schedule, and she called me back to formally invite sweet Lissie to breakfast with the bishop at a lovely restaurant!  I was shocked!  I was anticipating a little meeting in a conference room at the Catholic Center with donuts or something, but he went all out and invited her to go out for a special meal that she will cherish forever.  His secretary said that he was really looking forward to meeting her and was a little sad that we had to wait three weeks for the big day due to his busy travel schedule.  And, of course, Lissie was pleased as punch to be going out to eat with her new friend.

I think I was the only one who had a bit of anxiety about the breakfast - I prepped Lissie on not eating too much or too fast and we went over things that she could tell the bishop and talked about questions that she wanted to ask.  We made him a picture the night before, and she couldn't wait to give it to him.

Breakfast was fabulous!  Lissie learned a lot of new things about her friend, and she told him about her family and pets.  They sang songs together ("Twinkle Twinkle" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider") and discussed a little theology ("What's heaven like and how do we get there?").  At the very end, Lissie - without warning - told the bishop that she wanted him to come to her house to play.  I tried to laugh it off, but the bishop was excited about the invitation and wanted to make it happen in the next few months before Christmas.

All day long, Lissie has been talking about her new friend.  She already can't wait to show him her dog and "cook" for him in her play kitchen.

I'm so very blessed and grateful that we have such an awesome bishop for our diocese.  It really warmed my heart that he took the time out of his very busy schedule to meet with a little three-year-old. Without a doubt, I think that Lissie will remember this breakfast for a long time.

Oh, and Pope Francis?  He also sent Lissie his picture!  Lucky goose!

Road Trippin' - Alabama

Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  Also known as our family.

My parents made plans to go to Alabama to visit the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament for the Feast of the Assumption Mass, see some family friends, and attend the EWTN's Family Celebration Weekend.  Since Justin just happened to be off that weekend, we decided to tag along and also add the Huntsville Botanical Garden to the list of fun!

However, we knew that Xavier wouldn't care for a lot of the pilgrimage festivities and we wanted to head home to take care of Rupert, so Justin, Xavier, and I only stayed one night, while Lissie stayed an extra day to enjoy the two things that she loves most: hang out with her Lolo and Lola and spend time with Jesus.

It was only a two-plus hour drive to our hotel, so we made our way down to Alabama early Thursday evening, stopping halfway - at the huge rocket welcome center at the border of Alabama and Tennessee  - to have a picnic dinner.  By the time we got to our suite, we were all ready for bath and bedtime since we were going to wake up bright and early to be ready for 7am Mass at the Shrine.

At the rocket welcome center with Lolo and Lola

As expected, Lissie was mesmerized by the beauty of the church, and Xavier couldn't have cared for it much less.  Luckily, Lolo and Lola had Lissie near the front (her preferred spot every time we go to Mass), while Justin, Xavier, and I stayed in the back - alternating going outside when Xavier had his fill of holiness.  One day he'll like going to church....right?

After Mass we went to a breakfast reception celebrating Mother Angelica's anniversary into the convent and we said our hellos to my "aunties" Nelly and Nena before making the trip to the botanical garden.

Oh, the botanical garden!  We went mainly to check out the special exhibit, Alice's Garden Wonders, but we also enjoyed spending time in the amazing Children's Garden and the splendid Butterfly House.  We could have easily spent all day here.  My only regret is forgetting the kids' swim gear so they would feel more comfortable splashing in all of the fun places to get wet!  

A little surprised that the teapot sprays water.

We are all pawns in his eyes.

Prepping for the ultimate tea party.

Beware the jabberwocky!

Seasaw fun.

The kids wanted to join in on the fun.

My Tweedledum and Tweedledee

A flower girl in a flower maze

With Lolo and Lola

Trying to catch butterflies in the butterfly garden.

Mesmerized by the beautiful butterflies.

Hangin' in the hammock.

An awesome sandbox castle

Water play!

After a picnic lunch at the gardens, we said our goodbyes to Lissie as we headed home.  Lissie had a grand rest of the trip where she went to her Lolas Nelly and Nena's place to pick vegetables and have dinner, attended another Mass at the Shrine, prayed and learned and saw new things with her Lolo and Lola at the grotto and Eucharistic Center, and enjoyed going out to eat one last time before I picked her up on Saturday from her Lola's house - just in time to attend a friend's birthday party!  Whew - busy weekend!

My parents never did make it to Birmingham to attend the Family Celebration Weekend, but I think we all agree that introducing Lissie to the Shrine and appeasing her natural curiosity of the Mass and her faith was totally worth it!   Next up?  Her special breakfast with the bishop!

As for Xavier, we're taking baby steps to get him to appreciate the Mass in his own way.  Lissie is helping us teach him about church with our new Mass kit that we made.  We're workin' on him.  Slowly, but surely.....

And, in all, it was a great little road trip weekend.  I can definitely see us going more often and even checking out more of what Huntsville has to offer.

Fair Fun 2014

Ahhh, the Williamson County Fair.  Probably my favorite summer tradition.  It's like being transported into a completely different world - the foods, the smells, the sounds - so unlike anything else.  It was so fun watching the kids light up at every turn, noting all the excitement and wonder about them.  It may not have been their first time at the fair, but it was definitely one that they will remember!

As per usual, we went with Lolo and Lola - but, of course, with all the fun happenings, we never did snap a picture with the grandparents!

When we got off the highway at the exit, both kids were giddy with glee at the sights of the ferris wheel and other midway carnival rides.  Lissie was already plotting which ones she wanted to ride, and I was trying to do damage control by telling her she may not get to ride all of them because of her shortness - I wasn't convinced that she was 36 inches tall, so I feared some major disappointments.  Even Xavier looked thrilled about being at the fair - a feat that is pretty difficult for my boy who is very indifferent about fun.

We began our adventure at the Little 1's Farming, which is - in my opinion -  the best attraction at the fair.  The kids get to don aprons and hold on to baskets as they peruse a child-sized farm, where they can pick pretend apples, get pretend eggs from hens, milk pretend cows, go pretend fishing, and plant pretend seeds to harvest pretend fruits and vegetables.  At the end, the kids "sell" their reaping for "cash" to spend at the store where they get a special treat!  Perhaps it's the teacher in me, but I love how it's a hands-on and fun way to teach kids about farming.

Learning to flirt, I mean fish.

Harvesting Tomatoes

Milking a cow

Enjoying their ice cream sandwiches!

After our ice cream sandwiches, we perused the children's barnyard where there were goats, chickens, piglets, and other animals to check out.

And then came the rides.  Thankfully Lissie somehow grew to be exactly 36 inches tall, so she was pleased as punch to be the big girl riding on rides - especially the ones that Xavier wasn't able to ride.  Xavier wasn't upset, though, as he loved waving at Big Sis as she zoomed by.  (I'm curious to see if he'll be this happy next year, given that it is highly doubtful that my 'lil short man will grow 4 inches by the next fair!)

All that riding made us hungry for dinner, so we enjoyed the yummy fair food.  Daddy and his turkey leg (and rice, haha), the kids and their corn dogs, mommy and her ribbon fries, and Lolo and Lola with their cheesesteak sandwiches.  As expected, the kids devoured their meal with such voracity that you'd think that they didn't just have ice cream an hour before!

We burned off some of our dinner by making our way inside the ag building to check out the booths and touch the trucks and look at the kids science activities.  We were all pleasantly surprised with how happy Xavier was just running around and being goofy.  Both kids had such a good time that it was difficult to get them to leave.

We did, though, manage to save room for some funnel cakes!  Because why else would you go to the fair?!?

'Til next year.....