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So Big!

The twins got some special shirts to help celebrate their new sibling this weekend. I'm hoping they'll still fit in October, as they'd be perfect to wear to the hospital.



Stop growing babies!






{ felt appliques ready to go }






{ waiting to be stitched up }



Forgive the pantless children, we don't get dressed until after 8 a.m. if we can help it and I was too excited to see them in their BIG gear to wait this morning.










{ in this house we stand on chairs rather than sit in them }






{ how sick is my son's cowlick? }







Thanks to Grace over at Finley and Oliver for the inspiration.



On a separate but related note, a goody bag came with our ultrasound purchase. I was sorting through the goody bag to see what was included when I reached in and pulled out a picture of my baby with a white arrow pointing to his/her junk. THANKFULLY I was so confused by what was in my hand and so focused on the white arrow that I didn't even see the baby's bits. I was not a happy camper. A little warning of "hey, I threw screenshots from your ultrasound in the bag, so be careful!" would have been great. It would have been even better if those pics were in a sealed envelope too. Ay yi yi. Like it's hard enough not to peak already!



Five more days. I feel like I've been doing this same countdown for a month. Oh...wait. I have.

The Envelope Please...





One more week to go! It was hard not to cheat today, but we made it through. My fingers are cramping from making felt bows for next week's shin dig. I can't wait.

a granny chic book...


sneaky peek!

Official Statement

With the Bishop Hugh, O.S.B.and Fr. Benedict, O.S.B.
26th April, 2012,
Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel.

Official Statement
 
From 23rd to 26th April, 2012
a Canonical Visitation of the community at Papa Stronsay
was undertaken by the local Ordinary
Rt. Rev. Hugh Gilbert, O.S.B.
accompanied by
V. Rev. Benedict Hardy, O.S.B.

The Visitation was positively received by the community.
Its outcome will be formally announced in due course,
pending canonically required consultations.

Cinco de Mayo

We were supposed to have an elective ultrasound to find out numero tres' gender tomorrow, but I had kind of fibbed to the ultrasonographer about how far along I was (saying I was 16 weeks along, when I'm actually only 15). Joe was supposed to be out of town next weekend on business and we didn't want to wait. The closer the date got the more anxious I became; what if we went too early and they guessed wrong?



As luck would have it Joe's meeting was cancelled, so I rescheduled the ultrasound for next weekend. After a long talk with my BFF about my lack of attention to this baby, Joe and I decided to use the gender scan as an opportunity to throw a party. Well, in this case a fiesta.



Coincidentally our ultrasound is a week before Cinco de Mayo, giving me a perfect theme to help celebrate the baby we've monickered numero tres. We have a lot of fun ideas for the party up our sleeves, but mostly we're excited to celebrate this chapter in our lives surrounded by our closest family and friends.



Our invites came in and went out today. They are fabulous.



a book of Granny Chic goodness... no less!



hurrah hooray! for today is THEE day i am able to tell you some tippity top big news kind of stuff. the sort of big news worthy of a ‘ta dah’ or two. so if i may be so bold i will indeed go with not one, but two ‘ta dahs’.
ta dah! ta dah!
and a small drum roll, not a huge ‘marching band’ one but more the sort you can achieve quite nicely with a small being, a wooden spoon and a saucepan lid, for that sort of drum roll is most fitting for what i am about to announce. for my announcement does come with a certain amount of madness and insanity… and after my announcement has been made, it will be followed by a month of life resembling that living with a small being clattering around with stick and lid, day and night testing my sanity, but it will be ‘oh so worth it’ i have no doubt. yes, Mr Doubter if you are reading this, you are not invited to the party.


so without further a do,
my most thrilling news is, along with my crafty buddy Rachelle, of whom i have mentioned many times before, we will be penning a book together! a Granny Chic book no less, filled with crafty recipes and inspiration for living the granny chic life. we are tickled granny knicker pink right now to know come this autumn our Granny Chic book will be available on fine and dandy book shelves out in the world, for fabby crafty folks such as you, our dear readers, to stumble upon


and the reason why we fear for our insanity? the short time frame in which we must pen all our granny chic wisdom and crafty ‘know-how’ alongside a cluster of peachy recipes for fabric, yarn and paper. however we are quite sure, hand in hand separated by a pond, clogs upon our feet and rose coloured specs firmly upon our noses, we can tread this path together and come out the other side victorious. of course, we may be a little more bedraggled than when we began, clogs a little more worn, rose coloured specs taped together and hanging by a thread, but in our hands we will be proudly holding our first Granny Chic book for others to be inspired by. and that there, without a doubt, will be worth a month or two of madness.


you may not hear from us for a little while, we will be switching off so we can do our utmosts at making the book we see inside of our heads become a reality. from time to time a snippet here or a snippet there will appear… and of course not forgetting in a little while a new clan member will arrive at mossy shed and i would so like to share her with you so i will be sure to remove my ‘book pennings’ cap for that peachy moment and ‘show and tell’ our new arrival.


so my dearest readers, thank you for allowing me to shout out two ‘ta dahs’ for this thrilling day of news, i wish you many moments of crafty goodness in your little nests whilst i am sitting in mine, ‘book penning’ cap firmly on my bonce, kept in place with bobby pins. nice ones in granny colours. i plan to sleep in my ‘granny chic book writing’ attire also, never taking it off for one second over the coming month, except for the occasional spin in Mrs W. Machine. i will be living and breathing our granny chic book… yes siree! this truly is quite an adventure, one i did not see myself doing until recently but then again, as is always the way i find, the things you do not plan for nor think of, but pop up from serendipitous circumstances are often the besty best kind of adventures to have. 


and best of all, having a crafty buddy such as the extra ordinary Rachelle of Ted & Agnes to share the adventure with, makes it all the more of a peachy adventure.

Tif 

Regular Comedians

Toddlerhood has a unique set of challenges with the tantrums and lack of communication skills, but the awesomeness comes in the small moments with your kids wherein you realize how ridiculously, incredibly funny they can be.



Today while we were making dinner the kids were running amuck tearing the house apart and tormenting the dog, who had just gotten her flea and tick medicine and consequently we were trying to keep (her wet medicine covered fur) away from the kids. We kicked Gracie out to the backyard and Reese followed her to the screen screaming Gay-cee! (Gracie) Dah! (dog). When all of the sudden the sounds of Dah! Dah! got much, much quieter.





Her brother closed the door behind her trapping her between the storm door and the back door to our patio. And...he was laughing hysterically over his skillz.



Puff turned around and knocked on the glass as if to say, "hey! let me back in".





So he did what any good brother would do...he banged back on the glass and pointed at her laughing even harder.





He eventually did try to let her back in, but he (thankfully) hasn't mastered the art of opening doors even though he now easily reaches the knobs.





Siblings. Amazing.

The Blessed Peacemaker.



Thanks be to God
for
Pope Benedict XVI
truly
Gloria Olivæ,
The Glory of the Olive.


The Blessed Peacemaker.
Blessed are the Peacemakers.
(Mt. 5:9)


Papa Stronsay 2005.
+ Looking back over the past, to the divisions which in the course of the centuries have rent the Body of Christ, one continually has the impression that, at critical moments when divisions were coming about, not enough was done by the Church’s leaders to maintain or regain reconciliation and unity.

One has the impression that omissions on the part of the Church have had their share of blame for the fact that these divisions were able to harden.

This glance at the past imposes an obligation on us today: to make every effort to enable for all those who truly desire unity to remain in that unity or to attain it anew. +

Pope Benedict XVI
Letter to the Bishops
7.7.2007

We have had seven years of plenty.
Pope Benedict XVI is a Priest of his word.
What he penned to the bishops
could never be said of him.
For
Pope Benedict XVI makes every effort
to enable all those who truly desire unity
to remain in that unity or to attain it anew.


For the good tidings that we hear
concerning Rome, Reconciliation,
Bishop Fellay and the Society of St Pius X
we must continue to pray
since nothing has actually been concluded yet.
Bishop Fellay's text has yet to be examined by the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
and submitted to the Holy Father's judgment.

The Te Deum must be put on hold.
We are hoping and praying for a successful outcome.

Feast of St Magnus the Martyr

St. Magnus, Earl & Martyr
Feastday
Patron of Orkney.

Hymn to St Magnus from XIII century.

[Orkney Image Library]


Quasi modo Mercy!

Never in the sunset!
Ever the sunrise!
For the Light has come into the world
a Light that the darkness cannot over-power.
Surrexit Dominus, Alleluia!

~ In joy of Easter Light ~
the monastery boat loaded with Transalpine Redemptorists
crosses to Stronsay this morning in the white light of snow!
Alleluia!

Today is a true Feast!
The feast of Divine Mercy!
"Jesus I trust in Thee!"

We ask Our Lord to pour out His Divine Mercy
on Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI:

Long may he guide and govern the barque of Peter
as His Vicar on Earth.

We beseech Our Lord to pour our His Divine Mercy
upon the Bishops and Fathers of the
Priestly Society of St Pius X:

May they receive the grace of reconciliation
with the Church.
~
To all our readers
we wish the blessings of this Feast:
our beloved,
ever ancient, ever new
Quasi modo Sunday.

Introit:
Quasi modo geniti infantes, alleluia:
rationabiles, sine dolo lac concupiscite,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
As newborn babes, alleluia!
desire the rational milk without guile,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

reasons to be cheerful (and a little giddy)...

reason one:
we went on an easter holiday trip across the border, we came back with cadbury's easter eggs.


Used Dog and Little Olive came back from their little hols smelling like indoor air fresheners

reason two:
after wishing for an age and a day to start making homemade frocks, over the past few weeks i spent my 'sabbatical of sorts' doing just so. armed with a roll of wallpaper i set about making a pattern for what was inside of my head. i am most thrilled with the results of my sunshine frocks.


of course some may say they are glorified potato sacks with a tie here and there... and indeed they are not far off. but with rose coloured specs and a pair of clogs, they are perfectly perfect dottie angel frocks to me

reason three:
hip hip hooray! my dottie angel book is going to second print. this is simply thrilling news and one that has me positively beaming with crafty pride. many many thank yous to those of you who bought the book, were so kind in your response upon reading it and in doing so encouraged others to buy a copy too. there are a few left of the first edition with the little glassine envelope of goodies and you can find the nitty gritty here 

reason four:
in a couple of weeks our little routine at mossy shed will fly out the window with the arrival of a new member of our clan. i am giddy and nervous all at the same time. i cannot believe it has been three years since we have invited a critter or two into our home. three whole years in which i have seen the numbers dwindle in our shed, 'beings and critters' have left and it is high time we upped the numbers again. madness and insanity is bound to follow but what is life without a little of both

reason five:
i have made it through four months since seeing Our #1 and Our #2, and realize i only have two more to go. i have made it over the half way line and am on the homeward stretch. 


we will see each other in old blighty this summer. i am not thinking about the fact it is eight months till they actually come home to mossy shed and that by the time they come home, it will have been a whole year since they have been home. no sirree, that would not be the thing to do.

reason six:
tomorrow my 'dottie angel' camp starts. 


i have spent the last few days making a huge iceberg of crafty goodness in my old studio. 


in the morning i will squeeze my iceberg into the back of the van and head to Seattle where upon 13 wonderful dearies will be taking trains, plane and automobiles from across the state and the pond to meet me. for the next few days we will embark on a frenzy of crafting till our hearts content, making handmade goodness and new friendships

reason seven:
a secretive secret which i will share next week. one that has been behind the scenes for a while but now, can move to center stage

Tif 

Lucky Number 13

Helloooo second tri! Which, so far, is no different than first tri. Seriously this has been the easiest pregnancy known to man. No morning (or all day) sickness, no migraines, no food aversions. I've gained weight, but only a little. I've been tired, but I sleep when the kids sleep. It's been a cake walk. I can understand why someone would have 19 kids if their pregnancies were all this easy.



Things have been so uneventful this time around that we still haven't announced this pregnancy to anyone outside of our immediate family because I was convinced that the lack of concrete symptoms (i.e. the fact that I wasn't feeling like complete and utter shit) meant that something was wrong with the baby.



We had our first level genetic screening on Wednesday and the baby is, so far, 100% healthy and looking great. S/he also looked huge, even though s/he's measuring exactly on track. I think my perspective is skewed because by now the twins were so smooshed that we only saw bits and pieces of them on the ultrasound. Reese's hands and Ryan's head. Four sets of legs. I never got to see a baby splayed out playing with its hands with its feet crossed at the ankles.



I called my mother in law after the appointment and I was telling her how unreal it was that this kid was just lounging in there. (Well he was actually doing cartwheels, but seriously he had so.much.room.) I said the twins were in a studio apartment and the stretched me out so well that this baby is staying in a penthouse suite at the Ritz Carlton. I wouldn't be surprised if our next ultrasound showed him hosting after hours with a group of his friends in there. He had that much space.



Second pregnancies are kind of funny. Maybe it's because of BTDT, or maybe it's because this is #3 and numbers one and two are seriously running me into the ground lately, but I haven't focused on the act of being pregnant *at all*. Someone asked me how far along I was last week and I honestly couldn't remember. I just sat there with a blank stare on my face. With the twins I had an ultrasound every 2-4 weeks. I took pictures of my growing belly almost every week. This kid is going to come into the world and see the albums of me growing his sister and brother and want to know where his album is and all I'm going to have is a photo in a frame for him.



I've vowed to (try) to take weekly pics so that s/he knows how much s/he was wanted and loved, even amidst all of this crazy. But the days and weeks do seem to just meld together in a way I never thought possible.



Anyway, here's Trey at 12 weeks, 3 days looking cute and comfy. He was so active that our ultrasound technician asked me if I ate breakfast before coming in. Apparently whatever I ate that day (I think waffles and adirondack jack?) tickled his little fancy.





And here is the exterior view. I'm wondering when the fact that I'm having a singleton will start to be evident as I'm still bigger than I was with the twins by this point, even though I gained less than half as much so far. I mean at some point the baby has to fill up my belly without my belly doubling in size, right? Or will I just look like I'm carrying twins again? OMG. I really hope not.







Since we've waited so long to share the news of this little bundle already, we've decided to stay quiet for a few more weeks. My gender scan is on April 21 (an early elective ultrasound) and so we'll announce this new baby with a full identity then. Eleven days and counting.



On a complete side note, when my husband asked what I wanted for Christmas I said a tripod and shutter remote. He got me this crazy tripod that wraps around trees. My husband does a lot of fishing and hiking in the great outdoors and often cannot take pictures of himself holding his fish. Hmmm...I wonder who he got that tripod for really? Anyway, the thing is a hot mess. And now I'm shopping for a tripod. So if you have a recommendation that would be lovely. And if you have tips on taking self-portraits, that would be lovely too.

The Devotion in honour of the Burial of Our Lord.

Several readers have asked for more information about our devotions in honour of Our Lord's Burial.

We have had devotion in memory of the Burial of Our Lord for over 20 years. In early years we used some borrowed texts. But we do not use them now. As a result, the burial has been expressed through well known traditional Latin prayers that are part of our established spiritual life. This seems an improvement.

The devotion is a memorial (anamnesis) and logical completion of the day: Our Lord's Body is accompanind to the tomb. During the procession, His Passion is remembered yet again.

The devotion takes place like this:
1. After the Good Friday Liturgy the image of the Body of Our Lord is incensed and the Sixth Sorrow (1 Pater and 7 Aves) is said in memory of the descent of Our Lord's Body from the Cross. During this dolour, the people carrying relics of the Passion (Crown of Thorns, Nails etc.) prepare to form the cortege.

2. The procession departs reciting the first sorrowful mystery of the Rosary before reaching the station which is not far from the chapel.

3. At the station the body is placed on the way-side altar, it is incense and a lamentation from Matins is sung.

4. The procession resumes again and the sorrowful mysteries of the Holy Rosary are completed by the time everybody has entered into the sepulchre. Thus on the way to the tomb we are recalling the events of the Passion of Our Lord.

5. Inside the tomb the Body is incensed again; hymns concerning Our Lord's Passion are sung for as long as there are people to venerate the image by kissing it and anointing Our Lord's wounds with perfumed ointment.

6. Then the concluding section of the day's Passion from St. John is chanted.

7. Finally the Seventh Sorrow of the placing of Our Lord in the sepulchre is recited and the procession then returns slowly and silently back to the sacristy keeping the memory of Our Blessed Mother and the disciples leaving the tomb and returning home in mourning.

Communicantes et diem sacratissimum celebrantes

Paschal Vigil
Papa Stronsay


Incensing the Paschal Candle before the Exsultet.
O vere beata nox ~ O truly blessed night...
And the night shall be as light as the day,
and the night is my illumination in my delights.
Therefore the sanctification of this night blots out crimes,
washes away sins, and restores innocence to sinners,
and joy to the sorrowful.

The First Prophecy.
Dixitque Deus: Fiat lux.
Et facta est lux.
And God said: Be light made.
And light was made.

The Blessing of the Font.
Sicut cervus desiderat ad fontes aquarum...
As the stag panteth after the fountains of water...


Easter Day Mass
Stronsay


Solemn Sprinkling with Holy Water.
Vidi aquam egredientem de templo,
a latere dextro, alleluia! ...

I saw water coming forth from the temple
on the right side, alleluia!

et omnes ad quos pervenit aqua asta,
salvi facti sunt et dicent, alleluia!
and all those to whom this water came,
were saved, and shall say, alleluia!

We wish all our friends and families
a blessed and holy feast of feasts.

Communicantes...
Having communion in and celebrating
the most sacred day of the resurrection
of
Our Lord Jesus Christ
according to the flesh.

I *LOVE* Lists

Seriously, I love them. Our nanny makes fun of me because I literally have notepads (magnetic, post-it, spiral notebooks, pads of paper) EVERYwhere and each has a different list on it. This is in addition to my mega-planner that I buy annually and the family wall calendar that I keep.



While planning this week's lunches and dinners I found a few printables on pinterest, thanks to DesignFinch, and now I have MORE LISTS. But gosh are they pretty. And the only thing better than a pretty list, is a free pretty list.















 

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