You scream, I scream ...

I'll tell you what equals ultimate fun to the Sabourin kids on the very first Saturday of a Summer break, and that is having friends and cousins over for an entire afternoon of sprinkler running, inflatable pool swimming, bubble blowing and ice cream licking! It was glorious, in a sticky, sun burn-y, bug biting kind of way...just glorious!

A Grand Finale

Priscilla and Elijah just boarded the bus for their very last day of public school...(possibly) ever.

It is odd to think back on how anxious I was for them to become old enough to leave me for hours at a time under the direction of authority figures who had been trained in child development - how desperate I was for a break. Now here I am all set to immerse my days in the joy, frustration, and exhaustion of being continually in their presence, of carrying the responsibility of their education on my own feeble shoulders. Who knew then that they'd grow up so quickly and my increasing desire to influence them for little awhile longer would inspire me to step outside of my comfort zone and be stretched beyond my means. Well, here we go sweethearts, let's take one day at time, here...Lord Have Mercy!

Design on a Dime (for real!)

So here is what seventy-five cents will buy you in our neck of the woods; it is garage sale season and I couldn't be more pleased about it! Last weekend, Troy and I gave each of the kids a dollar and drove them around our neighborhood in search of banners, balloons or carboard signs promising HUGE and MULTI-FAMILY fun-ness in the form of used and inexpensive treasures spread enticingly out on card tables. I feel the time is right to pass onto them our passion for thriftiness and my growing appreciation for crazy, quirky decor that can be purchased with the spare change I've collected from pants pockets in the clothes hamper. Elijah found a lego set; Priscilla bought a Princess journal; Ben walked away with a half dozen matchbox cars and Mary chose a tiny red stuffed puppy. Oh yeah...they've totally caught the fever!

Six Servings Daily

Elijah was Mr. Grain in his third grade class play about the food pyramid and Benjamin, Mary and I got to watch his powerful and moving performance earlier this morning. It was mostly a lot of "Orange you glad I didn't say banana" jokes but my surprisingly extroverted (nothing like his parents) son took the dry material he was handed and offered it back to the audience with a refreshing amount of gusto and animation. It was fascinating to observe him in this context, outside of our hectic home life where I mostly hand out orders and he then tries to modify them to his liking. "Slow down," I told myself as he relished in a role showcasing his distinctive personality, "and enjoy him."

I am I am I am Superman and I can do anything

My son, Benjamin, recently found this picture in my husband's old photo album from college and he could NOT GET OVER IT. I spent a good deal of time explaining to him that:

1. That was really his dad on the skateboard

2. That Troy and I did, in fact, exist before he was born

3. And that, no, Troy could not repeat that trick this weekend because the outcome would probably be fatal.

With Faith and Love Draw Near

This image, right here, of Benjamin, Elijah, Priscilla, and Mary waiting expectantly to receive the Eucharist during Divine Liturgy, warms my soul and fills my heart with such contentment. When they open their little mouths to "taste the Fountain of Immortality," I am reminded that God adores them even more than I do, that I should trust that Christ will lead them through both the mountains and the valleys that are necessary for their salvation. But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14.

I am proud to announce...

the birth of our first precious tiny, hatched sometime Sunday morning by its fiercely protective mother who, bless her heart, has evolved into a guard dog of a bird hovering bravely around my planter now serving as a nursery for her little ones. Have you ever seen anything so extraordinary, so capable of bolstering our faith if only we'd pause and ponder on the miracle of life?

Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? Matthew 6:26.