And way back over half a year ago...

Tait jumped over to the "big boys" this year. Now that his years can no longer be counted on 1 hand, he's no longer one of the littles.

Tait is so full of love and joy! He loves to make people laugh and is always getting up to some mischief or other with that goal in mind. He loves pranks and practical jokes (and is trying to navigate what kinds of pranks are acceptable and which are likely to get him in trouble...)

He adores his baby sister, often sighing, "Mom, I wish Zoja could stay like this forever!" More often than not, after we turn out the light in the room he shares with Tola, we hear footsteps as Tola climbs into bed to snuggle with her big brother, who always welcomes her and keeps her from being scared!

Happy Very Very Belated Birthday, funny, crazy, mischievous Tait! We love you!

Remembering Our December Birthday Boy

11! I'm not even going to think about how that happened. One day at a time, we have arrived at 11 years!

Ziven is such a responsible young man, dependable and honest.

Legos and books are still Ziven's favorite pastimes. He's discovered the fun of customizing his legos this year, and his favorite literary pursuit this year has been everything Greek Mythology. This kid knows far more Greek mythology than I could ever learn!

And he now considers himself a "chicken enthusiast" as well, having taken the care of the chikens under his wing, so to speak.

He loves to play around with words and create puns and new jokes, trying them our nightly on dad as soon as he walks through the door.

We love you, Ziven, and are so blessed to have you in our family!

Happy Really Belated Birthday, Sonny Boy!

Happy-belated-Birthday, Sweet Tola!

February. You know, as in nearly 3 months ago... Sigh. How does the time go so quickly? This poor blog has sat here silent for 10 months while life has gone on. And on. And on. So many ordinary moments chock-full of ordinary loveliness.

And several not-so-ordinary, once-a-year kind of happenings. I can't possibly go back and capture them all here belatedly. But I do owe a few birthday posts! I've done birthday posts every year for the past 7 or 8 years and I can't just skip over them now.

So, working my way backwards...

Little Miss Tola turned 4. Again, she wanted a pink birthday. Again, pink frosting and pink cake adorned her birthday cake. This year, she was delighted to have a little sister to fawn over on her special day.

This sweet girl fills our days with singing and dancing and princess dresses, lego building, and making her sister giggle. She loves to help mama in the kitchen, peeking into every bowl and asking what ingredients I put in this one... Every day she graces one of her brothers with allowing them to be her buddy that day, and they are all happy to compete for the honor.

She has such a loving spirit and brightens our day with cheer! Happy Birthday, my sweet Tola!

It's a Girl!

I have to admit, I thought it was going to be a boy. So after 20 hours of labor, I was surprised and delighted when my second daughter was placed on my chest.

Latest Family Photo

Chester had wanted to keep this one a surprise after having found out the gender of each of the other children at the time of our 20 week ultrasounds. I wanted to know what we were expecting. He won the coin toss, and so I embraced the mystery of not knowing...

Tola, age 3, meets her sister for the first time.

The children, at home with Oma, eagerly awaited the news of their new sibling's arrival. They thought for sure they would know before bedtime on Sunday June 22.

We headed in for an induction after Mass that morning, thinking we would have a baby by day's end.

Tait, 5, couldn't wait to hold "it."

But this baby had other plans and she kept us waiting until 8:28 the following morning, Monday June 23.

Oles, age 8. Such a tender heart this one has for babies.

 Weighing in at 7lbs, 11 oz and somewhere between 19 and 20 inches. (The hospital said 19. The next day she had stretched to 20 at the dr's office...)

We did not have a name for her yet. She didn't have a name until today, June 25. We needed a little time to get to know her, to stare at her and try out different options.

Biggest brother Ziven, 10, the same age I was when my sister Colleen was born.
He's feeling protective already.

 Each of our children have Polish names, and so we scoured the lists of Polish girl names and tossed a few back and forth. Finally, we realized we kept coming back to one name in particular. And it just seemed to fit this sweet soul.

Oma and Tola with baby girl.

 And so, without further ado, we are happy and proud to introduce our daughter,

Zoja Florence.

Zoja (Pronounced Zoy-ah. In Polish, the "j" is pronounced as a "y") is the Polish form of Zoey, meaning "Life."

Florence was Chester's maternal grandmother, and it means "Prosperous, Flourishing."

Zoja Florence

Welcome to our family, sweet girl! You have 3 big brothers who simply adore you and a big sister who absolutely beams when she holds you. They all want to sit by you and hold you and kiss on you...You are well loved and we are so happy God brought you to our family! May you have a Flourishing Life!

8 is GREAT!

 My Oles is 8 today. How blessed we are to have this boy in our family! He is the child who is equally at ease playing with his big brother, his little brother, and his 3 year old sister. 

He's always got a smile on his face and a sense of humor that emerges more every day. He is tender-hearted, wearing his emotions on his sleeve. He loves everything outdoors--ice fishing, hiking, skiing, biking, snow shoeing.

He never complains of the hard work involved in such adventures, never whines of being tired or cold. This kid puts his head down and digs in! We are all better off for having Oles in our lives. God Bless you, Oles, and Happy, happy birthday!

Holy First Communion

Oles made his First Holy Communion 2 weeks ago. Shameful that I haven't posted pictures here sooner or written a little tribute to his day yet, but life and illness intervened.

 Oles was so proud to be dressed up for his big day. This is the son who never complains about getting dressed in fancy clothes. He looked so handsome and grown up!

Father Jaime delivered a homily directed at the children receiving their First Communion, helping them to appreciate the importance of the day. I really appreciate how this church incorporates the celebration into a regular Sunday Mass, rather than a separate celebration. The whole church community helps to welcome these children into the flock...

And we as a family got to celebrate our 2nd child entering into the banquet of the Church. Oles has a heart of gold and a quick smile for everyone. It is our earnest prayer that he continue use his gifts for the glory of God and to bring the joy of God's love to all those he meets. Congratulations, Oles!

The Pink Birthday

Somebody turned 3 today. 

For weeks, she talked about her upcoming birthday--her pink birthday. Pink plates, pink presents, pink cake, pink nakkins...

I think we did a fairly good job of delivering a pink birthday to our sweet Tola D. 

But, my dear girl, you've been tickling us pink since the day you were born.

 Your smile delights. You give the best hugs ever. You giggle with Tait and you have your big brother Oles wrapped around your finger and Ziven loves you dearly. You've got a squadron of big boys looking out for you, and you better believe they always will.

Your pink ways and sweet spirit bring a little more softness to our rough-and-tumble boys. Where would we all be without our sweet little pink package?

We are so blessed to have you in our lives. We love you, our little Chickadee. Happy Pink Birthday!

And So Merry Christmas

first, the nice one... or at least the one where all 4 were kind of looking at the camera.

Somehow, Christmas more than any other holiday makes me pause and consider the passage of time. Perhaps it's the infant Jesus wrapped in those swaddling clothes, lying in his manger or in his mother's arms. Maybe it's the sentimental music that envelops us everywhere we go. And maybe it's just the time of year for introspection and looking back... But celebrating the birth of our Savior makes me pause and count my blessings; it makes me want to stop time and live fully in this moment. Forever. Every year, I try to etch the children in my mind just as they are right now. They will never be just this same again. And Christmas, though much the same year after year, is always new. It's that newness in the midst of the year growing old that brings such joy. We wish you all the happiness and blessings this Season brings. Merry Christmas! (and I can still say that on Dec 28th because it's still Christmas--the 4th day)

...and then one of the many outtakes...

10

Ten. Ten, people. TEN!!! It's such a big milestone. Where did the time go? I'm so proud to be your mama and I couldn't imagine my life without you. So, for your 10th birthday, 10 things we love about our Ziven:

1. You are curious. Endless questions since you could string together 2 words. You want to know Why and How and What...You want to know as much about the world around you as you can.

2. You are honest. You want to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

3. You have a heart for the less fortunate. Your heart bleeds for anyone you see or hear of in need and you want to find ways to help.

4. You have a wonderful imagination. You love to tell stories and you keep your brothers entertained with your yarns in the car, on walks, riding your bikes...



5. You love to read and be read to. Stories are important to you, and we love that you still like to snuggle up to read with us.

6. You have such love for God and all of His creation.

7. You are protective. You watch out for your younger siblings, don't want anything to hurt them. And you're our go-to man to check the locks at night.

8. You are funny. You are developing your own sense of humor, and quite often, it's subtle. You delight in sharing a good joke with you dad.

9. You are helpful. You are always willing to lend a hand and ask what you can do to help.

10. You are YOU. And we love you ever so much.