Christmas Novena

Last year I was introduced via the blog world to the Christmas Novena that begins on the Feast of St. Andrew. A dear friend suggested that we offer it for a seemingly impossible intention, which, many months later, was granted! I will be wholeheartedly offering this prayer 15 times a day for another special intention. It appears on my sidebar as it does on many Catholic bloggers' sites.

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Feast of Christ the King!

What a weekend! After inviting a crowd to our home for Thanksgiving several months ago, I bailed since our house is on the market and asked Grandmom if we could do Thanksgiving at her new home. AFTER she said yes, I mentioned that I had invited Dash's godfather and parents. She generously welcomed us all over and I'm sure she wouldn't have had it any other way! She almost teared up when Dash helped his Aunt make their annual "Corn Man."

Dash was very excited about Corn Man. The excitement may wear off when he is still making Corn Man when he's 16, but it was a blast this year.

An overview of the feast:

The happily engaged godparents (I should mention that I had the great honor of wedding dress shopping the day after thanksgiving. Yes, there were tears, but it was so wonderful! Mr. Incredible has tried to pry information out of me, but I won't say a word about anything!)

Family and soon-to-be family:


Dash made a crown today to celebrate the feast of Christ the King. Apparently kings "need lots of cotton balls!"



Dash didn't want to model it, so here is Mr. Incredible:

Random Tidbits

Jack-Jack, with a confirmed case of RSV, has been sick for several weeks and finally seems to be on the mend. Dash seems to have caught the bug in all its congested, feverish, coughing glory. Fortunately, both boys are doing much better. For the first time in Incredible family history Jack-Jack out-ate Dash. This is good news since he lost some weight while he was sick. Dash caught the bug later and is nursing his sore throat with Popsicles for breakfast, while Jack-Jack tears though cheese, meat, banana, cereal and oatmeal in a matter of minutes.

While convalescing, Dash found time to make some Thanksgiving turkeys for Babka.


Yesterday was Dash's baptismal anniversary. He was very excited about the "Hot and Dangerous" candle, though not his baptismal one. It is already packed and in safekeeping at Grandmom's house. Mr. Incredible thinks we should just get rid of everything that is in storage, but I have actually missed a few things: the bread machine, Dash's comforter, my melon baller (to make kid sized caramel apples), the laminating machine.

This morning Dash built some towers with his blocks. The one on the left is "an astronaut with three heads," so I'm told. Dash is fascinated by all things outerspace. He has been able to name the planets since he was just over 2 (all 9 of them...our books are old and when I grew up there were 9 planets, not 8!).


Jack-Jack keeps growing up. *sigh* His new tricks include crawling up the stairs and waving. He has learned his first two signs...More and Touchdown (it IS football season). He also kind of took his first steps, though Mr. Incredible thought it was more "momentum while falling." This baby is getting big! Here he is tasting the fall foliage.

Many blessings on this fall evening!

Blogging a Saturday

A swirl of chaos encompassed the last few weeks, but now we can just enjoy fall and be patient, preparing our heart and home for Advent. We bought a house and ours is on the market. Many of our worldly possessions are packed and in storage. We now realize that we don't need many of these things that clutter our lives and we will be making another huge donation as we unpack after the new year. Now it is simply a question of keeping our house immaculate, meaning a vacuum cleaner escort wherever the boys go. We had a showing last night at dinner time, so I planned a picnic for the boys, forgetting that the time change ensured pitch black at dinner time. So we had a picnic in the back of the Tahoe. The boys thought it was hilarious. When Mr. Incredible showed up, he didn't fit in the back so he leaned in through the window. I had to unlock the car every 60 seconds to keep the lights on. It was so fun!

We have had a relaxing morning at home. Here are some highlights.

Dash had a little accident this morning prompting a few rounds of "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer":

Dash and Mr. Incredible did some male bonding over cereal:


Dash made a fall collage for his Aunt to congratulate her on her new job!

And Jack-Jack may be getting his appetite back! Or maybe he just wanted to raid the pantry:

The Sweetest Prayer Ever Uttered!

Jack-Jack has been sick recently. A battle with a lingering virus (likely RSV...awaiting confirmation) and now an ear infection has left us all a little spent. Without quick improvement he may go on breathing treatments as he has started wheezing in addition to his horrendous coughing. Driving home from our latest doctor visit I prayed aloud for Jack-Jack's healing. At the end Dash added his own prayer:

Don't be sick, Jack-Jack
Love you Jesus

Yes, I started tearing up in the car. How could our Lord not hear this prayer for his baby brother?

Because A Light Saber Could Start a Fire...