A school year in review: massive photo dump

Patrick did something this week -- he backed up my (our?) photos from the various devices upon which they idled into the laptop's photo storing app. Suddenly, my vision of blogging has expanded and it seems POSSIBLE to write about those long-ago moments. Even if my memories are fuzzy now, I don't want to let this past year go without a recap.

And as we are nearing the end of the school year, what better time than to reach way back, to the beginning of my pregnancy with Clara, and recall what this year has meant to us:

Here goes nuthin'.

August

We took the kids on a last-minute road-trip to Montreal before school started. I had never been to Montreal, save one quick visit inside St. Joseph's Oratory on my way home from university about fifteen years ago. (A blessed memory indeed, because it involved my beloved grandmother as well as my parents). Patrick was kind of shocked to hear I had never explored this beautiful, old city and he was game to show it to me and our children.

We spent three days just walking the city, visiting the beautiful churches, enjoying picnics outside and... running into my aunt and two of my cousins on St. Catharine's street who were there for a three-day trip. These are relatives who live in Halifax...! That was an amazing and odd moment; what are the odds?

In front of Marie Reine de Monde. This picture took some effort to create -- I had to keep cajoling them, no really, stand THERE, not there. But the effect was worth it! Look at my cute family! 

Elijah pointing where he wants me go: 

"Bon, Mommy, ball me!" ("Come on, Mommy! Follow me!")

 We camped at Park Oka for one night and it was breath-taking, as well as wonderfully designed for families with awesome playgrounds, a bouncy castle thing IN the water and so on. I wish we could have stayed there longer!

Especially since...

When we arrived in Montreal, we stayed in an Air bnb in Chinatown that was... bizarre. There were no dishes, cutlery, pots or pans, or glasses. I didn't give him a great review, needless to say.

But... being downtown meant we were in close walking distance to so many churches and other interesting sites. We even took the kids on a subway ride (which thrilled all of us, because we have zero public transportation system in our tiny town, let alone an underground subway).That subway trip led to a MOVIE THEATRE. None of them had ever been to the movies, so we took in The Incredibles II and bought over-priced popcorn and drinks to boot.

All in all, it was a wonderful excursion before the hustle and bustle of the school year kicked off.

Speaking of which:

September

The first day of school! Grades 4, 2 and Senior Kindergarten.

Elijah pushing that toy lawnmower acted as a gentle castigation to his parents who let the lawn run amok over the summer.

We had a good reason...

Clara! 

and... morning sickness!

(actually, not bad morning sickness, but throwing up a handful of times a day, and the ungodly knock-out level exhaustion that comes from being with child.)

I 'met' our lovely baby in an ultrasound just days after the kids started school, but didn't know yet that she was a 'she'.

The technician and her co-op student asked about my other kids and their genders and they both winked at each other when they did my scan. I assume in hindsight that they had figured out I was carrying a girl and they quietly felt happy for me to not be quite so outnumbered anymore. And Anna, dear Anna, to have a sister among all those boys :)

For the most part, September was a blur. The kids excitedly got back into school routines and I drank lots of fizzy water as my morning sickness faded away.

October

I'll just say this was a really hard month for us. Kids had hard times, Patrick went away to Rome for 11 days again. Meanwhile, I had to go to physio for a crippling pain in my shoulder (triggered by stress, I think) and now have a cool posture corrector that I wear with pride forget about almost daily.

But October brought good memories too, of course!

Anna turned five! A whole hand. Unbelievable. We celebrated with bacon and cinnamon rolls for breakfast and she politely, quietly rejected the cinnamon roll. And later her cake. Her lack of sweet tooth stuns me sometimes. Are we even related?

We also had a gaggle of friends over for a Cinderella-themed birthday party. My moment of pride was when I took them on a scavenger hunt for Cinderella's missing glass slipper where all the clues rhymed in iambic pentameter. I think the effort was lost on my five year old and her friends, but still, I felt pleased with myself.

And then the delights of Halloween! Noah was Odin, the Norse god, Isaiah donned a robot costume, something he insisted on being since July, Anna was Cinderella (no surprise. Also, note the faint streaks of whiskers on her face. She accessorized as a cat that day at school), and Elijah was a lion for the second year in a row. Same theme, slightly bigger costume.

All these things were hand-me-downs or procured from our costume box. Except Isaiah's. He and I made that with pride.

October was also the month that I realized my baby was becoming a big brother, and I had lots of feelings about that. Look how big he looks at only 28 months old, making scrambled eggs for the family!

November

I almost hesitate to post these pictures because my local readers will shudder with PTSD. What a long, miserable winter.

However, I didn't know that at the time. When I took this happy picture of us doing our annual Martinmas walk, I was just delighting in my little family. This tradition is so beautiful to me, and I loved hearing the children leading Elijah in hymns as we walked along the grass snow by our parish.

And looky, a snow day in November. Did I mention we had at least one every month except September? (And, presumably!, June...).

Noah dressed Elijah in his snowsuit and took him out to play in the snow. It's just amazing having big kids in the house.

Another annual feast of Christ the King procession. Once again, they organized it, made the paper crown, and invited me to join in.

This also marked the weekend I began teaching Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. It's become a passion of mine over the course of this year, just as I suspected. It's been time-consuming to be at the church week after week to do this ministry, but it's so rewarding. I truly feel energized by this ministry and the children my co-catechist and I serve.

December

What a full, blessed month (as always). I love Advent deeply, I love sharing our traditions with our family, and now December also brings not only special feast days but also celebrations at school, too, and I love having that part of our calendar, even if/when it gets amped up for a while.

A rather blurry photo of Anna's first ballet recital where she did an adorable dance with her class to "Let it Snow." Oh my heart, she is a darling. She did a wonderful job and we were so proud of her.

We found out half-way through the month that my parents' annual Christmas trip to Ontario had to be cancelled. We were pretty bummed, until Patrick quietly suggested we would go to Halifax to them. And also HIS parents.

So, that, coupled with the fact that in previous years, our liturgical efforts to purchase a tree near the end of Advent ALWAYS had us scrambling, we went ahead and got one early-ish in December from the grocery store.

Patrick had to go away for a few days this month, and the kids were very disappointed to find out he'd be gone on St. Nicholas Day. Isaiah tearfully prayed that his beloved saint would make his appearance early, and low and behold, the day BEFORE St. Nicholas' feast day, books were by their boots, and inside those boots were some chocolates. It was a lovely surprise for them.

When he came home, we tackled gingerbread houses as a family. Of course I climbed onto the table at six months pregnant to get a good photo. I can't let my three or four blog readers down.

Elijah's careful sprinkling of candies was absolutely precious -- look at those sweet chubby hands hard at work. I am always mesmerized by very small children engrossed in their work-play.

It's like I was born to be a Montessorian... except, well, the messy state of my house says otherwise.



The feast of St. Lucy always brings much delight, when your sister brings you lemon poppyseed loaf in bed! This was the first year Anna could a) don her own costume and carry the breakfast treat without me worrying about her falling and b) the other kids didn't get in her way somehow.

And now I have a blog-blurb to commemorate it!

That crown was too small for her head that day, so I need to make a new one for this coming year. (I plan to do that during our summer trip in Halifax, when I can slip off to a craft store much more easily than I can in rural-middle-of-nowhere). I love this pattern a friend sent me a while back. Why not make two now that our female population has grown?

Just an adorable picture of my two littles at the kids' Christmas concert. This year, not only did they have the requisite song, they also had skating, plus cookie decorating and crafts, plus a hockey skills show. I vaguely remember hearing at a Parent Council meeting that planning and executing a Christmas concert is too much work for teachers when December is full enough already. Somehow this was the compromise...?

In any case, it was a great night.

On Gaudete Sunday we decorated our tree, knowing full well we'd only enjoy it for about five days before hitting the road to see our family.

The drive to Nova Scotia was blessedly easy, I know we had many people pray-fretting over us as we drove down. When we arrived, it was 10 degrees celsius. I went outside with a sweater on but no coat.

Do you know how miraculous this felt after spending a few months in the polar vortex?

I was delighted to be back in the parish I grew up in, and the parish where Patrick and I got married, as well as Noah was baptized. Many, many people I have known since I was a young child were surprised to see me, especially since I was noticeably pregnant with my fifth child. But you know what? Everywhere we went, if someone commented at all, it was to tell us what a good thing we were doing by having a large family. Strangers at Tim Horton's, the mother of an old friend from junior high, everyone.

What a surprise and encouragement.

And what joyful moments we shared! We enjoyed Christmas Eve dinner at my uncle's house, where his minimalist decor involved taping chocolate Christmas ornaments to a post by their string. My children promptly Marie Kondo'ed every ornament into their mouths that they could reach.

We enjoyed Christmas Eve Mass with babies, toddlers and big kids nested in by their grandparents, getting choked up hearing their innocent voices sing the carols.

And we enjoyed a very festive Christmas morning.

A lotta presents.
A lot.

My mom blowing up a balloon with an insulation company logo on it that I think my Dad got from the hardware store where he works. She's basically in her element here, playing with her grandbabies. Note to self: include balloons in future Christmas stockings. Such a simple, inexpensive gift but small ones get such a kick out of.

Patrick and I went out for dinner at the Keg for our twice-yearly date night. I got him a giftcard to said restaurant for Christmas so we HAD to use it :) . We ordered the same meal and the waitress said that's very common for married folk. Gosh I felt old. Especially because we were home by 8 because I was pregnant and tired and wanted to go to bed.

We also stayed at my in-laws' cottage where nightly games of Risk are a must. Dear Isaiah looks innocent in this picture, but is as cut-throat as can be. He relishes the fact that he has ousted me time after time in this game.

January

We kicked off 2019 with dinner at an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. Somehow two of my children managed to eat onion rings, fries and jell-o. Isaiah discovered he loves chow mein, though, which is significant, because he's the one I tend to think of as 'picky.'

Then we headed back to Ontario the next day, to embark on a month of polar-vortex-from-Dante's-9th-circle. School was cancelled multiple times because it was too cold out. Can you think of anything more ineffably depressing?

February

The misery of the winter carried on, so much so, in fact, that I created an actual Spotify playlist called "Moody February" featuring songs like "When God-fearin' Women Get the Blues."

How terribly apropos.

But... happier moments did take place. So let's focus on that.

Noah took part in our town's public speaking contest. He came third place!
His topic? Why Vultures are an Under-appreciated animal.

We didn't know when the competition was happening until two days before, so it was a mad dash for him to write and practice his speech. But we were very proud of him for doing this, and shall I say, amused by the topic.

Hashtag-Mommy-has-ornithophobia.

I also went on retreat. I know I already posted this picture and mentioned the retreat, but PEOPLE, it's a big deal to get away for a weekend when you're surrounded by a small army of your own making. Plus it's a big deal when an actual photographer offers to take your one and only maternity photo shoot and it's warm enough to stand outside without a jacket.

We spent a lot of cosy time reading aloud to our family. Isn't this picture so sweet, Elijah's jammies matching the cover of one of my favourite kids' books?

The most significant event this month, though, was also the most tragic.

Isaiah's beloved teacher died suddenly this month of a massive stroke. There were no warnings; she was teaching on a Friday, and then died that Monday.

She was a woman of tremendous faith, and she died with family close by and having received the sacraments -- a beautiful grace.

This obviously hit Isaiah very hard. The rest of us mourned her death too, as she had been Noah's teacher for a year and then Isaiah's in grade 1 as well. The adjustment period following her death was challenging, but the two supply teachers who came in after have been wonderful at accommodating our son.

Mrs. Coulas touched many, many people.

{Notably, right before her death, she had begun teaching First Communion classes for our parish. She made such strong impression on her students who were homeschooled -- so many of her homeschooled students came to her funeral -- that I can't help but wonder if she would be a patron saint of sorts of keeping Catholic education still Catholic, or perhaps, unifying the homeschooled and brick-and-mortar schooled children of the parish.}

We loved this woman very much. Rest in peace, Ingrid.

March

I woke up on March 1st and immediately put on "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson.

"Since you been gone / I can breathe for the first time."  So long, February. Thank you, heavens above, it's only 28 days.

And I was practically giddy I was in my due date month. (Of course, Clara hoodwinked us all and came seven days late, into April.)

Of course, the weather ended up abysmal this month, and I got hit with the third-trimester-crazies (AND lazies) hard.

However:

I said "yes" to pysanky. Dying eggs with dyes that stain, lit candles, and fragile eggs. Definitely better suited to life pre rather than post-baby.

(Also, scheduled during Elijah's nap. There's a limit to my ambitions and patience!)

I continued my work at Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Here I am presenting the Good Shepherd parable to the children for the first time.

How many times can I tell you, "I love doing this work"?

We also hosted my dear aunt for a memorable pre-baby visit. She showered us with boxes of diapers and ground beef from Costco -- basically one of my top love languages -- and played board games with the kids -- basically one of their top love languages.

My mom and dad came and we waited... and we waited... and we waited.

April

And we waited some more.

And then:

Our Clara came!

Clearly the highlight of this year, on every possible level. We love, love, love this baby. God always knows the exact baby our family needed, and she is the one for this season. Sometimes when I am chatting with her, because my-oh-my she chats and coos so beautifully!, Elijah will stay "Top it,Mommy! Dat's MY pretty baby!" And so I get out of the way so he can chat and coo with her.

We also celebrated Clara's baptism this month.  Look at my beautiful family! Aw.

She was baptised on Palm Sunday which I still need to unpack mentally -- the statues all shrouded in purple, the joyful waving of palms but the solemn reading and meditation on the Passion. It seems somehow fitting -- baptism being both a death to the old self and a mini-resurrection. What a beautiful way to celebrate Holy Week, with the smell of chrism wafting gently through the air from the top of my baby's kissable head.

This wonderful boy turned 10 the next day. He has grown so, so much this year and I am very proud of him.

His birthday was a quiet affair -- we had tacos and lemon pie at his request, and blessedly, Daddy got off from work when the big kids came home from school so we could enjoy each other's company and so that the birthday meal could actually be made. We gave him a rather extravagant gift -- a kayak! -- but we found it half-price and we've wanted one for many years for our family. He was delighted.

And then the other kids went to bed and he and I stayed up and watched "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat" together on Netflix while he snuggled his baby sister. 10/10 would recommend having a 10 year old for their humour, maturity, baby-whispering skills, and enjoyment in food documentaries.

We celebrated Easter as a family of seven for the first time. I know we went to Mass as a family, but truthfully I have no memory of that. Perhaps being 16 days postpartum contributes to my hazy memory of things? The big three went to the Vigil the night before, but Patrick took Anna home midway through the homily because she was so tired. She did a watercolour painting in her jammies then fell asleep at the table with me.

We had a lovely brunch together, though. I love gathering around the table with these rabble-rousers.

Easter baskets in a row. I'm still a bit surprised when I see so many of them all together. Five definitely feels like "big family territory."

Our traditional Easter Monday egg hunt. Elijah was so, so proud and excited by his finds. Clara in the background, not so much :)

And on Easter Tuesday, it was back to business as usual.

May

Anoooooother snow day to mark the first of this month.
I'm like a broken record, but how is this even real?

Things did perk up eventually, so there's that.

Like this sweet moment, one morning in May, while I packed the kids lunches. We are all so enraptured by this baby. And check out those cute jammies! She looks like a bowl of rainbow sorbet!

Isaiah turned 8, and we had the delight of my parents being here for the day of his birthday. Facebook memories showed up with this sweet capture of him and my dad eating cereal on his third birthday while I glanced at my phone in the morning...

And literally as I saw this picture pop up, this was happening in my kitchen. Their same fond love of cereal shared yet again, five years later.

His birthday was a lovely day. He got an Under Armour hat from Nana and Gooey, and like his brother the month before him, a kayak.

We ate hot dogs and cake as per his request, and I marvelled at what a joy he is in my life. Even as a tiny infant, he smiled with his whole body -- his shoulders would move in excitement to see us. And he is like that now still.

8 is a great age. And he is a great kid.

I paid a fond farewell to Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, but not first without introducing dear Elijah to the space. The fact that he will actually be old enough to join me in the fall amazes me.

I miss my atrium work but my family is collectively sighing a deep sigh of relief that Saturdays will be slower now.

We celebrated "Bay Day" in our small town and Anna got some beautiful face paint. Elijah took matters in his own hands and came up with this creation:

Of course, he was photographed for our local paper looking like the sweet ragamuffin that he is.

One more of Anna. Is it just me or does she not look quite grown up here?

Clara met her other grandfather and she was pretty taken with him.

Lovely Anna performed in her ballet recital to a sweet piano version of "When you wish upon a star." She looked hesitant at first but settled into the performance well, despite the fact that there were four hundred people in the audience! After she came off stage and I handed her a congratulatory flower, Elijah told her "Anna, you danced so bee-you-tif-fully!" He was clearly in awe.

And our tiny ballerina was not to be upstaged... this month also brought breakdancing for Noah, Isaiah, and yes, even Anna. While I did my final session in the atrium, my children did breakdancing and came home asking me to call up Run D.M.C. on Siri.

I almost burst with pride. This is yet another reason why I can't be a Classical Homeschooler-type mom: hip-hop over Handel.

Noah can do a mean coffee grinder now. (I didn't know this move had a name, hence I linked it for you to understand what I'm talking about.)

I think this sums up this near-summer phase. Bedtime is getting later, our schedule is ramping up. Elijah, dear sweetness, fell asleep at the table after dinner.

And this photo just melts my heart. The kids were glued to the window, watching Daddy come home from work. He snapped this picture from outside of them smiling radiantly at him, meanwhile I'm smiling radiantly at him, too (you can see my arms around Clara, not my face, though), because I was delighting in watching him grin at our three youngest. The dear look on his face, and the immense joy it gave me, reminded me of when Isaiah was born.





And now, it is mid-June. Time is FLYING and it has been a packed, wonderful, EVENTFUL year.

Here's to summer-ing with reckless abandon.