Celebrate Good Times

Go Ahead...pump your fist in the air to that familiar groovy beat...Cel-e-brate Good Times C'MON! Regarding today even the trivial has been fabulous!  I got a jumpstart to the day and actually awoke before either of the little ones let out their morning whimpers.  Who knows what time exactly Pete arose but at the very least I need to commend his awesomeness.  A little zonked from a productive weekend last night I drifted off to sleep on the ultimate sack with Augustine.  Pete tended to Luke, washed the dinner dishes, and got the trash out to the curb before coaxing me into to bed for a more restful sleep.  Earlier in the evening he finished the dinner I had begun (after all, he is the pasta master) and spent some quality time with Augustine so that I could take Luke for a hour long walk around the neighborhood.

So for starters let's celebrate those amazing people in our lives that lend a helping hand, inspire the slightest smile, or smooth our ruffled feathers when we're spooked.

Secondly, can I get a hip! hip! hooray!!! for getting in a forty minute workout, showering, doing two loads of laundry, completing correspondence with tenant, unloading  the dish drainer,  bathing Augustine, settling two youngsters down for their afternoon snooze after preparing them lunch, and scrubbing the floor (a chore I've been trying to get to for over the last week)?  And another hooray! for getting this blog posted.

Although it's been just over three weeks since the next events of note I will say that some of the time was spent rounding up the digital images from the parties.  I forgot our camera for the first and was too involved in the second to take pictures.

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Stephen James Francis III !  On October 26th the older of my two brothers married his beautiful bride Sarah.

The Ceremonial Vows

Exiting the Church among bellringers

Luke doubly decked with dress-up clothes and ding-a-lings

Augustine at the wedding

 At the reception, Luke was enamored by the punch fountain and easily ran three miles while at the hall.  Pete and I split the time chasing after him and had considerable help from Aunt Tess.  Although I'm usually more than willing to get in a good workout, I can honestly say that my previous conditioning didn't do much to prepare me for the mile long jog in 3 inch heels which hadn't been employed for at least the past six months!

Luke groovin' with hula hoop and glowstick

Twistin' with Luke

 It was an eventful week getting Luke, Augustine and myself ready for the rehearsal dinner on Thursday night without daddy because he had conferences.  It was our first "formal" dress up outing since Augustine's birth and I won't pretend that I didn't spend any time agonizing about what could go wrong.

Of course, ten minutes away from the restaurant I hear a tiny voice implore "potty" from the back seat.  A tiny voice that is smartly dressed in khaki pants, orange and rust plaid button down, brown casual shoes, and big boy underwear. "Don't go yet." "Don't go yet!""We're almost there." "Don't go yet." begs mommy from the driver's seat. As we approach the road upon which LaZiza's sets we are greeted by the devastating reflective orange circles that accentuate the stark black and white phrase "ROAD CLOSED".

I repeat my frantic "Don't go yet" verse as I turn with the flow of traffic and pull into a nearby Wendy's, lug the boys through the duo of heavy doors and into the ladies' room.  Grandma Francis joined us outside the bathroom doors having been dropped off after my quick phone call to inform her of the situation and the likelihood that we would be a little late because of the extra stop.  Despite the minor detour the night went swimmingly and without accidents.

The couple days before the rehearsal dinner I had spent making cookies for the cookie table at the wedding.  Here is a picture of the "oopses".  Apricot pinwheels, peanut butter sandwich cookies, buckeyes, split second cookies with blackberry jam, and haystack invention I made with leftover chocolate from dipping the buckeyes.


The wedding was great as was the reception.  A good time was had by all and it was the first time Aunt Kate and Uncle Andrew, in addition to most of the extended family, got to meet Augustine.

The weekend continued with Augustine's baptism at Christ the Servant Parish on Sunday, October 28th during the 11 am Mass.  Aunt Tess and Uncle Adam Maione graciously accepted the role of Godparents and many family and friends came for the Eucharistic celebration and the luncheon to follow- even the new bride and groom.  We are abundantly blessed with people to help raise the boys in the Catholic faith!

Schafer baptismal gown tailored by Aunt Linda out of my wedding dress gets another showing!

Augustine John I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Augustine with Godparents

The happy crowd

More recently cheers have filled the Schafer household upon the acquisition of a quarter of a cow and a half of a pig from great Grandpa Taylor and the Wise family in Randolph respectively.  Not having the freezer capacity of our own Viceroy helped deliver our consumable cargo to the Maione residence for safe keeping.  Grandma Francis seized the opportunity to deliver an early Christmas present and dropped off a new chest freezer last evening to help store our wares.  She and Luke had fun playing in the box too.

 Luke is a little chatterbox as of late.  Some of his ramblings are near impossible to decipher but other words we can discern despite less than perfect pronunciation such as "Yute" for Luke, "booot" for book, "moat" for milk, "yid" for lid, "fin-yer" for finger,  "teet" for treat, and "Aw-eeee" for Auggie. Other words he says quite clearly are "happy" and "honey" which surprisingly enough the pediatrician suggested using as a remedy to help ward off the sniffles since most other over the counter medicines aren't suitable for children under 2.

Grandma Schafer must have been practicing with him too because when my mom held up a picture of Sr. John-Mark and her fellow desert nuns and asked who it was, Luke confidently replied "Sel-weee" on more than one occasion.

He's handling big brother responsibilities pretty well and helps out by "gently" shoving Augustine's pacifier in his mouth and even shares his blanket (which he now denotes as "body" for some reason) by laying it on his unsuspecting younger brother.  The habit of kisses on the top of the head that began at the hospital has continued. It's pretty darn cute.  So cute in fact that it escapes a scolding even though Luke insists on delivering at the most inconvenient times.

Big brother kisses on birth day

 Augustine does what six week old babies do-mainly eat, sleep, poop and grow.  We did do a little dance last night, however, when we finally got him to take a bottle successfully after a few failed attempts.  We were scared mommy and daddy's date night on November 24th for my 10 year high school reunion may have been kaboshed!

Although I don't have pictures to document it, he has also started smiling and interacting with "coos" and "goos" this past week.  He is awake and alert a fair amount of the day and at his one month appointment measured 22" long and weighed 11 lbs. 13 oz.

October 25th (20 days old)

15 days old (first day in cloth diapers)

3 weeks

5 weeks old

Last but not least it seems I have landed a part-time job.  I'm pretty excited about it and both Pete and I think it will suit our family well.  I should be starting up after the Thanksgiving holiday. Sorry for the suspense but I'll give more details at a later date once they are all worked out.  Plus I have to prepare for a talk I'm doing in Pete's classes tomorrow on marriage and discernment. (Come Holy Spirit :-)  !!)

So long for now but please do send along any happy news worth celebrating.