Standing Like a Stone Wall

Today was our last day with Dave, Jes and family.  I spent a lot of it gathering up all of the clothes and things that have made their way to all corners of their house.  We also squeezed in a visit to the Manassas Battlefield, the place where General Jackson earned his famous nickname.  I think it was the first time I've visited a Civil War battlefield without Chris.  I find them interesting and it's a great place to take the kids to run and explore.  Today was a little on the cold side and it started to rain toward the end, so we didn't stay long.  The funniest part for me was listening to the comments of my four year old nephew Matthew who would like to fire a canon and own every weapon we saw.  He inquired several times about when he can go and fight.  Jes suggested that he talk to Uncle Chris about the Marine Corps.  Mia, Grace, Sophie and Ella were much more interested in pointing out the animals they saw, chasing the geese, looking in the windows of the old stone house and turning the handle on the well.

contradiction?

Ella's cheesy grin

In front of the stone house, also known as "Jack's house".  Dave and Jes filmed part of their Jack and the Beanstalk skit here.

Back at the house:

playing Matthew's Clifford game--there's been a lot of that

Fashion Show--I bought Rachel and Mia matching outfits again 

and they were happy to pose for me.  They're naturals!

Tribute to big sis' Madeleine

And mañana...goodbye.  No fun but we're one day closer to seeing Daddy and Madeleine and that will be good for all of us.  Ciao for now.

Busy, Busy Family

Life at Dave and Jes' house is a bit different from ours.  It is never-ending activity and I honestly have no idea how Jes keeps up with everyone's schedule.  (That's one thing about homeschooling--people always ask things like "how do you manage that?" or they say, "I could never do that".  For a big family though, it actually simplifies things--in the running around department anyway.)

Jes was busy with tennis today and I decided to eat lunch at school with Rachel, Alex and Zack.  We opted against the school lunch special of the day and went with Chik-Fil-A instead.  They were all very excited to see us.  

Brilliant fourth grader

Second grade Alex

Alex and I have been good buddies ever since last year's Flat Alex project

Kindergartner extraordinaire

Zack likes to keep Grace on her toes asking things like

"What's 13 x 13?"

Today Grace told him, "stop asking me questions!"

Sugar high coming

This evening, after making my favorite lasagna recipe, I went with David to watch Alex's flag football practice.  Alex is one fast little guy, easily the fastest on the team--one more way he takes after his daddy (who ran around the track during practice and did an 800 in 2:33--then collapsed in the grass).

Afternoon on the Field

Go Pirates AARRGH

So, David is coaching two soccer teams this spring--Zack's and Matthew's.  Alex opted for flag football instead of soccer or he'd probably be coaching three.  Our whole motley crew went out for today's games.  It was a gorgeous afternoon, perfect for soccer or anything else outdoors.  The girls had fun cheering on their cousins and wandering on the hills and fields.  Both teams won which was fun and David did a great job coaching.  He obviously enjoys it and is patient and very encouraging of the kids.

It occurred to me more than once that it would be very fun if our girls were able to play on one of his teams!

Matthew on defense

Awarding the patches at the end of Matthew's game

Running the tunnel in celebration

Very cute close up of Zack who scored two goals today

Post game pow wow

Sophie stuck close to Dave as much as she could

She's a fan!  (And maybe a future soccer star herself)

Speaking of Trees

Up a Tree Posing

So, another thing about trees is the protection they offer, along with a feeling of comfort and safety.  I wonder whether that was part of the reason Zacchaeus climbed the tree.  The emphasis is always on his height and his desire for a bird's eye view of Jesus but, given his status as public outcast, he may have also wanted to escape the notice of his neighbors and even our Lord, participating in the scene as a silent observer.

I can relate to sometimes wanting to step back and observe for awhile, to stay hidden and just breathe.  And when the break I'm taking is up a tree, the change in perspective can also be helpful.  (And if I'm really lucky, it takes a little while for the kids to find me :)

Up a Tree Waiting

So, you may have noticed Frodo Seven's new theme--or maybe not because of the super-small font in the header.  In any case, as I mentioned in an earlier post, 2010 got off to a fairly rocky start at Casa Doyle and life has changed a bit since then.  "Stepping Out of the Boat" didn't really fit anymore.  "Up a Tree Waiting" refers to another of my favorite stories about Jesus.  You can probably guess which one.  It involves an invitation and an eager response that changed everything for a lonely, sinful man.  

I have always loved trees.  I spent hours up the tree in our backyard growing up.  I would stand on the picnic table, swing myself up, perch and read.  I finished A Separate Peace, Little Women and Pride and Prejudice among others up there.  I nodded off once and almost fell out which would certainly have involved broken bones but fortunately, I woke up in time to avoid that.  As I said though, I love trees and being up one is a peaceful place to be.  And I do feel a certain peace in the aftermath of the recent struggles our family has  gone through.  Things are clearer somehow.

Then there are the big decisions looming on the horizon.  Between homeschooling, Chris working at home and our big family, we have outgrown Casa Doyle.  Space-wise, we could certainly make it work.  It's the multiple uses of the space that are a challenge and Chris has had a darling daughter burst in on one too many teleconferences.  So, we're replacing our roof, doing some painting and making the place shine as we prepare to put it on the market.  Please pray for a good buyer who will take good care of CD.  We will miss it.

"Up a Tree Waiting" is a good description of where we are right now.  Waiting for an invitation or at least the next step.  Waiting in preparation and enjoying the peace and blessings in our lives--in particular, each other.

(I will finish my re-introductions when we get back to Texas and I can take pictures of two of the three of us left to be featured.)

Photos of the Day:

Tara, our 8 kids and I met our cousin Rebecca and her five kids at a big, beautiful park in Haymarket today.  Mia and Grace made fast friends with Rebecca's two girls, Sophia (9) and Helen (7).  Mia and Grace typically share their friends so it was fun to see them head off in pairs.  It was crazy windy and parts of our picnic lunch blew away more than once.  Rebecca filled me in on the homeschool scene in rural, VA and it was great to catch up.

Rolling down the hill

Cloud Gazing

Girl Power

These guys are second cousins.  Tara and I have 30+ first cousins on our mom's side.

Niñas, niñas

Hello again and welcome to Day 2 of re-introductions.  Today, we are featuring Doyle Dames #2 and 3.  Below is Grace of the many names.  I call her Maggie G, Baby G, Gracie and Graciela (Graciela is my personal favorite).  She is a rough and tumble, spunky 5.5 year old.  I think it's fair to say that she is responsible for the development of most of our especially creative parenting/ survival efforts.  She has a great sense of humor that her sisters don't always appreciate.  She loves to be outside and enjoys animals of any kind.  She has recently started asking some interesting and slightly random questions.  My favorites center around the amount of gas in the car, whether we need gas, what would happen if we ran out of gas etc.  She also wants to know when I'm going to take her to Paris (not sure where that came from).  I'm trying to steer her toward Ireland or Spain but who knows--maybe we'll make it to all three.

The bottom of Grace's Easter dress.  Technically, it's an Italian scene but it reminded me of her dream of going to Paris so we'll pretend.  Chris voted against matching dresses this year so they all had their own unique dress for the first time ever.

Amelia Rose "Mia", age 8.  The picture above was my favorite of her birthday photos.  Mia is a quiet, sensitive kid.  She has been telling us for awhile that she plans to be a nun and has been asking me about the different orders.  (Grace wanted to be a nun for awhile as well but has decided she doesn't want to live too far from us--we'll see how long that lasts).  Mia is a spiritual kid who readily participates when we say the rosary and always has a list of intentions ready at the end of the day.  She is thoughtful and generous and loves it when she can spend time one on one with big sis' Madeleine.

A few bonus photos of precious moments in VA.

At the top of the Woodstock tower.  It was a gorgeous day.  We saw hang gliders, blue skies, spring flowers and Camp Kreitzer from the top.  Grace got nervous on the drive up as she looked at the sheer drop on one side of the road and I had respect once again for my crazy siblings who have done the "Tower Run" more than once.

Photo by Mia on the walk back from the tower

Me and G

My little brother, David, soccer coach extraordinaire.

Chris had a great time helping him out at this practice.

Finally, best buddies, Lauren and Sophie.  We are at my sister Tara's right now and the two of them are inseparable.  Despite appearances, they have a lot in common.

OK that's all for now.  Ciao.

Let's Try This Again

OK--I'm going to try this again.  Getting back in the saddle of regular blogging has been a challenge but I'm not giving up!

Since it's been awhile, I'll start with re-introductions of our cast of characters for anyone who needs a refresher.

Meet Ella, age 2.  Here she is in her Easter dress.  I couldn't resist the tulle.  Ella is super-sweet, polite and, surprisingly, very compliant.  She loves her sisters.  She pals around with Sophie, shares her room with Grace and lets Mia and Madeleine carry her around and help care for her.  She loves animals, especially dogs.  She sings and dances and enjoys Mickey Mouse, Elmo and Big Bird.  She's cuddly and often says spontaneous "I love you, Mommy"s.  She recently got her very long hair cut into a cute bob that makes her look just like big sis' Madeleine who sported the same do at age 2.  Here's a look at the back.

Sophie Ruth, age 4, is definitely fun-sized.  I joke with her that she joined our family one morning when we walked outside and found her in the dew under a leaf.  She is all-girl and would wear a dress and fancy shoes every day if I she could.  She loves princesses, dancing and her sweet rag doll Harriet who is much more rag than doll--we're all sure she is "real" by now!

Here is Sophie hunting for eggs at my brother David's house.

It was so warm that all of the kids played in the water and then hunted in their bathing suits.

And, Sophie never, ever wears her shoes on the right feet, something I have resigned myself to. 

Bye for now.  Stop back by to meet more of the Doyle dames.