Tradition--Tradition

This post is dedicated to my little brother Neil who is turning 30 something this month.  You are one of the people that made these traditions special and I love you!

One of my fellow bloggers--you know who you are--requested that people leave comments on a recent post telling about special holiday traditions.  I commented that we have too many to list in a comment section and that I would blog about them on Frodo Seven as they come up this season.

Before I do that however, I thought I'd write a background post about the history of our traditions and what coming home for Christmas means to me.

The sad reality is, I can never again truly go home for Christmas.  For me, "home" at Christmas is 2503 Lisbon Lane Alexandria, VA.  If I were to ring the bell at that address these days, a stranger would open the door on a room that I wouldn't recognize.  Not too long ago though, it was my home, the place where, especially at Christmas, I was surrounded by the people I love, doing things that bonded us as a family.  

I am the oldest of five and I think I have the best parents anyone could ever want.  They gave us everything we needed and more and although our Christmases were humble, they were full of meaning.  I have fond memories of doing Advent wreath and putting out shoes for St. Nick.  I have even more fond memories of Christmas Eve when we would finally decorate the tree we'd chosen from our parish tree lot.  My mom painstakingly arranged the lights.  Dad brought down the chocolate Santas which we would all try to hide in various places on the tree in order to get the last one.  There were new ornaments for our ornament boxes, Christmas carols and cookies.  Our Christmas music was all on records (and if you don't know what those are, well, I don't know what to tell you).  In the evening, we would go to Mass, eat dinner, have birthday cake for Jesus and then process through the house with candles and the figures from the manger, blessing our home for another year.  

At some point in my childhood, I came up with the brilliant idea that my brothers and I should have a middle of the night party to check out all of the loot, drink Sprite and eat Fritos and bean dip (gross!).  I remember walking to 711, buying our stash, hiding it, setting the alarm for 2AM, getting up giggling and playing Pitfall on the Atari until all hours of the morning.  Little did we know that after the first year, our parents had caught on to our escapades but let us continue in the interest of sibling bonding.  They did start wrapping the presents in our stockings though.  We held those three person parties* for many years until our love of sleep finally overcame our love of....Fritos? (I still can't see a can of bean dip without thinking of my brothers--thank you for always being up for my crazy ideas!)

I think there must be a part of heaven that looks exactly like that house on Lisbon Lane.  For me, it was the house that Love built.  

More on Doyle Family traditions tomorrow. 

*I have to apologize to my little sisters Tara and Jamie who missed out on the middle of the night party fun.  By the time you were old enough, I was too old.  Lo siento.

A Harry Potter Holiday

This was the result of the "big" shopping trip in preparation for Thanksgiving dinner.  I was a bit skeptical when the groceries didn't even cover the bottom of the cart but Thursday's meal was a bit like the room of requirement in Harry Potter--when food was needed, it appeared.

So, as you already know, we spent the week of Thanksgiving with Chris' brother Kevin and family in their beautiful new home in Lenexa, Kansas.  This trip took us a long time to prepare for between the winter clothes, clothes for church and clothes for our family photo shoot.  It took a day and a half on each end to get organized.  But it was worth it.  We had a lot of down time as well as a couple of trips to Lawrence and for me, a visit with an old friend.  I hope you enjoy the photos:

Madeleine was thankful for food, Mia--family, Ella--Grandma, 

Sophie--Harriet and Grace--sisters

Madeleine was like the energizer bunny.  She's a fantastic cook (I think she gets it from Grandma K. because for me, cooking is a necessary....well, not my favorite thing)

She enjoyed working alongside her Aunt Abby.

Madeleine's favorite holiday--guess why

satisfaction

the trytophane effect

there was ping pong

(an action shot)

a little octopus

some red rover

(at one point, I looked out the window and Chris and Kevin were just standing holding hands for no apparent reason.  I got all choked up imagining them doing that as little boys--Chris assures me they never did that--I don't believe him.)

Kenny Felt, our fearless photographer

KU bound?

Charming Sophie has Uncle Kevin wrapped around her finger

mad bunnies

best buddies

a Jayhawk mermaid?  That's silly!

A last pile on

As you can see, Mia has been here.

Thanks for the visit guys!

Ella is still saying random "Ce-ci  Doy-le"s

The Day After

sad snowmen face the Texas sun

What a difference a day makes.  I ran this morning under sunny skies and saw snow and ice melting all around me.  Of course that's what makes yesterday so wonderful.  It was rare and unexpected, almost miraculous .  I stopped by the grocery store briefly just as the snow was beginning to fall and at least five people were standing by the doors taking pictures with their cell phones.  There's nothing like scarcity to make a person thankful.  Here are a few more photos of our fun snow day:

Snow in Texas

So, I've been having quite a few quixotic moments lately--moments when my idealistic vision of how things could or should be comes smack up against the reality of how they are.  It is times like these when I say the Serenity Prayer and remind myself to focus on the things I can do and leave the rest to my heavenly Father who loves me and wants the best for all of us.

Today, I got a visual reminder of that love.  I have never lived in a place where snow is a common occurrence, so it is always magical.  And when the sky opened this afternoon dropping the biggest, wettest flakes I've ever seen (on Houston!), I felt like crying.  La Familia Doyle was voluntarily snowed in in the place where we are surrounded by those who love us best of all.  And when I think about what I can realistically do about the things that discourage me, I always come back to our girls who we are putting 100% into raising to love the Lord, their Catholic faith and their family.  I'm thinking the results will be as extraordinary and delightful as snow in Texas.

Semester's End

So before I talk turkey, I thought I'd tell you about my last class of the semester.  This fall, I taught a beginning conversation class.  It met one day a week and I had more students than I've ever had in a class at Lone Star College.  Tonight, I gave them a final review and then we all headed to a Mexican restaurant for a last hurrah before the final exam.  

There were fifteen of us counting the two significant others who showed up and all of us spoke mostly Spanish--even the waiter who, ironically, was a gringo.

I had a wonderful time.  I love my job and can honestly say that I would pay the college to let me do it (though I doubt Chris would go for that).  My students are different ages, from different places and from all walks of life but when we get together to learn Spanish, we are all a part of a supportive community, cheering each other on to succeed.  I hope that when they remember our class, they think of me as a teacher who not only knew how to teach but knew and cared about them as people.  Because I do.  Whether they know it or not, they give me as much as I give them.  

I am blessed to have the opportunity to continue with this particular group next semester.  So tonight was not goodbye but "hasta enero" when we will continue our adventures together.

Travelling

I wrote this one on Saturday before I discovered my missing photo cord.  Now that it's safely back at CD (thanks to Uncle K!), I can continue with the Chronicles of FS.

Safe at home....we enjoyed a day of sleeping in, unpacking, re-aclimatizing and preparing for Advent.  Chris and I always enjoy long car trips because we use the time to talk, listen to good books on CD with the kids, say the rosary and play games.  This trip, we also had an extensive pro-con discussion with the kids about whether we should spend the night in a hotel or drive the twelve hours straight home.  The cons won and we drove all the way through, arriving at Casa Doyle at 2:30 AM.  

We spent our Saturday cleaning out the car, raking leaves and admiring our neighbor's new Jack Russell Terrier.  The girls' pleas for a pet have reached a new level.  I am encouraging them to practice sympathetic joy and to simply be happy for their behind-the-fence friend Analise.

The following photos should illustrate the fact that we do things a little differently in Texas.  In most places, kids jump in leaves in scarves, hats, coats and gloves.  Not in Texas!  After braving the cold for a week, we are glad to be back.  OK--tata for now.  Next up--turkey!

Where's G?

I have a photo of Ella in the leaves.  

Let's just say she didn't take to the adventure quite the way her sisters did.

More Words

So, my camera cord is in the mail...in the meantime, here are more words from Frodo Seven.  Today was a good day--one where the planets aligned and I actually crossed off most of the items on my to do list.  It was laundry day.  I like laundry day because by the end, I always see a lot of progress and I know that that is one task that I don't have to think about again until next week.  I also did a thorough cleaning of our bedroom and came up with a big bag of things to give away--another of my secret fixes.  (Those Good Will guys love me).  

Late in the day, Madeleine and I met with her orthodontist.  He's an older gentleman who's been in the business over 40 years.  I had planned to shop around and interview at least three doctors before settling on one but I liked this one so much we're putting on chips on him.  When he found out we have five girls, he was very interested in gaining our business so I think he'll do a good job.

The highlight of the day?  Tara is signing up for her next marathon here in Houston on January 10th!  And Chris will be running the second half with her to spur her on to Boston.  This is her race.  I know it!  Please pray for her and happy second day of Advent, everyone!  

Oh--and you go, Wilson!