At our church, First Communion is still tied to Confirmation, but there is no age restriction for Confirmation. That's why my then just-turned-nine-year-old and seven-year-old were confirmed and received the Lord's Supper last Palm Sunday!

This is so timely...Happy National Lutheran Schools Week! :)

We lost all of our pictures recently, even though we had them stored in two places. I'm just glad for the ones I had uploaded to Shutterfly in the past...it was nowhere near our whole library, but at least I still have access to some of them... 10 years worth of photos of five children... :crying:

I love this recipe. Not the best brownies I've ever had (ironically, those were at the hospital where my children were born), but the best I've ever made!

I'm planning a Valentine's Day tea party/lunch. The only problem is, I'm having a hard time coming up with ideas for our meal that aren't only cookies or candy! We're going to make Valenswines this year, too, I think...it's been a few years since we've done those. Plus, the children really like making Valentine's for all of their family and friends. We're also going to read about the real St. Valentine, plus some other fun stories. I don't do a ton of stuff for Valentine's (your ideas sound great!), but I try to find a few special things every year.

I'm a day late, but here's my weekly wrap-up.

I don't know how to dance the polka, but I love the music. It must be my German heritage, and the influence of all my accordion-playing relatives!

I'm not sure this is exactly what you're looking for, because it's really a full-on bakery that just happens to serve breakfast/have a deli. But they do have beautiful pastry cases that make me drool (which was especially cruel last year when I had to go in there when I had gestational diabetes!). It's the best place in St. Louis to buy a cake (and other treats), imo!

I've been trying to come up with a way to explain how much I love fashion without sounding like a brainless idiot. It's not working. Fashion (good fashion), is an art form. It's beautiful to look at, and enhances the beauty of the wearer. Any woman, regardless of size (trust me, I know from experience!), can look beautiful in a well-designed garment. Fashion can help you express your personality and mood. I love it. I love looking at fashion on others (my favorite inspirations are Queen Elizabeth, the Duchess of Cambridge, and Mrs. Obama, because they always look appropriate to the occasion, age-appropriate, beautiful, and, most importantly, themselves), and I love wearing fashion (nothing too expensive, though!). Maybe it makes me shallow, but it is a top interest. I didn't always feel this way, but I learned first-hand (and not necessarily in a good way), just how important fashion can be!

The little round bones I always take out...but I think they're pretty easy to grab, because they're usually kind of connected. The thin little bones, however...if I happen to get them, fine, but if not, I don't think you can even tell. I don't worry about the skin, either.

I was going to say mine, too! ;) I also love Shower of Roses, and The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor (that one is just for fun!).

Week eighteen is done...I'm really hating long division right now!

I have to take mine off sometimes because I get a rash under it, but it makes me sad to do so! I have a fairly small stone in my engagement ring, but it reminds me of who we were when it was purchased, and that makes it all the more special to me. If I could wear it every day without any trouble, I would!

I had Kirsten (actually, still do). I did read a lot of Little House books, but the real reason I got her was to be different. All the snobby rich girls at my school had Samantha, so clearly I couldn't get her, and my "best friend" had Molly, and I wanted to be different, so... (I think Felicity had just come out at that point, so I wasn't familiar enough with her to get her.) I will always regret that I didn't get Molly, though. She's from one of my favorite periods of American history to study, she has glasses like me, so was the doll I really wanted. Part of me looks back at myself as a child and is proud of the fact that I wanted to be different, and the other part looks back and thinks how stupid I was not to get something I really wanted just to be different. How silly girls can be!

I know absolutely nothing about horses, but he is beautiful! He looks so proud and regal!

This was our first week back after Christmas vacation. Except for the whole long division thing, it wasn't a bad week!

This. I was certain I hated brussels sprouts. Probably because my mom just boiled the frozen ones until they were limp, but I digress. Anyway, we had an English-themed Christmas dinner this year, and everything I read said that brussels sprouts were an important part of such a feast. To be honest, I thought I'd make them and end up throwing them all out, but I wanted to have them for authenticity's sake. And then I discovered that when they're roasted, they're delicious! I'm still not trying lima beans again, though. I can't imagine any way those are actually good!

I'm terrified of heights. Especially bridges. Especially over large bodies of water. And at night, when you know the water is there, but can't really see it? Serious panic attacks...it completely baffles DH, who has no issues with any of those things. I'm another one that looks straight ahead at the road and sings if I have to drive over a bridge myself. But there are certain bridges that I will just not drive over. And there are others (Mackinac Bridge, I'm looking at you), that I'm pretty sure I couldn't even be in the car for. Even if I could close my eyes, and had had proper "liquid courage" beforehand. I don't like flying...it's been 15 years or so since I've been on a plane. It doesn't trigger my fear of heights, though...I just don't enjoy it.

When DS was 8, he had two baby teeth pulled. I knew they were coming in funny (like shark teeth), and brought it up at a routine cleaning. She pulled them then and there, before he had time to worry about it, and he barely even noticed it happening. I love our pediatric dentist!

I have a chili recipe that involves three meats...would that help? It's been very popular at chili cook offs... I also like stale bread soup...it uses ham, so it fits the meat criteria. No meat in this one, but we love cream of broccoli soup, too!

I love the whole time of Christmas, so I'm always excited to get to keep celebrating after Christmas Day. Every year, I threaten to leave our decorations up until Candlemas, but I haven't actually done it yet, although they do tend to stay up for a week or so after Epiphany. Advent is my favorite time of year. I love the waiting and watching and anticipation. We do Jesse Tree readings every morning, and the readings for the "O" Antiphons every night for the last seven nights before Christmas Eve. We read through one of the "Jotham" stories every year, usually in the afternoons. We also do our nightly prayers by the light of the Advent wreath...I think that's what I miss most when Advent is over. It seems to make prayer-time more serious, somehow. The days until Epiphany are for continuing to celebrate Christmas for us. I continue making special meals and/or desserts, we listen to Christmas music and watch Christmas movies, and just emphasize family time. We also enjoy special church services whenever they pop up. Since Epiphany is a Sunday this year, there's no extra service for it at our church, but there is a special service the night before, focusing on the sacred music of Christmas, so we'll go to that. Epiphany also happens to be DH's birthday, so we always have a big meal, and in addition to him opening birthday presents, the children all get one last surprise in their stockings. We don't do family Christmas gifts on Epiphany, because I don't want to totally overshadow the birthday celebration! I was going to have readings for the 12 days of Christmas, much like our Jesse Tree readings, but I never got around to finishing the ornaments...maybe next year!

I post pictures pretty often...your DH is right about that making the blog more personal and attractive. As far as I can tell, people really like pictures! I have a few basic rules for my blog. No nudity, no even shirtless pictures, and not even of the baby. I know some people don't have a problem with sharing pictures like that publicly, but it's something I won't do. I make sure that if I'm using pictures of my girls, and they're wearing skirts, that the skirts are where they belong, partly so they're not embarrassed when they look back on it. I may post pictures of them making a goofy face, or doing something silly, but I don't post anything that I think falls under the category of truly embarrassing...I'm saving those pictures to show potential spouses someday! ;) If they're ever uncomfortable with a picture I've taken, I don't share it. The only time this has ever come up is with middle DD's eye patch. She doesn't want me to share pictures of her wearing it, so I don't. In general, the children really like when I share pictures of them, so I haven't had any problems with it as of yet. Those are my "rules" for now...if circumstances change, then I'll look at changing them!

Almost always regular clothes, but we have the occasional "jammies day" for fun or if it's really cold or something. I've found that we all work better in regular clothes.

Our oldest daughter got Kit for her birthday when she turned six. She had wanted that doll, and only that doll, since she first saw her in the catalogue when she was three. I made her wait until I was certain she could be responsible with her. She's goten three more dolls since then, one as a gift, and two she saved for, and she's taken great care of all of them! I'm still not sure when middle DD will get her first AG doll. She'll be six on her next birthday, and even though she knows which doll she wants, she's flightier, and I'm not sure she's really ready for such a nice doll yet...

White Christmas The Muppets Christmas Carol The King's Speech (my very favorite movie!) Apollo 13 Hoosiers Ocean's 11 My Big Fat Greek Wedding