12 pictures of 2016

Linking up with Bobbi of Revolution of Love in a photo review of 2016

January 1, 2016 ~ starting a year by the ocean is a good start.

In January someone turned 3!

In February Elisabeth made her first Reconciliation.

In April received her First Holy Communion!

May found us all out on our bikes.

In July we gathered with my extended family on the Outer Banks; 

and in August went to Maine with Charlie's.

In September Liam turned 6 while trying to 'catch them all'!

Oktoberfest!!

Pilgrim in the school play.

Ended the year bidding farewell to a beloved car.

Please head over to Bobbi's  for more photo recaps!

Ideas and options for books while traveling

   We live about halfway between both of our extended families and have for all of the kids lives ~ which means we are almost always traveling for the holidays. The kids are in general good travelers and I wanted to share some of the books we have found that help them pass the time so well.

  Of late Lisbeth has been big into mazes and these from Usborne are wonderful, interesting and since they get progressively harder she is not likely rush through.   All of the kids enjoy the write and wipe books and Usborne has a nice mix of instructional and fun ones.  The pages wipe easily and the pens provided have lasted well and not dried quickly if the kids don't remember to promptly recap.

  Another great option for us are the magic pens books; the pen last a long time and having just the one pen is easier for Caitlin to keep track of.  The link is to Amazon but of late I've had good luck finding them in the Target dollar bins in some of the kids favorite characters.

Finally another book series we like when traveling are these Melissa and Doug water pen books.  Tough to refill in the car but a great option while visiting since when the pages dry they are reusable and I don't have to worry on which wall or piece of furniture my frustrated artist might be drawing on.

 

Not a sponsored post ~ just sharing some faves.
Any good options I've missed?

Quick Takes #219: St Nicholas and Bye Bonnie

1. It feels good to be blogging again; of late blogging had felt like 'one more thing' and suddenly I'm again excited about sitting down and giving voice to thoughts and events going on around me.
2. St Nicholas was good enough to stop by and leave gifts of chocolate and toys. The hit for the two older kids were the Pokemon cards he left, for Caitie the Rapunzel barbie she received and the Elena doll Lisbeth did. The Bishop was kind enough to leave for me a couple of movies I've been wanting.
3. Big excitement last Saturday morning when car dealership called to say that the car we ordered had arrived!! Needless to say we rearranged our Saturday to go pick the car up.  This also meant saying good-bye to Bonnie the blue Subaru Forester we have had since January of 2001. She was the first new car we had ever owned and the car in which I learned to how to drive 'stick'.  We were still living in Houston when we got her and baffled the sales person by asking for the 'winter braking package' but we knew we were soon headed back to the Mid-Atlantic and its occasional snow and ice.
4. The new car is also a Forester and currently tentatively called Holly given the time of year and her red color.
5. Advent is going well; I'm really enjoying the Advent journal from Blessed Is She and the kids are having fun with their Holy Heroes Advent Adventure.
6. As is our tradition the plan is to get our tree tomorrow and will decorate it on Gaudete Sunday. Hopefully we will also get some outside lights up. Best laid plans?!?
7. Happy Weekend!

Please head over to Kelly's for more 7QT's.

Goodbye Ole Girl and Thank You!

Open Book December 2016

• Am still working away on The Life You Save and am well past when I abandoned it last time but will be reading it into the next year so while I will not finish all the books in the challenge I will be reading the book to fulfill the last category ~ so close enough.
• In addition to finishing Emily Climbs which I enjoyed and plan to soon read the final book in the trilogy Emily's Quest; I read The Blue Castle one my favorites of L.M.Montgomery's stand alone books.  A lovely story of a twenty-nine year old who has failed to marry and has largely lived her life quietly so as not to annoy her widowed mother and other domineering relatives; and how all of that changes when she gets a terminal diagnosis.  Yes I know the plot device is a common one but Montgomery does nice things with it.  
• I'm currently rereading Winter Solstice by Rosamund Pilcher a wonderful Christmas story of what happens to a group of people who find themselves snowed in together in a house in Northern Scotland. Pilcher does a lovely job providing depth and substance to her characters as well as the world they inhabit.
• Kid-wise I did want to share a couple of favorites this time of year. Last year Liam was gifted Samurai Santa by Rubin Pingk and loved it! It is a beautifully written and illustrated story about a young ninja student whose Christmas wish is an epic snowball fight and how Santa grants his wish.  Room for a Little One by Martin Waddell is one I remember the bigger kids liking and has caught Caitlin's attention this season.

Please head over to Carolyn's for more Open Book.