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I’ve been away from the blog all week. It has been crazy busy with Christmas and family things so I haven’t had time to post. I’m catching up a little today by posting a {pretty, happy, funny, real} and 7 Quick Takes Mash-Up. I only have half an hour, so I’ll set the timer…and start.

I just made a post entitled Ways to Help the Victims of Sandy Hook & Newton. There’s info on the Snowflakes for Sandy Hook, #26 Acts of Kindness and the letter from the sister of Fr. Luke Suarez, who is a priest at St. Rose of Lima parish, a Catholic church just down the road from Sandy Hook Elementary. Ten of the children killed were their parishioners. (Fr. Luke is the younger priest in the above photo.)

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I’m still shaken up by the Sandy Hook tragedy. The other day my mom called and when she started talking about it I couldn’t speak. The tears wouldn’t stop. I keep holding onto that feeling every time I start to complain about something. I just think of those grieving moms. They would give anything to have my “problems” as their only worry. Consequently, I’ve just been wanting to spend time with my kids and embrace our family life. Since I love snapping photos, Beth Anne’s #adventphotoaday has been a welcomed distraction to the news. Here are my favorite photos of the week.

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{pretty}

#adventphotoaday Day 15 – Something rose or pink. I saw this small pink rose on an almost bare bush at a local church.

#adventphotoaday Day 16 -Candle. From the Mission’s Blessed Sacrament Chapel.

#adventphotoaday Day 18 – Heart. This is my favorite icon in our home, the Sacred Heart/ Divine Mercy. We bought this on our honeymoon when we visited the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Redwood City. (It was New Year’s Eve of 1999. Everyone thought the world would end with Y2K. We figured if we were going to die, this was the place to be.) Now look, we survived Y2K and 12/21/12. God still has work for us to do. 😉

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{happy}

On Wednesday we had two Christmas performances scheduled. Here are my three performers.

A class of 3 year olds singing is both sheer cuteness and unintentional comedy. I love this shot of John-Paul afterwards.

Andrew was my little angel. So precious.

My sweet Bella sang with her class and I am still astonished that she is growing up so quickly! Wasn’t it just a short time ago I was cradling her in my arms??

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{funny}

I found Trader Joe’s at the end of the rainbow.

#adventphotoaday Day 20: Free Day. Matthew was dreaming of a White Christmas so he used the flour to make one. Ugh.

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{real}

#adventphotoaday Day 17 – Christmas tree. When I go to look for a tree I usually drive Brian crazy as I look for the “perfect” one. This year I rolled the dice and bought a tree that was wrapped up and didn’t open it until I got home. I got lucky. It was perfect.

#adventphotoaday Day 21- Christmas tradition/ decorations. Every year we add a new ornament to our tree. Here’s a few of my faves – 1. House – for the year we moved out of an apartment and into a real house. 2- Our 1st visit to Disneyland as parents with our own kids. 3 – Baby angel for the two babies we lost in miscarriage. 4 – A little stocking for the year I was surprisingly pregnant with Matthew.

For 2012, I added a set instead of one ornament. To represent this year of really embracing motherhood & homemaking, I have four knit animals to represent my four kids. (Thanks to Target, natch). There’s an owl for Bella, my oldest girl. An owl for Andrew, my oldest boy who is so fond of Bella. A bear for my John-Paul who can be cute & cuddly bear but also a grizzly when he’s mad. Lastly, a fox for my mischievous Matthew who can cause trouble but then give a cute smile and win you over.

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Okay, time is up and I’m 5 minutes over. Have a wonderful weekend and last few days before Christmas!