Mariana's 3rd Birthday

Pardon the not-so-flattering photos of our youngest girl.  The beginning of November was when a long-lasting respiratory virus first decided to make its home at Chez Afelskie.  Joe was its first victim followed very quickly by Mariana.  Perhaps its a birthday virus, homing in on those born in November.  Interestingly, I finally succumbed in December, my birthday month.

Mariana was very fevered in these photos and only looked somewhat presentable thanks to a handy-dandy combo of Tylenol and Advil.

This face says:  give me Tylenol.

This face says:  give me Advil.

Do you see it?  Transformed by pharmaceuticals.

But, please don't mention it.

By the time we drew near the birthday cake, the fever had risen again and another dose of drugs was administered.  They were just taking affect as the candles appeared.

Poor little girl.  She actually lost four pounds due to this illness and there was no vomiting.  Weight Watchers, you've got competition.

Here's to next year!

Matthew's Baptism: photos and a tiny bit of text

First family photo in five years.

If you look closely, the baptismal date is actually incorrect and reads the 22nd of September. 

Mark and Yvette Bourque as godparents.  The Bourques are friends of ours from marriage prep and Yvette is the director of youth and family formation for our diocese.  Mark is an electrician at Base Petawawa.  Fabulous people.

Isaac and Sarah practising their parenting skills.

Below:  pre- or post-exorcism?

Matthew was baptised on the Feast of St. Matthew, Sept. 21.  For those of you in the Ottawa region, you might remember that as the day of the tornado.  While the weather didn't get that severe in Barry's Bay, we did start the baptism in extreme heat and under a tornado warning.   By the time Matthew was baptised, the heat was breaking and a massive rainbow arced over the town.  It was not until a week later when I was in Pembroke and looked up to see a rainbow that I realised the relevance of the rainbow on Matthew's baptismal day.  Matthew was born 17 months after a 12-week miscarriage that I experienced in March of 2017.  The miscarriage was quite devastating; I hemorrhaged and was brought by ambulance from our hospital to the obstetrical department in Pembroke.  I remember thinking, "Is this how it all ends?"  As it turns out, that devastation was not how it all ended.  Rather, the Lord had a rainbow baby in store for us and the reality of Matthew as a true gift from God was manifested by the rainbow that greeted us as we emerged from the church with our newest baptised child.  Awesome, in the truest sense of the word.

First day of school, a little late

 Benjamin (gr. 7), Joseph (gr. 6), Isaac (gr. 3), Sarah (gr. 1), Matthew (pre-pre-pre-school)

Real feelings.

Joseph, 10.75 years old

Benjamin, 12.5 years old

 Isaac, 8 years old

 Sarah, 6 years old

 Mariana, "Ummm."  2.75 years old

 Favourite outfit.

 Hannah, 15.5 years old (taken by a younger sister).

 Jacob, 15.5 years old (taken, again, by a younger sib).

Matthew, somewhere between 1 and 2 months old.  "Why are they always kissing me?"

All in a year

 Hannah took these photos of me last fall after the girls asked me to try on my wedding dress.  It still fits as it did the day we got married.  I actually think I look better in these photos because I had foolishly cut my hair short for our wedding.  (Don't ask.)  Over the past 16 years I have gained and lost 320 pounds.  No easy feat.  Well, the gaining part is, but the losing part is hard, hard work.  I gain around 40 pounds with every pregnancy and most of this happens in the first two trimesters which means that the weight ain't baby!  Truthfully, the weight gain is one of the hardest parts of pregnancy for me and I have to remind myself of the line from the Liturgy of the Eucharist:  "This is my body broken for you."  (I love the way both girls are looking at me with a sort of wonder.)

 Only nine months later this is the new body once again stretched, strained and a heck of a lot heavier.

This, however, is the person for whom that body was broken:  an immortal soul.  And he's pretty cute and cuddly, too.

It always comes

The end of summer, that is; the end of summer always comes.  While the weather is still pretty steamy and the kids just went swimming at a local lake before supper, school starts tomorrow and, thus, so does the autumn.

 The end of summer never officially arrives until Isaac's birthday on August 30th.  This year he turned eight and we celebrated at my parent's house with lasagna, caesar salad, garlic bread and a book cake.  Perhaps the book cake was an effort on my mother's part to encourage his growth in reading.  Whatever the reason, the cake was delicious and just seeing the photo makes me crave chocolate icing.  Fr. Joseph Hattie also joined us for the celebration and his presence was such a blessing to our family.

Two days later, the first of September, we celebrated Dave's 42nd birthday.  We ate leftover cake, ahem, and new ice cream bars down at the lake.  Hannah and I insisted on taking some photos of all eight kids.  It is far too easy to put off taking photos in the belief that a photo will be achieved the "next time".  The next time inevitably becomes the next time and the photo never happens.  Rather than allowing the perfect to be the enemy of the good, we snapped these amateur iPhone pictures and I am delighted with them.  (Any Lynch family readers:  note Jacob's eyebrow - the spitting image of Gran's.)

 Subtle variations on a theme:  are they really all ours?

The above photo was snapped a little too late as the light began to die.  The below picture was brightened up with the help of a filter.  I love these photos if only because the shocking height difference between the twins is just that, shocking.  I think that they are well on their way to achieving their birth weights as adult heights:  5 lb 4 oz and 6 lb 5 oz translate very easily to 5'4 and 6'5.

School starts tomorrow and Sarah, after an absence of two years, starts grade one full-time.  She is more than ready, but I feel quite sad that her six years at home are drawing to a close.  It seems that life is a series of endings:  the sands of time run swiftly 'neath my feet.

A huge photo dump in honour of a huge occasion

These photos were chosen and assembled by Hannah.  She also notes that she took almost all of the photos as well.  Because she knows her mom won't get around to it, Hannah also took the liberty of writing the post.  Enjoy!  We certainly are enjoying this baby.

During the first part of labour, a few hours after induction.

Active labour waiting for the epidural.  First epidural since the twins.  Amen.

The famous sign announcing an Afelskie's birth. 

 Another 18 years of help with the hay.

The Annunciation of Matthew John to Mariana Elizabeth Afelskie. Hannah was able to convince Grandpa Nick to give her his very good camera. So Hannah photographed Matthew and the rest of the kids holding him on his first day home.