Husker Baby

John was given tickets to the Husker game this past weekend against Northwestern. It was Lillie's turn to go and actually was her first game ever. His tickets were in the skyboxes so she had extra special treatment for her first game. Lillie is our #1 sports fanatic.  She will watch any sport, any time.  She usually keeps track of the score in a notebook.  She looks forward to Sundays as she enjoys the NFL the most besides Husker football or if Texas A&M is playing.  She thoroughly enjoyed the world series last week.  It is truly an experience to attend a Nebraska football game and to see the Sea of Red for the first time. 

The game was extra exciting with Nebraska winning in the last seconds with an incredible Hail Mary pass.  I was watching the game with the kids at home and we all screamed.  The first thing out of my mouth was, "OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!  I wonder what Lillie did?"  I immediately thought of her because of all the excitement in the stadium and she actually was able to witness this incredible play.  I called John and he told me she jumped 20 feet into the air.  She was overcome with all the excitement and actually cried when she came home because she was so excited.  She witnessed history and will never, ever forget her first Nebraska football game. 

Husker baby is 6 weeks old.

My little Brigitta

I always loved the scene from The Sound of Music when the children are first meeting Maria.  I loved when Brigitta walked in engrossed in her book unaware of the real world around because she was lost in the literary world.  I loved how Anne Shirley loved to read and Jo March devoured books like food.  My mother tells me that I always had my nose in a book.  I wish so much for our children to love reading. 

 Lillie loves to read.  What I love about her is that she is open to reading anything we give her.  If she sees me reading a book, she always asks to read it no matter what it is. 

 John promised her that if she read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings he would show her certain parts of the movie.  Very light-hearted parts and nothing that was too mature or scary for her.  She got right to it and read The Two Towers  all day long.  Every time I looked at her this day, she was reading. 

 Pictures like this remind me of the scene from Father of the Bride when Steve Martin is envisioning his little girl all the while she is telling him that she met a man in Rome and they are getting married.  I know when her older years come, this is the Lillie I will remember in my mind.

The Cast of Characters

The Lord of the Rings group.

What would life be like without children?  We certainly have had a fair share of days of adjustment with our new baby, but I think children must specialize in making life wonderful.  In their minds, they really looked like the character each picked with such diligence and that is all that mattered to us this year.  In my mind, I wanted them to go as something magical and matching and their hearts were set on something else with little touches that made the costume to them.  Zellie was a perfect example.  To her, she looked just like Arwen from "The Lord of the Rings."  She knew she did and that is all that mattered.  Dominic KNEW all the other boys were talking about Frodo Baggins.  

I have heard Halloween talk for months maybe even a year since last Halloween.  Daily discussions were had about who was being who and if we could look for this or that at a garage sale or thrift shop sometime "if I didn't mind."  We headed out to Goodwill last weekend with my intent to get something close to their desires. I had no idea how specific their small desires were and how important they were to them.  They had seen a picture of their character and that was that. 

Frodo Baggins.

Dominic is the easiest child to please and was so worried about spending any money on a costume.  I told him that we wanted to find a few pieces that Frodo would have worn.  I knew it was a long shot to find a Hobbit cape and WE DID.  I think both of us caused a scene at the store.  We shrieked with excitement.  I told Dominic that God winked at him that day.  He loves everything about Frodo, but his cape and ring are his masterpieces.  THEN, we found a leaf broach.  Could we have had any more fun?  Their delight is my utter delight.  I came home with an extra skip in my step watching them decide and search.

Tauriel from the Hobbit. I think Lillie came close to her desired character.

She was so proud.  She wore her costume to bed for two nights.  What happens to us that we lose that excitement? 

Eowyn.

Rose, too, is so simple.  I wish I could put into words how each character each child picked out really resembles them.  It was so interesting to me.

Arwen.  Zellie loves Arwen I think partly because she marries Aragorn.  Zellie loves love and Aragorn.  She was so pleased to be wear a wedding veil and knew she looked just like Arwen.

Galadrial

Vianney was dead set on being "Gwadriel."  I couldn't convince her of anything else.  All she wanted was crown and white dress. 

 Hild...child of Gondor.  I know, I know.  BURSTING with personality.  She hasn't come out of character.

Clairvaux "got" Halloween this year.  You know, the running from door to door filled with excitement.  We would see the older kids bounding ahead and then the little child of Gondor trying so hard to run so fast and keep up.  We actually teared up because it was so precious.  To watch her be big.  Last year, she was little.  Her little legs ran so fast, but was always ten steps behind.  She was out of breath and filled with excitement.

We followed our Chipotle tradition which is what we all look forward to most.  They get to order their own bowl by themselves.  That is fun when you are little, heck it is fun when you are big.

John let him wear his wedding ring for while.  He kept pretending to disappear.  I treasure that he still dresses up and was so excited all day. 

Blurred Glee.

I made the decision in my head at the beginning of the day that nothing was going to bother me about anything.  I prayed to embrace their excitement, special desires for all the small things that were important to them, and mostly I was going to enjoy their smallness today and be fully present.  They commented at the end of the evening over and over that this was our best Halloween. 

Painting our pumpkins first thing in the morning. 

We trick or treated around our neighborhood with John for a while.  A few of the little ones still have colds so he stayed behind while I took the older five to the famous St. Teresa's neighborhood.  We love stopping by the rectory to see Msgr. Nemec and visiting the School Sisters of Christ the King.  Before giving you candy and a holy card, they take you into their small chapel to pray that God keeps you safe and holy.  Msgr. Nemec gives everyone a blessing.  We see all their friends and love walking up and down this Mayberry neighborhood.

After we were finished, we stopped in the Church to say hello to Jesus.  I said a prayer of thanksgiving for a beautiful night with the big kids and leaned back to leave.  All the other kids were finished praying, but Rose.  I wish I could remember her face.  I have never seen her like this before.  She was in a trance smiling at the tabernacle.  She looked as if she was talking to Him.  She would lean her head over, smile, and then say something.  She would smile again and again.  She then came out of it and just looked at me so sweetly.  I told John later that I wonder who she saw.