Deaver Worship and Conclave

Every now and then, the kiddos will get out their Mass kit and create an elaborate Mass scene. I walked down to this a few weeks ago…

 

All the stuffed animals were lined up and Batman was even in his church clothes.

Patrick was the presider and Dominic was the server. I think this time Jackson was the baby. “I get to play with toys and cry!”

 

A few days ago I found the three big boys in the living room. Jackson was standing on the couch wearing his Pope Mitre, hands extended over Patrick, Dominic and a row of stuffed animals.

“What are you guys doing?”

“We’re having a conclave!”

Love it.

Winter at the Farm

Many ions ago we traveled to visit out dear friends and Leo’s Godparents near Schuyler. The Faltys were great hosts and we had so much fun.

The highlight of the weekend was when we got sitters and went to a Mexican place in Columbus, just the adults.

Here’s the Luke and Marc I remember from college…

And Beth joined us, too!

The kiddos (7 of them. Baby Leo Faltys was content to watch) played so well together all weekend. They occupied half the weekend by sledding with sleeping bags down the stairs (a game crazy Aunt Beth taught them).

Thanks for hosting us. The kiddos are already talking about our summer trip to see Mary and Pete!

Pub Theology

So…here’s the looooong story of how Bishop Conley got to eat dinner in our dining room….

Months ago, Fr. Lux invited Bishop Conley to speak at our Pub Theology. He agreed and Fr. suggested that we offer him some type of meal before his speaking engagement. I offered our home, not sure if you can really even offer to have the Bishop to your house. Fr. thought it sounded like a good idea, and the Bishop, again, agreed!! We were thrilled. We spent a good deal of the month of March painting our bathroom and hallway and finishing various other projects around the house (because, you know, the Bishop is very particular about the color of bathrooms he uses….) We were telling everyone we knew! We invited Jake and Jena and their kids and had a full menu planned two weeks before the big date.

Then, a week before the Bishop was scheduled to come, one of the Knights of Columbus who is in charge of the parish fish fry asked me if there was any way the Bishop could make an appearance at the following weeks fish fry. The fish fry was scheduled to take place at the same time as dinner at our house. “He could still eat at your house, but just pop into the fish fry for a bit. Some of us at the Fish fry won’t be able to make Pub Theology and we’d really love to see him.” Luke and I discussed it and decided we were just being selfish keeping the Bishop all to ourselves. Having the Bishop eat at our house and go to the fish fry seemed to make for a very chaotic evening, so we just opted out of having him to our home.

And that’s where it was left until a week later-the day of Pub Theology. I randomly decided to swing by the church with the kiddos in the morning to make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament and after praying for a few moments, we saw Fr. Lux.

“Father, did you get my message this morning? I never got a confirmation from you that we were good with having the Bishop go to the fish fry instead of our house”

“I actually never heard back, but….I just got a voice mail from his MC….” He checks his voice mail on speaker phone while I listen “The Bishop would be happy to go to the Fish Fry, but would still like to eat dinner at the Deavers, if that works. I did send you an e-mail about that earlier this week…”

This was at 10:30 the morning of. Also, I’d been battling all day sickness and plenty of fatigue and had spent most of the week on the couch with a messy house to prove it!

Father: “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it. I’ll just let him know dinner at your house won’t work any more”

Me: “Noooo…we’ll make it work!!” For goodness sake, when the Bishop wants to eat at your house, you say yes!!

I gave Luke a quick call, “Dinner with the Bishop is back on! Please take off as much time as you can today so as to help me not lose my mind.”

I loaded the kiddos back in the car. “Ok….I have some great, great news for you all!” I told them. “The Bishop is coming for dinner tonight! It is going to be so awesome. That means we have a ton of cleaning and cooking to do today. I’m going to need you all to be super helpful or playing downstairs. We are all going to have to work together on this!” Patrick thinks about this and says, “That’s not good news…”

The rest of the day was a frantic whirlwind of choosing a menu, grocery shopping, and cleaning. By God’s grace, I felt pretty good all day and, miraculously, not even that stressed out about it. I really think if I would have been planning for him all week I would have been much more anxious about the whole thing, cleaning under the fridge, shampooing the carpet and doing all kinds of superfluous tasks. When I only had 7 hours to get ready, though, I just managed to do the best I could in the time allowed.

The Bishop, Fr. Rayer, his MC and Fr. Lux showed up at about 6:15. The evening was such a blessing to our family. I guess I thought we would talk about deep, intensely spiritual things and solve all the problems of the world, but instead, we talked about how the Bishop hikes 100s of miles on his vacations and likes to text Tim Miles (Husker basketball coach) in his spare time. It was amazing how relatable, personable and just human he was!

We chatted for over an hour over Shrimp Scampi, garlic bread, spinach salad and blueberry pie. The kids were really excited to see him and then really shy. After dinner, we got his blessing and took a few pictures. Of course, the pictures leave a little to be desired…

But, it is proof that he was, in fact, in our home!

Pub Theology went beautifully, as well. There were about 150 in attendance. The Bishop spoke about how he came to love the Catholic Church and then about the laity’s role in the New Evangelization.

 

There were people there from North Platte, McCook and Lincoln!

The rest of the weekend Luke and I would just look at each other, bewildered and say, “Can you believe Friday night? Can you believe we had the Bishop eat dinner in our house? That was one of the craziest/wildest/awesomest/greatest nights EVER!”

What a blessing March 22nd was!

Go Fish

We are so into card games right now. We’ll play as a family  many nights before bed but I’ll also find the three big kids setting up their own game of Go Fish or Crazy 8s or Bingo. It’s amazing to see how well these little people can play and work together and I am reminded nearly daily of how lucky they are to have each other. I almost feel a twinge of guilt for baby #5, who will be 3 years younger than Leo when he/she is born! I guess we’ll just have to have another in 18 months

Announcing…

Baby Deaver #5, coming in October! We are super thankful and very excited! We told the kiddos about a week and a half ago. D took the ultrasound pictures to school and Leo has been saying “We hab a new baby" and pointing to his open mouth. He is sure the baby is in his tummy! Name recommendations have included Max, Jessica and Table.

I’ve been feeling ok off and on. Every time I feel sick, I’ll tell Luke that I’m sure this is the sickest I’ve ever been and we must be having a girl! He reminds me, though, that I’ve been this sick every time. God just has a way of removing those sort of things from my memory!

Pretty much all my free time has been spent sleeping, thus my complete absence from the blogging world. I am starting to feel better, though and am hoping I’m on the down side of the morning/all day sickness.

I’ve been asked many, many times if I’m just begging for this baby to be a girl. It goes without saying that we know God will give us the exact baby that is perfect for our family at this time. That being said, I’m actually a little fearful of having a little girl. I just get boys! A little girl would turn our testosterone filled world upside down! We’ve gone both ways, but I think we are going to wait to find out if this baby is a little boy or girl until he/she arrives!  For now, we’ll enjoy being a family of 6!

A Day in the Life

I thought it might be interesting to document what our typical day looks like….you know…incase you need a cure for your insomnia.

5:45-Leo wakes up. Luke or I (who am I kidding? Always Luke) takes him a graham cracker and makes sure he has his water and his current love, a Lightening McQueen car which he affectionately calls “my racecar.” That probably bought us another 30 minutes.

6:15-We give into the fact that Leo is up for good, put him in front of the TV and turn on Umizoomi—his favorite.

6:30-Jackson and Patrick come up to join Leo in front of the TV. They come upstairs with smiles. Within minutes, a mild to extreme (depending on the day) battle over what is for snack and what is to drink ensues.

Me: No, you may not have 3 packages of fruit snacks before breakfast.

Patrick: I don’t want THAT sippy cup!

Jackson: NO! Don’t shake up my chocolate milk!

and 3 minutes later

Jackson: MOOOOMM…You didn’t shake up my chocolate milk!

6:40-spend a few moments talking through who is the “Kid of the Day” so we know who gets to choose the next TV show.

7:15ish-Dominic wakes up (although, as our sleeper, sometimes he’ll sleep until 8….lucky!) I take breakfast orders. Right now, Dominic is requesting omelets with mushrooms, cheese and ham. Jackson wants french toast sticks (which we almost never have) and Patrick and Leo can, luckily, be talked into just about anything (scrambled eggs, frozen waffles or pancakes or donuts made from biscuits).

7:45-Kiddos are finishing up breakfast and I sit down for my own breakfast. 2 or more littles are, inevitably, at my feet begging for bites. Didn’t I just feed you?

8:00-8:30-Kiddos get dressed. Jackson get super stressed because he cannot find his blue shorts that he MUST wear under his pants-even if it is 7 degrees out. Patrick begs me to go get him clothes because it is “soooo far downstairs and I’m soooo tired.” Dominic searches the house for his Husker pull-over sweatshirt. He’s worn it almost everyday since Christmas and I can only get it from him every 3 or 4 days to throw it in the washing machine. Luckily, Leo doesn’t care what he wears, so we don’t have to fight over that, but usually getting him dressed is like wrestling a greased pig and I feel lucky if he’s dressed before giving me any bruises.

8:30: Kiddos play while I run around cleaning up breakfast, starting laundry, cleaning bedrooms, etc. They play SO well together now. They are making all kinds of blanket forts out of various tables and chairs and can make an hour game with a Robin and Batman action figure. Dominic is the one who keeps the brothers playing well together. He’s a great problem solver and can almost always convince his younger brothers to take turns or share.

9:00: Go to the Y. The three big kiddos love Leap ‘n’ Learn and the teachers there are amazing. I love hearing them talk about their friends there. “Michael is the fastest boy ever, mom. Except God. No one is faster than God,” Patrick told me recently. When I’m on the elliptical, they’ll walk by to the track and wave and yell, “Hi, mom!” and sometimes I’ll even get the I Love You sign from Jackson, too. Melts my heart. I am SO thankful for the Y. My 45 minutes a day there with the kiddos enjoying their friends has been one of my greatest mommy blessings.

11:00: Kiddos clean up the living room while I work on lunch. They are really good at cleaning up, especially when they have a silly incentive, like a smiley face sticker on a chart which doesn’t mean anything.

11:15: Since I won’t give into Macaroni and cheese every day, we usually have it 2 days a week and leftovers the rest of the days.

11:45: Dominic runs around looking for his Husker Sweatshirt, if he hasn’t been wearing it all day and the glove he’s probably missing before Luke gets home to take him to Pre-K.

12:05: Luke and D are out the door. Not before Dominic gives a round of kisses and hugs and usually an extra kiss in my hand that I can save for later, incase I miss him Half the time Jackson chases after them once they leave, swearing he didn’t get his kiss and hug (which Luke never forgets). Luke comes running back to hug and kiss again—I’m thankful for that so I don’t have to calm an unreasonable 4 year old.

The twins and I play a quick game. Chutes and Ladders, the Superhero Squad version is a favorite right now. Or we’ll play Spider-8’s, Go Fish (one of 3 versions we have) or Old Maid.

12:25: The kiddos watch one TV, chosen by the Kid of the Day while I finish cleaning the kitchen or catch up on e-mail. Then, off to naps. For all four of us some days!

The rest of the afternoon is typically a bust. When the kiddos get up, they play by themselves while I finish up whatever I worked on during the wonderful silence of nap time.

2:45: Get Leo out of his crib. He stands up and says, “Can you carry my blankie? Can you carry my ah-wah? Can you carry my race car?” and then raises his little arms to be lifted up. He loves to snuggle right after he gets up is so warm and lovey. It’s the best. Some days, he’ll run and get a book and repeat over and over, “Let’s read a book, mom!”

 

3:15: We pick Dominic up from school. He’s usually excited to see me, but also restrained—it’s begun, I suppose. He climbs into the car and I ask to see what he brought home for me. “No, mom. Not until we get home!” I’ll say, “Tell me about your day” and then after he tells us a few things he’ll say to Jackson and Patrick, “So, tell me about your day!”

 

3:15-5:00-Dominic starts coloring or cutting almost the moment he gets in the door. Sometimes his brothers will join him or we’ll have projects or baking to do.

5:00-Clean up again and kiddos help with dinner or are shoo-ed to the basement-depending on my patience level that particular day.

5:30-Send kiddos downstairs with the TV and do a quick Shakedown (that’s the massive clean up at the end of the day meant to fool Luke into thinking our day was calm and peaceful and that the living room floor was visible all day long)

5:40-Spend a few, precious moments talking with Luke before the kiddos realize he is home. “Dad—I want to pick out your clothes.” Some nights he’ll change from his suit into an orange pair of boxers and a ripped, thin t-shirt because that’s what Patrick picked out!

6:00-Dinner. Kiddos go around and say their best and worst, starting with the Kid of the Day. Leo is the funniest to listen to. His MO every night used to be, “My best and worst dat, ummmmm……Daddy’s turn!” Now he will say a few things (whatever his brothers before him said, probably) and then say, “Ummm…pass to….ketchup!” then tip his head back and laugh so hard at himself. The other boys think it’s hilarious, too, which really get’s Leo going. “Pass to….orange cup!” and Leo again laughs at himself!

Some nights at dinner are so chaotic, we end up playing a 5 minutes long game of “Little Red School House” (a.k.a. the quiet game) so Luke and I can get in 2 words.

7:00-After dinner, Luke wrestles with the kiddos for a half an hour while I clean up dinner. Every bit of these little kiddos screams BOY! They could wrestle with daddy all. night. long. Usually, Luke just lays there while the four boys climb on him, pull at him, sometimes hit him, rarely bite him (Leo). At least one little ends up in tears or in time out. Apparently this is all fun and worth it though. This momma of all boys still just doesn’t get it!

7:30-Bath time. Luke has baths down to an absolute science and I’m usually in charge or lotioning and clothing the kids. Two at a time while the other two run around the house buck naked. Some nights I remember to close the curtains to keep the neighbors from getting curious about what kind of house we are running….some nights I forget.

7:45-Prayers. We ask the kiddos patrons to pray for us and pray for our family and friends. During Lent, we quickly walked through the stations of the cross. Amazingly, the three big kids could tell us all 14 of the stations by Easter.

8:00-Bed. It takes us a good 20 minutes to get all kiddos tucked in. Every night, the kiddos get one song or two, depending on how ready this momma is for her quiet time at the end of the day. Current favorites are “Where is Thumbkin?,” “Five Little Monkeys,” “Silly ABC’s,” or a random Easter Hymn.

8:15-Silence. This would be an excellent time for projects or catching up on my to-do list, but more often than not I’m just ready to sit and talk to Luke or decompress with an episode of the Office. Luke and I will hash out the days’ happenings and cute things the kids did. We’ll marvel at how easy it is to love those kiddos when they are sleeping!

10:30ish-Off to bed to get ready to do it all again!