First Communion

Parker and Iris made their First Communion on Saturday, May 4th, with all of their friends from school. They have been so excited to prepare and to receive this special sacrament. Grandma and Grandpa Hessling and Grammy all came and we enjoyed lunch at The Cheesecake Factory afterwards. The weather was beautiful, we couldn't have asked for anything more.

Lovely Day for playtime at the park

We have waited so long to be outside, Gabe and Cam are enjoying their time at the park.

Road Trip

The kids and I drove up to The Schoenstatt Center in Wisconsin, where Sister Marie lives, who leads my Mary Group. Our group and a couple other groups from Elmhurst collected gently used toys and clothes to give to some of the families in need that the Sisters serve in Wis. The kids loved seeing the Shrine and being part of bringing to those less fortunate, they really liked the gift shop and picking out something for themselves too. On our way home we stopped at A&W for lunch and of course, root beer floats. Then we made one more detour to the Jelly Belly Factory for the tour. Their favorite part was the ride on the train, Gabe and Cam both kept asking to go again.

Snowmen

We had so much fun making snowmen after school yesterday. There is nothing better than wet, sticky snow!!

Snow!!!

Finally we've gotten some snow. The kids have loved playing in it, eating it and sledding.

Martin Luther King Day

We had a fun day off of school and stayed warm at the pool, despite it being a very chilly 10 degrees. Camden had no fear of the water and went down the slides all by himself.
Parker reminded me when we got home that we hadn't celebrated Martin Luther King. We read about him after dinner and celebrated him with a frosted brownie cake. We talked about how our family is possible because of his dedication to Civil rights.

Trick or Treat

The kids had a great time trick or treating, Dad took the first half and Mom the second. Camden napped the whole time we were gone and missed out on dressing up this year. Oh well, plenty more years to come and he was festively dressed in a Halloween shirt all day.
Parker and Iris' friend Nora from school who lives one block away came and went trick or treating with us.