2009 in review/ Co robilismy w 2009 roku

From 2009-05-15

It's been a while since I posted anything. I have been reflecting a lot on 2009. What did we do?

In January we celebrated Scott's birthday and started thinking about a possibility of going to Poland for a visit.

From 2009-07-20

February was marked with Julia's Birthday and definite plans of going to Poland. We also welcomed Caleb and Dominik, our twin nephews to the family. We started making plans for our trip.

March was marked with anniversaries: Julia's Baptism Anniversary and Elizabeth's First Communion Anniversary. On the 25 of March we (I, our three children and two friends) flew to Poland. I and the children were there for 6 weeks (it was the first time to be in Poland for so long ever since I had left in 1995).

April was filled with all things Polish. We went to Czestochowa and celebrated the fourth anniversary of Pope John Paul II's death. It was wonderful. Elizabeth wanted to see the uncovering of the icon of the Black Madonna, our Lady of Czestochowa.

From 2009-05-05

Since we were taking a tour at that time she insisted we had to go back the next morning. It meant getting up at 5am to go to the Shrine. The Lord was wonderful and faithful and we had "front seats" in the Chapel. We stayed for the Mass. Afterwards we made our devotional Pilgrimage on our knees around the icon. I prayed for the gift of another child. We stayed with family. It was really good to see them. I was also able to vist the Little Sisters of Jesus. What a delightful visit that was. We came back from Czestochowa spiritually inspired. What a wonderful trip. We had a wonderful Easter celebration.

From 2009-05-05

Elizabeth threw rose petals in front of the Monstrance in the Easter morning procession (Polish custom). My grandmother was able to see her wearing her First Communion dress on Easter Sunday. She was very happy about that since she was not able to come to our house for Elizabeth's First Communion. Our friends left after Easter.

From 2009-05-05

We went to Warsaw to pick Scott up from the airport. He was able to come for two weeks. We celebrated my birthday and went to Lublin, where I got my master's in philosophy. It was so wonderful to be there again. It's the Catholic Univeristy of Lublin, where Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II) had taught before he became the pope. Seeing some of my professors and friends was a big highlight. We celebrated my nephew's birthday and my nameday. Oh, busy month!

From 2009-05-09

During April, while we were in Poland, Scott was working, as well as, taking care of our friends home & dog (a beautiful husky who liked running with Scott to the park and Depot Town.)

From 2009-05-09

In May we celebrated my sister's nameday. Shortly after that it was time to go "home". We all were together again as a family for the return flight back to the States. Coming back was difficult for me as I missed my family, friends, and my homeland.

From 2009-05-05

The girls studied Suzuki violin with a Polish Suzuki trained teacher who was wonderful. We had so much fun. We visited a few Montessori schools. I and my friend Patti, who is a Montessorian gave talks at the Polish Montessori Association. My article was publish in their publication. We went to parks, met with friends, took train, tram and bus rides. We bought lots of books and Montessori materials in Polish, which we brought back "home" to the US.

From 2009-05-05

Also in May the girls started their sports program close to our house. They played soccer in the first session. Scott and I coached it. We all had fun doing it. The second session was all T-Ball. Scott and I celebrated our nineth (9th) wedding anniversary.

In June the girls had an informal violin recital. They did very well. We also went to the Suzuki Violin Family Camp at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. Even though it was very intense we were very glad to have gone to it.

We kept up with the lessons thoughout the summer with a short break in August. We went to our teachers house and since her youngest daughter is only one year older than Elizabeth the girls really liked going over there and staying for some play time after the violin lessons. It was a lot of fun.

In July we went to Cleveland for a week. I took Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Training Level III part I. The training was wonderful. I really like the trainer. The kids and Scott went around town to the Botanical Gardens, the Zoo, Money Museum, etc. They had fun.

From 2009-07-22

August marked the beggining of our school year. We decided to do three weeks of school and one week break and go all year round. It's been a good decision so far. On the feast of our Lady of Czestochowa we found out that we were expecting the birth of our fourth child.

September was hard for me with nausea and loosing weight. We also started our individual and group violin lessons. The girls started choir and Little Flowers Girls' Club. We celebrated Scott's nameday. We found out that Julia was allowed to prepare for receiving her First Holy Communion early. It will take place at Easter of 2010.

In October we celebrated John Paul II's election day anniversary. We also celebrated Elizabeth's eighth birthday. It was wonderful (time flies!). We went to see Strega Nona and the Magic Pasta pot performance at the Wild Swan Theatre. Grandma Dixie, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Tomek, Ania, Caleb and Dominik were able to join us for that. We had a pasta party at our house afterwards. The girls had a violin recital. Again they did great.

From 2009-07-20

November was marked with Thanksgiving, Karol's birthday and his birthday parties. We also celebrated Elizabeth's nameday.

December was peaceful dedicated to Advent and awaiting the coming of the Messiah. We did the Jesse Tree, out Advent Calendar and Road to Bethlehem, which we fill with stars for kindness, prayer and chores. We also read a wonderful book entitled Advent Stories each night of Advent. I organized a gift wrapping party for the Little Flowers Girls' Club in December. It was a lot of fun and we had a lot of gifts to gifts to give to Pregnancy Counseling Center. Julia made her First Confession. She was beaming with radiance as she left the Confessional. Christmas was a wonderful celebration. The girls sang in the Children's Christmas Choir at Mass. We had supper with our friends who live near by. It was so much fun. The day after Christmas we went to visit Scott's parents and stayed overnight. Our kids are always very excited to stay at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We got lots of wonderful presents. At the end of the year we focused on organizing our house for the new year. But that's for another post.

Suffice it to say that Scott has been working hard at St. Francis. He enjoys his challenging work and is very happy to work for the Church. He is also proud of our kids and family. He tells us every day the words from the Gospel according to Luke 3:22, “You are my beloved [family]; with you I am well pleased.”