Mommy Takes a Retreat

Hey, Mommy here. From Friday 3/11/11 through Sunday 3/13/11 I enjoyed a retreat in Ocean City MD. I have known some of these people for almost 11 years during my journey to a life of peace and serenity. Plus, I always like being in my old stomping grounds of OC, MD! I lived there the summer of 1990 between my junior and senior year of college. It's hard to believe that was 21 years ago!!

Here's a shot taken early Friday 3/11/11 evening from the balcony of my hotel room. I could see the beach!

On Saturday 3/12/11 I took a walk on the beach during my morning break:

Had to make a movie for the girls:



And take a picture for them:

My friend Kaye had twisted her ankle pretty badly before the retreat. So, we asked the hotel staff if they had some kind of wheelchair for the beach. They did!! It was so amazingly windy when we went for a walk during the afternoon break on Saturday 3/12/11. Here are some pictures of those of us who braved sand blowing us in the face! And I braved pushing that big honkin' chair. Boy was I sore after that walk.

Debbie, Manuel and Kaye:

Manuel, Me and Kaye:

Kaye getting her groove on in her chair we started calling a "Moon Chair" because it looked like something you would push on the moon!



Here are pictures of the sunset on Saturday 3/12/11 from my hotel balcony:

I woke up early on Sunday 3/13/11 to see the sunrise:

Then I drove to one of places where I worked way back when that summer - The Fudge Factory. Ironic since I was at a retreat for Food Addiction Recovery - you gotta love that. No more fudge in my life!!

It was a wonderful retreat and I left feeling refreshed and renewed. I'm so grateful for the life God has given me!

And what did the girls do while I was away...

Isa ran around the living room in circles on Saturday 3/12/11:





And she put on a show for us when I got home on Sunday 3/13/11:



And she and Xia had a blast with the shopping bags on Monday night 3/14/11 after I took Xia to dance and she and I had bought groceries on the way home. It was late and we were all punchy!

Mardi Gras 2011 and Bats...

On Tuesday 3/8/11 we celebrated Mardi Gras with the Volpes (just like last year).

Here's Jim, Silas and Heather enjoying the feast of pizza and cheese curls (what else would you eat before Lent begins?):

And here's Gianna (well the back of her head anyway), Isa, Xia and Isaac enjoying the dinner:

Daddy is READY for the King Cake!

After we ate, Heather and Mommy needed to head off to Praise and Worship at the church where they would be singing with their band, Sound Doctrine. Well, you've heard of bats in the belfry, but have you heard of bats in the chapel? Well, apparently at St. Mary's Chapel where they do Praise & Worship with Eucharistic Adoration the 2nd Tuesday of each month, there are bats in the chapel! Just look at the proof:



I love how John uses a dust mop and Tim has the ultimate bat swatter (or is that a lid to a tub?) Anyway...



The good news is the bat was gone by the time Jesus was brought into the room! Definitely a Mardi Gras to remember!

Monday 3/7/11

Xia here. On Monday 3/7/11 I made a great mask (have I mentioned that orange is my favorite color?):

And here's Isa relaxing on the futon:

Xia is Fifty Months Old

On Saturday 3/5/11 I turned 50 months old or 4 years and 2 months old!

Use the links below to see how I've grown by clicking on the number of months...

49, 48,47,46, 45, 44, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33, 32, 31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, birth.

Isa had to get in on the act again and oh, yes, I did spill some water on myself right before the picture was taken!

Happy 45th Bday Daddy!

We had fun making Daddy's birthday cake again this year for #45! on Thursday 3/3/11. It looks a lot like last year's.

And here we are singing to him:



Don't worry Daddy, you're not really getting closer to 50...

Xia Visits Joey

On Tuesday 3/1/11 I got to go over to Grammy's house and play with Joey. I love Grammy's doggie. Grammy picked me up and took me over for the afternoon. See how much fun we had?

Hi Joey...

Pose for the camera...

Here's a treat for ya...

Do you smell more treats?

Licking it all off are ya?

Really Joey, that's all I have...

Man, now I gotta go wash these hands. But this was fun!

Isa is Twenty Three Months Old

On Monday 2/28/11, Isa turned 23 months old!

Use the links below to see how I've grown by clicking on the number of months...

22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, birth

Xia's Dance Practice Instructional Video

On Monday 2/28/11, Mommy decided to take a video of my dance class. She focused mainly on my teacher, Miss Vicky, so that we could learn all of the moves. I'm all the way on the left side in a black leotard and skirt. I'm mostly just enjoying looking at myself in the movie. That's why Mommy figured she better learn this dance since I wasn't really paying much attention to it...