Francis' Baptism

 We baptized Francis on Mother's Day. John's parents were in town, Norman brought his girlfriend Emily, Susan had the day off, and of course Tim & Teresa the Godparents were there. My mom couldn't get out of work. It was one of the few dates available at our church for baptisms this month, so there were a total of 11. It was still a nice ceremony and I liked that the deacon seemed very passionate about children and their importance in the faith. Frankie was very well-behaved, even the deacon called him "my grinner" :)

 Tim & Teresa bought him that cute little baptismal bracelet. And then they also got him a nice music box to keep it in.

 Annointing

 
 The deacon had the children come to help bless the water in the font. It was nice to have Olivia and Lucas get to participate.

 He didn't cry--just looked around interested in what was going on. I love Olivia's expressions :)

 John and I both wanted to say "SIMBA!"

 Then we whispered to each other, "little do they know, we'll all be back here again in a year for baby #4.."

 

 I tell ya, we have 2 sets of the best Godparents for our kids. I know all 4 of them take the role very seriously and will help us raise our kids in the faith.

 Grandma & Grandpa---coming back next year for Baby Toni ? :P I'm playing with names. My mom has an Aunt Toni and I like boy names for girls. Formally Antonette or Antoinette, or Antonetta?

 Norman, Susan and Emily. Norman recently proposed to Emily at her graduation--she got her masters degree and will be a licensed social worker. Oh and she accepted :)

 Then we went home to pig out on catered Dickey's BBQ. I didn't get any pictures, but it was delicious.

 The cake and caramel cheesecake Teresa brought from her friend's restaurant, were also yummy.

 This picture was taken at the moment I told Gma & Gpa that they have 10 grandchildren, and Tim & Teresa have a 5th godchild :) No one caught it at first...they had to count ! You can tell in my face, I was bracing for a reaction..like "why'd ya let that happen!?" lol. The reaction I first had haha. The more John and I talk about it, the more we think we might just have 10 kids. The way I see it, i've lost my body and my mind. All we have left is love, room & board---so bring it on! We will be forced to trade in our equinox for something bigger this fall. Something that seats 7, so we can have one more without another upgrade :)

 Then we dug into Teresa's Origami Owl jewelry. We bought one for Louise for Mother's day, and Teresa graciously gave me one and let me pick charms for Mother's day!

 I picked, a crucifix, a guitar and gems representing John/Lucas/Olivia's birthstone (garnet), Frankie's (topaz), peridot for mine, and Diamond for John & my anniversary. It's 10 yrs ya know!

We had a great time and we are all excited to be having more Hodge babies. I don't know if I'll be able to video subsequent surprises, because it's not such a surprise anymore lol. This time around, when I got the positive test (didn't honestly expect it and took it kinda early) I just plopped my head into John's belly and he knew what that meant lol. I am just nervous about being a good mom to all of them. I know it will get a little easier as they get older and can help. And I look forward to when they are grown and each have different personalities etc. Hopefully they are as close as me and all my siblings lol. JK. I hope they are closer! I'm only 8 weeks now and due on New Years Eve, so I should find out that I'm right about it being a girl this summer. I am going to try not to gain so much weight this pregnancy, but this little vacation was not a good start!!

Grandma & Grandpa Hodge

Grandma and Grandpa Hodge had been planning a visit since back in November when Frankie was born, but circumstances kept them from being able to until this May. It worked out well anyway because they were here for another important day; Frankie's baptism on mother's day! It felt like we were busy the whole 10 days they were her, but I didn't get as many photos as I should have :( With each kid I am getting more forgetful!

 I thought this one was cute--Frankie was eyeing grandpa's beer :)
Honestly we did some fun things, but what was most memorable was all the good food we had every night! We barbecued, crock-potted, and catered some awesome meals, and the leftovers were just as good.

 On one of their first nights here, Norman found this snake on our front porch, and it was very aggressively vibrating it's tail. John caught it and we researched it. I found out it was a Texas Rat Snake. They are not poisonous and their tail is not like the rattlesnake's but still scary. They can still bite of course. So John released it down the road where it's more rural.

 The next day we went to the city to check out the JFK museum. It was pretty interesting to learn about that time, and to be able to see from exactly where the (alleged) shooter was. I just felt bad for poor Jackie :( After reading about the horndogs that are the Kennedy's, I know she already had a tough time, what with the Marilyn Monroe's etc. And also to have lost their infant son. But then to witness her husband's murder. So sad. We weren't allowed to photograph in the exhibit so we took some outside.

 Down there is where JFK was shot--there are 2 x's marking the spots.

 Upstairs had some artwork and better views.

 Then we went down to the grassy knoll and tried to avoid being pressured into buying memorabilia.

 I don't know how much of this guy's policies I would've supported but his speeches were really good.

 My 'always happy baby' :)

 Another Dallas museum:

John took his parents to the newly opened Bush Library the next morning--I stayed home with the kids, since they would've been bored. I'll have to go another time. Gma & gpa also got to go with the kids to gymnastics. They are really enjoying it and Lucas is almost capable of a cartwheel by himself. The coach was proud too!

 On one of the last days, we met up at Tim & Teresa's house for a barbecue. I don't even want to calculate how much weight I gained lol. We had Tim's delicious salmon, Stan grilled bacon-wrapped fillets, and we had candied carrots, grilled vegetables, rice, and coleslaw. Oh and sausage--I really liked the sausage Louise & Stan brought from CA.

 The big kid table:

 The bigger kid table:

 The kids immediately go to the toy room :)

 We should have checked out the new gun club in Frisco, but we didn't think of it. We were going to go to a gun show in Mesquite on the last day, but everyone sorta changed their minds. Here's Stan showing John how NOT to hold a gun lol. Next time we will go shoot some targets.

 Susan had to check it out too :)

I forgot we also celebrated Stan's 69th birthday---for the past 4 decades or so, he has had the same birthday meal--a simple sauce spaghetti recipe that his mom started, and now Louise took over. It was delicious and full of mushrooms! The kids ate it too---and it was gone the next day. We did a good job eating leftovers throughout the week. Hey, it's a difficult task!

Next to come is all the baptism pics!