Some Angels Have No Wings

This weekend was amazing. It was filled with family, friends, love and craziness. Thanks to all our angels for getting us through and sharing our joy.

Yesterday our twins were Christened. We feel blessed to have found our church and to be members of a very special congregation. We made a couple special requests, which were, of course, honored by our minister and everything went off without a hitch. The service was beautiful and emotional. The twins were perfectly still during the entire service and Olivia was a perfect little angel. She sat with us quietly, listening to the minister as he spoke and stood next to us at the altar as the twins were blessed. We were so proud of her.
Here is the reading we requested for the service. It was read by Cin's brother, who is Emma's godfather.
It is from "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran
And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children."
And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit,not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Then there was the party. We had everyone back to the house for brunch and we were lucky to have a beautiful sunny day. My brother and his partner whipped up a few culinary delights, as always; several types of quiche - spinach, mushroom and Lorraine - delicious! They also brought shrimp the size of lobsters for shrimp cocktail - yummmmm! Unlike most other occasions, we contributed a few dishes ourselves; fresh smoked salmon on pumpernickel appy bread with sour cream and Tabasco sauce (my favorite), cold tortellini with broccoli (recipe is a secret, though Cin's niece "helped" me - mum's the word, Jacqui), Spring mix salad with mandarin oranges and toasted almonds (yup-toasted 'em myself), and the requisite cold cut platter, which I reluctantly (yet with love) made myself. I tried to order a platter on Friday, but was unable to get a clear answer as to how much I was actually getting.

Here's how that conversation went...
Me: I need a cold cut platter for Sunday.
Grumpy Deli Lady: (pointing to the Master Choice Platter) This one feeds 16- 24 people. You get Ham, Roast Beef, Turkey, American and Swiss cheese.
Me: Perfect. How much?
Grumpy Deli Lady: $79.99
Me: Wow, seems like a lot.
Grumpy Deli Lady: You also get 2 lbs of 2 different salads - which ones do you want?
Me: I don't want salads - can't I just get the meat and cheese.
Grumpy Deli Lady: No, it comes with it, it's free.
Me: I'm sure it's not free, it's part of the price, no?
Grumpy Deli Lady: No, it comes with it, it's free.
Me: Uh......(I am unable to argue this point - too illogical)
Grumpy Deli Lady: You want it?
Me: How much of each meat and cheese is on the platter?
Grumpy Deli Lady: Dunno.
Me: Whaddaya mean? How do you know how much meat to put on?
Grumpy Deli Lady: Dunno - they just put the 3 types of meat on and the 2 cheeses.
Me: Whaddaya mean? Who does it?
Grumpy Deli Lady: Whoever is doing platters that morning.
Me: Well, how much of each meat and cheese does the person cut - a pound, 2 pounds?
Grumpy Deli Lady: Dunno.
Me: Uh...Forget it. (again - can't argue the illogical).
So I walked out - meatless, cheeseless.

Saturday was dreary - rainy and dark. We had a lot to do to get ready and Emma was so sick, not eating or peeing, very lethargic. When she wasn't sleeping, she was screaming or groaning. It was a little scary. So we went to the Dr. that morning. She was pretty congested and coughing, but nothing to do for her, except to give her a little Tylenol to relieve any discomfort she may have. My brother and his partner, Hien, were here, and so was Cin's niece, Jacqui. We all spent the day taking turns holding and trying to comfort her. Thank God for all of you! Then my brother and Hien gave us 3 girls an amazing gift - they stayed at the house while all 3 kids napped and we went to get pedicures. THANKS, guys!!!!

Later that night, Jacqui and I went to buy the meat and cheese. Lo and behold, the Grumpy Deli Lady was the only one behind the counter, lights dimmed, broom in hand. I gathered my courage, took a deep breath and started the dance again...
Me: Is the deli closed?
Grumpy Deli Lady: What do you need?
Me: I need a few pounds of coldcuts. Remember? I was here the other day for the platter.
Grumpy Deli Lady: What do you want?
Me: A pound each of turkey, ham and roast beef and 3/4 pound of American and provolone cheeses.
Grumpy Deli Lady: SIGH!
Me: (thinking I might be able to soften her up a bit) Thank you so much, it's for my twins' Christening tomorrow. I really appreciate it.
Grumpy Deli Lady: Grunt!
And so it went. She cut the meats without so much as a word. As she removed the cheese from it's wrapper to begin slicing, a line of 2 more customers formed next to me. Then she lost it. She slammed the cheese onto the slicer and gave use the evil eye. Now I was fearful of becoming headcheese.
She threw the sliced cheeses on the counter and walked away. As I took the cheese down, I noticed there was only .80 lb of the provolone, but was too afraid to remind her that I asked for a pound, so I took my damaged cheese and walked to the front to pay. Jacqui and I giggled about it the whole time, but we were secretly shaking in our boots. When we got to the front, I asked what time the deli closed and they said it was open til at least 10. I thought she was mad b/c she was doing me a favor, but I guess she just didn't want to cut any more meat that night. The nerve! Anyway, we got a good laugh over it and a funny story to tell. However, we did run out of the provolone yesterday.

I digress...back to the party. We decided on Bloody Marys and Mimosas made with Ruby Red grapefruit juice instead of orange juice to wash it all down. Good choices, Cin! The cake was beautiful and very tasty. Good thing there is some left over. Anyway, calories, fat and carbs from leftover Christening cake don't count. Right?

We had a lot of fun and took lots of pictures. Everyone sat around and talked and ate and drank while the kids ran around and played. I love being with our family and friends. They are our blessings, the reasons life is good. So to all of you...
Thank you for making this day so special. We love you!

I have many more pictures, which I will add later, but I thought I'd better post something before I get yelled at.



Proud mommies.....AND.....My brother, 2 squirming babies & me


Proud grandmas.........AND......... Jake's proud Godparents


Cindy's gorgeous niece, Kelly. Olivia is lucky enough to have Kelly for a Godmommy.


Chocolate cake inside with buttercream icing and filling. YUMMY!


This was taken on Friday. Babygirl is posing with her new favorite noisemaker, the Chicken Dance doll. Olivia never lets me put pigails in, so I had to get a picture. This is surely the reason pigtails were invented.