Happy St. Paddy's Day!

When Irish eyes are smiling,
Tis like a morn in spring.
With a lilt of Irish laughter
You can hear the angels sing
When Irish hearts are happy
All the world is bright and gay
When Irish eyes are smiling
Sure, they steal your heart away.

A big day for the Curran clan, indeed! St. Paddy's day brings back a rush of memories for me. Mom coming to my kindergarten class dressed up like an Irish Leprechaun, making porridge and magically turning the porridge green with the oh-so-magic phrase "come on leprechaun". Ah, yes, mine was a blessed childhood. I love that my parents were so proud of their Irish heritage that they gave us all Irish names. Quinn, Megan, Shane, Erin, Shannon, Caitilin, Sean and Conn. I especially love that my dad chose to give all of the girls my mother's name Colleen, which also means 'Irish girl'. However geeky it may have been at times in my life, my parents always celebrated this day with such flair. Since I don't have my own family yet, it is my turn to light up my nephews' eyes with Irish pride.
Yesterday I took my 7 year old nephew Kai 'Leprechaun hunting'. I took him up to the canyon where we both waited for 'sightings' of the vertically challenged beings. We had a great time, and later at home were searching for images of leprechauns and found this site: http://www.irelandseye.com/leprechaun/lwatchnj.htm
It's a webcam in a hidden location in a field in Ireland. Kai was going crazy - since it was night time in Ireland, so it was obviously dark. He wanted to get a glimpse of a leprechaun so badly! I love it.
A very happy st. paddy's day to ye!

The fastest growing nephew, Kalin.

Megan, Kalin and Kai were in town this weekend for a quickie trip from Houston. It seems like every time I see Kalin he has grown an inch or two. This time was no different. I am 5'11 3/4", and Kalin as a 13 year old is EXACTLY THE SAME!! I knew the day would come, but I didn't think it would be this soon! He's a seventh grader! Holy moly! He's lucky to be getting so tall - since height goes great with being a fabulous athlete. He has also been MVP on his basketball team at school this year. I can brag about my nephew, can't I? I love this boy dearly. He is so important to me, and even though he is out-growing me, he will always be sweet little Kalin.