God bless Our New 15 Year Old

We have another driver in the house!!  Well, a driver-in-training, I mean... 

++St. Christopher, pray for us!!++

Mario turned 15 last month.  (He's the second of our February birthdays)  

As our kids get older, the celebrations become more simple.  Still a great reason to celebrate, but not the fanfare of big themed birthday parties.  They are growing up and it's just not the teenage-in-style thing to do.  So Neil took Mario out with some cousins and friends to go see one of the new Marvel movies and out to eat to celebrate, along with our own celebrations here at home and making the day all about him.  

++Thank you, Lord, for Mario!!  Please help him feel your love and presence all throughout the next year!!++

You Whittle WOOD...

not YOURSELF!!

YOUCH!!

A hard lesson our son Mario learned this month.  A couple stitches later and he was all sewn up and back to normal.

Thank God it was a pretty minor accident, but it was our first set of stitches in our family nonetheless.

14 Fabulous Years With You

Hi, darling Mario!!!

Today, you turn 14!!!  Oy!  How and when did that happen.  You are our second son.  So very different from your older brother, Fone.  So uniquely blessed in your very own way by God!  We love you and wish you a blessed day today!

To celebrate 14 years of your life, here are 14 of the many things we love about you...

#1 ~ you are my BEST friend (Fone)

#2 ~ that you are MY Godfather!!!  (Lady)

#3 ~ that I am a mini-YOU (Max)

#4 ~ your cheery and positive personality

#5 ~ you jump on the trampoline nice with me (Pookey)

#6 ~ that you always tell jokes and make me laugh (Ariel)

#7 ~ you play with me and love me (Yoda)

#8 ~ your creativity

#9 ~ how you naturally enjoy playing with and spending time with your younger siblings

#10 ~ you are easy going

#11 ~ that you let me play Air Soft wars with you (Melody)

#12 ~ that you are SO silly (Rose)

#13 ~ you are SO handsome!!!  Ooooh la la!!

#14 ~ your giggle

We love you bunches, Mario!!

++Thank you, God, for Mario!!!  Please bless him abundantly over the next year!!++

CSJ Boys Camp 2016 - "Whatever You Do"

Two weeks ago today, I waved goodbye to my hubs and two oldest sons (and two nephews who rode with) as they drove away for a campout with the Community of St. John.  With a few tears in my eyes.  When you are married and completely one in your marriage, a parting such as this is hard.  But so worth it, because of the amazing opportunity that comes with it.

So what is Boys Camp and what do they do?

**CAMP**

**LEARNING TIME**

(Look at that cutie in the top left!!  Can I admit how my heart skipped a beat EVERY time I saw him in the video - see below....)

**GAMES/SWIMMING/ACTIVITIES**

**FIELD TRIP**

**SKITS**

**WORK**

(father of 8 - soon to be 9 - has the gift of delegation down perfectly.  Don't you love his pointed finger in giving direction?!)

**PRAYER/ADORATION/MASS**

Here's this year's video of pictures from the camp....
(which some of the pictures from above were taken from it, so I apologize for any blurriness)

++Thank you, God, for the Community of St. John for leading this wonderful camp every summer for our boys and giving the boys such a beautiful experience on what living their Catholic faith is like. Thank you for your Body of Christ, living and present and shining so brightly on retreats like this!!++

Come, Holy Spirit, Come!!

Our second oldest son, Mario, was Confirmed in Christ a couple weeks ago!  It was such a beautiful Mass and celebration of the sacrament of Confirmation.  We couldn't be more proud of him - he is kind, funny, sweet, helpful, and loving Our Lord and growing in our faith so beautifully!!

Before pictures...

During the Confirmation Mass...

Celebrating with food and fellowship afterwards...

Neil was the sponsor for our nephew who was also confirmed...

Then, as if the day didn't have enough excitement and celebration, I took the four big kids to a Toby Mac concert that night!!  What a great way to end our amazing day of blessings!!