We have had another year full of God’s grace and
blessings. We have now been in our
new house for 2 years and we are still working to do little projects to make it
our own. Over the summer we took
on the basement. When we moved in
the basement could be described as a “movie/game room-man cave” It has black
ceilings, deep red walls and dark gray trim. It was pretty dark down there. It took many days and many coats of paint to transform it
into the beautiful living space we now love. Hoping to work on transforming our bedroom and the laundry
room in 2015. Home improvement projects just got more fun now that Ikea has
opened in Kansas City
Our family was able to take an amazing vacation to Colorado
over the summer. We stayed in a cabin with my aunt and her family for the first
few days and we were able to see my dear friend Gina and her family too. We
climbed mountains, visited the Mother Cabrini shrine, went to many state parks,
tried out paddleboards and overall had a wonderful time enjoying God’s
creation.
Our family continues to be involved with The Heart of the
Redeemer Catholic Community. It is
so refreshing to have a community of support as we try to live out a Christian
life in today’s world. It has been
a blessing to have our children thriving in their youth groups and to have
men’s and women’s groups & faith formation for the adults as well.
Isabella is now 11 and started 6th grade this
fall. She loves reading, writing and being creative. She still wants to be an
artist/designer when she grows up.
She spends her free time devouring books, drawing or creating art
projects. Her favorite subject in school this year is science (although she
changes her answer to this question frequently). She continues to take piano
lessons and is becoming quite the little composer. She is also participating in
art classes, book club and is in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. She ran track
again last spring and improved her race times from the previous year. She also participated
in several summer camps. She was the Queen of Hearts in the Act One summer
theater camp. This was also her second year participating in the Dunrovin Christian
camp in Minnesota. She had a wonderful time canoeing, participating in prayer
meetings and having a blast with friends.
This fall she was cast as “Thing 1” in Suessical the Musical
Jr. She did an amazing job and
looked super cute with blue hair. Isabella
continues to bless our family with her creativity and joy.
Dominic just turned 9 in this fall and had a Lego castlecake. He loves playing Legos and
makes some pretty amazing creations. He is in the 3rd grade this
year and loves to read, just like his big sister. He is especially fond of the Peter and the Star Catchers
series (which is a prequel to Peter Pan).
When he grows up he wants to be an artist/designer or a scientist. His favorite subject in school this
year is reading. He continues to
take piano lessons and is such a fast learner. He is also participating in art
lessons, book club, boy scouts and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. This fall
he joined the St. Andrew’s basketball team and is looking forward to his first
game in January.
Last spring he ran track and earned many medals for his
speed. Over the summer he attended Weblos camp with his dad and had a great
time doing archery, shooting BB guns and repelling. Dominic is always bringing joy to our family with his
contagious laughter and fun sense of humor.
Michael continues to work as a creative director at Salva
O’Renick. He and Christina coached the 6-10 year old track team again last
spring. Bringing home the state trophy for the girl’s team. Michael is also
involved in “That Man is You” at our parish. In his free time he has been working on greening up our lawn
and tackling home improvement projects. He has been playing guitar for praise
& worship during small group meetings and he continues to take piano
lessons with the family as well. In his free time Michael enjoys bike riding with the kids and
Nerf gun wars.
Christina has had a busy year home schooling a 3rd
grader and 6th grader. She has also been running a middle school
book club and coordinates the St. Margaret’s track and field day in the
spring. She and Michael continue
to teach Natural Family Planning once a month at St. Andrew’s parish, sharing
God’s plan for marriage and family.
In her free time she enjoys photography and reading.
Life has been full of Blessings this past year.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas & a joyful New Year.
