Christmas Letter 2014

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 6^th 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 3^rd 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 3^rd grader and 6^th 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.