Sacraments week

We had the pleasure of watching AJ & Ian receive God's graces through the Sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation last week.  Ian has been eagerly awaiting the day when he could actually receive the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist.  It was something he "practiced" as he played Mass as a toddler, and now is finally able to partake in it fully with the Church. 

 AJ was confirmed into the fullness of the faith by the divine power of the Holy Spirit that same week.  Although he has a long way to go, as we all do in our faith journeys, he is now considered an "adult" in the Church as he continues to move forward in his Catholic faith.  He has had grown so much this past year and has embraced his greater responsibilities within his academics, athletics, the Church and even at home.  We are very proud of the young man he is becoming and look forward to watching him move on to high school next year.

We are blessed that as a Deacon, Jason was able to also participate in both celebrations of the Mass with the boys.  The local parishes, as well as the Archdiocese, have been very welcoming of him and include him in whatever he has time for.  It is a blessing to watch him do God's work, even though there are times when I miss sitting with him, but it is a compromise we knew would have when he became a servant of the Church.

 Laney had her piano recital for the end of the year, and played 2 beautiful songs.  I am still working on figuring out how to get the video from my phone to my computer, so that will hopefully be coming soon.  She is enjoying her arts and is also excelling at an amazing level and we are so proud of what she has accomplished in this past year.

Faith finished up a short stint of 3-on-3 basketball and we enjoyed the pace of the game and the skills that she took away from it.  She definitely has the gift of aggressiveness when it comes to sports and she loves to win, but she is also learning how to lose graciously and just enjoy the time with her friends and playing the sports that she loves.

Speaking of sports, we are into Jason's favorite season, baseball season!  With that, comes 2 boys that are thrilled to be playing some competitive baseball.  They are getting their workouts with pitching and playing infield positions...yes, both of them.  AJ will be finishing up with school ball & will move right into traveling team, and as you can see, Ian is happy to put on his baseball gear for the year.

Noah has enjoyed his time with me at home & I have come to terms that he is not attending preschool with his friends. I have learned to embrace this time with him at this cute age & let him enjoy some bonding time with his baby sister.  We are thankful that his teacher invites us to come and visit anytime and also on a couple of fun field trips.  I am hoping that it will help him transition into kindergarten next year, but he has already expressed to me, "I not going to kinde-ga-den!"  We'll see, little one, we'll see...

Baby Bella continues to be a source of gratefulness of the gift of such a beautiful, content little girl.  She is more than patient with our busy schedules, and puts up with being hauled here and there, but also enjoys our snuggle time at home when we get the chance.  She is growing way too fast, so we squeeze her as much as we can to enjoy every moment of her babyness.

I am getting used to our schedule, although there are some expected days of overwhelmingness.  Jason has many long days, which means the same for me, but we are happy to be blessed with all that God has provided for us.  I have stepped away from the "Martha role" that I so comfortably embraced for many years, and have learned to sit at the feet of Jesus in the "Mary role" and just let Him love me.  There are days when I struggle with, "what should I be doing?", and I am encouraged by Jason & God that I AM doing something very important...raising 6 kids and supporting a busy husband by saving all that I can by carefully managing our time and money so we can survive on one income.

We know these years are going by fast with our kids, so I have learned to slow down and embrace every moment while trying to create lasting ones;  trying to raise good & faithful servants of the Church & well-balanced individuals that desire to make a difference in the world.  But I am happy to say they've already done that by making a difference in mine.