Celebrating Christmas

The Christmas Season is upon us. We welcomed Christmas during the wee hours of the night, celebrating midnight Mass. True midnight Holy Mass, where Holy Mass began at the stroke of midnight. This was a first for the kids. It was beautiful and the music was grand. A half hour before Mass, we sang Christmas Carols with the choir. Between songs, they retold the age old story of the birth of Christ. I was pleasantly surprised at the size of the congregation. The church was nearly full. It brought back many memories from when I was younger. We always attended midnight Mass preceded by a big dinner with the Franciscan Seminarians. While growing up, Christmas Eve was a festive evening full of good food and good company. Keeping in tradition from my childhood, we came home to our stockings stuffed and a gifts from Santa. We stayed up and opened all our gifts before heading to a much needed rest.







All Charles asked for for Christmas was Lego. That's what he got. Lego, Lego and more Lego.












Savanna only wanted a new doll. Now she can be Mama to 4 dolls.



To help focus on the True meaning of Christmas, gifts are kept to a minimum around here. (Though, Mike doesn't observe the rules too well.) Christmas is a time to celebrate Chirst and welcome Him into our hearts and homes. We try very hard not to loose sight of this.

Christmas day was relaxing. We hung around the house, playing, building and enjoying our new toys and each others company. Dinner was as Kato's house with the family. It's funny, though I live very close to my brothers and their families, and we do lots of stuff together, there is still something special about us gathering for Christmas. The cousins ran around and played while the adults got to spend time talking and just kicking back and enjoying good company.








The cousins on the top of the hill as the sun was starting to set on Christmas Day.







This Christmas for Bryan, I made him a recipe book with pictures from his birth to now. When he was little, there were lots of pictures of me with him. As he got older, I noticed there were no pictures of just the two of us. So, to remedy the situation, we took one together this Christmas.














My brothers and me:
Kato, Anthony, me and Joe





Wishing you all a Blessed Christmas Season (which doesn't end until the Baptism of Jesus!) and a Happy and Blessed New Year. God Bless you all!

Blessings of the Season

As of now, we are on winter break from choir, but we are in full swing for the year. We just finished up Savanna's winter concert. It was spectacular, as usual. We attended the concert at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The music sounds so magical in there! The acoustics are fantastic.




She truly loves to sing. God has blessed her a beautiful gift.








I am always amazed at the kids in the choir. I hear so many of the songs coming from Savanna singing at home, in the car, in the store, and anywhere else she can but when all the kids are on the stage, dressed in tuxes and their hair pulled back, the music is transformed!




Words can't describe the beauty of the music!

Happy Birthday Charles

Charles is truly a good sport. He spent his 12th birthday at Savanna's concert.





He even gave her flowers.












He did get to celebrate for 3 days in a row though! Since he couldn't do his birthday dinner on his birthday, we went to dinner the night before. Charles' favorite place to eat right now is Joe's Crab Shack where he gets to eat a bucketful of crab, potatoes and a corn on the cobb. He even gobbled down a dessert!





Here he is with his friend Ben and his sister getting ready for the bucket to arrive.






The day after his birthday, he had cake and ice cream with his cousins! Talk about an extended party! He is growing up fast and becoming a nice young man. Hope that sticks through the upcoming teen years!

A Special Feast Day

On December 9, 1531, a native Mexican named St. Juan Diego rose before dawn to walk fifteen miles to daily Mass in what is now Mexico City. Juan lived a simple life as a weaver, farmer, and laborer. That morning, as Juan passed Tepeyac Hill, he heard music and saw a glowing cloud encircled by a rainbow. A woman's voice called him to the top of the hill. There he saw a beautiful young woman dressed like an Aztec princess. She said she was the Virgin Mary and asked Juan to tell the bishop to build a church on that site.




Click St Juan Diego's name above to find out the rest of the story and to learn more about this humble man.


San Juan Diego, Pray for us!

God's Smile!

On the way to church one cool, November evening, we saw God smiling! This picture was taken at Holy Trintity Church in El Dorado Hills, CA. A passerby said the "eyes" were planets and the crescent moon was just right to make a smile. At one point, an airplane flew by right where a nose would be. This celestial arrangement made me smile too.

Signs of Fall

Every year is different around here weatherwise. This year the leaves seemed to change lower in the foothills and closer to the city. As I drove around town, I always noticed how brilliant the colors were. There was a lot more red this year. As I savored the colors from God's paintbrush, I realized that the colors of fall are the colors of the Holy Spirit. Golden yellow, bright orange and blazing red; the colors I wore for a week in Australia on my back (our World Youth Day backpacks.) As the trees changed, I would think about the Holy Spirit. God is truly amazing! He speaks to us in so many different ways!




This picture looks like the tree is on fire at its uppermost branches. The flames of the Holy Spirit. (This tree is our neighbor's tree.)

Going Here, Going There...

Sorry I've kinda lagged on updates. We got a little busy the closer we got to Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

I'm thankful for all the blessings we have in family and friends.




Mike's parents visited from Missourri for a week and what a great time was had by all.






Grandma got to listen in at Savanna's choir practice as they prepared for their big winter concert.

We took a day trip to South Lake Tahoe in search of some letterboxes, but to our dismay, the boxes were missing. Now, while we were in Tahoe, the kids played by the stream where the salmon were spawning. It was late in the season, but there were still a few live ones swimming around.






Believe it or not, Charles caught this fish with his bare hands!





We took a trip down to Historic Sacramento and another trip up to Apple Hill. We even took a trip to the emergency room, but that's another story.

The kids had a wonderful time visiting with grandma and grandpa. Now that they are older, they truly were able to appreciate the time spent with them.