What a difference a year can make

Christmas 2015

Christmas 2014

This past year was one of constant changes it seems.  We started off 2015 with two high school seniors and two still in grade school and ended it with two college freshman, a freshman in high school and one in 7th grade.  We did start off slowly in 2015 with a mostly mild Midwest winter. Shannon knew she was accepted to Washington University at the end of 2014 and Daniel found out soon after that he was accepted to St. John Vianney all boys high school.

Grace was part of the all important 6th grade play and was outstanding in her dancing and role.

Shannon guided the family to Florida for Easter.  What a fabulous idea!!

It was standing room only in the Florida church we attended for Easter Sunday mass.

 Then it started kicking into high gear with Daniel getting confirmed and graduating from grade school.

Shannon and Susie soon followed with their high school graduation.

Susie was so excited to graduate and have her parents come all the way from China to celebrate with her.

Now Shannon's grandparents didn't cross the pacific ocean to attend graduation but they did travel from the east coast.

May was a month filled with all types of emotions and it was quite the roller coaster ride. It settled down a bit before Jim and Daniel left for their big high adventure at Philmont Scout ranch.  It was a two week back country backpack trip that was a tremendous experience for the both of them.  Daniel came back slim and strong and Jim lost a bunch of weight but also came back with a bum right foot.

This trip covered over 80 miles in the Southern Rockies.  This picture above was taken at 11,000 feet above sea level.  It was about the 4th or 5th day of the trip.

This picture is on the last day of hiking.  At this point Jim hadn't shaved in 12 days and was being called old man with all the gray in his beard.  Neither of the guys had taken a shower and even with all that, it was an amazing trek.

This is a typical campsite that the group would set up everyday.  A normal day started at 6 am with everyone getting up and preparing breakfast, taking down camp and setting out on the trail by 7:30 am the latest.

The views from the trail could be absolutely stunning.  We would walk on switchbacks many days and the valley and mountain tops are amazing out there.

While the boys were away, Grace and Mom embarked on the great pizza tour of St. Louis. Once or twice a week they visited a family owned pizzeria.  At every stop Grace ordered a slice or two of pepperoni pizza.  They had a few favorites and a few more interesting experiences.

Then within a blink of an eye, we were moving Susie into her dorm room at Indiana University.  IU is huge!!!  Susie has done well there and has made a ton of new friends.  She is still dancing and working hard at the business college.

Before we could catch our breath it was Shannon's turn to move in to Wash U.  Even though it is just a few towns over it seems like she is a world away from us.

The above picture was the opening convocation to the semester at Wash U.  Shannon is in that sea of freshman someplace!

Deb won't let Shannon forget that she is a proud Mom!

Shannon has somehow avoided running into her Dad on campus unless she needs something. Then all of a sudden she doesn't mind being taken out to lunch or brought to Target for a quick shopping trip.  Shannon's odyssey has been a wonderful experience and she loved all her classes and finished with a 3.7 GPA. Not bad for such a tough academic school!

The first week of August wasn't just about college and moving in the the girls.  It also included Daniel deciding to play football for the first time.  Daniel was on the freshman football team and played all three parts of the game, offense, defense and special teams.

It was a small program with about 20 boys on the entire team.  They asked Daniel to play mostly outside linebacker on defense, slot receiver on offense and he was the kick returner and punt returner for most of the season. Football lasted from August to November and was a great experience for Daniel.

There he is all the way on the left side of the picture getting ready to run a route.

Daneil is now starting a weightlifting program this winter followed by his desire to be on the track & field team this spring.  Here he is from last spring as an 8th grader participating in a meet.  He came in first for discus and 3nd in shot put during this meet.

He also placed 1st in the long jump.

He is slowly figuring out his classes and hopefully finished on a high note before Christmas break.  Still he is a good looking boy!

You all know our beautiful daughter below, the one and only amazing Grace!

Grace is the last one at Holy Infant school with her mom.  She is in 7th grade and has her mom for both math and English class this year.  Having a 7th grade filled with your daughter and all her friends can be challenging but both Deb and Grace are doing well.  Grace continues to play soccer year round and has recently begun playing basketball year round as well.  She loves being active and hanging around the fields with her close friends.

The fall just flew by this year, Jim continues to be one of the coaches for Grace's soccer team as well as the Scoutmaster for Daniel's Boy Scout troop.  He continues to travel at least 2-3 trips a month for WU and seems to be gone more than he is home.  The good news is that everyone is doing well and we are ready for 2016!

The weather here has been crazy like most parts of the country.  It is supposed to be winter but that seems to be slowly coming around.  Basketball season has started and Jim is once again coaching Grace's CYC team while helping out with the feeder/select team as well.  What has come as a surprise is Daniel decided not to tryout for his high school team but instead he and his buddies are playing in a recreation league and Jim drew the short straw and is helping those knuckleheads out as well.

Life is moving fast and we are doing our best to keep up.  Deb and I hope that all of you have a blessed and safe New Year!  And we can't forget our faithful dog Cocoa.

and we shouldn't forget a Christmas past from a long time ago

Pass, Shoot, Score!!

Grace and the Fighting Shamrocks are having a great end to 2010. They finished first in the select division 8-0-2 and they have started their indoor season 4-0. Grace has really learned how to play positions and has scored goals in almost every game.

In this video Grace is number 10 with medium length hair. She gathers the ball and passes it off the wall twice to evade a defender. Then she comes out of the pack and with one quick pass to the front of the goal, her team scores. She later scored by coming across the goal area and using her left foot puts the ball in the back of the net. A thing of beauty, just like her!

Shannon ATTACK

Shannon seems to get more confidence every time she steps on the field. In her last two games she has been up to bat 6 times. With 2 doubles, 2 singles and 2 walks. Not bad! Her team the Attack lost their first game of the regular season. But they still had fun and the other pitcher was bringing the heat last night. Though Shannon told me after the game that the other pitcher wasn't so bad, "She was hittable"! Go Shannon, that's the attitude.

Gracie...Fighting Shamrocks and The Rockettes!

It's been a month, I struggle getting new pictures so last night I brought the flip camera to either record video or just take a digital picture and........the batteries were dead!!!

So here is a recap from the past three days.....

Fighting Shamrocks......keep on winning!

Our team entered a 3 vs. 3 tournament with two teams entered. We had one group of girls in the competitive combined 1st and 2nd grade and another team in the rec division. Grace played in the competitive division and they took 1st place. They were awesome. Grace scored a couple of goals and we ended up with the gold medal. Our other team took 2nd place and lost out to a team that should have been playing in the competitive division. What a long but great day. From 8am until 4pm our girls played in 8 games. Now we take a well deserved summer break and will start up in August.

Softball...
We had only our second game last night. The rain has caused havoc with our schedule. So we took the field in 90 degree heat and the girls played great. For a bunch of 1st graders they got it going. All the girls had hits in every at bat. That's crazy man! On defense Grace scooped up both balls hit at her when she played 2nd base. She caught it and threw a nice toss over to 1st base. The first baseman caught the ball and they looked like then knew what they were doing. Wait, the baserunner was safe. What happened, oh yeah, the 1st basebman forgot she needed to be stepping on the base and not 6 feet away from it. But you get the idea, they had fun and did most of the fundamentals.

Daniel, Daniel, Daniel

Let's get this straight. I have not mentioned Daniel yet because we haven't had the opportunity to get him on video or even in front of a camera without him being all goofy. So I give up, here he is with one of his two best friends...both of whom are named Kevin...he likes to keep things simple and goofy.


All I have to say is boys will be boys.

Retreat for Dad

The picture above is of Holy Infant, my parish! One of the true blessings in coming to Missouri has been the faith community here at Holy Infant. I just spent last weekend as the spiritual director for a team of 10 and we had eight participants on the weekend. It was awesome, I watched as the Holy Spirit slowly worked his way into each and every man. My team of brothers would rise and speak from their hearts, they shared intimate moments of how God works in their lives. How through pain, sorrow, as well as joy and jubliation our Lord and Savior is there all the time. Then Jesus turned to me and gave me a gift. He allowed me to grow in Him, He let me see myself they way He sees me. I was awestruck with His power and I trembled as He revealed to me how I was not living up to his promise for me. He has created me to do so much more and I was not letting that happen. I knew I had the gift of music which I share but now I see I have many more gifts to open and more gifts to give to others. There is a song by the band Third Day that struck me as being right on the mark for me.

I'm a son of a good man. I'm the child of an angel. I 'm the brother of a wild one. And I'm looking for direction. I'm the lover of a beauty. I'm the father of blessings. I'm a singer of a love song. But is that all I'm good for..This is who I am This is who I am. So take me and make me something so much more. This is who I am This is who I am. So change me and make me someone better than before. I'm a saint and a sinner. I'm a lover and a fighter. I'm a true believer, with great desire. I'm a preacher of grace, prophet of love, teacher of truth. I've fallen down so many times. But here I stand in front of you. Take me as I am. But please don't leave me that way. 'Cause I know that you can make me better than I am today.

I am Here Lord, Do with me as you wish!!!

God Bless,

Jim

Shannon and softball

My big girl! She is a bright and talented young lady. She can also hit the winning RBI! The game is at the end and Shannon is up to bat. With her hit she knocks in the winning run! Earlier in the game she scored the first run. Coming in from third she slid into the catcher and popped the ball out of the catchers mitt. My bruiser! Knowing Shannon she probably got up and said sorry to the catcher. Becuase she is sooooo sweet. Unless it's the morning and she is getting ready for school. But we won't talk about that.