A Man in Uniform

It's true, who can resist a man in uniform? John looks so dashing in his blues. Don't forget to keep the motomail coming! Blessings.

Marine on a Mission

Fox Company

To my family and friends, this is a heartfelt plea to ask you to use the Motomail system that was posted several weeks ago. After hearing from families whose Marines received letters, it does work! It is a quick way for you to send encouraging words and love. I heard how much those on active duty appreciated getting the letters, even though they were unable to respond. Please, keep the letters coming! Blessings. www.motomail.us

A Serenade

I finally made my way to Quizno's sandwich shoppe on Adams and Central. Outside, Ben had his guitar case open and was singing his heart out! Boy, can he sing! As I ate my chicken sandwich he sang an old Beatle's favorite. Thank you, Ben!

Copper Square

Orpheum Theater

Free at Last

This is how I felt when we were finally released for lunch! Whoopee. The judge excused all 29 of us jurors for two hours. Oh, I was juror #17. Anyway, I made my way around downtown snapping, smiling and hunting for a place to eat.

Jury Selection Room

Clipboards. Tons of them. All lined up neatly to use while filling out the personal history form, in triplet. I later discovered one copy goes to the jury selection room monitor who calls names and assigns jury numbers, while the other two are given to the prosecutor and defense lawyers, respectively.

Civic Duty

I had jury duty Wednesday! I've never made it all the way downtown before, so I decided to make the most of the day. I brought along a book about the Eucharist, and my camera. I actually finished the book and decided to just get up and snap away. I suppose we could call this a pictorial journal. No, I didn't get chosen, but it was an incredible experience .

Take a peek inside...

The illustrations in the book were done by local artist and instructor, Jane Wingfield. I have several favorite pages, but this is tops!

This is for the birds

This is the story of Bramwell, Fr. Frank's beloved friend, who never made it to morning Mass with the children of St. Theresa. The tale was too cute not to be shared with everyone. We hope it is a successful fundraiser for our parish ministries, and that it delights all who read it.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

To celebrate a birthday. Take this beauty, for example. A rubber chicken handcrafted into a fashionable hen bag for people like me. Thank you, girls, for always being original and just plain fun! You know I love it :)

I love birthdays!

I had a wonderful birthday! My family brought me dinner at the church, and we dined in the Upper Room. How fitting! Imagine my surprise once I got home to see that Pilar made my most favorite cake in the whole, wide world... Chocolate Mayonnaise! Thank you! And thank you to everyone who celebrated with me, including the perfect strangers at Safeway. I just love birthdays!

Scout Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009

Tim was presented his religious medal, "Light of Christ," following the 9 a.m. Mass at St. Theresa Church. The other second grade Wolf Scouts that earned their religious awards were Sebastian, Louis, AJ, Nicholas and Jarrett. It was very special to see all the different levels of scouting in uniform and participating in the Mass. Whew! What a glorious weekend.

"Bless Me Father, For I Have Sinned"

Following the retreat portion of the morning, the children go back into the church to hear the parable of the Lost Sheep with Fr. Chuck Kieffer. After the homily, the families pray the Act of Contrition and the children form lines near the priest they want to confess to. Tim wanted to confess to Fr. Frank, and from the body language, all went well. God is so good!

Create In Me A Clean Heart

Tim Henry, and about 85 other second grade children, received the Sacrament of Reconciliation this morning at St. Theresa Church.
It was a lovely morning to empty our hearts of sin that we have been carrying around, like rocks in our shoes. My heart is full of gratitude for this healing sacrament. I hope his cousin Matt notices the name tag! Thank you, Matt, for this craft idea. You Rock!

Cousins

Happy February 2nd!
Three Cheers to the Arizona Cardinals.
Hip Hip Hooray
Thank you for a thrilling game and inspiring all of us to chase our dreams.

Christmas Highlights

One of the traditions our family enjoys during the Christmas Advent season is the Christmas Eve Children's Play. I had to post these older photos in honor of my special helper, "T" whose acting abilities have included the likes of being Mary's donkey; a shepherd; a very wise man; and Joseph. Thank you for the memories. Love, Mom

Sisters

Pilar had the wonderful experience of celebrating both her 18th birthday and her prom on the same night! Hence, the crown glimmering atop her head. This is a sweet picture of the girls.

Hello, again. Here is the motomail icon to look for as you register. Also, there is a lot of great advice at marineparents.com with regard to packaging items you want to send overseas. I know baby wipes and energy bars are big hits. Anything small that they can fit into their pockets. Blessings, Gina

Happy February! I love this month, mostly because my birthday is in it. I wanted to let all you faithful out there know how much your words, flowers, phone calls and hugs mean. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We know John is blanketed with the most powerful weapon of all... love.
Speaking of John, I have found yet another method of communication. It is called motomail. Give it a try at www.motomail.us

You compose a form letter online that will be delivered within 48 hours thereafter. You will set up an account with your own E-mail and a password you devise. If you need all the particulars of his unit, refer to the mailing address on the blog.