Andrew Turns 15 (and the Girls' Heads!)

On the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, our Andrew turned 15!  I will always regret not naming him Andrew Francis, but I didn't even realize what feast day it was when he was born, and my Dad's brother (a really great, holy man) had passed away during my pregnancy so we wanted to name him after him.  I started guilting Andrew at a really young age that he had to choose Francis as his Confirmation name, and this is the big Confirmation year, so we shall see if all the Catholic guilt/Mother's nagging will pay off.  Hey, it worked for St. Monica ;)

Since his birthday was on a Friday, and he had soccer practice until 5pm, he just wanted an easy dinner of pizza and Phil's homemade cookies and ice cream, which meant I had the day off from cooking.  Thanks, current favorite child ;)

We ate dinner with my parents, then moved to the family room for presents...

...had a little recital from Xander B...

...and watched Andrew delight in his gifts.

My parents gave him a pack of his favorite snack (Honey Mustard Pretzels) and a new sweatshirt from his high school that he had been eyeing.

Much like Eamon, if you give Andrew any gift that's sports related, he's a happy camper.

He got a new basketball, some bball socks, Kyrie shoes, Madden NFL 20 for the XBox, and a copy of the Patriots yearbook signed by Matthew Slater!!  

It's the best watching the little kids watch/help the birthday boy.  Declan found it hysterical to try on Andrew's size 10 sneakers.

Then it was back to the kitchen for dessert and singing. 

(Side note, see those flowers?  Phil always gets me flowers on the kids birthdays, a little thank you for the work I did 15 years ago.  So sweet.)

Andrew Pauric (Francis?) Martin, we love you!  As the old parenting advice goes, we thought we were the perfect parents until we had our second child - you!  You have always kept us on our toes, evaluating and re-evaluating the best practices to raise you into the fine young man you have become.  You are SUCH an awesome big brother, always playing and taking care of the younger ones, that I know you'll be a wonderful hands on dad someday.  You are easy on the eyes, and the girls know it, but we're trying to keep you humble.  You love to be active, opting to go mow the lawn rather than sitting around (yay!) but also get bored a lot since you hate to read and won't get lost in a book like your siblings (boo!).  The high school transition has been a breeze for you, and you're about to go to the Homecoming Dance with a date, another new area for us to help guide you through.  We worry about you so much, and we know we are strict, but it's only because we love you to pieces and want to keep you safe and holy.  You are teaching us to let you go little by little, and we are teaching you that even if you don't agree with our rules, you still have to abide by them.  You're a hard worker and so fun to be around and we are grateful to watch you grow.  Love you bunches!