Week in Review: Gaelic and Garlic and Lessons in Humility

Happy Friday and Happy First Day of Spring!

This is my favorite week of Lent every year, when we get two cheat days for St. Patrick and St. Joseph!  

Our kids are both Gaelic and Garlic so it's fun to celebrate our heritage (mostly through food).  We had chicken tenders and a green salad and potatoes for the Irish side and then Chicken Vodka Pasta with salad and rolls for the Italian side.

Maggie got the kids Shamrock Shakes on St. Patty's Day and they had Snickers ice cream bars for St. Joe while Phil and I indulged in my new favorite ice cream, Coffee Biscoff Swirl.  It's dangerously delicious, and will be having a permanent home on our menu. 

We took the youngest three boys to get Passport Cards just in case we want to cross any boarders anytime in the next five years.  We get them passports in high school or college, to make sure that they can study abroad when the time comes, but until then the cards should work just fine.  They wanted to feed the ducks seagulls after.

I had another gym folly the other day, when I realized that I forgot a towel for the shower and found a hand towel in my car to use instead.  It reminded me of my mom's honeymoon story when she thought the bathmat was a towel and came out of the bathroom, wondering why it was so small.  Pretty sure my dad didn't mind the mixup.

If you've ever wanted to grow in humility, may I suggest having lots of kids?  Case in point, Andrew went on a mission trip where he led retreats and was a great example of a Catholic college kid...and then came home and had to go to court to take a Distracted Driver Safety Course after getting pulled over while looking at his phone to get his friend's location.  He's lucky that was the only result and FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PUT DOWN THE PHONE. (A lesson to all of us, if we're honest)

In medical news, both Phil and I scored A+ on our yearly skin checks.  Then I had my annual mammogram, and everything looked good, thanks be to God.  Phil recently got a CPAP machine after having been disgnosed with moderate sleep apnea, and he is struggling to get used to it.  I think some of the struggle is admitting that he needs it in the first place, and the other part is the actual physical discomfort.  As his light-sleeping-bed-partner-for-life, I am very happy with the quiet nights!

Declan had his last two basketball games this week, which means that all sports have come to an end for the school year!  This cutie patootie young and short CYO team won exactly zero games this season.  We might try indoor futsal next winter instead :)

We did it guys!  Volleyball, cross country, soccer, swim, winter track, and basketball are over.  No spring sports this year because between sacraments (Phil's the DRE at our parish) and getting the ice cream shop ready, we can't handle it.  Know thyself.  The kids will still run some races and work out at the gym to stay in shape, but nothing official.  Xander is so lucky to have a dad and four older siblings who can help him at the gym:

My personal favorite weight machine

 And that's a wrap from the last week of winter, though today still feels like it - brr!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend :)

Andrew's Mission Trip THANK YOU

Hi everyone!

My mission trip to Loretto Catholic School in Douglas, Arizona has just concluded, and I wanted to follow up and update you all on what happened over the past week. First of all, thank you to everyone who supported this mission through financial donations and through your prayers. I would not have been able to experience this without your help. Please know that I have been praying for all of you over the past few months and especially throughout this past week.

As the week went on, I kept thinking about how I would never truly be able to put this mission trip into words because of the joy it brought me, but I will do my best. During the week, we spent time with the kids in their classes and at recess, led a retreat for each grade, went on two beautiful hikes, led a holy hour for the entire school and their parents, and organized a youth group night for the middle school and high school students in the area, along with many other activities.

The kids I spent the week with truly opened my eyes to so many amazing things and helped me grow in my faith in such a short time. They are clearly so in love with the Lord and have such childlike wonder in everything they do. Seeing that in person was incredible. It can sometimes feel rare to see kids living their faith so openly today, and it gave me a lot of hope for the future.

One of my biggest takeaways from the week was the joy that comes from serving others. For the first time in my life, I was able to spend an entire week focusing on others without needing to think about myself. There was so much grace in that experience. Sharing the love of Christ with others is so important, and it is something I will continue to challenge myself to do.

I am incredibly grateful to have experienced this mission, and I am so thankful for all of you who made it possible. Please continue to keep the Loretto School community in your prayers so that the good work happening there may continue.

Love,

   Andrew

Week in Review: A Retreat, A Mission, and a Full House

Happy Friday!

Today Phil and I have our annual skin checks at the dermatologist, an appointment I dread all year but still make myself go, with the promise of a lunch date after.  Moles and Rolls, Derm and Dine, Basal and Basil, and that's enough, Colleen.  

Lots happening this week, so without further ado...

Maggie and Xander went on a retreat over the weekend.  Maggie was a leader and Xander was a participant, and they both said it went awesome!  

Maggie with her team

I can suddenly picture Xander as a future clergy member

It was really, really weird only having two kids in the house on Sat and Sun, but then JP and Eamon and Eamon's friend arrived in time for dinner on Sunday, and the retreatants returned home, and all the beds in the Martin Casa were once again filled.  We were just missing Andrew, who is loving life on his mission trip in Arizona this week:

They have been helping at a school all week (and playing with the kids at recess!)

Look how close to the border of Mexico he is!

He said In n' Out was legit

Cacti!

Andrew and his partner leading a retreat for 4th graders

The crew before leaving Ohio

Week in Review: Spring Break in Winter's Wake

Happy Friday!  

The rain this week has washed away a lot of the snow, and we can finally see some grass again.  The big guys are all about to start their Spring Break week, with Andrew flying to Arizona for his mission trip tomorrow, and JP and Eamon and Eamon's friend driving home this weekend - yay!  Franciscan held an Irish fest last night, which they were all able to attend.  Eamon (only 19) says he just held the beer for the picture "to look more Irish", as if that kid could look anything but Irish.

Grandpa enlisted Declan and Brendan to help him build a snowman, as Grandpa loves to do:

They also used the bed boxes to pretend to camp outside.  They lasted about five minutes.

What Would You Do?

(Asking for a friend, obviously.)

Scenario One:

Husband and Wife watch tv together in bed each evening.  Wife wants to turn the tv off and fall asleep around 9:30 but husband wants to keep watching tv for awhile.  

Should wife just try to fall asleep with tv on, which is difficult for her?  Or should husband leave their comfy bed and watch tv in the family room, which may result in sleeping on the couch?

Scenario Two:

College boys report Honda Odyssey is being weird.  They bring it to a mechanic who tells them it's unsafe to drive anymore and it needs a whole new engine.  They now need a replacement.

Should parents buy a used car, though they were not financially ready, to have available for the boys at spring break, so that they have one for the rest of the semester?  Or should college kids have to go without a car for the rest of the semester, and parents postpone buying one until the summer?

Scenario Three:

Husband and Wife work three jobs each in order to provide for all of the expenses of a family of nine with three in college this fall.  Husband and wife now make enough income to barely cover said expenses, but also "too much income" when it comes to some of the benefits they used to get when they earned less.  Financial aid packages are stingier, some scholarships are now non-eligible, tax deductions/credits are going away, and discounts we received in past for certain services are not available to us anymore.

Should we keep killing ourselves with work to provide to our best ability, even though it means we lose money in benefits?  Or should we figure out the income necessary to qualify for all of the benefits we used to receive, and earn only that much?

(Yes, my friend is aware that these are first world problems.)

Week in Review: The Blizzard of 2026 and Other Things

Happy Last Day of February!  

I don't know why people don't love February - it's such a short and fun month...with Valentine's Day, and my birthday, and a week off from school...and also Ash Wednesday, and snow storms and freezing temps...okay maybe I do understand a wee bit!

Maggie came home from her mission trip on Saturday, and was immediately missing the beautiful Florida weather:

Final day was a fun one at Disney Springs

The Maggies painting.  They also gardened and sorted food at a food shelter.

The Maggies dancing next to their future selves :) while visiting the nursing home.

Maggie was missing home-cooking, so we (Phil) made a thai chicken and noodle dish to welcome her home:

Declan had a fun day bowling with friends on Saturday:

Xander went out with friends to the mall and Brendan had his best friend over for the day, so everybody had fun before we were snowed in:

Lunch time!

Play time!