Emily's 8th Birthday

The family had a good time on Emily's 8th Birthday Party. Highlights included:

• Burning 4 racks of Baby Back Ribs (REALLY burnt - bone crumbling)
• Walking into the pool with my cell in my pocket (it's toast)
• Swimming
• Eating
• Modeling

Good times.

Coming Up

Hopefully, once we got this moving thing under control and school finally lets out, I'll be able to post some more -

Coming up in....

Parties and Pictures:
Alec's 12th birthday party
Nicholas 12th birthday party
Bob's birtday
St. Mark Derby Day
Emily, Rebecca and Kathy at the Legends Game

Norton's News, Notes 'n' Nonsense:
Updates on the new house
Updates on my job hunt
Kids riding their bikes
Jim and Diane visit
St. Mark Middle School Play

My Catholic Reflections:
Emily's First Holy Communion
Gifts of the Holy Spirit Series
Fruits of the Holy Spirit Series
Favorite Catholic Podcasts and Videocasts

Principal's Pokes and Ponderings:
Family Fun Night II: Aloha Style
Reflection on my tenure at Madison County Alternative and Day Treatment Programs

St. Mark Christmas Program: 2007

Videos From the Past: Stewart Family Reunion, August 9, 1997

Videos From the Past: Christmas in Cincinnati 1997

Kids in 2007 Christmas Parade

Nicholas is running in front of the truck.
Rebecca is the "giant peanut butter pattie"
Emily is in the back of the truck.
Kathy makes an appearance at the very end.

Pics of Cold Kids

Click here to see some pics of the kids playing in the snow.

Kids playing in the snow

Bunch of small clips strung together of the kids playing in the snow.

2006 St. Mark Christmas Program

Here's a short video of the kids in last night's school Christmas Program.

February is for Nicholas

Congratulations to Nicholas for having his artwork selected for the month of February on the 2007 Litter Calendar. Click here for the story in the Richmond Register.

The fact that his grandfather created and was in charge of the calendar had no bearing on his getting in. The artwork was judged by community leaders.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my wife, Kathy. Today she celebrates four decades of being alive!

Holy Father, please bless Kathy. Help her to have a great year and grow in Your grace. Thank you for letting us know Kathy. Help us all grow in love and faith. Help us all to praise You and give You glory through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rebecca's Birthday Dinner and Party: YouTube Video

Referee with a flare!

Who did the fans REALLY come to see?

Kids' School Pictures

Nicholas 2006-2007 School Picture - 5th grade

Rebecca 2006-2007 School Picture - 2nd grade

Emily 2006-2007 School Picture - 1st grade

Soccer Lessons

I haven't been posting lately because the beginning of the school year has hit us like brick. With Kathy working as the cafeteria manager at the kiddos' school, and with me being at the beginning of the school year, we haven't had much time for anything but eating and sleeping (and not much time for those, either).

I have mentioned in past postings that Nicholas is playing soccer for his school's middle school this year, even though he is in 5th grade. Practice and games have taken up every other day and the weekends lately. However, this evening's game made me the most proud.

Keeping in mind that Nicholas is in the 5th grade and he's playing for a middle school team, he doesn't get much playing time. He averages 5 minutes at the end of each half if he is lucky. He doesn't seem to mind, and we have encouraged a "team player" mentality when it comes to sports. God bless him if he has inherited his dad's athletic ability.

Tonight's game was his crowning moment so far this season. And he didn't even play. There was anotherplayer who locked his uniform in the school today and was unable to play. Recognizing that this other player was an intergral part of the team, Nicholas offered his jersey and cleats to this other player so he could play. The coaches didn't ask him, the players didn't ask him. I truly believe that he knew that sacrificing himself would benefit the team. I actually was angry when I saw the other player with his jersey, until I found out it was a selfless act initiated by Nicholas himself.

Whay do we have our kids play sports? To learn teamwork? To learn sportsmanship? To learn empathy? Nicholas seems to have learned all that already. He didn't score a goal. He didn't block a goal. He didn't even play - but according to his coach, he was the hero of the game.

Techno Geek Collaboration with Bobby and Zoo's Icam

Before we went to the Zoo, I was IMing Bobby and he said how much he wished he could go the zoo with us. I had found a Rhino and Gorilla Icam on the web when I was searching for zoo information. I told him about it, and in using it we found that you can zoom in on the observation deck at the rhino exhibit. So naturally.....

When we got to the rhino exhibit (about 4:30) I called Bobby. He got on the Rhino Icam and zoomed in on us, captured the page, and cropped the inamge in Photoshop. Pretty cool, eh? Anyway, here's a slideshow of what he took.

The Cincinnati Zoo: August 4, 2006

Two slideshow sets:
Animals at the Cincinnati Zoo (28 pics about 2.5 MB)
Family pics at the Zoo (24 pics about 2 MB)

Newport Aquarium - August 3, 2006

Check out this slideshow of the Newport Aquarium.

Wildwood Inn - August 2006

Slideshow of Wildwood Inn "Tropical Dome".

Kings Island 2006

Here are some pictures of our annual trip to Paramount Kings Island yesterday. Melissa, Papa and the boys were at Boomerang Bay when we got there, so they aren't in most of these pictures. We had great weather (90 with overcast, little humidity and no rain) and the lines were short (we walked on most rides). Great time!