To My Father on Father's Day

The older I get and the more people I meet, the more I realize what a gem my dad is.  There are many things that I love about my dad, but one of the things I love most about him is that he is crazy about his faith.  Growing up, we would often have mini catechesis lessons at the dinner table where Dad would share his love and knowledge of the faith with us.  He has always wanted us to love the faith as much as he did.  I used to watch him in Mass...so reverent and so fully engaged...nothing seemed to make him turn his head.  Just by watching him, I knew that the Lord was truly present.  Now I see the same reverence in my brothers and I can't help but beam with pride.

Dad with his 2 half brothers and his sisters

And talk about being pro-life...what a witness?!  It takes a lot of faith to say yes to the Lord every time he calls you to parenthood.  It is not always easy to think about handling another child physically, emotionally, and financially, especially if your quiver already seems to be overflowing, but he trusted in God and said yes every time....13 times!  I thank him from the bottom of my heart for always saying yes.  My siblings are my best friends.

The Titus family in July 2010

Another thing I love about my dad is his beautiful example of generosity.  He gives so much of himself to others, especially his family.  He has always made a point to be at every one of his kid's events; he was home every night for family dinner, and he chauffeured us around to our activities every evening.  I am so thankful to have a dad who was a part my childhood because I know that is not always the case these days.  Now, as a parent, I know how many sacrifices he made for us kids every single day.  

Dad with Madeline (6 1/2) at his 25th Wedding Anniversary Party

My dad has always made family a priority.  By reserving Sundays as family days, having nightly family dinners, bringing us to our siblings events, etc...he helped us become each other's best friends.  He always enjoys having everyone around...even if we aren't doing a specific activity together, he likes us all to be together.  His influence has definitely rubbed off on all of us, as we take each and every opportunity we can to get together.  I thank him for his example...for his influence...for all he has done to keep our family together.  Men like my dad are few and far between.  He's a real-life super hero...at least in my eyes.

I Love you, Dad!  You mean the world to me!

Happy Father's Day!

Friday Funnies

Rose:
She told me she was going up in my sister Madeline's room to make her bed.  I went up after a while to check on her and this is what I found:

Madeline's bed

Olivia's bed

Ava:
"Why are there so many police cars at the library?  Maybe they want to get police books."

Madeline:
"I wish there was rubber band school so I could learn how to do my hair by myself."

Two different sleeping positions we found Madeline in...in 2 different rooms!

Ella:
I love to hear little ones laugh.

Rose, Ava, and Madeline's conversation yesterday:
In the car Rose was complaining that her tummy hurt.  Ava told her that maybe her tummy hurt because she was car sick.  Madeline said, "No, bike sick."  Then Ava replied, "Sometimes I get bike sick."  Rose said, "Sometimes I get bike tired."

We told them to pose

HAPPY Friday!

Good-bye OLMC

Madeline, my youngest sibling, graduated from 8th grade last week.  After 20 years at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, the Mark and Debi Titus family says good-bye.  It was a bittersweet moment because although I was excited for Madeline to be moving on to the next stage of her life, the school has been a part of our lives for so long it will be weird not going back there.

OLMC has been such a treasure in my family's life.  The school provided a solid Catholic education, the Dominican sisters, wonderful families, and an awesome tuition plan...just to name a few.  A school like OLMC is hard to find...believe me, I've looked.  Paul and I say that if we lived in Carmel, the education choice would be an easy one...we really need to find a way to move back!

For now, Jonathan's kids are carrying on the Titus legacy at the school and I am sure Alex's kids (and other sibling's kids) will follow.  So Mom and Dad aren't gone from the school completely...they just graduated to Grandparent status :)

Me and the 5 youngest Titus kids

Brothers...what would we do without them.

Thanks, OLMC!  It's been a good ride!

Carmel Photoshoot

Max is becoming quite the photographer.  Ever since he bought his nice camera, he has been taking a TON of pictures and figuring out how to get just the right shot.  While we were in Carmel last week, I asked him if he could get a few close-up shots of my girls.  He got some amazing shots.  Here are some of my favorites:

Sweet baby profile shot

 Silly Faces

Then he told me he wanted to go to downtown Carmel to take some pictures of me.  Luckily Olivia got back from work just in time to go with us.  In most of the pictures, I am cracking up at HER.  She just makes everything more fun!  Here our some of my favorites from our photoshoot:

Jumping...but doesn't it look like we are floating?!

It looks like we are having a funny conversation in these pics, but really
Olivia is just acting.  I am not THAT funny :)

In the middle of a cartwheel

Thanks, Max, for a fun evening and AWESOME pics!