The Boys - Part 3: Mario

Mario

Mario.  Where to begin.  Mario is all over the place.  Especially after a little bit of sugar.  Really, seriously the kid should not be ingesting sugar.  However, that is all beside the point.  Mario is ornery.  He is great at getting in trouble and with his cute smile equally as good at getting out of trouble.  He tends to keep that behavior at home though.  In school he is a model student.  Honor Roll student.  His Spanish teacher recently told me that, "Mario is a born leader."  Maybe she was giving him a compliment or maybe just saying he really enjoys bossing people around.  I can see it being taken either way.

Mario is very good at taking the temperature of a room.  He knows when it is time to play and when it is time to help someone through a rough day with a hug.  He cares for all of us here in the house.  Always willing to tell a quick joke or just be there when someone needs it.  His heart is just about as big as you will find in a 13 year old his size.  Yea that's right folks, Mario is officially a teenager!  Now we have five of those in the house!

Mario loves music.  Especially music in English.  He is constantly singing even if he isn't quite sure about the lyrics.  He also loves reading.  He has read a few chapter books this year including the first two book of the Chronicles of Narnia.  He is hoping to read a few more during our upcoming break from school.  He also recently made his debut on the school's soccer team playing defense. 

We love our Mario and love watching him grow into what we are sure will be a great man.

The Boys - Part 2: Francisco

Francisco

The brothers are certainly all very individual.  They all have their little quirks that make them unique.  However, Francisco stands out.  He is very different from his brothers.  He has a logic and reasoning to him that is far beyond his 11 years.  He thinks things through all the way before he acts.  He rationalizes his different actions and reactions like no other child I have ever seen.  Really all this is to say I'm impressed every single day by this guy.  He is so much more than that cute face we see at first.

I guess the best word I can use to describe Francisco is honest.  It's a hard thing to prove to people.  Especially when you are in third grade.  I'm gonna tell you a little story that amazes me to this day.  A story that brought Francisco and I together and helped seal the bond that we have.  A few months back the boys were doing their exams at school.  Francisco needed to learn the multiplication tables but was having trouble with the 7's and 8's.  We would practice for hours after school but still he struggled.  I mean come on those are the toughest ones!  Well the day of the exam came and went.  His teacher told me he got 30/30 a perfect score!  I was so proud!  All that hard work had paid off.  When we got home we started studying for the next days exams but there was something wrong with Francisco.  He just wasn't his normal upbeat self.  I had it in my head I was gonna talk with him after we finished studying but he had the same idea brewing in his head I guess because before we even finished he stopped me and asked to talk.  He looked me square in my eyes and said "I cheated on my exam today, Corey...."  I wasn't sure what to say at first.  No one had caught him cheating, no one asked him if he did, and no one suspected he did.  However, here he was admitting to something.  It took me a second to gather my thoughts and I said, "Well buddy, why are you telling me?"  Without skipping a beat he spouted off how horrible he felt for cheating, how he knew it was wrong, and how he desperately wanted to fix it.  I told him the only way to fix it was to be honest.  The next day he headed in to school and admitted to the teacher what he had done.  She was just as confused as I was to hear this child, yea a kid, telling the truth so openly.  Feeling so bad about what he had done.

When we got home from school that day we had a long talk including some big old tears.  I told him how proud I was of him for doing the right thing.  I am always proud of our boys.  Always.  I love the relationship Francis and I have.  I love that he is able to come to me with anything.  Knowing he will even tell me when he cheats on a test shows me that.  Francisco has improved academically a lot this year.  The honest way.  Hard work and determination.  This little speed bump did't stop him.  He recently was selected for the school's soccer team and played in his first game.  I am so happy to be helping coach the boys because seeing them on the field using all that energy is pretty awesome.  In his first game he played every second and did a great job.  The coach on the other team even came up to me after the game to say how impressed he was with Francisco's enthusiasm on the field.

The Boys - Part 1: Antonio

Okay well I've gotta start off by saying "I'm sorry." Yea it has been over a year since my last blog, 370 days to be exact. I've gotta thank Amber Foster for getting it in my head and heart that I should bring my blog back to life. Speaking of life mine revolves around some really special boys. Over the past year they've changed from being the boys to well no other way to say it but "My Boys." (And Carlo's and David's of course) This last year has been full and I mean FULL of ups and downs. Luckily Our God has given way more ups than downs. The boys have been on the Honor Roll for every grading period this year and have been model students. I can't begin to tell you how often I get to hear from teachers and staff how amazing these boys are. Each time I hear something I can't help but grin ear to ear with pride at how much they have grown.

 Let's start with the little guy, Jairo Antonio. That's not a typo. His legal name is Jairo. Hard to imagine after being called Antonio for so long. My mom calls him her "Little Man." It is literally impossible not to love him. His smile is so big it actually overtakes his face and causes everyone around him to smile as well. I've been so impressed by how he has grown in the classroom. Last year at this time he was just learning how to read. Now he is reading every chance he gets and is one of the top students in his class. This is in large part due to two amazing ladies at my school that have been great teachers for my mom's "Little Man." Thanks Ms. Claudia and Ms. Fanny so much for all you have done for him over this past year. We know that without these awesome women he would not be the student he currently is in the classroom. Being the youngest in the house isn't always easy, but Antonio does not let that stop him from doing everything that his big brothers are doing. He is always outside playing soccer with the kids that are twice, well maybe three times, his size. His intensity in the classroom definitely spills over to the soccer field.

 Recently we had a parade at school to celebrate Honduras Independence Day. Antonio and his classmates were athletes carrying different flags and just having a good time in general. As my class and parents walked a little ways behind him one of my parents pulled me aside to comment on how this little boy in Second Grade was having more fun than anyone else at the parade. She showed me a picture she had taken, and of course it was Antonio's giant grin showing up on her screen. Just goes to show how he brings joy to just about every activity he is a part of.

We love our "Little Man" a lot. When things seem a little down around the house he is always there to bring a smile to our faces. I can't imagine my life without Jairo Antonio, he most certainly is a blessing.