July 2008

July 29, 2008
Joey is nuts about karate and will get his black belt (along w/Josh) at the end of the year. I’m so proud of them. I’m so proud of all my kids. They have developed into such wonderful conscientious, hard working young people. They’re tackling the real world with determination and Michael especially has defended his faith, his political views, his morals and has come away with a reputation for being ethical, honest and a man not to be messed with. Joey is the other fighter of the family, being the most athletic and weight pumping guy in the house. His role models being Rambo and Rocky, he is big and buff yet shy and soft spoken. He reminds me so much of Andrew (Gonzalez) and they could be twins. He says what he means, laughs when he finds something funny and not just because everyone else is, and is true to himself. I think that’s what makes him unique. He doesn’t try to be something he’s not. He likes his time to himself and doesn’t demand a lot. He is a messy guy though and admittedly needs to work on his sloppiness. The Marines will fix that.

Matthew has grown up so much in the last year especially. He has matured a lot, gotten taller and more responsible. Still, he is the quirkiest son I’ve got! He’s almost Monkish. I’m referring to the character of the TV show ‘Monk’, not a religious monk! He’s gaining confidence in himself, which is great. It is so ironic that the patron saint of tax collectors, bankers, and money managers is St Matthew because Matt has a way with numbers and stats. He remembers all sorts of baseball stats and can do some pretty good math skills mentally. He’s meticulous with things and goes around shutting doors, cupboards, and drawers, closing caps to lotions and soaps, even when I’m in the middle of using them. Drives me nuts but that’s Matt. He corrects us when we say the wrong word or aren’t clear on pronouns. Drives everyone batty w/that. He doesn’t go by the old saying I came up with, "Don’t listen to what I say, understand what I mean." He goes by exactly what we say. So if we say it wrong, he’ll either correct us or go by that. He’s just a quirky guy!

Matt is wonderful with Paul. He plays with him a lot and teaches him many little things, cares for him and watches over him. Paul looks up to him and often rewards Matt by making sounds or doing things with him that he won’t with me. Matt is quite patient with him. He’s a wonderful big brother to him. I think he sometimes gets tired of being the ‘little brother’ so he takes particular pride in being Paul’s big brother.