Merry Christmas- 2010

This year for the Castro's could not be defined as quiet, boring, uneventful, or calm, but it was exciting!! We learned this year that nothing we can do or experience even compares to the abundance that comes from knowing and following Jesus as your Lord and Savior. He is able to provide for you in ways that are beyond your wildest dreams and imaginations.

One way that he demonstrated that to us this year was during a family trip we were able to take to Jamaica. We were blessed to go on this trip because Neil taught tennis in one of the resorts and it was there that God showed how He can make travel arrangements and coordinate experiences that absolutely take your breath away. Not only was our breath taken away in Jamaica, but also part of our heart was. As you can see in other posts, we were able to visit an orphanage while we were there and it was a day we will never forget. It has been my desire since that visit, that we will not forget what we saw and that we would not conform to the patterns of this world but that we would remember what we saw and allow God to use those memories to be his hands and feet and to accomplish His work.

Aside from that trip, our year was filled with many sporting events. Along with the usual soccer, baseball and basketball games, we added football, tennis and cross country to our repetoire of events. Neil and I enjoy every game, race, and match and love watching the kids do what they love.

On top of all of the athletic events that take up our time, Nicholas decided to take up French Horn in his school band and Cody joined the school choir. Lastly, Nicholas and Cody also were on a Robotics team for their school that competed with over 100 other teams from all over the valley.

Like I said, there is never a dull moment in the Castro household!!!

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a truly blessed Christmas season as we celebrate the birth of Jesus!!

Merry Christmas!!

Fall Birthdays

Nicholas turned 11 on October 3rd and Brett turned 8 on November 1st. Because their birthdays are so close, we often celebrate them together.

We had the family over for dinner, cake and ice cream and had a great time with all the cousins!!

Nicholas had some of his friends over for a party Minute to Win It Style....

And Brett had two friends over for pizza, movies and a slumber party and mommy forgot to take pictures!!

FIrst Day of School 2010

This is our annual First Day of School picture that we take in front of the Nelson Elementary sign. It is hard to believe that this is already the sixth picture I have in this spot.

This year Nicholas is in 5th grade, Cody in 4th and Brett in 2nd and we absolutely love Nelson Elementary!!

Fall Sports Recap

Well....we survived a pretty wild and crazy fall. Every other year the boys are just far apart in age that they all have to be on three seperate soccer teams. That happened to us this year. On top of soccer, this year Nicholas, as a fifth grader, was able to experience his first taste of football- with pads and all. Seeing him on the football field for the first time, outfitted in his pads and helmet was another slap in the face and reminder of how fast he is growing up. He looked way too big to be my son!! Although the team did not have a very successful year, Nicholas is warning us that football has become his favorite sport because, "It is fun to hit people."
Cody, as a 4th grader, got to experience his first taste of upper-grade sports: cross country. He did great and although he did not wear Nicholas's lucky yellow hat from the previous year, he did just as good as his brother did. He placed first or second in every head to head competition with the other schools and placed 10th out of 120 runners at the district finals!! He truly loves to compete!!

Cody also decided that he wanted to start playing tennis. So, we decided to enter him into his first tennis tournament out at Fig Garden Racquet Club to see how he would handle it. Of course, he loved it and asks us every week when he can play again. I think it really helped that he took third and got to come home with a trophy in his first tournament!!

Brett played Under 8 soccer again this year and was a star on the field scoring at least one goal in every game. His favorite position to play is forward and he had a great time on a team filled with all his favorite buddies.

Blossom Garden Recap

This is going to be a long one....I can tell. There are so many thoughts and emotions swirling around in my head that I can only pray that God would help me get them all in print so that I don't forget.

Our trip to Jamaica was an amazing blessing beyond what we ever could have imagined or expected. It was the best quality, family time we have ever had together. We were able to eat, play, swim, snorkel, eat, pray, read, eat and play some more with no demands of our time. We had the best conversations and I got more spontaneous hugs from the boys than I have had in a while. It was as the commercial says....priceless.

But, beyond a doubt the best experience of the trip was our visit to the orphanage. Not because it was so uplifting, but because it changed all of us forever. Leading up to the trip, I prayed every day that God would do a work in the hearts of my children. That their eyes would be opened to the needs of the world and that God would plant seeds in their heart and grab their hearts forever. I am sure that He did that and more. The boys did so good at the orphanage!! If you know my children, they are all pretty shy in new situations. But not there. As soon as we arrived and were told what they could do, they got to work. They actively played and interacted with the older children and in the baby room they held, rocked, fed and played with the babies. It touched my heart in such a way that I had trouble holding back the tears at times. Brett was in his element in the baby room. When babies cried, he picked them up out of their crib, rocked them, patted their back, read them books, whatever they needed to be consoled. It was as if he was 10 years older and had done this before.

But, what I was not prepared for was the way that God would rip my heart out of my chest. In a book I am reading it says that in order for us to make a difference in this world, God will break our hearts for the things that break his. That is what he did to me....completely broke my heart for these children. As we walked into the baby room while the director was showing us around the orphanage, a sweet little girl with big, deep brown eyes and a cute little button nose walked passed her caregivers, all the way across the room to my feet and raised her hands up to me for me to pick her up. She then wrapped her arms around my neck and laid her head on my shoulder. That was the beginning of the end for me.

What affected me the most was the realization that these children are not being held, loved, cuddled, played with, read to, and cared for the way they need to be. The caregivers are wonderful ladies, but with the task of feeding, cleaning and caring for 56+ children, the basic tasks of survival are what is focused on. And I am sure it is the same way at all orphanages. It breaks my heart to think what lies in store for these babies who are not receiving the love and affection that is so needed by children at this age. And it blew me away that at 12 months old, Natasha was able to identify that need and find a way to get it met.....by walking up to a complete stranger and begging to be held.

For the majority of the day we played, held, cuddled, read to and fed the babies that were in the baby area. We helped to feed all of the babies lunch and then had to leave right before they were putting them all down for naps. The director of the orphanage asked us how we had found out about the orphanage and why we had chosen to visit. After explaining to her about studying James 1:27 in church and watching Extreme Home Makeover, she was grateful for how God led us to Blossom Garden. We also explained how many of our friends and family had donated items and money and although she normally does not allow pictures to be taken of the children, she made an exception for us so that we could show all of the donors where their donations went. She was a very gracious, loving woman and although I would love to post the pictures on this blog, she made me promise that I would not post the pictures of the children on the internet.

As we were leaving the orphanage, she grabbed a group of children to pose with us holding some of the items we brought with us. I swept up one of the little boys in my arms for the picture and after the picture was taken as I was putting him down he tightened his grip around my neck. I told him "Go play with the kids because we have to go bye-bye." To which he shook his head no and grabbed my neck even tighter. He then pointed to the door we were going out as if to say that he wanted to go with us. When I could not pry his arms and legs off of me, one of the workers had to come and pull him away. I walked out the doors, sobbing, knowing that I had just left a piece of my heart at Blossom Garden.

Which leaves me where I am at now. I know for sure that we will be visiting more orphanages in the future and although I would love to, I don't think that it is realistic for us to bring home 3-4 children every time we visit one. So I sit, and pray and wait to see what God would have us do next all the while praying that we do not forget what we have seen or how it made us feel.

I am so grateful for the abundance that God blessed us with on this trip all while opening our eyes to the needs of His children. I also continue to pray that we will not let the insignificances of life get in the way of what should be our priorities. I do not want to get swept away by the current of busyness and forget about what is truly important in this life that passes by in the blink of an eye.