Blossom Garden Orphanage

Our family has been blessed with a wonderful opportunity to take a family trip to Jamaica in June. Last month as we were watching one of our favorite shows, Extreme Home Makeover, we saw a spotlight about a school in Jamaica. We learned from watching the spotlight that many of the children in Jamaica do not even own a pair of shoes. Upon further investigation, we learned that many Jamaicans live in squalor, with poor housing, limited food supply, and inadequate access to clean water, quality health care, or education.
Last month, in church we studied the book of James. James 1:27 says “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
That same week we realized that there is an orphanage in Jamaica only a few minutes from where we will be staying. Blossom Garden is an orphanage that houses approximately 70 children from the ages of birth to 7 years old. These are children who have become wards of the state and the orphanage, although it is state funded, still is in need of many basic supplies and support.
Our family has decided to put our faith into action and we will be visiting the orphanage to assist in any way we can by serving meals, playing with the children, blowing bubbles and reading books. It is also our hope that we can assist in supporting them by bringing along some of the items they are in need of. We were put in contact with the director of the orphanage through the Apostolic Christian World Relief organization and they informed us that they are in great need of:
· Clothing for boys and girls ages 5-9
· Bath soap
· Shampoo
· Small toys
But, we cannot do this on our own. It is our goal to fill many suitcases with clothes and supplies to leave at the orphanage. If you would like to join us in our project to be a blessing to Blossom Garden, you can donate any of the above items or make a donation that will go towards the purchase of the above items.
We will also be having a car wash at our house on Sunday, June 13th and a lemonade/cookie stand on the corner of West/Herndon on Friday, June 18th. Please join us at either event!
Thank you,
The Castro Family
Neil, Ann, Nicholas, Cody and Brett

Spring Break 2010

This year we were graciously invited to spend Spring Break at the coast with some friends, the Nishikawa's. They have two boys that go to school with our boys and they all five have a great time together. We got to make camp fires on the beach (Cody's favorite activity of the trip) and smores at night. The boys enjoyed their first real round of 18 holes with Jaret and Drew and we even made it to the Farmers Market in San Luis Obispo. We ate a ton and enjoyed the relaxation. Here are a few pics from the trip:

The boys hit the course. Funny how their golf swings look just like their baseball swings!

Making Smores

Cody and his buddy, Drew

Of course, I could not leave the coast without taking some portraits of the boys by the pier. This is Nicholas's 10 year old pic. Cody and Brett's pics are on the previous two posts.

Cody is Getting Baptized!!!

Two weeks ago, Cody got in the car after church asking questions about baptism. "What do you have to do, Mommy, when you get baptized?" "Who reads the story?" After I answered his questions, the conversation was abruptly ended.

I was a bit surprised because we have never discussed baptism with the boys. They have watched one or two at church, but it is not something we have talked about with them and none of them have ever shown any interest, that is, until that day.

The next week at church, as we were driving away, Cody announced, "I want to get baptized." This was the first Neil had heard of it because he was not in the car with us for the previous discussion. Neil asked him why he wanted to get baptized to which Cody answered, "I don't know." I decided to finish this conversation with him in private when we got home because Cody is a man of few words and not the most effective communicator. When he feels he is being questioned, he closes down.

So, when we got home I called him in to his room to try to feel out where this desire came from and to determine whether he understands the significance of this act. When I asked what he was feeling in his heart and why he wanted to do this, he continued to explain that he did not know. So I told him that Pastor Mitch would not allow him to be baptized if he could not explain what was going on in his heart. Mitch would probably tell him to wait until he is a bit older. To which he exclaimed, "It is because I love Him!"

That is all I needed to know....end of conversation. My man of few words communicated the perfect reasoning!! I am so proud of him and so excited to share in that special day with him. I will for sure post pictures, but he will not be baptized until August, so it may be a while.

Tender Moments....

Having three boys in three years- that are now all in school- definately has its challenges at times. For instance- the 3:30 to 8:30 scramble that takes place in our home every night. Let me give you an example. This was my day today:

3:30 get home from school and prepare the after school snack (sliced pears, chocolate milk and peanut butter pretzels)
Start homework and get ready for baseball practice

4:30 Leave for baseball practice

6:30 Return from practice
Start dinner

7:00 Eat dinner, do dishes, start laundry, feed the dog
Shower boys
Finish homework

8:30 Put boys to bed and read with each of them
Finish laundry, go through mail, get lunches and clothes ready for tomorrow


This time is a whirlwind and by the time 8:00 rolls around I am ready to crash in bed and I often dread having to read with the boys. I often rush the process and get frustrated when they get words wrong out of sheer exhaustion.

But tonight was different. When I was reading with the boys I relaxed enough to actually enjoy my time with them. We enjoyed the stories, laughed together and were even able to discuss the plot of the books. It was fun. When I was done reading with Brett, he said, "Mommy will you lay with me for a while?" My heart melted and of course I did.

As I laid there with his head on my chest and his hand on time of mine, I thanked God for moments like these and wondered why I don't enjoy them like this every night. It is so real to me that they are growing older much faster than I want them to, and I still rush through precious moments like reading together at night and miss them all together. But, tonight I didn't. I laid there until he fell asleep and I could feel him breathing deeply. Thanking God for opening my eyes to these blessings that I can experience every single night if I allow my self to slow down and enjoy them.

Papi Family Winter Vacation

This January, we were able to spend a weekend up at Tenaya Lodge in the snow thanks to Mimi and Papa. We had so much fun with Hannah and Logan making snowballs, swimming in the pool, sledding and just spending time together.