New camera - new pictures

When the sensor on your five year old digital camera just gives up and burns out, that is not a good thing, except that you get to upgrade to something new and shiny. That happened to me this week. Here are some pictures with me getting used to my favorite new Canon camera (SX130).

It's hard to take bad pictures with subjects this cute!

How does one dad get blessed with that many adorable kids?

Real Heroes

We all need heroes to look up to, to encourage us to do greater things. Some find these role models in sports figures, famous musicians, government leaders or in any other number of vocational roles and callings. There is a category of hero often overlooked by young people of today. These people are humble people, spiritual giants, who place their talents and very lives at the service of others. I'm talking about priests, religious and normal Christians who devote their lives to following the Gospel and answering our Lord's calling.  In today's moral and spiritual climate, it is hard to find leaders and heroes worth emulating.  So many have shown themselves to not be worthy of our trust.

Over the last couple years, and especially recently our family has had the opportunity to meet many examples of the positive kind. Our very own Caleb the photo nut has been lucky enough to have his picture taken with many of these heroes.  I thought I'd share a few of those photos and their stories with you, in the hopes that someone reading may decide to adopt a new hero, and as a tribute to the work these people have done shining a light on our life's path when we needed one.

Starting locally, I'd have to begin by thanking our own pastor, Reverend Marc Oliver, pictured below with the Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan and some other men at a recent vocation dinner at our local seminary for young men considering the priesthood.  Father Oliver is special for a lot of reasons, not least of which are the ministries he leads that reach out to local university students, the hispanic community and his pursuit of excellence and faithfulness in celebration of the daily mass.  His work leading the restoration of St. Peter's church in Kingston is nothing short of incredible.

Next I'd like to give a bit of tribute to a man who needs no introduction, Father Benedict Groeschl, founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.  Fr. Groeschl has spent his life restoring a sense of proper religious life, serving the poor in cities around the world, and writing and talking on the faith in a way that has encouraged a whole new evangelical zeal amongst the people he as touched.  The work of his friars at local summer camps and weekend retreats has impacted our family personally on many occasions.  Fr. Groeschel's impact on us actually began at the beginning of our marriage when we saw him speak as a newly married couple awaiting our first child.  Below are pictures of that child, kneeling to talk and be blessed by the old priest himself, at a recent men's conference in Newark, NJ.  Caleb had the chance to see Fr. Groeschl not once but twice in the span of a month, yielding the second set of pictures below.


While we are on Christian leaders in the greater New York area, let's cover a few more starting with a few more of Archbishop Dolan himself.  Having heard this man talk at least six times now in person all I can say is what a godly man he is.  His love for people, the church and his Lord is evident in everything he says and does.  Since coming to New York in 2009, he has been a great inspiration to our family and he gets out to see his flock, even in the far north on a regular basis.  He currently leads the US bishops conference, and in the past was chariman of Catholic Relief Services.

Two other great servants of our archdiocese are the rector of the Saint Joseph's seminary in Yonkers, Bishop Walsh (pictured below with the Archbishop) and the vocations director Father Luke Sweeney.  Bishop Walsh actually confirmed Caleb, and Fr. Sweeney runs the wonderful Cathedral Prep program for young men discerning a possible vocation to the priesthood.  We are very thankful for their blessings on our area and son.

To round out our collection of priestly heroes, we have had the opportunity a couple times to hear Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life talk.  What a wonderful priest he is on the front lines of the fight for recognition of rights of smallest and most powerless among us, children in the womb.

One more person I'd like to recognize via a picture is Steve Wood of the Family Life Center, International and St. Joseph's Covenant Keepers.

Like me, Steve is a father and convert to the Catholic faith.  When I was first married, his counsel on all topics related to marriage, fathering and faith was invaluable to me.  I've listened to countless radio, TV and podcast programs by Steve, but recently heard him talk in person for the first time.  As usual, he was truly inspring.  Thank you Steve!

Well there you have it.  Quite a few heroes worth emulating for young men (and young women) who wish to follow Jesus Christ.  There are so many more I could list, but these are just a few who have touched our lives directly and personally in the recent past.

Who are your heroes?  Are they the rich and famous only, or do they include people such as these of strong faith and character?  If you need a further set of examples to follow, you don't need to look any further then the lives of the saints (or Saint of the Day), recent and ancient for further guidance and wisdom.  May God Bless you in your walk with godly influences and true heroes.

Spring is coming - but in the meantime, there's Funny Farm

Our little ones like to run a lot.  After this long, cold, snowy winter, thankfully there is a place nearby where they can run and jump to their hearts content.

Looking forward to the days when we can do our running outside more.  I think they are coming soon.

Love of a Father

The love of a father is (or should be) unconditional.  It knows no end.  Prior to last fall I had known the joy of a baby or small child coming into our lives five times, and I didn't think it was in the cards to be blessed that way again.  But then God sent a little inspiration, a lot of grace and a big bundle of joy my way.  It has been a long time since I posted because November and December were consumed with the great Ukrainian adventure:  Bringing home our little Julia.

Every time I walk through the house and see a little pair of shoes, a child's toy that wasn't there before or the little blond haired, blue eyed angel herself crawling around our family room, I pinch myself wondering, "is this real"?  It's real all right.  When I tuck her in at night or watch her gobble down her dinner I am so thankful she is with us.  We've got a long road ahead of us and much to learn, but that's ok.  I'm glad to be along on this ride.

This little girl has got my heart wrapped around her little finger real good.  Here are some of the faces that have been lighting up our days for the last month.

The joys of pajama time...

Playtime with Julia...

Oh the days in Kharkov (city of her birth)...

And the final days in Kyiv on the way home, captured by her loving older brother:

Those are some of the many faces of Julia and I'm so glad they are in my life.  Little Julia, know that you will always have the love of a father in your life from here on out.

Family Fun

Those of you following our adoption blog may have noticed we are getting close to traveling time.  Can't wait to meet our new little girl.  In the meantime, we have had some real fun times right here in New York State recently.  It is fall here in the Hudson Valley which means the colors are exploding everywhere.

Like outside my office window:

And on the New York State highways:

And from the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge:

Earlier in the week we got to pick some fall pumpkins and apples...

Apple and Pumpkin Picking

Then today we got to see the inside of that beautiful cathedral in Albany I mentioned briefly a few posts ago as well as visit the state museum in Albany.

From Albany Cathedral

From NYS Museum

So the fall is in full swing.  Hope you are enjoying yours too.

Another beautiful, holy place (Not a gloomy monastery)

When most of us think of religious life, we think of a demanding, austere lifestyle locked away in a murky monastery somewhere, don't we?

I've gotten a couple chances this year to get a glimpse of this lifestyle in a closer and more personal way then before.  The first was visiting the convent and order where my paternal grandmother studied for several years hoping to become a nun before having to leave for medical reasons.  The second is through taking my oldest son to a weekend program at the seminary for our area in Yonker's, NY - St. Joseph's Seminary at Dunwoodie.

What I have seen through these experiences is that these living, breathing communities are every bit as challenging, enjoyable and vibrant as any other kind of vocation.  The seminary is truly one of the most beautiful campuses I have ever visited.

 

Perhaps you already expected a seminary to look like that.  How about this - a recreation center with basketball, swimming, weights, table tennis, pool,...  It's hard to have a healthy mind without a healthy body, right?

What is the point of this?  Simply this.  The world needs more people who understand the value of sacrifice and who are willing to commit themselves to a cause larger then their own self interest.  But sacrifice in this sense only means "giving what you cannot keep to gain that which you cannot lose" (Jim Elliot, 1949).  When we commit ourselves entirely to the work the Lord has laid out for us, he has a way of compensating us far beyond that which our meager efforts could ever hope to earn.  If you feel Him calling you to something big, be it a religious vocation or something else, don't be afraid to answer.  You'll be glad you did.

For more on the beautiful and peaceful architecture of Dunwoodie, see the full album.

My Musical Hero(es)

Those of you who know me know I love music.  Listening, playing, singing music is all good to me.  I've enjoyed most styles of music at one time or another in my life, but for the last 16 or so years, Christian music (some contemporary, some traditional) has been the main focus.  There is just nothing like a song whose melody and lyrics lift us up to God or place us in his presence.  Once you have listened to this kind of music, other styles sound like a pale imitation of something real.

When something touches your heart at its deepest levels, you want to share it with those around you.  For that reason I'd like to share with you about my favorite singer, songwriter and performer bar none, Steven Curtis Chapman (SCC).

With his 56 Dove Awards, 5 Grammy’s, 1 American Music Award, 16 studio projects, and 45 career number 1 radio singles, SCC is hardly a big secret of mine or anything, but I'm always amazed how many people I meet have not heard of him or listened to his music.  If you are wondering what possessed me to write this today, we saw Steven and a lot of his family in a very special concert night recently, but more on that later.  Let me start with the introductions.

He is a singer, songwriter, plays mostly guitar but does some fine keyboards as well.  Born in Paducah, Kentucky, he currently hails from Franklin, TN and the Nashville area.

The picture to the left (one of my favorites of SCC) I believe is from the sessions for an awesome acoustic album he recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, former home to the Beatles.  How cool is that!

He and his wife Mary Beth were both born roughly in the mid-60s, around the same time as my wife and I.  They have three biological children and have adopted three times the same as we will soon have if all goes well.  Although they are roughly our ages they were married a good bit before us, so as we approach any milestone in life, we find the Chapman's have recently been there before and usually have some wisdom to share through their story and music.  Steven is a very gifted preacher and story teller, and has a way of sharing sacred scripture that is both accessible and memorable.

As far as those life milestones go, Patty and I saw Steven on tour the first year we were married when we were expecting our first child.  It was in Worcester, MA with the Newboys on the "Heaven in the Real World" tour.  The child we were expecting during that concert turned out to be our son Caleb, somewhat coincidentally the same name as the Chapman's oldest son (2nd child) Caleb.  It would be about 10 years before I would have a chance to see SCC live again.

In the intervening 10 years our family would grow from three to six members, two more by birth, one by adoption.  The Chapmans adopted a little girl from China.  We adopted our little Gabriela from Guatemala. Once again they were one step ahead of us leading the way.  Never ones to do things halfway, the Chapmans established an orphan ministry called show Hope after their first adopted daughter Shaohannah.

While we were busy with our first adoption and raising our new baby girl and other three children we lost track of the Chapmans, while continuing to listen to his music all the time.  The next thing you know we heard the wonderful news that the Chapman's had adopted not once more, but twice more, and were now the proud parents of three little girls from China.  This did not seem the typical family story of a super affluent Nashville family.  We were pretty impressed.

In 2005, I saw him live in Albany, NY with my two oldest children on the "All Things New" tour with Casting Crowns and Chris Tomlin.  I had never heard of either artist before that night, but Steven introduced me through that concert to what would become two of my other favorite Christian groups/musicans over the next 6 years.  Sure enough during the concert that night Steven shared a video and lots of stories about their three little princesses back at home.

Life rolled along for the Lococo family. In May of 2008 we heard with shock and horror that the Chapman's youngest daughter Maria Sue had passed away in a tragic accident in the family's driveway.  Our hearts grieved for this family and the little girl they loved so much that they sought her out to bring her home from the other side of the world.

Maria Sue Chapman Memorial

Like many around the world interested in their music or adoption ministries, we prayed for the Chapmans.  Around the same time we began to feel called to adopt again.  The story of our second and third adoptions (last one still in progress) are covered in more detail on our adoption blog "Hope for Every Child".  As we pursued that second adoption we waited to see how God would work in the Chapman's lives following this sad, sad event.  We didn't have to wait for long.

Within the year after Maria's death, Steven somehow found the grace to write again, and begin to process all they were going through.  He created a set of simple, raw, beautiful songs to describe the process that would ultimately become the recording "Beauty Will Rise".

Steven's good friend Michael W. Smith offered to create a joint tour titled simply "United" where they could go on the road together and try to begin a return to normalcy (in a professional musician's interpretation of that word).  Amazingly the show came to the wonderful Palace Theater in Albany, NY near us, so we got to see the show.  In an added treat, Steven's boys Caleb and Will Franklin, were traveling with him to learn the music business.  Caleb played backup guitar for the band and did really well!  The night was truly one of the best concerts of my life, with outstanding contributions from both the SCC and MWS camps present.  The amount of hope and strength exhibited by the Chapmans despite what they had been through was nothing short of inspiring.

It is in times such as these that you see if a person's faith is real or make believe.  Steven once again used every bit of his faith, speaking and writing abilities and musicianship to tackle this situation head on and search out his Father's will in it.

This concert was around November and we were in the middle of the process to bring home our son Addisu from Ethiopia the following June.  It was a beacon of light and hope to us during this process. 

That beacon ended up being much needed because the following Easter our entire Ethiopian adoption dossier was lost in transit to the orphanage.  Anyone who has ever prepared an adoption dossier knows this is not a small deal.  We actually got to see Steven and the boys twice during that adoption.  They came back even closer to our home to a nearby church in Poughkeepsie, NY in June 2009 shortly before I left for Ethiopia.  Seeing the fine musician's both  Caleb and Will were growing into was refreshing.  They were joined by Steven's good friend Geoff Moore for some good times during the evening as well.

Which brings us up to today. We are nearing the end of our third adoption as I said before.  The Chapmans and Show Hope have completed building a wonderful facility in China for special needs orphans called Maria's Big House of Hope.


And once again the Chapman's came to visit us.  This time for the "Night with the Chapman's" tour.  It was a wonderful chance to see the boys new band "Caleb", see Steve playing his new custom/signature model Taylor guitar, and hear Mary Beth's side of the story.

Two years after the tragedy the family seems to be doing really well.  Their work in orphan ministry and proclaiming the Gospel continues, and for now that is enough.  They know Maria is safe in her saviour's arms and they will be with her again in God's time.

Musically the performances were outstanding, and the boys proved their band can stand on its own with fresh, compelling, original songs of their own.  They still backed up Steven for his set and did a great job at that.  And Mary Beth got to poke some fun at SCC in a way that only a wife can.

So, what does this saga of adoption, family and Christian music mean, and why did I bother writing it?  I think it means, when you put yourself in he middle of God's plan and engage yourself in his work, wonderful things will happen.  Sad things will also happen, but you will be able to bear them, and even turn them for good.  It means we are all kind of the same regardless of if we live in Nashville or New York, are famous or regular, because we are all made is His image ultimately.

Thank you Steven and Mary Beth for your witness.  Caleb and Will Franklin - keep on doing your thing - you are on your way!  We love you all.