Livin la Vida Leone: October 2008

The installation of South Carolina's new Bishop

Andres was asked by the new Lutheran bishop to participate in his installation ceremony. Here they are at the service.

Here is Andres with the out-going bishop.

A Lutheran Pastor from Panama, Sandy- the pastor who has a new lutheran mission on the other side of Columbia, the new Bishop-Bishop Herman Yoos, and Pastor Andres

Our first baptism at Cristo Rey

On Sunday, October 5, Andres baptized 3 brothers. It was really nice, though a bit chaotic.

The godparents dressed the boys in their white suits. I, the godmother of the middle boy, Luis, got to dress him.

Here's the godfather of the baby, Angel, who's name is Tom.

Andres baptizes Govani, the oldest boy.

Here we are baptizing Luis. It was quite a blessing to be involved this way.

From the eye of a 4-year-old

Elias loves to take pictures, and is learning to manage Mami's camera quite well. Here are some things you see from a 4-year-old's viewpoint.

Elias Soccer Star

Elias steals the ball and takes it down for the goal.

Here's Elias' best soccer buddy Benjamin and Coach Trevor. They look so much alike that we often confuse them on the field!

Getting congratulated after he made a GOAL!!!

Check out that foot work!

The kids decided to play "dress up" on Saturday. Here they are dressed like El Chulapo and La Chulapa, dancers from Spain. Abuela and Tia Maya brought them these outfits. ADORABLE, don't you think?? :-)

Bella eats chips and salsa while Elias helps Abuelo make empanadas for our big event today: a visit from the Lutheran Bishop to our church.

What goes on in the mind of a 2-year-old???

More party fun

Bella Celebrates Turning 2!

A few months ago I sent Bella's picture into Palmetto Parent magazine, a free publication that is produced here locally and has all kinds of good information about what to do with children, local resources, etc. Each month their sponsors give away a birthday party to a lucky winner, and for September "Miss Pigtails" won the party! It was at Gymboree, a gym for small children, and it was a lot of fun. They had games, all kinds of things to climb on and play with, songs, dancing, a big parachute that we ran all under and over, and many other neat things. It was really a lot of fun and Bella seemed to enjoy herself!

Coolest Granddaddy Ever Award Goes To....

The Leone family together!

Wow! September was a super busy month! I know I need to catch up on this blog, and I'm finally getting a few minutes to start doing so. To start with, Andres' mother Elizabeth and his three sisters- Paola, Romina, and Mariana (Maya) came to visit for the first couple weeks of September. We had a great time, showing them Columbia, spending a week with my parents and Elizabeth's cousin and her family at the lake house, celebrating Jorge and Elizabeth's 40th anniversary, celebrating Julie, Romina and Bella's birthdays (all in September), singing lots of karaoke, and just being together. The only missing links were Romina's two boys (who were in school in Ecuador) and Andres' brother Nacho and his family. The newest member of their family, Nicole, was born in July so they couldn't make it. This was the first time Andres had been with this many people in his family in years!