Merry Christmas!

Mike & Becky

This year we celebrated 11 years of marriage and 16 years together, which is crazy since we’re still only 29 years old. We have enjoyed (almost) every moment of this new phase of life with all of our kids out of the baby and toddler stage. Our family enjoyed a vacation to the Wisconsin Dells area and Mike and Becky enjoyed their FIRST solo getaway for a weekend in Nashville this fall.

Becky’s year started off rough and in the ER with complications from a hysterectomy she had to have at the end of 2023 due to a serious medical diagnosis. She proceeded to spend the first 2 months of 2024 in pain and (mostly) in bed. After a long recovery Becky is finally feeling more like herself and has enjoyed life with much less chronic symptoms and medical concerns. She spent 2 weeks of her summer in formation for Level III of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. She leads an Atrium on Tuesdays and Thursdays and is helping lead the Sacramental Preparation for the CGS Program at St. Clement. She continues to be the Leader for Rose’s Girl Scout Troop and Chiara asks her constantly when she will be her "Whirl Scout Leader". Becky also put her RN license to work again and is a private duty in-home nurse to the sweetest and most lovable 7 year old girl. It has been an absolute joy for Becky to be in a nurse role again and she is, much to her surprise, enjoying the home health world.

One of Becky’s favorite things this year was meeting one of her heroes, Sharon McMahon.

Mike is still enjoying working for the New York Times and loves that he gets to be present for so many of the kids’ activities. He took a week-long trip to New York this summer and loved having extra time in the evenings to explore the city a little more (it definitely didn’t hurt that he got to do all of that with his friend David). He has continued to enjoy his audiobook (aka post-bedtime housework) time and is at 35 books on the year and hoping to hit 40. He got to take Kolbe and Leo to see his high school alma mater win the Missouri state HS championship (their first one since his freshman year!). He’s not sure who enjoyed it more - him or the boys. This fall he was an assistant coach for Leo’s soccer team (first outoor, and now indoor) and also stepped into a role as the Den Leader for Leo’s Cub Scout troop. Both roles have been incredibly rewarding and he has loved being a mentor and leader to the boys.

One of Mike’s favorite things this year was that Blue Bell finally started selling ice cream in St. Louis.

Rose

Rose is in 4th grade and growing up faster than we would like. She joined a robotics team this year and has found a love of coding, just like her dad. She continues to excel in math, and has discovered a new love of writing. Her favorite genre to read and write is realistic fiction and we’ve loved watching her pour her creativity into her storytelling. Her favorite day of the week remains to be her MOSAICS day, and we are forever grateful for the gifted program and the staff at Oak Brook for helping Rose navigate so many difficulties with her beautiful, chaotic 2E brain. Rose joined a couple of after-school clubs this year (Singing Eagles and Read, Right, Run) and got to be on the field before a Cardinals game to sing God Bless America with the Singing Eagles! Rose has moved up to the Level III Atrium with Becky as her Catechist and has a deeper spirituality and prayer life than we could have ever hoped for. Rose’s empathy and pure heart constantly leave us in awe.

Some of Rose’s favorite things this year were our family vacation to Wisconsin, learning to play Minecraft, and being pen pals with her cousin Gus.

When Rose grows up, she wants to be a musician.

Kolbe

Kolbe had a banner year. He finished kindergarten in the spring and is a seasoned First Grader now. He loves reading and devours chapter books quicker than we can supply them. He performed for the National Federation of Music Club’s Spring Jr. Festival and the NGPT’s National Guild Auditions again and did wonderfully again. He also tried baseball this spring and had a blast! Kolbe spent his summer swimming for Big Bend Woods Swim Club for the first time and Becky couldn’t have been happier to be a Swim Team Mom. Soccer remains his first love and he’s trying basketball for the first time this winter. Kolbe turned 7 in July and had a Summer Olympics Birthday Party. He moved up to the Level II Atrium and gets to have Becky as his Catechist while he prepares for his Sacraments this upcoming spring. Kolbe is one of the most self-motivated and determined humans we have ever met, and we are always impressed with his goals and dreams.

One of Kolbe’s favorite things this year was doing swim team at Big Bend Woods.

When Kolbe grows up, he wants to be a soccer player.

Leo

Leo is a KINDERGARTNER this year and is loving being a full-time Oak Brook Eagle, just like his older siblings. He is a confident reader, caring friend, and kind classmate. This spring, he tried baseball for the first time and was the quickest base runner in Ballwin. He enjoyed soccer this fall, and enjoyed even more that Mike was his assistant coach. Leo also gets to enjoy having Mike as his Den Leader for Cub Scouts (another new adventure!). He also is trying basketball for the first time this winter. Leo still feels his feelings bigger than all the other McBride kids combined, but we will never tire of his sweet, snuggly side. Leo turned 6 on Halloween and had a Sports Party with all his friends. Seeing him step up in a big brother role with Chiara at home and at CGS has been a joy. Leo’s kind and caring soul melt us everyday.

Some of Leo’s favorite things this year were scoring lots of goals in soccer and learning new things in school.

When Leo grows up, he wants to be a soccer and baseball player.

Chiara

Chiara, still affectionally called Cheech, started 4 half-days of preschool this year and absolutely LOVES it. She is especially excited to have the same preschool teacher that taught all of her siblings. Her most recent accomplishment is being able to spell and write her name. She continues to be the tiniest tot in town, receiving the official diagnosis of idiopathic short stature this year. We’ve also added pulmonology to her list of specialists because of her reactive airway disease. Chiara started gymnastics, ballet, and tap classes and is the cutest ballerina in all the land. She also started in the Level 1 Atrium of CGS with big brother Leo. Chiara still loves purple, playing with friends, and bossing around her siblings (and parents)! She turned 4 on the first day of school and enjoyed a ‘Purple’ Party with friends at the park. Chiara’s confidence and ability to overcome so many obstacles makes us so proud.

Some of Chiara’s favorite things this year were swimming a lot this summer and our family vacation in Wisconsin.

When Chiara grows up, she wants to be a "trash-trucker" and a dragon saver.