About the Magazine Cover Families

Both of our cover families give us a sense of HOPE!

About the Covers

Pasco/Pinellas Contest submitted by mom, Jennifer

Pictured on the cover are Jake, Riley and Maggie. Mom writes, “We are a family of five. Mom and Dad (Jennifer and Pete) are both working parents. Pete is a District Manager for MDT Personnel covering 3 counties and 5 offices. Jennifer is a Director of Nursing for Mederi Home Care in New Port Richey.

Our family moved to Pasco County 6 years ago for a more "quiet" life. Three kids later, so much for that!

Jake, 10 years old, loves sports, especially football and fishing. Jake plays flag football for I9 Sports and is hoping to play tackle football next year for River Ridge Middle School. Jake started 6th grade this year at River Ridge Middle and made honor roll the first quarter!

Riley, 8 years old, loves video games, legos, swimming, drawing and riding bikes. He has played football in the past, but mostly leaves the football to his brother. Riley is going to give football a try again this fall. He is in 3rd grade and is also an excellent student. He loves to read all kinds of books.

Maggie, 6 years old, started 1st grade this year. She enjoys gymnastics at Suncoast and dancing at KW Dance Center in New Port Richey. She recently participated in the DMI convention and Regional competition in Daytona with her dance team and received a first place award in her first solo competition. She hopes to perfect her back handspring this year.

Our family also includes 2 dogs (a Cocker Spaniel named Sophie and a Jack Russell named Jax), 2 hamsters, 5 fish, a turtle, and a bearded dragon. We go to the dog park almost every week so that our dogs can run around and play with other dogs. There is always something going on around our house!

As a family, we enjoy riding bikes together, going to the park, doing arts and crafts, and watching movies. We spend vacations going to Busch Gardens, SeaWorld and the beach. This summer we spent time on Casey Key, just south of Sarasota. It was a perfect summer getaway for a busy family. The water was beautiful, clear and warm. We enjoyed the waves and we also found 335 sharks teeth! We all voted Casey Key as one of our best vacation spots ever.”

Hillsborough Cover submitted by mom Theresa

Pictured on the cover are Benjamin, Rachel and Joshua. Mom writes, “We (Mike and Theresa) moved to Tampa in 1997 and became parishioners at St. Lawrence Catholic Church. After having children we decided to send them to St. Lawrence Catholic School in Tampa. We are both actively involved in both the church and school. Mike is a member of the Knights of Columbus at the church and is part of the Dad’s club at the school. Theresa is the co-chair for the Meals on Wheels program at the church and co-chair for the Woman’s Bible Study group at the church.

Benjamin is currently in 8th grade and looking at high schools. He is currently involved in student council, campus ministry and was on the track team at St. Lawrence. He is playing basketball in the Youth Athletic Program (YAP) at St. Lawrence. He likes to write and eventually wants to become an engineer. Ben also plays the saxophone and was also part of the Duke TIP program.

Rachel is in 4th grade and loves to play soccer. She played soccer for the Youth Athletic Program (YAP) at St. Lawrence and is currently involved Girl Scouts. She is also currently playing basketball in the YAP at St. Lawrence. She likes to draw and loves animals. She wants to be a veterinarian or nurse and also wants to help people in need. She recently started piano lessons and has just become part of the Duke TIP program.

Joshua is in 1st grade and loves to play basketball. He is in cub scouts and is also playing basketball in the YAP program at STL. He also played soccer for YAP at STL. Joshua wants to become a basketball player when he grows up. He also loves to make people laugh.

As you can see, our family love the school and church and we feel like it’s an extension of our family.”

Our cover photographs were taken at Cracker Country. Cracker Country is a rural Florida living history museum located on the Florida State Fairgrounds. It was founded with the purpose of preserving Florida's rural heritage. The museum recreates an 1890s rural Florida town. Its collection of 13 original buildings dating back from 1870-1912 were relocated from across the state of Florida beginning in 1978 when Cracker Country was established by Mr. and Mrs. Doyle E. Carlton, Jr. Today, the historically furnished buildings recreate the lifestyles of the past, and costumed interpreters portray daily living as Florida pioneers and share the stories of early Floridians' experiences. Guests are invited to visit Cracker Country to re-live and preserve Florida's rural heritage!

Go Visit: Every February during the Florida State Fair, Cracker Country opens its gates to the Fair’s guests! Take a stroll back in time and relax as you experience the sights, sounds, and smells of Florida's history. Explore the museum grounds and interact with costumed interpreters to take part in the customs of the past! The 2012 Florida State Fair will be offered Feb. 9-20, 2012. Cracker Country is also open on select days throughout the year. Please visit www.crackercountry.org or call 813-627-4225 for details.

A Big thank you go to Rob Moorman, of Moorman Photographic for taking our cover portraits, Cracker Country for providing the perfect backdrop to over covers and to both mom’s for entering our cover contest.