Ryan and Katie Goodson have been married for 17 years. They are blessed to have Richie (15), Nathanael (14), Siena (11), Vincent (10) and Avila (6). Their life is never dull, often loud, and always an adventure. They are members of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Federal Way, where Katie is the pastoral assistant for lay ministry and evangelization.

How does your family pray together?

Richie and Nathanael’s first prayer was “Little Jesus, lost and found, please bring my lost _____ ’round.” Probably because it is the prayer their mom prays the most. Ever since the boys were in preschool, we have always prayed on the way to school. We pray before meals and Sunday Mass, and spontaneously during the day. Whenever any of us hears a siren, we pray that God would bless that situation. 

How do you (try to) keep the Lord’s Day holy?

We go to Mass every Sunday and receive Communion. We really miss coffee and doughnuts. Sometimes we get a fun lunch after church. Vietnamese sandwiches are always a hit.

What are your best, or most embarrassing, Mass stories?

  • When Richie was little, he would ask us why he didn’t get to have the cookie at Mass.
  • Siena remembers falling asleep in the children’s choir while singing at Mass.
  • A highlight for Nathanael was reading at Christmas Eve Mass.
  • Vincent having his first Communion outside (and on his birthday) because of COVID.

What do you do together for fun?

Travel — we love to go back to Idaho and Montana to visit family. We love to be outside as a family. We especially like to bird and swim. 

Who is your family’s patron saint? 

When I was pregnant with Avila, we asked the kids what they wanted to name the baby. The kids wanted to name the baby Max if it was a boy, after a Pokémon character. We all liked it and agreed that the baby would be named Max. It ended up that Avila was a girl, so no Max for us. Then when Nathanael was in fourth or fifth grade, one of his teachers gave him a book on Maximilian Kolbe. He read the book and shared with the family all about St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Franciscan friar who lived in Poland and spent his adult life sharing the good news of Christ. Eventually this led to his being arrested and sent to Auschwitz. While he was in Auschwitz, a man tried to escape, so the Nazis picked 10 prisoners at random to die. One of the prisoners was a father who said he could not die because of his family. St. Maximilian Kolbe took the man’s place. He died in a starvation chamber. It is said that he brought great comfort and peace to all those who were with him. As a family, we all grew to love St. Maximilian Kolbe for his great faith and his complete devotion to Mary and Jesus. In the summer of 2020, I miscarried. We asked the kids what we should name our little one. They all chose Maximilian, and I added Hope as his middle name.

What’s your family motto?

Katie’s motto is: We are moving as fast as a herd of turtles in a windstorm.

How do you practice the works of mercy?

Our family has been very blessed to feed the hungry. The older boys were able to help serve dinner for homeless men at our church. It was a huge moment for them to actually talk and be with the homeless men. The big takeaway for them was how much they enjoyed meeting the men. During COVID, the three youngest kids loved to make sack lunches for the homeless people who were staying in hotels. They would ask, “When do we get to make sandwiches again for the homeless?”

What are your favorite family traditions?

Not having family around for Christmas has been challenging for us. We have had to create our own Christmas traditions. The favorite by far is going to Christmas Eve Mass and then getting sushi for dinner afterwards. After dinner the kids watch movies while we frantically wrap presents.

Northwest Catholic - October/November 2021