Videos

Videos of and by the family

2016 Conversation with Mom-Grandma-Morai

This conversation focuses on her faith life.

Happy 80th Birthday, Mom-Grandma-Morai!

A series of conversations about Mom-Grandma-Morai with some of the people who love her.

Mom-Grandma's 70th Birthday Surprise

Before Grandma became Morai, we created this collection of photos set to music.

Weekend Wanderers

Jacob and Priscilla's paddling highlights from 2017: Glacier National Park, Fordyce Creek, CA and others.

Laura-Mom-Grandma-Morai passed away on April 15, 2025. We celebrated her life in grand fashion with a funeral Mass at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Vancouver, Washington and a reception at The Marshall House on Fort Vancouver on July 10th. The following day, we capped off her celebration with the internment of her ashes with her beloved husband and our Dad-Grandpa.

Grammy Rolls are a Byrne-McLaughlin tradition that seems to have begun with Laura-Mom-Grandma-Morai's mother, whom we called Grammy. These dinner rolls are a must at holiday dinners...and many other family gatherings.

Eventually, we'll record both major parts of making them. For now, enjoy watching Laurie-Mom-Nana mix the dough, and then see Sienna Grace McLaughlin experience her first Grammy Roll.

2024 McLaughlin Family Legacy Project Experience

In July 2024, some of the clan gathered at Telios Farm to celebrate the family through the telling of stories.

Tom's 2022 Graduation Speech at La Salle Prep

Seniors of La Salle Prep selected me as one of their two graduation speakers. I used this opportunity to encouraged the graduates to love themselves, even as they continue loving others.

Tom's 2020-21 Educator to the Year Speech

Each year, the staff at La Salle Prep votes for the Lasallian Educator of the Year. In the fall of 2020, my colleagues selected me, one of the great honors of my life. I delivered this speech at the end of the Baccalaureate Mass for the Class of 2021.

Tom's 2020 National Honor Society Induction Remarks

Each year, the Lasallian Educator of the Year is invited to address La Salle Prep students when they are inducted into the National Honor Society. Because I was selected for this honor during the COVID pandemic, I recorded my speech so it could be viewed during the digital ceremony. Humans are so creative, aren't we?!

Tom created this presentation for a group of 2nd graders at an elementary school in the Portland area during the COVID pandemic. Their teacher played this for them during their online school day.

Healing from sexual assault

I am a survivor of Catholic clergy sexual assault. In 2022 or so, two La Salle Prep graduates who also survived sexual assault created an in-person program for LS 9-10th graders to introduce the concept of consent in sexual relationships. These brave young women repeatedly invited me to share my own story of survival and healing. I created this video to be played for students when I could not attend the presentation in-person.

In November 2022, Ram Das (formerly Ryan Evans) visited Mr. Mac's (currently Tom McLaughlin) World Religions class at La Salle Prep to discuss his spiritual path. This is his conversation with La Salle seniors and UT.

Creating Sand Mandalas

As part of Tom's World Religions courses, students studied Buddhism. At the end of the unit, we created and released a sand mandala in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The mandala process allowed us to reflect on the concepts that most impacted us during the previous two weeks. Students in each class period identified a theme, designed an image to communicate their learning, used sand to create that image, then released their beautiful creation. Sometimes, we distributed the sand on the land of La Salle, particularly beneath two ancient cedar trees. Sometimes, I brought the sand back to Telios Farm where it became part of the soil that grows so much delicious food and other beauty.