I came across this great picture of my two youngest! They were both on the speech team at the time, and this was the photos that they offer to take of each child and then get the parents to pay the big bucks to keep it as a a keepsake. I have to admit that this one is a gift that continues to give. My kids are all close to each other and I discovered just how much John loved Susan and admired her example... when the first paper he wrote for his English class... his older sister, Nancy, had come back to teach English at Marshall High School and was his teacher! He wrote a paper called..."Mama Bluey"... it was the old embarrassingly tacky blue minivan that they would drive to school every day. He wrote about how not only were they not embarrassed by the fact that they had to drive this pile of rust and uncoolness to school, but they laughed and made fun of themselves by head bucking down the road as they listened to goofy music on the radio! He carried the thought to the way that he watched Susan carry her example to him as she walked the halls at school and in the cafeteria with others. He spoke in terms that can bring tears to a mother's eyes about how sad he is to not have her there to spend time with him... this was after she graduated and went off to college at St Thomas - Catholic Studies... She was 3 years ahead of him in school as I had 2 mischarriages between them... I have often wondered if that was why there was such a bond between them. I have never tried to protect the kids from the losses that I had... we felt the pain together and I feel that this is part of the reason that we are so close one to the other and why we value each other so very much in our lives! As soon as John was born... Susan was more a mother to him in many ways than even I... she was always watching out for him and even saved his life one time... one of our famous stories here on the farm... John a little curious 2 year old was always wondering what dad was up to. One day we were standing out in the yard, and Susan said her usual... "Where is John?" We turned to see him walking up to go into the shed that Pat was backing a tractor out of.... we scooped him up in time, but if we had not had that prompting... it could have been a whole different story! She loved her brother and he continued to feel that and value that in ways that she wasn't even aware of as they got older... this paper that he wrote was a tribute to her and her humble and caring ways with others... She felt no need to have the acceptance of others for false reasons like clothes and cars and looks... it was strikingly apparent when she was chosen Snow week queeen and they came out to shoot a video of the candidates and wake them up one morning to surprise them with the announcement of being chosen to be in the "court"... They went into her room to find the "cow wallpaper" border and he picture of the Pope and her patron saint to decorate her room as well as a old painting of the immaculate heart of Mary... and then they went out to take a picture of her with her "ride"... Mama Bluey! I think that they were a bit embarrassed for her, but it makes me smile with pride at her beauty that shone so bright compared to the others with their "material" TVs and stereos and hot cars! I thought that Susan was a beacon of Truth for all to see in that context! I am sure that it was lost on many, but it still can make me smile with pure joy! And I could see in reading John's paper that it was not lost on him either! Now he prays for her and her vocation daily... " that Susan/littlesister Hallel can be happy and make a difference in the world by her vocation in the Community of the Lamb." She continues to be an example to us of humility and what really matters in this world is what is on the inside and not what is on the outside! When we went there to visit her and the community for a week in the end of March... Hallel asked me to go to Wallmart with her to buy the "girls' some underwear... as they all could use the sports bras and underwear... we had to go to both Wallmart and Target and John went with us too... it was so funny to be with my daughter dressed in her humble blue habit and to have the heads turn and watch her as she walks around gathering the sizes and types that she wanted for the community! The same goofy silly Susan just now in a habit that points her out to the world as someone that has answered "yes" to the call of the Lord to be His and model without much thought about it on her part... humility and lack of desire for earthly material goods... except for the necessities of course! Of all the experiences I had with her... that was sweet and personal and a connection with my daugther that I have known and loved for her entire existance... from the moment I knew she was in my womb... I loved her! Having her in my arms helped me to find comfort when I lost two after her... the one right after her I lost at the same time that my sister, Mary, died of lymphoma at age 28... Susan was 8 months old and Mary had been her Godmother... hoping that would hold her here on earth longer... instead she is in heaven praying for Hallel! Then was born my only boy 3 years later and the bond was formed and continues to this day - Susan/lSHallel and her brother, John... both of them are who they are because of the other one! It is a beautiful story that continues now with a chapter of John's cancer at the same time that Susan joined the order in France... The two became an amazing intertwined story that fills me with wonder and awe! 
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
A picture of my two youngest in happy school days... brings the memories flooding back of their special loving bond from the beginning!
I came across this great picture of my two youngest! They were both on the speech team at the time, and this was the photos that they offer to take of each child and then get the parents to pay the big bucks to keep it as a a keepsake. I have to admit that this one is a gift that continues to give. My kids are all close to each other and I discovered just how much John loved Susan and admired her example... when the first paper he wrote for his English class... his older sister, Nancy, had come back to teach English at Marshall High School and was his teacher! He wrote a paper called..."Mama Bluey"... it was the old embarrassingly tacky blue minivan that they would drive to school every day. He wrote about how not only were they not embarrassed by the fact that they had to drive this pile of rust and uncoolness to school, but they laughed and made fun of themselves by head bucking down the road as they listened to goofy music on the radio! He carried the thought to the way that he watched Susan carry her example to him as she walked the halls at school and in the cafeteria with others. He spoke in terms that can bring tears to a mother's eyes about how sad he is to not have her there to spend time with him... this was after she graduated and went off to college at St Thomas - Catholic Studies... She was 3 years ahead of him in school as I had 2 mischarriages between them... I have often wondered if that was why there was such a bond between them. I have never tried to protect the kids from the losses that I had... we felt the pain together and I feel that this is part of the reason that we are so close one to the other and why we value each other so very much in our lives! As soon as John was born... Susan was more a mother to him in many ways than even I... she was always watching out for him and even saved his life one time... one of our famous stories here on the farm... John a little curious 2 year old was always wondering what dad was up to. One day we were standing out in the yard, and Susan said her usual... "Where is John?" We turned to see him walking up to go into the shed that Pat was backing a tractor out of.... we scooped him up in time, but if we had not had that prompting... it could have been a whole different story! She loved her brother and he continued to feel that and value that in ways that she wasn't even aware of as they got older... this paper that he wrote was a tribute to her and her humble and caring ways with others... She felt no need to have the acceptance of others for false reasons like clothes and cars and looks... it was strikingly apparent when she was chosen Snow week queeen and they came out to shoot a video of the candidates and wake them up one morning to surprise them with the announcement of being chosen to be in the "court"... They went into her room to find the "cow wallpaper" border and he picture of the Pope and her patron saint to decorate her room as well as a old painting of the immaculate heart of Mary... and then they went out to take a picture of her with her "ride"... Mama Bluey! I think that they were a bit embarrassed for her, but it makes me smile with pride at her beauty that shone so bright compared to the others with their "material" TVs and stereos and hot cars! I thought that Susan was a beacon of Truth for all to see in that context! I am sure that it was lost on many, but it still can make me smile with pure joy! And I could see in reading John's paper that it was not lost on him either! Now he prays for her and her vocation daily... " that Susan/littlesister Hallel can be happy and make a difference in the world by her vocation in the Community of the Lamb." She continues to be an example to us of humility and what really matters in this world is what is on the inside and not what is on the outside! When we went there to visit her and the community for a week in the end of March... Hallel asked me to go to Wallmart with her to buy the "girls' some underwear... as they all could use the sports bras and underwear... we had to go to both Wallmart and Target and John went with us too... it was so funny to be with my daughter dressed in her humble blue habit and to have the heads turn and watch her as she walks around gathering the sizes and types that she wanted for the community! The same goofy silly Susan just now in a habit that points her out to the world as someone that has answered "yes" to the call of the Lord to be His and model without much thought about it on her part... humility and lack of desire for earthly material goods... except for the necessities of course! Of all the experiences I had with her... that was sweet and personal and a connection with my daugther that I have known and loved for her entire existance... from the moment I knew she was in my womb... I loved her! Having her in my arms helped me to find comfort when I lost two after her... the one right after her I lost at the same time that my sister, Mary, died of lymphoma at age 28... Susan was 8 months old and Mary had been her Godmother... hoping that would hold her here on earth longer... instead she is in heaven praying for Hallel! Then was born my only boy 3 years later and the bond was formed and continues to this day - Susan/lSHallel and her brother, John... both of them are who they are because of the other one! It is a beautiful story that continues now with a chapter of John's cancer at the same time that Susan joined the order in France... The two became an amazing intertwined story that fills me with wonder and awe! 
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