Ruthie in all her beauty - just 6 weeks from having her 4th child. Many prayers for safe arrival of our new grandchild. Ruth and Paul had their plans for a large family slowed down by her rupturing her uterus having a V back with her second child. She was told no more children by her GP here in town, but the surgeon, who saved her uterus told her that if she gave herself plenty of time to heal that she could have more with close watching and a C section as soon as the baby was ready at the end. So more prayers and trusting are asked of all those that love Ruth and her family!
Little Dave was their third child and a total gift to them. Most wouldn't have a Dave, and now the 4th one is soon to join us! We are all so happy and excited. Ruth learned the Creigton Model natural method of spacing her children. She not only learned it, but she went all the way to becoming an instructor. She turned her set back into a gift now... that she can share with other women and couples... a way of not only waiting for a child, if they need to space them for a while, or if someone is having other issues like stuggling to get pregnant. Creighton is well known and proven to work! Some of Ruth's friends have used it for infertility and now have families! I just googled it and found their official website - http://www.creightonmodel.com/ If there are any with questions about this wonderful natural alternative (in line with the Church in all her wisdom - talk about an affirmative way of dealing with these issues!) Ruth's number is 507-532-1019. I so see what Cardinal Timothy Dolan is talking about how we are giving the world a yes and not a no! Rather than taking some drastic measures, when Ruth was told no more children... not only did she get a very wise second opinion with a 90% chance that with close watching they could have more children - Paul ever the teacher; "90% is an A!" But she took the yes way of waiting with abstaining at fertile times, and learn as a couple to give of selfish desires for the good of life and cherishing it at all levels of LIFE. Never using an aritificial means of preventing the beautiful gift of LIFE, and allowing God to always be in the picture. He is the giver of all good LIFE and LOVE!
Davey and John out by the new baby calves yesterday! Davey is asking about John's hair, and giving his Godfather lots of hugs and smiles - it is good that Uncle Johnny got rid of the cancer in his head, even if it took his beautiful thick brown hair to do it! "But Why?" is David's 3 year old constant question to everything under the sun... at this point it was John. We have recently heard a story that is quite amazing in regards to LIFE! There was a drug addicted Hispanic mother, who came into a small town hospital, gave birth to a beautiful dark haired baby girl... signed the papers to give up her rights to her, and left. There was varying reactions among the staff - some thought that it was horrible for her to do this, while others knew that she had given her life, and the possibility of a better life. One of the nurses took her 5 year old daughter with her and they bought the little one a sweet little outfit down to the headband with a big flower on it. The next day a family arrived to take her home with them - a family that is foster to adopt certified... they had 5 boys from high school to grade school! The parents shared that they had a hard experience last year with some foster kids, and had told each other that if they were asked to take a Hispanic baby girl that they would be interested in adopting her, and then the call came! "I even had a dream that I would have a little dark haired girl... my husband and I are both fair and have all of these blond boys." They dressed her in her new outfit - complete with a headband and a flower on her little dark head about the size of her head, and showed her to the nurse on their way to take her home - a princess with so many loving brothers! They said that they will name her Maria Elizabeth, and she will be a cherished life in the midst of a loving family.
After hearing this story... Ruth and Paul are starting to take the steps to become foster to adopt... they realize that there are other ways that the Lord can open doors to love, and raise, and cherish more children. They want to be there ready if that should be the Lord's plan for them. I had 4 siblings from the same family that my parents adopted going from 7 to 11 children. They had all been in an accident with their parents - a drunk driver hit them head on, and killed both of their parents. The 4, although all injured, recovered and became members of our family. Pat and I also had considered adoption as a result of my experiences, and the fact that although we were open to a large family it looked like we would have just 5 out of our 11 pregnancies... we felt that the farm is a wonderful place to raise family, and that our family could embrace other siblings. It just never happened for us, and now it is super to see Ruth and Paul considering much the same call to family! It is all in His hands! We trust and ask for his Guidance and Plan.
Jesus, we know deep within that Life is a precious gift to be cherished. This morning as Pat, John and I prayed together... John prayed..."For my sisters that are pregnant and the babies in their wombs - keep them safe and close to you, and when they are born keep them safe for a long life ahead." We are so filled with joy and anticipation at the special blessing of the new little ones, and the mircle of life. We know that the plans we have are not always your plans for us. The loss of the 6 babies in our years of family was so hard, yet it caused us to cherish each other and LIFE so much more! It made us appreciate each other - knowing that those 6 are in heaven praying for us and leading us there to be one family of LOVE! For all those that have had losses that they might see this as a deepening of our tie to heaven. Jesus, we trust in you. Amen and Halleluia
Bless-bless, Barb"We've got a fellow who's a second year man at the seminary, whose dad was a New York cop. It's a big family. This is one of the happiest, most wholesome guys in the world. He's in his late twenties. You're talking about a family that read the Bible together, prayed the rosary together, made a holy hour together once a week. They talk about this, not in a bragging way but just in a refreshingly open and honest fashion. You just know this guy has got it. ... this is what the Church is most about. This guy is going to be an exceptionally effective priest, because he's absorbed a Catholic ethos meaning and purpose, without any angst or hysteria about it but just a basic serenity in the face of life's challanges. Now, I frankly think that this guy, as well as the many more like him out there , represents an important story about Catholicism today..."
Cardinal Timothy Dolan
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