Ruth does not find out the what she is having before giving birth. The entire time she was pregnant I pray always as she is taking a leap of faith to have another baby. She was told after her second that she should have no more children, as she had ruptured her uterus in the process of having Mary. But after a second opinion with the Catholic surgeon, who had saved her uterus... she was told to give her uterus at least a year to heal and then with close watching and a C-section to bring them here as soon as they are ready..."Yes, she can have more." So many prayers! I called her my little rosebud in my prayers for those 9 months, and she came out a sweet little dark haired girl! Ruth's patron saint is a good fit for her - St Rose of Lima. She was a young girl in South America, who devoted her life to her Lord and helping her impoverished family by doing needlework! Ruth is the alfghan queen, as she learned from her grandma Anna how to crochet and has never looked back! So when they tought of a girl's name they could not come up with a middle name to go with Rose. I suggested Ida as it is Ruth's middle name, and as we have always called her Ruth Ida Rose... it just seemed special and sweet for her to have a daughter named, Rose Ida! So it came to pass! They called me from the hospital as I was praying in front of Jesus in adoration while she was in to have the surgery to give birth..."She's a dark haired little girl and her name is Rose Ida!" Born on the first of May - the month of Mary and reminding us of her beautiful gift of prayer... the Rosary!
Here is a recent picture of Patrick Joseph in his adorable yellow fuzzy buns - Maria does cloth diapers, and has a little clothesline out on their patio for them! You can see more pictures on her blog.
Patrick's birth was a very scary time with Maria's rupture and being without oxygen for 20 minutes! But with a 2 1/2 week stint in NICU and many prayers we now have a true miracle baby! He is named after his grandfather, Patrick Verly, and of course the great St Patrick! It was such a gift of divine providence to have St Patrick's Cathedral just a few blocks from the hospital in El Paso. When his brother, David, saw the snakes around his feet that he was chasing out of Ireland... he thought that he was pretty much of a great warrior for the Good, and that is a pretty wonderful way to describe the man, St Patrick! Now to see our miracle baby, Patty Joe, thriving and growing and the picture of health! His big hands and feet are truly the image of his grandfather... may he too be a big man filled with LOVE of LIFE and bringing LIGHTS into the world! Pat is my champion for LIFE!
And now the 3rd little light entered the world a week ago today! Little Bernadette brings such a special saint into our midst and prayers! I was present on a couple occassions when Nancy explained to people why they gave her this big beautiful name. She told them that Lourdes has a very special meaning for our family as it is where John bathed in the healing waters twice during his cancer/healing journey. Lourdes is the spot where Our Lady appeared to St Bernadette over 150 years ago, and when Mary directed Bernadette to dig in the dirt, a miraculous spring came forth out of the ground and since many miracles of healing have taken place there! John has such a powerful sweet devotion to Our Lady and feels his healing is very tied to her intercession! He was able to go there both times that we visited Hallel in France as Saint Pierre is just a couple hours from there. Nancy and I bathed in the healing springs also, when we went with John for Susan's changing her name to Little Sister Hallel and taking the habit! I remind Nancy that she also has a great aunt who was named Bernadette, so it is a family name as well. Wonderful to have these 3 new little ones bringing the Saints to dwell among us as they humbly and quietly bear the names of those that gave their all to follow Christ! We are reminded of them and their lives of FAITH always.
Here are Mary, David and Simon with their little sister, Rose Ida, last evening. So many great names to remind us of all those that walk with us in this life from the feet of God! Jesus, we are so blessed by those that have modeled for us the way to give up our selfishness and follow after you! Today all those that are named Zacchaeus are filled with the beauty of this small man, who followed your call to allow you to enter under his roof. He was not worthy, yet he was transformed by saying yes to you... You told us today in the first reading from Revelations 3..."Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me." Lord, we long to have you as the center place in our hearts and our homes! We love you, and thank you, and praise you... when we are reminded that we are nothing without YOU! Zacchaeus had much wealth, but he saw that it was nothing compared to YOU. May we be continually reminded by the little ones in our midst that you ask us to be like them.... humble and small! May we never ignore the knock on the door, but run to open it to YOU and all that you bring to us as we follow after you carrying our Most Cherished Cross! Jesus, we trust in you. Amen and Halleluia
Bless-bless, Barb
"The six saints whose stories I interweave with my own in My Sisters the Saints are Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux, Fautina of Poland, Edith Stein of Germany, Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Mary of Nazareth.
The richness of their gifts and guidance and the pivotal roles they played in my life would probably be too much to explain here.
But to put it briefly: Teresa of Avila and her tale of a struggle to overcome worldliness and status seeking spoke to me during my frenetic college years and jumpstarted my spiritual quest. Therese of Lisieux helped me grapple with my father's journey with Alzheimer's disease, a trial she knew from her father's own decent into dementia. Faustina of Poland guided me as I struggled to choose between continuing work as a presidential speechwriter in the White House and marrying a man who was smack in the middle of medical school in a city 800 miles away. Edith Stein offered me insight and consolation in the midst of my battle with infertility. Blessed Teresa did the same at a time in my life when I was feeling some of the same abandonment by God that she had described so eloquently in her recently revealed private writings. And Mary,the Mother of God, was with me all along, but in a special way in my quest for motherhood."
Colleen Carroll Campbell
From the National Catholic Register
Nancy reports that Gus loves his new sister... He doesn't act like why is she still here? Rather he looks for her when she is not around and wants to know that she is still there and part of the family! Such a wonderful big brother he is!
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