Rosie loves the Big Lake - she plays in and out of the water with great ease. It has been so fun to have so many of the readings having to do with the large bodies of water. Today was the Matthew version of the Jesus calming the storm. So far we have not had much wind and waves, yet we are constantly in awe of the beauty and majesty of Lake Michigan! The clear water is a delight to all of us as we gather at the beautiful public beach for the afternoon.
One special sharing that we have started is the reading aloud of my mom's special children's story - Treasures. As I have read it aloud my 7 year old granddaughter, Mary, has been doing the illustrations that inspire her as we go along. This is the little cabin in the dunes with the small corale that had their horse in it. Mary even made the treasure box with the clam shells and the crawfish claw on it. Yes, this story takes place on Lake Michigan so that makes is really special to share here in our cabin on the Lake.
Suz on a ladder picking cherries in the orchard...
The small cabin they share with Uncle Joe - up in the loft with the treasure box and putting her special rock in it - "All will be good." is what the rock means to Suz!
The priest comes to the cabin to bless the family - now with 7 in it - on the day that Uncle Joe dies from a stroke. Mary seems to be able to get into the story and finds different parts grab unto her imagination and she pours it out onto paper!
I called my mom and told her that we were reading her story aloud and that Mary was illustrating as I read along. My mom said that she was fighting back tears at the thought! She loves this story very much and as I read through it I realize that it comes from a very deep and personal spot in her life of experiencing so much of this in her many years of coming to the Big Lake in the summer. A lot of it is familiar to me from my years of coming here as a child with her and dad and my siblings - we even picked cherries at the orchard at the end of the road, and that is part of the story so far, and one of Mary's illustrations so far. We are having a great time with this project!
The orange sandals that the kids got on sale so that they could have shoes for school a year late. Those with their homemade blue jean skirts! Jesus, thank you for the smiles and eyes of children that smile in the face of pain and hardship. We love our time here! Jesus, we trust in YOU. Bless-bless, Barb
Bless-bless, Barb
The family of 7 going to mass - another illustration from my mom's book as made by Mary as I read a couple chapters this morning.
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