Maria posted this family/birthday photo on her blog this morning - her 30th birthday! She apologized for the reality of it with her two boys - one not into it and one with egg hanging out of his mouth, but that's life she wrote. I told her that it made her and Joe and Therese look like movie stars, so they should be grateful for the contrast. Having her sister, Nancy, and her two little ones here, and John - around the breakfast table this morning we were remembering how powerful this day is with St Maximilian Kolbe, Assumption of Our Lady's vigil, as well as Maria's day of birth! Pondering the 4 nights of false labor I had leading up to her birth... I said to the family gathered this morning -"Knowing how determined your sister Maria is... I can totally see her saying no to coming those 4 days before. She is so excited that St Maximilian on her birthday, and it is like she hand picked this day to be born!" All those gathered for breakfast agreed- knowing how determined she is. She totally chose to be born on this glorious day - every night of her birthday we would go to the Vigil of The Assumption of Mary and sing "Ave Maria." I really did not name her Maria due to this, but we had so many Marys in the family that we went with Maria as our daughter named after Mary.
A huge time of celebration for our family and for our country, and for our world of darkness and death as the Lumen Christi/Light of Christ has been built on the hill in a poor area of Kansas City! So many blessings as we have had the JOY of sharing in the LIFE of our family even though they live on the other side of the country in El Paso!
In order of age when we had our 5 together for the first time since John's brain cancer brought us together. So wonderful!!! A masterpiece entitled FAMILY for me... just as this picture is for Maria on this day...
A Picture for Today: An Attempt at a Birthday Pic - COMPLETE FAIL!
Well, I at least had to try... Patrick has scrambled egg hanging out of his mouth and David was having NONE of it. Oh, well! That is family life!
These are Maria's words from her blog today... and so true that is family life!
Jesus, we thank you for all the special reasons we have to celebrate our days of birth. Maria is very specially blessed with a amazing martyr and Mary feastday all in one! Mary, Mother of God, this morning we sang to YOU - Hail Holy Queen as we came to pray together on this day of celebration. Hold Maria in the palm of your hand and bless her with a year filled with YOU and Your Bride, The Church! Jesus, we trust in YOU. Amen and Halleluia
Bless-bless, Barb
This reading was in Morning prayer in the Magnificat today as well as in the office we did with John.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God. For as Christ's sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow." 2 Cor 1:3-5 St Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us and intercede for us as we face our afflictions and sufferings!
Maria did miss doing sweet corn with the 4 generations, and miss out they did!
Rose brings her blanket to join the family sharing the "work" of putting up food!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO_YUOAA1HU Danielle Rose singing Small Things with Great LOVE! That is what makes LIFE beautiful and special - when we are open to LIFE and give without counting the cost.
Grandpa with the sun captured in his tractor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9a7TaehRUQ&list=RD02H93HaDeg27c Danielle Rose singing 26 of her songs in succession!
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