Big Dave is 11 today!/Our Lady of Mount Carmel...perfect model of the interior life/prayer and contemplation

Happy 11th birthday Big Dave!!!  

Love this picture that Paul put on Sunday June 23 of the him and David in matching socks - unplanned!  I often look at David and ponder how much he is like his dad, and this is just proof positive.  David is also a very big helper around the farm with a good work ethic and positive attitude, which always makes the jobs more fun and go better!  Thanks, Dave!

Of the 11 grandsons... David is the second oldest behind his big brother, Simon, and next to him is Little Dave, who is about a year and a half younger.  Big Dave is holding his baby cousin, Jude.  Next to him Gus is holding his baby brother, George, and then we have little Dave holding his baby brother, Hector.  In a year the 3 little guys will be running in 3 different directions!

 Maria holding Hector and George while we butchered chickens two weeks ago... we took advantage of having many hands to make light work of our 75 chickens.

The boys don't know it but they got in on butchering chickens with the family.   

 Therese beat David to 11 by about 4 months!  Pulling pin feathers missed by the plucker...

 Side by side with a smile - the 11 year olds were good workers.  Therese even mastered cutting off the feet and other internal cleaning jobs.  I wonder if Ruth will have chicken for Dave's birthday meal tonight?

Little Dave was a good worker, too!

When in KC... we found Our Lady of Lourdes and Bernadette found her patron saint in the corner of the church where we attended mass with Hallel and the Little Sisters.

Today is a feast day of another time Mary appeared to St Simon Stock and gave him the brown scapular... Our Lady of Mount Carmel!  I love all the beautiful symbolism of the Mountain!

The title "Our Lady of Mount Carmel," named for the lovely place where the prophet Elijah dwelt in service in the word of God, expresses a sense of the beauty, and prayer that characterize Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer.  see www.magnificat

FEAST of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel*

*Title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary,

in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order

July 16

The Carmelites see in the Blessed Virgin Mary a perfect model of the interior life of prayer and contemplation to which Carmelites aspire, a model of virtue, as well as the person who was closest in life to Jesus Christ. She is seen as the one who points Christians most surely to Christ, saying to all what she says to the servants at the wedding at Cana, "Do whatever He [Jesus] tells you." Carmelites look to Mary as spiritually their mother and sister.

Such a special patron Saint for you Berna!

But I am afflicted and in pain;
let your saving help, O God, protect me;
I will praise the name of God in song,
and I will glorify him with thanksgiving.
R. Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.

Psalm 69 from mass today speaks of how our suffering can be turned into JOY if only we trust and give control to Jesus in our lives and on our journey carrying/dragging our Most Cherished Cross down the narrow path following the example of our Lord, Jesus Christ!  

St Bernadette certainly did all that the Lord and Our Lady asked of her - she was mocked and humiliated by many, yet through her digging in the mud a healing spring came forth which continues to this day!

Evie was 2 on Nov 1, and Joy on March 30... so they are 4 months apart too just like Big sister Therese and her big brother, Big Dave!  We hope they will be friends for life!

Our 2 red heads are precious and grandma is off the subject for today.  Always love and follow Our Lady... we can not love her more than Jesus did!

Dave stirring strawberry jam on our big jam making day.  If there is work to do in the kitchen Big Dave is there and willing and able.  His future holds "farmer cook" as a description of his talents and could be a wonderful combination.  From farm to table all in one man!

Our family job of 14 pails of strawberries now into jam and enjoyed and used by 7 families including our family of the Lamb in KC!

The best present ever that Dave will get this summer is a new bedroom!  They are adding on a room for a bedroom and a mud room to enter the house!

The porch on one side and Luke and David's bedroom on the other side.  The office door will be removed and an entry will be behind the new bedroom.  Ruth and Paul are not afraid of change and work!  Thanks to them we have our wonderful master bedroom off the bathroom, which we remodeled and with a wonderful walk in closet!  Thanks, Ruth and Paul!

Ruth's wonderful garden.. although late this year... I got an armload of wonderful lettuce!

A work of art and sweat of the brow on these hot and humid days!

Pat out collecting leaf specimen to check for chemical make up.  He would disappear with some of the corn over his head!

The corn is very behind but this hot weather is helping it grow as is all the rain we have been getting.  The only problem is that makes it hard to get the hay baled between the rains!

Just about head high here

It is very close to tassling!  We have no idea what the year will hold for us.  Lots of prayers for a late frost this year, so that the corn we did get into the ground will have a chance to mature and we will get some kind of a crop.

The cows and calves up in the paddock last night as sunset was a pretty sight!

“Contemplating Mary, we will understand better

the transforming force that the Eucharist possesses.

Listening to her, we will find in the Eucharistic

mystery the courage and strength to follow Christ

the Good Shepherd and to serve Him in our brothers.”

Pope St. John Paul II

June 10, 2004

Jesus, how we love you with our all!!  Bless our Big Dave today on his 11th birthday.  He is a great combination of farm and cooking which he always does with total energy and excitement.  It is no wonder that he has given all he has to give for the day and falls asleep early in the evening... and then early up!!!  Oh Dave, you are a wonderful work of art and a masterpiece called ...Big Dave is loved by God and it shows!  Jesus, may we give our all to your honor and glory as David shows us so sweetly.  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barb

I need to go out and paint fence now... hot, hot, hot!  

O Beautiful Flower of Carmel, most fruitful vine, splendor of heaven, holy and singular, who brought forth the Son of God, still ever remaining a pure virgin, assist us in our necessity! O Star of the Sea, help and protect us! Show us that you are our Mother!

"Receive Communion often, very often...there you have the sole remedy, if you want to be cured. Jesus has not put this attraction in your heart for nothing..."~St. Therese

John's promo video!

Danielle Rose - Memorare

Danielle Rose - Hail Holy Queen