Canning day a few weeks back with a house full including these little guys - 1 1/2 year old Hector and Jude in the embrace of almost 4 year old Evangeline.
Ruth just stopped in to check on the chickens and gave me an update on her health - low thyroid, and hgb they are working on for her. "My doctor told me that she is amazed that I can get out of bed in the morning with those issues with 6 kids and canning and then I had 12 kids sleeping in my house, too!" It truly was chaos those canning days! Ruth was left with so much to do that she even got overwhelmed, which doesn't happen often.
Applesauce day with their caterpillar - Rose and Berna! We did close to 200 quarts, and my dad loves his dish every day! That is one part of this beginning of our 6th month that gives me joy and why we do all the work! Feeding 7 families our homemade food! It was certainly great that Maria was here for a couple big canning days on the farm. They love our food!
Yes, dad and I are starting our 6th month together. He often prays that mom will help him from heaven for issues that come up and currently we have one he asked her help with today. On my walk out to the chickens - I now have Ruth's 13 egg layers here, and am once again a chicken farmer - I asked mommy to be with me and help me as this time with dad is weighing down on me with no end in sight. I felt her understanding and strength supporting me and giving me renewed ability to take one day at a time!
Apple day - we sauced an entire tree of our early apples a few weeks back. Hubby helped - now they are into fall work with the bean harvest underway.
Ruth and I were just discussing that we will have to do our pie filling soon, - Mar filling just around the first frost. Once again our guardian angels - the girls and John's mother in laws helped us out! A friend of Gail had done a art project with just the rings and had about 100 regular lids she had no use for... they arrived in the mail for us to do our pie filling! We just smile and feel very looked out over. Thank you!
A fun picture yesterday of Pat's sister, Mary and her family stopping by to see Maria and the kids! A big family wedding is happening tomorrow for one of Mary's sons, Ethan. Exciting times and strange times with the virus preventing them from having the big wedding they were hoping for. Now air quality is also an issue!
Dad with his single rose for mother on August 30th - their 71st wedding anniversary with part of our family after mass and breakfast. Mom is with us - we are so blessed to have her in heaven interceding! The other day dad took that most amazing slow motion fall in the kitchen! It was as if mom was cradling his head and hip and gently setting him on the floor - no injuries!
After 2 weeks the rose now is laying by mother and still beautiful as it dries as a keepsake of dad's love and having one foot into heaven as his better half is with us! How we love to have this wonderful picture taken just 2 weeks before she died on a very good day - with us at the table as we share meals and prayers with her! She glows in a soft heavenly light and such a gentle look of love for us! She had her hand on my elbow while Pat took the picture!
I found this special day for me! It was on our way back from Mike Gaustad's funeral on Leap Year Day - Feb 29th
Mom and dad look so good on either side of me and how I love that- so I will be ridiculous in the middle and so thankful that I had Pat take them! Maybe it took me there to get this most special look from my parents! How I have cherished my time with the two of them over these last few years and basically since they moved closer to me! From 11 hours in Michigan to 4 hours in Wisconsin!
It would have been better if I could get on my knees! But with 2 new knees that doesn't happen very easily or often.
Yes! They are too silly!
It was powerful last night to find the LOVE chapter from I Cor 13 as the first reading for mass today! How it makes you reflect on how we are far away from pure and true LOVE!
Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, love is not pompous,
it is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.Love never fails.
Yes, that is hard to do! Where do we falter the most? With those we live with day to day and minute by minute... that is where we are tested and fail too often. In our domestic church/family and with those that are the closest to us and we supposedly love the most in our lives are those that we treat the worst with knee jerk reactions to those small wounds and irritations! How we long to live as the Lamb shows us - "Wounded, I will never cease to love."
My brother, Jim, stopped in too! The last time I saw mom in their comfortable place in New Hope. The next time I saw her was the last few hours of her life in ICU! How I cherish this special visit with my hubby there too! We both left saying that mother was so good! Happy and engaged in our visit. I miss her terribly, but she is so much a part of each of the days dad and I share here on the farm. In spirit and in Truth!
Evie charmed the visitors yesterday.
Evie and Princess
Early morning visit to the farm... Joy helped grandma get kitty food and she laughed at the ducks!
I was so impressed that they stopped in to visit Maria! I asked for pictures and they were good at delivering them for me! Many prayers for the big day tomorrow for Samantha and Ethan! Those pictures should be very wonderful in a National Forest!
It was quite something to have Pat's siblings talk about what their mother and family was going through at the time of Pat's birth and pregnancy - His older sister, Grace, was in Rochester with gangreen in her leg after a farm accident where the rock wagon went over her leg. She was 5. "Mom would get on the bus very pregnant and ride to St Mary's and two days later get back on the bus and come home. I am sure the bus driver thought that she would have the me there, but no - she would come back home very pregnant." Pat got really choked up praising his amazing mother and all that she had to deal with with a already 5 kids 7 and under and canning and gardening and milking cows and Grace in the hospital 4 hours away, and very pregnant. "She was amazing and it must have been so hard for her!!" Talk about another amazing woman, to whom Ruth's doctor would say - "I don't know how you get out of bed in the morning." As Ruth said - "You just do!"
The chickens roosting in their new chicken house here. Not too happy that they are cooped up now, and not able to roam around the yard!
Yes, the red ones were very friendly and would come up on the porch- wanting to pray with dad and I?
Jesus, we long to do a better job this day loving and forgiving and showing mercy as you have so generously given to us. May we die to self so that your Spirit may give us the ability to love and serve without counting the cost. Jesus, we trust in you. Amen and Hallelujah
The little boys made this real!!! Still a wonderful treasure and to have my dad - the king of our family here sharing our Faith/Family/Farm is truly amazing and miraculous! I always longed for religious life, and now I have it sharing with my father - Deacon Robert for 44 years in The Church! They brought all 13 of us into The True Church 49 years ago! Each day since has been a glorious gift of LIFE/LOVE/LIGHT as we embrace our Most Cherished Cross! Bless-bless, Barbara
Miraculous to get all my grandchildren with my father, and sweet George is so peaceful and knows his great-grandfather.
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