Family jobs bring us together/Joy: "Mom, the baby is helping cover the pile!"/Through the eyes of a 4 year old/Bible story Ruth- LOVE!

We covered the silage pile in the wind as a family this morning, and to keep the tarp from flying up in the wind Ruth, the baby and Joy found a nice way to keep down their side.  "The baby is helping cover the pile."  Joy shared and made us smile.  It is fun to see her looking forward to being a big sister in a few months.

Yesterday we did our first family canning day for the 7 families we make food for.  It was a big day of Salsa while the men were out making the silage to feed the cows for the next year.  First time we have chopped silage in probably 35 years!

4 pails of tomatoes with one in the sink made almost 40 quarts of Salsa!

Joy looks like the Salsa Princess in her cute sundress and big spoon stirring our colorful corn and bean salsa along with buckets of colorful cherry tomatoes and peppers... so good!

Ready to can in our huge 40 quart container that we got from an auction at the Catholic School years ago!  Probably used for Pat and his siblings when they went to school there, then our 5 and now grandkids!  We were so happy for Bobbi, who won a year of tuition for her oldest, Jude, at the Catholic School fundraiser a few nights ago!

Simon did the canning with the lids we have gotten through Pat's sister in Seattle, who shopped around and found them here and there for us!  Thanks, RaTerra!

Family jobs are a good time for sharing our time and talents and catching up on our lives.  The chips were there for taste testing and all agreed it was a very good year - 2021!

Paul's dad, Larry drove truck for us all day as we put up silage in this drought year!

DeLanghe's amazing chopper with the men in the shade after a hot dry day of making silage for our cows over this next year.  Thanks for all the help Ed, Paul, Larry, Donny and Pat!

Ruth and Joy were so cute and that baby bump, too!  

Pat shared another cute way that Joy talked about baling last night when she rode in the baler with her dad behind grandpa raking ahead of them.  "Grandpa is the chef.  He makes the food for the hungry baler to eat and then it poops out bales."  Oh, the world through the eyes of a 4 year old farmgirl with red curly hair who will be starting preschool all day every other day in a few weeks!  Watch out world!

Packing the pile - the corn seeds were very small and not that many of them in this drought year.  We will combine the rest of the corn, but expect to get about half.  It amazes me what the corn did despite no rain.

A picture I shared 3 years ago as we were coming home from France!  Hallel's final vows - "I promise unto death."

This came in the mail yesterday in the University of Mary magazine!  Bill and Nancy's ministry Catholic Sprouts and Domestic Church Project.  

They are going to arrive at Captain Joseph and Maria's home on base this evening for some family time in Fort Lewis, WA!

Such a good article!  I love St Mother Teresa of Calcutta's words at the end..."I try to focus on being faithful, not successful."  Yes!

Ruth and Nancy went to U of Mary!  Such a great place for them to develop into LIGHTS for the world!  Ruth as a nurse and wonderful mother and Nancy as a teacher and also a wonderful mother, both who want to pass their faith on to their children!

Colorful salsa princess soon to go to school with her cute ways!

Ruth with her oldest Simon!  He will be 17 when his little brother is born and hopefully will be his Godfather!  

I got very excited to see that the book of Ruth was coming up as our first reading in mass and today here it is!!!

Naomi said, “See now! 
Your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her god.
Go back after your sister-in-law!”
But Ruth said, “Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you!
For wherever you go, I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge,
your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”  Ruth 1:14-16

I love how Ruth his loyal, hard working and loving to her widowed mother--in-law after losing her husband.  The name was special to me hence our oldest daughter is Ruth and so fitting is it to her!

Luke was proud that he was nicknamed "the tank" at football practice after he was able to move the dummy...

4 years ago in Camden, where Paul proposed to Ruth.  Now they will have #7 to carry in a papoose next year.  I said that I could stay in the house with the baby next year when they do the dusty dirty job of covering the pile.  "No, Paul can strap him on his front."  I guess so!

Our beautiful beach in Michigan - Dave just asked me why we didn't go this year... "you went to the Boundary Waters, and now we have the State Fair..."  Life is too short for our summer fake plans!

Pat asleep on the couch after such a big day yesterday and again today.. our kittens thought he made the couch better for snuggling!

Joy holding down the tarp in the wind...

"my mom is so pretty!"  You look like a red haired Ruth, Joy!"  

Stinker David dropping silage on his mom and sister and baby brother.  

Yes, it was dusty and dirty and windy... thankfully the sun was under clouds for the most part!

Luke found my and Pat's rolly bolly in the grove.  

Two hot dusty helpers... every time I come to their house I get a big hug and a "I love you, grandma."  She also wants to come over every day and see the kittens.  

The Gospel today from Matthew 22 can't be beat - it is ALL of our Truth!

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
He said to him,
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

I am off to pray for Fr Denny with 7 Sisters now late in the day and probably will be a wedding rehersal going on... I do the best that I can.  I only want to love God with all my heart, mind and soul, and my neighbor as myself.  Jesus, we trust in you.  Amen and Hallelujah

Lots of tires - talk about getting dirty!

Love this from 4 years ago on Ruth's beautiful porch with the lush green pasture as we had rain that year!  Ruth makes all she touches special including her beautiful children and home!  Bless-bless, Barbara

Baby Luke eating his first tomato soup 7 years ago!  Our next canning will be spaghetti sauce with tomato soup coming behind.  Apples will not happen this year as we do not have any on the trees!  Oh well!

A memory of Nancy and Bill at a family wedding where we took Pat's mother and surprised them all!