Tom's Firsts - haircut, tea party, tractor ride - keeping grandma and grandpa young!/Countdown to the open house - The Parsonage

Totm is 11 months, so this is his first fall and his first ride with grandpa in the huge quad track pulling the ripper over the corn ground.  Grandma and Tom rode on some rounds on one of our last fields - the corn harvest is officially done today!  Celebrate!!!!

Tom also got his first haircut from his wonderful mom.  He sure thought the big tractor and ripper were interesting with "a lot moving back there."  

Where he takes his naps in grandma's peaceful back bedroom with his beaming face and new haircut.

He loves to watch the kitties outside from the inside.

Out to get the mail on such a beautiful fall day - this kitty thinks that Tom's stroller is his bed at night.

Sharing the stroller while we go to get the mail.

Out to ride along - the huge quad track 

Watching the ripper over grandpa's shoulder and eating his pizza.

Fall work is close to the end.

Sharing time with Tom and grandpa.  We are so blessed by this sweet little boy, who allows us to feel young as he is experiencing so many things for the first time in his young life.  Soon he will be walking instead of crawling - watch out world!  

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Such a loving and happy boy.  He gives us so many smiles and hugs and laid his head against his grandpa/s cheek when the tractor ride started to make his sleepy.  Tractors are notorious in making the little ones go to sleep.  He fell asleep on the way home and still is napping while I try to write a bit for today.  

Thanks wonderful grandpa for starting to show me what the life of a farmboy will be like for me.  I am such a lucky boy to have such an exciting life ahead of me!  

Bright sun again today!

Windy and hot day on Saturday - Joy and Tom were over and we had a tea party on the porch, grandpa too.

Milk and sugar...

Tom thinks that tea looks good!  And he liked it!

Tom with his first cup of tea party Tea!  

Cookies too.  Thanks, Joy , for finding this tea set and now we have another tradition to go along with the swim in the hot tub and watercoloring with grandma.  Each time you come we have to do certain things together to make our time special.

Tom approves of his cute leaf plate for his flower tea cup to sit on.

Getting a swig from grandpa from his flower tea cup.

Getting excited about the open house this weekend at The Parsonage across from the church!  It was special to see Birdie and Joy welcoming us as we got out of mass on Sunday morning.

Ruth's counter tops made from Restore doors that are from a hospital.  The stories they could tell!!!

Love this view so much with The Church right there!  Joy is trained to pose for me there.

A gathering place with others curious about what this will be like.

Paul put new flooring in the entry way.

5:30 mass last night with the late sun streaming in around the crucifix.  

We than heard Fr Shawn's conversion story at the CCW meeting.  Such a sweet and special story of a young boy, who from second grade wanted to become a priest!  He wanted to be an altar server "because it was hard for me to sit still for that hour, and I saw how they got to move around and be active during mass."  It was there that he learned and fell in love with Jesus in Word and Eucharist!  

Lights on and workers there early this morning.  It was special to see the place lit up!

New windows today and painting getting done in all the rooms up and down.  Then it will be like Christmas with all the Amazon boxes in the garage getting opened, the furniture here and there moved in, and all the floating shelves put up in the kitchen with all the cute things Ruth has collected at thrift and second hand stores.  She does love doing this so much!  

Finally my sister, Marty, at dad's grave on Sunday - the 2nd Anniversary of his passing here on my farm Monastery after 6 months on hospice.  A most peaceful and natural death just 7 months after mom died in a day after falling in the morning and breaking her hip.  

I am really missing my parents so much today.  Thinking about the wonderful days I would spend with them every week for the last couple months they lived in their own home in St Croix Falls, WI - just 4 hours from my door to theirs!  I loved to travel in my chapel on wheels praying my 10 decades of my rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy on the trip. Then arrive to spend 3 days in my parents peaceful beautiful home filled with prayer and love and conversation .  

Yes, I have both of their prayer books which fill me with blessings and the gift of their presence still with me, and now that I am attending daily mass - I am united with them in The Eucharist!  Still I was sharply sadly missing my wonderful time shared with them!  Those were golden years for me with them close and my husband allowing me to have frequent visits in their haven of bliss.  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barbara and the 54 - 34 here and 20 in heaven.

Days before my father peacefully passed - my sister, Paula, came with her entire family to have a final time with our dad!  Such a cherished picture for them - they used it on their Christmas Card for 2020!

My view on the couch as we shared morning prayer each day together.  

I love and miss you dad!  

The Sovereign LORD is my strength;

he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,

he enables me to go on the heights. - Habakkuk 3:19

 

 

 

"God is so good to me.

I (Columba Marmion) live now on my daily Communion.

All the morning I walk in the strength of the divine food,

and from the afternoon I live on the thought

of the following Communion, for It strengthens us

according to our desires and preparations.

Our Lord has promised that 'he who eateth Me shall live by Me.'

His life becomes ours,

the source of all our activity."

 

Excerpt from: Abbot Columba Marmion

by Fr Raymond Thibaut

God is in the story

I heard this on Christian radio today while Tom and I were driving over to the tractor.  It struck me as this blog is about stories in my life that are filled with God!