Suprise Hallel for her 40th birthday in Kansas City - 26 of her family! Our 5 children together for the first time in 7 years! +JMJ+

This picture of great JOY of Hallel with some of her youngest nieces and nephew makes me smile ear to ear!  We had just celebrated Mass in Lumen Christi/LIGHT of Christ Monastery in the heart of the Poor in Kansas City, Kansas.  

Hallel had her 40th birthday on September 18th, and the other sisters planned a surprise celebration the following weekend!  To my total happiness all of our kids could make it, and so there were 27 including Hallel.  With our family of 34 that means that 7 were missing.  

Maria and her 7 traveled from their home in Minnesota.  Hubby Major Joseph is in Poland till next spring!  

I was especially happy that John made it with his kids!  Wife, Bobbi, had other plans, but she gracefully encouraged John to come with the kids.  

It was wonderful to have Ruth there with 3 of her 7.  Paul stayed to hold down the farm along with Simon, who was also a birthday boy on the 20th turning 21 as our oldest grandchild!  I was just so touched to have our 5 kids together which has not happened since we were all in France for Hallel's final vows on August 15, 2018!

The Trinity over our shoulder as well as Our Lady... the 27 in our Sunday clothes after sharing Mass on the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time.  The Gospel of the Steward  reminding us that we need to look to Jesus for our needs.  

Nancy's entire family came from Delano!

We were told that our family represents LIFE! Yes!  The motto Pat shared with me at our engagement weekend has been carried forth in our Domestic Church/family!  "The world needs lights!"  Open to LIFE and raising Lights is what you see before you.  

Family Soul Story - Choose Life!: Our marriage stories - "The world needs LIGHTS!"  

Hallel with the 3 little boys that came to France for her final vows in the wombs of their mothers!  Nancy had George first, and 3 weeks later Maria had Hector, and then 3 weeks after that Bobbi had Jude!  Birdie is just a year younger than the 3 and a good friend to them!  

How I am cherishing this wonderful happening!  Nothing better for this old mom!  

The 4 girls that started our family with many losses in there.  As Nancy said we are so blessed to have our nun as an example of giving her all to Jesus and the beauty of being a Bride of Christ.  I know that some of the older girls and boys are considering a Call to religious life or priesthood.  So many prayers!  

I know that Hallel's answering the Call was encouraged by my making sure that they were exposed to nuns in habits by going to Schoenstatt Camp when they were young!  On the way home from there when Susan was about 10 - she told me for the first time that she thought she would be a nun.  So powerful!  

Family Soul Story - Choose Life!: Susan Angela Agnes/Little Sister Hallel - the story of a Call .  

This man with a bench full of grandkids before mass.  A bench that David built in the workshop some years back. To me this is a portrait of LIFE with the row houses across the street.  Pat and I had the joy of a good night's sleep with a wonderful couple that met through the Community and now live across the street and are expecting their 2nd child in January!  

Family Soul Story - Choose Life!: Our marriage stories - "The world needs LIGHTS!"  

Romeo and grandpa Pat just had a shared birthday a week ago on the 15th!  Pat was 71 and Romeo was 11.  One of our 2 redheads!  

Night prayer at the Grotto of Mary - it was here that Hallel was surprised by her family!

Praying for my Most Cherished Cross on his birthday - the first hour of Monday the 15th.  

Pat's birthday is the Feast Our Lady of Sorrows!  

Baby Romeo with his 3 older siblings 11 years ago.  They now have 3 younger siblings - Evangeline, Hector, and Magdalene.  

The 27 in the Grotto after the big surprise!  It was hot in KCK, but we were so happy to be together!  

Surrounding our youngest daughter with LOVE and family!  We had to miss a family wedding, but we knew that this had to be our choice! 

Oh, my heart is so happy to see them together!  

Waiting for the big surprise!  John talking to Alma, who was one of the original sisters that came to Kansas shortly before Hallel left for France in 2008.  She was so happy to see John again and meet his children!  John is like a famous star with The Community since they prayed so hard and long for his healing from brain cancer just a few months after Hallel joined The Community of the Lamb!

Family Soul Story - Choose Life!: John's cancer stories  

John's Spirit Juice video about his cancer now continues with wife and 3 miracle children!  

Maria sewed this habit for Therese when she was about 5 and her dolly!  Hallel is Godmother to T, so it is very special now in the family.  Her little sister, Evie, wore it a few years back...

Alma is going back to France this week!  It was a gift to see her and wish her farewell.   Little sister Candace joined - she is a Minnesota girl like Hallel!  

2 priest of the Lamb - Francis Xavier, and Mariono!  Jesus, Body Blood and Word!  

Pat has become a breakfast cook for his huge family!  His specialty is pancakes and bacon!  How his family loves his wonderful food and how he gives without counting the cost! 

Jude arrived in a tie!  So sweet and cute!  

John's 3 with Tom and Evie!  Hallel sure loves her family to come and share her life with her!  We are so grateful that we don't have to cross an ocean to see her.  A 7  hour trip is very doable!  

Big Dave and his Aunt Hallel making bacon and pancakes for almost 40!  

They did a skit for Hallel and Joy wore the habit to be a statue of Hallel that would come to the special occasions like weddings when we would miss her.  I actually made a paper Hallel that came to Nancy's wedding when the real Hallel could not come.

When Hallel came home for a visit - she took it out and burned it in the burn barrel!  

Pancakes all around!  

Reinacting a picture of the 5 taken just before Hallel flew to France to join the Community on Sept 11, 2008.  The way they began the skit...

Lots of laughs shared by all!  

The dessert parade is a tradition we have with them from the beginning!  

The 3 girls - best buddies they are all 8 or 9 and within less than a year.  

Long tables outside hosted by the little brothers at their Monastery at the bottom of the hill.

Hallel blessing our meal - we were to bring meat for the grill and we brought some of our wonderful ground beef made into burgers!

Nothing more special for our farmer's daughter, Susan/Hallel than to have Verly beef burgers off the grill!  They were so good and there were some left over that they froze for later.

We are right at home with our family of the Lamb!  It is not true that since Hallel is a nun - she brought no family to add to ours. We have hundreds of more brothers and sisters thanks to her answering the Call to be the Bride of Jesus!  

Arriving at the little brothers for supper, skit and prayer at the Grotto.  On the left is the new home being built for Archbishop Naumann to live in now that he is retired!  He will be able to look out of his chapel to see the Grotto of Mary!  

Evening prayer shared with a chapel full of all ages and sizes!  They sing like angels the Word of God!  

Lifting hands in praise!  Dominic and Romeo are just a few months apart and just shared a week in the Boundary waters with grandpa Pat! 

The three 6 year old boys ahead of the three that will soon be 4.  

Praying the Psalms - they read all 150 every week!  Psalms are huge for them as is the Gospel each day.  They begin reading and singing each line the night before.

Tom and Maggie are so sweet and loving to each other!  

Sharing prayer which is what they do throughout the day.

We brought Hallel 6 of our chickens that have just started to lay eggs the last few days.  Regina Maria - we call her Queen Mary, with an egg from the chickens.

Hallel playing tag with the kids!  

Gathered for refreshments and some flowers that Therese grew at their new home and brought for her Godmother on her 40th birthday!  

8 day old Romeo loving his mom!  11 years ago!  

The burgers were a hit!  

St Therese in their chapel - Lumen Christi/LIGHT of Christ! 

17 year old Therese saying goodnight to Mary in the Grotto of miracles and prayer!  

How we love Jesus, Mary, the Saints and our beloved Holy Catholic Church!  

Silhouettes at the Grotto.

Out to meet her birthday present with Gina - 6 new chickens - Cinnamon Queens!  

Back to see the chickens behind the Monastery.  

Pat's birthday picture with the green pastures with all the rain this year!  The bulls are laying down 

Once again lilacs in September!  

Their mother cat had 5 kittens last week.  Three of them are orange and white.  We had a cat some years ago named TomTom.  Now we have our own little Tom, so this was a special picture.  

Charlie Kirk has certainly filled with a lot of sadness and prayers for the last few weeks!  

Lilacs from last summer too - in September we are having lilacs - crazy!

After lunch just before we left for home - root beer floats for dessert.  David using great-grandma Ann's ice cream scoop that Pat's mom gave to the little Sisters when they visited her fall of 2008 just after Hallel had flown to France to join them.

So glad that they invited us to come and share this weekend with them and our daughter!  So much they commented on our beautiful family and all the LIFE we bring!  

Dave with grandma Ann's antique ice cream scoop.  Pat remembers growing up and this being used for ice cream which was a wonderful treat when you have 10 kids on the farm!  

David and his dad probably 15 years ago... putting on a blue apron to help in the kitchen.  Dave loves to work in the kitchen and make meals!  

Hallel meeting Patrick for the first time - he is now almost 13 in October!  Hallel asked little Dave if he knew who she was - "No, but you look like my mom!"  

The 24 in France including 3 in the womb as Hallel had just taken her final vows - "I promise unto death."  An inheritance from Pat's mom paid for us all to fly there!  She came at age 92 to France for Hallel's First vows - so I know she was very happy to do this for our family - the mountain moved to France!  Thanks, Mom Verly!  

Home visit in 2020 when my dad lived  with me on hospice.   Yes, she is truly a farm girl nun, who always loved cows and put a border around her room on the farm!

Singing Happy birthday to grandpa.

We missed Mary in Kansas.  Here she is at age 2 with her namesake - Mary the Mother of God!  

Yes!  I love ALL the Catholic Church teaches - I am not a shopping cart Catholic!  I love ALL of it!  

LOVE this so much!!!  We are truly blessed by each of our children taking us ever deeper into our Faith shared as a family!  Our greatest JOY!  

I am so glad that John and his 3 got to experience time with the sisters and brothers!  He was so grateful that Ruth drove his van and got them there with good conversations to make the time go by.  

"Wounded I will never cease to love."  The Lamb shows us how!

Blue apron - as I helped with our family breakfast of pancakes and eggs.  How grandpa loves to make his famous breakfast!

This has just flowed from me, but I must end it for now.  I am so excited and filled with so much gratitude and joy!  Jesus, how we love you and your Church!  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barbara and the 33 

Hail Holy Queen - Salve Regina as sung by Hallel and her Dominican Community!  Like angels singing!