The Pat and Barb Verly family and their 5 children, in laws and grandkids along with many prayer warriors have been drawn together by John's cancer... sharing daily for 8 months started this blog- Family Soul Story - Our faith, family, farm and now our cancer journey called HEALING have colored and deepened our world. WE continue to share and depend on the support of our prayer warrior community, that has lowered us into the Lord's presence for His healing!
2 weeks ago we were preparing to go to KC and meet Maria... 13 of us gathered there and had some wonderful 2 days with Hallel. We had a memorable evening in the Grotto of The Nativity placing our prayers and needs with Our Lady to take to her Son.
The kids said that one of their favorite times was catching fire flies afterwards, but I think they had some great family time with their Aunt Hallel and cousins.
How we longed to get the 3 new boys together! First Hector met with his youngest cousin, Jude!
Grandpa with Hector and George... the boys are all so sweet, good and healthy! We are amazed to have such wonderful new grandsons all within 6 weeks of each other!
Now grandpa with Hector and Jude... talk about healthy and sweet baby boys!
With Hallel living in KC for the last 2 years... she is available for us to visit with new members of the family... she has met all 3 of the new boys now. Maria, Hallel and Hector last week.
Together at last!!!
With their grandpa, who is my champion for LIFE and family! He set the motto of our family now onto the next generation. Open to LIFE and raising LIGHTS for this world of darkness and sin and death! The culture of LIFE will cast out the darkness!
Moms with the 3 boys, and the best mom of all!!! "Mom, there is a better mom than you." "Yes, John, I totally agree!"
Hector and George along with their families lived with grandma in her big wonderful house. Big and healthy from their wonderful moms!
Josephine and Evangeline... grandma loves to do their hair each morning.
The 3 girls take flowers to Mary in the prairie breezes...
Family jobs of strawberry jam and butchered chickens. Many hands make light work as we make food for our 7 families!
Yummy strawberry jam!
The 3 boys in red on picture evening...
Heavenly family time - the 11 grandsons!
The 7 granddaughters
A picture of LIFE - the 18 grandchildren together to make grandma smile!
So very happy for our 2 wonderful weeks with these 7. Now back to their home on base with dad and their dog, Princess.
Ruth and Maria are gone to the Science Museum in Brookings with the 11 kids minus Maria's 2 1/2 year old, Evangeline, who is running a temp. She is here keeping me company... hence this will be simple and short.
Hector in toy land... growing stronger and bigger with each new day. We were so happy to have these two weeks with you and your family
A night of baling and getting them picked up before we got a big rain of 2 1/2inches of rain overnight!
Joy waving at her mom in the tractor helping grandpa and Paul picking up bales.
Another load of bales - they were picked up and put away before we got a lot of rain overnight!
Hector hanging out with teddy on his last day on the farm!
We will be up early in the morning and head to Nancy's new home for a few hours. Very excited to see them in their new home. Then we will head to the airport and with tears say goodbye until next time. We have fake plans to drive out there on a two day trip before school starts with some grandkids to share some time in Washington.
This lady will then head up to my parents, who live about an hour north of the Cities. I will have some wonderful peaceful times with my two parents together in their own home! How I love to have the two of them still and together.
Our two red heads together.. it has been over a year since John and Bobbi's wedding on June 2nd as these two were too young to go to France in August for Hallel's final vows.
I have this list of pictures in my mind to help me celebrate this most precious occasion of having our family here for a most rare visit! As someone observed; "You had a large wonderful group of family there with you at mass today and it was great to see!" Yes!!!
The two 2 year olds were good at mass today. Evie found a chaplet of Divine Mercy Holy card that she thought was very special!
It was great to see our new priest, Fr Todd, who is a TEC friend and family. I told him that I have him on Fridays as I one of the Seven Sisters, who prays each week for our parish priest. "This week I will be praying for you in St Joseph's in Taylors Falls while I am visiting my parents."
Mary spending some time with Hector... He met most of the family for the first time on this trip. I had been there for his birth ,but Pat and the rest had yet to meet him!
All our new grandsons are wonderful happy and healthy babies! We are so filled with JOY at how wonderful they truly all are!
A classmate of Maria's - they were in the hospital together at birth and all the way through school. Glen farms just down a mile from our farm, and just had a new little baby girl last week! So fun for them to reconnect at mass after sharing Jesus in Body, Blood and The Word!
We share Sunday mass with John, Bobbi and Jude, too! How we love our family time sharing our Faith!
St Paul today in the second reading Gal. 5... Paul speaks to us of the freedom we have gained through the Spirit within us! "serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself... I say, then: live by the Spirit."
Such a magical time... I had gotten an old fashioned dress on Evie, and when we took supper out to grandpa just about sunset... grandpa took her down to see some water running into a pond.
Little girl by the hand barefoot in the hay...
Not too sure about putting her feet in the water.
"OK Grandpa, I will trust you."
That's enough... I think grandpa was hot enough that he wanted to get into the cool water, too.
Checking out grandpa's tractor... then they went out to check the cows on the 4 wheeler.
Grandpa has been talking about spending time with his Evangeline. She lived with us when she was a baby and Joe was in JAG training for some months. Grandpa and Evie got super close! So it was fun to have her come along with me to take supper to grandpa while he was raking hay, put her feet in the pool with him, check out his tractor in the shop, and come home with him and check the cows on the 4 wheeler behind our house... Evie Time!
Evie with Tyler the kitten, who is very good to allow her to carry him around in various positions.
This girl is so verbal and expressive and loving along with loud and yelling at times for her mom and sister. She is a wonderful companion for grandma and grandpa!
I got these two old fashioned dresses at the thrift store about 10 years ago when Mary was their ages. Josephine put on the other one and did I have fun!
These two girls are about 6 months apart and they got more and more acquainted over the week. JoJo is now gone to her new home in the Cities. Maria and I will visit them on our way to the airport on Tuesday.
Old fashioned girls just to make grandma smile more and more!
Riding on the gate...
Mary and two girls in old fashioned dresses...
Grandpa giving Evie lessons in drinking out of a liter bottle of pop... fruit snacks and pop... some girl was pretty lucky and spoiled by grandma and grandpa.
11 year old Therese helping me with the 3 girls in their bibs. LOVE!
Luke with Tyler after mass when we share breakfast on Ruth's porch!
Adding another table for the big group of family - the more the merrier!
The Gospel ringing in our hearts - Jesus calls us to follow him today... our response in Luke 9 "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
Jesus, may we be open to your Spirit which allows us to live by your Spirit led down the narrow path as we carry/drag our Most Cherished Cross which if we embrace it brings us LIFE/LOVE/LIGHT! How my heart is full after these last two weeks of KC with Hallel, TEC retreat with our growing TEC family as we come closer to you in prayer and Sacrament and now a huge ocean of family time with 4 of the 5 kids and all 18 grandchildren! Jesus, our cup if full to overflowing and we follow You with no hesitation or reservations! Jesus, we trust in you. Amen and Hallelujah
Breaking bread all... 20 of us now that Nancy has left...
Paul put the cows and calves in the pasture by the house... they were over our shoulders while we shared our meal after sharing our Lord's presence in Word, Body and Blood!
"To contemplate Christ
involves being able to recognize Him
whenever He manifests Himself,
in His many forms of presence,
but above all in the living sacrament
of His body and His blood.
The Church draws her life
from Christ in the Eucharist;
by Him she is fed and
by Him she is enlightened.
The Eucharist is both a mystery of faith
and a 'mystery of light.'"
Pope St John Paul II
My hero of LIFE and Family!
My Champion for LIFE and Family- My Most Cherished Cross with baby Hector, who will be leaving in two days.
Jude was 3 months on the 26th! He sure liked that big strong arm of grandpa and watched grandpa and Hector sharing a Sunday nap!
Grandma got some smiles and snuggles!
Two babies cradled in his big strong arms! One of their last times together for a while, but we all know that they will be best cousin buds as the years go forward. LOVE the groups of cousins and how they love to share those precious family times we carve out. There is no price tag for family time! Bless-bless, Barb
This is the weeks that we would be together in lovely gorgeous Lake Michigan - Manistique, MI! This picture came to me yesterday and I must say that as much as I miss it... this week on the farm with most all of our family has been equally wonderful. It takes a lot to come close, but I realize now that it all was the family sharing that made it so wonderful.
