Jesus and His Bride the Church at the center of our marriage! - He is spoiling me! Grandma's greatest JOY!/All here but Hallel!

Two sweet sisters from our military family - Maggie 14 months and Evie 5 years. Grandma found them up in the air dresses and bows!

After mass and water aerobics - Walmart was calling me as tomorrow marks a huge day of celebration for our domestic Church/family!  It is our 44th Wedding anniversary and all our kids and grandkids will be here only minus our nun in France!  So....

Grandma loves to spoil the girls especially, but the boys need to be included.

14 year old Therese with her baby sister.  Their are 5 siblings between them = 7 children in our wonderful military family, who are in the process of moving from the West Coast to the East Coast - Charlottesville, Virginia!  

I love to make them feel special and the pictures that I get are so precious to me!  

Evie demonstrating that they are up in the air dresses as her Aunt Ruth was known to call them when you could spin and they would fly all around you!  

LOVE!  

LOVE the smiles and how Maggie is looking up to her big sister with love and happiness shared.  Maggie is here in my quiet house for her nap giving grandma some quiet time to myself, too.  

Nancy arrived this morning with her 6 from the Cities and so there are 22 grandkids at the farm.  With the nice weather they are either in the pool or playing in the grove in their fort.  Still it is a cray time when all 22 going on 23 grandkids are together!  I find myself giving myself a pep talk of; "I can do this."  from time to time when the craziness is all around me.

Maggie hugging her new up in the air dress.  

The Gospel today is Jesus walking on the water in the dark windy night, and the fear of the disciples seeing him!  Also St Peter asks to join Jesus on the water, but once again the fear overtakes him as he takes his eyes off the Lord - he begins to sink!  As Father said today - "the message is that we need to keep our eyes on the Lord, and come to Him.  Even when we start to sink - call out to him and he will lift us up."  

When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.
“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter said to him in reply,
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,
and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
After they got into the boat, the wind died down.
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.”  Matthew 14

Jude and Birdie - the 3 boys that are 3 have matching... they are 6 weeks apart, and grandma loves to see them together, so I make it very evident that they are a special group - now all are 3!  

Grandma having too much fun!  This is my passion to commemorate our family gathering for a special occasion!  

I asked a dear priest friend of ours if he could possibly say mass for our 33 family members.  I didn't hear anything for a day, but I decided to just trust and wait on the Lord's plan and timing.  He called Pat last night and offered to say mass in our beloved St Mary's Chapel at the Catholic School where Pat and his siblings went to school, our 5 children and now Ruth and John's will all attend there!  It could not be more wonderful!!  

Fr Denny at mass last evening with the late afternoon sun streaming in  as he holds up Jesus' Body and Blood - Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, for ever and ever .  Amen

Pat asked if we could renew our marriage vows tomorrow night, and our son-in-law, Major Joseph, said that it would be important to not only Pat and I, but our children and their spouses to witness our renewing our LOVE and commitment to each other!  Thanks, Joseph!

Approaching fair time in 2 weeks - walking the cows and calves... Paul, Simon and Mary!

Major Joseph playing with Jude on the drum to accompany and Hector too.  The kids are working on music, reading, altar servers, flowers and Pat thought our wedding picture... John got quite emotional saying that it is very important and proper that we are centering our party around sharing mass together..."That is the centerpiece of our family and our lives - Jesus in His Body and Blood in The Church!"  Thanks, John!  How I love to share our Faith as a Family and our lives on the Farm!  

Joseph will be accompanying the music.  Pat and I both love...

O God beyond all praising!

Now in St Michaels in Stillwater where mom and dad used to attend mass for a few years - O God beyond all praising

Birdie arrives to dance to Jude and Joe's music!  3rd Day is big for Joe! 

Action picture of dancing to the music and playing and Hector would join time to time.

3rd Day music...

The grandkids did not know that Uncle Joe played... fun times! 

Birdie on the drums

Maggie and Birdie are exactly one year apart, and will be friends/cousins growing up together.

Joy was in awe of her Uncle playing the guitar and singing.  "I didn't know that he could play.  Wow!"

Maggie bath in the bubble farm sink.

bubble top and smiles...

Ruth's beautiful porch framing the sliver of a moon last night as darkness settles in.

Kids by the BIG quadtrack tractor in the light of the shop.

Kids and Quad track as we head home to bed.  

I am here in the quiet house while Maggie gets her nap.  Then we will head over to join the farm gathering.  With the heat and humidity it will be a big day for the pool and maybe cooling off at Camden...

Grandpa in charge of our "nightcap" before bed - popcorn, cherries, and grandpa pop!  Therese is studying our wedding picture where grandpa had an afro... curly hair all over his head!  We look a bit older and different after 44 years!  

Grandpa and I love to spoil our grandkids and make them feel as special and loved as they are!  Maria used to get upset with her dad when he would give them secretly a drink of his pop before bed, but now they are relaxed and laid back about it.  It probably helps that it is now sugar free "grandpa Pop."  

Maggie's incision from her surgery 2 months ago.  How we rejoice with how well she has done and now is assured of a normal life with room for her brain to grow normally.  Thank you, Lord!

The Crown of Thorns was where I prayed for her, and how it appears to be that with the jig jag pattern on her head.  All our worries and concerns were held close to the heart of Jesus and Mary - how we depend on our Faith in Jesus, Mary, the Saints and The Catholic Church!  

LOVE Jesus and His Bride, The Church!  I am forever grateful to my parents, the Holy Spirit, St Ignatius, Isaiah, The Cenacle Sisters, the prayers of my husband for a Catholic wife, and now learning at the feet of my children as they take me deeper in my Faith journey!  So excited for tomorrow!  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barbara and the 54 - 34 with us and 20 in heaven... I know they are so rejoicing with us too!  

Family Soul Story - Choose Life!: The amazing story of the 13 becoming Catholic! 

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

Danielle Rose - True LOVE - the Cross 

We embrace our Most Cherished Cross/spouse to find LIFE/LOVE/LIGHT!  

 

Gathering on the farm - August begins with Faith/Family/Farm!/"deserted place" with Jesus - Ignatius and dad join me at Adoration

6 months apart and getting to know each other - Tom and Maggie.  Maria and Major Joseph are here for a few days including our 44th Anniversary on Wednesday and going to Farm Fest with the farm family on Thursday.

The two redheads, Romeo and Joy, are together again!  

Out to see the cows in the front pasture.

Sharing in our farm life.  Farming is definitely a LIFE and not just a job!  

7 year old Romeo and 3 year old Hector with the cows looking on.   Ruth mowing up the yard in preparation for a photo shoot for Farm Fest taking place shortly.  Always a busy place on the farm and now with 15 kids - 7 each of Ruth's and Maria's, and Gus from Nancy's that has been here for some days as he is showing a pig and has become a 4Her!  Paul was joking that it really did not matter if some of each kids were in the picture - "there are just a lot of kids!"

Evangaline and Cally one of the spring kittens that is a favorite as they would like her to start having their kittens spring and fall as the other mothers are getting old and worn down.

"Take my picture grandma."  Yes, please!  

6 years ago at World Youth Day in Poland!  The Timmermans had just mentioned Little Sister Hallel and there she was!  Talk about the Holy Spirit to bring them together in the midst of a million pilgrims!  

This past weekend Simon and Mary and Therese were all at Steubenville North at St Thomas.  Simon and Therese were comparing notes and spoke about how the Holy Spirit is definitely alive and on fire from what they witnessed during Adoration.  

Adoration for me in the middle of the night!  I had to bring along dad's icon of St Ignatius, dad's candle from his memorial service 2 years ago, the heart rock that the military grandkids found for me in the woods on base at Fort Lewis, WA, and a bouquet of my flowers.  It had been a feast day of St Ignatius - a very special Saint in my dad's history of coming into the Catholic Church 50 years ago!  A Protestant Minister with 11 kids!  

Family Soul Story - Choose Life!: The amazing story of the 13 becoming Catholic! 

Special time in Adoration - sharing the time with dad and Ignatius in this "deserted place".  In the middle of the night with dark and silence all around - there is such a closeness to Jesus, Mary, St Ignatius and dad and mom in heaven!  There is no doubt that dad was celebrating with this very special Saint!  

"Deserted Place" is mentioned twice in the Gospel today - #1 where Jesus went to mourn the death of his dear cousin, St John the Baptist, and again...

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already late;
dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages
and buy food for themselves.”
He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him,
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”
Then he said, “Bring them here to me,”
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over–twelve wicker baskets full.

Those who ate were about five thousand men,
not counting women and children.  Matthew 14

So close to our Lord in this dark and silent time of prayer - doing the litany of our 2 families is over 250+ naming them in prayer and putting them in the monstrance with Jesus!  "Jesus and Mary, I love you.  Save Souls!"  

Dad the words of St Ignatius have come to be for you and mom!  You were created to share in God's love and life for Eternity!  How I love to find comfort knowing of your happiness in heaven with the angels, Saints, Jesus, Joseph and Mary!  

Nancy has made things from ties including a jumper that she wore in high school.  At one performance where she walked across the stage a man noticed that his ties were walking across the stage on her!  

We take a lot of pride in feeding the world!  

Find that "deserted place" to spend time alone with Jesus and Mary.

Dad fills my cup with the waters of LIFE!  

Pope Benny and mom!  I am truly blessed by my parents and all they left behind for me! Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barbara and the 54 - 34 with us here and 20 in heaven.  Adding Pat's brother, Donny, who we pray is on the narrow path and coming to heaven forever!  

Casting Crowns - the Well