Our farm family owes its roots to Pat's parents! Today is mom's day of birth - many thanks! "...whoever receives one child..." - +JMJ+

We had a family celebration for mom Verly's 95th birthday 9 years ago!  We gathered at the farm where Gerry and Ann Verly raised their 10 children and worked hard to make a good life feeding the world!  It looks like only Melvin is missing of the remaining 9 children.  A brother was lost in 1993 - murdered in Montana.  

The girl cousins 9 years ago missing 3 of my girls and one of Grace's girls, Kristin.  They all so loved their grandma Ann!  Today is Shannon's birthday too(standing next to Ruth here on the end), and she had a baby girl just shortly before mom passed in December of 2016.  She named her Ann out of LOVE for her beloved grandmother, and birthday buddy.  

This makes me chuckle so much!  Ruth gave her beloved grandmother a dozen farm eggs from her free range chickens for a birthday gift that year.  How Ruth admired and looked up to her farm grandma!  She learned how to crochet and garden and raise chickens and eggs.  All things that I could not help her with much.  

It is pretty cute that now hubby loves to have laying free range chickens!  He speaks of growing up with his mother's job of raising and selling eggs.  His red hens that lay brown eggs are so tame where the leghorns his mother raised were scared and hard to catch!  

Pat the beef, crops and chicken farmer.  He has a fondness for them since his mom's days of having hundreds of hens.  I was just visiting my 92 year old farm lady from Balaton, who raised 300 egg layers back on the farm.  She laughed out loud when I told her that Pat walks with a herd of red chickens all around him.  They are so tame!  I am taking her a dozen of brown eggs the next time I visit her.  

Oh Pat!  

6 year old Joy picking eggs on the farm.  She never did know grandma Ann, but she sure is a farm girl through and through.  One time Pat's sister, Ida, was visiting and saw barefoot Joy in a sundress and eggs in her skirt.  A picture of how great it is to grow up in the farm!  

All grown up and now all but one are married with children!  These 4 were all in 2 years - John and Brad grew up on the farm and are just 6 weeks apart.  Brad was a brother that John never had except for the 6 in heaven.  How I tried to have more brothers for John and more sons on the farm for Pat... Not to be.  

Pat's mother and I shared an openness to LIFE!  Mom had 10 living children with some losses here and there.  She speaks about a time that during the day she lost a pregnancy and held a tiny boy in her hand.  She said nothing and returned to her day.  She could not really understand how I took our losses so much to heart.  The difference from one generation to the next.

The Gospel today on this Feast of The Guardian Angels is from Matthew and it always speaks to me of how we are called in The Catholic Church to die to self and be open to the children that the Lord has planned for us.  Open to LIFE and Raising LIGHTS!  He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,

"Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

"See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven

always look upon the face of my heavenly Father."  Matthew 18

Yes, it was difficult for mom to raise her 10 children, and for me to have all the losses and still have 5, but we would never change it!  Each one is a gift and a blessing of LIFE in our lives and our Domestic Church/family is filled with more LOVE with each new LIFE!  

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

I have shared that I owe so much to Pat's mom taking this city girl under her wing and helping me to learn most of what I know about being a farm wife now for 45 years.  She was very kind and gentle with me even though I am sure there were times she shook her head at my ignorance.  Like when I got a fork out of the drawer in the kitchen when she asked me to get a potato fork.  She dug in the ground for a bit with it, before she told me it was a large tool!  That is being KIND!  

How we love you mom!  May you be celebrating in heaven with dad, your siblings, your losses, your Donny, and all the Angels and Saints!  These words of the Gospel today - "See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father."

make me recall all the innocent lives that have been murdered by abortion!  All those angels and souls in heaven - all that LIFE lost and LIGHTS that could have touched so many!  Lord and Lady please end this horror and culture of death!  

Praying with John in the middle of the night at Adoration - he has the last hour of Sunday and I have the first hour of Monday.  We pray for family together.  I love to do the litany of both Pat's family and my family!  About 250+!  I pray for each by name and put them in the monstrance with Jesus. It reminds me of my dad Deacon Robert Cross, who prayed for his entire family of 160+ first and middle names on Mondays!  How our family relied on his prayers and they continue now from heaven as I am sure those of my mother and Pat's parents for their large families.  I am the oldest of 11, and Pat is the middle of 10!  

The Angels with us!  

October is Respect LIFE month!  Yesterday the 26th Sunday of Ordinary time was Respect LIFE Sunday!  

From Nancy's Catholic Sprouts!  

The best sweetest and kindest farm wife I ever knew!  

Ruth driving the grain cart years ago.  She loves being a farm girl and does it all so well!  

My friend from MOW - Marie had a red shirt with the red tomatoes I brought her.  Next time eggs!  

Hot an windy - blew my bangs away in the shade too -the 150 cows on stalks around the farm!  

I wanted to get Ruth and Tom out there, but it was nap time.  On my to do list for pictures.

Everything looks so dry!  Lord send rain!  

Coming for water

Hot wind!  It is 90+ degrees and we were swimming in Nancy's pool yesterday on October 1st!  Crazy!

Ed now lives on the farm they all grew up on - the South 59 Verlys. It was special on this day to gather there with mom for her 95th.  Today would have been her 104th!  It has been 7 years since we all pitched in to allow her to live to the end of her life in her home.  We did it!  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barbara and the 33 plus many Little Brothers and Little Sisters

Will Morrison - So will I

Peter Mayer - Holy Now

Danielle Rose 

 

Rain delay = family day on the farm and putting 150 cows out on Corn Stalks/26th Sunday - St Therese too - you are LOVE, O Lord! - +JMJ+

15 year old Therese Marie a couple years ago with her special statue of her patron Saint - Maria named her oldest first child Therese after the powerful experience she had while traveling to study in Rome for a year - her Sophomore year in Catholic  Studies at St Thomas.  She read Story of a Soul by St Therese on her flight and from that point was considering a Contemplative call to become a Poor Clare Nun.   

A watercolor painting I did 11 years ago while we were waiting for her baby brother, Patrick, to arrive.  I was in El Paso with Maria and her 2 oldest, while Joseph was deployed to Afghanistan.  Patrick had a traumatic birth, but is the picture of health today.  

Family Soul Story - Choose Life!: The story of little Lamb - grandson Patrick  

A young Therese with her Patron - such a special saint she is!  She felt her calling was to be the LOVE in the heart of Jesus, Mary and The Church!  She wants to spend her heaven doing good on earth.  she sends roses to those that ask - like Bobbi over the years that she waited for John...

After being classmates for all 13 years for them to come together 10 years after graduating is kind of special.  She shared to the 300 family and friends gathered at the reception in her sweet humble way about how John Verly popped into her head and heart when they were seniors in HS as her future husband.  Time and time again the same answer came to her through prayer and roses from St Therese and opening her eyes to see him right in front of her at WYD in Australia... When we consider what John experienced over those 10 years... brain cancer, seminary, girl friends, ups and downs and how disheartening it probably was and how powerful her prayers were for him!!!!  Amazing!!!   And how patient and trusting and prayerful and waiting and praying for John, this sweet girl was!  

4 years ago with her baby brother, Hector, who is one of the 3 little boys in 6 weeks.   St Therese didn't send the flowers, but T grew them.  She loves to garden! 

The other 2 little boys yesterday sharing a game.  Nancy surprised us all with a day at the farm and John came and joined in.  We had 22 sharing a day on the farm along with putting 150 cows out on corn stalks in the field around the farm.  

We had watercolor time - making St Therese paintings - Joy and Josephine sharing their works of art!  

2 to do it justice.  They are wonderful!  

Jude and Birdie are just a year apart, and they are both buddies with cousin, George.  

Grandma made 7 pounds of her B-B-Q for supper.  I can make it in my sleep after all these years.  I even made for Susan and John's graduation parties.  

Tom giving youngest granddaughter, Lucy Marie, and kiss.  She is such a happy sweet girl, and Tom is on the mend - now it will be 4 weeks tomorrow since he had a 4 wheeler accident.  So many prayers and each day he has improved!  

Joy after mass wants to come along and get breakfast with us - "I want to get grandma her coffee cake, a honeydew melon, and some ice coffee for mom."  

She looked so cute today- like Pippi Long Stockings except for no braids.  "I didn't know that my dress looked old fashioned."

Simon came home for the weekend and sure was a great help with getting the cows moved onto stalks!  He also has the job every Sunday of fixing the doughnuts, and his Godson, baby brother, Thomas, sure is interested in those ones with jelly in the middle.  "You have to wait until we bless the food and eat, Tom!"  

Simon sure entertained us with some of the meals he is making for himself at school in Sioux Falls - Southeast TEC.  "I mix black beans and Spaghetti Os and it is pretty good!" 

It was a nice day to eat on the porch!  Pat laughed at Tom - "He is making the Gospel come to life!"  The Gospel today was the father of 2 sons - he asks each of them to go out and do some work - One says "No", but later does it.  And one says "Yes." but never goes.  Who did the father's will?  The one that reconsidered and did as his father asked!  

Pat asked Tom for a bite of his doughnut - he shook his head "no".

Then he gave grandpa a bite!  "Tom is living the Gospel!"  We all laughed with great JOY!  

Grandma had to take out her hair tie and do a topknot for Birdie with the wind blowing her hair in her face.  She is fairly gentle with the kitten, too.

Jude, Birdie, kitten and Ruth's pumpkins in the bright sun today.  

20 month old Regina also found the kittens yesterday.

George and cousin friend, Birdie Barbara, sure love to play together.  

City cousins helped bring the cows across the road including Bernadette and Dominic.  

Through the pasture and...

Now out on corn stalks for a month or so.

Tom with one of the cute fuzzy Siamese.

Tom and Gina are just a month apart!  They will both be 2 around Thanksgiving and Christmas.  It was fun to get them together with the kittens.

The look...

Here take it...

That's better.

Grandpa sure loves family farm days with all the little ones.  "Our life is kind of crazy, but I wouldn't change it for anything."  Yes, honey!  

Gina out with mom to see the weaned calves in the yard.  They are curious about her too.

The littles yesterday - Lucy was home with mom and dad for their naps.  

Pat leaving the farm today with the special sight of cows out on stalks.  

My parents 7 years ago at St Michaels in Stillwater.  It was Respect LIFE Sunday as it is today, and I am forever grateful for my parents being open to LIFE and leading us into The Church 52 years ago!  Both of my parents died in 2020 - just 7 months apart and after celebrating their 70th Wedding Anniversary!

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