Easter Octave overflows with Hallel!/Back from Spring in KS with Mary's shiny car -"...proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” - +JMJ+

Paul took this of Mary waiting for her new used car to arrive from Kansas yesterday evening.

In about 2 week Mary will turn 18, and has her entire future ahead of her with a plan to attend the U of M in St Paul for Ag Communication!  She has worked many years with dog kennel down the road as well as taking care of goats.  She herself is a goat farmer!  

The huge picture window of the farm house.  Mary excited for this big step in her life - her first car and the future ahead! 

Ruth and Paul with their 7 now live here, and make it possible for Pat and I to leave for a couple days with our military family and to pick up the car that Mary bought from the Major that sits next to Major Joseph in class in Fort Leavenworth, KS.  We are so grateful to our young farm family making it possible to leave for some days even during calving!

LOVE this from Maria today!  The 7 from the oldest to youngest - Therese just turned 16 and Maggie will be 3 next month.  Each one is a shining light!  

I am very emotional today after a special conversation I had alone with Therese.  The others had all gone on a walk and Therese stayed behind as she is preparing to run a marathon in a few weeks and had just run 18 miles the day before.  She so sweetly asked me to tell her some of my favorite books I have read...  Much of what I shared with her sounded old and dusty - Thomas A'Kempis. Thomas Merton, Taylor Caldwell, then the Left Behind books of more recent times.  

Therese then shared with me her favorite books - some of them were having to do with WW2 and the holocaust, and an author she showed me - Gary D. Schmidt - Wikipedia  She shared that her favorite book is Okay for Now.  I picked it up and read it for most of the time I was there.  She allowed me to bring it home with me and I finished it this morning!   

The other perspective is sweet too!  

I had to call Therese and thank her tearfully for the great sharing he had.  The book was a gift and it showed me how special it is to spend my time better with filling my mind, heart and soul with good reading.  I admitted to T that I was tired and just wanted to zone out on my phone, but I am glad that she brought me to my senses and made me realize how special and important it is to share from the heart with these precious grandchildren that are being raised to LOVE Jesus, Mary and our glorious Church!  

Bumpa and his Magdalene on the porch of their home on Base in Fort Leavenworth, KS!  I loved that they both were matching in pink and I love the icon of Our Lady and her son, Jesus Christ on their front porch for all to see.  Hallel told me today when she called that this is called - Our Lady of Tenderness!  This is in the chapel of each Monastery of our Community of the Lamb!  

Maggie brought grandma a forget-me-not from the yard after their Easter egg hunt- Since it is Easter all week they have a hunt each day of the Octave!  In the eggs are special notes for them, but they also can have candy to celebrate with Easter JOY!  

A beaming Mary with her new beautiful car!  She drove off for a spin with her car full of siblings - Rose in the front seat, David and Joy in the back.  She gave grandma a hug for driving it 7 hours to her, and then she gifted me with this picture!  We drove from here to Spring in Kansas - green grass, lawn mowing, trees blooming, and warm weather!  

We came back to snow banks in the ditches and only slight hints of green in the grass as they melt!  

9 years ago in Kansas City with Hallel for Easter!  Facing into the bright Easter Sun!

To my great delight I got a call a bit ago from our nun, Hallel, in Rome!  She will be there another week and then to France where the whole Community will gather to elect a new prioress on the Sunday after Pentecost!  Little Sister Marie is in her 80s and is wisely allowing the Community to elect by vote a new leader while she is still alive to train her and make the transition a smooth one.  I have been praying mightily for the Holy Spirit to be in charge!  

The 7 military kids a year ago in Charlottesville, VA.  Yes, Maria moves her room of books with her even if they are only a year living in a town!  Now they are going to move with them to Fort Riley, KS for the next few years.  It will be a 2 hour trip between our nun and our military family, but we forsee that we still we see both of them often and see both when we visit Kansas.  

There are already fake plans for Evangeline having her First  Communion with the Little Sisters and then having a party at Fort Riley in July.  

Green grass everywhere in Kansas and Maggie modeling her cousin Mary's new car. 

Maria and family checking out Pat's bull catalogue for AIing his cows and heifers for the calving next year.  They were interested in the most special names...

We attended daily mass in the same church where David had his Confirmation a few weeks ago now.  Thursday of the Easter Octave - Luke 24 where the two from Emmaus are telling them that Jesus in alive and he appears to them in their midst - they are afraid and think he's a ghost, so he eats a piece of baked fish and allow them to touch his wounds!  

The Carmelite priest saying the mass pointed out that Maria and family along with grandma and grandpa had filled an entire row - "You packed them in!" 

An elderly great-grandma with her little great-granddaughter on Easer Thursday!  A beautiful sight in the bright sunlight!  

Today the Easter reading is from Mark 16 - in shorter version of how Jesus appeared to Mary outside the tomb, and the two coming back from Emmaus to share the news of Jesus risen!  Neither were believed -  "...as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them
and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart
because they had not believed those
who saw him after he had been raised.
He said to them, “Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”  Mark 16

Out by the statue of Mary with green grass, daffodils and lawn mower cutting grass across the street!  

Jesus telling us how we are to go forth into the world with our Easter message of great JOY - "Proclaim the Gospel to every creature." 

 Today when Hallel called I asked her what she would choose for an icon.  Her response shows her love for the Gospel! "I would love to see Jesus holding the open Word of God.  Jesus is the Word!"  I need to decide soon what I will chose as I won the bid on an icon to be painted and I choose what it will be!  I am thinking something with Mary - Holy Family, Mother and child, the Pieta with her holding her Son taken down from the cross, or her at the foot of the Cross, or Mother Theresa of Calcutta...

Maria with her oldest and youngest girls - there are 4 boys and another sister between them.  Maria homeschools them, and there happens to be a Catholic High School close to them in Fort Riley.  They are considering that Therese might be able to attend there.  I am praying for them to see it as a good thing and T can have more young people in her life and share her bright light with them!  

You see these strange purple trees all over as you get close to Kansas - not sure what they are.  Purple is the predominant color with some purple vegetation covering entire fields here and there along with these trees.  

We walked to the park and found these trees leafed out - 9 year old Romeo posing there.  

Crab apple trees full of blossoms - if it is this windy there today- it must look like is snowing.  A hurricane wind roaring outside today here in Minnesota!  

Sitting in Mary's car as we prepare to drive in a caravan home to the farm.  Pat led the way and kept it within the speed limit and we made it home safe and sound. 

Hallel reminded me that tomorrow is a feast day for our Thomas Robert!  She shared that 3 years ago on Divine Mercy Sunday Ruth was pregnant with Tom and heard the Gospel of doubting Thomas.  "She thought that she liked that name Thomas, and so tomorrow is Tommy's Feast day on Divine Mercy Sunday!'  

I will have to do some special photos of Tom for Hallel!  She reminded me that I can send her pictures on the email I have from Kansas, so the floodgates have opened and I have already sent her 3 emails full of pictures!  How I love that not being able to communicate during Lent makes it that much more wonderful when we can share with her now that we are into the Easter Season - even if she is across the ocean in Rome and soon in Saint Pierre, France!  I love that our world has become small with the internet!  

  

Nancy has been busy with a new Saint book!  How I love to see how much she loves the Saints - that was our family's JOY to share from the book of Saints we had in our home for Lent and Advent!  So see Nancy now run with it is delightful and wonderful!!

From Nancy - Take a Sample of Our New Book

Good morning and happy Saturday! It has been such a joy to send our book, The History of the Catholic Church Told Through the Lives of the Saints, out into the world and to be able to offer it to you on sale this week. We worked on this book for two years and I am so proud of how this book shares the history of the Catholic Church in a way that is engaging and personal. The biographies of the saints are woven together to tell the story of how God built our Church.  Bl. Fra Angelico Histoyr Sample.pdf - Google Drive

Jesus and Mary and all the Saints, we are overwhelmed by your LOVE and example of Faith in our day to day lives!  May we die to self, O Lord, that you may live in us and we may serve without counting the cost.  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless and hallelujah, Barb and the 33 plus many little sisters and little brothers...

 "You've got to pray to Our Lady. 

When you lose devotion to Our Lady

you're out there with the wolves."

 Mother Angelica

 

 

"Do you, then, be also careful always to join

to your daily visit to the most Blessed Sacrament

a visit to the most holy Virgin Mary in some church,

or at least before a devout image in your own house.  

 

If you do this with tender affection and confidence,

you may hope to receive great things

from this most gracious Lady, who, as

St Andrew of Crete says, always bestows great gifts

on those who offer her even the least act of homage."

St Alphonsus Ligouri  

Saturdays devoted to Our Spiritual Mother!  

The Dominican Salve Regina - Hail Mary

Hallel sings this with night prayer - the voices Angels!  

Danielle Rose 

Tauren Wells

 

John's Easter Vigil in New Hope/Easter on the farm with 3 of our 5 - Hallelujah!/Joy gets her kittens/"I have seen the Lord!" - +JMJ+

Joy has her 7th birthday on Easter Sunday and all she asked for was to have baby kittens on her birthday!  Their mother cat, Sweetie, gave her the gift of 3 kittens born in a clothes basket in the house as they were eating Easter Breakfast!  

t

The night before John, Pat and I made sudden plans to go up to New Hope to celebrate the entry into The Catholic Church by our special family member, John Ginapp!  How we love to share our love for Jesus, Mary and The True Church!  

I shared that my parents were rejoicing in heaven with us and John!  Dad and mom brought all 13 in our family into The Catholic Church 53 years ago on Christmas Eve.  Since Pat and I have worked with RCIA and have attended the Vigil since then where most enter The Church!  This year we also rejoiced to have one of the Postulant's dad enter in Michigan at the Vigil.  Such an amazing step for them!!!  I shared that each day since has been a pearl of great price!  

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

The two Johns!  Our John found his faith through brain cancer 15 years ago!  He loves The Church and rejoices to share that with our John!

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

John's Spirit Juice video continues with wife and 3 children!  

John's wife, daughters and father in law, who is married to my sister, Paula. 

John getting confirmed - my sister was his sponsor.  I know my parents are smiling and filled with JOY!  

How can you be so grown up already our sweet Easter girl?  Love our redhaired brown eyed girl - she shares a birthday with her grandpa Larry, who also has her red hair.

Easter pink!!  

Sharing a birthday on Easter this year.  

The Bandzuch bunch in Delano.

Each family was at a Vigil sharing the fire coming into the world of darkness, the waters of LIFE, the Word of God... so powerful and beautiful! 

Bill and Nancy's family rejoicing - Hallelujah!  

Our military family in Fort Leavenworth after The Vigil!  Easter JOY and LIGHT!  

I love that the verse my dad was reading when the Holy Spirit told him to come into The Church with his family is one of the readings for the Vigil!  Isaiah 55:1-2!  

Tom was impressed with how high the Easter bunny climbed with eggs!  

John and family dressed to the 9s for Easter Sunday!  

Lucy meets one of Joy's birthday kittens 

She is super cute in a box of eggs 

And dinosaurs too.  

The two 11 year olds going out to bottle feed the bottle calves.  

Finally a smile from Berna...

Grandpa Pat with his hands full... he appreciates the help as they have 5 to feed.  

Farmboy Tom showing his city cousins the bottle calves.

2 year old Gina feeding the calf some hay.

Tom and Gina look at the goats.

City kids and goat kids

When your birthday is on Easter - you get candy in the bags!  

And you get 3 baby kittens born Easter morning just for the birthday girl!  

These two are just  a month apart and really had fun sharing Easter family time on the farm!  Smoochy face is so cute and loving!  

This one needs to be blown up and put somewhere for keeps!  

Not only bunny ears but also they had on their rubber boots which is so needed this springtime of year with the melting snow and mud.

Now the two 7 year olds for another 5 weeks at which time Josephine will turn 8 on May 10th!  She will be having her First Holy Communion in May and cousin, Evangeline will have her's mid July in Kansas!  

Grandma with the ears and the two 2 year olds in a big hug!  

Red jelly beans were a hit!  

Gina has 2 of them.

Jumping on Tom's bed by the window...Smiling and waving and grandma took way too many pictures! 

Oh my!!!  

Another great gift to grandma - "They are just so cute!"  "Grandma, you say everything is cute!" from Joy and she is so right!  

Now with Tom's special blankets and smiles all around. 

It looks like there is a 2 year old boy in this house...

Today our Nancy Anna is 42!  She is our Easter girl.  Her birthday has been on Good Friday a few times but never on Easter, but Tuesday after in the Easter Octave is still Easter in our book!  Happy Birthday sweet Nancy Anna!  We love you so much and your family is blessed to have you!  

Easter pink with hubby - Happy Easter!  He is risen indeed!  

Ruth decor for the seasons.  She does have fun!  

Jude and John sharing a book.  

My heart is overflowing with great Easter JOY to have 3 of the 5 together for a family Easter!  Maria is in Kansas and Hallel is in Rome and soon to France.   Pat and I have fake plans to go to Kansas on Thursday for a few days to pick up a car that Ruth and Paul bought for Mary now that she is going off to college in the fall.  

Always need 2 of everything.  I love this picture window on the front of the farmhouse.  It makes a very long house even longer as it includes the outside.  

6 years ago - John and Bobbi were just 2 months from being married - Now 6 years later they are married with 3 children to make their lives full and busy.

Stopped by the church last evening before going to work at Birthright.  St Patrick pondering the Easter beauty.  He is risen!

Today the Gospel is from John 20 - Mary Magdalene weeping outside the tomb - Jesus calls her by name and then she realizes it is him!  

16Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rab-bo'ni!" (which means Teacher). 17Jesus said to her, "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." 18Mary Mag'dalene went and said to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

In the beauty of the Lillys...  Christ has overcome death!  Yes, in my life I have seen the Lord in the faces of my family and the great JOY we have in sharing our Faith in our domestic Church/family!  

Easter white!  

Lucy this morning reading about her Aunt Nancy's birthday today.  

This has taken me 2 days - I had Tom here today, and we went to get our 20 egg laying chicks.  There was so very much shared with 16 of our grandkids - of course a very powerful moment for me was when soon to be 12 year old Rose Again shared with me that she is considering being a nun as she asks the Lord where he wants her to go with her life.  I pray that every one of my grandkids will have that included in their options of a vocation.  How we need to be open to the Lord's call in our lives!  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barbara and the 33 plus many little sisters and little brothers!  

Danielle Rose amazes 

Salve Regina - Hail Holy Queen as sung by Hallel's order at night prayer each night.  The voices of Angels!  

Hillbilly Thomists