My Chit-Chatty post…
Here is Jeanette doing what a woman has to do sometimes! She and her husband, Mike, have bought some land and are slowly getting it ready for a future house. It has a beautiful creek on it …..but as you see, it comes with many other things, too!
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You will notice that I sometimes quote and use material (when it comes to relationships, etc.) by folks who do not have the fullness of the faith.
I like this quote and use it in this regard: “Although, as far as I can tell, some of my heroes have not known the light of Christ in this life, I nevertheless learn from them with great joy, remembering the words of St. Thomas, ‘All truth, by whomever spoken, comes from the Holy Spirit’” (On Truth, q. 1, a. 8).
I am careful in this regard, but I do know that there are experts in every field and that they are not always Catholics. We can learn from them (I am not speaking about spiritual matters here) and apply their knowledge to our own Catholic walk.
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Interesting Tidbit: As you are aware, my shop is an Etsy shop where my girls and I sell our handcrafted items. We enjoy it very much.
When I was struggling with what to call the shop I decided to look up my name….Leane (I know, it is spelled funny…pronunciation is Lee Ann). Anyway I found out that the first part, Lee, means a meadow or a field. The second part of my name, Anne, means grace!
Voila! Meadows of Grace. Neat-o!
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I have decided to stop coloring my hair (I started years ago) so I am entering a new phase. So happy to rid myself of the chemicals, etc. Here I am at this point:
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A picture of Devin and Theresa. Theresa is seven months along in this picture. Her baby (number 4) is due in July!
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We are putting on a small addition and busting up the patio to put in a cement slab. The old patio always held water even if it rained a little. I called it my “Welcome Puddle”. The grandkids loved it….the parents not so much.
Below are some of the phases. We are far from done and we get busy on it whenever Vincent has time from work.
In the second picture you can see my mom looking down on progress. Her apartment is on the back of the house where she lives with my disabled sister.
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AN INVITE!!
You are invited to our 13th Annual Traditional Family Weekend! Here are the details:
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Please remember to use my new Web Address for Finer Femininity. It is:
I want Google to pick up this new one and recognize it and need your help on that. Since I switched over it is harder to find the site when you google it.
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While I’m talking about the site, don’t forget that you can download the Finer Femininity App on your Android or Iphones! Thank you Oceanstarapps!
For those of you who don’t use Facebook, the App has a Facebook Icon that shows quotes, etc. that I put up each day. There are many wonderful tidbits, including sermons from wonderful priests, that I will put up here. This App is worth having just for that!
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PUPPIES!
Spring is a good time for puppies! Here are our three new ones….named Mocha, Latte and Espresso. I wonder if you can guess which ones are which?
Theresa’s family also has new additions to their farmyard!
For those of you who are single and looking to get married and have children, this picture is a warning. Anything can happen! Even ducks on the bed!
Our daughter-in-law, Z, quickly snagged this picture before she “hastened” all concerned OUT of the house!!
Mulberries are getting to be in full-swing here! I hope we get some this year. There are lots out on the trees but my enterprising 11 year old son, Angelo, is devising all kinds of plans on how to sell them. I have a feeling I will be digging in my wallet to get enough to make a pie! 😉
We went to a wedding and stayed at a hotel this past month with some of the other married children. This is Virginia’s family on the road trip. They brought our Gemma along to help with the kids.
And this is Juliette’s toes! Don’t you love baby toes??
Hubby is more involved in the gardening this year. He is a fantastic gardener! He wanted to get a jump on tomatoes so he had these buckets and some plastic rigged up to keep them warm when it was still quite cool out. Here we are unloading grass as mulch for the garden.
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Did I tell you I am excited about my Catholic Mother’s Traditional Advent Journal? (I know, I did.)
Advent is such a special season! And this year, you can make it more meaningful than you ever have!
This Advent journal is for busy moms who need a little help making this season special within the home. It will help you stay on track and be consistent with the customs you have decided to incorporate within your four walls.
I have broken it down into bite-sized tidbits that, when laid out for you, will be easy to accomplish. As you check each item off you will get a sense of fulfillment knowing you are getting done what is truly important in this expectant season! The other things will get done….but first things first!
At midnight, on Christmas Eve, when Baby Jesus arrives, you and your family will look back upon your Advent and sigh with satisfaction, knowing you truly have celebrated with the Church, that you have put your best foot forward in making this a spiritual, enchanting, holy time for all!
The first few pages of this book will have a run-down of the special Advent customs and activities that will be on your checklist each day. They are simple, they are doable.
I have not included the daily Rosary on the checklist because it is a given….all through the year.
I hope this Advent is more special than ever as we walk hand-in-hand making the Liturgy come alive in our homes!
Available here.
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I am very excited about Virginia’s line of Feminine and Pretty Aprons available at my Meadows of Grace Shoppe. These are so gorgeous!
She sold this first one but I had to show you the embroidery on it. Yes, she will be making others like it. Now, I know you could say it is too pretty to use as an apron, but I know, for myself, I want an apron for when I have company or serving tea or anything like that. And these are so beautiful!
And here’s her first Little Girl’s Apron!
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“Love is the most wonderful educator in the world; it opens up worlds and possibilities undreamed of to those to whom it comes, the gift of God. I am speaking of love which is worthy of the name, not of its many counterfeits. The genuine article only, based upon respect and esteem, can stand the test of time, the wear and tear of life; the love which is the wine of life, more stimulating and more heart-inspiring when the days are dark than at any other time,—the love which rises to the occasion, and which many waters cannot quench.” – Annie S. Swan, http://amzn.to/2pgRkqb Courtship and Marriage And the Gentle Art of Home-Making, 1893 (afflink)
These posts take a lot of effort and organization to put up, but so much fun! So nice to read and see the tidbits that make up our family life….the weeks fly past, it’s good to remember to take time for our hubbies, children, family and misc. puppies, ducks….;)
I really appreciate your website. We live in California in a small rural town where the presence of Catholics is infinitesimal. And there is NO Traditional Catholic presence at all. I enjoy reading the exerpts from the different books, many of which I have or have read myself. And it’s really neat that you have such a wonderful thriving community to have the traditional Catholic weekends. It sounds like a lot of fun! God Bless you and your family! P.S. I stopped coloring my hair 3 years ago and I’m 50% gray at almost 50 years old! I’m a darker coloring originally than you are so I’m turning into a steel gray lady! It’s surely an adjustment …. but like you, I began to feel it was the right thing to do.
Great pics!!! Is that snake bad…..I am guessing not to bad to be holding it with a stick?
I used to catch lizards and horny toads in So. Cal. 😀 But snakes not so much. 😉 We have very few good snakes and even the good ones leave one heck of a bite. 😛
Thanks for a lovely post. It felt good to catch up with you. Have a great weekend!
WONDERFUL!Very fun.
There are worse things one can find on one’s bed than a duck.
Yes, actually in Cal., not only could you find a rattle snake but also black widows and scorpions. Actually had a black widow fighting with a baby scorpion in my closet one morning – that was very exciting! Cleaned out my whole room! 😉
Very true. So Leane’s warning to singles really wasn’t much of a warning at all. Frankly, it would be a step up most days….
Congratulations on the decision to not color your hair. I have never colored mine & am quite grey now. I feel it shows how much life I’ve led so far. 🙂
Love your blog.
Blessings~ Andrea
xoxo
Hi there 🙂 I simply must ask… are you Father Angelo Vanderputten’s Mum? I’ve been trying to figure it out. He looked after us in Wanganui New Zealand many years ago 🙂