A fun post!

Some recent videos Gin and I had fun making….

My daughter, Gin, gives a little tour of her son’s shop that he built.

Gin‘s beginnings of making a vintage dress out of a curtain. (Part one)

Gin gives us a brief peek into her crafty business of making a vintage dress out of a curtain. (Part Two)

Just a little tour of Gin‘s world on a Monday morning in spring time 2021.

A tour of our spring flowers at the beginning of their growth, the beautiful rock garden handiwork and our two grottoes. 🌺💐🌸🌷
“Where flowers, these emblems of purity are found, you may rest assured that they represent a hope, and speak of a goodness of heart not to be found where they are absent.” -Fr. Lasance
“I have always noticed that wherever you find flowers, no matter whether in a garret or in a palace, it is a pretty sure sign that there is an inner refinement of which the world is not cognizant. I have seen flowers cultivated and cherished by some of the lowest and poorest of people. Where these emblems of purity are found, you may rest assured that they represent a hope, and speak of a goodness of heart not to be found where they are absent.” -Fr. Lasance, My Prayer Book

Welcome to my June Gallery of…Home

What do you think makes a beautiful and happy home? How important is this?

Having a happy home is crucial to the spreading of our Faith. To whom do we want to spread our faith? First of all, to our children. They need to see the deep and lasting beauty of our faith shining forth in our everyday lives, making our home beautiful and happy.

Our faith is oftentimes an unspoken reality, the undercurrent in the everyday bubbling brook, that flows into every facet of our lives.

This happiness does not have to be unrealistic. Life is what it is and there are many days where the smiles don’t come as easy and nerves are rawer because of whatever is upsetting the apple cart at the time. These are opportunities too.

A good priest said that if our kids see ONLY that life is perfect at home, if they grow  up wearing rose-colored glasses all the time, they are going to get quite a jolt when they enter into their own vocation and it is less than perfect…and it will be. So it is good that the kids see reality, too.

That being said, we need to create a home that is joyful and lovely, in amongst the “real”-ness.

Let us live more for our homes. Let us love one another more. Let us cease to complain, criticize, and contradict each other. Let us be more patient with each other’s faults. Let us not keep back the warm, loving words that lie in our hearts, until it is too late for them to give comfort. Soon separations will come. One of every wedded pair will stand by the other’s coffin and grave. Then every bitter word spoken, and every neglect of love’s duty, will be as a thorn in the heart. -J.R. Miller, early 1900’s

Click on the first picture to view the gallery…. (Thank you to Henry Toenjes for permission to use some of his Pilgrimage photos.)