Well here we are, summer is past and fall has begun! It still feels like summer is in the air here but the nights are getting cooler.
We are very busy getting ready for our Shakespeare Festival that is beginning this Friday. It goes all this weekend and the next. It is a lovely, family-friendly event that is a one-of-a kind experience. The play this year is MacBeth. It is extra special this season because last year the event was cancelled due to Covid. I will post pictures later.
We have 5 daughters/daughters-in-law that are expecting now. Which brings the total number of grandchildren to 40! May God bless our expectant mothers who each have their own set of crosses during pregnancy. It is an exciting time for all…but there are always the thorns among the roses, as you all know. Looking forward to the blossoming of the roses!
The world is crazy right now…and the church has huge problems! And yet, in the way of sanctity, nothing has changed. We continue to have to pull ourselves away and strive for personal holiness. It is a lesson that is hard in this day of information glut that is constantly slung in our direction. We can get so caught up in it!
But, really, what it comes down to is a constant turning back to what has been taught through the ages by the saints, the Church Fathers, scripture, etc. Nothing new under the sun. Let’s look in the right places for this information. That is what will give us peace.
Are there big problems? Do we have personal problems? Does the world have problems, our nation? The Church? It’s all disheartening and, if we let it, it can be discouraging. But there is a solution. Yes, there is.
Our Lady gave us the solution at Fatima…the rosary. Get back to the family rosary. And if you are saying it already…say it better. Spread the word. This world needs it so badly!
And continue to live a Catholic life. Build Catholic culture within your families. After you are gone, your legacy will continue to pass this culture on to make the world a better place to be….and to populate heaven with souls.
And now, a gallery of our summer doings in this “neck of the woods”.
Click on the first picture to view the gallery….And don’t forget the caption below:
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- Summer brought hot weather, babysitting and a water balloon fight!
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- So the artillery is ready!
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- Rosie is babysitter and the instigator. (She is wearing her swimsuit which she likes very much and purchased at the thrift shop).
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- …and she gets pummeled!
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- Summer also brings lots of fresh veggies so our go-to is a dish we call “ratatouille”.
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- A layered dish of zucchini, potatoes, onions, peppers, tomatoes, ground beef and cheese…and spices…yum!
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- Two little people just chillin’
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- Jeanette wanted her dad to make a rock stand for Our Lady
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- He is an artist when it comes to masonry.
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- He also has a green thumb!
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- My kids (the ones who are still at home) and me
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- Little Sean is so cute!
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- Avila’s big smile and big bouquet!
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- She is happy about her mom’s homemade ice cream and chocolate crumbles on top!
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- Our son, Sep, and his wife Molly fix dinner for everyone.
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- His outdoor “grill”.
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- Jeanette’s beautiful sunflowers that she grew!
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- Lovely cranberry tea rings!
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- Our priests….
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- A little competition!
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- Grandma and (big) puppy
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- Father VanderPutten visited from Nigeria.
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- Getting flowers for Grandma’s grave.
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- At the gravesite…
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- Good friends.
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- Time for games
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- Good conversation.
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- Good games…
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- The weather was too nice to play games inside.
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- Softball time…
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- Our son, Angelo, roots for his brother-in-law, David’s team.
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- Grandson, Sebastian.
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- Hubby was called in to pitch…which means he was up to bat, too.
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- Not too bad a pitcher, if I say so myself.
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- Mike and Jeanette’s kids get a letter from God…
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- Congratulations, Nettie & Mike!
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- Always take the path that leads to Christ through Our Lady
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- Happy Birthday, Brendan.
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- A few of the grandchildren….
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- Angelo got this golf cart off marketplace for free. He fixed it up and it has become a staple around here. For work and for play….
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- Emma did Gin’s hair as Gin struggles with morning sickness.
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- Flowers, flowers….
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- It’s getting close to the end of the season so we are getting as much enjoyment as possible out of them!
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- Inca marigolds line the garden and is the first thing you see driving up the driveway.
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- Gemma’s contribution each year is growing something around this old stump that holds up one end of my clothesline.
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- It’s right in the middle of the yard so these Inca marigolds are quite striking!
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- Our Rose of Sharon bushes are beginning to blossom.
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- And our hibiscus are late but beautiful.
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- And, of course, some flowers to don our table. Zinnia and butterfly bush blossoms.
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- Devin is busy gutting and remodeling the “school and soap room” for Theresa.
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- She will be very happy when it is done because school is under way…and she also needs her washer and dryer back in this room!
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- Rosie has been very busy making salsa and spaghetti sauce with all our lovely tomatoes.
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- The beginnings of salsa.
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- The peppers are from the garden, too
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- Yum. Time for chips and salsa!
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- She made me an omelette one morning.
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- Delicious!
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- Sean says na-na-na-boo-boo!
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- And Annie is up to mischief as she spills all the beads on the porch!
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- Gin has her boys help with their own tomatoe-y savory sauces.
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- Oh…and pumpkin bread, too!
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- Ingredients ready
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- Delish!
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- Jars and jars of delectable homemade salsa
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- Lots and lots of tommy-toes!
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- Ben is number one cook and babysitter.
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- Annie doesn’t mind…most of the time.
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- A little breather before school begins!
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- Peter and Annie cause much noise as the others are in school.
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- And Sean just peacefully sucks on his little rabbit.
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- Theresa’s soaps are wonderful and she is excited about having a booth at the Shakespeare Festival
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- Crazy kiddos!
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- Rosie got a special order for these two doilies. Aren’t they lovely?
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- The sweet lady who bought the doilies sent a picture our way!
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- Theresa’s sign is ready!
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- A little boating and fishing with Colin and Z’s family.
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- Poor little calf’s mom died.
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- So it will be bottle-fed by the family.
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- Part of the family….
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- Too high!
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- A good place to show our patriotism, though.
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- God bless America!
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- Gin shows off her patriotism.
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- Fourth of July colors.
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- Shopping…
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- Look at those cool American specs!
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- Ely
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- David and Margy
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- Toby
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- “It is our solemn duty as Catholics, to be conscious of our duty to America, to preserve its freedom by preserving its faith in God. .” -Ven. Fulton Sheen
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- Uh-oh First grandchild to be driving!
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- Gemma loves to write letters so I got her this calligraphy and wax seal set.
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- So neat to see it in use!
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- David
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- Hubby’s onions drying.
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- Poor Peter doesn’t feel good. Silly kitty!
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- Flowers ready to sell at the festival
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- Sean and chickens…David’s two loves…besides Margy.
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- Making cookies.
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- The boys help Gin set a stump right where she wants it!
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- It’s huge but Gin sees potential…
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- Juliette and Emma sitting in the stump.
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- This is the house I grew up in. Located in Regina, Saskatchewan. It looks so small and run-down!
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- Our trip to Dallas, TX to give a talk was adventurous. Our van broke down so we were stranded for a couple days. The police helped us out.
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- Our time was up in the hotel so we waited for hours in the lobby until our vehicle was done.
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- Rose soap with the petals on top.
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- Jeanette’s dahlia and tomatoes.
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- And her gladiolas
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- Theresa was busy!
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- Adrian got an airsoft gun for his birthday. Pretty happy about that!
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- Theresa and Sienna
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- Devin reads each night to the kids
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- Magdalene’s card.
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- Our booth is under construction.
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- This is the soap side of the booth that was just built.
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- Everything is painted. Now we just have to trim it out.
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- Trimmed out and signs up!
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- Hannah plays with the kids while we get the booth ready.
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- Angelo’s booth “Rock the Realm”. It is a game booth. He has chess pieces balanced on different heights and in order to enter for the raffle you have to get all the pieces down in under a minute.
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- The stage for the play is all ready to go!
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- Nini catches a bug
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- Neat!
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- Ely is being mischievious, methinks.
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- Umm…looks like the cookie monster to me!
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- Picking apples…
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- Adam is going to have a sore belly!
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- Look at those beauties!
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- Turned into some lovely apple pies!
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- Making salsa for Theresa
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- Peter and Juliette are kept busy with play dough during school hours for the older kids.
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- Now lunch time…
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- Theresa’s kids hunt for elderberries
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- Lots and lots are found.
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- Stripping them off the branches….
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- …to make wonderful elderberry syrup.
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- Here’s the recipe
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- Caramel popcorn for the grandchildren made with 100% maple syrup, etc.
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- Adrian went on a sunflower-gathering spree!
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- School time for Theresa’s children.
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- Theresa sent us this picture to announce their big news!
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- Tea party!
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- Cousins Emma and Grace
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- Magdalene hard at studying for school
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- A storm morning at Gin’s
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- David and Sean.
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- Gemma loves to gather the sunflowers at this time of the year.
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- Rosie and Apples.
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- Lots of pretty wildflowers for Mama Theresa
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- Cats, cats, cats at Gin’s house.
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- Awww…two loving brothers, Toby and Ely.
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- Praying at Grandma’s grave
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- September 4th was the Anniversary of Mom’s Death. A very sad time last year.
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- Dad (Vin) has a heart-to-heart with the kiddos.
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- Hubby was proud of his salad picked all from the garden…
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- Lettuce, turnip greens, swiss chard, chives, wild purslane, cherry tomatoes…and a little licorice basil.
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- Rosie playing around with a new curling iron on Mom’s hair.
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- Rosie’s pride and joy. She will miss the flowers when Jack Frost nips them all.
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- David and Sean…. 🙂
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- Theresa has a box of soap ready to go to a customer.
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- She has them all wrapped up so nicely.
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- Theresa’s husband made the displays…
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- That show off the soaps’ lovely colors so nicely!
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- I had to laugh walking past the table last evening. 3 journals are going…one for me and two for my daughters. A lovely sight!
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- Making apple cider out of fresh apples.
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- Cheers!
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- Many of the grandchildren won prizes at our Olympic Day! Such a great event!
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- Home from evening Mass late one day this week and Rosie rolled up her sleeves, put the music on and coerced everyone into decorating for fall.
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- Adrian says, “Look at the size of this, Mom!!”
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- Amazing!
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- Ooops…a bee just flew up my nose!! kidding.
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- Margy and Sean…
I really really love that beautiful statue of Our Lady at the beginning… Where did you find it? 🙂
Congrats to the mommas, and I recognized a lot of the homeschool books. 😉 I hope the festival goes well!
Love the post❤️
I always enjoy your posts sooo much. They make me want to get up from the computer and *do* something.
As always, I really enjoy these galleries. Thank you for sharing. ♥️
I’d really LOVE to get the recipe for that caramel corn. 😋
❤️❤️❤️
The galleries are my favorite. Thank you for sharing them.
These gallery posts are my favorite! Thank you for sharing! Which of thr daughters are expecting?
P.S. You will have 40 grandchildren? 40?!!
Dear Mrs. VanderPutten,
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your blog and sharing with us a glimpse into your beautiful family’s life. This has been real light for me as try to practice my faith in the very dim and secular culture that pervades so many colleges. It is such an encouragement to read your posts on femininity, modesty, homemaking and creativity, which help me to feel as though I am not totally mad desiring and valuing this way of life.
Have you or your daughters got any tips for me on how to have to confidence to wear in college the dresses and skirts which I love to wear, without worrying about how others might look at me as though I have seven heads…. if you know what I mean?
May God bless you abundently, as is His way,
Fionnghuala
Thank you for beautiful family photos. And thank you, finally, for the last quote from St. Theresa of Avila. I didn’t know how much I needed to see it until I read it. xo
Thank you Mrs. VanderPutten for all this lovely and deep traditional catholic posts you help us with in this troubling times!.
How wonderful these pictures are! When I think of all the good times shared with our family, I think. . . this is how heaven will be, but never any good byes, no time restraints, no illness, no fatigue, no pain, no death, no worries, no satan and his evil goons to continually hurt us and give us grief, only unending joy, lots of hellos and hugs and adoring and praising The Blessed Trinity together! May we and our families be there together in heaven, our true home🎇🎆💒⛪🏰🏠where Our Lord Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us💗💖😇!
Amen Doris! Beautiful! 🩷