Category Archives: Traditional Family Weekend

Good times! The Traditional Family Weekend 2019 Photos

25 Thursday Jul 2019

Posted by in FF Tidbits, Smorgasbord 'n Smidgens, Traditional Family Weekend

≈ 6 Comments

The end of June found us wrapped up in a very fun and wholesome event…The Traditional Family Weekend! It was a great time and I wanted to share some photos with you. Maybe you can make it next year?

As aside….Fr. Allen gave the two conferences on Holiness in Family Life…reflecting on St. Therese and her family. If you would like to listen to them, the link is here.

 

And now, the gallery….

Traditional Family Weekend 2018 – Photos, Videos….

18 Wednesday Jul 2018

Posted by in Smorgasbord 'n Smidgens, Traditional Family Weekend

≈ 5 Comments

Sometimes it’s hard to live a joyful, Catholic life in an un-Catholic world. That’s when you reach out and bring Catholic Culture to your own little world!

And that’s what we did years ago when we had our first Traditional Family Weekend. Yes, it’s been 15 years, we have had our bumps and made our mistakes but we have seen very good fruit come from these weekends. Couples have met, families have interacted, good times have been had, our souls have been nourished.

Here are some pictures and videos (look for the videos underneath the gallery), of our Family Weekend this year in June. It was very hot but it didn’t stop the young people from playing volleyball outside, doing water balloons and playing soccer!

We were blessed this year to have Fr. VanderPutten with us from Nigeria. We had not seen him for a couple years….last year he spent his vacation in Fatima for the 100th Anniversary of the apparitions. So it was great to have him! He always adds spice to wherever he goes. He brought his Nigerian friend, Edwin Mary Akadu, who stayed with us for the week they were here. We got to know him well and grew to love this holy, African man.

Below is the gallery, click on the first picture to view, then look for the videos underneath the gallery…

Below are some pictures of the Talent Show. Father Kodet, who has been with us for three years, will be leaving us soon to bless another parish with his winning and fatherly ways! He was always willing to spread the love of Christ to others….and often had his concertina in the back seat of his car to pull out and entertain those around him. Here is a video of Father playing at the Talent Show.

 

What a pleasure to have these young men perform! The kids loved the vibrant sounds of the fife and drum!

 

 

Hannah and Gemma are up to their antics again as they assure people that life is not perfect at the VanderPutten home….hehe

 

Wow! Skillful drums!! Take a look!

 

The girls practiced this song with Ernie…a lot. They finally got it down and when they got on stage, Ernie accidentally had the capo on the wrong fret of his guitar. Threw them all off and….well, let’s just say….this is not that video. Blah.

Anyway, this is their practice of the song…

 

John and Gemma never cease to amaze us with their talents!

 

Virginia (Gin) and Rosie sing “All I Ask of You” from the Phantom of the Opera

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Invitation to The Traditional Family Weekend, July 15 – 17, 2016 and a GiveAway!

08 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by in Events, Give-Aways, Traditional Family Weekend

≈ 27 Comments

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀      Please join us if you can!       ❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

Traditional Family Weekend July 2016.pdf

I know a lot of you have seen this video but I post it for those who do not know what the weekend is about. Thanks to Ernest Garcia for putting it together for us!

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And now you can sign up for this giveaway of a copy of my Maglet: Finer Femininity; A Sunshiny Disposition, a beautiful brass wire-wrapped rosary bracelet and a First Communion Catechism Audio CD from St. Anne’s Helper  to help you teach your little ones the Catechism!

Just leave a comment on this post!

The winner will be announced on Weds., June 15th!

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quote for the day2

“Being feminine does not mean being giggly, unintelligent, incompetent or unreliable. Instead, our femininity is an assignment from God. It is how God created us. It is a character that is imprinted deeply upon us, which is made apparent in our physical bodies, and by how we speak, act and dress.” -Colleen Hammond, Dressing With Dignity

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Traditional Family Weekend Summer 2015 – Photos!!

09 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by in Traditional Family Weekend

≈ 12 Comments

We had a wonderful Traditional Family Weekend this summer and I thought I would share with you today some of the pictures I gathered together. Click on the first picture to view the gallery…

Just For Fun….

24 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by in Events, FF Tidbits, Traditional Family Weekend

≈ 2 Comments

We had a Film Festival on Saturday afternoon of the Traditional Family Weekend.

(For pictures of past Family Weekends search in the category of Traditional Family Weekend….)

One of the films was by our good friend Erni Garcia (Erniversal Studios).

The video features the beautiful voices of  Erni Garcia and Hillarie George. Our married couples are also in it….Mike and Jeanette Gallant and Devin and Theresa Byrne.

I think you will enjoy it!

This post shared with the blog Like Mother, Like Daughter.

A Bake Sale Today and an Heirloom-Quality Necklace Set Give-Away for You!

07 Saturday Feb 2015

Posted by in Give-Aways, My Shop - Meadows of Grace, Traditional Family Weekend

≈ 29 Comments

The girls worked hard yesterday to be able to pull this Bake Sale off in town today. It is lovely out. Just two days ago the low was 3 degrees, the high in the twenties. Today it will be 72 degrees……perfect for a Bake Sale!

I wanted to show you the pictures from yesterday. Our Traditional Family Weekends run into a good amount of funds so we try to have two Bake Sales before each Weekend.

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We also try to get the guys together and have an “Epic Duels” Tournament at least once to raise more money. We have a bunch of guys get together with 3 or 4 of the games. They pay a certain amount to participate, we provide the food, they buy the drinks from us. We are able to raise close to $200.00 each time. And it provides a good time for everyone!

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If you would like to donate to the “cause” of these Weekends that provide a chance for like-minded Catholics to get together for social and spiritual nourishment, you can click below.

Also, any benefactors will be remembered in our daily rosary here at our household. 🙂

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Here is a video that our friend, Ernie Garcia,  put together to give you an idea of what we try to do over here (I have posted it before):

AND NOW FOR THE GIVE-AWAY!

Today I want to give to one of you this heirloom-quality, classic necklace set!

This necklace set has sparkling spring colors sprinkled throughout to make a lovely and elegant set, perfect to offset your fresh, spring outfit! The wire I used for this particular set is unique…a braided silver wire. It was a little difficult to work with so you may be the only person wearing a set like this…. 😀

It is wire wrapped and therefore a set that will last a lifetime!

If you don’t wear jewelry yourself, think about someone you could give it to. 🙂

Please sign up by making a comment! As usual, I always love to hear from you…even if it is just a hi!

We will announce the winner on Valentine’s Day so don’t be late!

IMG_7630 IMG_7641And while you are at it, take a look at some of my  items at http://www.meadowsofgrace.com   I know there is a lot of jewelry and rosaries out there on the market. I like to think mine is unique because each link is handmade and wrapped around itself (and sometimes running across the bead) providing it with a durability that is unlike other jewelry and rosaries.They are made with time and with love. ❤

Click on the first picture to view the gallery.

Christmas Seasonings

13 Tuesday Jan 2015

Posted by in Feast Days, FF Tidbits, Seasons, Smorgasbord 'n Smidgens, Traditional Family Weekend

≈ 2 Comments

The following is a smorgasbord of pictures that will walk you through some Advent, past Christmas and into the Traditional Family Weekend. Make sure to click the gallery off after you are done looking at the photos and scroll down to watch the videos of some of the Talent Show acts….

Click on the first picture to view gallery.

This first video is 2 songs. The first song is by Hillarie George and Ernie Garcia. Ernie wrote the words to a Civil Wars tune they liked. Theresa George joins them for the second song, a Redneck Christmas!

This video is performed by my son-in-law, Devin Byrne, Rosie and Margy VanderPutten, Olivia Byrne and Hillarie George. It is Jingle Bells, Michael Buble style!

This last song is at the end of the Grinch Skit when Mr. Grinch is converted! It is played and performed by Virginia Shibler with her Whos from Whoville and Paul Shibler, The Grinch. (who now has to live with that name).

Sharing With You….

05 Saturday Jul 2014

Posted by in by Leane Vdp, FF Tidbits, Traditional Family Weekend

≈ 10 Comments

I was surprised by this very thoughtful and kind review of my blog, Finer Femininity, that was written by Chad on his blog From the Depths to the Wilderness. I thought I would share it with you today. You can read the review here.  And you can check out his blog while you’re at it. 🙂

I would also like to share with you some photos from our Traditional Family Weekend a couple of weeks ago. It was a very refreshing time, full of fun and spiritual nourishment.

We started it off with decorating and a run-through of the Talent show on Thursday night. The sound and lighting person, Rob Heschmeyer (who is an integral part of the Weekend) had to help with Father Walker’s funeral so he started early Thursday and went back and forth from the hall  to the church where the funeral was taking place.

Decorating is a joyous time, full of anticipation as we prepare for the events to come. IMG_1125 IMG_1172IMG_2571IMG_1282 IMG_2513 IMG_2518 IMG_2522 The dance followed with young and old alike taking part in an evening of enjoyment and camaraderie!IMG_1452 IMG_1465IMG_2595IMG_2596IMG_1483IMG_1500IMG_1512 IMG_1468 IMG_1472 IMG_1482IMG_1440 IMG_1495 IMG_1514

High Mass on Saturday morning was celebrated by Father VanderPutten who was visiting from Nigeria. His sermon was terrific and caught the attention of all, especially the young folk!IMG_0490 IMG_0498

The conferences took place Saturday afternoon, followed by the rosary. They were inspiring and it was very gratifying to see the young people gather to listen to both priests talk, each about an hour long! Whole families took part which was wonderful! IMG_1546

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The evening was started off by  the Talent Show drawing the biggest crowd of the Weekend! The show featured an Australian National Anthem, Yo-Yo acrobats, Irish Dancers and many more wonderful acts! It was a delight and we ended the show singing “Faith of Our Fathers” in honor of Father Walker. Our cross and “shrine” was dedicated to him also. IMG_2536IMG_1871 IMG_2005 IMG_1993 IMG_1983 IMG_1949-001 IMG_1942 IMG_1919 IMG_1903 IMG_2015Sunday we had a Pancake Breakfast, Volleyball, games and a good old family movie to end it all off!IMG_1598 IMG_1600 IMG_1619 IMG_1644 IMG_1645 IMG_1655 IMG_1720 IMG_1769IMG_2083IMG_2123 IMG_2073Then home for a well-deserved rest! Come and join us next time! 🙂 IMG_2148-001