Thirtieth Anniversary!

there's been a lot of growth

it has been an amazing journey

we've lived in 4 houses and 3 different states

and had at least 10 dogs,  but...

we've managed to keep going....

one way or another!

I'm so glad that we are in this race together, and Thanks Be To God!

He has filled us with His Mercy!

Here's to the next 30!

Tee's baby shower

Yesterday was Teresa's baby shower.  Tee and Pat's baby was welcomed with joyful celebration yesterday.  Teresa hosted the event which was attended by at least 25 people.  We had cupcakes, dipped strawberries, meatballs, candy, punch and sparkling apple cider.  It was a wonderful party!  Now we are just excited for a certain little someone to make her appearance.

How you can develop a Catholic sense of humor

By Father James Martin - OSV Newsweekly, 9/25/2011


Is there such a thing as a “Catholic” sense of humor? That is, beyond simply appreciating Catholic jokes? Or chuckling over funny comments by famous Catholics?

I think there is.

Not long ago, a somewhat academic distinction was proposed between the Protestant imagination and the Catholic imagination. The Rev. Andrew Greeley, drawing on the work of the Catholic theologian David Tracy, noted that while in classic Protestant theology God was radically absent from the world (and reveals himself only at rare occasions, for example, in Christ) for Catholics God is always and everywhere present. Plus, in the Catholic worldview, God makes himself known through the sacraments, which use everyday things like bread, wine, water and oil to reveal God’s presence.

Too theological for you? Try this: Catholics believe that God is everywhere. As a result, it’s easy to make the leap that if we want to experience Christian joy, to use humor as the saints did, and to view laughter as an element of a healthy spiritual life, then there are many opportunities to develop a sense of humor just by looking around. If God wants us to experience himself in the entire world, and part of that experience is of joy, humor and laughter, then the world reveals itself as a more lighthearted place. In other words, the Catholic imagination can find humor in a great many aspects of life.

Lighthearted approach

So, how do you develop that sense of humor? First of all, by laughing at yourself. Catholics have a tendency to take themselves far too seriously, and to see Catholicism as something that is always and everywhere serious, even gloomy. Why do I say that? Because I’ve met far too many “professional Catholics” (i.e., bishops, priests, sisters and brother, as well as chancery officials, directors of religious education and pastoral associates) who rarely crack a smile. Some of this, I believe, comes from people taking themselves way too seriously. Reminding ourselves to laugh at our own foibles brings us down to earth, grounds us in our common humanity, and reminds us who’s in charge: God. As G.K. Chesterton said, “The angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.”

Second, remember that Christ is risen. That may sound obvious, but the central belief of our faith (besides, say, the Incarnation) is that Christ is risen. And in case you haven’t not noticed, that’s a joyful message! On Easter Sunday, don’t you think that the disciples were filled with joy? Grounding ourselves not only in faith, hope and charity, but in joy, helps us to see life with a good deal more lightheartedness. As St. Paul said, “Rejoice always!”

Following Jesus’ example

Third, remember that Jesus laughed. For he surely did. Jesus of Nazareth was not just the Son of God; he was “fully human.” And how could someone be “fully human” without a sense of humor? There are also plenty of indications of Jesus’ sense of humor in the Gospels. For one thing, anyone who told clever parables and funny stories must have laughed. In fact, at one point Jesus is even criticized for not being as serious as John the Baptist. “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners’” (Lk 7:34). Jesus is being critiqued for living it up. Here was a man who could enjoy life and enjoy laughter. Thinking about Jesus’ sense of humor can help us value our own sense of humor and enjoy life.

So, looking for a Catholic sense of humor? Laugh at yourself. Believe in the Resurrection. And remember that Jesus laughed. Once you do all that, you may find yourself smiling a great deal more — even in prayer, with God, the source of all joy.

Humorous holy people

Last Updated Thursday, September 15, 2011 3:05:00 PM

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Humorous holy people

By Thomas J. Craughwell - OSV Newsweekly, 9/25/2011

Blessed Pope John XXIII (1881-1963)

Pull just about any biography of a saint off the library shelf, flip to the index, and I will lay serious money you will not find a listing for the saint’s sense of humor. It is a quality that we do not expect in saints, and so it rarely pops up in writings about them. But there are exceptions:
St. Lawrence (died 258): During Emperor Valerian’s persecution of the Church, this Roman deacon was arrested and condemned to be roasted on a grill. His dying words to his executioners were, “Turn me over. I’m done on this side.”
St. Thomas More (1478-1535): Thomas More was a clever boy who grew up to be a witty man, and his wit did not abandon him, even as he was going to execution. The scaffold steps were unsteady, so he asked one of the king’s officers to help him up. “As for coming down,” St. Thomas said, “let me shift for myself.”
St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582): Once, while traveling in a violent rainstorm, Teresa’s donkey lost its footing and she fell. She broke her wrist, she was covered with mud, and some valuable legal documents in her baggage that had taken months to acquire were ruined by the rain. Frustrated and in pain, she cried out to God, “Why did you let this happen?” And God answered her, saying, “This is how I treat my friends.” Teresa shot back, “No wonder you have so few.”
St. Philip Neri (1515-1595): Once an earnest young priest asked Philip Neri’s advice: What was the most appropriate prayer to say for a newly married couple? St. Philip thought about it for a few minutes and then replied, “A prayer for peace.”
Blessed Pope John XXIII (1881-1963): Pope John XXIII may have been the Church’s most humorous pope. Shortly after his election, a reporter asked him how many people work in the Vatican. Pope John replied, “About half of them.” While passing through a crowd he overheard a woman exclaim, “He’s so fat!” The pope stopped and said, “Madame, the conclave is not a beauty contest.” During a visit to a Roman prison, Blessed John passed a cell where the prisoner turned his back on the pope. “What is his crime?” the pope asked the warden. “He murdered his wife,” the warden answered. Then John asked that the cell door be opened. He stepped inside, put his hand on the convict’s shoulder and said, “If I had a wife, I might have killed her, too.”

summer's never ending garden chores.

Ken's

been

hard

at work.

it is

never ending

keeping

up

with

the

garden.

garden produce

we have been enjoying produce from the garden.  today's haul was the best so far.  these are from one early girl tomato plant, and some cherry tomatoes.  yum!

also, today is mimi's 20th birthday.  Mimi is at work right now, but this evening we are planning to take her to the Outback for dinner.  Hopefully, Laura and Mikey will be able to join us, as well as the rest of the family.  What a lovely little "fruit" Mimi was, and continues to be!  I love her so much, and thank God for the blessing she is!!!!  Mimi's birth was so peaceful and easy, and then afterwards the nurses forgot to take her out 24 hours for all the newborn testing,etc.  so i enjoyed every moment getting to know wee little mimi, and loved having her all to myself.

It is harder to put into words what a wonderful blessing it has been to raise mimi.  With all her gifts and her strong mind, her sense of humor, and wonderful will, i know Ken would agree with me that it has been absolutely amazing to see her grow into the lovely young woman she is today.  I am often amazed at her insight, wisdom, generousity and affection.

Mimi is a blessing!  May God bless you, Mimi, today and always!

Happy Birthday!

Truth exists, the incarnation happened

Today was the funeral Mass for dr. Warren Carroll, founder of Christendom College, may he rest in peace!

Quotes about the family

Speaking of Families. . . .

A round-up of quotations - from the silly to sublime
Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life! ~Albert Einstein

Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts. ~Author Unknown

The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. ~Erma Bombeck

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. ~Desmond Tutu

There is no doubt that it is around the family and the home that all the greatest virtues, the most dominating virtues of human society, are created, strengthened and maintained. ~ Winston Churchill

A happy family is but an earlier heaven. ~ George Bernard Shaw

Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his advice. ~Author Unknown

It's funny that those things your kids did that got on your nerves seem so cute when your grandchildren do them. ~Author Unknown

A father is someone who carries pictures in his wallet where his money used to be. ~Author Unknown

Children in a family are like flowers in a bouquet: there's always one determined to face in an opposite direction from the way the arranger desires. ~Author Unknown

We never know the love of our parents for us till we have become parents. ~Henry Ward Beecher

The family you come from isn't as important as the family you're going to have. ~Ring Lardner

A family with an old person has a living treasure of gold. ~Chinese proverb

He that raises a large family does, indeed, while he lives to observe them, stand a broader mark for sorrow; but then he stands a broader mark for pleasure too. ~Benjamin Franklin

To maintain a joyful family requires much from both the parents and the children. Each member of the family has to become, in a special way, the servant of the others. ~Pope John Paul II

Sister is probably the most competitive relationship within the family, but once the sisters are grown, it becomes the strongest relationship. ~Margaret Mead

The family is the test of freedom; because the family is the only thing that the free man makes for himself and by himself. ~Gilbert K. Chesterton

A man ought to live so that everybody knows he is a Christian... and most of all, his family ought to know. ~Dwight L. Moody

Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family - in another city. ~George Burns

Govern a family as you would cook a small fish - very gently. ~Chinese Proverb

In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future. ~Alex Haley

Families are the compass that guide us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter. ~Brad Henry

A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it. ~George Moore

Family is not an important thing, it's everything. ~Michael J. Fox

Blue and Grey Ball

Yesterday Tee and Pat joined Laura and Mike, Mary and Nick and Maryann and Chris for an evening of dance at Harris Pavilion.

Quick takes Friday

We are just finishing a busy week. Here is a summary:

Enjoyed 4th festivities with the greniers, Mikey and Laura, tee and pat and the wittmans....and fly and buddy. The dog days of summer!

Went to Shenandoah and enjoyed picnic with the gregas' family and went on a short hike. No bears, but one turkey spotted.

Distressed 8 orphan nighties by many dastardly deeds such as raking them with a cheese grater, kneading them into the cement front porch, spraying with red wine, grinding coffee grounds into them, and dirt, adding leaf stains, tearing, ripping, sewing patches, etc. Tons of fun! They look great totally awful!

Thinking of homeschooling Jeanne 10th. Which would give her a chance to focus on her school work, and take piano and voice lessons

Garden beautiful. Just one tomato but many more coming.

A/C went out but thank goodness, we were able to get a guy out to fix it the next day. It was a hot time in the old town that night.

Tee very sick with either mono or strept.

Laua also very under the weather. May Jesus help them!

2 weeks until Annie opens

Tee's 27 and Mary 26 this past week, too! Happy birthday!

Tee and pat and Laura and Mikey have bought tickets to the blue and grey ball which commemorates the 150 anniversary of the battle of mannassas. They are hoping to go in period costume....we are hoping to borrow one civil war dress and sew the other.

So that is the summary of the week. thanks be to God!

interesting link about fatima, the atomic bomb and the blessed mother

http://cantuar.blogspot.com/2011/07/atomic-bomb-rosary-and-fatima.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+taylormarshall+%28Canterbury+Tales+by+Taylor+Marshall%29

what a story!

On the day the Pope was born, she entered the convent

From Spanish daily ABC:

Sr. Teresita has spent 84 of her 103 years within the walls of the cloistered convent [monastery] of Buenafuente del Sistal (Guadalajara) [Castille-La Mancha, Spain], which gives her the right to be considered as one of unbreakable faith. A member of the Cistercian order, and a superior for over 20 years, Sr. Teresita will break her record of permanence inside an enclosed monastery to be received by Pope Benedict XVI for World Youth Day.

This religious woman, a native of Foronda (Álava) [Basque Contry], received her habit on the same day on which Benedict XVI was born. She did not have an early vocation, but her father convinced her to be a nun, and her prayers to the Virgen Blanca [the White Virgin], the patron saint of Vitoria, gave her the strength to continue. "In order to please my father, I prayed to the Patron saint of Vitoria, and asked her to grant me vocation... And she surely gave it to me!", she declares in her book, "What does a girl like you do in a place like this?", in which she describes the lives of nine other cloistered religious women.

Her given name was Valeria, but she decided to change it for that of the saint who most helped her begin her life in the convent. "I was afraid to come in. But the Lord helped me. He, and Santa Teresita [Saint Therèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face]."

this time of year, don't you just want to go camping?

three of a kind

The Rohan's surprised Petes the other day with the same haircuts!

happy 15th Jeanne

mary kate came over as did mikey and laura--for panda express and key lime pie.

Happy Birthday, dear Jeanne!  We love you!

snakes alive!

today a dream come true for john

a copperhead was in a friend's yard.

naturally, he brought it home.

in a tupperware container.

he released it near Bull Run Marina.

we were amazed at the strength and quickness of this snake.  Mimi wanted to hold it as well, but johnny had his hands full a couple times, so he thought better of it.

all in all, a blesssssing!

a thought about discipline, order, overspending, etc.

Problems cannot be solved by the level of awareness that created them.  Albert Einstein

congratulations, laura and mikey!

June 3, 2011

feast of St. Hillary

from ireland

Hey everyone, we saw this letter in a shop in Killarney and thought you'd enjoy it. See you soon.

Love, Laura & Mikey

Dear Son,

Just a few lines to let you know I'm still alive. I'm writing this letter slowly because I know you can't read fast. We are all doing very well.

You won't recognise the house when you get home - we have moved. Your dad read in the newspaper that most accidents happen within 20 miles from your home, so we moved. I won't be able to send you the address because the last Irish family that lived here took the house numbers when they moved so that they wouldn't have to change their address.

This place is really nice. It even has a washing machine. I'm not sure it works so well though: last week I put a load in and pulled the chain and haven't seen them since.

Your father's got a really good job now. He's got 500 men under him. He's cutting the grass at the cemetery.

Your sister Mary had a baby this morning but I haven't found out if it's a boy or a girl, so I don't know whether you are an auntie or an uncle.

Your brother Tom is still in the army. He's only been there a short while and they've already made him a court martial!

Your Uncle Patrick drowned last week in a vat of whiskey in the Dublin Brewery. Some of his workmates tried to save him but he fought them off bravely. They cremated him and it took three days to put out the fire.

I'm sorry to say that your cousin Seamus was arrested while riding his bicycle last week. They are charging him with dope peddling.

I went to the doctor on Thursday and your father went with me. The doctor put a small tube in my mouth and told me not to talk for ten minutes. Your father offered to buy it from him.

The weather isn't bad here. It only rained twice this week, first for three days and then for four days. Monday was so windy one of the chickens laid the same egg four times.

We had a letter from the under-taker. He said if the last payment on your Grandmother's plot wasn't paid in seven days, up she comes.

About that coat you wanted me to send you, your Uncle Stanley said it would be too heavy to send in the mail with the buttons on, so we cut them off and put them in the pockets.

John locked his keys in the car yesterday. We were really worried because it took him two hours to get me and your father out.

Three of your friends went off a bridge in a pick-up truck. Ralph was driving. He rolled down the window and swam to safety. Your other two friends were in back. They drowned because they couldn't get the tailgate down.

There isn't much more news at this time. Nothing much has happened.

Your loving Mum

P.S. I was going to send you some money but I had already sealed the envelope.

bridesmaidia :-)

a few weeks ago all nine of the bridesmaids invaded David's Bridal to look  for their dresses

a great time was had by all.....and.....yesterday the dresses came in!

peter's almost 1/10th of a century!

some bunny loves me!

hershey kiss wedding favors

about 130 to go!

all right baby, snow might be in the forecast, but the lettuce is in!

and the kale and collards, too!

Our trusty backyard assistant, who better leave the digging to me! ;-)

fly surveying the yard

St. John Bosco quote of the week

“This was the method that Jesus used with the apostles. He put up with their ignorance and roughness and even their infidelity. He treated sinners with a kindness and affection that caused some to be shocked, others to be scandalized and still others to hope for God’s mercy. And so He bade us to be gentle and humble of heart.”

new bunnies in the house