A little bib tutorial

Use coordinating flannel fat quarters, right side together.  There is room for two bibs. 

Using a pen or pencil, outline the pattern on the material.

The pattern is from this website.

After outlining the pattern, pin the material together.

Then sew 1/4" within the drawn line, leaving a generous opening at the bottom for turning inside out.

Try to sew a little more accurately than I did!

Once it is sewn, cut out the bib.

Iron on a little piece of fusible facing to reinforce the button hole.

Leave a wider seam allowance at the bottom when you cut out the bib. Turn right side out, and add the button hole, and iron flat.  Tie a small knot which will be the "button" in the button hole.

The flannel is so soft and absorbent--aren't they cute?

D

Beth VdV, sebastian, tee, Laura, Erin VdV, Beckett VdV, Danny, hermana Ali, hermana rachel

God Hidden in the Eucharist

FR. THOMAS J. MCGOVERN

Adoro te devote, latens Deitas — “Hidden God, I devoutly adore you” — is the first line of the famous eucharistic hymn attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas. Jesus promised: “I will remain with you always” (Matt. 28:20), but he does so hidden behind the disguise of transubstantiated bread.

We see Christ’s humility in this hiddenness. It was part of God’s plan that Jesus, like every child, remain hidden in his mother’s womb for nine months. As he grew up in Nazareth and worked there as a carpenter, his divinity lay hidden until at age thirty he began his public life of preaching and healing. “The humility of Jesus: in Bethlehem, in Nazareth, on Calvary. But still more humiliation and more self-abasement in the most sacred host — more than in the stable, more than in Nazareth, more than on the Cross.”

In the Blessed Eucharist our senses are unable to perceive the Real Presence. We look at Jesus present in the tabernacle, perhaps just a few yards away, and we tell him that we know, through faith, that he is present — the same Jesus who was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth; the same Jesus who rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father.

St. John describes a very moving scene after the Resurrection when Thomas, after refusing to believe the testimony of the other Apostles, is confronted by the Risen Christ who elicits a deep act of faith from Thomas. He said to him, “Put your finger here and see my hands; and put out your hand and place it in my side; do not be faithless but believing” (John 20:27). Thomas responded immediately, “My Lord, and my God,” expressing his faith in the Risen One. Our Lord replies, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe” (John 20:28–29).

Jesus uses the occasion to emphasize that faith is a virtue that allows us to accept a truth that is a mystery, and that this is a blessed thing to do. He wants our faith to be manifest before the tabernacle, in our thoughts and words. “Build a gigantic faith in the Holy Eucharist. Be filled with wonder before this ineffable reality. We have God with us; we can receive him every day and, if we want to, we can speak intimately with him, just as we talk with a friend, as we talk with a brother, as we talk with a father, as we talk with Love itself.”

St. Teresa of Avila wrote that when she heard the people say they wished they had lived when Christ walked on the earth, she would smile to herself, for she knew that we have him as truly with us in the Blessed Sacrament as people had him then, and wonder what more they could possibly want.

And the holy Curé of Ars points out that our fortune is even greater than that of the people who lived with Christ during his life on earth, because they sometimes had to walk for hours or for days to find him, whilst we have him so close to us in every tabernacle. “He is there as though behind a wall and from there he looks at us as though from behind the lattice (cf. Song 2:9). Even though we cannot see him he looks at us from that place where he is truly present, so that we may possess him, even though he conceals himself in order that we may seek him out. Until such time as we reach our celestial home, Jesus wants to surrender himself entirely to us, and to live united to us in this way.”

Everything in this world will come to an end — except the presence of Christ. As Ronald Knox describes it:

All the din and clatter of the streets, all the great factories which dominate our landscape are only echoes and shadows if you think of them for a moment in the light of eternity; the reality is in here, is there above the altar, is that part of it which our eyes cannot see and our senses cannot distinguish. . . . When death brings us into another world, the experience will not be that of one who falls asleep and dreams, but that of one who wakes from a dream into the full light of day. Here, we are so surrounded by the things of sense that we take them for the full reality. Only sometimes we have a glimpse which corrects that wrong perspective. And above all when we see the Blessed Sacrament enthroned we should look up towards that white disc which shines in the monstrance as towards a chink through which, just for a moment, the light of the other world shines through.

yesterday's visit to falcons

sweet pic :-)

yesterday we were blessed to visit the greats

the littles enjoy nonie's toys, snacks and exploring opportunities in cabinets and drawers

danny bonded with nano

for several minutes

studying him

and talking to him!

Sebastian enjoyed Nonie

and the apple slice she offered him!

reviewing Nano's yearbook.

Nano was all conference right guard when he played football in high school.

as Nano said,

"We had a better record than the Redskins!"

Charlotte enjoyed pretending she was a still a baby.

"My, great-granddaughter, what long legs you have!"

It was a blessed time, 

and thanks be to God!

incoming photo avalanche...!

Thanks be to God for a lovely visit to Falcons yesterday:

daniel enjoyed getting reacquainted with his little Nonie

nano's turn to hold dan the man

as nano said, "he doesn't seem to mind who holds him, or if he is sitting a little differently each time."

danny is quite the easy going laddie

nonie and charlotte playing ball

...not sure which one got it!

the men folk....and cici bird

on the way to the buffet

notice dan, who only had eyes for nonie

exchanging pleasantries!

after brunch, as we said our goodbyes,

 we felt very blessed 

to have spent such a nice visit with nonie and nano. 

quite the trio!

Yesterday the littles and their mommies, Mormor and I enjoyed a delightful visit at the Shaws.

....in looking over these pictures, i can't believe i did not get a single picture of laura!

i am so sorry!

she was there, too, and lovely and charming as ever!

Here is Daniel sporting his official St. Anthony of Padua tonsure.

Mormor and the littles-

who had been restless-

overdue on their naps-

short on sleep the days before-

and housebound for at least 3 days due to weather-

 visiting in a non baby-proof house-

yes

those littles :-)

well anyway, here is Mormor and they are eating out of her hand--completely enthralled with

bugs bunny,

wiley coyote and

Yosemite Sam.   

Thank you Mormor!  You sure have some great tricks up your sleeve!

Laura showed us some pictures of her Mission in Honduras.

As always it was a joy to spend time with the lovely Shaw ladies.

Later in the day,

Mormor and i talked about our visit, 

and Betty mentioned in particular

how impressed she was

with how exhausted 

young moms must be caring for their littles day after day.

Its so true!

Mommies of babies and toddlers really do 

"Sparkle with self-forgetfulness!" 

(as quoted from Sr. Bridget Haase)

In fact, mommies of babies and toddlers 

sparkle so much 

they are bling mommies!

May God bless those bling mommies so near and dear to my heart:

Krastina, Laura, Mary, Teresa:

you are doing a wonderful job!

some food for thought from Christine's Facebook page---

"A resolution that only takes a little thinking power. Now that is a resolution I can handle, or so I thought. Several years ago I came across an article about a woman who chose a word to live by for a new year’s resolution. I have always been a fan of words, I’m constantly looking up the meaning of words and the power words have in our daily lives, so I thought, picking a word for the year would be an easy and new take on a resolution. What I didn't expect was how powerful a force it would be in my life. If you like words like I do, think of a word that can have a meaningful impact on your daily life, for example one year I chose the word, encourage, and I tried on a daily basis to encourage others. Choose a word that can help you or someone else. Make your word as simple as the word Joy, and remind yourself daily of the joys in your life. Write your word down where you will be reminded of it daily and see how a simple word can have a profound effect on your life. If you do choose a word for the year, I’d love to hear what it is. A few words to use might be, kindness, charity, or welcome. Happy New Year."

What an excellent thought!

I'd like to do this, too!

Care to join me? :-)

Prayer of St Elizabeth Ann Seton

"O Father, the first rule of our dear Savior's life

was to do Your Will.

Let His Will 

of the present moment

be the first rule of our daily life and work,

with no other desire

but for it's most full and complete accomplishment,

so that doing what You wish

we will be pleasing to you."

When we are confronted with the Cross, please dear Lord,

help us to embrace Thy Will,

"Thy Will be done!"

Also, an excellent article on suffering can be found here.

entryway redone

Mormor has inspired another project around here!

Story stones.

If you are like me, you will ask, "Say again?"

Story stones are a preschool activity--

every stone has a different picture on it--

something a preschooler could use to make up a story--

animals, flowers, princesses, etc.--

to inspire a story.

Sarah was visiting and she painted a couple with Jeanne

tee contributed too!

i didn't get a picture of all of them, but here is a sample

please come over a paint a rock or two!