On the Feast of St. Thomas More

Happy Name Day, William Thomas!

Our youngest son, William Thomas, was named specifically for St. Thomas More.  Shortly before God sent crazy William along, we'd read the novel  A Man Born Again by John Edward Beahn (an excellent book we highly recommend) and, finding ourselves the parents of children numbering in the double digits, felt like St. Thomas was just the man we needed on our saintly speed dial.

The father of four children and the counselor and father figure to several others during his life, St. Thomas was the consummate family man, intimately involved in the lives of his children, highly interested in their education, their friendships, and their health, -- physically, mentally, and spiritually.  We're fortunate to have proof of his fatherly concern for his children in the letters he wrote them, and I've never found a better model than this father for saintly, every day parenting ; all through his correspondences -- clearly on  the surface and in between the lines of his practical advice on every day matters, St. Thomas shares his love of God, his love of his Faith, and the priority he holds them.

As most Catholics know the story goes, Thomas More backed up his words and advice to others with action.  He didn't just talk the talk; he was one of the few who get the chance to really walk the walk.  Many of us have played out the scenario in our minds...  Seriously what would we do if we do if we really had to choose between our Faith and the status quot?  What if we had to choose between our Faith and our lives?

Thomas, a respected employee of the "government" of the king of England in the 16th century (he was named Lord Chancellor of England in 1529) was forced to make that choice -- and he was horrified that he had to.  He was not one to run to the embrace of the executioner.  He had a family he loved that he didn't want to leave and, hoping it might be possible to circumvent the the madness of King Henry's obsessions, he tried to find a loophole out of the whole business.  But it was not to be.  When required by King Henry VIII to sign allegiance to him over the pope, accepting Henry's newly formed Church of England, St. Thomas, against the pleadings of his loving family, refused -- and refused; and refused -- and ultimately lost his life rather than give up his Roman Catholic faith. 

 And his family was left behind.  No father to protect them, to support them, to joke and advise and hug them on his return from the castle every evening. It was a sad earthly loss. I'm sure his family never stopped missing his physical presence. But, what an example! And how they must have benefited from his intercession for them in heaven!   Thomas More's legacy to all of us is the example of his real love -- of God, of his Faith, and of his family -- and even his nation; for love of all, he maintained his integrity, his love of truth, his ultimate and unwavering honor of the laws of God and the Church. Loved so much that he made the ultimate sacrifice for it.  Though the whole world -- even his own family -- was against his decision to hold true to the Church against Henry VIII, there was never anything more important to St. Thomas than eternal salvation -- for himself and for his family.  Everything else was transitory; he taught his children so and sealed his belief with his blood.  His children did not get to live out the rest of their lives in earthly comfort and honor in King Henry VIII's England, but they had a father who was a saint.   And you can't beat that.  You really can't.

A fascinating description of St. Thomas from a contemporary:

To begin then with what is least known to you, in stature he is not tall, though not remarkably short. His limbs are formed with such perfect symmetry as to leave nothing to be desired. His complexion is white, his face rather than pale and though by no means ruddy, a faint flush of pink appears beneath the whiteness of his skin. His hair is dark brown or brownish black. The eyes are grayish blue, with some spots, a kind which betokens singular talent, and among theEnglish is considered attractive, whereasGermans generally prefer black. It is said that none are so free of vice. His countenance is in harmony with his character, being always expressive of an amiable joyousness, and even an incipient laughter and, to speak candidly, it is better framed for gladness than for gravity or dignity, though without any approach to folly or buffoonery. The right shoulder is a little higher than the left, especially when he walks. This is not a defect of birth, but the result of habitsuch as we often contract. In the rest of his person there is nothing to offend . . .He seems born and framed for friendship, and is a most faithful and enduring friend . . .When he finds any sincere and according to his heart, he so delights in their society and conversation as to place in it the principal charm of life . . .In a word, if you want a perfect model of friendship, you will find it in no one better than in More . . .In human affairs there is nothing from which he does not extract enjoyment, even from things that are most serious. If he converses with the learned and judicious, he delights in their talent, if with the ignorant and foolish, he enjoys their stupidity. He is not even offended by professional jesters. With a wonderful dexterity he accommodates himself to every disposition. As a rule, in talking with women, even with his own wife, he is full of jokes and banter. No one is less led by the opinions of the crowd, yet no one departs less from common sense . . . 
   -- Erasmus,  July 1519

Celebrating the Day

*  You can find the life story of St. Thomas -- in a nutshell -- here.
*   There are two versions of the life of St. Thomas on film, A Man for All Seasons, of course.  One stars Paul Scofield (1966), the other, Charlton Heston (1988).  (Though we can't help liking Charlton Heston, we prefer the Scofield version, ourselves...)
* It might be appropriate for the day to serve traditional English fare.  Here's a recipe for Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding and here's one for Cornish Pasties.  You can find lots of other ideas here.

Prayer of St. Thomas More

Give me the grace, Good Lord...

To set the world at naught. To set the mind firmly on You and not to hang upon the words of men's mouths.

To be content to be solitary. Not to long for worldly pleasures. Little by little utterly to cast off the world and rid my mind of all its business.

Not to long to hear of earthly things, but that the hearing of worldly fancies may be displeasing to me.

Gladly to be thinking of God, piteously to call for His help. To lean into the comfort of God. Busily to labor to love Him.

To know my own vileness and wretchedness. To humble myself under the mighty hand of God. To bewail my sins and, for the purging of them, patiently to suffer adversity.

Gladly to bear my purgatory here. To be joyful in tribulations. To walk the narrow way that leads to life.

To have the last thing in remembrance. To have ever before my eyes my death that is ever at hand. To make death no stranger to me. To foresee and consider the everlasting fire of Hell. To pray for pardon before the judge comes.

To have continually in mind the passion that Christ suffered for me. For His benefits unceasingly to give Him thanks.

To buy the time again that I have lost. To abstain from vain conversations. To shun foolish mirth and gladness. To cut off unnecessary recreations.

Of worldly substance, friends, liberty, life and all, to set the loss at naught, for the winning of Christ.

To think my worst enemies my best friends, for the brethren of Joseph could never have done him so much good with their love and favor as they did him with their malice and hatred.

These minds are more to be desired of every man than all the treasures of all the princes and kings, Christian and heathen, were it gathered and laid together all in one heap.
Amen

(Written by St. Thomas when he was imprisoned in the Tower of London)




St.Thomas More wrote the following letter to his daughter Margaret with a charcoal stick. It was written from prison on July 5, 1535, the day before he was executed.

---

Our Lord bless you, good daughter, and your good husband, and your little boy, and all yours, and all my children, and all my god-children and all our friends. Recommend me when ye may to my good daughter Cecily, whom I beseech Our Lord to comfort; and I send her my blessing and to all her children, and pray her to pray for me. I send her a handkercher, and God comfort my good son, her husband. My good daughter Daunce hath the picture in parchment that you delivered me from my Lady Coniers, her name on the back. Show her that I heartily pray her that you may send it in my name to her again, for a token from me to pray for me.
I like special well Dorothy Colly. I pray you be good unto her. I would wot whether this be she that you wrote me of. If not, yet I pray you be good to the other as you may in her affliction, and to my good daughter Jane Aleyn too. Give her, I pray you, some kind answer, for she sued hitherto me this day to pray you be good to her.

I cumber you, good Margaret, much, but I would be sorry if it should be any longer than to-morrow, for it is St. Thomas's even, and the utas of St. Peter; and therefore, to-morrow long I to go to God. It were a day very meet and convenient for me.

I never liked your manner towards me better than when you kissed me last; for I love when daughterly love and dear charity hath no leisure to look to worldly courtesy. Farewell, my dear child, and pray for me, and I shall for you and all your friends, that we may merrily meet in heaven. I thank you for your great cost. I send now my good daughter Clement her algorism stone, and I send her and my godson and all hers God's blessing and mine. I pray you at time convenient recommend me to my good son John More. I liked well his natural fashion. Our Lord bless him and his good wife, my loving daughter, to whom I pray him to be good, as he hath great cause; and that, if the land of mine come to his hands, he break not my will concerning his sister Daunce. And the Lord bless Thomas and Austin, and all that they shall have.


St. Thomas More, help us, by your holy example and your prayers, to save our own souls and lead our children also to heaven. Help us to form our consciences rightly in these difficult times, to always stand up for our Faith even when the whole world around us is caving in to worldly pressure.  


*Repost from 2012

An Unexpected Guest Post

So, Lisa left for the afternoon and forgot to log out of her computer.  Not a good idea, dear - you never know who might take over your machine and hijack your blog.

Hey, it's Lisa's DH Dan, with a few things to say while the "cat" is away.

A Curious Grace
by Dan Davis

God has, on a couple of occasions, blessed me with a most unusual and horrifying grace.

Lying in bed at about 4am, sometime after REM sleep but before being conscious that morning is near, I dream that, during the night, Lisa has passed away in her sleep.

As the nightmare unfolds, I pass through the natural phases of disbelief, anger and fear unnaturally quickly and move straight into loneliness and regret.  I'm consumed by regret.

My thoughts, of course, are of Lisa, beginning as something of a eulogy and slowly transforming into pure lamentation.  They go something like this:

"Oh, Lisa, my Lisa.  You've left so soon.  I never even said "Goodbye".  Did I even say "I love you"?  Not just the words, but did I REALLY say "I love you"?

You were one of the greatest of God's creatures.  You gave everything of yourself, ran the Good Race to exhaustion, and never quit racing, no matter the odds.  You stood behind me even when I didn't deserve it, gave to us all even when you had no more to give, and crossed the finish line of life with your last ounce of strength.

God Judges us in large part, as parents, according to the moral and spiritual fiber of our children.  And while our girls and little boys are still "baking in the oven" (at least to a degree), we have four older boys upon which the Good Judge can pass judgment.

And on that score, you'll go right to the front of the line in Heaven. 

Your strength of character and unswerving commitment to duty produced a Captain in the Marine Corps.

Your love of fun and speaking the truth produced a professional broadcaster and DJ.

Your simple and deep faith produced a Seminarian.

And your overall awesomeness produced a "Mini-Me" with a wonderful heart and limitless potential.

Words fail me as I try to describe how proud I am of you.


Your giant heart and love of Truth made you a magnet for the next generation.  Not only do our children esteem you more and more as years go by and they better understand your wisdom and compassion, but their friends see that same wisdom, that same love, that same passion, that same purity of heart and call you "mom".  You had a wonderful heart and they knew it.  Children know these things.  Adults often forget.

Your blog produced a worldwide audience of religious and lay readers alike.  It not only chronicled our family's journey through this life, but chronicled how to live our Faith in the real world.  If God asks you for a resume at your Judgment, give him the URL.

Your charity and willingness to open our home to others knew no boundaries.  

And your devotion to promoting and supporting our beloved priests, nuns and seminarians was an inspiration.  I'll pray that the Church Triumphant organizes a "Thank you Bomb" for you to match the one you organized for our religious.

But perhaps most of all, I owe everything I am as a Catholic, and much of who I am as an adult, to your persistence and patience as a wife, partner and friend.

Why did I never say these things to you?  Why did it take your dying for them to come to the front of my thoughts?  Why did the words of praise and cherishing sit and die on my tongue rather than making their way to your ever-deserving ears?

Why did I let even one minute with you go uncherished, much less most of our 28 years together?

I'll never get another chance.  Never get another chance."

And as I start to awake from the dream, I realize it's a dream and am filled with relief.  And what do I do?  As a typical thick, obtuse male (as Lisa likes to call us), I might snuggle up with her.  I might get up and make her some coffee, or perhaps even start some breakfast.

But the words never come.  The words were the point of the exercise, I believe.  But they never come.

Not this time

Lisa, I love you.  You are truly the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, a light in the darkness, my source of inspiration, a hand of friendship on a lonely day.

Lisa, I want nothing more than to make your heart sing.

Time grows short.  We may have 50 years left together, but even then, time grows short.  And I've frittered away too much of it already.

Let's take a walk down the street and talk about happy things, so your heart can sing Coldplay.

Let's read a book to the children, so your heart can sing Mozart.

Let's rock each other to sleep, so your heart can sing a lullaby.

And let's go out and see a hockey game from time to time, so your heart can sing some classic rock.  There's a time and a place for everything.

Joy is the greatest gift we can give each other, and I pledge myself to give it to you without fail, as long as we both shall live.

You're worth it.  You've always been worth it.

The Feast of the Visitation Today!

When St. Luke tells us that, after the angel left, Mary "went with haste over the meadows" to visit her aged cousin, Elizabeth, the Church wants us to remember this in the feast of the Visitation on the second of July, so that we may always feel assured that Mary is ever ready to come to our aid.

~ Maria Von Trapp

The Magnificat

My soul doth magnify the Lord.

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name.
And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.
He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy:
As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.

Magníficat ánima mea Dóminum,et exsultávit spíritus meusin Deo salvatóre meo,

quia respéxit humilitátemancíllæ suæ.
Ecce enim ex hoc beátamme dicent omnes generatiónes,quia fecit mihi magna,qui potens est,et sanctum nomen eius,et misericórdia eius in progénieset progénies timéntibus eum.

Fecit poténtiam in bráchio suo,dispérsit supérbos mente cordis sui;depósuit poténtes de sedeet exaltávit húmiles.

Esuriéntes implévit boniset dívites dimísit inánes.

Suscépit Ísrael púerum suum,recordátus misericórdiæ,sicut locútus est ad patres nostros,

Ábraham et sémini eius in sæcula.
Glória Patri et Fílioet Spirítui Sancto.Sicut erat in princípio,et nunc et semper,

et in sæcula sæculórum.
Amen.

~+~+~+~+~

The Feast of the Visitation is one of the anniversaries I like best to think about; like all the joyful mysteries, its details are particularly accessible for a mother and housewife like me. The scene is founded in the mystery of Heaven and radiates the sublime, but is also grounded in realities that I understand. Our Blessed Mother, having just agreed to the most important task ever asked a human being and only just carrying the life of God in the Second Person in her womb, discovers the miracle of her elderly cousin's approaching motherhood. Miracle upon miracle!

And, what does she do? She packs her bags and goes on a visit. Of course! Is this not what any of us would do -- or would try to do? If we found out that a dear friend and relation, one who had assumed after many years that she was infertile, was soon to be a mother at last -- the least we would do would be to call her up or send her an e-mail congratulating her. Better than that, I'm sure most of us would do what Our Blessed Mother did: get ourselves in hugging distance as soon as possible. To praise God with her.

And then, I just bet that the rest of the visit was full of the homey things we would recognize ourselves. I can imagine the scenes of them sewing baby clothes together and preparing little St. John's bed. Mary would have helped with the cleaning and bread baking. Maybe she would have milked the goats or fetched the water for her older cousin who was farther along in her pregnancy. There would have been much smiling and laughing and quiet moments of awed reflection. And God would have been there with them, truly.

As He can and should be with us as we share with one another at any get-together: having coffee, one to one, with a good friend; catching up on the phone; chatting outside the church doors with a group of other mothers after Mass; hobnobbing on the internet... If we gather in His Name, there He is in the midst of us. Just like at the Visitation.

Happy Feast Day to all the Marys and Elizabeths out there! (And Lisas and Maries, etc...)

** Here's a Coloring Page for the day, by the way!
** You can click on the title of this post for the full explanation of the feast day at Fisheaters.
** The rendition of The Magnificat, above, was sung by our three boys, Kevin, Jon and Dominic, and their friend Tim, at school last Easter. I've used this video before -- it's my favorite; The Magnificat gives me goosebumps every time I hear it, but especially when I hear my boys singing it.
** If you recognized this post, you're a longtime friend! God bless you! :)  This is a repost from 2009!

Snaughling

Our family recreation.  Instead of fancy vacations or expensive toys, we do this.  

We snaughle a lot.

And bake cookies.

We're a fun bunch, I tell ya.

July: Month of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

Thoughts of the Saints Regarding the Precious Blood of Jesus:

"I adore You, O Precious Blood of Jesus, flower of creation, fruit of virginity, ineffable instrument of the Holy Spirit, and I rejoice at the thought that You came from the drop of virginal blood on which eternal Love impressed its movement; You were assumed by the Word and deified in His person. I am overcome with emotion when I think of Your passing from the Blessed Virgin's heart into the heart of the Word, and, being vivified by the breath of the Divinity, becoming adorable because You became the Blood of God." 

--St. Albert the Great

----------

St. Catherine of Siena:

"Take caution to see priests only as the dispensers of the Blood of the humble, Immaculate Lamb and overlook the faults you may see in them. A priest is a man and therefore fallible and capable of making mistakes, but this does not prevent him from being the Anointed of the Lord, marked forever with the indelible sign and having the power to consecrate the Body of Christ and administer the sacraments and to preach to the people in the name of God."

---------

St Mary Magdalene de Pazzi:

 
“It is not as severed from Jesus' Sacred Body that the Precious Blood 
is now to be adored and offered, but as It is, at this moment, 
within the living Jesus, in heaven and in the Blessed Sacrament. 
Therefore, the soul that possesses the Precious Blood 
has everything and desires nothing more. 
The offering of the Precious Blood is of infinite efficacy. 
It begs remission for past sins or rather exacts it; 
It is a remedy against future sin; 
It returns thanks for all graces general or personal; 
It procures help from on high and brings comfort 
to the living and the dead. 
The practice of offering the Precious Blood is most pleasing to God; because, through It, He is glorified in the most sublime 
and excellent manner. 
As often as a creature offers the Precious Blood by which it was redeemed, it offers a gift of unequaled and infinite price." 

St. Gaspar del Bufalo, from Letter No. 57 to Countess Lucrezia Ginnasi, April 14, 1813
-----------
"By the effusion of his holy blood, [he] has given so great efficacy and strength to the holy sacraments of his church, that when we receive any one of them, we shall be sprinkled and made clean by the virtue of his precious blood."

--St. John Fisher
-----------
"He opened up for us in his most sacred wounds four founts, as St. Bernard says: a fount of mercy, a fount of peace, a fount of devotion, a fount of love and summons all to quench their thirst there" 
---------
St. John Chrysostom says "When you see the Lord immolated and lying upon the altar, and the priest bent over that sacrifice praying, and all the people empurpled by that precious blood, can you think that you are still among men and on earth? Or are you not lifted up to heaven?" 

----------

Prayer from the Racolta (188) Offering the Precious Blood 

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, in satisfaction for my sins, in supplication for the holy souls in Purgatory and for the needs of Holy Church [especially for the soul of (Name)]. 
  

----------

This Blood, when worthily received, drives away demons and puts them at a distance from us, and even summons to us angels and the Lord of angels. . . This Blood, poured out in abundance, has washed the whole world clean. . . This is the price of the world; by it Christ purchased the Church... This thought will check in us unruly passions. How long, in truth, shall we be attached to present things? How long shall we remain asleep? How long shall we not take thought for our own salvation? Let us remember what privileges God has bestowed on us, let us give thanks, let us glorify him, not only by faith, but also by our very works.

 -- St. John Chrysostom

----------

"I adore You, O Precious Blood of Jesus, flower of creation, fruit of virginity, ineffable instrument of the Holy Spirit, and I rejoice at the thought that You came from the drop of virginal blood on which eternal Love impressed its movement; You were assumed by the Word and deified in His person. I am overcome with emotion when I think of Your passing from the Blessed Virgin's heart into the heart of the Word, and, being vivified by the breath of the Divinity, becoming adorable because You became the Blood of God."

---St. Albert the Great

Activities for the Month of the Precious Blood

Catholic Cuisine has a file full of recipe ideas for the month of July,  and, though, I couldn't find anything specifically in honor of the Precious Blood online, I've been brainstorming, and find it's not at all difficult to come up with "feasting" ideas, from cookie-cutting sliced cranberry sauce into heart shapes, to making a heart shaped red-velvet cake, similar to a Sacred Heart cake, but emphasizing the droplets of blood, perhaps using jello-mold "droplets" on top.  

Aussie Annie has a host of ideas and activities for children for the month of the Precious Blood! Do run over and have a visit.  This reverent devotional, for instance, can be found at her blog, Under Her Starry Mantle:

Here is a lovely coloring page to print:

And another, more intricate one, for your hard core artists:

Prayers for Devotion to the Sacred Blood of Jesus

"O Sacred Blood,

that flowed so copiously seven times for my salvation, I love Thee, I

praise Thee, I adore Thee with the deepest feeling of gratitude! The purest fountain from which Thou didst flow makes Thy memory so sweet. O Precious Blood, with trumpet tones Thou speakest to me of the love of my God and Redeemer. How I deplore my coldness and indifference towards Thee! Now, at last, I wish to return love for love, blood for blood, if necessary. As often as my pulse beats, it shall greet Thee, Thou sweet Guest of my soul, and shall return to the arteries warmed and purified by Thy love. As long as the blood courses through my veins, it shall flow only for love of Thee; it shall circulate only for Thy interests and it shall turn cold and stand still only because I am about to love Thee in eternity. Oh, let this stream of Thy love flow through every heart and inebriate it with holy joy!

My dearest Mother Mary, I beseech Thee with confidence, obtain for me, although thy unworthy child, the blessing of God the Father, by covering me with the merits of thy Son Jesus, that I may regain my eternal birthright in Heaven. Clothe me every evening, Sweet Lady of Mt. Carmel, but especially on the eve of my life, with the "Dyed Garments" of the Precious Blood. Amen."

Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy. 

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us. 

God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.

God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Blood of Christ, only-begotten Son of the eternal Father, save us.

Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word of God, save us.

Blood of Christ, of the New and Eternal Testament, save us.

Blood of Christ, falling upon the earth in Agony, save us.

Blood of Christ, shed profusely in the Scourging, save us.

Blood of Christ, flowing forth in the Crowning with Thorns, save us.

Blood of Christ, poured out on the Cross, save us.

Blood of Christ, price of our salvation, save us.

Blood of Christ, without which there is no forgiveness, save us.

Blood of Christ, Eucharistic drink and refreshment of souls, save us.

Blood of Christ, stream of mercy, save us.

Blood of Christ, victor over demons, save us.

Blood of Christ, courage of Martyrs, save us.

Blood of Christ, strength of Confessors, save us.

Blood of Christ, bringing forth Virgins, save us.

Blood of Christ, help of those in peril, save us.

Blood of Christ, relief of the burdened, save us.

Blood of Christ, solace in sorrow, save us.

Blood of Christ, hope of the penitent, save us.

Blood of Christ, consolation of the dying, save us.

Blood of Christ, peace and tenderness of hearts, save us.

Blood of Christ, pledge of eternal life, save us.

Blood of Christ, freeing souls from purgatory, save us.

Blood of Christ, most worthy of all glory and honor, save us.

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, O Lord.

Thou hast redeemed us, O Lord, in Thy Blood. And made us, for our God, a kingdom.

Let us pray.

Almighty and eternal God, Thou hast appointed Thine only-begotten Son the Redeemer of the world and willed to be appeased by his blood. Grant, we beg of Thee, that we may worthily adore this price of our salvation and through its power be safeguarded from the evils of the present life so that we may rejoice in its fruits forever in heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Latin version can be found here.

A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who recite this litany, which is approved for either private or public use.

Oh, Precious Blood of Jesus,

Be my salvation!

This Little Girl's Birthday Today!

Where does time fly?

Such a happy baby girl.
Michelle seldom cried. She had a neat
trick of twirling her pacifier around in her
mouth without using her hands.  It made
her famous in our circles.

Our little pumpkin. Our first baby girl.
She was so cute and sweet, we were legitimately
worried she'd grow up with a vanity problem,
so many people stopped us to comment on
how beautiful she was.

But the compliments didn't go to
her head.  She stayed sweet, was
always a good little girl loved her
faith and her family, and her many
parish friends.

But she was no girly-girl. She was a little farm girl
and quite the tomboy out on the hobby
farm in Byers with her four big brothers --
and, as time went on, her three little sisters --
and two baby brothers -- plus numerous dogs,
cats, chickens, goats, pigs, and the occasional
cow or horse.

In 6th grade, the family left the farm in Byers and moved
 to Western Colorado where Michelle got to attend Catholic
 school for the first time at Holy Guardian Angels.
Having been home taught her whole life, this required
 an adjustment, but Michelle prospered, got to attend daily Mass,
 was the top of her class, and made many friends --
most especially our beloved CMRI Sisters.

Then, following the zigzagging path of the Divine

Will, she found herself back in Byers with the family,

 where she decided, with Mom and Dad's blessing,

to try out the Mater Dei boarding school in Omaha.

Again, she thrived, graduating a year early, and

making many more lifelong friends.

Then, back in Western Colorado once again...
she learned to drive. And somewhere about this time
she met a young man named Ben while on a road trip
to California with her brothers.

She started texting with this guy, Ben....
Then moved in with her brother, Paul, and his family in
California to see if God had anything in mind for the
two of them.  And I guess He did, because, as you see...

 the rest is history.

June 13th,2015.  Meet Mr. and Mrs. Ben Landsgaard.

Our Baby Girl
20 years old today!

Grown up and married.

Still as beautiful as ever and just as sweet.

We love you, Shell, so very much!

Happy, Happy Birthday!!

This would be me...

waiting to see what will happen next

Because we've been looking pretty seriously at new houses.
 Here's a peek at another one we all really like.

Praying for God's will!  But this one fills all the wish list specs: 1) nice and big, but not too big; 2) has a great room concept; 3) a nice big kitchen with a gas stove (we hate electric!); 4) lots of natural light; 5) big fireplace; 6) tons of storage; 7) big two car garage; 8) awesome two-story barn; 9) plenty of mature shade trees, fruit trees, mulberries, asparagus patch, rhubarb, etc.; 10) tons of birds and wildlife (within a five minute drive down the road the other day, we saw a deer, a weasel, a hawk, an oriole, a red-headed woodpecker, and a grey fox!); 11) lovely pasture area for livestock; 12) woods and a creek to fish in right across the street; 13) on 11 acres, with no neighbors in the armpit (more like one at its elbow and a couple others somewhere in the edge of its periphery vision); 14) within a half hour of both church and Dan's job; 15) less than 10 minutes from the grocery store, Hancock's Fabrics, and a really cool little diner with $1 soft serve ice cream cones.... All just within our price range.  (How'd that happen?)

Not taking anything for granted here, mind you -- and will be satisfied with whatever God has in mind, but I won't lie to you -- I'm already scrolling through my mental paint chips for wall colors in this house...  Deus vult, though.  We're praying on it.  (Very ready to be our own landords again, folks!)