St. Gianna, faithful wife and mom, pray for us to persevere!

celebrating Italian-style last night.. yummy chicken parmesan and gnocch

i, and a beautifully-set table by our sweet Madge-pie

In prayerful waiting

...and so, we gather in prayer, through the intercession of Our Lady and St. Joseph, with our sweet ones all gathered beneath their mantle of never-ending love, always faithful, never-abandoning.

St. Catherine of Siena, pray for us!

Our school moments, woven into God's timing and tapestry

Our Joy Journal, which we began here in Argentina, has the entry I recently wrote that speaks of the joy that I find in the way God weaves moments in our school day, weeks, months and years. In this life of transient moments, there has to be a spirit and a plan to be flexible and to weave in the moments when the planned and desired-to-be-executed that day, has to be woven at a different time. But, whether living a life of moves or living life in one place with many movements, there always has to be a plan to be flexible. God's will is bigger and much betetr (as He shows me every single time) than our own. I am forever grateful for and in constant awe of the way He perfectly times a lesson or a supplement to what we are learning. Whether it is in studying flowers in the days after our nature walk for Dad's birthday and pressing the flowers for a beautiful picture for Dad for his later gift, or going to the Buenos Aires Art Museum after our Term of study of the Impressionists and then getting to see Renoire's, Degas', and Monet's impressionist art work, or incorporating all of our fractions and life skills in cooking meals and making Dad's birthday treats, or the concert in Uruguay at a Catholic Church where Bach's and Vivaldi's music was being played as we have been learning about all of the classical composers.. the list goes on, because life continues and God always is there and weaving goodness and learning into real living and learning. Learning and living are not mutually exclusive but so joined, and that is the way life should be. Each of us is just one person with woven moments, one feeding off the other, growing and expanding . These days I'd would never trade, just make them last longer; they go too fast.

Jesus, we Trust in You

You never leave us. You know us better than we know ourselves. You bring us to places so that we can grow, and You embrace us when we bring ourselves to places that may not have been what You desired for us, but just like a strong Daddy and a gentle Mommy, you guide us to where we need to go and do not give up on us when we stray, again, and again, and again. Thank you. Thank you for being the balm for our tired souls, our lonely hearts, our sad moments that you weave into the tapestry of Divine Providence and tell yes, "I love you. When the world lurks in your presence and calls you names, they did that and much more to Me, and I told my Father, 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.'" You were, you are completely compassionate. We celebrate you. Daily, we must. You bless our lives. You clarify every moment for us, even if we do not see it now or never will be able to on this earth. You whisper in our ears words of faith and encouragement, and we step forward, with You. Only with You will we ever be able to go forward.

On Divine Mercy Sunday, we laid ourselves before You and our family enjoyed the fruits of Your Goodness as we enjoyed our apple tart, Arnaldo's ice cream, and Fr. Phillip Tells a Ghost Story, one of many of our favorite Precious Life Books by the amazing Andrews Sisters. 
The sweet part of the night was hearing each of our treasures singing a decade of the Divine Mercy. And today, Nellie, in her 2 1/2-year old voice was singing your Divine Mercy again.