XO

Hi, Christopher Stone.

I miss you.

<3

2 years.

Marking another milestone.  Thanks be to God for an even better year, full of much joy and laughter and changes for our good.  Praise Him, He truly is merciful - we offer Him ourselves and our lives.

"I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine."  Song of Songs 2:16

"With this ring I thee wed...in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

"It takes three to make love in hearts~the Lover, the Beloved, and Love. What binds lover and beloved together on earth is an ideal outside both. As it is impossible to have rain without clouds, so it is impossible to understand love without God."
Archbishop Fulton Sheen

We wait in joyful hope.

Advent around our home...



The Advent Wreath; circle=God's eternity/liturgical cycle of the Church, greenery= sign of hope in winter, 4 candles=4 weeks of the Advent season, purple=penance, and rose=joy.



The Jesse Tree tells the story of our Lord's lineage. 
Mom made this beautiful one for us.



Counting down to His birth!



"And Joseph too went up from Galilee...to the city of David that is called Bethlehem...with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child." Luke 2:4-5



"We are waiting for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; he will transfigure our lowly bodies into copies of his own glorious body." (Phil 3:20-21)

O Savior of nations, come into our hearts!

Hail Mary, full of grace.

Today is the beautiful feast of the Immacualte Conception - the day on which the Church celebrates Mary's arrival into the world free from that stain of original sin with which all other humans were born.  Of course, God would provide Mary, the Mother of God, with this grace, because of course, the Son of God should be provided with the purest and holiest of mothers.  We too were granted the priveldge of calling her our mother when our Lord, on the cross, gave her as mother to the human race, with the apostle John standing in place of all mankind..."Behold, your mother," (John 19:27)  How fortunate we are to have such a model of perfect obedience, humility, and love in her...she yearns to bring all of her human children closer to her Son.  Indeed the fastest way to Jesus is through His mother, and by giving her to us as mother, He shows that He does indeed ask us to revere, honor, and emmulate her.

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving season, everyone!  We pray that God continues to move within your lives to draw you ever closer to Him, and that you give thanks for the sufferings and the joys which inevitably assist that process! :)  Our fall has been intense with some sufferings and changes in our life but we give thanks even for those as we see how God continues to bless us when we strive to follow His holy will - our love for Him and for for each other has immeasurably deepened.  Despite all, we've been having so much fun enjoying each other as life companions - so, I thank you, Lord, and thank you, Hubby!  The love and support of our friends and my family, especially, has been invaluable; thank you all! 

We had a lovely little Thanksgiving weekend.  Laura and Dilanji Co. came down Tues-Sun; it was great to have them all here for sharing, laughs, games, loving precious boys, and of course, baking!  Laura and I cooked dinner together - exhausting but delicious!  Andrew unfortunately got food poisoning from eggnog the day after, so sadly we missed a day at the beach with them - but overall it was a wonderful weekend.  (Miss you guys already!)  Here are a few images from around our house this past weekend... 



Music and love.

(I just realized I never posted this entry...)

Just stopping in to say hello - we've been very very busy with our respective jobs but have been squeezing in some fun as well!

We have been attending some good concerts and performances lately, as a Naples lady graciously donates tickets to Ave Maria University faculty and staff for Naples Philharmonic events.  We're thankful for these opportunities - an evening to go out, enjoy dinner and each other and bask in some great (free!) music.  This past Sunday we saw Rossini's opera La Cenerentola (Cinderella) performed by the Sarasota Opera who brought it to Naples to pair with the Philharmonic. 

Here we are beforehand....

We thank Him for this kind of love...

"I create for My Kingdom"

"You see, the child lives. Instead of the wind he hears the sound of angels singing before My throne. Instead of the beauty that passes he sees everlasting Beauty—he sees My face. He was created and lived a short time so the image of his parents imprinted on his face may stand before Me as their personal intercessor. He knows secrets of heaven unknown to men on earth. He laughs with a special joy that only the innocent possess. My ways are not the ways of man. I create for My Kingdom and each creature fills a place in that Kingdom that could not be filled by another. He was created for My joy and his parents’ merits. He has never seen pain or sin. He has never felt hunger or pain. I breathed a soul into a seed, made it grow and called it forth.”

I am humbled before you, my Lord, for questioning Your wisdom, goodness, and love. I speak as a fool—forgive me. I acknowledge Your sovereign rights over life and death. I thank You for the life that began for so short a time to enjoy so long an Eternity. – Mother M. Angelica

 <3 Little Hope <3