go cougars!

Hi Jamie!

caught red handed

homecoming

We enjoyed the Homecoming weekend festivities at UNL, including a rainy parade, the lawn displays (that's Hungry, Hungry Hippos in the corner), free admission to Morrill Hall, the Newman Center's tailgate and the game (a 55-0 blowout over Louisiana-Lafayette). Go Huskers!

a big spoon

...for a big appetite!

bruiser

Leo v. Bookshelf

harvest festival

The highlight of our parish festival for Joseph was hanging out with Homer!

mass and burial

Today we celebrated Mass for Gabriella.

Let us praise the Father of mercies, the God of all consolation. Blessed be God for ever.

For those who trust in God,
in the pain of sorrow there is consolation,
in the face of despair there is hope,
in the midst of death there is life.

As we mourn the death of our child, we place ourselves in the hands of God and ask strength, for healing, and for love.

My soul is deprived of peace,
I have forgotten what happiness is;
I tell myself my future is lost,
all that I hoped for from the Lord.

But I will call this to mind,
as my reason to have hope:
The favors of the Lord are not exhausted,
his mercies are not spent;
They are renewed each morning,
so great is his faithfulness.
My portion is the Lord, says my soul;
therefore I will hope in him.
-- Lamentations 3:17-18, 21-24

Father and Creator,
in whom all life and death find meaning,
we bless you at all times,
especially when we have need of your consolation.

Jude and Stephanie entrust to your care a life conceived in love.
May your blessing come upon them now.
Remove all anxiety from their minds
and strengthen this love
so that they may have peace in their hearts and home.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

These are the songs we chose:
On This Day, O Beautiful Mother
Glory of the Cross
Gabriella's name means "God is my strength."
The quotation on the box is "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" -Philippians 4:13
Joseph said, "I will bury her."
Jude laid the stone marker over the site.
Inspired by some dear friends who always send balloons to baby John, we sent balloons heavenward with a note and drawing from Joseph to Gabriella.

scouting

Joseph, Jude and my dad went to our family farm today to find an appropriate burial spot for Gabriella.

Here Joseph is out standing in the field :)Here is the spot they chose, under a walnut tree.

consolation

We found this beautiful flower bloom in our backyard this weekend. It is not near any other flowers, nor had we noticed it growing previously. A smile from heaven and a bit of beauty to counterbalance the tears.

born into eternal life

With joy and sadness we share the news that our baby, Gabriella Frances, was born into eternal life, rather than this world. Based on the ultrasound, we lost her on August 12 at 7 weeks, 4 days. In the midst of our grief we rejoice in the knowledge that her soul is in Heaven and the hope that we shall join her in the arms of our most loving Heavenly Father and Mother.

As she was due on the feast of the Annunciation (March 25), we thought Gabriella would be a fitting first name, especially since we have been praying specifically to the Archangel Gabriel for her since we learned her due date. We had been mulling over variants of Frank for a boy, since it is Jude's maternal grandfather's name and my paternal grandfather's name is Maurice Frank. When we looked at the feast for August 12, St. Jane Frances de Chantal (an amazing French saint!) the choice for her middle name seemed obvious.

Here is a prayer attributed to St. Jane in which we have found great consolation:
Today, when any thoughts or worries come to mind, send them out into the ocean of God's love that surrounds you and lose them there. If any feelings come into your heart -- grief, fear, even joy or longing, send those out into the ocean of God's love. Finally, send your whole self, like a drop, into God. There is no past no future, here or there. There is only the infinite ocean of God.

first day of formal education

We did not expect to send Joseph to pre-school this year, but he has been asking to go (I thought that only happened with younger siblings!) and we have a great school just a few blocks away, so we enrolled him in the Tuesday/Thursday morning program. He could not wait for me to take a first day of school photo, he was too excited, so this is what I got as he ran down the block with the backpack he picked out.
He did pose momentarily for me in front of the school sign.
He recently informed us that he wants to learn to read. While I know that is not in the pre-school curriculum, as a teacher I am so glad that he is excited about learning. My hope for him is that he will continue to be passionate about knowledge and pursue truth throughout his life, enjoying learning as much as he does now!

a few of his favorite things

Dogs and balls are Leo's favorite things. They are also his best words: "doggie" or"illey" (after our godteen Jamie's dog Reilly) and "ba."

just one more thing

Even after a massive amount of food-he must be going through a growth spurt-Leo was not quite done!

backyard camper

Our Labor Day week-end camp site ended up being the backyard-but we still had a blast!

state fair

Joseph loved this Husker clad cow!

He was not as enthusiastic about touching NASA's moon rock display.

Watching the fish at the Game & Parks exhibit.
Feeding the animals in the petting zoo.

homemade curly fries

Who knew an apple corer could be so versatile?