Mosaic Masterpiece

I am blessed to be part of a parish with some astonishingly talented artists who give generously of their time. Claudia Burns was the mastermind artist behind this incredible mosaic for behind the tabernacle at our parish, Christ the King in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The project represents 1800 hours of construction, completed by 54 volunteers, over 15 months.

My daughters and I contributed just a couple hours. We loved it, but life got too busy.

The mosaic consists of thousands of tiny shards of glass, all brilliantly chosen and color coordinated by our master artist Claudia.

Look at the detail. It's exquisite.

Here is the installation behind the tabernacle. It's perfect.

It's gorgeous from a distance and even more beautiful up close.

Is it not a fittingly magnificent mosaic for behind our beautiful tabernacle. Brought me to tears!

Thank you, Claudia, for designing and executing this extraordinary work. How you give glory to God with your talent and willingness to use it for HIM!

You can find more photos of the construction of this beautiful work HERE

Another Celebration

The end of Thanksgiving dinner marked the beginning of another family celebration: a slightly early birthday celebration for my second oldest grandson.

My daughter-in-law had the ingenious idea to make a cake like a baseball, to match the sport themed balloons we had bought. She thought she would use a pie pan as the mold. I have to confess I had my doubts. She used a glass pie pan which I think she greased and floured. It came out of the pan nicely!

She then put berry jam in a baggy and piped the lines of a baseball on it. After that, she used little slices of fruit snacks to form the stitching on the ball. It was quite impressive. I have a very resourceful daughter-in-law.

Happy Second birthday, Little Guy! I don't use his name because his parents avoid an online presence and I want to respect that.

Such a cutie, and looking so much like his father as a baby I am always taken aback...

It was a great opportunity, when the whole family was present, to celebrate another milestone event! It's rare these days to have everyone together, and what a precious time it is.

God bless you, Little One, on your birthday and throughout your entire life!!

Honoring President George Herbert Walker Bush.

President Bush, 41, was a gentlemanly president. He had class. I remember his always speaking respectfully of his political opponents, never assigning motives to their views, never name-calling, never belittling others.

He was a good man. He clearly adored his wife of over 7 decades. He was devoted to his family.

He was a true patriot, having served his country valiantly as a naval pilot in World War II, the youngest pilot in the navy at that time. Bush flew 58 combat missions and was shot down. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism under fire.

President Bush had an illustrious career. He was a member of Congress, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, director of the CIA and vice-president under Ronald Reagan. Before politics he worked in the oil industry and became a millionaire by the time he was 40.

President Bush and his wife Barbara had six children. The oldest would also become president, George W. Bush. The Bushes lost their second child, Robin, to leukemia when she was only three years old. That President George H.W. Bush, living with the pain of having lost a child, still went on to accomplish so much with grace, dignity, patience and charm is all the more impressive.

May the good president rest in peace. The country is better off for having had his example of restraint, humility and dignity.

To learn more about the life of President George Herbert Walker Bush, try this link.

Mary's Masterpiece Dinner

My daughter Mary has started to enjoy cooking. And she's getting quite good at it. Last year as we were awaiting the imminent birth of Baby Jude, Mary offered to make the entire Thanksgiving dinner. It was a great blessing to me since I needed to be on call to help my daughter by babysitting her two year old when she went into labor which could have happened at any minute.

 This year Mary offered to do it again. I accepted gladly again but with the limitation that I wanted to be involved in the planning and reserved veto power over the menu. I also told her I would be helping with the entire meal. It was a good plan.

Mary started with making a brine for the turkey. I had never done a brine before and she is absolutely right that it very much improves the flavor and tenderness of the turkey. (Brine pictured above. Below-- Mary photographing her awesome work.)

We were quite organized because, for me, it is not going to happen if I don't have it planned out.. We always have a shopping list like the one below...

But Mary took it to a whole new level with color coded spread sheets..

The menu...after much negotiation and consultation with the family about their favorite traditional foods...

 Menu and timing sheets are taped to the cupboards...because that's much easier to just look up then to search for the the sheets of paper amid the messy table...

Mary at work and seemingly loving every minute...She's good!!

And here she is with her completed masterpiece of a dinner. It was delicious, and with no catastrophes! So proud of her, not only because she is a good cook but, more importantly, because she is willing to give many hours to serving her family.

And for the first time, we were able to expand our Amish table into the living room, instead of into the kitchen where the table would take up so much room that it was impossible to open the fridge without asking the person sitting there to get up for a minute.

 When we added the new room to our house we also expanded the opening between the dining area and the living room.

 Much, much better.

Mary and I with the mission accomplished...

#Feelingblessed, #Feelingthankful

God is good. All the time...