2023- Happy New Year!

 As I write this, it is the final few hours of 2022.

It was an eventful year, that's for sure. A lot of things happened that I didn't see coming, but God has been so good. He has walked close beside us every minute of every day. We have been brought to our knees, and we have rejoiced in His goodness. Isn't that the way of life though? 

Sunrise in a new place.

Today we are saying good-bye to dear Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. What a gift he has been to the Church. He was truly a giant in the way that he approached the Truth. There is so much that he gave us, and I haven't even tapped into it yet. I am still trying to work through the prolific mind of Pope John Paul II!

In 2023 we have some big changes coming, that we know of, and probably some that we don't!

I will finish up at the School of Spiritual Direction at Franciscan. I hope to be mostly finished with the requirements by April, and then I just have to finish paying for the program. I am thinking of getting some part time work to have extra for that, and travel to and from Texas, and some other expenses.

We will also welcome Madi into our family! Paul and Madi will be married the 17th of June! 

~Rachel Clesi Photography

If all goes well, at some point after I finish school, we hope to be able to relocate to Texas! I am praying that sometime in August or September we can look for a house. If that works out we will be living down there next New Year's, and Dad can have his birthday in a new home. I would love that. 

We went to Mass tonight and it was so beautiful. Tonight we celebrated the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Fr Francis spoke about how Mary is there for us as a loving mother, and how we can always go to her for help. He also talked about how important it is to keep reaching out to others to share the love of God. I sometimes get lost in the details of all that we have going on and I forget how important that simple task is. Just looking at the person in front of you and seeing them for who they are, beloved and wanted children of God, needs to be that ONE thing that gets done every single day. If we are praying in the morning and the evening, we are given the entire day to do the work of God, which is simply to love. No matter how much I accomplish in the course of a day, if the people that come into it haven't encountered love in me, then I have not lived that day well. I want to do better. I have to do better. 

Tomorrow is Dad's 82nd birthday! I wish he was able to be at Laura's. He loves having Christmas and New Years with the Cookes. Well, whatever the year brings, I hope that happens for him next year. 

I think I will go watch Lilly ride tomorrow. We are having a little bit of a thaw and I am hoping that it dries out enough for Lilly and Ghost to get out for a ride. I took these pictures the other day.  They have moved to another place and it is really beautiful up there! 

Merry Christmas!!

 We had a nice Christmas in our new place.

Laura sent me a new Cake pan and I managed to make a red velvet Christmas cake. 

We had a few presents and a quiet day.

The Church looks amazing!! 

Goodbye-Hello

 

Well, on Friday, December 16th, we met with all the necessary people and we closed on our home sale.

I was somewhat emotional, naturally, but as we went through the process and I saw how happy the couple is that bought it. They should be really happy with the place! We are really going to miss the neighbors though! That has been such a great place to live for so long. 

Then the 17th and 18th were move days and boy did we move! Tim got the truck and we didn't stop for two days! It was really something. We had so many friends helping! That was just so amazing. 

It's so weird not to go home to that house, but still, I know this is God's plan! He has been with us every step of the way. 

There were so many things that proved His plan for this time in our lives. We are on a journey for sure. 

The new place is very small and very different but it is growing on me for the time being. I am looking forward to a big kitchen again though!

We have been in it for almost two weeks and we are making the necessary adjustments. It is nice to have a disposal and a master bathroom. It is nice to have the Christmas tree up! 

I don't know how long we will be here, but I think it will do just fine for however long God sees fit. As the previous tenant said. "It keeps you humble!" 

Third Sunday Already??

 

This Advent is really a time of preparation. Preparing for a very different way of life for a while. 

I will put the tree up in the new place and we will have a joyous Christmas! Our kitchen is going to be Crachit-sized and it will be interesting to cook a Christmas dinner there, but we'll pull it off! And it will be different but how can we not be Joyful in celebrating Our Lord? 

We have to watch the usual round of Christmas Carol versions. That will definitely be a good way to prepare once we get moved in. 

Moving On...

 

Well, the business is getting done and we are proceeding through the process of selling the house. It is so weird, but the more we think about it, the more it seems like the plan is coming together the way that God wants it.

I am packing and giving things away that don't matter, and keeping the things that do. So many things happened in this house! Lives were begun and childhoods were lived. So many things were learned and conversations took place under this roof. The years filled up the storage spaces and the basement with things that were needed and valued. Now many of those things have become unneeded are being given to people who can use them. The rooms that the kids lived in still have marks on the walls and the carpet got a lot of use! 

It is kind of surreal. I am really glad that I have this blog of the life that we lived here. The schooling and the holidays and the meals and celebrations. 

But there is a time for everything and there is a time to say goodbye to a house that needs a family growing in it. We have lived well here and I hope that the new family will live well here as well. I hope that this house sees many more Christmases, and egg hunts and sledding down the hill. A dog or two and a lot of fires in the fire pit. I hope that we are handing on a space that will bless people as it has us.

I pray that we are ready when God shows us the next step. I know that this is a journey. All of life is a journey and ours is going to proceed in another place. I pray that we live it well. That we find a place to call home that will serve our needs for the time that we need it to. There is so much to pray about and the Lord has been so good!! He has walked with us every step of this journey and I am looking forward to the new life that He is preparing for us. 

Texas Time

 We have been in Texas for three days now and it has been a really nice visit!

Yesterday we spent the day catching up with all that the kids have been up to, and we had a great time visiting. The kids are really growing up so fast! They are doing so well in school, and the school is really wonderful! We went to Lucy's sports banquet and she won an award! 

Today Laura and I drove down to NewBraunfels, a city south of Kyle that we are interested in. It is a lot bigger than I thought. It has a nice downtown and we found a beautiful church! They seem to have a pretty bad deer problem. I want to go back down there next time I visit. 

And tonight was Claire's sports banquet and she got an award as well!

Big Changes

 SO much has been happening in our lives in such a short time!

I wasn't going to share this until we had a check in our hands, but I have time right now so I am going to put it out here. After lots of prayer and discussion, we felt moved to explore selling 817 Tydings rd. We decided that we would ask what we wanted for the house, and if we got it, we would take it as a sign that we are supposed to make the change. The listing went live on a Saturday and by Monday we had a full asking offer. It was a little overwhelming. The process is moving along, and at every step we have left it up to God, and we have gone on to the next step. There was the inspection to get through, and there were a few things that had to be done, but after 24 years, surprisingly few. We agreed to fix the biggest things and they have apparently accepted it. Then we had the appraisal this past Friday, and we still haven't heard whether it appraised high enough, but if so then we will be getting ready to close on the 16th of December. Tim found a nice townhouse up the hill to rent until we can go to Texas. Don't have any idea when that will be, but obviously it's in the big plan at some point. This is such a huge thing. We have lived in that house, really lived, for almost a quarter of a century. We have raised out kids, there. Tim has redone the whole thing and I love every room. However, Tim is ready for a break and that house is a lot of work. If he's not working, he's got stuff to do around the house, and I really want him to have some time without constant maintenance. We are also really heartsick at the direction that Maryland is going. It is just not a place that fits us anymore. The taxes that we are paying are going to things that we just can't be a part of. It's sad, because we love our town and our parish so much. We have so many dear friends, and of course we still have kids there! That's going to be really hard, but we will be renting for a while and Brendan may decide to go on his own adventure one of these days. Nina and Lilly are happy where they are! Everyone else is in other places already. 

So we'll see if we get to closing. I have to say, that I am fine either way. It is entirely up to God! That is a good feeling. 

Last week I was up in PA, at Blackrock, for another Theology of the Body course. This one TOB and the Interior Life. Our main instructor was Fr Timothy Gallagher. He is one of the greatest minds in the area of the spirituality of St Ignatius. What a gift. I will be unpacking it for a while. I'll take the test and then after I am finished with the School of Spiritual Direction, I can focus on finishing my certification in TOB. Who knows what I will end up doing with that. 

It has been super warm this past couple of weeks, but that changed today....It feels like winter out there. 

We are headed to Texas to visit the Cookes this week. We're in Cookeville TN right now, and tomorrow night we'll be in Kyle! It will be so much fun to see the family!! Tim gets to come this time! Then when we get back we will be packing like crazy.

Here are a few pictures of things that have been happening....

Morning Sun in the Backyard

Going to miss this...

Sundown at Perryville Park

Lilly rides Western!

Cora helping me pack

Beautiful morning at Blackrock

Adoration

Fall and All

 Fall is really falling here.

It has gotten chilly over the past week, and the colors are coming in. 

These are Bob and Dean's flowers and they are so gorgeous right now!

And then there's this! Frankie Beckmeyer is a married man! And Paul and Madi were there to join in the blessings! Just a few months and Paul and Madi will be married!!! I am so, so thrilled!

What a Promise!

 “I desire trust from My creatures. Encourage souls to place great trust in My fathomless mercy. Let the weak, sinful soul have no fear to approach Me, for even if it had more sins than there are grains of sand in the world, all would be drowned in the unmeasurable depths of My mercy.” —Diary 1059

Jesus, I trust in You.

Catching Up

 Well, a lot has happened, but have been really bad about sitting down to blog. I have so much writing to do for Spiritual Direction that I just don't get back to the computer most evenings. 

I am really loving Spiritual Direction! What a gift the Holy Spirit has given in allowing me to journey with these beautiful women! God is so good! I will be heading to Quarryville next month for another course. I'm not sure if I already blogged that, but I want to remember it. I will be attending "Theology of the Body and the Interior Life" which is going to be so awesome for Spiritual Direction! 

We have almost launched our Gabriel Network ministry at St Patrick's, and I am so excited about it. My friend Barbara is the coordinator. We are also getting set for another Marriage Enrichment event in November. Hoping to iron out most of the details this week. We also did our last First Fridays for the year. It was a good run. We talked to a lot of people, and had a chance to help local people find our beautiful Church! There was a bridal show across from our spot this time! It was sweet.

And speaking of things matrimonial....

The biggest news in the Merkel family this month is that Paul and Madi are engaged!! We are just thrilled. I am so happy that Paul has found such a wonderful woman to walk through life with. They are a sweet couple! 

Tim and I are living the quiet life these days, with just the two of us in the house, but we have great talks and we enjoy making plans and are looking forward to heading to Texas in November to visit the Cookes. Dad will be down there as well. We are going down for grandparent's day and it should be a wonderful visit!

Tim and Brendan got Brendan's car all set. It is now on the road and he doesn't have to worry that it won't start. The gold car went to the wrecking yard. Tim worked really hard to get this new one running well, and I hope it serves Brendan for a long time. 

Football season is under way, but the Ravens haven't really been delivering. Maybe tonight.....

What a Neat Town!

I do love Havre de Grace.

It is such a sweet little place and there is so much fun stuff happening all the time. 

Tonight Lisa Tellup invited Cora and I to go for a walk, as we often do. She likes to get Chipper out and so we decided to walk in town because there was something happening at the Lighthouse. 

Well, it was quite the party! The Waterfront Festival!

As it got dark, the Harvest Moon rose and it was just perfect outside. Just a nice breeze and a slight nip in the fresh air. 

We sat at the marina and watched the boat parade go by. They really outdid themselves!