Michael's Top 20 Wildlife Photos

Ever since we moved to our new house in the woods, it seems that our son Michael has fallen in love with wildlife.  At first he just liked to be with the wildlife... 

...and then he discovered he could capture the wildlife on camera and share God's creation with others.

I recently printed a bunch of Michael's best photographs, framed them, and put them on a wall in our house because there were so many beautiful photos and I really wanted to encourage him with his talent and his love of nature.  

Many of you have already seen these pictures sprinkled throughout my blog over the past 2 years, but I thought it might be fun to put some of Michael's best photos all in one post for people to enjoy.  I am so proud of Michael for his hard work and dedication with the art of photography.  Perhaps I'm a bit biased, but I sure think my son has talent with a camera.  His natural talent, coupled with a passion for wildlife equals a great combination.  What makes the combination even better is that God, in His infinite goodness and foresight, chose to bless our family with a home surrounded by wildlife.  God must have known we would have a son who would love to take pictures of His beautiful creation and glorify Him in that way.  All of these photos, except for the mountain goat, were taken right around our house!

So, without further adieu, here are 20 of my favorites from Michael's growing portfolio:

Bull Elk near our driveway

Bobcat in our backyard

Mountain Goat in Glacier National Park

Fawn on our property

Bucks fighting during the rutting season

Red Crossbill

Fawn dusted with snow

Squirrel with a mouthful

Mule Doe with big ears and beautiful lashes

Great Horned Owl

Mountain Bluebird with hungry chicks

Mountain Bluebird

Cooper's Hawk on our chicken coop fence

(good thing we have a net over the top)

Juvenile Cooper's Hawk in the forest

Female Western Tanager

Male Western Tanager

Fawn still donning spots

Cottontail rabbit (daydreaming of summer perhaps) :)

A squirrel after a long, hard day :)

Fawn in the woods

(P.P.S. I'm sure Michael would love it if you left a comment about what your favorite photo is if you have time :)

Happy Birthday to you, Natey!

Last week was Nathanael's birthday---our big 7-year-old-Lego-boy-tree-climber!  He celebrated in wild Montana style by inviting a few families out to enjoy the winter wonderland that God has blessed us with.  Good fun was had by all!

• First came the redneck sledding adventure...Yee Haw!

•  Then came the tree-climbing, snow-angel-making, and zip-lining...

• Then came the present-opening, candle-blowing, and cake-eating!

Happy Birthday, Nathanael!

We love you more than all the sprinkles on your cake,

plus the freckles on your nose,

plus the Legos you have ever played with,

multiplied by google!

You continue to bring such joy to our family with that Irish twinkle in your hazel eyes,

your happy spirit, your helpful hands, and your downright silliness 

(which sometimes drives your teenage brothers crazy...but's that's their issue, not yours) :}

It has been so fun watching you grow right before our eyes.

This year you have become a voracious reader overnight 

and such a big boy in so many ways.

You can do practically everything on your own, 

but I do so hope you never grow out of snuggling with your mommy 

and wanting me to bless you and draw on your back every night :)

I love you, daddy loves you, your brothers love you, your extended family loves you,

and God loves you too!

May you never forget how loved and special you are,

not only on your birthday, but every day of the year!

Saintly Celebration

Happy Belated All Saints Day!

Our crazy Catholic family continued our Halloween tradition of celebrating the saints with a bunch of our Catholic friends rather than trick-or-treating.  Once again it did not disappoint.  Unfortunately, I was too busy bouncing from game to game and visiting with friends the night of the party, that I kinda forgot to take pictures... Oops.  But at least I was able to capture a few of the highlights of our Fall fun these past couple of weeks...

Isaiah was daddy's big "helper" scooping the seeds out of his white pumpkin.

He didn't care too much for the messy work, but he was a great cheerleader! :)

Dominic had fun making a Christian fish symbol on his "Saint-O-Lantern"

Natey was proud to be able to carve his own pumpkin all by himself this year! 

He is getting so big!  He will turn 7 this week...GASP!

Isaiah--proud of his finished Saint-O-Lantern!

He is ready to put a candle inside to see how cool it looks with light shining from within...

Oooooh.

They all look so pretty with candles inside.

A good reminder for us to let our inner-light (the Holy Spirit) shine for this dark world to see!

Dominic was the bravest boy dealing with the messy pulp.

It is a messy job...but so worth it once they are cooked with salt and butter...YUM!

I also tried a recipe this year with cinnamon and sugar, but I think our family still preferred the traditional salty recipe.

Another big event last week was Nathanael's All Saints program at school.

All the kids dressed up as a favorite saint and had to give a short speech about their saint.

After the speeches, the whole class sang a saint song.

Here is Natey (oops, I mean St. Juan Diego) with his amigo St. Sebastian.

Saints Padre Pio, Juan Diego, and John Paul II.

(Our two older saints must have been bi-locating or levitating at the time of this photo) :)

Padre Pio looks like he's up to something.

JPII looks like he must be thinking of serious church matters.

Juan Diego looks muy sweeto y santo.

Our Lady with her sweet Juanito.

Padre Pio sure seems to be handling the stigmata well.

I wish I could learn to "offer up my suffering" with a smile :)

A handsome AND holy pope :)

Natey and Dominic re-enacting the story of Juan Diego meeting the bishop.

Kids playing the "St. Therese game" where they drop roses from heaven.

The pinata at the end of the evening is always the biggest "hit" :)

There was plenty of candy for everyone, and hopefully fun had by all!

Although for me, what was sweeter than candy 

was praying and singing with our friends around the campfire.  

We will definitely keep that as part of our annual tradition from now on.  

I was thankful for nice weather the day of our party...  

The day after our party the snow began to fall.

We got 6 to 10 inches!!!  

What Margaret Mary, you, and me have in common...

"His Sacred Heart will do everything for me if I let him.  
He shall will, he shall love, he shall desire for me 
and make up for all my faults."  

~St. Margaret Mary~

This coming Monday (October 16th) is the Feast of St. Margaret Mary, a hidden and humble nun from France, who God chose to reveal the tender and powerful devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary in the 17th century when the Jansenist heresy was widespread, especially throughout France.  It was a heresy that focused on predestination and perfectionism to a fault--that we needed to be perfect in order to earn God's approval and salvation.  It was a heresy that poisoned much of the Catholic theology of that time-period.  This heresy made people feel so ashamed that they constantly felt that they were disappointing God, often to the point were they would not even receive Holy Communion out of a feeling of unworthiness.  It made people look at God as a harsh judge who was ready to punish them at the slightest mistake.  Of all the heresies over the centuries, this one perhaps wounded Jesus' heart the most because it turned people away from His love and mercy--the very love and mercy He died on the cross to lavish upon us!  Here is a great excerpt from the book "Consoling the Heart of Jesus" by Fr. Michael Gaitley, that captures the story of St. Margaret Mary so well:

"From his sorrow at being so misunderstood and abandoned, Jesus looked for someone who would take pity on his aching Heart.  From the tabernacle, he cast his gaze out on all of France, searching for a true friend on whom he could unburden some of his heartache and through whom he might finally convince people to believe in his tender love and mercy.  Eventually, he found such a friend:  a little nun named Sr. Margaret Mary.  To this blessed soul, Jesus released an ocean of anguish as he disclosed his Divine Heart.  Appearing on the Cross, he said to her in a voice full of sadness and grief:

Behold this Heart, this heart so deeply in love with men, it spared no means of proof--exhausting itself until it was utterly spent in order to testify to its love!  In return, I have received from the greater part only ingratitude...  This hurts me more than everything I suffered in my passion.  Even a little love from them in return and I should regard all that I have done for them as next to nothing, and look for a way of doing still more.  But no; all my eager efforts for their welfare meet with nothing but coldness and dislike.  Do me the kindness, then--you, at least--of making up for all their ingratitude, as far as you can."  (emphasis mine)

Wow, how beautiful that Jesus asked St. Margaret Mary to console His sorrowing heart... And He asks this of you and me, as well!  Yes, we (sinners though we are) can somehow make up for the ingratitude that Jesus receives from most of the world by simply loving Him and being grateful to Him for His love and mercy!  You, at least, and me can be the ones that quench His thirst for love and remove some of the bitter sorrow from His heart!  Just like Margaret Mary did!  That's what we have in common with this great saint!  We can do this in so many little ways:

1. Go visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament so that He will not be alone, and just tell Him that you love Him and enjoy spending time with Him
2. Make small sacrifices throughout the day to tell Jesus thank you for the sacrifice He made for you (give up an extra cup of coffee, hold your tongue and smile when someone irritates you, clean a toilet or two joyfully :)...etc)
3. Make an effort to receive the Eucharist more than once a week to show your love for Him and your gratitude for the gift of receiving His Heart (literally) in the Eucharist
4. At 3:00pm (the hour Jesus died on the cross), stop for a moment to thank Jesus for His sacrifice, to express your love, and, if you have time, say a Chaplet of Divine Mercy
5. Buy a picture of the Sacred Heart and each time you gaze at it, hear Him saying to you:  "Behold this Heart that loved so much, yet is so little loved."  And then reassure Him that He is loved by you...you, at least...and me!  

...the possibilities are endless!

St. Margaret Mary, pray for us, pray that we are given the grace to console Jesus' Heart with our love, as far as we can!

P.S. And if you've taken the time to read this far, please offer up a prayer for my aunt Margaret who is having a surgery on Monday (St. Margaret Mary's Feast day no less!) to remove some cancer that was found in her mouth.  Pray for complete healing, for peace, for God's holy will, and for many souls to be saved as she unites her suffering with Jesus'.