Visiting Scott and "The Help"

Last weekend, Mom, Dad, Shawn and I went into Ottawa to see Scott at school. We spent a few hours together going for a nice walk along the Ottawa River.
On our way to the park

Mom and Dad wondering if they can afford to send me to "Le Cordon Bleu . . . It's a VERY expensive cooking school.

Mom & Dad

The Guys

After we visited with Scott, we went to see "The Help" at the Kanata ACM. Excellent film. I'm going to read the book this week.

A self portrait taken in the car

Palm Sunday and The Past Couple of Days

Today is Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week. It was a beautiful Mass today. At the beginning of the service Father Lindsay had us all come to the back of the Church for the Blessing of the palms before distributing them.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

1 Peter 1:3

Work has been going very well. I have been working 2 days a week for the past month now. I am working 3 days this week. I am really enjoying working at The Granary... there is always something new to learn!

My cousin Mary picked me up from work on Friday... we went out for dinner and I spent the night with her at their house in Barrhaven as her family was away for the night. It's so nice having them closeby...

We watched the film "Tangled" together... If you love all the Disney princess films you will enjoy "Tangled".

Scott finished his final exam on Friday. He came home for a few days this weekend. He will need to go back for a few days to do his music jury on April 26th. Please pray that it goes well.

Also, if you could please pray for me on Wednesday morning as I take my G2 road test.

Have a great week everyone! God bless.

"Becoming Jane" Trailer

Great movie! One of my favorites...

Time with Tannis

Thursday evening, Tannis came to for a visit and the night. We had dinner and then went over to my Nana and Papa's house to use their basement to watch a few movies and spend the night.

We had both wanted to see this film for a while, we loved it!

A classic and one of my favorite films... Tannis had never seen it but she loved it too.

Wonderful to see you Tannis!

A friend loveth at all times. Proverbs 17:17

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Romans 8:28

Our family was blessed last night to watch a 200 min. long movie about Don Carlo Gnocchi (no-kee) a wonderful priest who did so much during WW2 in the front lines during the war with the soldiers and afterward starting a home for all the children who had lost their parents or been otherwise affected. He was a wonderful godly man and it was a blessing for our family to be able to see this film. We highly recommend it!

I have enclosed an short article about Don Carlo Gnocchi that explains more about his life...

Don Carlo was an Italian priest who desired to serve as a military chaplain. Before having the honor, he encouraged young men to enlist during World War II. Even though the Italian army was currently controlled by the Fascist regime, he believed that fighting for one's country was a way of defending the weak. He rightly saw war as an opportunity to make better men because war allows men to practice heroic virtue. Eventually he was given a post with the Alpine regiment fighting in Albania. While he was serving on the front lines he witnessed countless young men sacrificing their lives for commanders who did not value life and who were ultimately fighting for an unjust cause.



When Don Carlo returned to his hometown he was dismayed that all the boys he had been teaching had decided to follow his lead and join the military. He had no choice but to re-enlist and serve alongside these young men (now fighting under German command) on the frigid Russian front. 68,000 troops were sent to Russia and only 7,000 returned. Some were lost to the fighting, but most were lost to the extreme cold.


The most difficult task Don Gnocchi had to undertake began after the war ended. He traveled throughout Italy to personally console the families of his fallen friends and give them any letters or belongings that he had been entrusted with. In his journeys he realized that the real war was not over. The real war was being fought in the lives of the victims. With so many men gone, many families were left with no one to care for them. Among the needy were a large number of children who had lost limbs because of land mines placed in the Italian countryside. Without fathers to support them, these children had no futures, and their special needs surpassed the abilities of the orphanages to care for them.



Don Carlo had no money and no plan, but he put his trust in God and began gathering all these children. He started by opening up the rectory to disabled children but he required more help and better facilities to sustain the growth and adequately care for the orphans. It took the support of many generous people and powerful Church leaders to provide the housing, food and medical attention that these poor mutilati needed.


Don Carlo's story is unique because he not only provided for the physical care of the orphans, he championed the Catholic theology of redemptive suffering and taught the children how to live it. When we offer up our suffering for others, we offer it for those we love and for the weakest people in society. Don Carlo showed his children that even the weakest of people can unite their suffering to the suffering of Christ on the cross. When they do this they are participating in the life of Christ and helping Him with His work on earth and in the Church.

The Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation for disabled children is well-respected and continues to thrive in Italy today. It has expanded its care to elderly people who are unable take care of themselves and for terminal cancer patients. On January 17th, 2009 a miracle attributed to Venerable Don Carlo Gnocchi was promulgated by Pope Benedict XVI and he was beatified on October 25th, 2009.

I took this article from a website that I found - many thanks to the author

Our Weekend

We had a very busy weekend past! Scott had his final OYO Concert on Sunday (Ottawa Youth Orchestra). He has been there the last year but with going to University this fall he will be in the University Orchestra.

Mom went on a silent retreat with a good friend over the weekend. Mom's time there was a real blessing for her. She had some wonderful times to just sit and have some quiet prayer time.

Dad and us three kids watched a good movie on Saturday night. All you history people out there would really enjoy it!! I thought it was a nice story and really enjoyed it myself. Dad did say the best part of the film was seeing Clark Gable being put over the side at sea after he passed away (most of the film was at sea) but then Dad is not a huge CG fan! It is at the A. library if any of you are interested in seeing it.

Daddy also helped get my ATV in great working order on Saturday...that was exciting!! It felt great to be driving about in it again.

We have got alot of rain over the past few days so everything is greening up beautifully! All our perennials in the flower garden are coming up nicely. I am going to start planning the vegetable garden out this week with Mom. We were given some garlic to try planting last fall. They are coming up great Mrs. L!

Have a great week everyone.

-Erin

Fess Parker - August 16, 1924 - March 18, 2010

Mr. Parker is always a hit at our house. He was a wonderful Christian man and a loving husband and father.

-Fess Parker in his role as Daniel Boon

-Fess in "Davy Crockett"

-Fess Parker and Patricia Blair in "The Daniel Boon Show"

-Fess Parker, later years.

I wanted to do this post to tell you all about a very good film called "Gentleman's Agreement". With this film and other future ones I post about, there may be things in it that I don't agree with - such as smoking, excessive drinking, etc., though I do think the film has a good message and many will appreciative the content. This is one of my favourites!


Philip Schuyler Green (Gregory Peck) is a widowed journalist who has just moved to New York City with his son Tommy (Dean Stockwell) and mother (Anne Revere). Green meets with magazine publisher John Minify (Albert Dekker), who asks Green to write an article on antisemitism. After initially struggling with how to approach the topic in a fresh way, Green is inspired to adopt a Jewish identity ("Phil Greenberg") and write about his own first-hand experiences. Green and Minify agree to keep it secret that Phil is not Jewish; since he and his family are new to New York, it should be easy to hide.


At a dinner party, Phil meets Minify's divorced niece Kathy Lacey (Dorothy McGuire), who turns out to be the person who originally suggested the story idea. Minify provides her with a large apartment and money. Kathy "works" as a pre-school teacher. Phil and Kathy begin dating. Though she seems to have liberal views, when he reveals what he intends to do, she is taken aback and asks if he actually is Jewish. The strain on their relationship due to Kathy's subtle acquiescence to bigotry becomes a key theme in the film.


At the magazine, Phil is assigned a secretary, Elaine Wales (June Havoc), who reveals that she too is Jewish. She changed her name in order to get the job (her application under her real, Jewish-sounding name, Estelle Wilovsky, was rejected). After Phil informs Minify about Wales' experience, Minify orders the magazine to adopt hiring policies that are open to Jews. Wales has reservations about the new policy, fearing that the "wrong Jews" will be hired and ruin things for the few Jews working there now. Phil meets fashion editor Anne Dettrey (Celeste Holm), who becomes a good friend and potentially more, particularly as strains develop between Phil and Kathy.


As Phil's assignment proceeds, his childhood friend, Dave Goldman (John Garfield), who is Jewish, moves to New York for a job and lives with the Greens while he looks for a home for his family. Housing is scarce in the city, but it is particularly difficult for Goldman, since not all landlords will rent to a Jewish family. When Phil tells Dave about his project, Dave is supportive, but concerned.


As time goes on, Phil experiences several incidents of bigotry. When his mother becomes ill with a heart condition, the doctor discourages him from consulting a specialist with an obviously Jewish name, suggesting he might be cheated. When Phil reveals that he is himself Jewish, the doctor becomes uncomfortable and leaves. Also, when kids at school learn that Tommy is Jewish, he becomes the target of bullies. Phil is troubled by the way Kathy consoles Tommy, telling him that their taunts of "dirty Jew" are wrong because he isn't Jewish, not that the epithet is wrong in and of itself.


Kathy's attitudes are revealed further when she and Phil announce their engagement. Her sister Jane (Jane Wyatt) invites them to a celebration in her home in Darien, Connecticut, which is known to be a "restricted" community where Jews are not welcome. Fearing an awkward scene, Kathy wants to tell her family and friends that Phil is only pretending to be a Jew, but Phil prevails on Kathy to tell only Jane. At the party, everyone is very friendly to Phil, though many people are "unable" to attend at the last minute.


Dave announces that he will have to quit his job because he cannot find a place for his family. Kathy owns a vacant cottage in Darien, but though Phil sees it as the obvious solution to Dave's problem, Kathy is unwilling to offend her neighbors by renting it to a Jewish family. She and Phil break their engagement. Phil announces that he will be moving away from New York when his article is published. When it comes out, it is very well received by the magazine staff.
Kathy meets with Dave and tells him how sick she felt when a party guest told a bigoted joke. However, she has no answer when Dave repeatedly asks her what she did about it. She comes to realize that remaining silent condones the prejudice.


The next day...... you'll have to watch it :)