A Busy Weekend

Last weekend, we were in La Crosse for a busy few days! On Saturday, we had a family get-together with the Thompsons/Mornings. Dad and mom cooked up a fish boil, and we had fun talking and visiting with family.

Although we tried to have her join in the festivities of the fish boil, Gianna wouldn't eat the fish. She took it back out of her mouth and just ate her green beans and mac and cheese. We'll have to try the fish another time:)

Amelia and McKenna (and Hayden)

Second cousins Owen and Weston meeting for the first time.

Gianna loved pushing Amelia's baby buggy all around the yard.

On Sunday, we headed to Mike and Maria's for a little family birthday celebration for Weston.

And of course, he liked the cake;)

On Monday, I got the wonderful opportunity to meet Pierluigi, the son of Gianna's name sake, St. Gianna Beretta Molla! He traveled from Italy to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe for an all day conference on Sunday. Since the conference filled up so fast, he also did a short presentation on Monday. I went with my grandma and her sister to meet him at Monday's presentation. We got to shake the hand of a son of a true heavenly saint-- how cool is that!

For those of you who don't know, Saint Gianna was a wife, mother, and doctor who devoted her life to the service of God and others and sacrificed her life for her unborn child. While pregnant with her fourth child, Gianna Emanuela, she developed a benign tumor in her uterus. She chose the riskiest option, have surgery to remove the tumor and leave her unborn child in her womb. While she fervently prayed that God would protect both her and her unborn baby's life, she placed her complete trust and providence in God. On April 21th, 1962, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. A few hours later however, she developed septic peritonitis and after a week of suffering, she died on April 28th, 1962. She was beatified in 1994 and canonized a saint on May 16, 2004. Her feast day is April 28th. Pierluigi is her eldest child. During his presentation, he talked about his mother's love for life and her trust in God's providence.

http://www.saintgianna.org/

Finally, her are two videos of Gianna being such a big girl (and a silly girl!)-- we're making progress; she'll at least stand for a little bit by herself leaning against the chair;) We took her to her first parade on Saturday in downtown Chippewa Falls. We all thoroughly enjoyed it:) (I forgot the camera.)