A Famly Picnic in the Courtyard and Praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet

Hello out there! Just a quick update before I go and run some errands. Today is day 10
of the 40 Days for Life Fall Campaign. This past Sunday my family had a picnic in
the courtyard and then we prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet together. It was wonderful.
Our daughter and her family arrived at the courtyard first. Their contribution
to the picnic was drinks and dessert! My daughter made homemade cookies with
white chocolate chips and candy corn on top. Their ice chest was full of 8 0z. sodas,
water, and Capri Sun drinks. Jim and I showed up about fifteen minutes after they did.
We brought homemade au-gratin potatoes, cold pasta salad, and the paper goods. Our
son and his family joined us and they brought a big bucket of fried chicken and some
chicken tenders. We set up an extra table and some chairs and then we prayed together.
The food was delicious. The weather was perfect. We sat down to eat at about 4:00 p.m.
It was such a peaceful, relaxing atmosphere. What a perfect way to spend a Sunday
afternoon. After we cleaned up and threw all the trash away I handed out some rosaries
for the children. The youngest played with side walk chalk while the rest of us prayed
the Divine Mercy Chaplet. There was a total of fourteen people and eight of those
fourteen were children! Standing out in the courtyard and praying with my family was
an incredible gift. No phones! The birds were singing and the little ones were playing
and the rest of us were praying - Wow! It was awesome! You know what happened
next? We all went to the 6:00 p.m. Mass together! Another awesome! And you know
what else? My son, oldest grandson, and granddaughter were altar servers! Talk about,
"best day ever!" The only thing that would have made it even more wonderful was if
our son, who lives out of town, and his family could have been with us also.
We all agreed that we need to do that more often. Sometimes we just get too caught
up in the world things and forget that the best things are so simple. Maybe next time
we'll have brunch in the courtyard; donuts, milk, etc. The really neat thing is you can
make it what works for your family. The most important thing is to spend time
together and pray together! I just looked at the clock and I've got to go!
Have a wonderful weekend. Blessings and peace to you and yours! Hug your spouse
and hug your children! God bless you all.
                                                                                Bye for now, Sharla