Stephen made his first vows as an Augustinian friar on August 6 in Chicago. Yay, Brother Stephen! We were blessed that Stephen had a few weeks of vacation after that, and he came into our neck of the woods during that time. We spent a weekend up in Wichita and the following weekend, Stephen came to Tulsa. Julia got to meet her Great Grandma Ross while we were in Wichita too, as she had come from Topeka for the weekend.
We drove through a HUGE thunderstorm on the way to Wichita. This is a photo I snapped as we were approaching the storm. The rain was so hard and the visibility was so terrible that I was white-knuckled and praying hard as Aaron drove through it. The lightening show was spectacular, though!
We spent some time on our Saturday up in Wichita out on the lake. Julia dressed to impress in her swimsuit and hat from my cousin, and, of course, her life vest.
After the lake, Julia took a nice bath and warmed up in a big warm towel. I thought she looked like she was wearing a fur coat!
We went to mass that evening. Stephen talked to the parishioners at the Isleys' parish about his vocation at the end of all the masses that weekend. Julia sang a lot at mass, and sang more in the car on the way home.
Julia was a little confused by Stephen. Who is this man in black who looks like Daddy but doesn't sound like him?
But Julia quickly became good friends with him since he let her chew on his long belt. Leather is apparently a nice teething material!
And, of course, we had to get a few group photos :) The grandkids with Grandma Ross...
Julia with Daddy and Daddy's look alike, the dark-robed uncle.
The weekend Stephen came into Tulsa, our Militia of the Immaculata prayer village, the Upper Room, met for our monthly meeting. After our breakfast and prayers, Stephen led a reflection based on the writings of St. Augustine, rather appropriately :-) There were more people in attendance... I sadly didn't think to get the photo until after a couple people had already left.
It was the perfect opportunity for a photo of Julia with her godparents. The godparents were excited. Julia was rather nonplussed.
We had a gathering that evening to celebrate Stephen being in town. Unfortunately, I forgot to take any pictures. I did take a picture of Aaron and Julia vacuuming before people came, though! Haha!
It was a fun couple of weekends! We look forward to the next time Stephen is able to visit! Please keep Brother Stephen in your prayers as he continues his formation!
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