Immaculate Heart of Mary – Page 5

August 16, 2014

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Sacrificing Comfort for Growth

My mom was 19 years old when she married my dad. She was 20 when she had the first of her 17 children. Georgette and I were both 23 when we were married. We had the first of our seven children the following year.

April 12, 2014

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The Real Secret to Weight Loss and Holiness

One of my older brothers, Mike, is a medical doctor who lives in California with his wife and family. I see Mike about once a year, usually at a family function. Mike was recently in Peoria with his wife and one of their children for a family wedding. Mike is 61 years old and he looks like a movie star. He’s tall, slim, and good-looking. If you asked me who he looks like, I would say that he looks like a cross between the modern-day actor George Clooney and the legendary actor Omar Sharif.

April 5, 2014

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Dealing With The Dirty Laundry

I was born on the same day that my grandfather, Harry LaHood, was buried. My grandfather died on May 17, 1957. My mom and dad attended his funeral Mass on May 20, and then went to the cemetery for the burial service. Mom’s contractions had started earlier in the day and became more intense while she and Dad were at the cemetery. After the burial service was finished, Mom told Dad that she needed to go to the hospital. I was born later that day, and Mom gave me the same name as her father.

March 29, 2014

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The Burial of a Loved One

When I was 13 years old, a cousin of mine died as a result of a tragic accident. He was 11 years old at the time of his death. The day after he died, my parents and I went over to his parents’ house to visit his family. I went with my parents because I had been a good friend of my cousin and still was a good friend of his older brother.

March 22, 2014

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A Heart-Wrenching Experience

I’ve previously shared some of my experiences in growing up in a family of 17 children. All of my brothers and sisters are still living, except for Kathryn Mary, my parents’ 15th child. At the time of her death, Kathryn was 13 months old.

March 15, 2014

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The Queen of Martyrs

About 15 years ago, I met a couple whose 20-year-old daughter was instantly killed when her car was hit by a train. She died five minutes after she walked out of her parents’ home. She was on her way to class at Illinois Central College. When she left the house, her mother told her goodbye and told her that she looked beautiful.

March 1, 2014

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An Unplanned Interception

I’ve written before about how I broke my leg when I was a boy. The events leading up to my broken leg began during the summer of 1967, when I was 10 years old. While holding onto the end of an old rubber garden hose, I climbed the weeping willow tree in the back yard of my parents’ home. When I got about 20 feet high, I climbed out onto a thick branch and tied the end of the hose to the branch.

February 22, 2014

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A Reason to Panic

It happened during the summer of 1990. Georgette needed to go to the grocery store, so she asked me to keep an eye on our four children while she was gone. At that time, Harry was nine, Anna was seven, Maria was six, and Laura was three.

February 15, 2014

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An Order for the Death of Your Son

About 20 years ago, I was hired to represent a young man in his mid-20s who had been charged with the crime of arson. He had set fire to the house of a man who had “stolen” his girlfriend away from him. (For the purpose of this article, I’m going to call my client “James.”)