The Best Birthday Ever -- DC Wedding Edition

I feel so very blessed and praise God for all He is doing in our lives. Over Christmas holidays, Max and Laura announced they had a date for their Nuptial Mass--Jan. 17th--and it so happens this is the anniversary of their first date at Butterworths! It's also the Feast of St. Anthony the Great of the Desert! We kept praying to God that Ian and Dagny's baby will arrive early enough for me to witness Max and Laura's wedding and our prayers were answered. I had a full week I could spend taking care of the new parents and I had dear friends whom I approached to take care of my baby girl while we were gone, and they did. I asked for a daily dose of the little one :)

On our drive, we finished listening to Ida Elisabeth by Sigrid Undset--loved the slow pace, the interiority, the excellent character development, the digressions. Very similar themes as Kristin Lavransdatter about family, fidelity, the consequences of sin, and of course, redemption. We started The Plague Journal by Michael O'Brien and finished listening at home. Prophetic. We've listened to his other books--The Sabbatical; The Lighthouse. Wonderful writer. But I digress!

We had a delicious dinner at Karravaan | Silk Road Inspired Restaurant. It made me think of Daniel Nayeri's The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams. Beautiful book! I will be helping build my kids' libraries--especially with the best children's books!

Loved visiting the botanical gardens, especially the tropical and orchid gardens. It's astonishing to see the variety of exquisite flowers.

Laura joined us for lunch at Rasika. She went back to work while we visited the National Gallery of Art. So inspiring. I especially loved the paintings depicting Madonna and Child, our Lord Jesus and John the Baptist as infants, the Adoration of the Magi. Why yes, I have baby fever!  

Andrea del Verrocchio, c 1465 

Fall of Man (note the cat) Henrick Goltzius, c 1616

Jacopino del Conte, c 1535

We fully enjoyed our time in DC. It was so lovely to visit with Laura's parents and sister before the big day. Max came over with his tux Saturday morning. We walked over to Eastern Market, got some delicious food, and then got ready for Mass at St. Joseph's. I love St. Joseph and I know this greatest and humblest of saints is watching over Max and Laura. I am so proud of them for arranging everything for a small and intimate wedding, and so grateful for their faithful friends who're walking with them, as they begin their new vocation. 

The organist and cantor sang a beautiful Missa de Angelis. The readings were all focused on the nature of love and God's love for us, from the Song of Songs to the Gospel of John. We pray that Max and Laura will always abide in His Love. I love how Max looks at Laura, with tender love and care. Laura was a radiant bride and so happy! But I sensed an even greater joy the following day when we all met at Butterworths.

We went to Sunday Mass at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land and I just loved that the Gospel reading was about the Wedding at Cana! My heart is so full. 

We stopped for the evening in NC and just in time to avoid a winter storm in DC. What grace to wake up in the morning and see the frost on the ground and the geese swimming in the pond. Michael had a celebratory cigar when we came home. We have so much to celebrate and be thankful to God for--new life, new marriage, renewal. May God bless Max and Laura with a long and happy married life. May they bear much good fruit. And may they help each other get to heaven! Heaven! 

Best Birthday Ever!

A blessed and happy New Year! I have hardly the words to express my joy! We've had the most wonderful Christmas and Epiphany with the children, as we eagerly awaited the birth of our first grandchild, who arrived in the wee hours on the Feast of St. Raymond of Penafort, a day before my birthday.

During Advent, the word that came to me for the next year was Freedom. To be free from fear; to write, to sing, to paint freely. I want to be free to do the right thing, to be free from sin. On New Year's Day I played Jennifer Fulwiler's Saint Name Generator--guess who came up?!!! St. Joachim--the father of Mary, the grandfather of our Lord Jesus! And patron of fathers, grandfathers, and grandparents. How fitting as we begin this new chapter in our lives. 

Here are the young parents, waiting to meet their little one! We are so happy Dagny had a hard and fast labor; it brought back memories of my first labor and I'm so grateful that she was able to give birth without any complications (unlike mine). Deo gratias! And thanks to all our prayer warriors! I've had a lovely time reminiscing with Dagny (below, newborn Dagny). Like the Magi, I fall in Adoration and Thanksgiving to our Lord Jesus. 

What a privilege it is to see a new life enter this world, and especially to see my baby hold her baby. I will always be grateful for these moments of grace. What struck me again is how protective the hands of the father are, cradling the baby. I have always loved Michael's hands, and I know Dagny will always appreciate Ian's. God bless him and all the work of his hands. They're home now and enjoying getting to know their sweet little baby boy! As per the wise new mom and dad's request--no more baby pictures online. 

This little one is the best birthday gift. Dagny and I had planned on doing a session with Painting with a Twist for my birthday, but with baby's arrival, it was not to be. Saturday evening, I decided to go by myself. It reminded me very much of what Julia Cameron calls an artist date. I had such a good time and learned a lot too. I title this WONDER. The cute birthday card is from a dear friend.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, all. It's been so wonderful to be together--celebrating Midnight Mass, going to Waffle House after, having quiet time painting and in Adoration, and being tourists in our hometown. Below, I copy my Christmas letter.

What a year! So many blessings! It has been a great joy to have Dagny and Ian living just 15 minutes away from us and seeing them not just for Sunday Mass but also at choir practice. I’ve had the added pleasure of singing with Dagny in Charleston Sound Chorus. What fun it was to go together to compete at regionals and bring home three medals: 1st place small chorus, 5th place overall, and most-improved chorus! You can watch and listen to our performance here: https://youtu.be/f1O0yuC8VxQ?t=8561 [at 2:22] We made our debut at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in our hometown and have been invited to perform locally at other venues. As our director says: “It’s fun to be good.”

We are growing and will compete as a mid-sized chorus in 2026. Dagny will not be joining us—she’s growing a baby boy and he’s due to arrive in early January!

But wait, there’s more! Max and his lovely fiancée, Laura, are also expecting a baby; she’ll arrive in late March!!! Their parish priest in DC is preparing them for Holy Matrimony. Max continues to work hard (promoted to Exec VP) and travel lots and is becoming a family man, getting a spacious apartment on Capitol Hill for his growing family. We had the great pleasure of visiting them this fall, seeing the places they hang out at and running into their friends while on a walk or at the marketplace. They dearly love DC, but we keep pitching the delights of Charleston.

At the beginning of this year, I attended the Catholic Writers Conference Online—it was exactly what I needed to get back into writing after a busy Christmas season with family and friends for Dagny and Ian’s nuptials. And in another month, I’ll offer a workshop on Writing for Hire at the same conference. It’s been wonderful to work on new stories and poems, make new writing friends who share the faith. Kiki Latimer and I had a lovely conversation on her podcast Catholic Bookworm: Vijaya Bodach on her novel Bound. I was also invited to give my testimony on The Journey Home - Catholic Conversion Stories on EWTN (it hasn’t yet aired but I post the link for you to peruse many stories). I’ve enjoyed listening to this program for many years, so it was a great honor to share my Love Story.

This summer, Michael and the kids had a family reunion in WA. What joy to meet new family members. Cousin Naomi and Noa have a sweet baby girl Nadia and another on the way. Cousin Kelsey and Peter welcomed baby Luka. I started painting. Growing up in India, I didn’t even have colored pencils or extra paper—I was routinely punished for drawing pictures and patterns in the margins of my notebooks—so imagine my pleasure at having all the paper and colors to play with. I still remember my father bringing a ballpoint pen with four colors and what fun we had with it.

Sadly, my 97-year-old father, Clement Jatindrakumar Khisty, died on Dec. 10th after a relatively short period of becoming completely disabled. He’s had a long and storied life—I’ve read drafts of his memoirs—and I was grateful to have had the chance to visit him and his wife Lena, who loved him best. My greatest sorrow is not knowing him and loving him as I would’ve liked here on earth. But I pray we will meet in heaven, know one another in our perfection, in the company of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and all the saints. We also mourn the loss of Michael’s aunt Shirley, our sister-in-law Heather, and my cousin Sangeeta’s dear husband Sam. May they all rest in the loving and merciful arms of our Lord Jesus.

Michael continues to work at Boeing, grow vegetables, and brew beer, but is looking forward to being a full-time Grandpa! He’s already thinking of homeschooling—the first lesson might be on fermentation :) We are happy to be entering a new chapter in our lives and grateful that you are in ours. I close with love and prayers for a Blessed and Merry Christmas to you and all yours, and a happy, healthful New Year!

Please stay in touch--we appreciate all the cards, pictures, and letters.