For a long time I had this as my main picture on my blog... it was one of the Christmas pictures that has been so cherished over the years... It looks like we had a house kitten that year too! Writing my Christmas letter last night with a doctored photo from Nancy and Bill's wedding... I added Hallel to make it complete! Then we had a wonderful "prayertime" around the Advent wreath with Maria and Therese!
"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus in the morning, Jesus in the noontime. Jesus! Jesus! Jesus when the sun goes down!" We sang together, it brought smiles to our faces and filled us with worship and praise! Song does do that, and when we are with the Little Sisters... it is such a huge part of their worship! That is something that we should remember, and I know that Maria's husband, Joseph, plays guitar and sings with his family all the time! His two little ones watch him on the movies they have made to help them remember him while he is away... He plays and sings to them and they dance and laugh and sing along!
Grandpa read to Therese the story of Jesus getting lost and being found in the temple... little Herbert- Herbie the kitten seems to be listening even more intently than Therese! With the singing of other verses - "Praise Him" - "Love Him" - "Serve Him." I bet we can think of more verses yet! Song is such a wonderful gift of praise and worship! 
This was a Christmas card that we got last year, and I loved the light from the child and of course the cow that is looking on! "Baby Jesus brought LIFE and LIGHT!" The heading for my Christmas letter this year... We have so much to grateful for John's healing, Hallel's call, and Nancy's wedding and baby on the way, as well as now our new adventure with Maria and her family here with us, and to have the delight of Ruth's family so close and involved in our day to day lives! All I ever wanted to do was be a mother, and the Lord has ways of blessing that in day to day events -"missions" that I could never have imagined!
You will be seeing random Christmas pictures of our families over the years as I ramble on today... I guess writing my Christmas letter last night and getting those of others that are more organized than me... looking through my scanned pictures... expect a hodge podge. Pat was looking at this one a few minutes ago saying that this was a hard Christmas with his brother... they aren't all sweetness and light. Family is just like that!
In the Gospel today... Mt 11: 11-15... Jesus speaks to us about John the Baptist, and informs us that he truly is Elijah come back to announce the coming of the Christ! !
She does as he tells her, and the jar is never empty! Little Sister Marie had her answer from the Lord in His Word! They now go representing Christ knocking on the door of the poor begging from them their daily food! They have been told that in giving from what little they have, that they have been blessed! 
Maria pulled out one of those animated movies about people from the Bible the other day - Elijah! It had this story of the widow on it, and it reminded me that he also brought back to life this widow's son! Elijah even rose higher in the coolness factor!
"Give the boy to me,"Elijah said. He took the boy from her arms, and laid him on the bed. Then he prayed aloud, "O Lord my God, why have you done such a terrible thing to this widow? She has been kind enough to take care of me, and now you kill her son!" Then Elijah prayed three times, "O Lord restore this child to life!" The Lord answered Elijah's prayer; the child started breathing and revived. Elijah took the child to his mother and said to her, "Look, your son is alive!" She answered,"Now I know that you are a man of God and that the Lord really speaks through you!" I Kings 17:19-24 Elijah is a big deal around here and so is John the Baptist! John's patron saint - one of the many Johns that he has to model himself after.. If he takes a little from each one... he would be in great shape! 
One of the Christmas pagents that we would do at Verly Christmas... it looks like there were a lot of angels around the child Jesus this year! Such joyful ones too! WE can get a glimpse of the joy that was felt in heaven at the Birth of our Lord and Savior in the innocent and humble form of a precious infant! 
This is truly a rambling entry today.... I am no longer alone...Maria and the kids have just returned from mass, and shopping... I need to get this wrapped up, as the confusion factor is going to add to this being less than wonderful today!
Maria entered the monastery of the Poor Clares on January 1st... she was in charge of keeping the furnace warm for those winter months that she lived with them... With these cold January type days... it just looked appropriate to share today. 
Winter on the farm... Lots of time bundling them up... for a few minutes outside until the first one wants to go in because they are cold. It is all so familiar as we go around and around with our lives with little ones... The fun and the not so fun! Maria just returned with some tired and hungry kids after trying to shop on an empty stomach... Too much for the little ones! She is saintly in taking her kids along no matter what she does, but sometimes it is a lot! Jesus, thank you for all that comes at us in life and family life... the hard and the not so hard, and the great! It is all wrapped up in one big package of Life and Love and Struggle called the Cross! Allow us to embrace it all and to grow in our knowlede and love of you as we go through our lives... following where you lead and serving all those that we come in contact with... especially those in our families! Jesus, we trust in you! Amen and Halleluia!
Bless-bless, Barb"The austere figure of John the Baptist stands there and says: "I am the voice crying in the wilderness." Confession means spreading the Word. The voice is that of a caller, a seeker, someone really driven from within and touched by the Lord God's restlessness: Someone who goes through the wilderness among mankind again and again as the Seeker, and as the Caller. You can sense that this is more than the call of a man, or a power, or a greatness, or a thirst for dominance, and a violent force. This is the Calling-God, who calls out in the midst of the wilderness through voices of men. He has filled them, and their very being documented that such perfected people are among us, sent by God." Fr Alfred Delp (1945) was a German priest condemned to death in Germany by the Nazis during WWII.
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