Out in her work habit to help - the seminarian and little sister are just farmkids underneath

What a day it has been so far!!  The daughters with their little ones are soon to be here to see the calves outside.  We shared mass and breakfast with great-grandma.  Then after getting stuck at the end of the driveway - Hallel and John donned their work clothes - yes, Hallel brought her work habit!  They are outside helping Pat with his huge amount of work with all this snow he has to move around!   It will be lunch here with all the grankids other than the two is school, and a trip out in the mud and snow to see the calves.  I had visions of the grass green and warm breezes blowing upon the calves and little ones, but instead we have a foot of cold wet snow!  UgGGGGG!!!!!   Hallel got to see our newly remodeled Church for the first time and we had a wonderful time roaming through taking it all in.  I was snapping the camera.  One of the most amazing parts was Hallel lowering Patrick into the baptimal font and he reached out and touched the waters with his hands!  How I wept later holding him and remembering the powerful moment that I baptized him in NICU just hours after he was born dead and brought back to LIFE!  Too powerful for words to have the gift of Hallel here holding him and finally meeting him and the power of that sacrament that sealed him to the Church and his loving and forgiving and healing LORD, Jesus Christ, through His Bride, The Church!!!!

The river of emotions are pouring all over and inside me at this occassion of Hallel and Patrick sharing a moment in the waters of baptism!!! 

Hallel asked the little ones to go and visit Mary!  "Yeah!!!" they exclaimed a the idea.  They love their spiritual Mother of Heaven and Earth!

Then to see Our Lady of Guadalupe.  She is very special to Hallel and the Community - they have her image at an altar in their chapel as she is the patronness of the Americas!  Hallel told us she was joining the Community in front of that altar in the chapel in Kansas City 4 1/2 years ago.

Looking at the statue of St Patrick as he chases the snakes out of Ireland!  This is very powerful for little Dave and really made St Patrick a big "good guy" for him.  It is very special to have a St Patrick statue in our church too! 

Bernadette and Pope Francis...

Patrick and Pope Francis too...

Seminarian John with Little Sister Hallel and their special Grandma Ann.  Jesus, we thank you for sharing the ups and downs of family with our children for these few days in the midst of the storm.  As Hallel reminded us when we called her in France to tell her about John's cancer - "Mom, this is the storm and Jesus is in control."  On the farm all this wet snow in April on our 100+ baby calves is terrible, but compared to brain cancer in our 20 year old son... this is managable with a lot of hard work and effort.  To spend time with her dad - Hallel needs to put on her work habit and join him out in the battle. It is the reality of LIFE - not always pretty and lot of times messy, but armed with LIFE, LOVE and LIGHT we find JOY in the midst of the storm!  Jesus, we trust in YOU.  Amen and Halleluia

Bless-bless, Barb

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."

Francis of Assisi