Sunday, December 5, 2021

2nd week of Advent - PEACE, cousins meet!/Getting out with hubby - Cattlemen Convention, visit dad, mom, and brother, chapel on wheels

19 month old Birdie Barbara meets her new 2 week old cousin, Thomas,  at the Camp Foley pancake breakfast after we shared mass this morning.
Birdie's group of cousins will probably include the 3 younger than she is including Maria's Magdalene Rose, who is 6 months, Thomas and Nancy's little girl due in a month.  It will be fun to watch them become special cousin friends.
Jude meeting Thomas is a year older than Birdie and will be 3 in March.  I am sure that he will be able to show little Thomas a lot about being a active boy!
Life is a gift!  
And death is a part of life!  Pat and I stopped in to visit my father and mother's grave in their peaceful remote cemetery close to the St Croix River on the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

In two weeks my family will gather close by in Amery, WI for our family Christmas - CCC - Cross Christmas Camp!  The excitement is building for the first camp without my parents.  They died in the last year 7 months apart after 70 years of marriage, bringing us into The Church 50 years ago, and dad was here with me on the farm for the last 6 months of his life on hospice.  

Family Soul Story - Choose Life!: The amazing story of the 13 becoming Catholic!

It will be kind of sad and lonely not to have dad and mom there for sure!  There are also siblings not coming still due to the covid issues, so we are still not back to normal in our world.  But regardless we figure that there will be close to 50 of the 140+, so that still is a good size group and much visiting and sharing and family fun can be had!
Stopped in to see my brother and wife just a few blocks from where my parents lived up until they went into Assisted Living in October of 2019.  Firming up plans for our gathering in 2 weeks.  Christmas is in the air!
Flooded with memories as we drove down the Main Street of St Croix Falls where my parents lived for 11 years together in their own home!  So many wonderful memories of time spent with them there.  No longer possible and how I miss them!  They have left me each day with their prayer books, so I am still ministered to powerfully by each of them!
My patron Saint was on the 4th!  She was put in a tower  by  her father when she shared that she loved Jesus above all!  She was martryed for her faith.  Yes, we get Rapunzle from her image
Too good not to share with so many prayers for LIFE these days with the Supreme Court looking at removing the law allowing the right to abortion!  How did it ever come to be accepted and promoted to take the innocent life of children in the womb?

A get away with hubby to the State Cattlemen's Convention in Hinkley!  Lots of wonderful beef and speakers.
Everything but breakfast!
Wise and successful farmer hubby makes me proud.  
4 years ago Nancy suffered a 20 week loss of her son, Maximilian.  We buried him in Calvary Cemetery here in Marshall just a short walk away from his two Uncles - William and Robert, Nancy's brothers that I lost both at 20 weeks in the womb after I had John.  How I wised that my girls would not have to suffer the losses that I did.  

Nancy taking her little ones to Adoration - 2 years ago in KC
Teaching them young to recognize Jesus in the monstrance and how we love and adore Him!
Jesus!!!!

And this is my prayer:
that your love may increase ever more and more 
in knowledge and every kind of perception, 
to discern what is of value, 
so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 
filled with the fruit of righteousness 
that comes through Jesus Christ 
for the glory and praise of God.  Phil 1

From St Paul to the Phillippians today a prayer for us as we die more to self and allow Jesus to use us to his honor and glory!
9 years ago - Farmer Pat with 4 year old grandson, David...  David wanted grandpa to bring him over to his house 3 miles away so that he could have a pet steer, Bullseye.  Now David and his 6 siblings live on the farm and David helps with the cattle!  How we love our young farm family on the farm!
Grandpa and Birdie - "She's so smart!  She has so many words coming our of her mouth!"  How we love having our John and family here close by in Marshall, too!  Pat always said that he would love to have his family living in a 10 mile radius.  Well, two of the 5!  Hallel is in France, Maria in Fort Lewis, WA, and Nancy only 2 1/2 hours away in Delano.
Two year ago Bobbi with baby Jude... 
Love this from It's a Wonderful Life!  It will be watched as a tradition on the first night of CCC with a Godson and his twin brother!  
Tomorrow is St Nicholas - Nancy's bunch getting ready a few years back - the shoes will be out for goodies!
A cold winter 7 years ago - basking in the sunshine are Paul with 2 year old Rose Again!  Tonight it is supposed to be down to 9 degrees - the water tanks have heaters ready to keep water for the cows and calves and cattle.  My hubby is a good caretaker of the animals.
So many prayers for life and that we can finally end this legalization of taking innocent human life!
Hope 1st week, and now Peace week 2! So many prayers for healing, forgiveness and peace in our families and world!
Agreed !  Bless-bless, Barbara


 

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