The grandkids showing beef for the first time!

Ruth took her camera and got some pictures for me of the beef show, as I had to work that day at the NH.  Since I shared the pictures from the pig show - once again I thought that Aunt Anne would like to see these too!  This is a super nice one of Mary with her calf of the pair - Snowflake - notice the white eyebrows that she was born with, hence the daughter of Snowball is called Snowflake!  Mary started working with them right away!  Snowball has always been her special pet heifer and now Snowball has a baby heifer that Mary has gotten to know very well in the last few weeks too! 

Simon looks a bit worried as he comes eye to eye with Snowball.  Dad is close at hand and will hold onto the halter the whole time in the ring.  Don't worry Simon - Snowball is a very calm and gentle cow!

Into the show ring - Dad is right beside him holding onto the halter.  Simon looks good!

The Paul- Simon team looking good!  And right behind them is the grandpa Pat and Mary team with her calf - Snowflake!

Grandpa showing Mary how to stop Snowflake and set her up to impress the judge!

Looking good with the shiney belt and headband and a good belly scratch with her showstick!  Is she really only 6 years old?

Learning to walk them around the ring for the judge - it is kind of hard for Simon to look at the judge when the cow is taller than he is... he has a few years for that.

A calm and cute boy with a cow.

The judge says a few words about how nice and gentle and well handled this pair is!

The end of the show - they have a real sense of accomplishment!  They did say that they had more fun chasing their pigs around the ring.  I can see that it was more fun from their perspective.  But they should be feeling good about what they accomplished in their first year of the beef project.  A cow-calf pair is a challange and they did well!  Congratulations, Mary and Simon!

Simon finds a makeshift hammock and has his participation ribbon to show for a job well done!

An apple?  Yummy!

Alright... you can pat my nose for that nice juicy apple!

I love you, Snowball!  We have been together a lot over the last 2 years.  It was fun to share the fair with you!  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barb

How about another apple, for your old friend Snowball?

"to be luminaries.."

Right now in my life I have my sweet little Rose Ida - day by day she is becoming more aware of the world around her, and she longingly looks at those people around her - she seems to yearn for attention, and smiles, and baby talk, and just someone to touch her cheek and look into her eyes.  When she gets that kind of loving responce from those around her - her little eyes glow and her smile takes over her entire face!  You feel guilty when you have to look away.  She is so sweet, and seems to long for your love to touch her and bring her into JOY!  The joy that you feel as a result of her smile is priceless and immdediate!

Her grandma Lanoue brought Rose and her 3 siblings to the fair, while she was watching them the other day.  She commented on how sweet, good and responsive little Rose was in the midst of the heat and the craziness of her siblings going in 3 directions at the fair!  Little Rose seems to be thanking her grandmother with her eyes and her lit up face!  Today being the feast of the Transfiguration... I was so touched by the intro to mass today in the Magnificat - see www.magnificat.com

"The transfiguration invites us to configuration.  As we peer into the glory that pours from every pore of the transfigured Christ, we cast off everything that is unworthy of our personal relationship with the Infinite, and we take on the luster of the Son of God.  Jesus gazes back at us with a luminous look of love that makes us desire to live his transparent beauty - to be luminaries.  Silently from Tabor's splendor, the Savior begs; 'Become what you behold!' "  Little Rose's loving responce to any attention she gets from those around her is so much a picture to me of how we are to be with the LIGHT of our lives - Christ!  He is visible to us in those around us in our domestic church/family.  He is visible to us in his Body and Blood in the Eucharist, and in every sacrament we are graced with through our amazing wonderful Holy and Apostolic Catholic Church!  In His out of this world - Word of God!  In his angels and in His Saints - we are all called to be saints and they are all there showing us the way and interceding for us!  And not least of all - His Mother, Mary the Mother of God! 

Just looking at this makes me smile, and feel happy inside!  I just stopped in at Ruth's to gather some pictures for a project I am working on today, and was gifted with Mary wanting to show me how she can hold her little sister... then they both smiled at me!  They passed on the luninary light from inside of them to inside of me!  Their love and enjoyment of each other, and for me, flowed to me without a word being spoken!  What a fun and special gift they shared with me!  Two humble little girls are the most beautiful works of art, yet so are all little girls - they are each created in the image and likeness of God - the creator of the universe.  How can any of these little ones be taken so lightly, and cast aside, and snuffed out in the so called convenience and right of women in abortion?  I am totally hurt to the core... to think of the millions of beautiful gifts of LIGHT, and LIFE, and LOVE that have only survived for weeks or months in the womb - never to dwell here on earth, and touch this world with their LIGHT - to transfigure the world around them as luminaries sharing the LIGHT of Christ with the world around them!  Lord, end the taking of LIFE, and the putting out of LIGHTS to fill the world with YOU!

Lord, may your light shine forth through our following after you carrying our Most Cherished Cross!  May we be luninaries in our humble and lowly state - ridding ourselves of all that comes between our total and selfless following of YOU!  We are so blessed and filled with graces as the result of your amazing Catholic Church.  May we realize how much we are needing you to show us how to be LIGHTS in this world of darkness - may we carry this into our domestic Church/family this day and forward.  Those the closest to us we seem to hurt the most - may this change today with a metanioa - change of heart!  Jesus, we trust in you.  Amen and Halleluia

Bless-bless, Barb

"No advertiser would attach his product to Christ.  Christ is the Cross.  Christ is God united to us in our suffering.  Christ does not have a message to sell; he has himself - to offer up completely to the Father.  To try to market Christ would be to try to market the deepest cry of our hearts.  To try to market Christ is to market what takes place on a marriage bed - or on a deathbed.

As always, Christ is both astonishing and everyday; both exactly what we want and exactly what we don't want.  He reveals himself in private, knowing He will die in public.  He reveals himself only to highlight that the Way is by its nature hidden, silent, invisible, anonymous.

Christ is transfigured; inwardly on fire, we appear to the folks around us as the same humdrum people we always have been.  As Charles Peguy observed, 'The Christians , Christianity, Christendom, is not a public operation, a superficial, historical operation; it is not a public event.  It is a secret event, a profound inward operation, and often, the more profound it is the less it modifies external aspects and appearances.' "

Heather King a convert and a laywoman writing on the Transfiguration

When I read this I think of the humble saints - Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, St Therese of Lisseux, St Rita, St Maria Goretti... on and on and how the most profound the LIGHT/Saint - the more humble they became as they were more and more transformed into Christ - who was the humlbest of all - giving his life for us in the most degrading and painful fashion on the Cross!  Wow!  Humble me, my Lord!

JOY!

This song was shared by a friend on FB and just seems to fit today

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CSVqHcdhXQ

The third generation starts showing at the fair!

I just told Aunt Ann Lanoue that she really missed something by having to work her fair over the week and miss her Goddaughter and nephew showing pigs and a cow-calf pair for the first time.  Then I realized that I really hadn't shared much yet, although I have many great fun pictures of the pig show.  I also missed the beef show because of work, but I did get some cute ones of Mary feeding her cow, Snowball, an apple after the pig show.  So these are for all those city folks like me, who are curious about what a county fair is like for farm kids and their animals.  But mostly it is for Aunt Ann to see what she missed and hopefully not feel too bad, but just get a taste of how fun it was for the kids and their families -  her included!

Mary comes in her spangly head band and belt to get Pepperoni - her pig and Charlie - Simon's pig ready for the show.

Baby Rose is trying to take it all in!

Simon is a bit more standoffish, but mom gets him looking good!

Grandma Lanoue, Phyllis, is helping Mary get ready and will be in the ring with her too.  Simon will have his dad there to give him pointers, as they both are in Cloverbuds and are just learning now.

Mary and Pepperoni looking poised and ready to show the world that they are great!

Simon is more thoughtful at what his showing approach will be... slow and steady.

Time for their show numbers...

Mary too... that smile looks a little bit forced, Mary.  She loved her show clothes so much that she didn't want to change, and wore them to lunch at the Catholic Food Stand.  I think she is getting to like this show thing at 6 years old!  Notice the shiney belt,Aunt Ann?

The little brother and sister are there watching and learning!

Simon and Charlie are looking quite calm and studdly!

Mary and Pepperoni are going against the group.  Now you can see her sparkly belt quite well!

Simon and Charlie are a confident pair!  Cute too!

Mary and Pepperoni and grandma are having fun and looking super good too!

Mary learns a lot from her grandmothers- she also made a purple pig piniata and brought it to the fair!  I think pigs are becoming her new favorite animal!

I guess you could call this the end of showing pigs at the fair for this year.  I hope it gave you a glimpse of how family fun can be a good thing when it is passed from one generation to the other.  Hope this help you see what you missed, Aunt Ann, so that you don't really feel like you missed it totally.  Bless-bless, Barb

Here is her pig piniata too!  He even made a grand champion ribbon around her neck out of pipecleaners!  I think this girl has high hopes for the future, and I think it is a grand champion pig and look at that gleaming showmanship too! 

Times with Pat/family

Yes, we just celebrated our 34th anniversary a couple days ago, and once again it was during some of Pat's busiest days - the county fair!  Other years I just tell him that I would rather be alone on our anniversary other than sharing the heat and the work he is so busy with at the fair, but this year I toughed it out and it was a good thing to spend the partial time with Pat!  Yesterday was another good time with him as he is the chairman of the ribbon auction committee, and there were close to 150 4Hers who actioned off their ribbons on their livestock to many who gather to support the 4 H program!  Pat and I bought the ribbon of this young man, and so he asked to have his picture taken with us... It really showed me how very much I do love Pat for all the wonderful LIFE and LOVE that he has given to me!  And that appreciation that caused me to cry rivers as I was making his anniversary card... just flowed over and made me want to sit on bleechers alone for part of the rodeo - right when the announcer was talking about our 34 years!  He joked that it was probably more like our 17th anniversary, because Pat was probably only there about half the time...  I smiled, and nodded.  Another friend pointed out that if he was there all the time, we probably wouldn't get along as well as we do... and that is a very good point!  It was good to spend the last two days with the wonderful man, who has given me... never a dull moment!  He has been my champion for life at all cost! 

When I got home last night - I had a great time with a farm adventure with my 14 month old grandson, Augustine!  We started at the apple tree and then from place to place around the farm from there!  He loves grandma's apples and had to keep the dogs away from it constantly.

The bouncy seat tractor was a bit high and scary! 

Roger thinks that your apple looks yummy too!

Always have to do some black and white by the bins!

Dog kiss!

Sky scrapers on the farm and dog-dogs!

Grandma and Gus in the clouds by the barn on the fence!  Thank you, Lord, for the gift of LIFE and LOVE!  For feeding us at your table of LIFE and LOVE!  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barb

I need to run and do applesauce with Nancy Anna and family... the best kind of family time!

Gus is very excited - he loves his apples/applesauce!

Little boy- apple- dogs - empty barn- beautiful weather and clouds - rain washed landscape and cement - grandma time extraordinary!  Thank you, Lord! 

Bubble sink to clean up after the farm fun!

 

Cherishing LIFE!

Granddaughter, Mary, had just made a special sock puppet at the fair... She came to visit me while I worked in the MCCL for life fair stall.  We had the fetal models out and it was interesting to watch the kids that walk past come over to touch and see them up close!  I loved how Mary and her little new friend pondered the wonder of life and seemed to gently cherish the little miracle in the womb!

She also loved to have this little precious life in her arms too!  Jesus, thank you for the gift of LIFE.  May it be always cherished with no exceptions.  Off to the fair for the last big day!  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barb