Merry Christmas!

We wish everyone a happy and blest Christmas

and a New Year full of many

blessings!

   

"God Whisperings"

He heals the brokenhearted,

and binds up their wounds.

He determines the number of the stars;

he gives to them all of their names.

 

Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;

His understanding is beyond measure.

Psalm 147: 3-5

   

P.S. "God Whisperings"-- these flowers are just that...

small yet powerful reminders that God is present,

even in the simplest and sometimes most surprising places...

For the last two years I have been watching and waiting

for my Camellias to bloom and at last this week

I spotted these beautiful pink flowers in

my backyard! Interestingly enough,

they bloom only in the winter months - the coldest most

dreary days of the year and yet these flowers emerge

with such brilliance!

These delicate blooms remind me of the

human spirit...so resilient and beautiful...all at once.

*******

"Happy Birthday Dad!"

*James Everette Staudt*

My dad was born on November 8, 1931 to

Edna Camille Rukstad Staudt and

 Everette Matthew Staudt

in Watertown, South Dakota.

Lately, I have been thinking about dad's mother and

how she must have felt the first time that she

held him...what were her hopes and dreams for

him? Did she worry about his future and could she have 

ever imagined what an amazing life he would lead?

I think if she could have known that he would someday stand up

for his country in the U.S. Army and become a Master Sergeant,

 get a college education, marry the woman of his dreams,

Monica Rose Schonhoff,

have and provide for seven children, and entrepreneur

a mobile car repair business - "MCAR"

while operating the local skating rink (with our entire family

working there and helping out), become the Captain of

his own boat with a chartering business and later

become the pilot of his own

airplane and retire from the U.S. Government

at the ripe ole age of 55....all of this mixed with

lots of fun and amazing adventures...too many to post here...well,

without a doubt she would have been very pleased about

the paths her son would choose! 

Though I really don't wish to see the future...I am certain that if

dad's mother could have known all of these things she

would have felt a sense of peace and excitement

about the future of this

sweet baby boy she was holding...

knowing that everything was going to be just fine...

                            Now, in 2011, on his 80th birthday -

 Dad and Mom have a legacy of a 58 year marriage,

twenty-nine grandchildren,

19 great-grandchildren...

one of which is his newest name-sake, Luke Everette Aldridge, who

looks remarkably like the above baby picture of Dad -

 (and 1 more on the way)!

What more could a mother hope for

for her child?

Happy Birthday Dad...I love you as high as the sky!

<3 Pats,

*Your favorite daughter

*Mom and Dad did such a wonderful job loving all

seven of us that each and every one of us feels

like we are their favorite!

Though rumor has it that Mike really

is Mom's favorite!  :)

*****

P.S. At the time of this post Mom and Dad had 18 great-grandchildren, but at

12:08 this morning (November 24, 2011) Mason William Pitman

was born to Jason and Amanda Pitman weighing in

at 7 pounds 4 ounces!

A true Thanksgiving Blessing!

Congratulations to the proud parents, grandparents and

of course, great-grandparents!!

   

" Trick or Treat!"

Happy Halloween to my sweet "goblins"!

I hope you all get plenty of treats! 

   

"Prayer Reflection"

Almighty God, every good thing comes from you.

Fill our hearts with love for you, increase

our faith, and by your constant care

protect the good that you have given us.

Amen.

   P.S. I wonder what Andrew is thinking about in this picture! XOXOXO to my precious grandchildren!

Prayerful Challenge...

"Lord, I believe in you; give me firmer faith.
I hope in you; give me surer hope.
I love you; make me love you more and more.

I adore you as my first Beginning,
And long for you as my last End.
I praise you as my constant Benefactor,
And call upon You as my gracious Protector.

Guide me in your wisdom,
restrain me by your justice,
comfort me by your mercy,
defend me by your power.

I offer you
my thoughts, to be fixed on you;
my words, to save you as their theme;
my actions, to be done according to your will."

Pope Clement XI

   
P.S. Father Robert W. Fulton of Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church (Guld Shores, Alabama) read this prayer at the close of his homily. I visited with him at the end of mass and he was kind enough to give me a copy. I have been anxious to share it with everyone. My love to you all.

"Memories"

Matthew 20:1-16

                                                                                    

This was the Gospel from last week

and I found out that it brought a fond memory

to the minds of my children - though I had long

forgotten my antic!  When they were young and 

would rush to be first I'd tell them that the first will be

 last and the last will be first...well it did not take long

for them to sort it all out...they began saying:

"Me last, me last!"
 This memory makes me smile, too!  After all,
who doesn't want to be first?  I know that many times I want to be
first, especially when it comes to a buffet!!
 And as I consider who was first and last,
I am certain that they all received
equal portions!!
All my love to Daniel, Kelly, Patrick and Clay

"She said yes!"

On September 16, 2011...

...in the Cracker Barrel parking lot

in Cullman, Alabama...

...Patrick proposed to Katie Kisbey-Green!

*****

What an exciting time for both of them and our

family as we look forward to sharing

their special day on

August 25, 2012!

Congratulations Patrick and Katie!

   

"Dear Lord, we put our marriage into your Hands...."

Lord, help us to remember

our wedding day and the strong

love that You nurtured between us.

Help us to work that love into our daily lives

so that nothing can divide us.

We ask for words gentle and kind;

give us loving hearts ready to ask for

forgiveness

as well as to forgive.

Dear Lord, we put our

marriage into your Hands.

Amen.

Happy 30th Anniversary Todd!

I love you,

Love, Pats

   

**Grandparents Day....

As most of you know, Grandparents Day

is one of my favorite days of the year!

So XOXO to all of my precious

Grandchildren, I love you all

as high as the sky!

   

The Baptism of Luke Everette

"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called

to the one hope of your calling,

one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

one God and Father of all,

who is above all

and through all and in all."

Ephesians 4: 4-6

Dear Luke,

We pray that God's grace, love, and blessings

will follow you all the days of your life.

We love you as high as the sky!

Love, gigi and jabo

Luke was Baptized on September 4, 2011

by Father Michael Nixon

at St. Paul's Catholic Church

in Pensacola, Florida

Clay and Michelle Whatley,

Jason Aldridge and Leslie Ann Berg

are your Godparents

   

" Rabbit! Rabbit! "

I hope everyone has a great

September 1st!

   

"Forty-nine and lookin' fine!"

"Wednesday's child is merry and glad!"

Dear Todd,

I have had so much fun sharing the

last 32 birthdays with you and I look forward to

many, many more because

the best is yet to be!

I love you for being you...AND I love

you more than peanut butter!

Happy Birthday jabo!

   

Grandma's Prayer...

Oh most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I've asked you for many favors, but I plead this one (prayer request). 

Take it, place it in your open broken heart and when the

Eternal Father comes cover it with a cloud of

your most Precious Blood.  He will not refuse, but surely grant.

It is not my wish but Thine. 

Amen.

**************

This prayer is a legacy of my grandmother,

Agnes Mary Sauers Schonhoff.

No doubt that she prayed it often for Grandpa, her children and all those that she loved. My mother does the same today. I wonder how many times Mom has prayed this pray for me and for all of you.

           

P.S. Whenever a picture was taken of Grandpa, we

would say, "Grandpa, smile!"

He would always reply, "I am!"

Happy Birthday Pat-be!

"Sunday's child is fair and wise and good and glad."

Dear Patrick,

I wish you a very happy and blest 25th birthday!

I love you as high as the sky!

Love, Mom

I love you higher than the sky!

Dad

And if Will were playing this game he would say,

"Well, I love you bigger than the universe!"

Have a happy day!

   

" Yours is the day, Yours also the night; You established the luminaries and the sun..."

Psalms 74:16

When I was taking this picture on the "Praying with Light" retreat, I was rushing and desperately trying to capture "the" picture of the day - snapping picture after picture and never feeling like my camera was catching what I wanted it to. In retrospect, I was failing miserably at really noticing the beauty and God in the Light which completely surrounded me - or the danger for that matter - because moments after I took this picture, I was literally attacked by bees and chased out of the woods as they were stinging me and clinging to my clothes. Interestingly, had I not been attacked by the bees, I would have walked out of the woods and would have never given my time looking through my lens at the Light a second thought.....but the "bee" incident made me understand that in my daily rushing I cannot truly "focus" until I become still and see the Light and what He wants me to see in my life and through my camera lens.

    Spend a moment studying the picture and you may see a cross

                                          in the Light.

Just for fun: If I were going to give this picture a name it would be
                         "Standing in the Light...with bees!"

P.S. The next time life gives me a "bee sting" there will probably be no epiphany moment - I was just blest to get one this time!

"...He assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress His command..."

Proverbs 8:29

And so it begins...

After attending a photography retreat last weekend, I decided it was time to start my own blog... so here goes! Stay tuned for some of my favorite pictures: 'Standing in the Light' of God's creations! My goal is to parallel pictures of nature (mostly from my backyard garden) with scripture sprinkled with encouragement and hopefully a little fun and humor along the way. As my dad has always said, "We know that God has a sense of humor because He gave us one!" Of course there will be some of my children and beautiful grandchildren as I attempt to explore the Light through my photograpy.
   
P.S. Thanks so much Kelly for setting up this beautiful site for me! I lalu as high as the sky!  mom