Oh, the weather outside is frightful---but it isn't snow--it's RAIN, with tornado watch in effect.  Can you believe that?  Here it is, right before Christmas, and we're in a tornado watch.  Well, I guess it could always be worse, huh, and the rain is supposed to let up later this evening--that's good!

Sid and I just stayed inside most of the day, just going out this evening to attend 4pm Mass.  It was dry when we went in and raining when we came out.  Fr. Bob did a pretty good job on his homily tonight, reminding us of the story of Joseph after he learned that his betrothed, Mary, was pregnant.  Joseph was afraid, and the angel appeared to him and told him NOT to be afraid.  Thankfully, Joseph was filled with faith in God and love for Mary, and he took the angel's advice.

We, on the other hand, sometimes forget that God is always there for us. Examples were given of how important it is for us to know that someone is there for us and I can add:  Someone who always says, "I'll be there" when we are having some kind of problem; someone who shows up to help when we are in distress; someone who provides a shoulder to cry on when tears are being shed.  Just knowing that someone "is there" can be just the thought to carry us through whatever we're going through at a certain time, and Joseph knew that God "was there" for him always.

So, are we "there" for those we love?  Do we provide that shoulder, that help, that presence when we are needed?  What a beautiful gift we can be when we give ourselves to those who need us!  Truly, this is the spirit of Christmas--the time for giving in honor of Jesus' birth.

After Mass, Sid and I went to BIG BOYS to get burgers to bring home for supper.  This little place in town has delicious burgers, and their fries are pretty good, too.  Because of the rain, we decided to bring the meal home and we we didn't have to order drinks.  Also, we shared the fries, so we both ate on less than $10.  Pretty good, don't you think, especially since the food was really tasty!

I wish we would be in Lockport over the next couple of days because I know what several of the grand kids are getting for Christmas, and I would love to see their faces when they get their gifts.  Randi will be especially thrilled to get her gift from her Mom--take pics, Bec.  Ty and Rett already received part of their Christmas gifts--new twin beds for their room.  Boy, what a difference those beds make--beautiful beds with really nice comforters just right for boys.  They were very surprised to find the beds already set up in their rooms when they got back from school one day.  Santa had come into their house and put the beds together, re-arranged a few pieces of furniture, and left, locking the door behind him.  What a great surprise for the boys!

News on the "Dad/Mom/NanNan" front is still the same.  I also heard from my cousin, Reid, about his Mom, my Mom's sister.  She, too, has Alzheimer's and she is doing fairly well.  Aunt Nin was known to our kids as the "donut aunt" and the "cake aunt" because she always brought either donuts or cakes for them as they were growing up, and, in fact, until she began to show signs of her illness.  Yummy!

That's it for tonight!  Hope you're having a great weekend and that all your Christmas gifts have been purchased, wrapped, and are sitting under the tree.

"We should live our lives as though Christ were coming this afternoon."

                                                          --Jimmy Carter