you're the gift I've always wanted

My beautiful sister-in-law, Paige

The bejeweled arms of my niece, Isabelle

My eldest, Elijah

Grandpa Mike

Yours truly, surrounded by cuteness in the form of my half blinking Ben reunited with his buddy, Isabelle

John Maddex - dad

Ooh, Look at that angel face! My other niece, Janie.

What a joy to be together again! This past Sunday, the Maddex and Sabourin families reunited over omelets and pancakes after weeks of being scattered between here and Texas. My brother, Bobby, and his wife, Paige, and their two girls, Jane and Isabelle, drove the thousand plus miles to Austin where Paige's parents and siblings reside, and where they found much needed warmth in a kinder southern climate and in her hometown friends and relatives who welcomed them back with open arms. They asked me to watch over their fish while they were gone, but then I killed it, so that was sad (and a pretty good indicator that I am not, nor may never be, ready to care for anything else alive besides my husband and four kids). Paige sweetly assured me, however, that her girls would indeed recover, especially in light of the brand new puppy, Lola, they received as a Christmas present.

Tomorrow is Theophany, the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus, as well as the 5th birthday of a hopefully resilient, Isabelle. Providing naps go well, and no one comes down with a fever or a stomach virus or some other unexpected ailment between now and 7:00 pm, we'll all gather again at St. Elizabeth's and together (what a blessing in the midst of all those head ache-y responsibilities breathing down my neck) attend, and wonder at, Christ's revelation of His divinity in the River Jordan, which brings continued healing to all of us who thirst incessantly for something more, for something lasting.