Joy!!

I love December. I love Advent. I love Christmas. I love joy!

And last night seemed to be the kick off of all the parties to come this season. I was bummed I wasn't able to get up to Bellingham for the Xavier Feast, but I had a ton of fun at my sister's 3rd Annual Fondue Party! And the snow - LOVE IT! I wasn't really sure if I was ready for the snow to come, but once it was here in all it's beauty how could I not appreciate it!? (ok, maybe I would be less appreciative in the roads were icy, ect...but you know what I mean!!)

Here is my favorite picture from last night w/ Aliscia, Stacey, and Karen:



Merry Christmas to you all and God bless!!

Hi! Sorry!

As it would turn out, I'm a horrible blogger. I don't even know if there is a point to me posting as I'm sure anyone who may have checked this before has given up on me. So sorry. The good news is I know that none of your lives revolved around my blog, so you most likely do not hate me for my absence. :)

Now I feel as though I'm required to update you on everything that's been going on in my life, but um, I think that's just too much. So how about some bullet points and a few pictures!?

-Life is good. Praise the Lord!
-I'm a little sick at the moment though. :(
-A prayer request: Baby Carrie (a friend's niece) just born on the 12th has Neonatal Hemochromatosis, a rare liver disease. Please pray for her and her family!
-Thanksgiving was wonderful! I spent time with my family - best dinner we've had yet! - and with my second family, the D'Angelo's. Good times all around and I am very thankful for all of my family and friends.
-I saw the movie Bella - so good. You should all go see it!!

How's that for bullet points? Lame? I know. I'm tired and should be in bed. But pictures are more fun anyways!

Let's go back to Halloween and share a few of my favorites:

First, the nephews... LP as Blade

Jaden as a lion..ROAR! (First Halloween!!)

and trick or treating w/ a few of the kiddos I nanny for - Veronica, Eleanor, and Madeline

Next, meet my boyfriend. I just did! His name is Andrew:

And here's a couple from the Marine Corps Ball!

And to prove he smiles and because it's my favorite, one more...

A final update on Gloria

September 21, 10:00 AM

Editor's Note:

Gloria Strauss, subject of The Seattle Times' "A prayer for Gloria" series, died this morning from complications of neuroblastoma. Reporter Jerry Brewer and photographer Steve Ringman are with her family and will be sharing more about Gloria online today and in Saturday's newspaper. Gloria's family posted the following statement this morning: "After a 4 year battle with cancer, Gloria received her miracle this morning, passing into our Heavenly Father's hands. Gloria's courageous battle has inspired us to deeper faith and has taught to love, suffer, and most of all pray. Let her short life of 11 years be an example to each of us as we walk through the days of our lives. "Gloria, you are a shining star, yes, a miracle for each of us."

I'm praying for Gloria's soul, but I already feel like I should be asking her to pray for me. Please keep the Strauss's, their close friends, and all who have been affected by Gloria in your prayers.

Where did August go!?

I feel like every other day I find myself saying, "What happened to this month!?" Time is really just flying by me! I'm trying to work on not being quite so busy ALL the time. I think maybe I've said "no" twice this past month! ...really, that's progress.

So here are a few updates from last month....

First, another Gloria article was in the Seattle Times last week. She really is an amazing girl who is putting up quite the fight by the grace of God. I also found another great video clip that talks about each member of the family: Nine Lives: Inside the Strauss House.

Next, my two friends Angie and Seth were married! The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was a lot of fun, too. Angie and Seth are not only great friends and wonderful people, but are such great compliments to each other. It was exciting to witness them taking their next step together in life. Congratulations to the love birds!

And for my final update, I spent a fun weekend away for Camp 4:12. It's a junior high leadership retreat through the archdiocese and it was a ton of fun. The location couldn't have been more beautiful and was definitely my favorite part of the weekend along with spending time with great friends! I was actually asked to attend as a representative of Holy Family, but I had the additional bonus of getting to hang out with the St. Vincent's group! Both Maryelyn and Brita were there (Congrats to Brita who is the new assistant youth pastor!) and we had a ton of fun rooming together in our oh so lovely cabin. And by oh so lovely I mean...seriously!? Here are some fun pictures from the weekend:

w/ Brita on the Kiwis!

the St. Vincent boys

So beautiful!

w/ Maryelyn and Brita

And to wrap up this post and start off the new month, HAPPY BIRTHDAY PERRY! My oldest nephew is now 7 years old! Love you, LP!

"We're not denying that heaven could be possible"

Part 7 of Gloria's story has been printed in the Seattle Times this morning. Please continue to pray and may the Lord bless all of you today!

--------

Also, I would like to throw out one more intention that is near and dear to my heart right now. My grandma's skin cancer (on her face) has returned and she will go back in for surgery on Sept. 5th. Please pray for her comfort and healing. She is one amazing women! Her strength just floors me. She was the oldest of many children, raised 11 of her own, and then ran a daycare for years. My grandpa passed away about 35 years ago, while their youngest was just 12 years old. My grandma is now 86 and has fought a lot - knee surgeries and other leg problems, glaucoma (only sees out of one eye now), open heart surgery, and she has also seen three of her boys pass away. She is definitely part of the reason I have my faith and love our Lady so much!










I love you, Grandma!!

Carrie's Baby Shower!

Last weekend I had the opportunity to celebrate Carrie and Tom's new little one...what a fun time! I can hardly believe how quickly time has flown - it seems Baby Herring will be here before I know it! ...joined shortly after by Baby Mauss! Congrats to all!

I wanted to share a few pictures of the lovely ladies! (and I know, I know, I'll put them on facebook.)

The WWU Ladies! :)

Pregnant Ladies!!

Carrie & Me

Silly Girls :)

And they even look beautiful when they clean!

Stories, Updates, & a Video Slideshow

Jerry has put up quite a few entries on his online journal about Gloria. There are updates and quite a few emails that people have sent in, as well as an amazing audio slide show from one of their late night prayer sessions. (A link to this can be found on the journal page.) While I encourage you to check out the journal for yourself, there is one email I would like to share that I think really sums up what Gloria is all about.

I am Julie Carrick, a Catholic Recording Artist who lives in Scottsdale, AZ. I had the privilege of meeting Gloria a few years ago and as I learned of her condition, I brought a first-class relic of St. Philomena to the St. Philomena church and was humbled beyond words as I thought that I would help lead this church community to pray for one of their own in, somehow, a deeper way.

During the concert at the church, Gloria, without hesitation, held the reliquary that holds the small piece of St. Philomena's bone, and one by one people came forward to pray with and for Gloria.

As the concert was ending, I went to Gloria and asked her if she felt anything after the opportunity to pray with so many people for her healing and with the most precious smile she simply said, "It was really nice to pray for all their needs. I didn't get tired at all. Thank you for letting me pray for them with St. Philomena."

I was overwhelmed to realize that this beautiful child had been praying not for her own healing as I had suggested, but instead had prayed with each person who had come forward, for that 45-minute period of time, for their needs.

I know they were praying for her healing, but she was not at all thinking of her need, but of theirs. This child is truly filled with God's grace.

We will begin a novena here in Scottsdale, AZ, and I am sending a note to every person in our ministry database, to flood heaven with her intention and especially through the intercession of St. Philomena and Nicky Mailliard (a cancer patient from Scottsdale who died in 2005). For Gloria, and for her entire family, we ask our Lord Jesus to shower His richest blessing and fullness of healing.

In His Service,

Julie Carrick

Note: If you can't access the journal through the link or previous links, it is because they have moved the stories a few times. Usually you can find everything on the Seattle Times homepage now or by going there and clicking on local stories.

Reporter's Journal

www.seattletimes.com/gloria - "We're Not Out of the Water" (Aug. 4th)

Reporter's journal Jerry Brewer 12, 3:26 PM

Gloria's parents have been sleeping for the past fewhours. It's much-needed rest.

The latest news is that Gloria will be slowly weanedoff her numerous medicines because doctors want her tostart breathing on her own.

She's almost there right now. She's barely using herbreathing tube for support now. So the goal is to wakeher and take out the tube before the end of the day.

What's unknown, however, is what Gloria's pain andother symptoms will be like once she is out of this coma.

Family and friends here are obviously encouraged bythis latest news. The hope is that Gloria will get totalk with her family.

It's been interesting to see some of the family's supporters come together in the intensive care waitingroom. Some had never met before. I've been payingcareful attention to how people are reacting now thatthey're realizing how vast Gloria's support base is.

It's very uplifting to see these people, who've beenon the same mission for more than four years, united. And they refuse to give up, too.

Also, I have some information to pass along:

For those wanting to pray with others for Gloria, St.Philomena Parish's 5:30 p.m. Mass tonight would be agood place to go. A huge group of the Strausses' friends will be there.

After St. Philomena is in Des Moines.The address is: 1790 S. 222nd St., Des Moines, WA 98198

St. Philomena Parish's Mass at 5:30 p.m. today,they will pray the Rosary.

Also, there is a 24-hour adoration at the chapel just outside the church. People are gathering at all hours of the night to pray for Gloria there. Knock on the back door, and someone will let you in.

If there are any other prayer meetings, e-mail me at jbrewer@seattletimes.com, and I will post them in this journal.

August 12, 12:40 PM

Doctors are consulting Gloria's parents about her latest scans right now. Her condition remained the same overnight.

She's still in a medically induced coma. Let me add more explanation to her condition.

A CT scan on Saturday revealed the cancer has spreadto Gloria's brain. The way Gloria's father, Doug, understands it, a tumor burst in her head Saturday.That was probably the cause of her seizures.

Gloria also has a tumor on her left lung. Dr. Julie Park, her oncologist, also told the Strausses that Gloria's chest pain could be from cancer invading her heart.

Throughout her 11 years, Gloria has made some amazing medical rallies, but she is cornered like she has never been before. Park has told the family there's no way for Gloria to escape.

It's jarring to see her in bed with a respirator doingher breathing. Some close friends -- Theresa Brennan, Jeanine and Jessica Morley -- visited a while ago, andtheir faces expressed exactly what I felt.

It's hard to get over how quickly this happened. Just last Sunday, Gloria was healthy enough to spend then ight at a friend's house. Two nights ago, she was joking on the phone with Jason Prouty, one of Doug's best friends.

On Saturday, her parents placed a crucifix on Gloria's chest, and I couldn't stop looking at it. As the respirator filled her body with air, the crucifix would rise along with Gloria's chest. That image stays with me. The message of why she's suffering was right there, obvious with every breath.

Then I looked at a dry-eraser board in her room. It reads, "We're Here To Glorify God Through God."

Last night, after some arguing, Doug got permissionfor a group of about 20 to pray over Gloria. It was somoving. No dry eyes.

But I can't escape this feeling of helplessness. All people can truly do now is pray to God. The cancer hasher boxed in. She's in an intensive care unit thatallows little access. She's trapped in a building withsuffering children all around.

And so we continue to wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Gloria Update

This is an email I just received on Gloria's condition. Please add a few extra prayers for Gloria today. Thank you!

Dear Friends,

Unfortunately, this Gloria update does not contain good news. The night before last, they had to increase the amount of pain medicine from 45 to 50mg per hour. Yesterday, they ended up working their way up to 100mg. The first 50mg had taken three weeks, but now 50mg more wasn’t working. Just as her body had become used to the morphine, this pain medicine doesn’t seem to be helping any more. She is in constant pain. This morning, her breathing became labored. Dr. Park had told them yesterday that the cancer is pushing against her lungs, causing this to happen. They drove up to Children’s earlier this morning.

The family is asking that everyone pray, pray harder than ever. We are not giving up. With God, all things are possible. He can heal Gloria. They have always known it will get worse before it gets better and that has happened. Now we are praying that God will take her cross so that she can have her healthy life back. This time is especially difficult for Doug and Kristen. Please pray that God will give them strength and comfort. Please spread the word to people (email, phone, Myspace, word of mouth, however), we need as many people praying as possible.

We are going to be having another prayer gathering in our home tonight (Saturday, August 11). We know that God will be listening to our payers. “Where two or more are gathered, There I am in their midst.” Everyone is welcome and encouraged to come. The need for prayer right now is great. We will begin at about 8:00. Thank You for the prayers you have been saying for Gloria. Doug scolded me yesterday because I forgot to specifically tell people that the Strausses are very, very grateful of all the prayers. They know that people are always lifting them up in prayers. Doug had said to let everyone know, “We love them all and thank them so much.” If you
can’t make it tonight, please just pray from wherever you are. This is so much bigger than any of us realize and while you pray, know that you are among hundreds, perhaps thousands of people storming the Heavens for this miracle.


Dear Lord,
Help us to concentrate on this miracle, to give up some portion of our busy day to pray for the Strausses. Cast out all of our anxieties, doubts, and despair. Fill us with trust and faith in You. You can do anything Lord, You can heal Gloria. Please wrap the family in Your loving embrace so that they might feel comfort and love. Send peace into their hearts. Most of all, Lord, we ask You to touch Gloria with Your loving hand. Hold her in Your arms and wipe out all of her cancer. Please stop her suffering Lord, so that she may live to give glory to You for years and years to come. Thank You for being with us Lord. We know that You will never abandon us. Amen.

Once again, Thank You

New Kiddos!

Lots of good news!

First, as of Monday, July 30th, Eleanor has a new little sister! Her name is Georgia and she is adorable! I'm excited to have a new little one to take care of...of course, I have to wait a little bit (...4-6 months is a little bit, right?) until Ann Marie goes back to work. But regardless, I'm really excited!

Second, I got a new job! I have accepted a position at Holy Family in Auburn as their new assistant youth pastor. :) I'm really excited for this!!! I have heard great things about their high school group and met some of their junior high kids while co-directing One Week in Forks. They were awesome and I'm really looking forward to working with them and Josie and Jocelyn, who are the other youth pastors!

Well, that's it for my quick little update. :) Hope you are all doing well and enjoying the summer!

"You're God. You can do anything."

Hey everyone - I've been slacking! Sorry!

Here's is the latest Gloria update for anyone who would like to keep following and hasn't seen it in the paper. :) "You're God. You can do anything."

Also, here is a brief clip from Komo News: "Helping ease heartbreak without a magic wand."


Thanks to all of you who are praying!

Prayers for Gloria

The latest Seattle Times story on Gloria: "You know I've been down. ... Forgive me."

Prayer groups are now being hosted Monday-Friday by a different family each week. If any one is interested in joining in on one, please ask me for details. And hey, Tom Curran's family hosts on Tuesdays...I know some of you listen to him on the radio! :)

Please continue to pray for Gloria!!

Thanks and God bless.

Griffey!!

I might just be the luckiest girl ever! Not only did I get free tickets for great seats at the Mariners game and free parking right by the stadiums, but got to watch Ken Griffey Jr. play last night! SO MUCH FUN! I miss him...but hey, you never know...he could finish out his carreer and retire here. It is, after all, HIS house. :)







Griffey at bat!!!












Go M's! ...and Griffey, too!








...Mariners win 9-1. A much better finish than the previous nights loss at 18-1. Eeks! It's on today to see who takes the series! My hope: Mariners win, but Griffey gets a homerun. :)

PS Maria...are those flashies for me?!?!

Gloria

Gloria Strauss is an 11-year-old girl from Federal Way who was diagnosed with a type of Cancer called Neuroblastom at only age 7. She and her family have very prayerfully been beating the odds, but need as much support in prayers as they can get to continue the miracle of her survival. To find out more about her, please visit her website or the articles in the Seattle Times, who is continuously following her story: A prayer for Gloria: Coaches daughter fights Cancer, "I'm going to make it", and "She's my best friend ... but sometimes it's complicated".

Also, a family in my parish has graciously offered their home to start prayer sessions again for Gloria on Thursday nights. This particular prayer group is geared towards the youth, but as I work with them I will definitely be attending when possible. If anyone is interested in offering up a Thursday night with us - whether with the group or on your own - that would be greatly appreciated. If you would like to come with me, just let me know!

Please pray!

Dear Heavenly Father,We, trusting in Your divine plan of life and in Your heavenly will, come to You with expectant hearts asking for strength. Strength for Gloria to continue her fight against this cancer, strength for her family and friends to provide support. Lord we ask for endurance, especially for Gloria's ability to endure pain. Endurance for Doug and Kristen and for all of those praying on Gloria's behalf. Father we come to you for protection. Protect Gloria's entire body from harm and Gloria's family in times of weakness. King of Mercy, we pray for healing. We pray for the cancer to leave Gloria's body and for her body to heal from it's effects.We also pray for the healing of hearts that have broken. Intercession. Lord, we pray for intercession, especially from Pope John Paul II. His grace and holiness were pillars for the respect of the human life and body. Also we pray for the intercession of Mother Theresa, Mary the Mother of Jesus, all of the angels and saints, and all other's who can pray for these needs. These requests, we humbly submit to you, our Lord. Amen

Through the Eyes of Our Military

I just finished watching two videos put together by men serving our country -- I Die Before You Wake and One Voice. It has always greatly annoyed me that those who protest the war do so against our military or in their names. I think it is pretty clear why I find it unacceptable to protests against the men and women serving us, but for those of you who question why I find it inexcusable to fight for an end to the war in their name, let me share. First of all, anyone who is now in the military has signed or re-enlisted long since 911 and knew what they were facing. They may not enjoy deployments and may desire to be home more than we can imagine with their family and friends, but they also see first hand what we are fighting for. And while I know this opinion is not shared by all in the military, almost all of my friends who have come back or are currently deployed believe in what they are doing and are proud to help out and serve alongside their brothers and sisters. That just touches on what I have seen and heard from my friends, but all of that being said, you may believe what you wish about the war - this post is not to debate that. But why use the names of our soldiers, especially those who have died, to protest against a cause they believe in so strongly. Isn't that just spitting on their faces? What they really need is our prayers, support, and encouragement in anyway that we can give it. It is sad that when 911 first happened, a man or woman in military uniform could walk across an airport with nothing but applause and thanks, but now people barely acknowledge them. Please do not forget to thank those who serve us, shaking their hand, looking them in the eye, and letting them know how much we appreciate all of their sacrifices.

On another note, the line that really hit me from the second video read, "Winning the Peace in Iraq...And saving the soul of America." It's a shame that we fight so hard to bring home those WILLING to give their lives for the lives of others while at home so many fight for a choice - the choice to kill the unborn. Certainly, the soul of America needs saving, and I hope we can follow the example of those who are giving so selflessly not only for their own children, but people they have never met and will never know. Perhaps we could at least extend this same compassion and willingness to help to the women among us who become pregnant and frightened and especially to the children they carry who have no voice.

Thanks to all who serve us. May we pray for their protection, souls, and for the soul of America that they give so much for.

So True!

So I was on myspace, just checking my messages before I go to bed and there was a new post from one of my Life Teen girls that turned out to be one of those random little game type posts. This is what it said:

Here's the deal: if you want to find out what it is you REALLY need, what that mysterious something is in your life that has been lacking, put Google to the test. Go to Google and type - (your FIRST name) needs. And don't cheat by looking for the one you like best; just take the first link Google gives you. Then, add your name to the list and repost. :)

Well, I'm not really much into the posts anymore, but I thought why not just play along for my own entertainment. And yeah, do you want to know what I found!??! It said, "Nichole needs all the prayer she can get!"

OOOH, SO TRUE. Sooooo TRUE!

Upper Room

I'm so excited! (...and I just can't hide it, I'm about to lose control and I think I like it! ...sorry, sometimes you just need an 80's flashback!)

Anyways, we finally started out new Life Teen night called Upper Room last night! Jason (who helps with confirmation) and I are heading it up, but really letting the teens dictate what direction it goes in. Basically this new night was started for teens who want to go deeper, learn more about the Church, and build a community that is centered in prayer, challenges them, and holds them accountable. How great! I've been really wanting to start something like this, but even better, it was put into an action because of the persistence of one of our St. Vincent teens!

We will be starting off with at least 15 minutes of adoration each night and probably be going to daily Mass some weeks since the only evening opportunity for that falls on Wednesdays, too. From the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, we head over to the Life House, pray in, jump into conversation, and then wrap up in prayers - praying for intentions of the group and other intentions given to us by those in Life Teen and the parish! We are hoping to get into some different devotions - Rosary, Divine Mercy, St. Michael Chaplet, etc. Again, I'm so excited!

There was no set plan for last night, but it was more of an introductory night and a chance to see where the interest of the group was and what their expectations were. Six teens showed up, but quite a few more have expressed interest and even made the effort to contact me to let me know they would not be able to make the first night, but were planning on attending...a couple are even changing their work schedules just so they come. It's so great to see the kids putting their faith first! What a great group we are going to have!

With Confirmation earlier this week, much of our conversation was about that experience for the teens and how they plan to live out the sacrament. Then somehow the conversation lead to Reconciliation, which was pretty interesting and it was so neat to watch them ask questions, throw out advice and opinions, and even pull out their catechisms! They make me so happy!

And so cool, the topic they picked for next week....purgatory!

Please keep us in your prayers or better yet, come pray and chat with us!

Happy Cinco de Mayo/Lisa's Birthday!!

So honestly, who needs alcohol when you have friends like I do!? Some friends we met up with were pretty sure we were hammered before arriving while talking to them on the phone...but really, we are just fun. :) Dance parties in the car, free t-shirts, tats, and maracas, birthday ice cream not once, but twice, singing B-I-N-G-O to Lisa's future husband (wink*), getting Lisa serenaded by older men on the street - one with out shoes - to Happy Birthday, and lots more fun and laughs. You ladies are wonderful!

My Boys!!

Have I bragged about my
nephews lately?

Yes?

Oh.

Ok.

Well let me do it again!

I have the two cutests and
greatest nephews ever!

These are my boys!

What I do! :)

After a week with four Sensaria parties, I'm pooped, but having LOTS of fun. Here is a picture from the party at the Dupey:



If you want to hang out with me and let me give you and you friends a foot soak, let's hook it up! We have fun specials and new products coming up, too! Yea!

Jaden Thomas Swenhaugen

I'm an Auntie! :) ...again.

I have been very blessed to gain a nephew through my sister Stacey's marriage and now Our Lord has done it again! Stacey gave birth yesterday to a beautiful boy named Jaden. He weighed in at 8 lbs 13 oz and is 20 1/2 inches tall! :)

The delivery was absolutely amazing and I was so lucky to watch it all happen. Scary, painful, and ABSOLUTELY AMAZING is the delivery of a child. I literally watched him enter our world and take his first breath. The poor tired little thing barely cried or fussed and even now I haven't heard him make much more than a few peeps. :) What a good and happy little baby he is! Stacey and Perry both did wonderfully during the whole process and are so happy and excited. Little Perry met his little brother later that afternoon with mom Amber (now "aunt Amber") and his sister Janessa. It's wonderful to see the two families mesh as one and support each other. LP is very lucky to have such great parents and now both a little sister and brother.

Thank you all for the prayers you offered up for Stacey and Jaden through a very up and down pregnancy and thank you all for sharing in my joy as a new Aunt! Here are some pictures from Jaden's first day out of the womb!!!

Mommy & Jaden

Jaden

Daddy showing Jaden to Grandma & Grandpa

Family!

Aunt Amber & Janessa with Jaden

And here are two of my favorites:

Auntie Cole & Jaden

Little Monkey!!

PS What a great day to celebrate the birth and life of a child AND the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the ban on partial-birth abortion.

Run, Run, Run!

So I'm trying to be a runner :) and we shall see how that goes on May 20th when I race to Beat the Bridge! :) ...it's just an 8K...I'm starting small! I am joining a Wells Fargo team with some friends for the Nordstrom Beat the Bridge event in Seattle to help support Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), which is the largest private funder of diabetes research in the world.

Now, I'll be honest...I'm really mostly in this for the RUN, but it is a fundraising opportunity for a good cause and since I know oh so many charitable people, I figured I might as well shoot an email out, post this on my blog, and give people the opportunity to donate! So if you would like to support the cause of finding a cure for diabetes, than this is a really simple way to do it!

Simply click here to donate: My Personal Page


For more information on programs and the race, go to beatthebridge.org.

Thanks for your support! Anything helps! Even a prayer to make me a better runner would be great!

The Loveliness of Spring! :)

These are just a few of the reasons I love Spring...so far:

-Easter! (Liturgical and otherwise...)

-Baptisms & Confirmations!
...Yea for Claire and Lucy...and everyone else!

-Leadership Training Weekend at Camp Thunderbird.
...Which went very well! My Smokey rocked and I can officially say I've gone out with a bang!

-Sunny Days & Walks at Redondo.
...Oh so great for praying your Rosary!

-Sensaria has NEW products.
...Coming out in May, but I got my sneak preview, so do ask!)

-Baseball Season! GO MARINERS!
...Off to a great start! Although I think I wanted to cry a little bit last night. :( but we'll just focus on the positives. :) I even got to watch the first two games with two of my favorite guys (we'll say somewhere in the top 7), my Dad and Greg. :)

-And last, but not least...the feel of great soccer weather!


I'm so glad spring is here! Feel free to throw out some of your favorites, too! :) Happy Springing!

The Volumes

Has anyone else heard of The Volumes by "Anne"?

I a little bit love them. Mrs. D'Angelo showed them all to me. I love her, too!

Here is the website where you can find them. :)

54!

Happy Birthday, Daddy-O!

My dad turned 54 yesterday and it was yet another reminder of how very blessed I am to have such a wonderful dad and man in my life. :) We had a lovely family dinner at a pizza place at the new Kent Station...yummy stuff! My nephew is too flippin' adorable and we had a great time wrestling. I won. :) Unfortunately for me, he has a very large father he can call to his rescue! Stacey is HUGE (which some people think is mean to say, but I think it's exciting....that means Jaden is growing and God's blessings are continuing as he brings the newest member of our family into this world!). And of course, the family wouldn't be complete without my wonderful mother. I'm definitely a lucky girl!

The night was made even better with a little home video footage of Little Perry's soccer game. He's quite the champ out there! And of course, I couldn't miss my UFC!! Such great fights!! So seriously...who else out there loves UFC!? Beause I definitely need more UFC buddies up here!

Patience

I was reading though today's Lenten Reflection on EWTN, and this is what stuck out to me the most:

"I asked God to grant me patience,
And God said, "No."
He said patience is a by-product of tribulation.
It isn't granted - it is earned."
(part of ...and God Said "No" by Claudia Minden Welsz)

That's right - I'm working on having more patience. And as much as I really don't like this, I love it. It is a good reminder to take joy in our suffering and offer it up to the Lord.

I also had this thought - is the lack of patience quite often just a lack of trust in the Lord? Your thoughts?

Searchin' Safari

Yea for Search and yea for some of the best friends a girl could ask for! Everytime I see this group of people - and all the rest of the gang from WWU's Catholic Campus Ministry - I am reminded of how blessed I am to have such wonderful friends.

So just a little shout out from me to you! :) Love you and God bless!




Picture: 2005-2006 Peer Ministers (minus Ian)

Fat Tuesday!

Ok, so I'm actually not all that excited about Fat Tuesday. I am all by myself house sitting in Carnation, but what a good opportunity for homework! :) I'd like blow it off for one more day since it IS Fat Tuesday, but I don't think I can justify waiting for Lent to put my nose to the grindstone, when I've been slacking so much already.

Anyways, what I am really looking forward to is Ash Wednesday and this Lenten season. I especially like this year's biblical theme: They shall look on Him whom they have pierced” (Jn 19:37) . What a great verse to reflect on!

I hope you all have a wonderful evening! Happy Fat Tuesday! You are all in my prayers! :)

Three Creeds

Ok, so I knew about the Apostle's Creed and the Nicene Creed, but why didn't I know about the Athanasian Creed?!? Seriously, sometime in my nine years of Catholic schooling don't you think someone could have mentioned at some point that we had more than two creeds?? Honestly!

Well, I love it! Here it is:

Athanasian Creed
Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. Which Faith, except a man keep whole and integral, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. Now the Catholic Faith is this: that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity. Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the substance. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost.

But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one, the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal. For such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost.

The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, the Holy Ghost uncreate; the Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible; the Father eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet, there are not three eternals, but one eternal. As also there are not three uncreated, nor three incomprehensibles; but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible.

So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet there are not three Almighties, but one Almighty.

So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet there are not three Gods, but one God

So likewise, the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Ghost is Lord. And yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord.

For, as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God and Lord; so we are forbidden by the Catholic religion to say there be three Gods or three Lords. The Father is made by none, neither created nor begotten. The Son is of the Father, not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father, and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.

So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is before or after the other. None is greater or less than another, but the whole three Persons are co-equal and co-eternal together.

So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved, must thus think of the Trinity.

Furthermore it is necessary unto eternal salvation that he believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right faith is, that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ is God and man. God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the world; and Man of the substance of His Mother, born into the world. Perfect God and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Godhead as touching His Manhood. Who, although He be God, and Man, yet He is not two, but one Christ. One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ. Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven; He sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. At Whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies, and shall give account for their works. And they that have done good shall go into everlasting life, and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire.

This, then, is the Catholic Faith, which except a man believe faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved.

Lasi(e)k

I'm kind of a blog slacker! I'll try to be better! ...including "linking up" soon, Tom. :) I feel like I should finish school first before committing too much time to my blog though.

So anyways, I just wanted to shoot an update out there and let you all know that Friday I had my lasik and lasek done!! ...yes that's lasik AND lasEk. The lasek was on my right eye and they actually cute open a flap before shooting the laser in there. Fun, huh!? It wasn't really too bad at all. The worst part for me was when the stuck the spring type thing in my eye to prop it open. It was quite uncomfortable and I couldn't manage to keep my other eye open either time to take the pressure off of the eye being loaded. Sorry, that was kind of confusing.

I am recovering now and it sounds like all is going well. My right eye is taking longer to heal because of the lasek and the "fog" is just now starting to clear up. My left eye is coming along nicely and it seems like each time I wake up I can see a little better. Since I haven't been able to nap during the week like I was this weekend though my eyes have been quite strained and unfocused by the end of each night. Please keep me in your prayers! And thank you to those of you who were praying for my surgery and recovery already!

So what can I say? Life is good. :) Valentine's Day was fun...I'll save the details for my next post and hopefully throw a picture or two up, too!

And oh, here's my quote of the night...

"To be deep in History, is to cease to be Protestant" - John Henry Newman

I've been listening to these GREAT cd's from Lighthouse Catholic Media. I'm just loving it! I was given about 20-30 of them...so if anyone wants to borrow, do let me know! Or if you are wondering about Lighthouse Catholic Media...or bringing it to your parish...I will hook you up with a rep. to talk to your priest!! :) It's pretty much awesome I've decided. (Tom...he should be coming your way soon. He is processing out of the AF here pretty quick and will be spending a lot more time with his LCM work... I told him my parish and yours were on top of his list!)

Sensaria

Have I told you yet how much I love Sensaria! Seriously, it's great! I just had my fifth party repping for the company and it's so much fun. The products are amazing, women get a fun night with just the girls, they pamper themselves, and are encouraged to just take better care of themselves. And it is my belief that when we take better care of ourselves, we take better care of others! I just love it! :)

So thanks to those of you who have been so supportive! Do enjoy your products! :)

Babies, Engagements, & UFC

...that's a normal combination right!? :) It really was a great weekend!

Eleanor was a blast all day Friday as she has started standing up all by herself. Yea Eleanor! She's pretty darn cute about it, too. Half the time, she gets half way up and starts clapping in excitement and then falls down! :) The bigger news on Friday, however, was that Ann Marie and Eric are expecting again...so Eleanor will be a big sister!

Then before I made the treck home, the Swenhaugen family stopped by which was a delighful surprise. Little Perry was there so we got a little wrestling in - always good times! And Stacey...HUGE! (no offense Stacey...but c'mon, there's a baby in there!) You should definitely check out her month-by-month pictures on Jaden's very own website!

Next it was down to Vancouver to catch up on the life of everyone who works at Nautilus. Sometimes I feel like I work there when I visit... But I don't. And I never have. Josh is fun as always and I think becoming progressively more gangster. :) I'm proud of him! Angie and Seth are engaged and so I got caught up on all the details! Man I need to hang out with that girl more often. I love my UFC, but I'll be honest. The fights were a little lame. And Lutter - seriously!? Sad times! He didn't make weight for his title fight! Who does that!? The next big night should be great and since it's on my dad's birthday, I'll be local...so who wants to come and watch with me!?

Fights aside, it was great to see everyone and quite interesting to talk to religion with a bunch of guys drinking beer amped on UFC. :) Definitely quality people that can handle all of that. My favorite quote of the night was probably this: "OH! You're CATHOLIC! So you aren't even CHRISTIAN then!!" Wrong...but hey, great teaching moment. :)

The weekend finished up with an early drive back up from Vancouver, Mass and breakfast with Greg, quality time spent with the D'Angelo family, Mass again, youth group, and dinner with CORE. Pretty great way to wrap up my weekend! Not to mention that Greg loaded me up with some great Catholic reading.

Hope you all had a great weekend, too!! :)

Motivation

"If you are going to win any battle, you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do... the body is never tired if the mind is not tired." -General George S. Patton

I love this quote! But here's my problem...how do I accomplish my task when my body is all "antsy in my pantsy" (bonus points for you if you know what movie that is from) and rearin' to go, but my task doesn't not permit any such active behaviors? Seriously, I sit down to write a paper and I turn into a little ADD kid! I write a paragraph, maybe two, and then feel the need to get up and walk around (or check my email again...even though I have a little thing that beeps at me when I get a new one). I even do this when I'm babysitting and have nowhere to go in the house! Don't worry - the kids are sleeping. I'm not neglecting them.

Feel free to send some motivation my way...or perhaps even some incentives! :) Just kidding, but seriously...incentives anyone? Ok, maybe you can just say a quick prayer for me! Thanks. :)

Ok, back to homework! Here I go!

PS After two posts, I'm officially one of THOSE bloggers. Is anyone's day any better now that they've read about my inability to do hmwk? Most likely not, but go ahead and read the above quote one more time, write it down, and apply it to some part of your life...or just go for a really long run!

the first

"It is not once nor twice but times without number that the same ideas make their appearance in the world." -Aristotle

...and my blog is officially started. :) Hopefully I can entertain you with the occasional fun new spin on some old ideas, but mostly, I'm just here to share life with you at your leisure and convenience. :)