"Here Comes Good-bye"

Last night was a bitter-sweet night because it happened to be the last "holy hour" for the year. It was definitely one to remember though. The leader did a spin-off of "The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous featuring Robin Lynch," called "The Lifestyles of the Saints and Blesseds featuring Robin Lynch." Basically my friend played Robin, and had him recently converted to the Catholic Church where he then made a time machine to go back into time to learn about how the saints lived. So as she was role playing as Robin Lynch, she had a Brother play Blessed Raymond of Capua, who was St. Catherine of Sienna's spiritual director. (The picture to the right is one of St. Catherine dictating letters to Blessed Raymond.) It was so much fun watching these two interact with each other, and it was a fun way to learn about both Blessed Raymond and St. Catherine. I did not know much about her before this, but she was a fire cracker. One of the most important things she did was bring the Pope back to Rome where he belonged. She also had the "invisible stigmata" which is something I have never heard of before. I larned some other things about here, but I don't have the time right now to type it all out here because of work.

It's always hard to say good-bye to friends who you know you won't see for a good while, but that's life. It's full of good-byes... I'm just not a fan of them. Luckily though, I will be able to see most of these people atleast one last time before they all leave to go home or move on to the next chapter in their lives on Monday night, so it wasn't really good-bye just yet, hence the title "Here Comes Good-bye."

I know that when Wed. rolls around next week I won't know what to do with my new found free time. I'm sure I will figure something out though.

God Really is In Control!!!

In the past few years one of my favorite things to help out with at my parish is the youth group. As I have said in a previous post that a lot of the people that have been really important to this ministry are leaving this year for bigger and better things, and for awhile the few of us left did not know what we were going to do.... After tonight, I have even more confidence that the youth group will do well without those people, but we will still miss them greatly. They are irreplaceable. Tonight happened to be the ministry fair for the R.C.I.A. class. Basically the fair is made up of a person from each ministry in the church who come to talk about their ministry and then afterwords the people from the class had a chance to go around and ask even more questions about the ministry they might be interested in. It's also a chance for the different ministries to gain new recruits to help out.

Right before the ministry fair began my friend and I were talking about how we would miss one person in particular because of how much he has done this past year with the youth group. Both her and I were in the middle of talking about how we liked that a male lead our youth group retreat this past year. It was nice to have that, and we both agreed that we should try to find another one of our guy friends to help lead next year's retreat with us. Well, God works in wonderful ways, because when it came time for the people to come around and find out more about the ministries, one college guy came up to us and started talking about the youth group. He mentioned how he was active in the youth group in his old church, and had great experience in running retreats and Bible studies. Both my friend and I looked at each other and it was like we both knew this guy was going to be very important to the youth group and had him give us his contact information. Along with this young man we had four other people, all college students, interested in helping out with the youth group as well. I am excited to get to know all these knew people over the next year, and am very grateful that God answered my prayers about how we were going to deal with the youth group without the people that were leaving. Kinda cool don't you think?

Memorable Quotes from Bishop Fulton Sheen

My mom passed on a book to me a few months ago called "The Quotable Fulton Sheen." I finally opened it up today and have already found some really good quotes in it. Here are a few that I picked out already.

"Beauty without virtue is like a fair flower that has an offensive odor. But true beauty bathes in that light without which nothing is beautiful. beauty is a gift of God, like the rain. He allows the rain to fall upon the just and the wicked, and He gives beauty not only to the good, but even to the wicked. Wicked beauty strikes the eye, but the inner beauty of grace wins the soul."

"It has always struck me as strange that we should pardon a wife, on the grounds of 'temporary insanity,' for limiting her married life by shooting her husband, and at the same time glorify the same wife as a 'progressive free-born woman' because she limits her family by stifling an unborn life. All of which goes to prove that we do not need new laws but expansion of the definitions of old ones, and particularly of the law of murder."

"I wonder if it is not true that as the world loses veneration for Christ's mother, it loses also it's adoration of Christ."

"Books are the most wonderful friends in the world. When you meet them and pick them up, they are always ready to give you a few ideas. When you put them down, they never get mad; when you take them up again, they seem to enrich you all the more."

"The very fact that the world is a thousand times more scandalized at a bad Catholic in public life than a bad anything else, is only a proof that the world expected much more of him."

"A man's real good is that which he works most earnestly to preserve, and which saddens him most when he loses it."

I can't wait to look even more through the book to find more quotes. Very interesting ones, indeed.

Where Did My Week-End Go???

As I said in my last post we have been blessed with gorgeous weather this week-end! :) Today after mass we had the Confirmation reception for all the Confirmation II students that will be receiving the Sacrament next week at the Lucas Oil Stadium up in Indy. This year, all the confirmation students in the Archdiocese will be receiving Confirmation together in the stadium for our175th Anniversary Mass. There will be nearly 3,000 students that will receive the Holy Spirit in this Sacrament, along with nupital blessing given to all married couples that will be there. There will also be religious orders celebrating jubilee anniversaries as well, so the stadium will be pretty packed and will be having more exciting things than a football game going on in it. I think it will either be really great or very chaotic with all those people figuring out what they are supposed to do and when they are supposed to do it. I am very excited for it.:)

Anyway after the reception I hung out with some friends waiting for noon mass to be over so we could sell coffee for a mission trip some of the youth group members will be going on. Now, I was not planning to stay all that time between masses, but it was pretty relaxing and I am glad that I did not leave one of my friends there to ammuse herself alone. While hanging around while mass was going on I was sad to see just how many people showed up so late to mass. Some were still coming in after mass had been going on for half an hour. I just can't seem to comprehend how people cannot seem to get the church for even one hour to be with God, and I think it's because I do enjoy going to daily mass that one hour does not seem like that much time at all. Really it isn't. I do not like to judge people, I try really hard not too, but when I watched those people walk in thirty minutes left like it was the most normal thing I had a really hard time not judging them.

After I left church and came home, my sister and her boyfriend and I decided it was to gorgeous to stay inside, and so we decided to go hiking. We went to McCormack's Creek where we hiked to the waterfalls. It was a lot of fun, and we stayed at the falls for quite awhile. We all got wet and cooled off from the heat. I ended up getting a little sunburned on my arms from all the sun this week-end. That's what I get for not wearing sunscreen.... that's one thing I do not like about my skin.... I burn so easily. I have a feeling I will probably end up with skin cancer one of these days because I don't think about putting on sunscreen in the Spring. Oh well, if that's how I die then so be it.... I didn't even mean to get into the topic of skin cancer, but that is how my mind wanders from topic from time to time.

Now it's back to the work routine, and with the pretty weather, I am sure my week will go by much faster than in the past few weeks, let's hope.

Partying is So Overrated Anyway.....

This past week-end we have been blessed with gorgeous weather! It was sunny and warm and simply gorgeous. I could not have asked for better weather for this week-end in particular. It was"Little 500" week-end here in good old Bloomington, In. There is even a movie made all about this event called "Breaking Away," which happens to be a favorite of mine. Really though, this week-end always seems to be the most dangerous week-end in my town because of all the drinking and partying that goes on with the college students. Instead of participating in the drinking rituals of the many students my age I decided on a more safer and sober approach to the week-end....

We had our C.C.D. classes yesterday. Every year I tend to switch back and forth between helping my mom with her 6th grade class and my dad's R.C.I.C. class. Yesterday, however, I decided to hang out in my friend's 3rd grade class since I will be helping teach it over the Summer. The class was spent on learning The Apostle's Creed and learning all about Pentecost. You see, instead of meeting every week for the kids, we meet four times a year on a Saturday for about three hours, and then for one week in the Summer from nine in the morning to three in the afternoon. That week is a huge commitment to make, and sadly I could not take off any time last year to help out. This year I will be teaching the third graders in the mornings and then my friend will take over for the afternoons so I can go back to work. I have never worked with third graders before, but I think it will be a great time. The kids all seem like good kids and knowing that will make teaching them more fun.

After classes were over I went with my friend to go find Confirmation presents to buy for the six kids in our small group. We went to a place called "The Mother of the Redeemer Farm" bookstore (I could talk about why it's called that, but that is for another blog all together.). It is always fun to go into that little shop because there are just so many things to look at and find. There is always something different every time you walk in there. After spending quite a bit of time trying to figure out what in the world we would get them, we finally decided on a visor clip which says that if the owner of the car is in a dangerous accident to call a priest. They are really cool looking clips. Some of them had crucifixes on them, others had Mary on them, and one had the Sacred Heart of Jesus on it. We also got them a little prayer book filled with different useful prayers (I know, shocking right?) like the prayers for Before and After Communion along with others. The last two things we decided on were little ring rosaries and a little "How to Pray the Rosary" booklet. All in all I think we did well. It's always fun buying gifts for other people and wondering about how they will react to them.

Later in the late afternoon and early evening I went to baby-sit for one of the daycare families. The parents had a wedding reception they wanted to go to without having to worry about dealing with the kids, and they were not really comfortable leaving them home alone for that long just yet. It's always fun watching the kids one on one and seeing how different they are in their own home environments. We had a blast trying to catch butterflies and playing hide-and-seek for a good hour and half. There is no better way to end a hide-and-seek game than going out and getting ice cream from the local ice cream shop.

It was a very eventful day yesterday to say the least, and I definitely did not need to drink a thing to enjoy it.

2009 Trike-A Thon

Every year at the daycare I work at we have our annual trike-a-thon to help raise money for St. Jude Childrens Hospital. Last year we rose over $500. dollars for the hospital. This year we past that amoun and then some with a final total of $745.00. YAY!!!! Basically the families take home forms and ask their friends and family members to make donations for the hospital, and then they bring the money to us on the day of the event. We were very blessed to have such gorgeous weather this morning for the kids to ride their bikes and trikes. They rode for about an hour and a half, and were very tired afterwards to say the least. It's always a blast to do this event because we really know we are helping families at the hospital who do not have enough money to cover their child's health expenses. As a special treat this year, Clifford, the Big Red Dog, came to start off the trike-a-thon for the kids. They were all excited about seeing Clifford, but there were a few who were not so sure about him. One child, Grady, went up to Clifford and asked him if he was real. It was kind of funny.
The one thing about this event that we have annually is that it helps the children learn how even though they are "little" they are still capable of making a difference in another person's life, and that is a lesson that is hopefully going to be carried over through the years as they grow. :)

Kid's Say the Darndest Things 2

Here are some more funny things I have heard while working at the daycare. These guys are really so funny sometimes!!!!



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Me: Hey Miko. Can you say "hello" in Polish for me?

Miko: (At the top of his lungs) Hello in Polish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!

Ok not quite what I was looking for, but at the same time it makes sense, and it was really funny.

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Axel's mom: I have to take Lilly to the doctor today, Axel.
Axel: Why does baby Lilly have to go to the doctor?
Axel's Mom: Because Lilly has to get her shots.
Axel: Lilly has to get shots?!?!? How many shots?
Axel's Mom: Just a few shots, Honey.
Axel: Lilly getting shots makes me very sad, Mommy. (defiantly) I don't want Lilly to go to the doctor! I want her to go to school with me!!!!

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One day at work when we went outside we were mildly surprised to find that for some reason some chipmunks decided to use our playground as their birthing grounds. Well as we were talking together trying to figure out what to do with these little critters I noticed a crowd of children around one of the many chipmunk holes. When I went over to see what they were talking about I heard the following conversation....

Josie: So what are we going to do with these little critters anyway?
Chelsie: Let's kill 'em!
Kevin: NO!!!!!!!!!!! They are God's creatures! We can't kill them!

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One day, one of the kindergarten teachers donated a kitchen set to the daycare filled with all sorts of dishes and play food. One of the new toy food things, a scoop of strawberry ice cream, became the center of discussion. As you read this, keep in mind the color of the ice cream was pink....

Greta: Oh yummy everybody. This is just so tasty and delicious!
Axel: Oh no, Greta!!!! Don't eat the flamingo poop!!!!!!!

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Miss Emily: Axel, did Alexander take the stick away from you?
Axel: No.
Miss Emily: Then what did Alexander do to make you kick him???
Axel: He pointed the stick at me and said he was changing me into a hot dog, and, and , and I don't want to be a hot dog!!!!

Interesting facts about Our Lady of Quadelupe

Tonight at "holy hour" we talked about different miracles... mostly we talked about the Shroud of Turin and Our Lady of Quadelupe. I learned some interesting facts about the picture of Our Lady on the Juan Diego's tilma. I did not know that if you looked at Our Lady's pupils you can see the reflection of three people in her eyes, those of Juan, the Bishop, and the translator that translated the conversations between Joan and the Bishop. Also, not only are the reflections visible, but the way they are placed is scientifically in the proper spots in the pupil with all the shadowing and everything. I do not think I ever learned that before, and if someone did tell me, I obviously was not paying too close attention to it at all. Another thing that was pointed out was how the stars on Our Lady's cloak are actually different constellations, and the way they are placed on Juan's tilma happen to correspond exactly to where to stars and constellations were on the night that she appeared to him. Just some things to think about. Very interesting to say the least.
So in honor of us talking about Our Lady of Quadelupe, I have found a very pretty prayer, which I have placed below.

PRAYERS TO OUR LADY OF QUADELUPE

Our Lady of Guadalupe, mystical rose, intercede for the Church, protect the Holy Father, help all who invoke You in their necessities. Since You are the ever Virgin Mary and Mother of the True God, obtain for us from Your Most Holy Son the grace of a firm and sure hope amid bitterness of life, as well as an ardent love and the precious gift of final perseverance.

Dearest Lady, fruitful Mother of Holiness, teach me Your ways of gentleness and strength. Hear my prayer, offered with deep felt confidence to beg this favor.

O Mary, conceived without sin, I come to your throne of grace to share the fervent devotion of your faithful Mexican children who call to Thee under the glorious title "Guadalupe" - the Virgin who crushed the serpent.

Queen of Martyrs, whose Immaculate Heart was pierced by seven swords of grief, help me to walk valiantly amid the sharp thorns strewn across my path. Invoke the Holy Spirit of Wisdom to fortify my will to frequent the Sacraments so that, thus enlightened and strengthened, I may prefer God to all creatures and shun every occasion of sin.

Help me, as a living branch of the Vine that is Jesus Christ, to exemplify His divine charity always seeking the good of others. Queen of Apostles, aid me to win souls for the Sacred Heart of my Savior. Keep my apostolate fearless, dynamic, and articulate, to proclaim the loving solitude of Our Father in Heaven so that the wayward may heed His pleading and obtain pardon, through the merits of Your Merciful Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

"You Will Conquer"

At work today, both my boss and my co-teacher came to me today to tell me that my co-teacher will most likely be leaving the daycare sometime very soon. My co-teacher's husband received a job offer from Harvard and if his lecture goes well next month then he will most likely take the job. If however, his lecture goes bad, he won't take it, but Ellie (my co-teacher) will still need to take a year off to make sure her son gets the help he will need from the government for college. So with her gone, my boss informed me that I will become the new "lead" teacher. Now I have been the "lead" teacher in the room before, but I also knew that would be temporary. Knowing that this will most likely be a permanent thing has made me a bit nervous but also kind of excited. I will be sorry to see Ellie leave because she has helped make working at St. Charles Daycare a positive and happy experience.
Again I went home and this evening I opened up my "God Calling" book and yet again it had exactly what I needed to hear. Go figure...

You Will Conquer
April 21

I am with you. My Presence is a sign of My forgiveness. I uphold you.
You will conquer. Do not fear changes. You can never fear changes when I, your Lord, change not. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day and forever. I am beside you. Steadfastness, unchangingness, come to you, too, as you dwell with Me. Rest in Me.
As breathing rightly, from being a matter of careful practice, becomes a habit, unconsciously, yet rightly performed, so if you regularly practice this getting back into My Presence, when the slightest feeling of unrest disturbs your perfect calm and harmony, so this, too, will become a habit, and you will grow to live in that perfect consciousness of My Presence, and perfect calm and harmony will be yours.
Life is a training school. Remember, only the pupil giving great promise of future good work would be so singled out by the Master for strenuous and unwearied discipline, teaching and training.
You are asking both of you to be not as hundreds of My followers, nay as many, many thousands, but to be even as those who reflect Me in take this training, not as harsh, but as the tender loving answer to your petition.
Life can never be the same again for either of you. Once you have drunk of the wines of My giving, the Life Eternal-all earth's attempts to quench your thirst will fail.

Devin

I was messing around on you tube and found this video about one of the hundreds of children that C.O.T.A. (Children's Organ Transplant Association) is helping. I have written a little bit more about that organization and why it's so important to my family and I in another post, which you can find here
I get such a proud feeling when I think about how much C.O.T.A. has been able to do for the hundreds and hundreds of kids. It's pretty cool.

November 17, 2008

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Only 5 year's old, Devin is in need of a life-saving transplant. Born in 2003, Devin was diagnosed with Short Bowel Syndrome & spent the first 13 months of his life in the hospital. Only 5 year's old, Devin is in need of a life-saving transplant. Born in 2003, Devin was diagnosed with Short Bowel Syndrome & spent the first 13 months of his life in the hospital. Due to his serious medical needs & family situation, he became a ward of the State of New Jersey.

Despite his significant health issues, a pediatric nurse from the hospital & her family decided to adopt Devin. He became an active part of a very supportive, caring, & loving family. During the last 4 years they have consulted with some of the worlds most renowned experts on caring for children with short bowel syndrome and bowel rehabilitation.

Earlier this year, Doctors at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC recommended a life-saving transplant. With the cost of a transplant often exceeding $500,000, few can afford the financial burden of such a procedure. Volunteers are actively trying to raise $100,000.00 to help defray some of the cost of this life saving surgery.

For more information about these efforts and Devin's Journey, as well as learning how you can help out in this situation, please go to http://cotafordevinm.com.

The Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA) is a national charity dedicated to organizing and guiding communities in raising funds for transplant needy patients.

A Rainbow in the Sky

It's a good thing that when God created the rainbow he didn't consult a decorator or he would still be picking colors.
~San Levenson~

"The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow, but the rainbow won't wait while you do the work."
~Anonymous~

"May God give you... For every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile, for every care a promise and a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share, for every sigh a sweet song and an answer for each prayer."
~Irish Blessings Quotes~

The children in my class have most recently been obsessed with rainbows. There are a few rainbow story books we have in the classroom, and I swear, in the past few weeks I have read those books so many times, I have them memorized. They love looking at pictures of them and drawing them and singing about them.
Today at work about ten minutes before the daycare officially closed one of the parents came in to pick up her child. We were in the middle of cleaning the room and getting it ready for tomorrow, when the mother told us about a rainbow that was outside and how she wanted her daughter to quickly get her things so she could take her out to see it. Now, normally buy 5:20 p.m., us teachers are very ready to get things cleaned up so we can leave as soon as every child has been picked up, and we rarely ever stop cleaning when we are in the middle of it. However, today, when we heard there was a rainbow outside, both my teacher aid and I immediately stopped what we were doing and took the few kids that were left outside to look at the rainbow. Doing that did put us behind schedule, so I did end up staying after closing to finish up the cleaning, but I would not have taken back that choice at all. Watching those kids faces as they were looking at a real rainbow, rather than just pictures of them, was priceless. I was so glad to get them outside to look at it!

Every Ending Is Just A New Beginning

This past year I have volunteered as a confirmation catechist for my parish. Today, sadly, was our very last class for the year. I was not expecting to really feel so sad about saying good-bye to the kids in my small group. I honestly was hesitant to be a catechist for the confirmation aged kids. I have helped teach the elementary aged children ever since I was about sixteen I believe, and I have always enjoyed teaching it, especially the sixth grade class. I do not really know why I was hesitant to help teach the high school kids, because I really do love to help chaperone high school retreats and help out with youth masses, but I was. In fact, it never crossed my mind to help out until a friend of mine asked me to last summer. I am now glad that I did though. In a way helping them has helped me learn more about my faith than I knew before, so not only did I help them (hopefully), but they helped me as well. I am very excited to see what these kids are going to do in their future for the Church after they get Confirmed next month. I am sure the one's that I got to know are going to do great things!

"Escape"

I have recently finished a very moving book called, "Escape." It is a heart-wrenching tale of Carolyn Jessop, a woman who had to escape with her family from the F.L.D.S. Church. The F.L.D.S. is one of the most secretive religious groups in the U.S. It seems so unreal how they live their day to day lives. Her story gives you a peek into the polygamous group, and the things she had to go through seems so strange that it feels like a fiction story, rather than a true story, but the fact of the matter is that it is a true story. After reading this book, I felt even more thankful to be born into the family that I was, and not into one of the families in that group. The way it is written captivates you and holds your attention. I know that there were times I was so frustrated with the people in the story that I wanted to throw the book across the room, but then five minutes later I had to go back and pick it up, because I had to know what happened. It is definitely a book you want to read!

Memorable Quotes from the Movie, "The Changeling"

Today I was able to sit down and watch the movie, "The Changeling," directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Angelina Jolie. It is a very moving story that is inspired by actual events that occurred in 1920s-era Los Angeles. It tells the story of a woman driven to confront a corrupted L.A.P.D. after her abducted son is retrieved and she begins to suspect that the boy returned to her is not the same boy she gave birth to. The year was 1928, and the setting a working-class suburb of Los Angeles. As Christine (Angelina Jolie) said goodbye to her son, Walter, and departed for work, she never anticipated that this was the day her life would be forever changed. Upon returning home, Christine was distressed to discover that Walter was nowhere to be found. Over the course of the following months, the desperate mother would launch a search that would ultimately prove fruitless. Yet just when it seemed that all hope was lost, a nine-year-old boy claiming to be Christine's son seemed to appear out of thin air. Overcome with emotions and uncertain how to face the authorities or the press, Christine invites the child to stay in her home despite knowing without a doubt that he is not her son. As much as Christine would like to accept the fact that her son has been returned to her, she cannot accept the injustice being pushed upon her and continues to challenge the Prohibition-era Los Angeles police force at every turn. As a result, Christine is slandered by the powers that be, and painted as an unfit mother. In this town, a woman who challenges the system is putting her life on the line, and as the situation grows desperate, the only person willing to aid her in her search is benevolent local activist Reverend Briegleb (John Malkovich).
Here are two quotes that I thought should be mentioned more so than any of the others, especially the second one.

"CHRISTINE: Wait...you hit him first? Why?
WALTER: He said my dad ran off because he
didn't like me.
CHRISTINE: Your dad never even had a chance to
meet you...so how could he not like
you?
WALTER: Then why did he leave?
CHRISTINE: Well, the same day you were born,
something else arrived. It came in
the mail, in a box just slightly
bigger than you. You know what was
in that box? Something called responsibility.
Now, to some people, responsibility
is fun, it's what you live your
whole life for. Other people think
it's the scariest thing in the world.
WALTER: So he ran away because he was scared
of what was in the box?
CHRISTINE: Yup.
WALTER: That's dumb.
CHRISTINE: That's what I thought."


"Christine: You shouldn't have done that.
CAROL DEXTER: (with difficulty)
Wanted...to. Felt...good.
I lost...two babies...to back alley
doctors...no choice....
Never had...the chance...to fight
for them. You do. Don't stop.
CHRISTINE: I won't...I won't."

If anyone is interested in watching a really great movie, then I think this is one you should not miss out on.

"Watching You"

There is a song by Rodney Atkins called "Watching You." It's all about a father and his son and how his son wants to be just like him as he grows older, so he's tying to do everything his father does. It reminded me just how much children pay attention to everything that they see and hear. Most of the time they repeat the things you have said that you wish they did not repeat. I always have to stay on my toes at work when it comes to the words I use and how I react to certain things that have happened throughout the day because I have twelve pairs of eyes and ears that are watching and listening to everything that is going on around them. There have been a few times I have accidentally let a word slip, and undoubtedly, sometime later that day I will hear that word I said come from one of their little mouths, and then I feel just awful. I have to remember if I want to help the children grow up and treat others respectively, than I have to give them a good example to follow. It would be kind of hypocritical to get upset with the children for the way they behave if I am doing the exact opposite of what I want them to do. The lyrics to the song I mentioned above, are below. It is a very cute song, and it happens to be one of my favorites.

Watching You
Rodney Atkins


Drivin’ through town just my boy and me
With a Happy Meal in his booster seat
Knowin’ that he couldn’t have the toy ‘til his nuggets were gone.
A green traffic light turned straight to red
I hit my brakes and mumbled under my breath.
His fries went a flyin’, and his orange drink covered his lap
Well, then my four year old said a four letter word
It started with “S” and I was concerned
So I said, “Son, now where’d you learn to talk like that?”

Chorus:
He said, "I’ve been watching you, dad ain’t that cool?
I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you.
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are.
We got cowboy boots and camo pants
Yeah, we’re just alike, hey, ain’t we dad?
I want to do everything you do.
So I’ve been watching you."

We got back home and I went to the barn
I bowed my head and I prayed real hard
Said, “Lord, please help me help my stupid self.”
Just this side of bedtime later that night
Turnin’ on my son’s Scooby-Doo nightlight.
He crawled out of bed and he got down on his knees.
He closed his little eyes, folded his little hands
Spoke to God like he was talkin’ to a friend.
And I said, “Son, now where’d you learn to pray like that?”

Chorus:
He said, "I’ve been watching you, dad ain’t that cool?
I’m your buckaroo, I want to be like you.
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are.
We like fixin’ things and holding momma’s hand
Yeah, we’re just alike, hey, ain’t we dad?
I want to do everything you do; so I’ve been watching you"

With tears in my eyes I wrapped him in a hug.
Said, “My little bear is growin’ up.”
And he said, “But when I’m big I’ll still know what to do.”

"‘Cause I’ve been watching you, dad ain’t that cool?
I’m your buckaroo, I want to be like you.
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are.
By then I’ll be strong as superman
We’ll be just alike, hey, won’t we dad
When I can do everything you do.
‘cause I’ve been watchin’ you."
hey yeah
uh huh

What's In A Name???

Last night I got into a discussion about different names and their meanings. I became kinda curious to know more about mine, and here is what I found.

Teresa
Reaper : Greek

Extremely intelligent in thought and deed you are gifted at communication and finding practical applications for your ideas. You are strong willed and ambitious and need to have passion, freedom and adventure in your life. Always willing to help others your warm, honest and loyal nature ensures that you are loved by all. It is likely that you will achieve a great deal of success and recognition in life.

Allison
Little truthful one : Irish

You are both a visionary and a realist able to bring your dreams into a tangible form. Pioneering and ambitious you accept new challenges and the responsibilities which go with them willingly. Your sound judgment, resourcefulness and positive nature means that your progress in life is assured. Certainly your kindness and generosity to others and your inspirational manner attract success as well as many admirers.

McConnell
World; Mighty: Scottish and Irish

Your calm manner and maturity belie a fierce determination to be at the top where you can exercise authority and get things done. Although somewhat of a rebel you attract much support through treating others with kindness and friendship. You have a broad scope and are naturally drawn to travel or projects which can expand your knowledge and understanding. Your talents and generosity bring you emotional and material contentment.


If ya'll are curious about what your name means you can check it out here http://www.bostonuk.com/index.cfm?id=572.

"Miracle"

I found this video off of youtube while I was bored. I have never heard this song before, but it is very very good.

"Gentle With All"

Today was especially difficult for me to get up and go back to doing my daily routine after being able to celebrate the Easter Triduum all this past week-end and being immersed in the beauty of those traditions. One thing that made it easier though was knowing I would be able to spend some time with some of my good friends this evening. One of my best friends, Jess, had her Junior french horn recital this evening, and all the music that was played was wonderful. I was sad to have it end to be quite honest. Along with being able to hear her play, I was able to spend some time with two of my favorite people, who can make me laugh so easily. Of course, I don't love them just because of the fact that they can do that, because there are even better reasons why they happen to be some of my very favorite people, but I do always have fun when I am with them. Being around these people did make it an easier Monday for me.
Anyway, when I got home this evening I again opened my "God Calling" book, and the reading was just so beautiful, I thought I'd share.

April, 13

Gentle With All

Love and laugh. Make your world the happier for your being in it. Love and rejoice on the grey days.
There are wilderness days for My Disciples as well as Mountains of transfiguration, but on both it is duty, persistently, faithfully done, that tells.
Be gentle with all. Try to see the heart I see, to know the pain and difficulty of the other life, that I know. Try, before you interview anyone, or speak to anyone, to ask Me to act as interpreter between you two.
Just live in the spirit of prayer. In speaking to Me, you find soul-rest. Simple tasks, faithfully done and persisted in, bring their own reward, and are mosaics being laid in the pavement of success.
Welcome all who come here. I love you.

Happy Easter!

I think my very favorite celebration in the Church has to be the Ester Vigil Mass. Last night we had a very very beautiful one at our parish. My very favorite part of this mass is always when the lights come on after being in the dark for so long. It is always gorgeous when that happens, and our choir did such a wonderful job last night too. I believe there were about 25 people who officially joined our church last night, one of whom happens to be a family friend of ours, so it was even more exciting then usual for my mom and I to watch. After wards there was such a nice reception downstairs. I was not expecting all the food for some reason.
So for Easter, I want to share my very favorite reading passage from last night's mass because it is just so beautiful. As I sat there listening to this while the church was dark it, I could not help but be touched by it. I hope you like it as much as I did!

Reading IV
Is 54:5-14

The One who has become your husband is your Maker;
his name is the LORD of hosts;
your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
called God of all the earth.
The LORD calls you back,
like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
a wife married in youth and then cast off,
says your God.
For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great tenderness I will take you back.
In an outburst of wrath, for a moment
I hid my face from you;
but with enduring love I take pity on you,
says the LORD, your redeemer.
This is for me like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah
should never again deluge the earth;
so I have sworn not to be angry with you,
or to rebuke you.
Though the mountains leave their place
and the hills be shaken,
my love shall never leave you
nor my covenant of peace be shaken,
says the LORD, who has mercy on you.
O afflicted one, storm-battered and unconsoled,
I lay your pavements in carnelians,
and your foundations in sapphires;
I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of carbuncles,
and all your walls of precious stones.
All your children shall be taught by the LORD,
and great shall be the peace of your children.
In justice shall you be established,
far from the fear of oppression,
where destruction cannot come near you.

My Good Friday

This Good Friday was an especially difficult one for me, but I really only brought it on myself. I mean I did not have a problem this time with fasting, because as part of my Lenten promise I have been fasting every Friday during lent. Instead, you see, last night I decided I would go bar hopping with an old friend of mine who I rarely ever see anymore. What started out as some innocent fun, somehow ended up being more"fun" than I ever anticipated. So today, I have had one of the worst hang overs I have ever had. At first this morning, I was all feeling sorry for myself for being an idiot, but then as I was laying on the couch and feeling sick to my stomach, it hit me that today is Good Friday, the day Jesus DIED for me (talk about a reality check right there). So instead of complaining about the hang over I was having, I ended up offering it up for the souls in purgatory. I also prayed quite a few rosaries because I did not have the strength to really do much else since I was sick. I was so glad to be feeling well enough to make it to Good Friday service tonight. It was a very beautiful service, and happens to be one of my favorite (next to Midnight Mass and Easter Vigil Mass) traditions of the Church.

Having that horrible hang over happen was most definitely a learning experience for me. For one, I now have to ALWAYS remind myself to make sure I eat something more than a salad before I go out with my friends. Secondly, I don't need to drink as much as I did (obviously). Third, I need to learn to not ALWAYS drink a drink some guy wants to buy me, because I am sure that did not help my situation whatsoever... Lastly, I need to remind myself to keep drinking water through out the night, not just during the last half hour before it's time to head home.

Reflecting on "The Passion"

At my weekly "holy hour" meeting, I was surprised to find out that the activity for the night was to watch the movie "The Passion." I was somewhat unsure of watching this movie again after just watching it on Friday, but not wanting to seem rude by leaving really fast I decided to stay. I am now glad I did, because after watching the movie we all had a really good discussion about it. We talked about different parts of the movie, or people in the movie that touched us. We discussed the other characters in the scripture besides Jesus, like Simon, Pilot, Judas, and Peter.
I never really have paid much attention to Simon in the past, but tonight I took more notice of him. It was interesting to watch how when he first was told to carry the cross he wanted everyone to know he was a free man carrying a condemned man's cross, and then as you watch him help Jesus you notice how he soon realizes that there was something special about Jesus. In the end, really, Jesus is the one that was carrying not just Simon's cross, but all of our crosses.
Pilot is another character I have never really understood. I have always been frustrated with this character because I think he could have done more than he did to save Jesus. One person in my group said that she wished he would have said something like, "I don't believe he should be killed, so if you want to do this you're gonna have to kill me along with him." Then again, in some ways, I think we can all be like Pilot. What I mean by that is, sometimes we see things happen in our day to day lives that we don't necessarily agree with, but out of fear of rejection we stay silent and just watch those things keep happening.
Then we also had the discussion about Judas and Peter. Judas and Peter in their own ways both betrayed Jesus, but Judas ended up killing himself, while Peter did not. I think that if Judas came up to Jesus and asked for forgiveness for what he had done, Jesus would have forgiven him, but Judas fell into what we call the "sin of despair." He felt that there was no way he would have been forgiven by Jesus, and after being tormented he eventually killed himself. Meanwhile, Peter, after denying Jesus three times, ends up running to Mary and telling her what he had done and asks for forgiveness. It was interesting to really think about those two, because again, I think we as humans also betray Jesus whenever we commit a sin. So even though my first initial feeling is to really dislike Judas, thinking about it, I am just like him in my own way, except I have not fallen into the "Sin of Despair," as he did.
Another thing we talked about was what was it that actually ended up killing Jesus. Fr. Bob told us that he had watched a television program all about different theories of how Jesus died. He told us that for awhile people thought Jesus ended up suffocating and died. The people on the program did not believe this theory, mainly because Jesus was talking right before he died. If a person is truly suffocating there is no way for them to be able to talk while they are struggling for breath. Instead, they believe that while Jesus was carrying his cross he did indeed fall, and during one of those falls his heart got injured. While he was on the cross, his struggling for breath probably ended up breaking the heart's outer wall barrier. Now if that barrier is broken, people will usually feel that in their body, and that is how Jesus knew he was about to die and was able to say the words "Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit." So essentially, they believe that Jesus died of a broken heart. Interesting, don't you think?
I can honestly say after all of this meditating on the passion of Jesus, I am very ready for Easter!

"Prayer Request" Update

I have some good news about the little boy, Aaron, who I mentioned in an earlier post. Apparently over yesterday and today he has improved greatly. His parents told us that his doctor said if he does well tonight he should be good to go home tomorrow. The doctor also said that he should stay home and rest for a few more days before he does anything to intense or stressful for him. So if all goes well, he should be back with us at the daycare by next week. I am sure that is a great relief for that family. Thanks for all the prayers! :)

"Four Boyfriends"

I received this e-mail from a friend and I found it very interesting, indeed.

Four Boyfriends

Once upon a time there was a girl who had four
boyfriends.

She loved the fourth boyfriend the most and adorned
him with rich robes and treated him to the finest
of delicacies. She gave him nothing but the best.

She also loved the third boyfriend very much and was
always showing him off to neighboring kingdoms.
However, she feared that one day he would leave her
for another.

She also loved her second boyfriend. He was her
confident and was always kind,considerate and
patient with her. Whenever this girl faced a problem,
she could confide in him, and he would help her get
through the difficult times.

The girl's first boyfriend was a very loyal partner
and  had made great contributions in maintaining
her wealth and kingdom. However, she did not love
the first boyfriend. Although he loved her deeply,
she hardly took notice of him!

One day, the girl fell ill and she knew her time
was short.She thought of her luxurious life and
wondered, 'I now have four boyfriends with me,
but when I die, I'll be all alone.'

Thus, she asked the fourth boyfriend, 'I loved you
the most,endowed you with the finest clothing and
showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying,
will you follow me and keep me company?'

'No way!', replied the fourth boyfriend, and he walked
away without another word. His answer cut like a sharp
knife right into her heart.

The sad girl then asked the third boyfriend, 'I loved
you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow
me and keep me company?' 'No!', replied the third
boyfriend. 'Life is too good! When you die, I'm going
to marry someone else!' Her heart sank and turned cold.

She then asked the second boyfriend, 'I have always
turned to you for help and you've always been there
for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me
company?'

'I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!', replied
the second boyfriend. 'At the very most, I can only
walk with you to your grave.' His answer struck her
like a bolt of lightning, and the girl was devastated.

Then a voice called out: 'I'll go with you. I'll follow
you no matter where you go.'The girl looked up, and there
was her first boyfriend. He was very skinny as he had
suffered from malnutrition and neglect.

Greatly grieved, the girl said, 'I should have taken
much better care of you when I had the chance!'

In truth, you have four boyfriends in your lives:

Your fourth boyfriend is your body. No matter how much
time and effort you lavish in making it look good,
it will leave you when you die.

Your third boyfriend is your status, wealth and
possessions. When you die, it will all go to others.

Your second boyfriend is your family and friends. No
matter how much they have been there for you, the
furthest they can stay by you is up to the grave.

And your first boyfriend is your spirit. Often neglected
in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the
world.

However, your spirit is the only thing that will follow
you where ever you go. Cultivate, strengthen and cherish
it now, for it is the only part of you that will follow
you to the throne of God and continue with you throughout
Eternity.


Thought for the day:

Remember, when the world pushes you to your knees, you're
in the perfect position to pray.

Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect. It means
you've decided to see beyond the imperfections.

Prayer Request

I have a very important prayer request to ask of you all. There is a little boy that attends the daycare I work at. His name is Aaron, and he's almost four years old. He has been in the hospital all this past week with pneumonia. Normally this would not be so terrible, except for the fact that he has really bad asthma as well. He has lost around 14 lbs. from being sick in a week, and that is a lot of weight for anyone, but especially for a child his age. His parents told us that sadly, there are new mothers down the hall who have been getting more sleep then they are because they have had to get up many many times during the night when Aaron's breathing monitor beeps when he is not getting enough oxygen. I know this has been really hard on Aaron, and his parents, but also on his two older brothers as well. Please keep this family in your prayers. I'll let you know more updates about him as I find out from work.

Youth Mass Night

Once a month, in my parish's youth group, we have a youth mass. It is run basically by college students and highschoolers. Not only are we all able to go to mass together, but we are lucky to be able to have the sacrament of confession readily available before mass. Youth mass nights happen to be one of the more popular things the youth group does, because after mass there is always pizza for everyone to eat and time spent in fellowship. It tends to be the time when I am able to connect with some of my friends who I do not see too often, along with going to mass, which is always a great thing to do. When it is warmer, there is also a large ultimate frisbee game that is played, and I am not half bad with that game either. Youth mass nights are always a blast.
Sadly, two of the main people who help keep it going will be leaving next year, and I have been asked to step it up and take on their tasks. At first, since I did not know the work that was involved, I was hesitant to step up to the plate. Tonight was my first night of figuring out about all the different background things that go one before the mass begins. After watching and learning about half of the work I will be doing next year, I am not so intimidated with this new job I've inherited. Thankfully, I will have one more chance to refresh my memory before they leave. I'm just sad to see those people leave. They will be greatly missed by us left behind...

"Top 10 Ways to spend Holy Week"

I received this in an e-mail from a friend of mine. She is a consecrated in the Regnum Christi movement... So here are the "Top 10 Ways to spend Holy Week."

1. Take 10 minutes to read a Passion narrative from the
Gospel.

2. Look in your parish bulletin to find an extra Holy
Week activity you could attend (and invite a friend to
go with you).

3.Invite a friend to go to mass with you on Holy
Thursday,Good Friday, or Easter.

4. Pray the stations of the cross on Good Friday.

5.At three o’clock on Friday, take a moment of silence
to reflect on the mystery of our redemption from sin
and how much God loves you.

6.Offer up listening to music on Good Friday and Holy
Saturday in order to unite yourself. with the Church
in mourning the death of Christ.

7.Prepare a good confession and go in order to have
a heart ready to receive Christ back on Easter.

8.Pray a decade or more of the Rosary on Holy
Saturday to accompany Our Lady after burying her
Son.

9.Listen well to the readings in Mass and ask the
HolySpirit to touch your heart.

10.Make Easter a spiritual holiday by reminding
someone of the real meaning of it.

"Labor of Love"

This week-end my parents have left my younger sister and I alone to kind of fend for ourselves while they went with my little brother to his state bowling tournament. Since my younger sister had to work most of the time yesterday, my day was spent mostly trying to keep busy and not to bored.
One of the ways I did this was by helping a friend of mine with "Labor of Love." Labor of Love is a program my friend started here as a way for the confirmation students to get some service hours while helping the elderly in our community. Basically we meet at an "older" person's home where we then commence to whatever task they need done. In the fall, the most popular thing we do is rake yards, and in the winter we usually end up shoveling driveways. Yesterday, though, my friend and I were washing windows for one couple. I enjoy helping out with this project, and try to do so whenever I am able to. It's always nice to help people, and I always hear some interesting stories from these people, you know, about how they grew up. It was so so different from the way I have grown up. Yesterday; for example, the woman was telling me how she used to have to wash her clothes... She did not have a dryer like we do now, to dry her clothes. They had to air dry a lot of their clothes, so if it was raining, the did not do the laundry. I think listening to what they have to say to us is just as helpful in some ways as raking their yard or shoveling their driveway. It only took up an hour and a half of my day, which I probably would have spent in a less productive way at home.
Now, I'm off to get ready for the rest of my day today.

My Emotional Rollercoaster Ride

Last night was a very emotional night for me, but then again, every time I have watched "The Passion" I always get a little emotional to say the least. Normally, when I watch that movie, it's been at a time when I haven't gone to confession for awhile and so it hits me hard. Since I went to confession on Wed. evening though, watching the movie this time was a little bit of a different experience for me. Normally, after the movie I feel like such an awful horrible person (which I did feel that way this last time, but not as intensely), and I cry like a baby. Instead, this time all I could think about was how loved I am by God and Jesus, and I felt very undeserving of it... I kept thinking in my head, "Who am I to have You go through all of that for me???" It was kind of overwhelming to think about.
So after watching the movie, I was blessed to be able to go visit Jesus in adoration at my parish. After that movie there was no place I wanted to be, but there for a little while. Sadly, I have not been to adoration in a few months, and I forgot just how peaceful it is. I stayed there for about an hour talking to God, and reflecting about what I had just watched. It was really nice, and I realized that I need to fit adoration in my schedule a lot more often then I do.
What a way to end a work week.

Everyone Needs A Good Laugh

In my family, this past week it seems as though most of us (excluding my younger sister and I) have been, how you would say, down in the dumps. To liven things up around here I decided to turn on the movie, "Bill Cosby, Himself." If you have never ever watched this stand up comedy routine, you are missing out on some of the funniest things I have ever heard. When I first started the movie, most everyone said they were not in the mood for it, but after about five minutes into it, I knew they would change their minds. I have never been around people during this movie that have not laughed. You cannot help it whatsoever. It was nice to hear my parents laughing tonight, rather then stressing out over family problems. I think my idea turned out to be a pretty good success to say the least. I am putting in a short clip from the film below, if you're interested at all. Hopefully it will bring a smile to your face like it did mine. :)

Confession and Reflection

Today was a gorgeous and beautiful day for me... Not too mention, it was also a very busy one at that. I was gone all day and did not get home until around 11:00 p.m. I was blessed to be able to go to confession tonight. I try to go at least once a month, and every time I go I always feel so happy afterwords... like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. It's a great feeling! After confession I headed over to another parish for holy hour. Tonight's talk at holy hour was all about where we were as far as our Lenten promises were going. Now, for lent I did something a little different. Other then praying a rosary everyday (which I have been able to do a lot more easily then I first thought I would.) I have also been doing little acts for other people to help make it a little easier on the people around me. I meant to do these things anonymously, but I have found that has been extremely hard to do because I apparently can't keep a secret very well.
We also talked about how we were doing since our retreat a few months ago... you know if we're still on that "Jesus high" or slowly falling back into our old selves again. It is hard after that initial "Jesus high" you get on a retreat to keep going. You do great for a few weeks, and then slowly you see yourself falling back into how you were beforehand.
The last thing we all did was write our own letters to God. In these letters we were supposed to write things that we were thankful for, things that we are sorry for, and to ask for the help we need to overcome the things we are sorry for or whatever may be troubling us at the moment. Now since I had just gone to confession before this, I had a harder time writing to God about the things I was sorry for, but the other two parts of the letter were very helpful indeed. It seems to me that when I talk to God in prayer, I tend to constantly ask Him for things instead of thanking Him for the things He's already given me or helped me with. Doing that exercise made me realize more of the many many things He has already helped me with which I did not pay too much attention to before. Going to confession and holy hour were two of the best ways to end my day! :)