Marching for Life!

"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish." Mother Teresa

Today marks the anniversary of Roe v. Wade... it's been 37 years since abortion was legalized and 50 million lives have been lost.  50 MILLION!!  It is staggering and heart breaking.  Thousands are marching for LIFE today in Washington, D.C.

I went to the to the march in 2005 with several of my friends, including Beth and Donna, and the Frassati Society. It was a great experience!! It was so moving to see so many people all marching to protect ALL life! What an amazing sight! I'm praying for all those marching today and for all the lives that have been lost.

And while it was a great experience... there were a few bumps along the way. My group of friends bring this up often... and we laugh and laugh. It's a kind of 'had to be there' thing... but you'll get the idea. Here is a recap of the highlights!

We suppose to be heading to D.C. on a bus filled with our great Frassati peers. We ended up on a bus packed with energy filled teenagers! Oh man, did they have energy. We left at 9pm and they talked and played cards all night! Us old timers could not take it!! Finally someone stood up around 3am and yelled, "GO TO SLEEP!" In a nice way.

But the teens weren't the only thing keeping us up... we had horrible weather and were in and out of blizzard like conditions. We would all finally fall asleep and then wake up when the bus started to swerve off the road!!! Yes, off the road!!

Then there was the heat and cold. It was so HOT on the bus that we dialed asked the bus driver to turn down the heat a little. A little.. not off! About an hour later there was ICE on the windows. The was so much ice that the toilet froze. Not good. So between the teenager, nearly going off the road, the heat the cold... it wasn't the ideal all night bus ride! But once we got in D.C., it would all be good, right?? Hardly.

Amongst the teens there was on fellow pro-lifer in that wore a HUGE penguin hat the entire ride. Right in front of us! And not like a cute little penguin hat. Nope! A hat that pretty much looked like a life sized penguin on her head! So for three days we had to watch a penguin dance on her head! She never took it off, even during the march. I'm sure she was the one pro-lifer that was on tv! Because of that hat... Beth has gotten me something penguin themed for every event in my life! Even my bridal shower!!

We are convinced that the pro-abortions folks were in charge of our hotel. We couldn't check in and again, the heat was a huge issue. It was so hot in our room that we had to open the windows. We'd call the front desk and they would just say, "So sorry, can't help you." Yep - pro-choicers for sure! HA! Donna took the heat of the hotel not so well... and now has the nickname Beav... but that's not a story for the blog.

The march itself was great even with all the snow and freezing conditions... finding a port-a-potty without being stopped by armed guards after the march... not so great. The ride home with the same teenagers who now considered us all "really old"... again, not so great! The frozen toilet on the bus... not so great as well!

I look back at the march weekend fondly and with lots of laughter. It is a story that is brought up often when chatting with the girls. It really solidified the amazing friendships of Donna, Beth and myself. It is definitely a trip I will NEVER forget!

So pray for the marchers today and pray for LIFE!!

Me, Donna and Beth marching for life! Not looking so great... but marching!

Prayers for Haiti

I am so devastated by the news of the massive earthquake in Haiti. I spent some time in Haiti doing a mission a few years back and hold that country very close to my heart. It is so close to Florida, but seemed like another world. I can only imagine what it is like now.... and what it will be like in the upcoming weeks, months and years. We were there at a time of peace and calm and we found ourselves faced with machine guns, massive poverty, but also such a spirit of survival among the people. I am praying that that same spirit of survival will keep the people of Haiti going during this time. I pray that they receive the help that they need quickly and peacefully. I pray that the media attention they are receiving will bring a greater understanding of their situation to more people around the world. I am praying for all my friends that right in the middle of all the devastation. I pray that they and their families are safe. So please, keep Haiti in your thoughts and prayers right now!

Some of my favorite images from my mission trip.

2009 Recap!

Wow! What a year that 2009 turned out to be! It was AMAZING!!! The blessings overflowed! I pray that 2010 will be just the same for us and all our family and friends. Granted, there were many ups and downs, highs and lows... but for the most part, 2009 was wonderful! Huge life changing events happened and for that I am grateful! So here it goes... 2009 recap!

JANUARY: We brought in 2009 drinking margaritas and wearing party hats! Very fun! On January 22nd -- Douglas proposed, making me the happiest gal in town! Whoo hoo! By January 25th we had set the date of November 7, 2009!

We had party hats for 2010 too!

FEBRUARY: We celebrated Doug's 40th birthday at a fundraiser... not the best idea on my part. I had to go because of work and he came along. I promised him it would be great... it was, but not the big birthday party he might have had in mind! But we did have some great times in February with my work gang. We all went out and celebrated Valentine's Day. It is an interesting group -- made up of different beliefs of all kinds -- but it works and we are all great friends! This maybe kind of made of for the lack of party on Doug's birthday. Maybe??

Doug's Birthday cake.

Cortnie and I at fundraiser #1!

He looks like he's having fun... right?

Valentine's Day with Alvin and Amal.

MARCH: I once again "convinced" Doug that another fundraiser would be a great time had by all. I had a great time... lots of wine and friends. I began to learn that maybe fundraisers aren't Doug's idea of a great time. But he was a great date!

Fundraiser #2!

APRIL: Wedding planning and pre-cana were well underway! Every detail of the wedding was getting booked and I loved it! I went shopping for dresses with my mom while I was home for Easter. Didn't really find what I was looking for... but it was great fun! Speaking of Easter, I celebrated with my parents, while Doug was home in Indiana. Easter mass was great -- their church is so pretty! And one can't talk about April, without mentioning that little John Paul came into the world! What a sweet little boy!! Love him and his whole family to pieces!! They are the best of friends and it is so fun to watch their family grow!

Beautiful church where I celebrated Easter!

Ahhh... baby John Paul!

MAY: We were able to see some extended family members that came all the way from Minnesota for my cousin's wedding! It was awesome seeing so much of my mom's side of the family. I only have two relatives in this whole state, so to have everyone around was wonderful! I did some more dress shopping with some cousins -- too fun! The wedding was great and made both of us super excited that we were next!! And... I started the blog.

My cousin Gordy and I at his wedding.

JUNE: I loved this month! My great friend Mark was ordained to the Transitional Diaconate. He will be ordained a holy priest June 2010! I LOVE ordinations!! We have been very blessed in our diocese to have an amazing and large group of seminarians! We have around 30 men that are in seminary!! The ordination was great and packed, but we had the best seats in the house! June also brought my first bridal shower -- crazy fun! My friends and I also revisited our junior high days -- going to a New. Kids on the. Block concert! It was sooooo fun! We had t-shirts and all!

Gotta love a good ordination... especially one where you get to hold a little baby!

Newly ordained Deacon Mark.

Beth and Mary at the shower.

My best friend Jessi and I at the NK.OTB concert.

JULY: July was filled with outdoor activities at state parks led by none other than 'Ranger Doug.' Doug's summer job was that of a park ranger, aka an Interpretive Naturalist. He was a natural at it... he likes being outdoors and all. Me, not so much. We took our first mini-trip to Brow.n County, Indiana to enjoy the sights and get away from the business of life for a few days. I had a great father-daughter date, as I took my dad to the George Strait concert. He had always wanted to see him in concert, so it was awesome to take him to it! July was also a huge real estate month for us. Doug sold his condo! And on our first anniversary ... we bought a house! Whoo hoo!

Ranger Doug

Pre-Concert picture with dad.

Beautiful Brown Cou.nty, Indiana!

AUGUST: August was a very up and down month, literally! We had a great couples shower and Doug's side of the family threw me a shower in Ohio. And then there was the broken foot! Not fun!! Especially since it happened right before we closed on our house and moved!

Fun times with my friends and my mom.

SEPTEMBER: In September we moved and moved and planned and planned! I moved into the new house, hobbling all the way. Moving with one foot in a cast is not what I would call a good time. It's probably as fun as Doug thinks fundraisers are! Ha! Doug moved out of his condo. His stuff came to the new house and he moved in with his parents and his cat moved in with me. Our wedding invitations went out and wedding planning was all consuming! We finished up our pre-cana with our priest and sponsor couple! Both parts of our pre-cana were such a blessing!

Moving Day and my first visitors at the new place... Madeleine and John Paul and Miles.

OCTOBER: This month was all about the wedding! We had our engagement pictures taken after getting rained out the first two times we tried it. We also had the awesome engagement video shoot!!! I had a great time with my friends at a shower and my bachelorette party! My family and I were all working on the final touches for the wedding! Getting all the RSVP's in the mail was sooooo much fun! Speaking of SEW, she came to visit!! It was so fun hanging out with Nicole! Love her!

Beth, Nicole and I... And Sarabeth and I having a little drink!

And some engagement pictures...

October went so fast, and then it was...

NOVEMBER: WE GOT MARRIED!!! That was the highlight of the month! The year, actually!! We went away on a mini-honeymoon. We celebrated our first Thanksgiving with both families and settled into married life! It was wonderful to simply be in the same town!! FINALLY!

DECEMBER: We continued to settle into married life... and loved every minute of it!! We celebrated Beth's B'day and then it was Christmas!! It was a busy month, as most December's are!

Celebrating Beth's Birthday... Dominic, Beth and me.

Madeleine is too cool...

WOW... what a jam packed year!! Can't wait to see what 2010 has in store!!

The year also had so many other great memories! We were so blessed with so many fun times with our friends. We had many dinners out, sushi nights, movie nights, hanging out at our favorite book stores, awesome church programs, etc., etc. Here are some other fun times...

My work gang... having some treats and a little lunch time trim... yep... at work... but not on the clock!

Hanging out with Madeleine at the book store.