Mission Possible. About 95 youth accompanied by adult chaperones invaded Colorado Springs last week with the mission of serving the poor, elderly, and less fortunate. They normally live on the outskirts of town and spend their summer days working, playing, and lounging. Last week, their steps took quite a different pace and I found myself jogging along with them.

Basically, we slept on a church floor all week (leaders included), ate meals there, split into groups of 10-12 during the day for service work, attended daily Mass, and embarked on a "fun" adventure each evening. My group of 10 ranged from age 12-17 and we found ourselves at a shelter for homeless teens, the Soup Kitchen passing out socks & toiletries, doing yardwork for an elderly woman, making meals for a half-way house, doing church chores, and doing upkeep on a labryinth for a local group of Religious Sisters. PHEW! It was a fun week filled with many lessons for all. (and a large excuse for my lack of blogging ; ) )

We did have a break in the evening for Wal-mart shopping (where the kids bought all the food for the week- with lists of course!) **on a side-note, I don't think I ever want to go with that many teenagers to Wal-mart ever again!**, to Joyrides (my 1st time Go-cart racing), and the Wave pool (you won't believe it, but I had no energy to get in!), and Narnia movie night with yummy popcorn and ice cream : ). No pictures yet, because I refuse to put a digital cameras on a worksite around kids! You'll have to wait for the real film to be finished and developed...

While it was fun to be a kid again, I was glad to return to the world of adults and finish unpacking my apartment. It's slowly being decorated and getting put together...bit by bit. Carmel is now home from prison, pretty well behaved and without any tatoos or piercings (for those of you who were concerned). We both got a little banged up on Sunday at my Softball Game...Carmel didn't see the ball coming and I didn't react quick enough...I got a line drive right into my thigh....it's becoming quite a pretty bruise.

Now I'm off for a long weekend in Phoenix for the wedding of my friend Jenny. Yay for vacation!
I'm sure there will be pictures posted soon from that trip. I'm excited for a fun girl's weekend. : )

80 degrees and rising. Yes, friends, the weather here is fantabulous. A "cold front" has hit the Front Range this week, causing our temperatures to drop down to the mid-80's. *sigh* A blue sky, bright sun, and cool breeze have accompanied this front. My only complaint is that I have to move at the end of this week!

Quote of the Week: "Is it possible to do First Communion twice? My niece made hers a month ago somewhere else, but my sister-in-law saw ours last weekend and likes it better."

What you have is good enough. Yesterday, I was struck by one of our preschool teachers bringing a small vase of flowers in water and rocks over to the Blessed Mother for May Crowning. The student who brought them in was sick and she said she "couldn't help but not take them to our mother." What a small, but beautiful offering!

Meanwhile, I had just gotten off the phone with my mom. She had told me the following story that has really stuck with me.

Mother Theresa was on an airplane, speaking to the man next to her who was telling her how he was not good at raising money for the organization he worked for. "Why not?", she asked. He didn't really have an answer.

As the stewardess came around with the meals, Mother asked if she could have the $1 she had paid with her ticket for her meal in place of getting the meal. The stewardess checked with the pilot and he said the airline would be fine with that. Who on earth would dig into their meal as they watched a poor old nun give up her meal? All the passengers on the flight gave up their meals for $1 a piece and gave the money to Mother Theresa. The total was $125. She looked at the man next to her and said, "You can't be afraid to ask".

As the flight was nearing it's end she told the same man next to her to ask the stewardess if they could borrow a truck. She looked at him oddly, and returned a few minutes later to tell him that a truck would be waiting for them upon landing. Mother Theresa then piped up and asked the stewardess what would happen to the uneaten meals. She did not know, so Mother asked if she might have them. Again, the stewardess asked and the response was "Yes", for they would go to waste.

When the flight landed Mother Theresa had the gentlemen put 125 airline dinners in the back of the truck and hold on for dear life in the passenger's seat. (apparently she was not a very good driver!) She drove them from the Mexican airport to a remote, impoverished town, where she hopped out, opened the back of the truck, and began distributing the meals. The man knew that this was the last place he would have found himself had he not encountered her.

I can only imagine! No matter how small the offering we bring, whatever it is suffices. It may be as small as a child's or as intuitive as Mother Theresa's. What you have is good enough and never be afraid to ask!

Grey's Anatomy Well, I know I sort of throw around the word "obsessed" on this blog thus far, but this time I really mean it. In general, I have lost interest in TV except for this fantabulous show: Grey's Anatomy.

It's definitely on the level of obsession, infatuation, fascination, craze- whatever word you want to use to describe it, it's gotten there over the last few months. (let's be honest...it's on my blog for goodnes sakes'!) Every Sunday night I curl up on the couch and immerse myself in the world of surgical interns. If you know me well this is quite ironic considering I faint when I am bleeding and am easily grossed out by pretty much anything beyond the basic bumps and bruises. Somehow the way injury, surgery, and medical problems are integrated into these people's TV lives makes me get over it! I get rather into it...gasping "NO" from my seat, rushing in from the kitchen from commercial breaks when they're over, and now hooking up a TV with bunny ears in my office so that as soon as my meeting this evening is over I can watch the end of the 2-part season finale. Yes folks, I called my officemate as soon as it was over last night and I realized this massive conflict and my emotions were torn...and we decided she would bring the bunny ears and I the blank video tape so that we would not miss what is sure to be the best season finale of them all! Check it out tonight on ABC from 8-10pm. : )

What do you think?

The ongoing debate in everyone's mind...what do you go for? The "boy next door" look of surgical intern George (left)? The more handsome look of Dr. Derek Shepherd (right)? Or...the rugged look of patient Denny Duquette (no pic...you'll have to watch the show for that!)?

First Communions have made my life insane for the past week and a half! But now, with 3 down and 2 to go, life is reaching normalcy. Well, my life is as sane as life can be for someone who is moving in two weeks! So even though First Communion is a lot of work, it is totally worth it. It's now one of my favorite parts of my job.

Carmel is at Puppy Prison (the Canine Companions training program...which I prefer to call Puppy Prison), so I am enjoying sleeping in a few extra minutes even though I miss my pooch!

I've got a fun week ahead with a potluck, Bible study, brunch, smooshed with laundry and packing up my stuff in between.

Love of the Lamb and Company at our Annual Easter Brunch. : ) Gotta love sisterhood!

Deanna, me and Emily- All dressed up for the Easter vigil and P-a-r-t-y!

Sarah and I

'Tis the season when the grass turns green, the flowers begin to bloom, and spring cleaning begins! As people clean out their homes, garages, and I suppose even their cars, they realize that they have a lot of stuff. In an attempt to rid themselves of this clutter they gather it all together in their garage, driveway or yard, and maybe even invite a neighbor or two to do the same.

Yes everyone, I am admitting it- I am addicted to garage sales! Around the corner someone else's junk is waiting to become your treasure! Just think of the endless possibilities...everything from furniture to kitchen appliances to decor to kid's games! And alas, I live in the city of heavenly garage sales- Denver, CO. The Denver Post is no normal paper when it comes to advertising your slightly used goods. Not only can you advertise your sale, but they also place each sale on a map by region and give it a number. The number can then be referenced on the opposite page to find out the street address, and the street address leads you to the correct advertisement. It's a whirlwind of shopping possibilities! You can shop by listed goods, geographic area, OR if you know the city and surrounding areas well- street address!

No matter where you are- this Friday, Saturday, or Sunday hop in your car for a leisurely drive and enjoy the warm spring weather....and don't hesitate to stop when those neon garage sale signs catch your eye! ; ) You never know what you will find...

K-mart...the furniture mecca. I think I have a new favorite store. Recently, I discovered that K-mart has prices similar to Walmart and the furniture- booh-yah! Our experience buying furniture there was MUCH better than at AFW. (scroll down 2 posts or so) I bought a dining set at K-mart and the sales associate rolled it to the cashier for us, rolled it out to the car for us, and single-handedly lifted it into the car while Haley and I stood by watching (myself holding Carmel, who was very confused by the whole situation!) Now this, folks, is customer service! The guy didn't even make me drive the car to the curb! And so, I think that K-mart is beginning to win over my heart as a single young woman. ; )

Yes folks...this is the infamous Lamb. Isn't he cute?

Notice the Easter egg with my name on it and the jellybeans. What detail!

A Tuesday evening adventure... Furniture. It's a necessary, yet usually overpriced item. Let's be honest here. This past Tuesday my friend and co-worker, Haley, and I decided to go on a furniture-seeking "trip" in Colorado Springs. Due to my quickly approaching move and the fact that she is having company this week, we were/are in need of various pieces of furniture.

The first thing that we found is that some furniture stores close at 5:30pm. (double thumbs down)

We then set off to Furniture Row, every shoppers dream. A row of stores that sell everything from kid's waterbeds to leather sofas, and they are all connected to each other, so you don't even have to go outside! There, I asked the salesperson the price of a clearance table. Instead of telling me the price, he took us to the display table and told us everything about that table (I really wasn't going to pay attention until I knew the price), and then told us the absurd price of the damaged table. However, he did display the wood quality for us, by standing on the table's edge. To which we didn't really know what to say, so upon leaving Haley said, "Thanks for standing on the table for us." (family, I was having flashbacks of Michael Terrell cracking the drawer...)

At this same location, we were looking for a dresser. Upon entering the bedroom store, a small child, around the age of 5, who spoke very little English began talking to us saying "Mama, Papa". We were being nice as he sat in the kiddie play area and just said "Hello"....but then...disaster hit...he began following us to all the different stores. Note: We did not know this child. No parent was is sight, or paying any attention to what was going on. This resulted in Haley and I dashing in between children's furniture to "lose" him, so that we could leave without him following us. (after, of course, we were in an area where he was near his parents and they saw him)

Next, we went to American Furniture Warehouse. A great place for everything except tables and chairs. Those are expensive there. So, Haley purchased a side table for her room, which was perfectly reasonable for us to carry around, and out to the car. Well...then she found a dresser. The kind salesperson brought it up for us on a cart and then informed us that she could not help us take it to the car. It didn't look that large and it only had a few drawers. We were determined we would be fine anyway.

Once we realized it was not going to fit in the trunk, I knew we were in for an adventure. Now, this would be a good place to mention that I forgot a change of clothes, and am therefore wearing thin high-heeled leather boots. (really wasn't thinking that morning) I mention to Haley that the cart that this box is on is going to go flying once we take the boxed dresser off it, see as we are on an incline. So, we turn the cart sideways. Lo and behold, in spite of the modified position, the cart begins flying down the parking lot. Not just rolling folks, I mean flying. She looks at me in slight panic, both of us laughing hysterically. Haley then comments "I have tennis shoes" and leaves me there balancing the box. (that is much heavier than we expected by the way)

Upon her return we tried to put the box into the backseat of Haley's Pontiac Grand Am. Well...it was just a little to long. So, we tried to wedge it in. Still didn't work. I decided we needed some leverage to raise it and rest it on ledge below the window, so I maneuvered myself into the backseat underneath the box on my back. It still would not fit. Finally, we put the front passengers seat down (all the way to the back) and somehow got the box on top of that. Luckily, getting it out of the car was much easier. I think next time we will bring a man with us.... Hence, our adventure of the week.

Happy Easter! (very late!) Soon to be posted is the picture of the Lamb cake. This cake is traditionally given to all the staff members at St. Peter's each year. Apparently most people chop the head off, just for fun. Seeing as I really had no one to share this with and my roommate had already packed our house with goodies, I didn't quite finish the cake, but I did chop off the head before tossing it in the trash.

PS I haven't posted on my blog in a month because...well...because it was "spring break" from Religious Education here for a month...and at first I didn't quite know what to do with myself with that much free time, and then all of a sudden there was too much to do!!! (you know how it goes)

I love baby calves. Yes, this seems like a really odd comment. However, I saw my first one for the year on the way to work this morning and it really got me excited. When I was a little kid my grandpa would take us to my great-grandpa's cow farm all the time and I loved it. We would feed them corn and I would get the biggest kick out just getting to touch their nose. Believe it or not, when we were older we even used to ride along when they bailed the hay. (and "help out", whatever it is that we did at the time) Well, that's enough reminiscing for now.

As I got to thinking this morning the calves ended up being quite a reflection. When they are just born their fur is all matted and they have those wobbly, skinny legs, but let's be honest- they're still cute. Little forms of full grown creatures are just that way. They have done nothing to merit it, but they are. Hm...well isn't that just like us?

I recently watched an episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent. Law and Order is one of my fav.'s because of the twist and turns that usually don't end up being horribly scandalous. In short, the mother of a child born with spina bifada was suing her doctor for not doing further tests that would have warned her of the child's condition prior to her birth. It was quite saddening...at this point the child was in her 20's and because of this lawsuit was questioning the love of her parent. However, her brother did everything in his power to make sure that she knew she was loved, amazing, and a special person. Each one of us has a unique beauty within us, no matter what physical, emotional or spiritual struggles we may have. How often we forget that!

Just like those baby calves, we slowly grow... It's a rather funny thing to watch a calf stand up for the first time. (or even get up at all when it's little) What a challenge! But, momma just stands nearby, probably agonizing over the fact that her little one could (and most likely will) fall at least once. Sometimes I look back on the past and regret the mistakes I've made....the times that I've "fallen". It is during those times that I forget that God uses my weakness as a part of his plan. Even when I do something wrong, or make a mistake, he uses that.

Someone told me an analogy once about the end of our lives. They said that when we get to Heaven, it will be like we are looking down on a woven blanket. The design will be beautiful, and it all will make sense. However, while we are here on earth, we will only see colors, parts of the pattern, and light shining through the strands of yarn as we look up toward the blanket, trying to catch a glimpse of the picture. For we are looking at the bottom of the woven blanket...the wrong side to see it's beauty.

I guess until that glorious day when we meet our maker we must settle for our wobbly legs....

The Family's Trip to CO... At the beginning of March the family came out to see glorious Colorado for the first time. I had a fun time showing them around and hopefully they got a chance to relax while they were here. Here's a quick recap: Saturday we ventured to Estes Park where we went to a glass blowing shop, shopped, ate, and explored Rocky Mountain National Park (where mom was thrilled to see animals). On Sunday when I was done with work we took a stroll in Washington Park in Denver, where we tried to walk the wiggles out of Carmel. Monday we found ourselves at the Denver zoo (a fav.) and relaxing in the evening with a movie. See the pictures below!

Jen in Estes Park

Jen and Mom

Check out that jagged peak!

In Rocky Mountain National Park...I love the mountains! Although sometimes the twists and turns of driving through them get to me (that's why I like to drive) I can't get enough of 'em!

Some sheep at the zoo...we watched them for awhile. These were drinking and there was a baby that was meandering off by himself and was quite amusing- he was a little wobbly on his legs.

Elephants- the one on the right was resting his trunk on that stool all day.

The baby cub...isn't he cute?

I'm a big fan of the gorillas. This one is the grandpa of the crew. They had two little guys, but neither one would come close enough for a picture. : (

My office is like Antarctica. This is not a joke folks! I am currently huddled by my computer and my freezing fingers are barely making it across the keys. The Weather Channel reports that it is currently 28 degrees here in Monument, CO, but somehow the two inches of snow on the ground and the heating problem in this school are making it seem much colder than that. Haley, my officemate, and myself have taken dire measures. We have been wearing winter coats all day, got our "emergency blankets" out of our cars and bundled them around our legs(oh...this is what they are for!), and have recently been boiling water to fill our Nalgene bottles and have placed these cocoons of warmth in our laps. Personally I am very thankful that the Trane repair man has arrived and finally declared that, after four days in this cold building, there is something wrong with our heater! Ya think? Maybe soon I will be able to take off my snow boots and retire my heavy wool ski sweater and turtleneck.

Oh spring, wherefore art thou spring! How I long for thee! ; )

Why a Blog? Why Now?

So I'm sure everyone is asking the same questions. Why is she creating a blog? Why now? (And my mom is probably also wondering...what the heck is a blog anyway?)

After much encouragement from these handy websites of my friends and their comments about them I've decided that I need to have one of my own. For one, now that I've moved across the country it's a great way to keep in touch with everyone about the daily happenings of my life. Secondly, it's a great way to keep conversation going about the random insights myself or others encounter in our journey toward our Heavenly home. Finally, I've discovered that I really like to write...a lot. I suppose this is an excuse. : )

Welcome to Life...this is the title of a song by the artist Matt Maher. (one of my favs by the way) This is one of those tunes that I found myself jamming along to in the car one day (don't laugh-I know you've all done it!) when I began to be puzzled by the words I was singing. They are simple lyrics, yet there is a profound depth behind their truth. I chose this for the title of my blog because since graduating from college almost two years ago I really feel life has definitely been thrown at me full speed. Before even walking across the stage to receive my diploma I knew that there were challenges, joys and sorrows beyond my imagination awaiting me past the doors of Finnegan Fieldhouse. However, I don't think I quite had in mind what was waiting for me outside of the rolling hills of Steubenville....

Some of you reading this may have known me prior to the beginning of this "real world" journey, others may have been with me walking through those doors (or watching from nearby) and still more I have met since that day. Regardless of the point at which you joined me on this beautiful, yet mysterious journey of life, welcome! Until next time....

Welcome to Life

Hello, good morning, everyone underneath the glorious Son. I wrote a little song for you.

Sometimes we forget we are the image of the Love of God.

So please, if you don't mind, let me remind you.

That we were made to love each other as a sister and a brother, imitate perfection in this imperfect world.

So, welcome to life; I hope you enjoy it in between yesterday and tomorrow.

Welcome to life; I hope that you get it right.

And on the way I do confess we stumble, fall, and make a mess of everything we try to hold dear. So be honest when you pray, and maybe thank him for today.

Let go of the future so unclear.

Listen for the voice of mercy, cast out all your fear and worry.

Can't you see you've only got room for the cross?

And you live and you'll die; you'll be honest and you'll lie.

Put your trust where the truth is and your treasure where your heart is.