Stomping grounds

The majority of my college days & nights were actually spent at the Newman Center.  SO many friends there, so many things to do, so many things to learn, so many amazing ways to grow in faith.  They have grown so much since those days, they needed a bigger space.  We went down to visit the new Church & Newman Center.  All I can say is WOW!  It's gorgeous & super nice.  I wouldn't trade what I learned & my memories in the old place for anything, but I'm thankful that maybe our kids will get to enjoy this one someday.

 

We found one of the few things that made it from our old stomping grounds... the infamous black couch.  Nice to bump into some old friends there, too. 

In memoriam

 On Saturday, August 25th, my brother celebrated a special Mass for us.  As we approached Zachary's due date on September 1st, we wanted to pray in thanksgiving for him & for all those around us who also have little saints in Heaven. 

We gathered at Blessed Sacrament for a beautiful Mass with about 15 other families.  During the opening hymn each family presented flowers to Mary trusting that she now holds them in her arms.

 My sweet friend Karen agreed to lead music for us.  Afterwards, we all gathered for cookies & lemonade.  It was a nice chance to pray with each other, support each other, & celebrate, too.  God has placed so many blessings in our lives; some just happen to be crosses. 

 So thankful for this community of friends!  Our common bonds go beyond the loss of a child but sometimes that bond runs deeper than any other.  I feel that I can truly express myself around them & sympathize as well.  It has easily been the hardest cross that I've had to carry so far.  And, yet, it has already born so much fruit.

Thank you to all who came, all who helped with the Mass, all who brought goodies, all who shared comfort, & all who offered prayers during this special Mass.  Thank you, Fr. Jon, for offering it for our families.

God is good.  All the time.

 

"And we know that in all things,

God works for the good of those who love Him."

~ Romans 8:28 

Reunion

 Hastings is a pretty common destination for us & always a lot of fun.  But RARELY do we ever go there for anything not related to my sister Melissa's family.  They are so much fun & keep us busy, busy, busy without even trying!  :)  Well, they were out of town a couple of weeks ago when a college friend invited us up for a visit.  We're there so often & yet we never get to see his family.  So, this was the perfect opportunity.

I hadn't been to the Hastings Museum since high school & it was a new experience for everyone else.  Andrew was especially in love with all of the military vehicles & weapons.

 The old cars were fun to look at & imagine our family riding in one!

 They have very cool animal mounts & replicas all over.  These prehistoric swimmers were HUGE.

 We also had our first planetarium experience with the kids.  Rebecca thought it was awesome.  Andrew was moderately interested.  Teresa just kept saying that she wanted to go home!  I had to bait her with snacks from my purse.  :P  They all enjoyed digging & pretending in the discovery room.

 Afterwards we met up with Jeremy & his family at the park.  I really wish we had a free splash park like this here!  The kids had a blast & we all had a nice time chatting.

 We dried off, hopped in the van, & drove across town to a reunion of many old Newman Center friends with their families.  Most were alumni by the time I got there, but I still knew almost everyone.  What a great group of people.  It was amazing how many kids were running around there!  Certainly a different kind of party than we used to have!

 So, we all hopped back in the pool, gave a lot of hugs, ate some delicious dinner, danced a little, & caught up with lots of friends we hadn't seen in a very long time.

Thanks for inviting us, Jeremy.

We had so much fun!

Dance Party

Looking back at old pictures, hanging out with forever friends, & agonizing over which class to take this fall all have me reminiscing about college.  MOST of the memories are good.  ;)  Some of my favorites involve Newman Center dances.  SO much fun to be surrounded by people that actually know how to dance for real or are willing to learn.  (Crazy dancing with friends who I never had to be self-conscious around was awesome, too.)  Nights out at Play-mor, twirling around the "red" floor, all those Padre trips dancing for hours & hours with such great friends... makes me smile! (and recognize why I was in such better shape then!)

I was feeling "in the mood" for a little Glenn Miller Orchestra this week, so we've been listening to it in the kitchen & dancing all over the place.  Andrew's almost getting tall enough to pretzel for real!  Rebecca could dance on her own forever.  Teresa LOVES big band music & keeps requesting it.  Right now her favorites are "Chatanooga Choo Choo", which she calls

"noogie choo choo",

 & "Kalamazoo".  She's a special fan of that one because she's an alphabet lover.  ABCDEFGH I got a girl...

Friendly waters

We were able to enjoy the company of our faithful friend Anand, his lovely bride, & beautiful baby this weekend.  His return drew quite the crowd of old friends to the lake! 

 

Fishing, feasting, running after kiddos, boating, hiking, & enormous amounts of chatting filled the gorgeous evening.  Still waiting for the fun big group picture.  It was so nice to see you all! 

Thanks for the visit, Bheemars!

Special Family

 I've been blest to be a part of a Bible Study since before Andrew was born.  Some of these women I was friends with in college, others I knew through my siblings, some married college friends, & some are newer blessings in my life.  All of them are AWESOME!  They provide such an inspiration for me to be a better wife/mother/woman/Catholic, are a source of encouragement, & bring tremendous joy into my heart.  We were able to get quite a few of us together with our families last week for a picnic at the park.  So fun!

I pray we get to enjoy another 10 years together!

Roomies

Thanks for coming over, gals! 

And even though we had so little Boggle, I still had such a nice time with you.  ;) 

Rolling in the New Year

Thanks for a fun night, everyone! We enjoyed "rolling" in the New Year with a good OLD bunch of friends. ;)

Oldies but goodies

My friend Shannon coming to town for the Mothers' Retreat was the perfect reason to get together with some old college friends... & all their babies... mostly in utero. ;) I didn't catch them all on ?film?, but you should have seen my side of the table! Loving those baby bellies.
I feel so blest to have such wonderful memories with each of them & even more so that we are still making memories together. We could talk & talk & talk for hours... actually we did. We even got to celebrate Mel's birthday (How could that not be fun?). God is good. I can't wait for that Post-Padre-Vanapalooza, Karen. ;) Thanks for a great night out, everyone!

Have you showered lately?

Welcome baby Stephen!

I was blest to attend a baby shower for my college roommate Jessica a couple of weeks ago. We met her little guy, played a couple of games, ate some yummy food, chatted, & enjoyed old friends. Such fun! Jessica is a great new mommy.

Her sister Megan threw a very clever baby book shower with the book theme EVERYWHERE. I'm really wanting to throw one myself now... and use all of her stuff. What do you say, Megan??? ;) Anyone need a book shower / early birthday party that I can throw for you?

In addition to the banners, "book worm" prizes, & name-that-book-cover game, she also had children's book themed snacks. Can you name any of those pictured above? I'll give you one: If You Give a Moose a Muffin... guess which snack that went with. ;) Super cute, Megan. It made me remember a few that we haven't pulled out in a while & a few others to check out from the library. Thanks for giving me a chance to book shop & reminisce, Jessica! Congratulations!

Wahooligans

ABC party... a bit of genius Frosted cupcakes - delicious Chicken chasing - hilarious

Playdoh creations - amusing

Time with good friends - our favorite

Thanks for a great time Anne, Max, Ben, & Sebastian!