The Aftermath
Mood:  happy
Well, I got back from visiting my friend Sr Sandy who is the youngest Sister of Notre Dame around here in the states. This was the first time that I met her face to face and I had a wonderful time! I went up with my friend Becky and we stayed there from Friday night til Sunday afternoon. We had a blast! I also got to see some of the Sisters that I had met during the Stretch Your Heart expierience that I had done in May.

I was able to spend a little more time in the chapel up in Chardon. That place is HUGE (which is an understatement). There's still something inside of me that "calls" me back to it.

I got to meet a girl named Kelly who is also discerning a call to religious life right now, so it was nice to make that connection. We all went out for icecream and then went swimming!

Here's a picture of all of us.

To say that I had a blast is an understatement as well. I had an absolutely wonderful time. Becky and I stuck around a little for the Sisters' BBQ and Boutique where I met some of the Sisters who are artists. I can really relate to them because I, myself, love to paint and draw and sculpt.

I also got to briefly talk with Sister Kate who is their vocation director. She's the one who was directing the Stretch Your Heart program while I participated.

I just sent my pictures to be developed, so I'll maybe post more when they come back.

And another prayer request:
My vocation director's mother died last week. Please keep that family in your prayers.

Butterflies
Mood:  hug me
Now Playing: You Spin Me Right Round-- Billy Idol
I've got butterflies in my stomach about this whole religious life thing. I guess it's more of the fear of the unknown than anything else. Not anything to make me step out of discerning, though. My boss keeps asking me if I've made a decision yet (I have but I am not admitting it to myself yet so that I don't give myself any more butterflies than I need to)... Ha ha! That sounds so strange doesn't it?

The vocation director is ok with me moving ahead and she's been trying to talk with the provincial to get a good idea of what to tell me about living in a house of discernment. I hope that wherever I end up living that they can deal with my late work schedule. That's gonna suck. I don't get off work until 6:00 pm. And that's not going to be changing any time soon. I wonder if I really will move in with the Sisters by January like the vocation director hopes.

The vocation director's mother is really sick. She's been in the hospital for the past few weeks. They were going to release her Tuesday, but she had a stroke. She needs lots of prayers. Please pray for her.

My boss's father is also not doing too well. Please keep him in prayers as well.

On another note, I'm going up to Chardon this weekend to meet one of the novices! I've been waiting a loooong time to get to meet Sister Sandy! I'm going to rent a car and drive up there with my friend Becky. We might get to see where Sr Aloysia is buried (she's one of the foundresses of the Sisters of Notre Dame). That would be soooo cool if we could see that.

We might also run into the Sisters that I met when I did the Stretch Your Heart program in May. It's their province that I'm going to be in. That would be cool too. I'd especially like to see Sr Kate if possible. She's the vocation director in that province. She was very nice.

I am sooooo looking forward to meeting Sandy!!!!

Just Taking a bunch of Quizzes
Mood:  cool
I'm just goofing off today before I get ready for the day. I found lots of online quizzes and took them. Here are some of the results:

Your Birth Month is February

Peaceful and harmonious, you seek the gentle side of life. Your warmth and consideration touches many. Your soul reflects: Purity, modesty, and faithfulness Your gemstone: Amethyst Your flower: Iris Your colors: Purple, yellow, and light blue

Your Personality Cluster is Introverted Intuition

You are: Multilayered and complex. Inspired and driven to achieve your goals. A visionary with a complete life plan. Intuitive enough to understand difficult problems, ideas, and people

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have medium extroversion. You're not the life of the party, but you do show up for the party. Sometimes you are full of energy and open to new social experiences. But you also need to hibernate and enjoy your "down time." Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done. But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have high agreeableness. You are easy to get along with, and you value harmony highly. Helpful and generous, you are willing to compromise with almost anyone. You give people the benefit of the doubt and don't mind giving someone a second chance. Neuroticism: You have medium neuroticism. You're generally cool and collected, but sometimes you do panic. Little worries or problems can consume you, draining your energy. Your life is pretty smooth, but there's a few emotional bumps you'd like to get rid of. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is medium. You are generally broad minded when it come to new things. But if something crosses a moral line, there's no way you'll approve of it. You are suspicious of anything too wacky, though you do still consider creativity a virtue.

Just thinking
Mood:  happy
Wanted to post a prayer request or two.

First, the mother of the vocation director that I'm working with is sick and in the hospital. She's going to have to get a pace maker and isn't eating, so please pray for her.

Also pray for my friend Sr Joanne who has been having problems with her legs, knees, feet.

I'm not sure when the next time I will meet with the vocation director will be with her mother being sick. It really wouldn't bother me if we didn't meet this month and perhaps doubled up next month, but we'll see how her mother's doing by next week and see if Sister feels up to meeting.

She said she may come to my workplace. That would be soooo exciting! I can't wait to show her the kids and my new room. I'm working in the toddler room. I want to show her some of the babies too and the other classrooms and kids. And also introduce her to my coworkers.

I'll be going to King's Island this weekend on Sunday. King's Island is an amusement park with lots of rides. I used to work there when I was younger. My parents aren't going to ride anything and I don't like riding things by myself so much...bummer...

Next weekend at this time I hope to be up in Chardon visiting my friend Sister Sandra. I'm excited!!! Wooohoooo!!!

What's up, Doc?
Mood:  d'oh
Now Playing: nothing
Hmmm, I was moving my prayer table so that I could easily access the plug to the boom box that I use for prayer and listening to music, and the table hit my doll shelf (I collect dolls). Well, my one and only porcelain nun doll fell off the shelf and broke her leg. I managed to tape the leg together with some scotch tape, but needless to say, I'm kind of dissappointed in myself. That doll was given to me by a Sister of Mercy who is my friend and now it's broken.... WAAAAAAAH!

As the date is getting closer for my trip to Chardon (near Cleveland), I'm getting super excited! I'll finally get to meet Sr Sandy one of the novices that I've been talking with on the phone and also via the internet.

More Wedding Pictures
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Notre Dame football game
I wanted to show off some more of my sister's wedding pictures.

Here they are!

Here are the bridesmaids.

My dad and my sister go up the isle.

Megan and her husband.

Carriage takes them away!

My uncle Tom and I dance. (I'm not a good dancer)

Wedding!
Mood:  celebratory
Well, my sister is now officially married! Alot of my family came up for the wedding and have been around here for the last day or so. Everything went well. I got to be a Eucharistic minister, but I almost forgot to give my own dad communion (he's in a wheelchair). LOL, oh well.

I took some pretty professional looking pictures of my sisters. I'll post a few of them up.

In the picture above of the wedding party, I'm the one on the far right on the end.

The above picture is of me, my dad, my brother and my sister.

Just Reflecting
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: Television at my parents' house
My sister's wedding is in less than a week. Wow time flies! Lots of people from both sides of the family will be here to visit for the wedding. There's alot to think about for the wedding.

I've been keeping busy sewing buttons onto one of the scrubs that I have to wear for work. I like wearing things that are different so I will embroider, sew on iron-on decals, buttons, and color with fabric crayons. I really love being crafty.

I also spend some time reflecting on the story of Sister Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN, the nun that was martyred in Brazil a little more than a year ago. Here's a link to The Student The Nun and the Amazon about Sister Dorothy that was recorded before she was murdered. I've seen that video that they are selling on the website and it's a really good one.

Also I've been reflecting about the community of Sisters that I want to join. I want to do more with them so that I can really get to know them better.

Wedding Countdown
Now Playing: What if I Stumble? DC TALK
Well, there's officially only nine more days until my sister's wedding. It's unbelievable. I never pictured my sister as married, though I knew she'd get married eventually. Strange eh? Well, my boss helped me get a present for the wedding and I'm waiting for it to be delivered. She nearly strangled me for worrying about it though.

If any of you are curious, my sister and her fiancee have a website where you can read about them and see some pictures. Their engagement pictures are on the site and they're pretty nice.
Here's the site: Nate and Megs

I got a new fish, not sure if I wrote about this fish in here yet, but her name is Ginevra. I named her after Ginevra Weasley of Harry Potter fame (Ginny Weasley's full name is Ginevra Molly Weasley). I call my fish Ginny for short. Now, this name is not to be confused with that of my spiritual director who is also called Ginny. Her name is actually Virginia. But anyways, Ginny (the fish) is a female Beta fish and she's really pretty. She is blue and green and purplish. The only sad thing is that she's got a little hole in her tail...I hope she's ok.

Excited!
Mood:  celebratory
Well, I had the talk with the vocation director and she gave me some excellent news. I'm soooo excited, but am going to still take things as they come and try not to over-react. She hasn't talked this over with the provincial, but she plans to propose this to her: I might be able to move into a house of discernment starting in January and live with the sisters for a semester. I'm not really sure how long that is because I've always dealt with things in quarters.

She said if that goes well, that perhaps I could enter the community as early as June of next year. I'm not going to think that far ahead. I need to focus on just doing things a day at a time.

Anyways, I must have had a look of nervousness on my face because the vocation director kept asking me if something was wrong. I told her that it all sounded really good.