Time is Pressing On...

I just looked at the clock and was shocked to see the time!  We'll be heading toward Birmingham sometime this evening.  Fidelio's post was beautifully written and - I must admit - the emotion conveyed by it prevented me from adding another post for a couple of days.  Nevertheless, she was able to change her plans (mostly on account of my begging) and will be flying in tonight so that she can be at the ceremony tomorrow.  No one else of my family can make it. 

Mom plans on updating this blog every once in awhile with pictures of my future life, so keep checking to see if there's something new.  Otherwise, thank you for being active readers and, in the case that I will not be present in the blogging world after this, Au Revoir! 

~May God Bless You!

The Leave Taking

Mike arrived safely at Mundelein yesterday evening.  I already miss him! 

Please keep all of us in your prayers as you remain in ours.

Wazzup?

I was given a task from my soon-to-be novice mistress: pray the Divine Office.  So, if I'm lacking in blog posts, its because my mornings, evenings, and nights are otherwise occupied.  As far as anything else I've been doing, I've written and scheduled many posts on Saint Cecelia's Press Online, two of which are up for viewing.  Big Bro and I are going to see The Avengers again today and we're thinking about seeing Brave and maybe For Greater Glory this weekend when its suppose to be 104 degrees here.  :'(  I'm not sure if I want to see an extremely violent and intense movie (For Greater Glory) in the theater.  I might just wait to see it when the Sisters view it for the bookstore. 

There are possibly going to be two more postulants in September...  Please pray for these young women in their application/discernment process!

Return from Maine and Other News

We had a most wonderful vacation in Maine two weeks ago.  It was as beautiful and peaceful as I expected.  Since we were flying, we took Dad's compact camera and, of course, forgot to bring the SD card with us to get the pictures off.  In that case, I will postpone the narration of our trip for when I have the pics to illustrate it.  :)

I did buy the Helm's Deep LEGO set when I was with Fidelio and it is sitting, almost complete, on our coffee table.  Speaking of Fidelio, I spent a few days with her painting, eating, painting, sleeping, painting, eating, and loafing before the mover truck came with all her furniture.  It was great!  We watched Cinderella Man which I loved (and which I hesitate to recommend due to language) and she took me to the Fredericksburg Battlefield which I had not seen before (and which she and I agree should be called a "battletown").  It looked totally different from what was portrayed in Gods and Generals.  All the bodies of the men (such as those from the Maine regiment) that were buried in haste on the field were disinterred and removed to the National Cemetery and houses were built all the way up to the stone wall!  So, its basically a stone wall, a cemetery, and a few old houses. But, I can say that I've been to another place where Chamberlain was!

The other, and more important, news is that my entrance date has been moved to September 8th.  It was a bit of a shock for us, but the sisters reassured Mom and I that it is actually quite common.  At least the wait is an opportunity to be thankful for the gift of being accepted at all.  And, there will be two months more that Mom doesn't have to be lonely. 

Most of my readers probably already know about Mike, but I'll go ahead and fill you in...  He is a seminarian again!  He was accepted back by our diocese and is in the process of being "adopted" by the Military Archdiocese.  The plan is for him to study at Mundelein Seminary, get commissioned next Summer (or the Summer after that), be ordained in four years, and immediately get stationed with a Navy or Marine unit.  Please pray it all sticks. 

So, if all goes as planned, (with God's Grace) Big Bro will be ordained the same year I will take First Vows!  I choose to be optimistic.  :)

My Hectic Life

Alright, I know most of my readers have already learned the reason for my mysterious last post.  Its been a whirlwind of a weekend/week.  Mike's coming home from OCS with the possibility of going back to the seminary...  Just pray the Holy Spirit guides Michael and gives him perseverance. We're so hoping that he can be settled soon. 

On another note, the ladies' group at the local parish gave me a convent "shower" on Sunday.

I gave them each a nun

Got lots of great stuff

Had some cake

...and chocolate...

And, yesterday Mom asked me to wash the van, which I did, and then I asked if I could give my own car a bath.  We proceeded to have a discussion about my claiming the Focus, but Mom said I can say, while I'm here and Dad's on active duty, that the Focus is "my" car!!

I promptly spent two hours wahsing it (from brown to white), drying it, cleaning it, polishing it, and conditioning it!

No, I was not paid for my work - I was rewarded with getting to drive!  I love my little white car...

Prayer Request

A few weeks ago (around Becket's birth) a deacon friend of ours died after a long illness. He left behind his wife, Glenda, and children. His younger son, Chris was a great comfort to his mother during the funeral process. Yesterday, 42 -year-old Chris was found dead by his mother. He apparently died after a massive heart attack. As you can imagine, Glenda is taking this loss very hard. Please pray for this family as they struggle through this catastrophe and grieve the loss of two instead of one. We have hope that Chris is now reunited to his father in Heaven.

Dollywood!

First off, let me just give you the answer to last week's TTT: #1

Absolutely, Mrs. Haus Frau, you are more than welcome to come watch LOTR with me!  But, sorry to dissapoint you, my extended edition is the same as your in-laws'.  :)

I haven't gotten any new legos recently, but I did update LEGO as i can.

And - what we've all been waiting for - I do have a fellow postulant!!  Praise be God! 

Big Bro is now deep into four hours or so of Navy OCS.  (Hence the LEGO as i can picture.)  For a last hurrah/goodbye/party/vacation/thingy, we went to Dollywood!  Here's my total of rides:

• Wild Eagle: 4
• Tornado: 2
• Mystey Mine: 1
• Thunderhead: 6

Can you guess which one was my favorite?  :)

Oh!  Funny story: near the end of the Mystery Mine ride, a pigeon made a dare-devil flight right in front of our car and lost by a few feet as it smacked into Big Bro's face.  Thankfully, at the next upsidedown turn, he just flew out of the car.  I wouldn't have believed Big Bro's testimony that a pigeon flew into his head if I hadn't been hit in the face with a plume of whitish feathers and if the people in front of us hadn't asked if we saw a pigeon, too.  Crazy, huh? 

And, our sixth time on the Thunderhead proved a dissapointment as the little 8-year-old sitting beside Dad threw up before (thankfully) the ride started.  It took - no kidding - 15 minutes for the four employees to clean it up.  It was a typical Tennessee greeting card joke: four employees with one to do the work and three to supervise.  When we were finally cleared for take-off, the people stilll in line gave the workers a standing ovation.  It was priceless.

Mom and I went to the zoo on the way back home and I got some cute pics:

The Day my Fiancé Died

I don't know if I should dare call Jesus my fiancé, but He is so close to being my spouse that I long to think of Him as my Betrothed. Last night at the Holy Thursday adoration time, I couldn't help embracing the beautiful, life sized statue of the Sacred Heart and kissing the foot. I am ashamed to say that I am not as fervently religious as I would like to be. But, the Tridium, especially Good Friday, brings the best out of my mental prayer life. How much I long to embrace the real Body of Christ! We are so blessed in having the Holy Eucharist. Thank you, Dear Lord Jesus!

Triumphant Return

We have returned from our trip to Florida.  Some events of significance have occurred since our departure.  My uncle was involved in a vehicle accident and is currently in ICU with a broken neck.  Fortunately there was no spinal damage or paralysis.  Still, there's a long recovery up ahead (an estimated 6 months of wearing a neck brace).

Otherwise, Big Bro showed me three"first time" movies for me on the way to FL.  Here is what I would rate each with a little review:

Batman Begins * * * * *   -  Awesome!!  Awesome fighting, awesome morals, awesome romantic theme...  Just plain awesome!

Sherlock Holmes * *  -  Too much 'dirty' stuff for my taste, mainly concerning Holmes' moral...um...habits. 

Indiana Jones: The Raiders of The Lost Ark * * * *  -  No, I had never seen the entirety of this movie before this morning, despite my father's great liking of it.  John Rys-Davies is the best part!  (I haven't seen any of the others either, but I've heard they aren't worth the brain cells...)

Captain America * * * * *  -  Yes, I've already seen it and it's still as good in my mind as it was before.  Only, Batman Begins beats it in the list of awesome movies.

Prayer Request

Please pray for my aunt's inlaws who are both in the hospital: Carroll with liver and kidney failure and Doyle with a mild stroke/serious anxiety attack.  Carroll is not expected to live much longer.  Please pray for possible healing and a happy death.  Doyle should be getting out of the hospital soon, but is very distressed about his wife.  Thanks!

 I actually spent that morning watching youtube train videos with V, not Curious George.  Captain America is as good of a movie as I remember but definitely deserves the PG-13 rating in my opinion.  (Really scary in parts!)