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Easter Reflection (by Laura)

April 26, 2011 By Laura 2 Comments

They found the stone rolled away from the tomb; but when they

entered,they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ~Luke 24:2

I am still very much growing, in my faith, and particularly in my Catholic faith. I imagine I always will be. Or I hope that will be the case, anyway. For every Liturgical Season that I live through, I find a little more seeps in. I grasp a familiar Scripture a little more than before, as the clarity of the story is as real as a movie playing in my mind….I am there, I see, I smell, I feel. I forget where I physically am. And then the message of it all, speaks to me on a personal level, in regards to my own life, it’s current circumstances, and my own self. The moment of Consecration; when the bread and wine transforms into the living Body of Christ, and Cup of Life, makes my heart leap with excitement, and my spirit crave approaching His table once again, and becoming one with Jesus. With every passing season, I find I am falling deeper, and deeper, in love with my Catholic faith.

But there is no denying, that the connection and attention I earnestly pay to my faith, ebbs and flows from day to day, week to week, and month to month. It depends on how much is going on in my life, what is going on in my life, what kind of focus I have had lately anyway, and what Liturgical Season we are in. How much I have so weakly let myself become distracted with earthly matters and struggles, which are only temporary, as we all know.

So it most always starts out with Lent, as is did this year. Not every year – but some, and maybe most. Certainly this year. Ash Wednesday approaches, and I think, “Really? Already? When is Easter? It’s only 40 days away?”

So naturally we attend this Holy Day of Obligation, Ash Wednesday, and our Lenten journey begins. By then I have reviewed with the children once again, in our morning Scripture study/prayer time together, about this period in our faith and life that comes every year, and how important it is to prepare ourselves for the coming events. And I have also made my Lenten choices to live by, in hopes of ultimately growing yet a little closer still, to Christ, by the time Easter arrives.

But as I do all of this, at the start of Lent (certain years), it’s admittedly all too much like mere obligations. Motions I go through, as it is just time to do these things. I am shamefully aware of how emotionally or passionately disconnected I am, from this annual journey I am embarking on once again. As the days pass, I stay true to my Lenten choices, and try to take the time to reflect on how they should be helping me grow. But I fleetingly question it, brushing away the weight of guilt I feel inside. I know I am not paying enough attention, and I am struggling with truly giving the attention and time needed, to invest my heart as it should be.

The more Easter draws closer, the more I fear; I am really going to blow it, this year. I’m down on myself about it, yet I don’t do enough, to really change it, really. Maybe because I am afraid it won’t help anyway. Or maybe because I am, again…..too weak and distracted to switch gears as I know I should. Whatever the reason, I acknowledge I am lacking inspiration, for THE-most-important-season of my Catholic faith. Instead of seeking the inspiration, putting the time in, giving it a chance to all come together, I carry on as I have been. With a piece of me inside, quietly puzzled, confused,…..maybe lost?

Then comes Holy Week, and everything changes. It’s as if my Father loves me too much, to let me, let myself down.

The call gets louder, and my spirit and heart respond more readily. The Holy Spirit invades me with a vengeance, with no denial of it’s presence within me, and gets my attention once and for all. I find myself alive. Intrigued. Eager. PRESENT. In heart and mind. Not much else matters to me through the next Triduum of days, as we attend Mass daily. Not much else, can keep my attention. I’m all but mesmerized by the events of these days in Jesus’ life on earth, that played out exactly according to the Scripture. Emotions are at their surface, for me during this time. My mind is focused, and my heart is full of so much,….ever changing. Holy Thursday; Jesus’ last supper with his disciples, the betrayal to come, the agony in the garden, as he sweat drops of blood. His knowing what lied before Him. All that would happen to Him. His acceptance of it as the command of His Father, and His love for us. Good Friday; the deep sadness inside, the thoughts of helplessness I knew His mother must have felt, like others who loved Him and believed he was in fact, the Son of God. The visions of Him being tortured, scourged & spit upon. The heavy cross. The pain and thirst. And mercy. His death. It’s a day of much silence and prayer for us all, as a family. And as I (we) fast, I am filled with such nourishment and satisfaction. I treasure that day with my family, in so many ways. Then Good Friday evolves into Holy Saturday, as we continue to grieve and feel so sacrificed for, with the ultimate price. His life. We find ourselves so thankful and encouraged, that we will celebrate His Resurrection soon, as He said He would, and have good reason to sing ALLELUIA!

Easter is most always a memorable occasion, that we as a family have always enjoyed. But this Easter in particular was the best, most beautiful, most perfect Easter, ever – for me. I was truly rejoicing in my heart the entire day, relishing in the amazement of what Jesus Christ did for me, for you, and for you, and for us all! Realizing, in yet another layer of understanding and truth, just what that means for us all. And cherishing my family, as we celebrated together, knowing how very blessed we are to have each other, and the people in our lives. Loving, how we continue to grow in our Catholic faith, as a family. Happy, that our efforts to keep Christ as the center of the 6 of us as a family unit, no matter what, has been rewarding and given us strength when we have most needed it. In times when others have let us down, time and again, or turned away. He is there. He is always there, always understanding, always forgiving, and with love that does not and will not ever end.

We have all we will ever need.

We have each other.

More importantly, we have Him.

He, who gives us nourishment, strength, and hope.

And has given us the GIFT, of ever-lasting life.

ALLELUIA.

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Hoping you had such a blessed & beautiful Easter as well.

(A small collection of photos of the kids, from Easter Day, to come. )

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Welcome to the ValenDiner | Our Valentine’s Day Diner Theme Party

February 23, 2011 By Laura 6 Comments

For this past St. Valentine’s Day, I had the urge to throw a fun little party for our kids. The more I got thinking about the little details, (which I love to do), a theme party sort of started snowballing in my head (which is often the case, when I think), and I got beside myself with excitement (which happens quite easily with me.)

Simply put, my idea, was simply, a St. Valentine’s Day diner theme party.

We invited a family we are good friends with, who have just as many kids as we do! That was enough for me, because frankly….I had never (evah!) waitressed before. But I was about to!

A menu sign welcomed them, as soon as the ValenDiner was open, at 1:00 in the afternoon.

The menu offered all of the specialties any good diner would, as you can see. Milkshakes, in 3 flavors, and even deep fried french fries and onion rings!

( Soon, our home would smell like a real diner too. ; ) )
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Here are our special patrons!! A happy-go-lucky, handsome little crew, huh?? One of our crew, {D}, top center, was even so kind enough to take a shiner at his wrestling match that weekend. I could have taken care of that, with my photo editing skills, of course. But us parents decided it added a nice 50’s sort of touch to our party…..like one of “The Outsiders.” ; ) So, we just thanked him.
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Us moms (a.k.a – the waitresses), took the kid’s orders soon after ‘we opened’. We hung the order up, for the kitchen crew, over the breakfast bar window. (See them?) Me and my side-kick were just like ‘Alice and Flo’. (From that old sitcom, Alice. Remember? I’ll tell you a secret….I had a crush on Alice’s son, Tommy. Sshhhh.) I really got into my role,….more like Flo. (Because it would just be weird, to be Tommy’s mother.) I had fun blowing bubbles with my bubble gum, as I took orders, and asking, “Alright kids, what’ll it be.” <Pop!>

As many of you know by now, we take every opportunity we can, to let the kids learn. It’s personally important to us (4 parents), that our children understand the history and true meaning behind every holiday or saint day. (or anything else, educational, that we can squeeze into them.) So while the kids were waiting for their orders to be up, and being that our celebration on this day, revolved around the life of St. Valentine, they watched a very informative and wonderful (wonderful!) power-point presentation, put together by….well, Alice. ; ) I learned a thing or 2 more, I didn’t know, myself! (More on that later.)

They each got a printout, too.
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Here’s ‘Grill Boy”. (Mel?) He was cookin’ up those hot dogs and cheeseburgers.

We had some unexpected mechanical difficulties with the frialator, that really held things up a bit. But eventually, we got it working right.

The little wait, just made the kids extra-thankful for their food!! Honestly, it melted my heart, to see them join hands, and say grace together.

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A ‘cheers’, with milkshakes…..in vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry.
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Yum. It’s hard to find good diner food, these days.

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Us parents loved seeing the kids, all chowing down, giggling and chatting. There was a real ‘hum’ of a busy diner.

<Swoon.> I so wish, I had gotten the shot of this sweet boy’s expression, when he tried that dill pickle. I was a fraction of a second too late. But I think I’ll remember it in my head forever, because it was ‘that’ comical. There was actually a couple of hysterical moments with that pickle. What a blessing this boy is. (Well, that all are. But, you know.)

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The patrons lingered. And our tip they left us, was the echo of their generous giggles, in our hearts.
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All of our kids, made Valentine cards, for each other. (More on that later, too.) But our friend’s sweet girl {S}, above, got an extra-special, unique Valentine, made by our boy, {JM} (with a little wording help from his Mama. ; ). You need to know……{S} is a competitive Irish Step Dancer. So, her Valentine was a 4 leaf-clover, with a heart center. And it read:

* “I-RISH” you’d “Step” into my heart, and be my Valentine! *

Do you want to know the best part? (Of course you do. ) As I type this post this moment, that Valentine card, right now, is in IRELAND!! I’m not even kidding. {S} took it there with her, for ‘good luck’, as she competes against the best Irish Dancers in the world!!

All of the kids, totally loved exchanging Valentines with each other. They were all ‘keepers’.

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{Baby E} loved his Valentines, too! Holding him, is “Milkshake Man”…..a.k.a Daddy! He and
“Grill Boy” get along great.

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There’s my good friend, “Alice!”. I would have never survived the diner crowd on this day, without her. Actually…I may have not survived a few things in my life, with out her.
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The kids partied on, to the 50’s ‘jukebox’ playing.

(Pandora. Whatever.)

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We all partied, until we started poopin’ out!!

Honestly, it’s always a good time of memory-makin’, when our families get together.

And this St. Valentine’s Day celebration, was no exception.

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Before we all parted ways, we each had a Valentine fortune (paper-cookie) to read. They actually came with fortunes already. But because “Alice” and I have higher, perfectionistic standards, I pulled those lame ones out, and re-stuffed them, with our own alternative fortunes. The theme of course, was “LOVE”, and together, we combined our lists of messages about “love”, that we wanted our kids to be sent <wink-wink>, including some Biblical Scripture quotes.

It was a wonderful St. Valentine’s celebration, I think we ALL, always will remember.

If not, we have this post to remind us!

And if that fails us, there is that faint “deep-frying Diner” scent, I swear still lingers in the air.

*** We hope you “LOVED” this theme party post!! As an FYI…..we have more Valentine season ideas/photos from this year, that we hope to share with you next year, pre-Valentine’s Day, if I am still blogging away! Then perhaps you might like to use those ideas too, when you might need them. (I’m sure you all are all Valentine’d out, by now.) There will be some treats under the ‘Recipes’ tab, as well as some Valentine card ideas (complete with sayings) under ‘Crafts & Creations’ tab. And just maybe, I can manage to get that educational power-point presentation on St. Valentine, to share under ‘Homeschooling.’ That’s my plan, if I blog-on, anyway. Hey, a lot can happen in a year! Right?***

Meanwhile, leave us your thoughts, and then….let’s get on with Spring! (Lent, Easter….Alleluia!!)

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Our Halloween Costume Ideas from the Past

October 30, 2010 By Laura 4 Comments

I don’t plan on having a big post on our Halloween/Hallowtide this year. But last night I got to thinking about some of our past Halloween costume ideas we’ve come up with, and I went digging through photos. Putting together costumes, is a creative process of sorts, so we thought this section of the blog was a good place for this.

There is SO much I could share with you from our pre-blogging days, because I have always taken lots of photos. But I haven’t always shot digital. The scanning of old photos, and cleaning up dust particles, etc, is not a process I enjoy. At all. But if I’m inspired enough to share with you some old stuff, I guess I will do it. As I just did!

I thought it would be fun, to share with you some of {A}’s Halloween costume photos from when she was little, as well as the triplet’s second Halloween, but first in costume. Naturally, we think they are all so cute. But then, they are all our kids. Maybe we’re bias. But something tells us you might get a chuckle or 2 as well, looking at these. Or we might at least get a smile out of you, and that’s good enough for us too.

kid-clown-costume
{A} in 1998, as a clown. She was 1 year old. I have to laugh at the ‘very best first walking shoes’ she has on. No, we didn’t do that too, for babies 2, 3 and 4. Turns out they are all walking and running just fine!
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kid-genie-costume
In 1999, as a genie, and 2 years old. Is she not the cutest thing? My sister-in -aw made the costume for us. I helped cut fabric and stuff though. And I also made the bottle. I have to admit, I’m not into allowing my girls to jaunt around with bare midriffs anymore. But I wouldn’t give up this photo of her at 2 year old, in this costume, for anything. What a doll she was.
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kid-pediatrician
In 2000 at 3 years old, she was her own pediatrician, at the time. lol. We have had a new pedi now since I was pregnant with the triplets, and the former one is no longer practicing, that I know of. But she was beyond ecstatic to learn that {A} was her, for Halloween that year. She (the pedi) showed everyone in the office that day, while {A} waited in her paper gown. lol I think this photo is still hanging in the office there.
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kid-indian-girl-costume
In 2001, as an Indian, at 4 years old. I really loved this costume.

But this head shot, is one of my all-time favorite photos of her when she was little.
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baby-farm-animal-costumes-triplets And then we had our little farm animals, in 2003. lol. They were 1 year old. Remember the Tom Armani costumes? The kids were a riot in them. We had so much fun this year. {S}, on the far right, was just on the verge of another hysterical laugh. He would always, get laughing so hard, he couldn’t compose himself. He still does that. He was a happy baby, all of the time, despite all he went through.
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baby-cow-costume
Our big cow. He was as heavy as one too.
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baby-lamb-costume

Our sweet little lamb.
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baby-goat-costume
Our Billy Goat – always smiling.
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{A} (big sister) was their loving farmer, who tended her little farm animals with such care.
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We just had to show them all off, and trick or treating is always out of the question for us (with {S}’s severe peanut allergy)….so we thought we’d take them to the mall, and just pull them around. There was Halloween festivities going on there anyway, and it was warm, light, and safe.

And from that idea, our idea grew….

farmer-and-baby-farm-animals-triplets-big-sister We put a little picket fence around our farm animals, in their ‘choo-choo wagon’. They were the biggest attraction. People just stopped, and watched us, cracking up.

The funniest thing that night, that still gets us hysterical when we think about it, was that {S}, was the billy goat, and every time we looked back as we pulled him, he was chewing on the fence!! I was always laughing too hard, to get a photo.

Then we heard there was a costume parade judging contest at the other end of the mall. So we went down there and pulled them through. There was a big crowd, and then we had to go by this whole panel of judges at a table. They were all so smitten with our farm.

We won 1st Place, for Most Original Costume!

The judges thought our farm yard was very creative. The farmer and her little animals had a fun night, and then they went back to the farm and went fast asleep in their barn.

If you have blogged your kids in some of your favorite Halloween /Hallowtide costumes, leave us a link so we can come see them! If you haven’t, wouldn’t it be a fun post?

Thanks for stopping by. We hope you enjoyed seeing our kiddo’s costumes from the past, as mush as we enjoy revisiting these wonderful family memories.

Wishing you all a Happy Halloween / Hallowtide!!

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Just Some Things That Make Me Smile….| In Photos

October 24, 2010 By Laura 4 Comments

Me.

I’m always taking random photos, that I love to have because they made me smile. But they wouldn’t necessarily make a whole post. So I thought I’d try putting them in bunches sometimes, and doing a post now and then, about some of these little things that make me smile. Then I may happen to throw in a couple of others too, that were not random photos, but do indeed make me smile anyway.

Just a photo-happy little post.

So here are just some things, that make me smile……

birthday-pancake This beautiful pancake my husband and kiddos surprised me with on the morning of my birthday, even though they knew I would never eat it in a million years. They made it anyway, because ‘number breakfasts’ are a tradition in our home on birthdays, and they can’t let the tradition go, even on my day. I’m not big on eating much in the morning. That is chocolate frosting they worked with there, by the way. (In the morning?).

This pancake masterpiece sat in the fridge for about…well, the million years.

And then Michael ate it. Really.

I know.
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0021 ….How happy my kids are, whenever they can spend time with their Papa.

Or maybe it’s, ….how happy my father is, whenever he can spend time with his grandkids.

Basically, it works both ways.

And it all makes me smile, because I love them all, and I love to see them all happy.

Anytime. All of the time.
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003 When I can just watch them play…..

tea-and-rosary-time …..or focus on our faith, together……

rosary-and-tea
….over apple-cinnamon tea, and banana bread.
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kitchen-aid-mixer My Kitchen Aid Mixer. And it’s Sender. <3 You just had to have known that was coming.

And oh yes…..we’ve used it lots already. You’ll be seeing!
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0071
How silly my boy gets. Every day. He’s a clown, for sure.
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0082 My new/used lens. We fit like a hand in a glove, Baby.

Or is it hand and a glove?

Well, you know what I mean.

We belong together.
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0092
My God-Daughter. Ohhhh the smiles she has caused on my face. Her expressions of love for me have made me cry, 100 times over. Can you even get over the freckles? When I see her, I try to kiss every one. She’s so precious to me.
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homeschooled-siblings Our Autumn family hikes. The crispness in the air, the crunching of leaves under our feet, appreciating the beauty all around us, that confusing scent in the air (….Old leaves? Or dog poo nearby?….lol)….and just chatting, laughing, and being together, going nowhere in particular.

These are just *some* of the things that make me smile.
I encourage you to ponder the things that make you smile, too. And if you can, take photos of those things! They’ll make you re-smile in later years, when you find them.

Thanks for the visit today, Friends.

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{A} Goes to Witness 2 Hope | Catholic Middle School Retreat

August 23, 2010 By Laura 4 Comments

At last, I have gotten it all together enough, to share with you all a little bit about the purpose behind our prayer request for {A} a couple of weeks ago. We understand that some of you may not view it as that big of a deal, but for us, it was big. So we are thankful for your prayers if you prayed. They went a long way for us!

So here’s the whole scoop, for those who have been waiting:

In early July, when we were on the show This Is The day, there was a young man and woman there also as show guests, named Steven Colella and Danielle Olsen, from The New Evangelization of the Archdiocese of Boston, to promote a new program for middle schoolers, called Witness 2 Hope. A similar program for high schoolers, called Witness 2 Truth, had already been established and had been effective. They decided that instilling such leadership qualities in young people even sooner than high school, would be beneficial, and that is naturally the truth.

So after our segment of the show, and having listened to {A} speak about her faith, they approached us and encouraged her to attend Witness 2 Hope. It did sound like a great program, and we were glad to hear such efforts were being made with our young people today. However, at the time we just did not consider it very seriously for {A}, because the 4 day program was quite a distance away from where we lived, costed more than we could really afford at the time, and also, {A} had only just turned 13. Quite honestly, she has not had much interest in her young life, in being very far from her family, for days at a time. So, it was not something we really thought about very long.

However, a few weeks ago they contacted us again, hoping we/she would reconsider. They really just felt that she would be a good witness to others at the program. And then, they offered us a full scholarship, to go. After really looking into it more, {A} decided it was really something she wanted to go to. So then I, as her mother, addressed all of my concerns and questions with Steven Colella, as her mother. He was extremely gracious and more than happy to answer every last one, with detail and re-assurance. So we decided she’d be going, and got packing. She was VERY EXCITED, and grew more so as the time drew near to go.

That is really the bulk of most of your reading in this post. So bare with me! The rest is just photos and short explanations.
** Please note that all of the photos with the black outline are images by George Martel, photographer of the Archdiocese of Boston. The rest were taken by me.

The weekend was Thursday August 12- Sunday August 15th. We drove her, and stopped for a bagel on the way since it was a long way, and through our normal lunch time. The triplets were a little clingy, and didn’t want her to go! (And I knew exactly how they were feeling.)

The weekend was held here, at St. Thecla’s Retreat House, in Billerica, MA. It was a beautiful place, inside and out. When I was younger, I often contemplated and dreamed about living a secluded life as a nun, at a place like this. A quiet prayer life really does speak to me. As much as I love my life with my family, deeply, and know it is my vocation, I still dream about places like this sometimes. I wanted to stay with {A}. lol I knew she was going to have a great, uplifting weekend.

We brought her in, got her registered, a got her settled in her little room, and said our goodbyes! Not easy, Folks! Certainly not for me.

There were 25 middle schoolers attending. The purpose of the program was to build up real leadership skills, teach them to be able to communicate well with people in a group, work well together in creating plans of action, and accomplishing tasks that make a difference in their community, or beyond.

We learned that over the course of the weekends, there were many workshops, assignments, games to demonstrate why the skills they were learning were important, as well as mass, Adoration, and praise and worship. And a lot of fun!! {A} finally saw the movie, the Chronicles of Narnia, which was SO exciting to her, since she has read the whole entire series, many times over. She loved the movie, which they watched outdoors at night, in the courtyard!

On Sunday when the families came, each small group had presentations for us, that showed their demonstration of carrying out a Corporal Work of Mercy. {A}’s group chose ‘clothing the naked’, and they explained and showed their plan, of how they could help with that ministry.

Here is {A} with her small group that she worked closely with through parts of the weekend.
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Fr. Matt. He gave a passionate sermon at the closing mass we all attended. Really great, full of profound points, and humor. He is really great with the young people. I could see they really connected with him, and why.
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Praise and worship at Mass. The music was awesome! I love praisin’ and worshippin’. It was all I could do not to run up there and join them. But I stayed in my pew, and just rocked out there.

See, I do have control of my little self, sometimes.

This is Steve Colella and Danielle Olsen. They designed this whole program for the middle schoolers, as well as the Witness 2 Truth program that is in it’s 2nd year, for high schoolers. They are a great team!
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{A} and Danielle. This young woman has such a joy of God in her, it is hard to miss. She is so blessed, to be so in tune with her faith at such a young age! She was inspiring, and no doubt had some great influence on the kids there. I think God gave her those dimples for life, as some divine compensation blessing, for her work. lol
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I’m going to try not, to go on and on about this boy. But, he could have been mine!! He was adopted by his family from Russia. He stood out to me, right away, because he just carries out such an air of happiness and light. At one point at the closing, we were all in the chapel, waiting for mass to begin. He was in the front row, and I saw him turn around to talk to the kids behind him. {A} was 2 pews behind him, and when he caught glimpse of her, he just popped up and reached through the kids, outstretching his hand, for {A} to touch his. <sniff>. If you just could have seen it….honestly, it was just the sweetest most spontaneous thing. When {A} told me he was adopted, I immediately thought “Darn! I had an opportunity, and I blew it!”. I seriously wanted to take him home. But I am sure his family really wants to keep him.He is another she’ll be keeping in touch with. He is just…..I loved him.
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The whole Witness 2 Hope Team. They all had such a great time together, and {A} came home with more friends, more skills, and more experience.
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She had such a good time, and she was really happy she went.
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All of the kids got a t-shirt from the weekend, and this is on the back of it. It was sort of ironic.

{A} has ALWAYS spoke of this quote by Pope John Paul II, and pondered what she could do, in her own big or small way, to help bring his dream to light. So it was not only ironic that the shirts quoted JPII, but it shows you how much this program was right up her alley!

It was a great weekend, and a new milestone for all of us as a family. One that will present itself more and more as time goes on. But for this Sunday, we were happy to pick up our girl, and bring her home with us again!

We stopped to celebrate on the way home, with a wonderful Mexican meal at this restaurant, Margarita’s. While we gather around the table as a family every evening, we had a new appreciation and gratitude this day, of being all together again.

Thanks again for the prayers! They helped us a lot!

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