The rest of the story

Jenny's right, it was QUITE the interesting trip. What were we thinking??

First of all, we went to 5:30 mass on Saturday, then we all went to Cancun (a delicious Mexican restaurant) and I'm pretty sure we each had a few Margaritas. We should have each had a few more before that bus trip. We left around 9pm. Jenny and I sat together and somehow Donna finagled her own seat right in front of us. On the other side, were several pairs of obnoxious teenagers playing cards and being extremely loud while we were trying to sleep. Jenny does describe the penguin hat pretty well! This girl was an adult, and obviously single. Sometimes the pro life events attract some strange people (I know, what does that say about US, right?) but anyway they were all congregated on this particular bus, which we were on for 12 hours overnight.

Jenny and I were good friends before this, but this trip really bonded us for life :) We made up a great song, including several verses to the tune of "My Favorite Things." Only our version was "These are a few of our Least Favorite Things." Some things included, "Being on a bus," "teenagers," etc.... and some other things we can't mention HERE.

Our room conditions were quite interesting. First of all some poor girl got paired with Jenny, Donna and me. We kept her laughing though, I think we livened up the trip for her! It was SO hot in there we slept with the windows open when it was 10 degrees outside. Hey WARD, it's the BEAV!!!!

The actual March pretty much made it worth the rest of the craziness. We went to a rally before the March, where President Bush called in and gave a statement. Also there were several representatives who spoke. Terri Schiavo's parents got up there and told her story. She was still alive at that time, and they were fighting for her life. Some people sang "Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow" acapella, and women walked up to the stage holding signs that said, "I regret my abortion." I thought that was so powerful. We marched through the streets of Washington DC in support of life. (We did get chased away by an armed guard while trying to use the porta potty. I've never had to go so bad in my WHOLE LIFE.)

Also, the mass at the Basilica was amazing. There were SO many people there, we had to sit on the floor in the hallway. The music was beautiful, the homily was wonderful, we all went to Confession. Jenny went TWICE. Yep, you heard that right. Jenny bought Donna and I St. Gerard medals, because we were both praying to conceive. We got Jenny a St. Rita medal, since she's the patron saint of difficult causes :) By the way, Donna found out two weeks later she was pregnant with her son, and about a year and a half later I got pregnant with Madeleine. God is good!

It might have been quite the crazy trip, but I'm SO glad I went. I bonded with some of my best friends and we have some great memories.

Oh, and I'm definitely going to keep the penguins coming for Jenny :)

Marching for Life!

"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish." Mother Teresa

Today marks the anniversary of Roe v. Wade... it's been 37 years since abortion was legalized and 50 million lives have been lost.  50 MILLION!!  It is staggering and heart breaking.  Thousands are marching for LIFE today in Washington, D.C.

I went to the to the march in 2005 with several of my friends, including Beth and Donna, and the Frassati Society. It was a great experience!! It was so moving to see so many people all marching to protect ALL life! What an amazing sight! I'm praying for all those marching today and for all the lives that have been lost.

And while it was a great experience... there were a few bumps along the way. My group of friends bring this up often... and we laugh and laugh. It's a kind of 'had to be there' thing... but you'll get the idea. Here is a recap of the highlights!

We suppose to be heading to D.C. on a bus filled with our great Frassati peers. We ended up on a bus packed with energy filled teenagers! Oh man, did they have energy. We left at 9pm and they talked and played cards all night! Us old timers could not take it!! Finally someone stood up around 3am and yelled, "GO TO SLEEP!" In a nice way.

But the teens weren't the only thing keeping us up... we had horrible weather and were in and out of blizzard like conditions. We would all finally fall asleep and then wake up when the bus started to swerve off the road!!! Yes, off the road!!

Then there was the heat and cold. It was so HOT on the bus that we dialed asked the bus driver to turn down the heat a little. A little.. not off! About an hour later there was ICE on the windows. The was so much ice that the toilet froze. Not good. So between the teenager, nearly going off the road, the heat the cold... it wasn't the ideal all night bus ride! But once we got in D.C., it would all be good, right?? Hardly.

Amongst the teens there was on fellow pro-lifer in that wore a HUGE penguin hat the entire ride. Right in front of us! And not like a cute little penguin hat. Nope! A hat that pretty much looked like a life sized penguin on her head! So for three days we had to watch a penguin dance on her head! She never took it off, even during the march. I'm sure she was the one pro-lifer that was on tv! Because of that hat... Beth has gotten me something penguin themed for every event in my life! Even my bridal shower!!

We are convinced that the pro-abortions folks were in charge of our hotel. We couldn't check in and again, the heat was a huge issue. It was so hot in our room that we had to open the windows. We'd call the front desk and they would just say, "So sorry, can't help you." Yep - pro-choicers for sure! HA! Donna took the heat of the hotel not so well... and now has the nickname Beav... but that's not a story for the blog.

The march itself was great even with all the snow and freezing conditions... finding a port-a-potty without being stopped by armed guards after the march... not so great. The ride home with the same teenagers who now considered us all "really old"... again, not so great! The frozen toilet on the bus... not so great as well!

I look back at the march weekend fondly and with lots of laughter. It is a story that is brought up often when chatting with the girls. It really solidified the amazing friendships of Donna, Beth and myself. It is definitely a trip I will NEVER forget!

So pray for the marchers today and pray for LIFE!!

Me, Donna and Beth marching for life! Not looking so great... but marching!

Prayers for Haiti

I am so devastated by the news of the massive earthquake in Haiti. I spent some time in Haiti doing a mission a few years back and hold that country very close to my heart. It is so close to Florida, but seemed like another world. I can only imagine what it is like now.... and what it will be like in the upcoming weeks, months and years. We were there at a time of peace and calm and we found ourselves faced with machine guns, massive poverty, but also such a spirit of survival among the people. I am praying that that same spirit of survival will keep the people of Haiti going during this time. I pray that they receive the help that they need quickly and peacefully. I pray that the media attention they are receiving will bring a greater understanding of their situation to more people around the world. I am praying for all my friends that right in the middle of all the devastation. I pray that they and their families are safe. So please, keep Haiti in your thoughts and prayers right now!

Some of my favorite images from my mission trip.

2009 Recap!

Wow! What a year that 2009 turned out to be! It was AMAZING!!! The blessings overflowed! I pray that 2010 will be just the same for us and all our family and friends. Granted, there were many ups and downs, highs and lows... but for the most part, 2009 was wonderful! Huge life changing events happened and for that I am grateful! So here it goes... 2009 recap!

JANUARY: We brought in 2009 drinking margaritas and wearing party hats! Very fun! On January 22nd -- Douglas proposed, making me the happiest gal in town! Whoo hoo! By January 25th we had set the date of November 7, 2009!

We had party hats for 2010 too!

FEBRUARY: We celebrated Doug's 40th birthday at a fundraiser... not the best idea on my part. I had to go because of work and he came along. I promised him it would be great... it was, but not the big birthday party he might have had in mind! But we did have some great times in February with my work gang. We all went out and celebrated Valentine's Day. It is an interesting group -- made up of different beliefs of all kinds -- but it works and we are all great friends! This maybe kind of made of for the lack of party on Doug's birthday. Maybe??

Doug's Birthday cake.

Cortnie and I at fundraiser #1!

He looks like he's having fun... right?

Valentine's Day with Alvin and Amal.

MARCH: I once again "convinced" Doug that another fundraiser would be a great time had by all. I had a great time... lots of wine and friends. I began to learn that maybe fundraisers aren't Doug's idea of a great time. But he was a great date!

Fundraiser #2!

APRIL: Wedding planning and pre-cana were well underway! Every detail of the wedding was getting booked and I loved it! I went shopping for dresses with my mom while I was home for Easter. Didn't really find what I was looking for... but it was great fun! Speaking of Easter, I celebrated with my parents, while Doug was home in Indiana. Easter mass was great -- their church is so pretty! And one can't talk about April, without mentioning that little John Paul came into the world! What a sweet little boy!! Love him and his whole family to pieces!! They are the best of friends and it is so fun to watch their family grow!

Beautiful church where I celebrated Easter!

Ahhh... baby John Paul!

MAY: We were able to see some extended family members that came all the way from Minnesota for my cousin's wedding! It was awesome seeing so much of my mom's side of the family. I only have two relatives in this whole state, so to have everyone around was wonderful! I did some more dress shopping with some cousins -- too fun! The wedding was great and made both of us super excited that we were next!! And... I started the blog.

My cousin Gordy and I at his wedding.

JUNE: I loved this month! My great friend Mark was ordained to the Transitional Diaconate. He will be ordained a holy priest June 2010! I LOVE ordinations!! We have been very blessed in our diocese to have an amazing and large group of seminarians! We have around 30 men that are in seminary!! The ordination was great and packed, but we had the best seats in the house! June also brought my first bridal shower -- crazy fun! My friends and I also revisited our junior high days -- going to a New. Kids on the. Block concert! It was sooooo fun! We had t-shirts and all!

Gotta love a good ordination... especially one where you get to hold a little baby!

Newly ordained Deacon Mark.

Beth and Mary at the shower.

My best friend Jessi and I at the NK.OTB concert.

JULY: July was filled with outdoor activities at state parks led by none other than 'Ranger Doug.' Doug's summer job was that of a park ranger, aka an Interpretive Naturalist. He was a natural at it... he likes being outdoors and all. Me, not so much. We took our first mini-trip to Brow.n County, Indiana to enjoy the sights and get away from the business of life for a few days. I had a great father-daughter date, as I took my dad to the George Strait concert. He had always wanted to see him in concert, so it was awesome to take him to it! July was also a huge real estate month for us. Doug sold his condo! And on our first anniversary ... we bought a house! Whoo hoo!

Ranger Doug

Pre-Concert picture with dad.

Beautiful Brown Cou.nty, Indiana!

AUGUST: August was a very up and down month, literally! We had a great couples shower and Doug's side of the family threw me a shower in Ohio. And then there was the broken foot! Not fun!! Especially since it happened right before we closed on our house and moved!

Fun times with my friends and my mom.

SEPTEMBER: In September we moved and moved and planned and planned! I moved into the new house, hobbling all the way. Moving with one foot in a cast is not what I would call a good time. It's probably as fun as Doug thinks fundraisers are! Ha! Doug moved out of his condo. His stuff came to the new house and he moved in with his parents and his cat moved in with me. Our wedding invitations went out and wedding planning was all consuming! We finished up our pre-cana with our priest and sponsor couple! Both parts of our pre-cana were such a blessing!

Moving Day and my first visitors at the new place... Madeleine and John Paul and Miles.

OCTOBER: This month was all about the wedding! We had our engagement pictures taken after getting rained out the first two times we tried it. We also had the awesome engagement video shoot!!! I had a great time with my friends at a shower and my bachelorette party! My family and I were all working on the final touches for the wedding! Getting all the RSVP's in the mail was sooooo much fun! Speaking of SEW, she came to visit!! It was so fun hanging out with Nicole! Love her!

Beth, Nicole and I... And Sarabeth and I having a little drink!

And some engagement pictures...

October went so fast, and then it was...

NOVEMBER: WE GOT MARRIED!!! That was the highlight of the month! The year, actually!! We went away on a mini-honeymoon. We celebrated our first Thanksgiving with both families and settled into married life! It was wonderful to simply be in the same town!! FINALLY!

DECEMBER: We continued to settle into married life... and loved every minute of it!! We celebrated Beth's B'day and then it was Christmas!! It was a busy month, as most December's are!

Celebrating Beth's Birthday... Dominic, Beth and me.

Madeleine is too cool...

WOW... what a jam packed year!! Can't wait to see what 2010 has in store!!

The year also had so many other great memories! We were so blessed with so many fun times with our friends. We had many dinners out, sushi nights, movie nights, hanging out at our favorite book stores, awesome church programs, etc., etc. Here are some other fun times...

My work gang... having some treats and a little lunch time trim... yep... at work... but not on the clock!

Hanging out with Madeleine at the book store.

Prayer Buddy

My Advent Blog Prayer Buddy was Meg of A Complicated Life. I'm so glad Sew told me to participate in the Advent Prayer Buddy! It has been a pleasure reading her blog and praying for her and her DH during this Advent season! I hope that she checks out this blog and knows that Doug and I will continue to pray for the two of them! They are an amazing couple! Merry Christmas Meg! It also was fun to discover that Shannon from A Friend of Gianna had me as a prayer buddy! Thanks for praying for Doug and I!!

Practice makes perfect!

In order to make things run smoothly for the wedding... we had the traditional rehearsal followed by a dinner. The rehearsal started with a blessing from Fr. Richard over Matt and Mary... My MOH and her husband, who was also one of our ushers. They were celebrating 10 years of marriage that day!! Fr. Richard also presided at their wedding, so it was great to have him perform our wedding and the blessing! The rehearsal went well and the dinner was great. It was hosted by Doug's parents and was super YUMMY! We gave out our gifts and said thanks to everyone that was involved in the wedding! I think I was more nervous at the rehearsal than at the actual wedding! It seems very real to me when my dad and I were practicing walking down the aisle. He cried the whole way down. Gotta love him.

My sweet flower girls practicing their walk!

The bridesmaids all got personalized Snugg.ies with their names on them!

Wedding... Wedding... Wedding...

Doug and I have been married almost two months now... I figure it's about time to do some posts about the wonderful day! So here it goes...

My best ladies! They are the best bridesmaids and friends a girl could ever ask for. The wedding weekend officially started with the "Bridesmaid Brunch." All the girls (and Beth's little one's... John Paul and Madeleine!) headed to one of the best brunch places around, Bub's Cafe, for some yummy food and great conversation! It was wonderful to have all my best friends in one place! After all, my little group of friends spans two states and four cities. So to have everyone together was fantastic! And for me to be the bride... even better!! It was soooo fun!! After lunch we got our nails done and chatted! Great great fun!

Jessi. We have been best friends since college. We met our freshman year and have been inseparable ever since. We were Delta Gamma sisters, roommates, classmates, etc., etc. I was in her wedding and we have seen each other through EVERYthing!! Jessi knows me better than most and I treasure her friendship. She is a wonderful friend, a fantastic mother and I was honored to have her stand up beside me as a bride.

Beth. I met Beth about 5 years ago at the Frassati Society of Young Adult Catholics Conference. I wasn't even suppose to be at that conference... had other things to do and did not really want to go. It turns out that going to the conference would be one of the BEST decisions of my entire life. I'll save the whole story for another post, but the conference totally changed my life. I left the conference with some fantastic lifelong friends, one of those being Beth. Beth is one of the most fun people I have ever met. You cannot be around her without smiling and laughing! She can take ANY situation and make people smile and feel welcome. She is one of a kind (in a good way) and love her tons!

Donna. I met Donna at the Frassati Society Conference as well. I got to know her and her family pretty fast... I moved into their basement after knowing them only a few weeks! I needed a place to stay and they had one awesome basement! I stayed there until my apartment and roommate were ready. Donna and I became great friends during that time... we would stay up late and watch General Hospital and talk and talk and talk. It's one of the things Donna does best and one of the things I love most about her. Donna is generous and loyal. She moved away to Florida last year right after I met Doug. When I first mentioned Doug to her, she started planning the wedding. It was wonderful to have her here for the wedding... and my shower earlier this year. She is one of the best people I know and I will cherish her always!

Mary. My MOH. She is one of my very best friends. I am so lucky to have her in my life. We met through church at a Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) weekend retreat. We were both in sweats and hoodies and I knew right away we'd be tight and we have been ever since. We spend countless hours on the phone with each other everyday. She knows me inside and out. She can often tell exactly what I'm feeling without me even saying anything. She is an expert at calming me down from any and every situation. I often say that chatting on her couch is the best therapy money can buy! And it's free! She has the most adorable family and I love being a part of it all! Mary if kind, caring and simply the best. When Doug and I were first getting to know each other, he asked me who my best friends were. I told him all about Jessi, Donna and Beth and how wonderful they were! Then I got to Mary and I said, "She knows me sometimes better than I know myself. She is super fun and kind and I will cherish her always. I know I've never been arrested and I really don't plan too... but if I did... Mary would be the one I would call to bail me out. And she would. " Love her!

Donna, Mary, Beth, John Paul, Jessi, me and Madeleine at the Bridesmaid Brunch.

Me and little Madeleine.

Merry Christmas!

Doug and I celebrated our first Christmas as husband and wife. It was a lot of fun this year to trim our tree and decorate! I've had a bunch of Christmas stuff in storage for years and it was great to finally be able to use it! We got out Christmas tree from Beth... and it is great! We were able to put up some new ornaments and tons of ornaments from when I was little! Yep... even baby's first Christmas from 1977 is up on the tree! We have a fireplace, so stockings were hung by the chimney with care! We bought an angel for our tree topper and we both love it! Once our new home was set for Christmas, we were ready! We started off the holiday week celebrating with his side of the family. We opened presents and had dinner. It was great to see everyone, including his sisters, who had flown to Indiana for Christmas. Celebrating with my mom and dad followed. They arrived safe and sound from Ohio for Christmas Eve. We went to a beautiful and very full mass and back to our home for presents and dinner. Doug and I were suppose to head to Florida for our delayed honeymoon on Christmas day. However, due to weather and cancelled flights, we stayed home bound. While were we disappointed, we were able to have a very peaceful Christmas at home, which was nice. My parents headed back to Ohio and we headed out to the China Buffet. That's one thing we did on Christmas that I hope will NOT be a Christmas tradition! We continued the weekend watching movies, trying to use all our new wedding gadgets and watching the snow fall. Not bad, not bad at all! Merry Christmas everyone!

Our first Christmas tree.

The stockings my mom made us!

The beautiful Holy Family Statue that my parents gave us.

Dad and I.

So happy! Best sheets ever! My mom made us half flannel (for me - I'm always cold) and half regular (for Doug - he's always hot) sheets!! We made some for my parents last year! They are great!

Happy couple.

Ahhh... Doug and Dad reluctantly wearing their Santa hats.

This is SO true!

I think this shirt perfectly describes my blog! HA HA!!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS!!!

I have seen this video a few times before and stumbled upon it again today! I LOVE it! It makes me SO proud to be Catholic and makes me tear up a little! When I count my blessing, my Catholic faith is at the top of the list!

Now this is fun...

My hanger/wedding picture made it to an ETSY page!! I ordered this so cute hanger and now it is one of the featured one's on the website! SO FUN!!! Check it out!!! Click here! And if you know someone getting married or having a baby... this makes a GREAT gift! I just ordered a few more!!!

Wedding Picture Preview...

I haven't had any time to blog since the wedding... but I will do it this week!! In the meantime... check this out! It is a preview of our wedding images!! They turned out AMAZING!! I can't wait to see the rest of them!!!

A Wedding Recap

For a wonderful wedding recap... please visit Beth's Blog. She describes it perfectly!!

WE ARE MARRIED!!!

We are off to our honeymoon! The wedding was WONDERFUL!!! We will post more pics later... but here is a preview!!!!

Ahhh.... Love this one!!

I enjoyed every minute!!

So happy!

Flashback Friday

Since we are getting married TOMORROW... I thought I'd post some pictures of our engagement! It was perfect. I suspected that the engagement might be happening. I'm not sure why, but I just had a feeling. So I dressed up and headed up to meet Doug. He was looking very handsome and was a little quiet. We spend some time together then headed over to the Barnes and Noble where we met. I admit, I was thinking Doug would be pulling out a ring. We walked around the store for a long time, then headed out the store... without a book or a ring!!! We went back to his place and were hanging out on the couch. He started talking about how much he loved me. What do I do? I say, "I need to go to the bathroom." Since I thought he would pop the big question at the book store, I put the engagement out of my mind and figured it would happen another time. I wasn't thinking that he had started to propose!! When I got back, he continued with the love stuff... and out came the ring! He asked me to marry him and I just kept looking at the beautiful ring. He asked again... and I said "YES!" I was very surprised!!! Turns out he had the ring with him the entire night! The proposal was perfect -- just two of us and a super surprise! We called our friends and family to tell them the great news. And then took our first family photo -- Smokey is even in the background. Trust me, that wasn't planned.

And now the time has finally come for the wedding!!! I still cannot believe that tomorrow I will become a Mrs! I cannot wait!!

Yep... Smokey is in the picture. Our first family photo.

So happy!

Yeah!

Engagement Video!!!! And TWO DAYS!!!!

Our engagement video is up on the Northernlight Filmworks blog! John and Jennifer Moon are so talented and we are so lucky to have them filming the wedding THIS WEEKEND!!! They are great to work with and they were there to film as Megan took our engagement photos. We will be playing the video during the reception as people arrive! I think it turned out super cute!!

Click here for the video!!

And did I mention that we are getting married in TWO DAYS!!!!!! Oh my goodness!!!! I am beside myself with excitement!!!! Whoo hooo!!!!

Ladies Night!

With the wedding quickly approaching (5 days!!!) ... I'm a bit behind on my blog posts! I had a very fun ladies night out a few weeks back with some of my best friends! All my 'friend worlds' collided... my work gals, college gals, church gals! It was fun to have them all in one place!! We started out at a little Mexican dive and then hung out at my house! Here are a few shots!

I can't wait to say I DO!!!

One of my bestest friends... Sarabeth and myself having a 'little' drink!

My friend Heather, Beth and myself.

Jessi and Amal

All the ladies.

WHOOOO HOOOO!!!!!!!

WE'RE GETTING MARRIED IN 10 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are on the blog!

We are blogworthy! Check out the pictures and our awesome photographer's other work!

Engagement Pictures!!!

The very talented Megan Grandi from Megan W Photography took these images of us for our engagement photos! Love love love love love them!! I can't wait until she shoots our wedding! We should be up on Megan's blog soon!