little miss firecracker

The 4th of July isn't just a national holiday... it's also the birthday of the coolest 3-year-old that I know, little miss Isabelle. Her mom and dad (Steve and Erin) are two of my closest friends in South Bend, and she and her brother Michael are two amazingly cute kids. (Steve is actually the reason I moved back here 5 years ago when he hired me to be his assistant for ND Vision, and I can't thank him enough for it!!!)

Here are some pics of the big day...











I counted three desserts... it's good to be the birthday girl!!

Happy partygoers with the birthday girl! ( I love the smile on the little girl in pink!!)

project playlist

My brother ryan just sent me a link to a great new website called project playlist. Looks like you can make your own playlist from thousands of songs already online. Super fun!!

For all you country music lovers out there, here is Ryan's playlist including lots of my favorites like "find out who your friends are" (song #2) and "summertime." I'm pretty sure that this is my sister's too, also including some of my favorites like "suspicious minds" and "for once in my life." I haven't made one yet, but will let you know when I do. If you make a playlist, be sure to share it!!

Speaking of country music, now's the perfect time to share two of my favorite songs by brad paisley... I love what these songs are all about, and the videos are cute too!

"little moments"


"the world"

"where your treasure is..."

For the past few years I have been following the story of Steven Curtis Chapman (an incredible Christian musician) and his wife Mary Beth who (after much encouragement from their then 11-year-old daughter Emily) have adopted three girls from China. They have since dedicated their lives to the cause of adoption and care for orphans around the world, and have created a foundation called Shaohannah's Hope to help others who feel called to adopt as well. This video tells the incredible story of their journey, and some of the miracles they have seen happen along the way.

The part of the video that really affects me is when Steven Curtis Chapman says that the moments when he's most overwhelmed by the experience are the moments when he thinks, "We almost could have missed this-- we almost could have missed what God wanted to do." (Which is perhaps the best and most convicting definition of the miracle of cooperating with God's grace that I have ever heard.)

The Chapman family is traveling the world this summer exploring how God might be calling them to further care for some of the world's most vulnerable children, and Mary Beth has generously been keeping a blog about their adventures. If you read it, just be ready to laugh and cry the whole way though it.. She is an amazing woman with such a huge heart, and I would love to get to meet her someday. What an incredible family they are!!

Speaking of their family, here is a video called "Hidden Treasures" starring their daughter, Shaohannah Hope (Shaoey). I just watched this video tonight, and couldn't help but think of this:

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:21

Just wait until you see her...



I also just want to say a big thank you to my good friend Mike Patin for meeting me for lunch today while he was in town from Louisiana to speak at the ND Vision summer program for high school students. Mike is one of the most intentional, genuine, affirming and real friends that I know. He spends his life serving others, and radiates the gift of true joy in return. (Just look at his smile!) It was wonderful to see you Mike, and I hope to see you when you are in Pittsburgh in March! In the meantime, you remain in my prayers... especially on the 22nd's.

"a rare adventure"-- an update from erin in honduras

Here is the latest update from Erin, an ND student who is spending her summer volunteering at the Farm of the Child in Honduras.

It is Tuesday night here at the Farm, and extremely difficult to believe that our time here is almost halfway over. I am quickly beginning to realize that two months is not nearly enough time to even scratch the surface of this labor of love which has already captured our hearts.

Atop a greenish chalkboard in our 4th grade aula is written, "A day lived for God is a rare adventure." So many adventures, both big and small. The adventure of this summer, the adventure to give love away, the adventure of true openness to walk with God. I am learning what it means to live God's adventure with a heart that is completely and beautifully free.

A few snapshots of my free-spirited adventure:

My running shoes and chaco sandals carefully dodge stones, splash through rivers and sink into sandy beaches as I run, hike, and carry 4-year-olds through the lush, cloud-topped mountains. My stomach has held up remarkably well as I indulge in baleadas, topagillos, and plenty of rice and beans. Despite plentiful bug bites and a few strange rashes, my body serves me well and even enjoyed its first bucket shower this past week :) My "mente" (mind), though often tired, is stretching and growing rapidly, and was put to good use on Friday as I served as a translator for an international medical brigade from Arkansas.

Last weekend, I had the joy of attending my very first Honduran wedding, as the entire Finca community was invited just a few minutes down the beach to celebrate the "boda" of an old vol and her new husband. Dogs and two-year-olds plopping down in the aisle, totally off-key singing and a gorgeous sunset made for an experience that was pretty "diferente" but totally beautiful. Afterwards, joined by the oldest Finca boys, my fellow vols and some only-moderately-sketchy local Honduran men, I shook my gringa hips under the bright starry sky until the wee hours of the morning. I dance with light feet and a light heart.

Last night I wrote by the light of a single candle and listened to the sounds of explosive laughter and harmonies of voices singing alleluia resonating through our house which is so filled with geckoes and love. I joined the oldest boys from House 5 as they taught me to fish and hunt "cangrejos" (crabs) by the light of the moon. I sat by a campfire on the beach, was dragged into the sparkling water (fully clothed) and floated on my back with my Honduran brothers, looking at the stars and the cloudy sky illuminating the tops of mountains in the distance. Yesterday my soul sister Cassidy and I ran on the beach during an afternoon "tormenta" (storm), letting the cold rain pelt our faces and soak our clothes, diving head-first into the warm, choppy waters, yelling out to the mountains until explosive thunder sent gringa free spirits running, shrieking, laughing inside for cover.

And although my Spanish is far from "completa", I am learning to speak a far more beautiful language… the language of love. What does it mean to love as God does? What does it mean to love a child? It means immense vulnerability… and relentless forgiveness. I speak the language of love as 2-year-old Rosita runs to me with open arms and points to the moon… as little boys plop down in my lap… as I have a spontaneous post-dinner bachata-style dance party with 6-year-olds. They are my greatest teachers and the best part of my adventure.

And so my prayer is to be open to the ultimate adventure of dancing with the King, to learn what it means to love with reckless abandon, to allow my soul the freedom to sing of His marvelous light. I pray to seek His fingerprints in all faces and moments, to let my heart beat with the quiet reminder that this life is not my own, to pour out day after day after day, again and again. I am a work in progress, broken and poured out, yearning to sing long and loud and beautifully the melody the great Composer has placed in my heart.

Sing well.

Erin

-- take. bless. break. share. honduras summer 2007

a great weekend

Last weekend started off on Friday with Evelyn and Juan's wedding at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame, and a reception after at the Palais Royale. Juan just earned his PhD in English, and Evelyn is a year away from earning hers as well. I met them both this year through the RCIA program at Notre Dame, and was Evelyn's sponsor for her confirmation. The wedding was beautiful, and I was so glad to be there for it! Here they are having a great time during their first dance~


On Saturday morning I went to a bridal shower for my friend Sarah Miller who is marrying Ryan O'Connor, a good friend from ND, next month. Sarah and Ryan are two of the greatest people I know, and have just returned from a year of teaching in Guatemala that was full of adventures. I am so excited for their wedding, and couldn't be happier for them! By the way, I had a lot of fun shopping for her gift because Sarah registered for plates called Fiestaware. I had never seen these kind of plates before, but loved all of the colors to choose from! I debated awhile about which color to buy, but in the end went with yellow in honor of their motto in life. You guys are the best!!


After the shower I drove to Chicago to see my brother, and to have dinner with our friend Kevin from high school. Kevin was in Chicago training for his new job, and we had a great time catching up with him and his friends from work. Kevin was staying in the Hard Rock Cafe hotel, and Ryan and I had fun just sitting in the lobby (it doesn't take much to entertain us!) and I felt like Sydney Bristow about to be sent on an important mission or something. It was pretty fabulous!


On Sunday Ryan and I went to Old Saint Patrick's for mass. I had heard that my good friend and former roommate Keara Coughlin has recently been hired to direct their young adult ministry, and she was actually introduced at the end of mass, and said a few words to the congregation. What a coincidence! Old Saint Pat's seems like a great church, and Ryan especially liked the newly ordained Jesuit priest, Fr. Pat McGrath, who said mass. Apparently St. Pat's has the world's largest block party coming up, which looks like a great time. Jon McLaughlin will be there, who a friend of mine has recently told me is really good. If you're in Chicago, you might want to check it out!

After mass Ryan and I went back to Mario's Italian Lemonade for frozen ices, and then I headed back to South Bend just in time for a birthday dinner for a friend's grandma who turned 85 yesterday. It was a great weekend!! Hope you all are doing well too!!

is this heaven?? no, it's... michigan

I don't usually write two blogs in one day, but I couldn't resist sharing these photos that my friend Steve just sent. Back in January the
South Bend ACE Fellowship (part of the larger ACE Fellowship, which is an alumni association of sorts for graduates of Notre Dame's ACE program) sponsored an event to raise scholarships for students at two local Catholic Schools - St. Adalbert's and Our Lady of Hungary. The night was a huge success, and I think we raised about $10,000! We were thrilled!

One of the best items in the auction was dinner for 10 people with
Fr. Tim Scully (the founder of ACE) at his family's lake house in Bridgman, Michigan, which I was lucky enough to be invited to last night. All I can say is that it was beautiful... the weather was perfect, the company was even better and the sunset was gorgeous. Wine, dinner, dessert, mass on the beach, good conversations, good laughs, wonderful friends and all for a good cause... what more could anyone ask for?? A HUGE thank you to Steve and Erin for inviting me to be part of the group, and to Fr. Tim for being such a great host. You guys are the best!!! I'll never forget it!!


(full sized photos available here)

happy birthday shannon!

A friend just send me a story about a Haitian family's long awaited reunion that I wanted to share. I also want to wish Shannon a very happy birthday today!! More soon-- have a great day!

We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.- Joseph Campbell

tom dooley society

Today I joined Notre Dame's Tom Dooley Society, and as I spent some time looking through the database I came across a man named Dr. Jim O'Connell who is the president of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. I was immediately intersted in learning more about his work, and sent him a note to ask if I could talk with him sometime. He wrote back right away, and I feel very blessed to be in contact with such a good and dedicated person. From the little bit I know about him, I can honestly say that he is a true inspiration. Here's a short video about his work that I wanted to share too-- you'll see what I mean!

Hope you are all having a wonderful day today!!

"To dare is to risk losing your foothold for a moment. Not to dare is to risk losing yourself." -Soren Kierkegaard

happy birthday beth!

Happy Birthday Beth!!!!! I hope you had a great night celebrating your birthday... you are an awesome friend, and probably the most loyal blog reader too :-) Hope you like these pictures, and I'll see you soon!

It was Beth's friend Christa's b-day too... Happy birthday Christa!

Beth's sister Stephanie and her brother Robbie surprised her and came in for her b-day!

happy birthday dad!!!

Today is my dad's 60th birthday... happy birthday Dad!!!!
We had a surprise birthday party for him last Friday night, and one of the biggest surprises was that Christy flew in from San Francisco, and Ryan came in from Chicago!!!




Another huge surprise for my dad is that he'll be going to the Cleveland Indians Fantasy Camp in Winter Haven, FL this year. Here he is learning about his big gift!!


I hope you enjoyed your party dad!!

On Saturday I went to Pittsburgh to look for an apartment, and then got home just in time to get to the CMHS class of '96 reunion. What a great time, and I just want to send a big thank you to everyone who made it-- it was great to see everyone!

Gina, Beth and Mandy

Lou, Mike, Erin and Laura

Reno, Colleen and Leslie

Rebekah, Reno and little Gianna Ferri

Matt, Katie, Gina and me

Last but not least, I also wanted to let you all know that my good friend Shannon has started a blog. Yay! Shannon and I met just about a year ago when we were both taking the Kaplan review class to get ready for the MCAT, and I honestly don't know how I would have gotten through last summer without her. Shannon is one of the most faith-filled persons that I have ever known, a one in a million friend, a beautiful mom to her two children Madeline and Timothy, and a true inspiration to me. She is also currently beginning the process of applying to med school for next year, so please keep her in your prayers!!!

my "soul sister" at ND

Last week I received an e-mail from a good friend named Erin, who is spending her summer living and volunteering at the Farm of the Child in Honduras. Erin is an ND student, and is one of those people whose smile could light up the entire universe. We met on an NDE retreat that I was helping with, and she told me she thought we were soul sisters. Believe me... it was a huge compliment to me, becasue I would hope to be like her!! Please keep her in your prayers this summer.... I really believe that God has a very special plan for her life, and that this summer is an important part of it. She ended her e-mail with this quote, and I think it's too good not to share...

"And so my prayer is that your story will have involved some leaving and some coming home, some summer and some winter, some roses blooming out like children in a play. My hope is your story will be about changing, about getting something beautiful born inside of you, about learning to love a woman or a man, about learning to love a child, about moving yourself around water, around mountains, around friends, about learning to love others more than we love ourselves, about learning oneness as a way of understanding God. We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and the resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn't it?" – Donald Miller in Through Painted Deserts

Erin had written this first e-mail right before she left, and then on Sunday she sent her first update:

I cannot even begin to describe what life here has been like, and I don't think I should really try in such limited internet time... but I am in awe of the goodness of it all. My constant wrestling with the Spanish language... the beauty of the heights of the mountains... celebrating mass with the mountain community in Buena Vista... swimming in the posas... these moments of grace remind me of my smallness, that this existence is not my own. I have already been challenged in so many ways, and I know there is so much more yet to come... yet I also feel God's grace being poured out on me, and I know that it is only through Him- seriously- that I can do anything this summer.

God bless you always Erin. You are in my thoguths and prayers!!!!
St. Therese, the Little Flower, pray for her!

new friends

This is a photo of six truly amazing people who were in town for the Haiti conference this weekend: Nancy Anderson, Fr. Tom Streit, Dr. Madsen Beau deRochars, Theresa Patterson, Fran Rajotte and Chip Wirth. I just wanted to take a minute and introduce them to all of you...

Nancy is a mother of 7 children and a nurse, and has started a non-profit based out of Palm Beach, Florida making several mission trips a year to help bring medical care to Haiti. Fr. Tom is the director of the Haiti Program at ND, and Dr. Madsen leads the program's efforts out of Leogane. Theresa Patterson is the director of the Parish Twinning Program of the Americas, and I marvel at how since 1978 she has helped to organize over 350 churches in the US in twinning relationships with churches in Haiti. I learned from her that Haiti has only 30 hospitals and 400 doctors (for a county of over 8 million people), and so she now has her sights set on building the Visitation Hospital in Petite Riviere de Nippes, of which Fran is the director of development. They are quite an amazing team!! And last but not least, Chip Wirth is is extremely involved in his church's twinning program that helped to create Maison Fortune orphanage in Hinche, and is now involved with the salt project too.

I hope to write more soon, but I just had to share these wonderful people with all of you. I consider it a tremendous blessing that my path has crossed with each one of them! They are all true inspirations to me, and have reminded me powerfully how essential we each are to the body of Christ. I couldn't help but think this weekend many times of the verse I centered my prayer around during my trip to Haiti in March:

"... the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:5)

Goodnight!

cathing up

My good friend Shannon asked me when I was going to add a new post, so I knew it was time! The last few weeks have been great... a wedding in Minnesota, a great weekend in Chicago with my brothers, and an awesome day spent with amazing friends from ND who I haven't seen in about three years. It's been incredible!! I have to run because I'm working this weekend on a Haiti conference we're having here at ND, but I just wanted to say hi and share some pictures. Hope you all have a wonderful day today!!!

Chicago pics...

Reunion with the Pollock's, Patelli's and Van Gilder's!