Excitement is in the air!

After spending a week at Notre Dame on retreat with my teens, I kinda did a 180 of sorts and hit the ground running at work getting ready for Vacation Bible School!

For a few different reasons, VBS has not happened at this parish in about 3 years. So I've had my fair amount of concerns of if I could pull it off. You know me over here, Mrs. Worry Wart.

However, between having 20 registrations in a week and more than a handful of people coming forward to help put this together, I'm feeling much more excited and hopeful that we can get this off and going.

The theme we're going with is out of a Loyola Press book of Catholic Vacation Bible School themes, and is "Living in the Kingdom," so I've been busy all week constructing box castle towers and envisioning a welcoming, grand environment for the kids to walk into. I have a BUNCH more to do this Sunday and Monday before it begins (we're doing a three evening program), but first...

...wedding in Dallas! One of my childhood best friends that I went to grade school AND college with is getting married, and I'm pretty thrilled for her. She's found a spectacular guy, and they complement each other very well. I'll be flying there and back on Saturday.

Also today, I had my latest NFP follow-up appointment. I know some of you reading this know about it, but I haven't blogged about it up to this point to avoid emotional outbursts or being too flippant with mine or Matt's privacy. But with his "O.K." I feel much more comfortable giving this update. We have been trying to build our family for 20 months (I've lost count these past few months, I had to do the mental math when I went in for my appointment today) and have been seeing an NFP physician since last October. Nothing too intensive has happened up to this point. I've mostly been on vitamins and amoxicillin and guaifenisen and discovered my dislike of taking so many pills. After two frustrating appointments where nothing moved forward , the doctor agreed to have labs drawn on me.  (I have to say as a disclaimer that I'm not upset at the doctor for taking things the slow way. When we first were deciding whether to start in town or go straight to Omaha, I felt God was calling me to grow in patience in the process. I've had to eat my words for thinking, "Let's take this slow," because boy has it felt slow, but I'm also finding grace in the slow.) This next week we'll be doing a draw to find out some of my hormone levels. I'm not sure when we'll hear any results, but I'm just excited to finally be moving forward again in this process. Please pray for us as we hopefully start finding some more answers. I've been praying to Brian a lot to intercede for us, so I know he's working hard in heaven.

When the going gets tough, the tough retreat

And pray. And question. And beg God...

This past week was my first big trip with my work-parish youth group. This was the week I have been planning for since I first started my position. This was a finalization of months of planning. This was it.

Because of all of this planning for the youth that were attending, plus one other chaperone, I had not been particularly looking forward to this retreat for myself. This was a unique high school retreat. At Notre Dame Vision, the students are chaperoned entirely by the retreat staff, while the campus and youth ministers are also on a similar retreat experience. I hoped that the students would have a good time, but I was so wrapped up in the administrative details that I had no hope to gain anything for myself. This year's theme was mercy...

Lord, have mercy.

What I was not prepared for was having an entire week of prompts and opportunities to bring the mess of the past month, particularly the concerns of my family, health, and the particularly painful weekend events of Brian Bergkamp's disappearance, to God. While I would have much rather been home sulking and crying and being with my husband (who I did not get to see July 8-15), God pulled me off by myself to confront my fears, pride, and mourning.

Christ, have mercy.

I don't know if God ordained the timing of this trip in anticipation of the past month, but it happened the way it happened. I was able to pray for all of the people in my life multiple times at Notre Dame's grotto. (Yes, that includes you. And you. And you in the back. You were all in my prayers.) I was able to confess in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart after avoiding the sacrament for four months out of anger and spite. I was able to sit at St. Joseph's Lake and make peace with the water.

Lord, have mercy.

In one of the more compelling talks in our time there, we heard of the mercy of baptism. We are not just baptized once in our past, we are baptized right now, always. We are wrapped in mercy. Do we act like it? Do we know it? Do we allow ourselves to be mercied, and to be merciful? Brian did. He lived out his baptism fully and bravely. My uncle did, and passed on his faith to two beautiful daughters and some beautiful grandchildren. My father continues to and I'm so entirely grateful to continue to learn from his merciful example. I pray and beg God that I may pass that on as well.

Mercy disrupts. It is not comfortable. It has shattered my summer. After a very long month, God drew me in to show me His Hands and hold me in them. He holds you too.

Ever onward

Out my window: I feel like I've hardly been home to know what's outside my window these days. But it's hot.

Clothing myself in: khaki capris, forest green top...I have trouble knowing what goes with khaki. I know that sounds silly, but I always end up pairing browns and greens and maybe burnt orange with it because I have no idea what else to put with it. Blacks, greys, reds, blues, and purples all go with black/grey pants and skirts more in my mind, and those are the color tops I have more of in my closet.

Around the apartment: I have been back to Wichita 3 times in 1.5 weeks (read that as...kind of on edge of disaster-ish, but livable).

The hubby: has been super. He's now in Canada for his much anticipated video game conference. He will be nerding out this weekend. A lot.
  
In the kitchen: Can we just not talk about this?

Crafting: All things VBS at work. I'm going to be getting my craft on with castles, castle keep, walls, the kids' art projects and materials...

Learning: to count blessings

Reading: I finished The Once and Future King! Have been too busy to start another fiction. Haven't made it much further through my faith book either.

Watching: On one of my rare free weekends of June I watched the 3 Jurassic Parks on Netflix...have been going through a series called Brain Games...yeah, not much.
  
Bringing me joy: my family

Thinking about: my trip for work I'm leaving for in 3 days, health, how I'll spend the next couple of days cleaning, packing, hopefully a trip to Panera to use up a gift card...

Pictures to share: I didn't have much to write, both for your sake and for mine so I didn't go off on tangents/rant, so here's a plethora of pics from the last month or so...

A "Perry the Platypus" green car spotted when eating out with bro- and sis-in-law and family. It was pretty!

A bit random, but this butterfly/moth was on the ground near my car one day at work. Do you see how big it is?! I would've guesstimated about the size of my fist, bigger with wings spread. This thing was massive!

My latest jigsaw. This was one where it comes with a mystery story and you have to decipher the clues in the finished puzzle. This was difficult because you needed to know the different names for the quilt square types. I had to cheat and read ahead in the story a bit.

Leaving for vacay.

Goats on the roof! Other wise known as Al Johnson's restaurant.

I found an antique store named Chelsea's. Obligatory photo of said store.

I'm really bad at taking good pictures while the car is in motion. If I could zoom in, I would. This is a sign for Pilsen, WI. Kansas was on my mind :-)

Another bad car photo. I was trying to get the sign for the cemetery named Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Matt's Confirmation saints.

John Wayne's house of birth. Definitely going back to the museum with my dad in tow next time. I never realized he was born just south of Des Moines.

Sts. Peter and Paul: Quote of the Day XXXIX

"The Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul is at the same time a grateful memorial of the great witnesses of Jesus Christ and a solemn confession for the Church: one, holy, catholic and apostolic. It is first and foremost a feast of catholicity. The sign of Pentecost - the new community that speaks all languages and unites all peoples into one people, in one family of God -, this sign has become a reality. Our liturgical assembly, at which Bishops are gathered from all parts of the world, people of many cultures and nations, is an image of the family of the Church distributed throughout the earth."--Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

St. Peter is definitely working miracles still...just saying. I know many of us look to recent saints or those awaiting canonization to perform miracles, but on his feast day, St. Peter was rocking it.