Has it really been a year?

Yep, one year ago Lee and I signed our life away (at least 30 years of it) and became homeowners. It doesn't seem like that much time has passed. We have been through so much this year between renovations, job changes, Taylor moving, going to Disney, and so much more. Time is just flying.

I hope this post finds you all well. Remember to stop and smell the roses along the way because you never know what tomorrow brings. I've noticed that as I get older time goes by faster and faster. As a child you think summer vacation lasts forever. Christmas and birthdays never come quick enough, and you want to be a grown-up so badly. As an adult you realize how good you had it as a child - no bills, no responsibilities, no "real" worries. Time flies by quicker than you can blink.

We've now had the house for a year. We will be married three years in August (my goodness!). In the fall, I will be starting my fourth and final year in graduate school. Amazing how all of this seemed to begin yesterday.

Enjoy today and live for tomorrow!

We're Proud Parents - Again!

Lee and I have never gone to the Bloomington Fun Frolic as a couple. Taylor's mom always took her, so we never worried about going. Well, since they moved to Tennessee, they were no longer in town to take her, so we did. Boy, what an adventure!

We played the “Win A Bunny” game thinking we would never win. You have to throw a ping pong ball into a bowl floating in water. Who wins that?? Well, we did. Here is a picture of the new member of our family. His/her name is Gillham (for the street we live on). We’re calling the bunny Gil for short, and it is 7 weeks old. The kitties have been sniffing the bunny a bunch, but Gil doesn’t seem to mind them at all. He/she just hops right by. We've been keeping it in the cage for most of the day and letting it out for 1/2 hour here and there for playtime. I think it likes it's new home. If it gets to be too much to handle, we will find it a new home, but for now, we'll give it a shot!

We also learned that Taylor is quite the expert at darts. She won a little blue dog and won her Aunt Gloria a picture by popping balloons with darts. Even Aunt Gloria herself couldn't hit one. Taylor also got to take her first ride on a Ferris Wheel. She loved it!!! I couldn't believe she hadn't been on one before. We've ridden much scarier rides at Holiday World and Disney. All in all, it was a fun day at the Fun Frolic, and we now have a new member of the family.

Out of the Ashes, A Phoenix Will Rise

This morning I awoke to a phone call from my mom. It seems the church in my hometown burned. For some this may not be a big deal, but to me a large part of my childhood rests in that church.

I come from a small town in southern Indiana. St. Anthony is a town with no stoplight, no McDonald's, no school, one gas station, and a great big Catholic church, which it seems the town is built around. The church itself is well over 100 years old and was built in the mid to late 1800s. It was currently undergoing its first renovation in more than 50 years, and my guess is that something went wrong with construction and started the fire. The fire was noticed at 3:30 in the morning, and six fire departments responded. I'm sure we'll know the exact cause in a few days.

I am no longer a practicing Catholic, but a lot of my growing up surrounded the Catholic faith and holds great memories for me. I was deeply affected when the Pope died, and when I face hard issues, I still revert back to my Catholic faith.

This church itself holds a lot of memories for me and my family. My parents were married there in 1969. My sister was married there in 1992. I was baptized there, had my First Penance, First Holy Communion, and Confirmation all in the church. My nieces were baptized there as well. I attended several funerals in this church including the funeral of my great-grandmother, who died when she was 105 years old, and my grandfather's funeral. I even worked there as a small child. My sisters and I would do odd jobs around the church, and I got paid in pennies :-). As long as I could count them, I could have them. During our high school years, my sister and I were lectors in the church. My, what memories that building holds!

I know one building shouldn't be the end all and be all, but for me it holds the memories of my childhood, my family, my hometown, and my faith. I never thought this incident would affect me so much, but in part, it is like a death in the family. However, "Out of the ashes, a phoenix will rise." I believe this, and I know the citizens of St. Anthony will push on. I pray for them and my thoughts will be with them.