NEWS: You have got to read this

44 lb stray cat - Princess Chunk

44lb cat found in NJ a few days ago - check it out.

Cat's are supposed to weigh 10-12 pounds .....

Happy Thursday

Lumber Jack Days - Stillwater, MN

So - the gang who went to World Youth Day from NET is back - and Mike was in town for the weekend waiting for his flight home, which was wonderful, because we got to spend a bunch of time with him - and guess what we did ... Lumber Jack Days!

This weekend, Mike, Joe and myself went to "Lumberjack Day's" - this is an event highlighting the men who cut down trees for a living and are proud of it - it is like a sport - and they are good at it!

I will let you see some pictures below, but these guys can climb a 60 foot pole in about 13 seconds, and run across logs in the water in about 9 seconds.

Another super fun part of the show was the "Logs and Dogs" portion - they had dogs that could jump about 28 feet across -

And who says MN isn't a great place to live! Who else saw something this cool last weekend?

Getting a piece of wood signed by all the lumber jacks


Lightly running across the poles - he was pretty much flying! - 9 seconds down and back ....Climbing a 60 foot pole in 12 seconds - up and down.Getting ready to run across polesJoe and myself, enjoying the sights - clearly Joe could see more of the action than I could ...

I will let you all know when it happens again next year, so you can come for a visit ;-)

Or you could watch it on TV - I believe it will be on the Outdoor/Wilderness station.

Apartment pictures

This is the view from our balcony on the 4th floor.

Beyond the town homes, you have the Mississippi River Vally, if you look really hard, you might be able to see the river!

Apartment pictures - Move in day verses this evening

Franciscan LEAD - Leadership, Evangelization And Discipeship Program

For the entire month of June, I participated in directing and facilitating Franciscan LEAD. LEAD took the place of the former "Young Apostle" program. And from what I can tell, the change was wonderful. There are still LEAD weeks going on before most of the 19 Steubenville Conferences, so keep your prayers coming!


LEAD gathers about 20 young people at each conference site who are currently in high school, or have just graduated, and give them 5 days of training on how to be a better "LEADer" in their communities. I encountered roughly 60 young people this summer who were on fire for Christ, and wanted to set the world ablaze.

At each conference many of the LEAD youth were about to stand up in front of the whole conference and give their 3-minute testimony, which they put together over the week. One women in particular touched so many, I will attempt to put the video here, if not, it will be on facebook.

Here are some pictures of their experiences:

Stacee is a WITNESS

Go to Facebook and watch this video of Stacee. She is in front of 4000 people giving her Testimony. I think you have to have Facebook to watch it, but maybe not. Try it out!

http://www.franciscanyouth.org/Apostles/

One of the most exciting aspects of Franciscan LEAD is the depth of training that the teens will receive. Our goal is to equip and empower young people to be witnesses to their Catholic faith and lead their peers into a deeper relationship with Christ. Imagine the impact on your youth group, even your parish, if you had teens that were unafraid and passionate about preaching the Gospel. This program is designed with you and your ministry in mind. We want to prepare your teens to strengthen their relationship in Christ and empower them to be authentic witnesses in your youth groups. In order to do this, we are going to need your help.

Franciscan LEAD seeks to be the soil where God will plant the seeds of evangelization for the next generation. Participants will discover who they are in Christ, how to walk with Him as a disciple, and how to share His love as a living witness. This program will help fulfill John Paul II’s call on this generation to join in the New Evangelization.

Cedar Point 2008

This post is way past due!

After wrap up week, the NET gang headed to Cedar Point for some roller coaster fun! Now that I'm not a NET Supervisor anymore, it might not be an annual trip, but I hope to go back frequently!

Here are some pictures of the highlights - well, the whole trip was a highlight!

The whole group: Joe, Anna, Chad, Kathy, Vito, Mike, BP

"Tuckin' in" some Chic-fil-a on our lunch break

Waiting in the very short line for Millennium Force - that's why we are so happy!The Super FUN van ride to Cedar Point...
Mike and BP being so scared on the Wicked Twister

The Dragster - 400 feet straight up. Yes please!2 days of riding coasters for 7 hours - Best trip ever, next to last year of course.

My Cousin Brandon

Please pray for my family as we morn the loss of my cousin Brandon.

Last week, my cousin Brandon died. Much of what we know came from the information his friends gave us who were there, and the bystanders witnessed. This is the story:

Brandon was in Lake Havasu, Arizona with some friends jumping off cliffs into the lake. Brandon leaped off a rock in the Copper Canyon and disappeared under about 30 feet of water - it was several minutes before he was rescued - (by a scuba diver who was in the area). An off duty registered nurse administered CPR until the paramedics arrived.

They took Brandon to the hospital, then airlifted him to a medical center in Las Vegas for more advanced treatment. He died last Tuesday due to massive head trauma suffered at the moment of impact.

Please keep his parents, and little brother in your prayers, and also for my extended family, as this is the 1st death on this side of the family- and it was so tragic.

Storm heaven with your prayers for Brandon, and our family.

May God be glorified through this, now and always.

The picture below is a recent family photo from December 2007. We have had 3 major family pictures like this one. Each time, every family member has made it a priority to be present. As you can see we are all represented by the colors of the rainbow. My dad is one of seven. There are 7 colors in the rainbow. We each got one. My dad and I have yellow :-) Brandon, his brother Ramsey, and his mom, my aunt Faith are in navy blue, (there is a navy blue family, and a dark purple family). He is pretty much front and center - had a huge smile on his face - I am so thankful we were able to get together for this family picture.

The BIG move

Greetings friends and family:

NET has ended, at least my time with NET as a supervisor. Currently I am working as an assistant around the office with daily organizational tasks ... more on that to come. However, because when you work for NET as a supervisor, you also live in household with the other supervisors of the same gender, when I stopped working as a supe, I had to move out. I am excited for this stage of my life . . . living in an intentional community has been awesome, and I will always live in some form of community (with a roommate, or my own family), but I also looking forward to living with just one other person, one person who I love so dearly ....

So on June 29th, Megan and I (Megan and I were on NET together in 05, we were on the same team, and ever since then I have dreamed of living with her - - - it finally came true!) moved into our very own apartment. This was new for both of us! In college we either lived in the dorm, or in a house, and we had never experienced apartment living before. So far, we love it. We are on the 4th floor of a building with only 4 floors . . . it is very spacious, tons of light, beautiful view (not as beautiful as the ocean and mountains of Washington, but rolling hills and the Mississippi River Valley are as close as it gets).

Every day, Megan or I will say to each other, "I love living here with you." or "I love our apartment." or "This is like a dream come true." - - - And every day is a joy. The Lord has given us so many blessings, and I am so thankful every day for that.

Pictures will be coming soon! We are getting the Internet hooked up tonight, and then I will have more time to post from home.

Check back in a few days. God bless you and enjoy your weekend!