Christmas Concerts

We always love the Christmas concerts that come with December!

Rachel's class

Middle School Band (Nathan on trombone, Teresa on trumpet)

Middle School Chorus

High School Band - Landen surprised us by playing a solo as part of an ensemble in one of the Christmas songs. 

Vikings vs. Lions

While Landen was in Denver at National Robotics, we took Nathan and Teresa to our first Vikings game. (Or Lions game, depending on who you ask.) It was supposed to be a trip for the boys, but Teresa had fun experiencing the city, too.

The middles hardly ever get mom and dad to themselves, and we enjoyed that, too.

Papa Butter and Grandma Shirley came to stay with Rachel for the weekend.

This was the expression on all Lions fans faces. :)

End of November

The end of November brought a Girls' Road Trip to Rapid City for the State Volleyball Tournament. 

We had a fun time swimming, catching up with our friend Lori, and watching lots of volleyball. We wanted to go ice skating, but it was 60 degrees in Rapid City that weekend!

Northwestern defeated Faulkton to win the State Championship and complete Northwestern volleyball's first perfect season--41-0. The team only lost one set all season.

Soon after that, we celebrated Thanksgiving. Teresa, Lily, and Rachel presented their annual play.

We also celebrated Melius Christmas over Thanksgiving weekend. A new snowfall gave the kids plenty to play in!

Bismarck Blessings

Last week Wednesday, God lined up everything in my busy fall life so that I could attend the University of Mary Prayer Day in Bismarck, ND, with my mom and our friend Mary Beth.

Fr. Mike Schmitz was the keynote speaker this year, and people came from all over North and South Dakota--Rapid City, Fargo, and Cresbard :) --to hear his address on Christian Adulting. (His first word of advice? Stop using adulting as a verb.) Got it. :)

It was an honor to hear his message on how to take personal responsibility for our faith lives and especially to celebrate mass after the address.

Before the conference began, I saw that our dear family friends had sat down in the row ahead of us. Even though we only live 30 miles from each other, we hadn't really visited in person in a long time--a year or two maybe? So that was a fabulous way to start the day. After mass, Mary Beth got to visiting with the couple sitting beside her. As it turns out, she was raised not far from where I now live and still has family in the area. We visited with them for quite awhile, and as is typical, were the last ones to leave the arena. 

Just as we were getting into our car, I spotted Fr. Mike and his college student drivers leaving the venue. Mary Beth and I ran up to him like two teenagers and asked for a photo with him. He was so kind to agree, and I did make sure to use my few seconds to thank him and tell him how much we have appreciated his work in our small South Dakota parish. I'm not sure I have ever had the courage to go "fan girl" on anyone, so I guess a Catholic priest was a safe place to start. :)

It was such an amazing day of blessings. It is often so easy for me to get overwhelmed by the world and my own personal anxieties. Taking a road trip with my mom and long-time friend, being in the presence of so many Catholics of all ages (including old and new friends) who are taking an active interest in their faith (evident by the standing room only crowd), and taking in both a keynote address and mass with Fr. Mike Schmitz--wow--God is so good. 

Our family has been and is being blessed by so many good and faithful priests in our parishes.

Please keep all of them in your prayers.

41

I turned 41 a couple of days ago. 

Birthdays always make me reflective, and since I've become a stay-at-home mom with kids in school (a promotion I highly recommend), I find myself with more time to reflect. That is sometimes a benefit, and sometimes not.

About a week ago, I had a bad day. You know those days when you feel like you have failed so many times at being a mom and it was cloudy and cold and, to make matters worse, you are pretty sure everyone has met Garth Brooks but you? (Well, maybe that last part is just me.) :)

In reality, circumstances were not as terrible as I was making them out to be; things were just in a place in which they needed to be improved, as things periodically do, and, instead of feeling challenged and inspired, I was feeling pretty defeated. 

So, what did I do? Well, first I felt sorry for myself for awhile because, well, that's what I do. 

Then, I revisited my self-appointed virtual spiritual advisor Fr. Mike's #FAIL homily series from last May. (Soundcloud App--Bulldog Catholic or BulldogCatholic.org. Check it out. Need not be Catholic to appreciate.)

And then I remembered.

That failure is not fatal and failure is not final.

In Jesus, we are free to fail--in big and small ways.

But we can't stand and stay in it.

Because someone is counting on you.  

When I stop the feeling sorry for myself and reach out to God for help, He always leads me to places to remind me of His love for me. When I relinquish the (illusion of) control and (finally) throw my hands in the air and say, "I don't know how you are going to fix this, but I need you to," it doesn't take long--sometimes just hours or less--to see a glimpse of Him working to do just that. The next day, two different friends stopped for impromptu coffee visits to share their prayers and wisdom with me. I was reminded of my dear friend's gift of hope and how she inspires me to hold onto it with both hands. A quick trip to my hometown a couple of days later was such a gift to my soul.

It is well. :)

So, I turned 41 in a much better place and was blessed with a beautiful day as well. Getting older reminds me that life is moving quickly. I want to do the best I can with the gifts I have been given, and I really do try to do that every day. I'll fail again and I'll succeed again and I need to remember that it is all a blessing. 

Because God has placed a call on my--and your--life that no one else can answer.

And someone is counting on me--and you.

As I do every year, I thank you for sharing the ride with me.