Humor is the great thing, the saving thing.
The minute it crops up, all our irritation and resentments slip away, a
nd a sunny spirit takes their place. ~Mark Twain

So--this blog is for Diana who wasn't sure I existed anymore because of my lack of blogging. YES--I certainly do exist--I am happy to say!!! To be honest, nothing exciting to report lately. I guess I did have a trip to the ER, which is always exciting--especially the people watching. It turns out, after several doctors visits and tests, I have a chronically inflammed gut with a deep ulceration. Who would have ever guessed that? But, all should be well as they have given me plenty of medicine and will patch me up in Des Moines on January 29th with some minor surgery so it won't purferate. Really, that's about the most exciting news of my life--see Diana, I told you I had no life. Besides babies barfing on me, changing diapers, making bottles, and teaching that babes how to sit up and crawl---there's not much to life at the moment. NO, I love those babies, but they do wear me out a lot. BUT, NEXT WEEK, I will begin getting a life back as I will no longer be nannying. I am currently looking for a job and figuring out if I shall stay in KC or move elsewhere---time will tell I suppose. As much as I love those babies and I DO love those babies, it'll be nice not to have them 12 hours a day and to be able to see friends and concentrate on what the next step of my life shall be.

THIS WEEKEND, however, was EXACTLY what I needed. Yesterday morning I woke up with TONS of energy and cleaned my apartment from top to bottom and it was such a good feeling. Afterward, I drove to Atchison and had a coffee date with S. Thomasita--it was so needed--we had such a good time. After coffee I went to BC and ate supper with Vicki & Daniel which was delicious. Vicki made homemade potato soup, homemade bread bowls to put the soup in, AND brownies from scratch. It was heaven. Then I returned to the Mount for prayers with the Community before heading home. Today, I went back to Atchison for Mass at the Mount, it has been quite some time since I have been able to do so. I sat with Thomasita and it was wonderful. The music selection was especially moving today as the theme was "Here I am." I believe the "Servants Song" was my favorite---such a moving piece about being like Christ for others and letting Christ and others be the same for us. I ate brunch at the Mount and then Barbara, Bridget, and I hit the hills in the back of the monastery for some AWESOME sledding, and I do mean AWESOME. It was great. We have moguls built and everything. It was rather etertaining. The tops 2 moments were (1) Watching Bridget almost wipe out, but managing to stay on with her legs flailing in the air (2) me going head first into part of the creek. We laughed a lot. After sledding we returned for a concert. It was one of the most amazing concerts I have ever been to. It was some of the men from Lansing Prison and a few volunteers--and let me tell you ThEY CAN SING! They brought tears to my eyes on several occassions. We went to evening prayers afterwards--which, once again, was wonderful. The song was "Take Me As I Am" which I have always found to be moving and wonderful--often terrifying, but pretty nonetheless! Supper was after prayers--the dining room was full of chatter, it was great. The men from Lansing joined the Sisters for supper and after supper gave another round of "Wvunderbar" for the crowd--they were great men and a pleasure to meet. SO--here I am, back in my apartment, typing in this blog so Diana doesn't scold me! ;0)

I hope SOON, I'll have more exciting news to post about a new job and possibly where I'll be living--we shall see. I sure hope God knows, because I sure don't. I guess that's where the little thing called FAITH steps in. Life is good--and I'm learning, slowly, that one must always stand up for themself---I learned the hard way, and its a process, but I'm getting better and better everyday--and laughing A LOT which makes all the difference in the world. This weekend was the 'pick-me-up' I need and the laughter I needed to make it through this next week, which will be an interesting and tough one. Life is good!