The Next Great Adventure

Now you might be thinking how have I gone this far in life and never moved.  Well if you stay at home for college and get married a year after college, I never really saw the point to move out. I thought of it more as an expense that I couldn't afford.

Now I am good at moving rooms.  Having 4 older sisters and roughly 4 bedrooms (three actual bedrooms and the large old 'play room/classroom' converted into a bedroom)  I think that every time a sister went away to college we all rearranged rooms and moved.  I think that some time or another I have occupied 3 of the four rooms, some rooms at different times in my life.

But this move is different... Much different...

This time I am not moving down the hallway.  I am not staying in the same home.  I am moving five miles into town.  Yes I know that it could be much further, but right now it seems really far away.  But it is just the next adventure that is on my life path.

It is like going up the Millennium Force's first hill.  you keep going and  going up and your stomach and brain start deceiving you and con't decide if this is going to be wonderful or terrifyingly hard.  It is like I am at the crest of that hill that I have been climbing for awhile now.  and it is time to enjoy the ride down the exciting and thrilling coaster.

The great thing that I have to always remember is that I'll have Travis right beside me.  And remembering that is just half of the great adventure!

My new Favorite Thing

Summertime in Indiana brings about one thing, a VERY hot car by the end of the work day.  It doesn't help that I also have leather seats, so it makes it feel even warmer.  Recently I have been making the mistake in leaving my water bottle in the car, so by the end of the day, I have water that is about to boil.

my water bottle in the morning before work

So I have finally decided to use that to my advantage.  One morning last week I decided to put a tea bag and some sugar (not a fan of unsweetened tea) and leave it in my car all day.  So by the end of the day, I have a nice bottle of sweet tea for my drive home.  If I am thinking about it I also try to grab some ice cubes from the work freezer before I leave for work.  

Sweet tea by the time I leave for work!

Even if I forget the ice cubes, warm sweet tea is always better than warm water in my opinion.  Try it out if you have a warm car this summer, you will never regret leaving your water bottle in the sun again!

What Memorial Day Means To Me

For some people Memorial Day is all about the lake and sleeping.  Growing up for me it was about sleeping and a day off from school - the kick off to summer.  But, every Memorial Day my dad would wake up 'early' usually with one of my older sisters and head up north. No, they weren't headed for the lake. 

They were driving toward memories.

Before I was even a twinkle in my parents eyes, my dad's parents passed away. I was never lucky enough to meet them. But every Memorial Day weekend some of the family jumps into our big blue 8 passenger van and head north - towards memories - towards my dad's history.  We visit, clean, and put flowers next to my grandparent's grave.

We relive my dad's memories.

When I was in high school I started traveling north with my dad.  Maybe at first it was for our yearly ice cream stop in Fremont. Over the years though it became much more. It was a trip down memory lane. It was tradition. We would visit my grandparents grave, along with my dad's Grandparents, place flowers and clean it all up.

It became Tradition.  Something that I would never change.

I was never blessed to know my grandparents, but I am lucky enough to have this day where we visit their grave and we talk about memories. And that in itself are memories to hold onto.

7 weeks!

How is it possible that in 7 weeks that my last name will be Heckber?  (maybe not on all of my legal things, but I think that you know what I mean).  How has that date gotten so close?

Our home that needs me to organize it :-)

Travis and I had our final meeting with Fr. Tom last Friday and have things falling into place, items are being crossed off my list (slowly it feels, but little by little). People keep asking me how wedding planning is coming along, I say that plans are coming.  But really it is only one day...



That is what I keep telling myself when planning doesn't go according to plan.  Because I know that it is just going to be the beginning, Right now I think more about getting the house organized, and thinking ahead.

Yes, I am excited about the wedding, how can you not when I get to stand up  with my best friend and greatest blessing in front of my family and friends.  How could you not?  It is just staying sane until then, because this one day requires almost too much planning.

So the countdown begins: 47 Days to go!

Abortion Recovery Month

Last night I attended IPFW Students for Life's Abortion recovery Month's speaker Star Parker.  They are dedicating April to abortion recovery after a different group celebrated Roe v Wade all in the month of March.

A packed room at IPFW with speaker Star Parker

Star had a wonderful story to share and she was able to share that story with a full room!  I was so excited for the group.  It is awesome to realize that they are only in their 5th year as a group on campus.  But they are growing and expanding and showing the campus that they are there not just to save babies, but to be there for the mothers.

Allen County Right to Life was there and I think recording the talk.  I hope that they have a link to it soon on their YouTube page.  Please continue to keep Students for Life in your prayers, because they are doing some amazing things!

Taking me Back

I have decided that it is due time to start writing again.  Not like my life is really interesting, or that anyone would read this.  But I think that it helps also to provide clarity of mind.  Sometimes I think too much and all of my thoughts get jumbles and this helps a bit.

There has been too much going on since I last wrote, that I am not going to to a catch up piece, because that would almost take up toooo much time.  So we are going to start fresh.

Today at work we had Mass in our small chapel and I was transported back to Spain for World Youth Day almost two years ago.  This was my first big trip without my family, and it was across the ocean and I really didn't have contact with them other than the three times I blogged while on my trip and they had commented on the blog. And even though I was traveling with the Diocese, none of my close friends went, so it wasn't like any normal trip I had taken before.

The church we went to and what it looked on the outside - would you guess it was a church?

To say the least, I felt like I was a bit cut off from everyone. We traveled to Lourdes (which was amazing) and by the time that we got into Madrid a bit of home-sickness come on.  It was one of the first days there and I was having a bit of an off morning, not feeling like talking and interacting.  We had gone to this church in Madrid for English speakers and had a talk and then Mass.

One it was hot, two no air conditioning, and three we were in the loft area.... I was just trying to stay in my own little bubble.

Second level can be seen on the right

I was stuck....

But then came the point in the Mass that we said (one of the points that was changed in the new translation...) "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word and i shall be healed." I was taken home and I felt like I was getting a big hug and that even though I was far away from everyone, I wasn't alone and they were right there with me.  I was across the ocean and we were able to hear the same Mass.

Even when we say the new part: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed."  I am taken back to that moment, when I remembered that I wasn't alone then, and I can never really ever be alone.  

There is comfort in that :-)