stories of a real life wonder woman

First I want to send a little shout out to my brother. My brother from the same womb. Cause today is his birthday. I used to tag along with him a lot and he tolerated it most of the time. I think all my time with my big brother while growing up is one of the reasons I have so many brothers today. And I am thankful that Mikey let me tag along and that he taught me some fun and useful things about being a sibling and a friend. On to other things. Last night was the celebration for Taylor and Cory's wedding that was a year ago. The original wedding was planned in less than a week and I loved it. And I loved yesterday as well. As we were getting ready to line up and hear from Rich what we had to do yesterday I found out that I was going to be standing next to Taylor. I was not expecting this. On the website and at the last ceremony there have always been people in front of me but her maid of honor couldn't make it and so I somewhere along the line I got the role. Which I was an...

I always feel at a loss of what I am going to write about when getting back from camp. Not because I have nothing to write about but because I have too much to write about. Because God, as always, showed up in giant ways and I cannot contain his greatness or the things that he does in a few words. Nor can I tell all the stories about lives that were changed, hearts that were opened, wounds that are longing to be healed, or redemption being found. This week was a hard one for me personally. I usually go into camp knowing all my cabiners on some level, that was not the case this year. And then on Thursday the flood-gates opened and some of my cabiners revealed that they were dealing with some truly heartbreaking things. Things that have me still shaken to my core and hurting with them. Instead of ugly crying this year over my health, I ugly cried for the lives of my girls, for the trials of their young lives that are already weighing on them. And then there was the doubt that filled ...

Ok this Sunday I will be at camp so I am posting early. Be praying for us all. From what I hear we have quite a few first timers to RRBC this year and we hope that they have fun, make all kinds of new friends, and learn a lot. There are always things to be praying for with every camp and we really appreciate your prayers and support. As per usual - I have been getting a little nervous. It happens every year when I start to think I am under prepared and not any good at being a counselor. This year I have been reminding myself that if I was as bad as I sometimes think I am then the deans would not want me to keep coming back nor would they trust me to help train new senior camp counselors. Thinking about that has been very calming. It's nice to feel supported by the staff I am a part of and trusted by the deans. It's nice to feel wanted. As I have said before, I like me, or as Penelope says in the movie with her name as the title "I like myself the way I am." Bu...

Look I know you all probably have things in your parades in other states that you think are the coolest things ever. But you will never convince me there there is anything cooler in a parade than either The South Shore Drill Team or The Jesse White Tumblers. I love when we get a taste of Chicago in the Petunia Fest Parade. Though I will say that those guys performing is not the only thing I like about parades. I like seeing people from the community that I know out supporting and advertising their cause/business/church and whatever else. And I love that in small town America we stand for almost every American flag that goes by and all the vets or currently serving military that we see. Which reminds me, one of my favorite parts of the day was seeing my brother at the head of his outfit holding their battalion's flag. Even though he can be such a pain he also makes me so proud. I guess that's part of what I love about parades. That the community can come out and come together ...