Of Fairs and Bookwork

My apologies for my recent unexplained absence. I was unable to post a farewell note before my sisters and I left out of town last Tuesday to be with my dad's parents in Wisconsin at the Fond du Lac County Fair. We didn't return home until Monday evening, and these past several days have been quite taken up with unpacking, trying to recouperate :), and catching up on bookwork, mailings, and lots of emails for my movement.

You see, our family has some history in the FDL Fair. It's not just any common carnival. My parents met oh, so many years ago at no less a romantic occasion than this fair. They knew each other vaguely from many years of showing cattle (dairy for my dad, polled hereford beef by my mom)...my dad knew that there were "a bunch" of Huspen girls - my mom has 7 sisters - and always said he would like to date one. Their first "real" date was the demolition derby at the Fond du Lac County Fair in (let me check my history book)...1977. And next year they will celebrate their 25th Wedding Anniversary!

So our family always enjoys trekking back north to partake of some fair fun each year. Only, our kind of fun doesn't exactly consist of stuffing ourselves with cotton candy and getting sick on rides. My sisters and I have a tradition of helping our Grandma work at the Farm Bureau Women's Food Stand...and let me tell you, that's an experience I hope to tell my grandchildren about. :) How many 18-year-olds have the chance to flip dozens of pancakes, make 10 huge batches of scrambled eggs, take and fill orders, and run the cash register for hundreds of customers all in the same day? Considering that we were at the stand from 6:30am to 9:00pm each day, you can now understand why my list above of recent activites included "recouperating". There is nothing quite like that mixture of enjoying work yet being exhausted at the same time!

Pray for our Senators...

...as they vote today on several key bills regarding pro-life and pro-family issues. Let us storm heaven that truth will hold the victory!

Today's Quotes II

"Love is the fusion of two souls in one in order to bring about mutual perfection."

"He leaves His angels and millions of people, to come into your soul, to consummate in you the most intimate union, to transform you into God, to nourish in you the life of grace with which you will attain heaven."

"When we're there in His presence, if just gazing at Him is enough to make us love Him, and if we are so captivated by His beauty that we can't say anything but that we love Him, why...should we be upset?"

- Saint Teresa of the Andes (Memorial July 13)

"We need Catholics who are alert to the present moment...modern Catholics who know how to nourish themselves in the past but whose eyes are fixed on the future."

- Blessed Carlos Rodriguez Santiago (Memorial July 13)

Also on today's Liturgical Calendar:

Saint Margaret of Antioch

For the complete list of Saints celebrated today:

The Patron Saints Index

Today's Quote

"The will of God:

nothing more,

nothing less,

nothing else."

(Author unknown)

Ave Cor Mariae Camp in Photos

Getting ready to hike into town to watch the fireworks on the 4th!

(Notice the chapel behind us. Father led our "parade" in his cassock and baseball cap!)

Formal dinner on Thursday evening...learning the proper way to eat :)

I was the hostess of my table
The Miles Jesu sisters eating after they had served all of us
Skit night...Saint Paul's cabin performed "Saint Dorothy"
Father played the piano for our talent show!

Girls from the Little Flowers Club danced

(the white blurs are scarves and rose petals being thrown!) Mom and my sister Sarah did a cheer!
The whole group

Back and Refreshed

What a week of grace! The "Ave Cor Mariae" (Hail Heart of Mary) Catholic Girls Camp by Miles Jesu was wonderful. Nearly 70 Catholic girls from all over the country, ages 10 and up were there. Being 18, I was actually a camp leader (adult) this year and in charge of the St. Paul cabin (they're all named after biblical charaters!) . It was actually somewhat fun being in the most rustic of the cabins. Not having electricity made the experience more authentic, in a way...and a friendly bat hanging out in our cabin only added to the excitement!

I also lead workshops on hair braiding each day and did, oh, about 50 french braids over the course of the week, as well as teaching several other girls how to french braid. Whenever I'm asked if my fingers get tired, I just laugh and say I hope all the exercise will help them never to get arthritis!

Our days were filled with such activities as swimming, canoeing, sports, archery, folk dancing lessons, crafts, and best of all, sacraments. Daily devotions (morning and evening prayer together in the chapel), rosary, and Holy Mass made the week very much like a rejuvenating retreat. We were so blessed (and I would say spoiled) to have a wonderful holy priest as our chaplain for the week, available at any time for Confessions. And to have our Lord right there, in the camp chapel, so that you could run in at any time to be with Him. And each afternoon there was adoration and exposition...oh, what peace, what consolation. There is nothing like sitting in tranquil silence before your King and your God, just basking in His Love.