Granny Eights, As Some Would Call Her

My heart breaks a little more each time I walk through the doors of room 307 at Monroe City Manor. It’s not because my Granny is suffering. She’s as happy as a person could ever be. It’s because the person that sits in that burgundy recliner is not the Grandmother I grew up with.
My Granny Yates was a brilliant woman. Let me start from the beginning. My grandparents were married at a very young age. My grandfather was a handsome sailor (I don’t blame my granny one bit for wanting to marry him!) and he was away at war for the first part of their relationship.

My grandmother was told in the beginning that she would never have kids. After having 2 miscarriages, 11 kids, and one child lost shortly after birth….. my grandmother proved everyone wrong. They were devout Catholics, which is probably why my love for the beauty of the Catholic church is so amazingly strong. They instilled it so deeply into my mother’s heart and she has so willingly passed it onto me as well. (Along with my father – who is a Deacon who has taught me more than I ever thought I would know about the Church.) My grandfather died when I was only 9, but I will never forget his love for the Blessed Mother, Jesus Christ, the Blessed Sacrament and everything else he taught me about my Catholic faith. He truly was a wonderful man and I think about him every single day. (St. George, Pray for us!)
My Granny Yates was an author and columnist for many years. She wrote 5 or 6 books that I know of, and wrote for multiple newspapers about the random musings of life. She has always been somewhat of a forgetful woman, but this past year her mind has slowly started slipping away.
In June, her children decided it was time to put her in a nursing home because it wasn’t safe for her to be on her own anymore. I moved to Kansas City a couple of weeks later. Of course it was hard – new school, new people, new city, completely new journey ahead of me. But even more than that, I was so unsure of what would happen next with my granny. I love going home for many reasons, but I love being able to and see her every day while I’m back in Monroe.
Since I’m not able to go home as often as I would like I sometimes write her letters. She gets so excited about snail mail. It makes me smile just picturing her opening up the letter! This past November, on my 23rd birthday, I received an envelope in the mail from none other than my dear old Granny Yates. I was so excited! I thought to myself… there is no way she remembered my birthday! Well, I was right… She did not have any idea it was my birthday. But I know that it was meant to be for me to receive that letter on my birthday, and it made my day complete.
I recently came back to Kansas City after a 5 week Christmas vacation. I was able to see my Grandmother as often as I pleased and I loved every second of it, although it was very hard for me to see just how quickly her memory is fading. While she doesn’t always remember a lot of people, she has yet to forget who I am and I can hold onto that for now. I don’t know when I will see her again. I don’t know if she will know who I am. I do know that I have been blessed to have a Grandmother who loved me with everything she had, and that I have had twenty-three years to share with her.
Did I mention I was named Cecelia after her?! Thanks, Mom & Pops.

Reunited with Abby Rose

Six and a half years ago I was in between my sophomore and junior years of high school. My youth group decided to take a group to Catholic Heart Work Camp in Lexington, Kentucky. Of course I went… I did everything that had anything to do with Holy Rosary’s youth group, especially if it meant getting out of Monroe City for a week! Little did I know that it would change my life forever, and that I would meet someone who would end up being a lifelong friend. After this week of service, I had a completely different outlook. It was then that I decided I wanted to take part in service trips each year (and went on to take them to New Orleans, LA; Twin Cities, MN; Natchez, MS; Lake Waccamaw, NC; and Haiti twice).

That was the week I met Abby. Abby was in my small group and as soon as we met I knew we were going to be friends. We both came from big families, played basketball (#24!!!), high jumped (although she is much, much better than me. Division II champ, yes!) and had a love for Jesus and what we were doing. Everyone that week thought we were sisters, or related somehow!

A few weeks ago, I got on a plane and flew east to visit Abby. I hadn’t seen her in six and a half years (we write letters, facebook, text and call each other frequently) but when I stepped off the plane I felt like it was just yesterday that I had seen her. I absolutely love that about true friends. I love that God places people in your lives and allows your lives to cross again many years later. I felt so at home in the Kacsandi household. They took me in as if I were their own. I miss the nightly cups of tea, the endless supply of Christmas cookies, and constant eating : ), the 5 or was it 6 different girls calling daily for Alex, Abby’s adorable nieces, Cane’s and Graeter’s, the "Abby I usually double that recipe", hearing Abby's Dad say "Good night, sleep tight, God bless you" every night before bed and feeling as if I were telling my own Pops good night, and just simply feeling surrounded by people I felt like I had known all my life. Simply put, it was a good week. I just wish It wouldn't have taken me so long to get there!

Abby Rose, I miss you already! Let’s not wait another 6 and a half years to see each other!

Though miles may lie between us, we’re never far apart, for friendship doesn’t count the miles, it’s measured by the heart.

He is Real.

He is real. I know He is real. But some days..... I feel His presence more than others.

I'm not sure why last night was any different. St. Joseph's chapel was on fire for Jesus. I could feel him all around me. I had chills as Rob began singing "Mighty to Save" and the congregation of students from both UMKC and Rockhurst joined in. He is real in this place and I'm so thankful to be right where I am today.

Some days I wonder why I have been so blessed with the life I've been given, the people that I'm surrounded by, and a God who loves me like He does. Days like today, I'm thankful.

P.S. For anyone who was at Mass last night. Fr. Rocha's slippers. How awesome. That was God 100%.



Mighty to Save......

Everyone needs compassion,
Love that's never failing;
Let mercy fall on me.

Everyone needs forgiveness,
The kindness of a Saviour;
The Hope of nations.

Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.

Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

So take me as You find me,
All my fears and failures,
Fill my life again.

I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in,
Now I surrender.
Yes, I surrender

Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.
Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

Shine your light and let the whole world see,
We're singing for the glory of the risen King...Jesus

Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.
Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

Shine your light and let the whole world see,
We're singing for the glory of the risen King...Jesus

Why I love Jesus... (For Claire)

The other day I was having a conversation with my dear friend Claire. She asked me, "Why do you love Jesus?" Here's the thing... I know in my heart why I love Jesus, but it's sometimes hard to put it into words. Ever since that day last week, the question has been on my mind. So here is just the start of a list that I hope and pray never stops growing.

1. He is unchanging.
2. He is jealous for me.
3. He never lets go.
4. He died for me. (And for you!)
5. He draws me in →He is asking me to surrender to His will.
6. He KNOWS me. And wants me to know Him!
7. He is the source of my existence.
8. He has blessed me with a beautiful life and a beautiful family.
9. He is REAL! And He wants to be my friend.
10. He has let me walk with the poorest of the poor.
11. He has opened my eyes to the beauty of this place.



Thank you, Claire. For making me think about why I love Jesus. :)

Peace

In the midst of all of my grad school madness, this is a concept I am trying to grasp daily.

Major League Ballparks

Another addition to my bucket list..... Well, I guess this one is an addition to our bucket list (mine and Brady's).

We want to go to every Major League Baseball Stadium together.


Last summer, we went to Busch Stadium in St. Louis together. For me, it was heaven on earth. For him... not so much.




This summer we went to Wrigley Field in Chicago to watch his Cubbies. Notice in the picture how fake my smile is.....:)




Also, when Brady came to visit me in KC, we went to Kauffman Stadium, Home of the Royals. I love it :)



I can't wait for the rest of our adventures and to experience the wonderful world of baseball together!

The Next Chapter

And so it began…

A new chapter in my life and time has gotten away from me. I’ll begin with the birth of my niece, Macy. She was born on May 17, 2010 and I was there to witness her first breaths. How awesome! It was a very emotional experience to be there with my sister as she had her first child. My best friend is now a mom! It was hard to focus on finals that week because all I could think about was graduating and being home to spoil her to pieces.

May 23rd, I graduated. A very bittersweet experience. Quincy University has become such an important part of who I am and I miss it so much every single day. I miss Quincy as a whole. I miss driving down North 18th street to get to our awful awful science building. I miss sitting on my porch swing and watching as people walked by. I miss walking into the UC for breakfast and Lynn knowing exactly what I wanted. (And knowing that I wanted her to leave the bacon off on Fridays during Lent). I miss Kirch and his white reeboks, although I don’t miss physics with one ounce of my being. I miss hatching chicks in Dr. Hale’s lab, and Luaders blowing stuff up in Chem. I miss waffle cone Wednesday’s at TCBY and half price pizza at the tower. I miss staying at Jack and Greg’s during stormy nights when Kari and I were scared to stay in our own house. I miss skipping class to watch QU baseball games and hanging out with the girls of 2024. I miss running with Ski while we trained for our half marathon…. As well as many other things that I can’t even begin to explain!

For graduation, Brady gave me a dog who I (not surprisingly) named Haiti. She is the love of my life and has kept me company many days since I’ve been living alone in KC. She really is a princess!

After graduation, I moved home for a month. I got to see Macy almost every day which was one of the biggest blessings I could have ever asked for. I got to spend much needed quality time with my parents and sister.

On July 1st I moved to Kansas City. This was a huge step for me. New city, new house, new school… but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world! I have met some really amazing people already and I know that they will be a very important part of my life for the next two years (and hopefully long after!). My first term of my MOT program is over in a week and I already feel like I’ve learned so much. It makes me excited about what I am going to be doing with the rest of my life and the people that I’m going to help.

Here’s to the next chapter in my life… I promise I will blog sooner next time! Much love to all of my followers. I hope you haven’t given up on me!