SAT Scores Are In!!!

Yes, I finally can sleep at night! :) I didn't sleep at all last night, because I kept dreaming that my score was going to be to low to get an academic scholarship to get into Franciscan. I was woken up to my mom crawling onto my bed to wake me up and saying, "Today is the day! I have your computer up, the collegeboard website up, all you have to do is enter your password." I love my mommy. :) Anyway, I threw on my robe, with heart pounding, and hurried down to my laptop. I put in my username and password, and behold! My long awaited scores.

Now, I'm going to share my scores with all of you, not because I want to brag or show off, but because I know they wouldn't have been possible without all of your prayers, and I want to thank you all by letting you in on them. To be sure, they aren't spectacular, but I'm proud of them all the same.

So...*drumroll*...my total score was a 1490.

I got an 8 on my Essay, which I am very glad about because I thought I was going to flunk that one. The way it works is that there are two graders and there score have to be the same (and the individual score ranges from 1-6 and then you add the two scores). So, that means that I got two 4's. Praise you Jesus Christ!

Thank you again everyone. I truly believe that your prayers got me this score. Love you all!

~Vicki

P.S. By the way, do you like my new profile picture? :P

Here is an update on my boring life:

1) My family has been participating in the 40 Days for Life, and every Sunday we get together with some other families and pray for an hour outside an abortion clinic. After that, we head over to either our house or one of the other family’s homes – we take turns – and play soccer or kickball, board or card games, eat dinner, and visit. So our past Sundays have been filled with prayer, games, and good wholesome time spent together as Catholic families should. Our last Sunday of this will be November 1st.

2) My grandma is arriving from California on the 31st (We haven’t seen her for over a year and a half), and will stay with us for the holidays. However, I will not be able to go with the family to pick her up from the airport, due to the fact that I am working that day.

3) My manager told me that Halloween is the one day of the year that we don’t have to wear our uniforms (*parties* nasssty uniforms precious!) in other words, we can dress up. So I am going as a (modest) gypsy. I put together a costume, but now I have to work up the courage to wear it. I don’t want to be the only one wearing a full costume, you know?

4) My sister and I are going to be attending a vocation discernment retreat on November 7-8 with the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor. I have never been there, so I am looking forward to it.

5) I am going to visit the Franciscan University of Steubenville from the 16-17 of November, and I am thoroughly looking forward to that. :D

6) I am struggling to complete an essay, that has to be recorded as well, for a scholarship, and it has to be turned in by November 1st. First place is $30,000, and it is sponsored by Veterans of Foreign Wars. This scholarship could be my ticket into FUS, so if you could please pray that I can get this turned in on time, I would appreciate it.

7) I don’t believe there is anything else that needs to be mentioned, so now that you know about the past and upcoming events in my life so far, I can rest easy that I won’t have to update for a while. ;) God bless you all!

Church Humor

With all the bad news that surrounds us every day I thought everyone could use some good, wholesome humor. Enjoy :)

LOT'S WIFE
The Sunday School teacher was describing how Lot's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt, when little Jason interrupted, 'My Mommy looked back once while she was driving,' he announced triumphantly, 'and she turned into a telephone pole!'

GOOD SAMARITAN
A Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan. She asked the class, 'If you saw a person lying on the roadside, all wounded and bleeding, what would you do?'
A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence, 'I think I'd throw up.'

DID NOAH FISH?
A Sunday school teacher asked, 'Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark?' 'No,' replied Johnny. 'How could he, with just two worms.'

HIGHER POWER
A Sunday school teacher said to her children, 'We have been learning how powerful kings and queens were in Bible times. But, there is a Higher Power. Can anybody tell me what it is?' One child blurted out, 'Aces!'

MOSES AND THE RED SEA
Nine-year-old Joey was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday School. 'Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he had his army build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely. Then he radioed headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved.' 'Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?' his mother asked. 'Well, no, Mom.. But, if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it!'

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible - Psalm 23. She gave the youngsters a month to learn the chapter. Little Rick was excited about the task - but he just couldn't remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line. On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Ricky was so nervous. When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, 'The Lord is my Shepherd, and that's all I need to know.'
(And isn't he right?)

UNANSWERED PRAYER
The preacher's 5 year-old daughter noticed that her father always paused and bowed his head for a moment before starting his sermon. One day, she asked him why. 'Well, Honey,' he began, proud that his daughter was so observant of his messages. I'm asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon.' With the brutal honesty of kids, she asked 'How come He doesn't answer it?'

UNTIMELY ANSWERED PRAYER
During the minister's prayer one Sunday, there was a loud whistle from one of the back pews. Tommy's mother was horrified. She pinched him into silence and, after church, asked, 'Tommy, whatever made you do such a thing?' Tommy answered, soberly, 'I asked God to teach me to whistle, and He did!'

TIME TO PRAY
A pastor asked a little boy if he said his prayers every night.
'Yes, sir,' the boy replied.
'And, do you always say them in the morning, too?' the pastor asked.
'No sir,' the boy replied. 'I ain't scared in the day time.'

ALL MEN / ALL GIRLS
When my daughter,Kelli, said her bedtime prayers, she would bless every family member, every friend, and every animal (current and past). For several weeks, after we had finished the nightly prayer, Kelli would say, 'And all girls.' This soon became part of her nightly routine, to include this closing. My curiosity got the best of me and I asked her, 'Kelli, why do you always add
the part about all girls?' Her response, 'Because everybody always finish their prayers by saying 'All Men'!'

SAY A PRAYER
Little Johnny and his family were having Sunday dinner at his Grandmother's house. Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served. When Little Johnny received his plate, he started eating right away.
'Johnny! Please wait until we say our prayer..' said his mother.
'I don't need to,' the boy replied.
'Of course, you do,' his mother insisted.
'We always say a prayer before eating at our house.'
'That's at our house,' Johnny explained. 'But this is Grandma's house and she knows how to cook!'

BEING THANKFUL
A Rabbi said to a precocious six-year-old boy, 'So your mother says your
prayers for you each night? That's very commendable. What does she say?'
The little boy replied sadly, 'Thank God he's in bed!

I survived the SAT!!!

Details later, but I get my results on the 29th of this month. Thank you all for the prayers!!!

Update and thank you

Hello everyone. Thank you all so much for your many encouraging words, prayers, and tips. I really appreciate them. Keep up the prayers, the test is Saturday at 7:45 AM.

Here is cheerful update: I took a practice, timed SAT test yesterday from the SAT book my mom bought to help me prepare (and it is really good), and guess what I scored? I scored a 1510! You only need 1000 to get into FUS, and 1200 to get a academic scholarship. Isn't God good? :) It really gave more confidence to take the real SAT.

Thank you all again from your helpful comments!

P.S. Tini/Justine - Hannah considers you her friend. ;)

I did it!

At long last, and after much dreaming and writing, I have submitted my application to the Franciscan University of Steubenville! Now all that is left to do is have Seton send them my school transcripts, and send them my SAT scores.

Speaking of my SAT, could I ask for everyone’s prayers? I am scheduled to take the SAT on October 10^th and I am really nervous about it. You see, I took the PSAT in 2006 and I did below average; mostly because I was only half way through Algebra at the time, and hadn’t had any Geometry yet. Since then I have done Pre-Algebra, Algebra I and II, but I am only at the beginning of Geometry = Nervousness. I think I’ll do pretty well on the reading and writing portions; although, the 25 minute essay scares the heck out of me.

So, if everyone could please pray that I get a good enough score to get into FUS, I would really appreciate it. Also, if you have any tips on taking the test please leave a comment and let me know! Thanks.

Laurie...

…is Catholic?

I am currently writing three essays for Literature on Louisa May Alcott’s book, Little Women. You are given four types of essays to pick from, and you may choose three of them. I selected Character Sketch, Theme, and Morality essays. Now, I am sure all of you are familiar with this book and its well loved characters; however, I am a little confused about the religion of one of them, Theodore Laurence, more commonly known as, Laurie or Teddy.

On page 388, Laurie is in Europe and it says that he “went out to hear High Mass at Saint Stefan’s….” The only “High Mass” I know of is a Catholic Mass. What puzzles me is that if Laurie is Catholic, and the March family Protestant – Mr. March was a pastor – why did Amy marry him? I mean, usually people of different religions didn’t get married back then. On the other hand, did Laurie go to the Mass simply because that was the “thing” that rich people did when they were in Europe, because the churches are so old and historical?

Any thoughts?

LOTR Songs and lyrics

Sorry this isn't that great of quality; I couldn't find a better one. :(



Lyrics:
Hey! Ho! To the bottle I go.
To heal my heart and drown my woe.
Rain may fall and wind may blow,
But there still be many miles to go.

Sweet is the sound of the pouring rain,
And the stream that falls from hill to plain.
Better than rain or rippling brook...
Is a mug of beer inside this Took!


Okay, this one isn't in the movie, but it's hilarious!

Lyrics:
A long time ago, way back in history,
when all there was to drink was nothin but cups of tea.
Along came a man by the name of Charlie Mops,
and he invented a wonderful drink and he made it out of hops.

He must have been an admiral a sultan or a king,
and to his praises we shall always sing.
Look what he has done for us he's filled us up with cheer!
Lord bless Charlie Mops, the man who invented beer beer beer
tiddly beer beer beer.

The Curtis bar, the James' Pub, the Hole in the Wall as well
one thing you can be sure of, its Charlie's beer they sell
so all ye lads a lasses at eleven O'clock ye stop
for five short seconds, remember Charlie Mops

Sorry to interrupt LOTR Week...

...but this needs mentioning.

"Eucharistic adoration, perpetual or not, is a doctrinal, theological, and spiritual step backward, not forward" (Fr. McBrien, Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame).
This contradicts Church teaching.
Protest Father McBrien's statement on Eucharistic Adoration.
For example, St. Peter Julian Eymard wrote:
"The solemn cult of exposition [adoration] is necessary in order to awaken the dormant faith of so many good people who no longer know Jesus Christ, because they no longer know that he is their Neighbor, their Friend, their God.
"Society is dying because it no longer has a center of truth and love, and no family life; individuals isolate themselves, turn in on themselves, want to be self-sufficient; the breakup of society is imminent.
"But society will be reborn, full of vigor when we all join and unite around our Emmanuel. Communication among thinkers naturally will take place, guided by the truth. The bonds of true and strong friendship will be renewed under the influence of one love; the beautiful days of the cenacle will return; the feast of the great King, God's family feast."
Father McBrien's statement is a tragic sign of things gone wrong at Notre Dame.
But this won't stop us from doing Eucharistic adoration. In fact, to help you offer a holy hour of reparation for this statement, please use this amazing meditation:
One Hour Meditation: Be Still and Know I am God.
And to unite pious prayer with effective action, please send Father McBrien a respectful and clear message: "retract and apologize!"
Sign the petition.

Thank you for being a true adorer and crusader for Our Eucharistic Lord.

GOLLUM FINDS OUT THE TERRIBLE TRUTH

by Danny M.

Edited by Vicki M.

Gollum bit off the finger Frodo, thus obtaining the ring, and began to rejoice in his victory. Meanwhile, Sam revived from being unconscious, only to see Gollum with the ring, and Frodo on the ground with his finger bleeding away. Sam stood up, drew his sword, and said in his cracking, weary voice, "Drop the ring Gollum! You horrible filthy hunk o' C-," he was interrupted by Frodo who yelled in warning, "Sam! No Sam. Not that way."

Gollum heard these words and was very much disturbed. He looked at himself and saw the ugly skin, his feet ugly and dirty, standing on the beautiful dirt. What was Sam going to say before he was interrupted?

"You filthy what?" Gollum said losing interest in the golden ring that was finally his.

"Sam, don't," said Frodo. However, Sam's hate for Gollum was too great; so, before Frodo could stop him, he blurted out, "You’re nothin’ but a hunk o' CGI!"

Gollum began whirling around glancing frantically at himself and crying, "What precious?! No! Nooooooo! Not us! Impossible! Nooooooo!"

Frodo was so upset at what Sam had done, that he yelled, "Gollum! It's alright! Look at this bitten off finger! It's all CGI gunk! All residents of Middle-Earth are part CGI!"

Sam heard this and was shocked. He examined himself, from his curly, messed up hair to his filthy feet. He looked at his clothes. He looked at his face in the reflection of his sword.

"I am not!" he said stubbornly. Frodo sighed and put his good hand on his head. Gollum however was made even madder.

"No! Fat, stupid hobbit isn't! Oh, no. But poor Sméagol! We're a hunk of CGI, precious! AAAAAAAH!" With this, Gollum fell backwards into the lava with the ring, and all lived happily ever after. Except for Gollum, that is.

The End