HABEMUS PAPAM!

What a joyous day yesterday was!

If you haven't heard (though I doubt that) a new Pope was chosen yesterday, to take over as leader of the church, after Pope Benedict the XVI resigned from the papacy.
The last time a conclave happened, I was too young and didn't really understand, so this was really my first time and it was truly an honor to witness history in the making! When I found out that we had a pope, I rushed over to my mom's computer and we watched. My little brother wasn't very interested, and only shouted for joy when he found out that Minecraft came out with a new update.  (Ok, I admit, I was excited about that too, but I was way more ecstatic about the new Pope.)
Anyways, I really couldn't believe how quickly the conclave ended, I figured that it would go on for a week or so. I wish I had more time to pray, but I guess the Holy Spirit didn't want to keep us waiting? ;)
I was so excited and nervous, and I kept my eyes glued on the balcony.

When the cardinal announced his Holiness, I think everyone was openly and visibly surprised. Some maybe even a little disappointed. Who was this man? He was not one of the more popular choices, in fact, I think very little people knew much about him at all. (The Holy Spirit must have thought that the other cardinals were too mainstream. Hipster! ;D) I was thinking that one of the more popular cardinals would be chosen, but a little bit of me hoped that it wouldn't be so. There is a rare humbleness about someone like that. It reminds me a bit about the humility of Pope St. Pius X (And no, I am not part of SSPX) And humility is exactly what Pope Francis has!

I have to admit, when I first saw his face, I was a bit unsure. But then I saw him smile and wave, and then I was sure. I can't really explain it, there is just something about him. Maybe it's because God found him worthy to lead us, so I too must have faith in God's choice!
And for the rest of the day, I can happily say that I was literally dancing and bouncing with joy! I just couldn't get over my sudden immense joy, and it lasted for the rest of the day and into the morning! In fact, as I type this I'm STILL excited!

On the way to our store, my little brother and I rolled down the window and yelled "Viva Il Papa Francis!"
 It must have been so overwhelming for him to look down at just a small, small, portion, of the people he is supposed to lead. Please say a prayer for him so that he might lead us in closer union with The Lord!

Sadly, when I went to youth group that evening, none of the kids seemed to share my joy, the adults were quite excited (on of them calling his holiness Papa Frankie, and I can't seem to get that name out of my head when I think of the pope...) It just seemed to be another day for the teenagers. Nobody really had any interest in it. I wish more kids my age would see the excitement and joy that the faith holds, and be at least a little more enthusiastic!

Now, I have a bit of a routine that I've been doing for about a year now. What I do is take a small journal, and every week directly after mass, I jot down "One way I can be a better person this week". And I try and figure out I need to work on, by paying attention to the mass, especially the Gospel and homily. This past week, I felt like I needed to work on my humility. Its funny, because the same week a pope was chosen who exercises great humility. I guess that's all for today, it's getting late!

P.S Dance with joy for habemus Papam! The Lord is good!

~ Viva il Papa Francisco!!!!

Nostalgia, and BABIES! :)

Today my family and relatives gathered together over at my brother's and sister in law's house to visit their 2 month old baby! :)

It seems weird that she came into this world 2 months ago, because it seems like I was holding that sweet little girl in my arms for the first time, just yesterday! 
Now she has started to smile, giggle, and play a little! Pretty soon, my cousins came over with their children, a 16 month old, and a 3 month old, and their living room was filled with laughter and cute baby girls!
I got a little nostalgic, but I guess my brother got kind of too. Because when I looked up from all the kids, I saw his red eyes. I saw him tearing up, but he was trying hard not to. I guess, when he was looking at his cousins and their kids coming in, he couldn't help but reminisce of the old times. We used to have big gatherings with all our cousins, families large and small, especially around the 4th of July. We would play tag, race, and bike ride endless circles around my house, pretending that we were riding lightening fast horses. And now all of a sudden, most of us are all grown up, starting families of their own. I think my brother was sad to see his kid days go, but definitely happy about this new beginning. To be able to see his own kids experience the world, and help them to grow, learn, and love.
Afterwards, he sat on the stairs, and held his sleeping baby girl, staring at her peaceful little face. 

Its times like this that I can really see God in the world. Mothers and fathers are so important in the world today. Many people believe that being a parent isn't really a career, many people nowadays believe that, women especially, should have a separate career path in life. But honestly, what better, not to mention more important, job is there out there other than to raise this generation?  It makes me terribly sad that people would put career over family life. Women don't realize how important a job being a mom is. Too many people say that their kids are the "Future generation", when kids are now, and they need your attention and most of all, love, now. (To quote Lindsay Younce, who portrayed St. Thérèse of Liseux in the 2004 film Thérèse, "So often we speak of the young as our future, but they are our present.") The early double-digit years are when kid's beliefs and attitudes form, be there for your kids, or, like in my case, siblings!

Well, I guess that's all for today, folks. :)

Hello all!

Hello all!

Just to make this clear, I have tried to write in a journal (or diary, or whatever you want to call it.) but I usually write the first page and introduce myself, then proceed to become incredibly bored with the whole idea. Somehow, having an online blog seems different, more adventurous, and exciting! So lets hope I decide to stick with this. ;)

Now, let me tell you a bit about myself;
I was born and raised in a Catholic family of 9, and have been home schooled all my life.
We own a big yard, and 8 chickens--4 of which are bent on escaping the 5 ft chicken wire fence.
My hobbies include wondering (that's a hobby, right?) writing, drawing, photography, painting ,digital art (so you may see quite a lot of drawings from my personal stash.), theology, and my newly acquired hobby--reading! (I daresay, I never thought reading would be one of them!)
In my bedroom, pieces of paper are sprawled all about the room, on my dresser and desk, in my top drawer, and a bunch cascading gently down to the floor. These pieces of paper are filled to the brim with words and ideas, concepts and pieces of writing. (Though, many of the ideas, I admit, are drawings. Lets just say, out of 6 of my dresser drawers, 4 are filled with drawings...) I would like to share these ideas with you, people of the internet!
This blog will be mainly centered around God, my thoughts of the day, hobbies and some other light-hearted things.

I hope you all have a wonderful day, and God bless! :)

P.S, my main goal right now is to fix the pesky lettering on the header. No matter what color I choose, it looks horrendous and melds in the picture.