6 Month Anniversary

6 months ago we packed up our things and moved across the country to Michigan.  It has been an excellent adventure.  We have enjoyed our time here but we really miss our family still.  We are almost always talking to or about our nephews and niece. (Sorry guys for bugging you!)  We are excited to come home at Thanksgiving!  Remember we always are happy to have your phone calls, letters, engagement cards (haha! you know who you are), emails, and web postings.  So don't forget about us! It gets lonely up here!

In the past 6 months we have been so blessed and are incredibly grateful for the wonderful opportunity to move here.  We have more time off and have really enjoyed spending time together and exploring Michigan and the Midwest.  The free time has been nice since we both worked too much before.  We are constantly talking about how God really had a plan for us and how blessed we are.  We enjoy our church here and are trying to spend more time with and serving the Lord now that we have the time.  It is still hard to be far away but we truly feel so blessed. It will be interesting to see what the next 6 months will bring, probably just a lot of snow!

Notre Dame was probably the highlight of the past few months.  As Catholic kids we both grew up watching the great Notre Dame teams of the past.  It  was a dream come true to see the stadium and be there on game day.  We were in awe but wore ourselves out by nights end! Pat passed out as soon as we got to the hotel!  

The campus is beautiful.  REALLY beautiful.  The drive there was fantastic too.  A short 3 hours and all America's Heartland.  Rolling hills with fields of corn and bright green pastures.  Gorgeous!  We took a shuttle from the hotel to the campus early.  We went to the bookstore that was packed! They make $3,000,000 each gameday Saturday.  We went back Sunday.  I bet they make 1.5 mil that day! Its insane and overpriced.  Then we were told of all the pre-game traditions to go see.  

1. Go to the God Quad - an area where student organizations sell food and drinks.  A lot of the proceeds went to the Knights of Columbus!
2. Players Mass-  Watch the players go in (people line up and clap).  Mass is private but you can see it from the Basilica.  The video below is of the players going in.  Look for the coach, Charlie Weis.
3. March to the Stadium- Fans line up a path for about a mile as players leave Mass and they walk all the way to stadium.  They go purposely in front of "Touchdown Jesus" aka the  Library Mural so its like he is blessing them on the way into the stadium.  
   
4. See the Golden Dome and go inside.  There is a huge ceiling painting from the 1890's at the top. 



5. Tour the Basilica - beautiful church, nuff said
6. Grotto-  A rock from the shrine at Lourdes, France is there.  Lots of candles for devotions.


7. See the Lake that separates the campus from Holy Cross Campus. Remember when Rudy sat on a bench by it.


8. Band Concert- The band plays shortly before marching to the stadium.  

I will post just a few pictures now.  Some of them are from the trophy cases.  Click on them to enlarge and read.  I have lots to stay about the not so nice stadium.


We will post the rest at a later date.