memory eternal

" O God of love, compassion, and healing,
look on us, people of many different faiths 

and traditions, 

who gather today at this site, 

the scene of incredible violence and pain. 

We ask you in your goodness 

to give eternal light and peace to all who died here— 

the heroic first-responders: 

our fire fighters, police officers, 

emergency service workers, and 

Port Authority personnel, 

along with all the innocent men and women 

who were victims of this tragedy 

simply because their work or service 

brought them here on September 11, 2001. 

We ask you, in your compassion 

to bring healing to those 

who, because of their presence here that day, 

suffer from injuries and illness. 

Heal, too, the pain of still-grieving families 

and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy. 

Give them strength to continue their lives 

with courage and hope. 

We are mindful as well 

of those who suffered death, injury, and loss 

on the same day at the Pentagon and in 

Shanksville, Pennsylvania. 

Our hearts are one with theirs 

as our prayer embraces their pain and suffering. 

God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world: 

peace in the hearts of all men and women 

and peace among the nations of the earth. 

Turn to your way of love 

those whose hearts and minds 

are consumed with hatred. 

God of understanding, 

overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy, 

we seek your light and guidance 

as we confront such terrible events. 

Grant that those whose lives were spared 

may live so that the lives lost here 

may not have been lost in vain. 

Comfort and console us, 

strengthen us in hope, 

and give us the wisdom and courage 

to work tirelessly for a world 

where true peace and love reign 

among nations and in the hearts of all. "

-Pope Benedict XVI

God Bless America.

it's that time of year...

Once again, 

it's the last weekend of July;

the summer's nearly over;

the six summer meets have flown by;

and there are 16 tents lined up at the UVA aquatic center,

...and 2,800 swimmers eager and ready for the JSL Championships.

There are four sessions, two on Friday and two on Saturday. Vivi and I will be swimming in the second session (this afternoon and evening) and coaching all day tomorrow, and Josie and Annette will be swimming in the fourth session (tomorrow afternoon/evening).

Already, God's answered countless prayers about keeping us healthy (since A's had a fever) and all. Pray that we'll do our best and have a great time!

what I'd do with a bottle of neon green spray paint...

Last week of "Radiance"! Hop on over to By The Way, and join!

Nana's first question is...

Simply what you believe and what you base those beliefs on?

Four years ago in front of our whole church, I stated, "I believe and profess all that the Holy Catholic Church teaches, believes and proclaims to be revealed by God."

And I still believe that.

Here is our creed, plain and simple:

We believe in one God, the Father the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. 

We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father. Through Him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation, He came down from heaven: By the power of the Holy Spirit, He was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day He rose again in fulfillment of the scriptures: He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. 

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son, He is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

And the thing is, I already know what my sister Vivi's answer will be and what lovely Trini's was because all of us Catholics believe the the same thing.

Like Nana said, I'm not trying to start a debate here. I'm not even trying to argue my case. I'm just stating what I believe in.

For the second question...

If you could tell every person in the world one thing, what would it be?

Oh, Nana....really, I have no idea. I guess I could go around shouting at the top of my lungs, "JESUS LOVES YOUUU!!!!", but that might not go over well. 

Or I could be a modern-day John the Baptist; I could hack the computer system and make it so that right this very minute, every single person in the world who is on a computer, will receive a little pop-up message that says, "REPENT."

Or maybe I'll spray paint a neon green message on the Great Wall of China, explaining that when, in a sentence, there are two clauses separated by a conjunction, a COMMA goes in between them. *Gasp* Who'd have thought?

Or maybe I'll parade into the White House with a banner, stating "SWIMMING IS NOT A WIMP SPORT."

Or maybe I'll sneak up and engrave on the moon, "ABORTION IS MURDER".

I could go on.

(Tell me if your'e not satisfied with the above answers)

and the final score....

FLST - 468, FSBC - 419.

GO HURRICANES!!!!!!

I'll put pictures up later....

rock you like a hurricane

Already four swim meets are over, done, gone, WON.

And I *still* haven't put up any pictures. So instead of those long 50-picture-long posts like last year, I'll just sorta do a recap of each one so far (you can tell on the last one, though, I sorta got a lot of good photos, so I tried to squish a lot in).

Let's get to it...

Meet #1: Forest Lakes vs. Fairview

This meet was unscored since FLST (Forest Lakes) is in the 2nd division, and FV (Fairview) is in the 1st. Still, it was fun to see our friends and race against their super fast senior girls. It turns out that if we had scored the meet, our girls would have beaten theirs, but their guys creamed ours.

(Annette in the bottom right)

Meet #2: Forest Lakes at Hollymead

It's always one of the most intense meets of the year. Hollymead is (as a certain coach who will remain anonymous says) THE ENEMY. They've beaten us for the past two years, each time winning by like 3 points. This year? We crushed.

I believe that's Viv in the top and bottom left, Josie in the middle doing fly, and me in the right on the block.

Meet #3: Forest Lakes vs. Crozet

Another unscored meet since Crozet is in the 1st division.

Viv at the top doing breaststroke; me at the left doing a backstroke start; Josie at the bottom, ready to race; Annette at the right doing backstroke.

Meet #4: Forest Lakes at Farmington

Farmington has some fast seniors, but we still pulled out the win (only by 130 points...:P).

(counterclockwise starting with top left) Josie and friends playing games while waiting at clerk; Dad and Bug; Viv--victim of the camera; John, head coach; Josie, finished with her race; Annette doing backstroke; at the clerk of course; me doing butterfly.

Meet #5: Forest Lakes at Fry's Spring

Oooooooh.....cannot wait to swim Jo and Leia tomorrow! Fry's Spring has a fifty-meter pool (as opposed to 25m like most teams in our league have), so it'll be interesting. My coach told me to win all my races. Uh, thanks alot, John. No pressure, right?

Will let you know how it goes...but for now,

gab--over and out

Monday Night Daybook

(hosted by Jo March)
Date... 27 June
Starting time... 8:13 pm
Mood...impatient?
Outside my window...The sun's still out (weird how LONG it stays light in the summertime, isn't it?); the grass needs mown; and the roses are blooming.
I'm thinking...I *promise* I'll get more posts up soon--especially with the swim meets and all.
I'm currently reading...Appointment With Death by Agatha Christie (ok, so it sounds maybe like--who knows--some sort of weird zombie or vampire or ghost-type book, but Agatha Christie is one of those mystery writers that lived in the 20th century when vampires *weren't* thought to be dream boyfriends [*cough*STEPHANIE MEYER*cough*].)
I'm listening to...um. Jingle Bells playing on one of Bug's toys.
I'm wearing...gray shirt, khaki-type skirt
I'm looking forward to...tomorrow when I can see how my shirt turned out after the tie-dye experimentation (*crosses fingers*).
I'm hoping...no more bug bites, please. And while you're at that, no more allergies.

Yesterday, I...invaded FV pool!!
I'm hungry for...something sweet...with lots of sugar.

The song stuck inside my head is...pretty much any song from Enchanted. :P

I love...chocolate and cream puffs and strawberries

I loathe...allergies.

This week, my goal is...to read that book...the one that Mom wants me to. :P

Did I meet last week's goal?... ...............

Ending time... 8:27 pm

Saturday Morning Daybook - June 4

(hosted by Jo March)
Date... 4 June
Starting time... 12:58 pm
Mood...sorta tired, but at the same time, I have a lot of energy, so...
Outside my window...it's summer. It's beautiful. And it's hot.
I'm thinking...Can't wait to practice flute today? :P
I'm currently reading...The Hunger Games trilogy (have any of y'all read it?)
I'm listening to...Pandora radio station (on Owl City)
I'm wearing...brown shorts and a whitish-purplish-grayish shirt
I'm looking forward to...Monday's gators and FLST practice.

I'm hoping...(in vain, you might add) that I won't get *too* brown this summer. But it's hopeless. I'm already tan as can be, and summer hasn't even officially started.

Yesterday, I...had a BLAST with some friends, stayed up till 1am, watched Bella, (the list goes on)...
I'm hungry for...a homemade chocolate chip cookie. :)

The song stuck inside my head is...ANY Owl City song

I love...chocolate and cream puffs and strawberries

I loathe...mosquito bites...

This week, my goal is...finish geometry!

Did I meet last week's goal?... yeah...pretty much

Ending time... 1:05 pm
(One thing... I've been trying to think of blog names for *my yet-to-be-created blog*, so if y'all have any suggestions, I would *love* to hear from you.)
---
and (sorry, Viv, but I'm totally copying you and adding this onto my daybook)


Happy 15th Birthday to Leia March!!


You're so fun to be with and such a beautiful friend... I've loved talking and swimming and playing Imaginiff and watching/discussing Bella with you!