The Beauty of Kentucky

I wanted to share with all of you, just how beautiful Kentucky is. Sometimes I get so caught up in my day to day routine here in Parkers Lake, that I forget to take the time to go out into nature and just enjoy being in the Appalachian Mountains. Last night, Allen provided all of us that opportunity when he decided to take us to an abandon Fire Tower about ten minutes from our home. After dinner, we drove out to the tower and made it just in time to see the sunset.

We did nothing, but sit in silence and watch the sun slowly fade into the horizon. It was absolutely beautiful and just what I needed to see. As my time comes to an end here in Kentucky, I am definitely going to miss seeing views like this everyday. I guess that means I am going to be visiting Kentucky often

The hills of Kentucky

Sunset from the Fire Tower

Another Pic of the Sunset

Family, Friends, and Resumes

This week, I have been up in McHenry, IL. What a blessing it has been to be able to spend the past seven days with family and friends. The week off was definitely not planned; actually, I was only supposed to be home from Holy Thursday till Easter. However, I needed to attend a funeral last Sunday, so my boss said that I could take the entire week off. Thanks, Robyn!!

So last Friday, I drove up to Chicago and met up with my friend, Sr. Julie. We had dinner together (she made a killer vegetarian pizza) and chatted for a bit. I then drove home to McHenry to meet up with the family.

On Sunday, we attended the funeral of my dear friend, Yvonne Maassel. Yvonne passed away on March 30 after a 4 year battle with cancer. Yvonne, was the owner of Fish Lake Beach Campground and had known my family for over 30 years. We have laughed together, cried together, spent holidays, birthdays, and graduations together. She had been a friend, counselor, and teacher tot me. She helped me buy my first car and she helped me out with college. In some ways, she was our family angel. Yvonne touched so many people and was an inspiration to us all. She will be missed!!

The rest of the week involved visits with friends, getting my car fixed, and applying for jobs. It was great to meet up with people in Libertyville and Chicago. I was even able to stop by Loyola Press and grab lunch with my friends Carol, Lauren, and Karin. I also got to hang out with my good friend Denise and her children. She has 4 kids, ages 6, 5, 3, and 2. We colored Easter eggs and played on the swings – it totally reminded me of my childhood.

I also brought my car in for its 3,000 mile oil change and discovered that I needed new brake pads…grrrr! So, what I thought was going to be a $30 repair turned out to be a few hundred. Oye vay! But at least now, my brakes will work. Thank God for tax refunds which allowed me to pay for this repair.

I have also begun the long and tedious task of applying for jobs. It hit me hard this week that I only have a few months left at CAP and need to figure out what I am going to do after I am done. I have applied to several different jobs so far…hopefully I will get an interview with one or two of them. I am a little nervous that I won’t be able to find a job, by the time my service is up, but I am trying to remain faithful that something will come my way. Please keep me and all of the volunteers that are making decisions about the future in your prayers.

And as promised a post about the Hatton family from WorkFest will be coming soon!!

Happy Easter to all.