St. Andrew's Feast Day

Catholics celebrate Saints feast days, which is basically a designated day to remember the holy men and women of our past. I am writing about this because Nov 30th is St. Andrew the Apostle's Feast Day. I have been praying to St. Andrew for about 4 years now. Some may think that is odd, because why not pray to God, which I do...but I pray to St. Andrew to help get my message to God. You know how you have special connections with people and how you have best friends in life. St. Andrew is like that for me...I have a connection to him. I feel he hears me and listens to my needs, wants, and wishes. I know that life does not happen on our on time line (something I continue to struggle with today) but praying to St. Andrew helps me realize that the things I need and want will happen on God's time line. It is a comforting thought and a peaceful one.

In St. Paul's Basilica in Rome they have larger than life statues of all the Apostle's. For me it was like meeting St. Andrew. The statues are so life like and real. My connection to him grew even stronger. His feast day has come and gone in the past without me realizing it, but this year it is on my mind. It is my mind for many reasons this year. I am happy to take time out of my day to say "Thank You" to a person who lived many ages ago, but still takes the time to listen to my prayers. Again, it is a peaceful thought and a thought that helps me realize that with all the hustle and bustle of modern time - there is a purpose. I hope I am fulfilling my God given purpose...(especially with the help of St. Andrew).

Here is a prayer I found for St. Andrew on his Feast Day. I like it because it states that he is being an advocate for us (even though the old language is somewhat hard to understand).

Prayer for the Feast of Saint Andrew
We humbly entreat Thy majesty, O Lord, that as the blessed Apostle Andrew was once a teacher and ruler of Thy Church: so he may be a constant advocate for us before Thee. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.


St. Andrew's Statue in St. Paul's Basilica, Rome, Italy

Special Days

When Adam and I were little...we would have pretend birthday parties. My mom went along with this because she likes a good party just like we did. We would have cake and make our pretend birthday a celebration. One year we must have gotten a little over board because my granddad told my mom we needed to not have so many birthday parties. So Special Days were created. A special day is a day you get to pick and it is celebrated like your birthday. My brother is truly the genius behind this idea because he did not think it was fair that you were "stuck" with a birthday. He at the time thought people should be able to pick a day that was their favorite day. Again, my mother went along with this idea. So the Rust family chose special days. Mine is St. Patrick's Day...b/c of my name Erin and we are Irish.

When I went to college, my family kept my special day a live. They would bring me food (cookies) and other trinkets for me on that day. My college girlfriends got a hold of this idea as well so we all picked special days.

Now that Owen is in my life, he too has a special day...which is tomorrow. He definitely gets into the spirit of the day...actually he is saying since his day is on a weekend that the special day starts today (friday) and lasts all weekend. I am not sure I am buying that...but am going along since mine will be on a weekend too one year. Being that it his is special day he gets out of certain chores, gets to eat his favorite foods, gets to open up a present, and he just might get out of walking the dog tomorrow morning. I say might...because it is so cold in the mornings and I don't like to get up that early, especially on a Saturday. However it is his day...so I may have to make that sacrafice.


I just got this plate for our family. I thought it would be a fun tradition to start. If it is your special day...you get to eat off the Special Day plate.

Girls Weekend in Natchez

Two weekends ago, my good friend Audrey got married in Natchez. She is from a small town in Mississippi and married a New Yorker. She planned the perfect southern wedding, which included a Southern Antebellum home in a Southern town on the Mississippi River. She also arrived and departed the wedding ceremony on a white horse drawn carriage. It was beautiful to say the least. A perfect fairy tale!

A close group of my friends decided we were going to make her wedding a girls weekend. We left the men at home and we headed southwest! We stayed at an old hotel called the Eloa. We had the best time. We stayed at the wedding from 4:00 to about 9:30...we danced, we ate, and we drank the night away. After the reception we took the trolley back to town. The trolley man dropped us off at Fat Mama's where we ordered the infamous "knock you naked" margaritas. It was a fabulous drink. We then strolled through the town meeting and stopping at the hot spots on the way back to our hotel.

Going to Natchez was fun for me because I was born there. I lived there a year before moving to Mobile. So it was neat to the see the hospital I was born in. I also saw the Cock of the Walk restaurant that my parents still talk about. It was their favorite restaurant in Natchez.

The best part was to be there with good friends. Hattiesburg is such a friendly city. I have been able to make really good connections with people here. This group of friends get together for girl movies such as Sex and the City...we also get together to watch Desperate Housewives. I have really enjoyed our girl nights. Here are some pictures of us in Natchez.


The bride, Audrey


Jami, Fran, Me, Jennifer & Heather


Fran, Me, Audrey, Heather, Jennifer, & Jami

I have fallen and can't get up

OK...do you all remember the commercial when the lets say "more mature" people in the world would fall and they could't get up. I think they were selling a device to call 911...anyways I always thought that commercial was funny b/c the acting was terrible. Last night I had my "I've fallen and can't get up" moment. Does this mean I have hit that "more mature" stage of life? Gosh I hope not. Looking back it is funny, even though my ankle is hurting. We have a child gate that keeps Ralphie in the kitchen. Instead of opening the gate when we want to get in or out of the kitchen, we step over it. It is probably 3 feet high. Last night, I was going over the gate with a drink in my hand, and my ankle just gave out. I fell hard and the drink luckily did not spill that much. Owen was amazed that I didn't break the glass as I went down (hard) on my left ankle and right knee. I still think I need to worry that my ankle just gave out. It did not hold me up...that is not good. Ummm the joys of growing older.

Deacon Adam...aka my little brother

Adam is my younger brother and for the past 4 years he has been on a journey to become a Catholic Priest. I pray for him every night. I pray for him to have strength, dedication, and commitment to the choice he made for his calling in life. But it was not until this past October that it hit me...Adam will be a priest. It was not hard for me say until this October when my family (immediate and extended) went to Rome, Italy to see Adam ordained a deacon in St. Peter's Basilica. He was one of 20 or so men to be ordained by the Bishop of Wisconsin. During the ordination I was at peace...calm and happy for Adam. His school had a breakfast and lunch for the family of the seminarians and at lunch I asked him if he was nervous (this ceremony is the one where he takes the vow of celibacy). He returned the question with a question and asked me if I was nervous on my wedding day. It was then that I realized he was making that big of a decision and committing his life to our Lord. Needless to say he was not nervous, but excited. He was glowing the whole day. I think it was a perfect day for Adam. He had 34 of his closest friends and family supporting him. After the ordination we all went to eat at Alfredo's (the birth place for fetteccine Alfredo). We celebrated and rejoiced for Adam that night!

The following day we went to Orveto, Italy so Adam could "say" mass for the 1st time. This was his first official sermon. I was a basketcase. The moment Adam walked down the aisle I started crying. I cried for so many reasons. I was happy to see Adam accomplish a goal of his, I was happy to see my little brother grown up, & I got emotional seeing his high school friends take communion from him. I was also a little sad. I am human and my human selfishness was sad that my baby brother has chosen a path where he can not have a family of his own. I know he is my family and he will be the best uncle for my future children. And I know that he is serving our world in the best way he knows how. I am not holding onto the sadness b/c I know in my heart of hearts that Adam is where he needs to be. He did not turn away from the calling of Jesus Christ. Instead he ran towards it and I am so proud of him. He is an inspiration and I am thankful he is my brother. I have been blessed to have him in my life and look forward to the many ways he will teach me to be a better Catholic.


Adam walking down the aisle at St. Peter's at the beginning of the ordination


Adam leaving the ordination...he is now Deacon Adam


Adam's 1st mass


After mass (my face is so puffy from crying)

Our Little Pumpkin

Halloween 2008!! I bought candy for our halloween trick or treaters a couple of weeks before Halloween. I bought way too much candy...I must have been hungry or craving chocolate at the time b/c I bought everything Owen and I would eat. So we had the good candy in our house for a couple of weeks. Luckily we did have self control and we did not eat the 5 bags before the big day. We had the most trick or treaters we have had (15 door knocks). Those kids must have loved our house b/c they were getting hand fulls of candy. By the end of the night I did not want any left overs, b/c I knew we would eat them. To get into the spirit of the holiday Owen and I dressed up Ralphie as a pumpkin. Ralphie is a 67 lb dog so finding a costume was not easy. I got the largest one I could find and it was still too small. When I got it out of the package I made a big deal about it with him. He knew immediately it was his "toy". Ralphie loved it (even the hat). When I took it off of him he wined. I put the costume on the counter to wait for Owen to get home so we could get him ready for the trick or treaters together, Ralphie stayed by the counter until I took it out of his sight. He is such a funny dog. Here is picture of our "little pumpkin".

Ralphie

Ralphie is growing every day...I know people compare having a pet to having a child and I can relate to that. Ralphie is the main topic of conversation at our home. He is constantly entertaining us. This is a picture of my favorite time with Ralphie. I love when he is calm and will lay in my lap so I can pet him. This is a glimpse of what I think he will be like as an adult dog. I can not wait for the day when Owen and I can watch TV or just be in the same room with Ralphie and he is able to be calm and hang out with us like a big dog...that day is coming. I see it a little bit of every day. He is 11 months now. December 31st is his one year birthday. Owen and I plan to make the day a celebration (lucky for us it is New Year's Eve).

Ralphie Dog

For those of you who know me well...you know I am not a dog person, but a cat person. I have always had cats. Little yellow kitties are my favorite. When I started dating Owen he had a golden retriever. That puppy dog (Nugget) changed my opinion on dogs. He was the sweetest dog and won me over quickly. It is safe to say that Owen is a dog person. In Feb. 2008 we decided (with much thought and debate) that we would get a golden retriever. As we were talking about our new puppy (that we had not gotten) we would throw ideas around for the name of our new family member. There were many names, but one day Ralphie popped in my head. Both of us loved the name. We knew we wanted a boy puppy. So Owen started calling around to see where we would get our Ralphie. He finally found a lady on the coast who had Golden puppies ready. She told Owen all about the mom and dad of her puppies. The mom is Maggie and the dad is Ralph. Owen had to tell himself not to get giddy about the Dad's name :) So the upcoming weekend Owen and I went to the coast to get our baby, Ralphie Jr. He was in a litter of 9 and 8 of them were jumping on me and begging for attention. Ralphie on the other hand was cool and laid back. So I picked him. I did not want a dog who would jump all the time or who needed constant attention (I was wrong about both of those characteristics). Ralphie was so good on the way home. I loved being able to hold him (I knew I had to treasure that since he would not be small forever).

Here are pictures of Ralphie on his first day with us.


This is Ralphie at Owen's Parents house.


This is when we picked Ralphie


Ralphie as a newborn (he is the whitest one with the pink face)

Our Engagement

Owen and I met in March 2005. We were introduced to one another by a friend of ours. We dated for 2 years and were married in June 2007. I love the way our relationship has grown. We went on true dates in the beginning and still make time for them now. Owen and I have great conversations because we can talk about anything. As my closest friends were getting married the one question I would ask them was how did you know that the person you are marrying is the one you are supposed to. The answer would always be the same...which was "you just know". I never understand that until I met Owen. I wanted to marry him several months into our relationship. One of my favorite movies is "When Harry met Sally" there is an older couple in the movie talking about how they knew they would be married. The older women said, "I knew...just like you know about a good melon". I laugh at that now...but I think there is some truth to it. You do...just know.

Owen and I went to Rome, Italy in December 2006 with my family. My brother Adam lives there so we went to spend Christmas with him. It was a wonderful trip. Adam was a great tour guide and we all felt we got to see Rome in a special way. This trip will always be special for Owen and I because we kept our date nights alive there as well. Owen planned a special night for us. We went to a resturant he read about and then we strolled to the Trevi Fountain (the stroll actually did not last long, b/c I was wearing high heels and they kept getting stuck in the cobble stones, so we took a taxi). When we got there we noticed we were one of the only ones there...it felt like the fountain was there for just us. Owen took that moment to ask me to marry him. That moment has changed my life for the better. Here are two picture of us at the fountain.

New to Blogging

This is my 1st time to try to post a blog. I say try because I am not real sure what I am doing. I have always liked to journal so I think I am going to enjoy doing this as well. I went to a wedding in Natchez this weekend and a group of us were talking about blogs and reading them. That conversation sparked my interest so I am giving it a try.