Back to where it all began. November 16th, Entry #45.

Sara:  Today we played Whirlyball.  It. Was. Epic.  This is where it all began.  And by "it", I mean this blog.  It was at Power Play 3 months ago that C-dub, Kyle, Aaron and myself threw our laser guns into the center of our huddle and shouted on 3 "best job ever!!".  After we had epic amounts of fun that day we decided we needed to return to this haven of fun with more youth ministers to play Whirlyball...possibly the best game ever invented.  After weeks of messing with everyone's schedules we finally decided on a day that lots of us could make.  We got very excited.  Aaron started practicing.  On game day C-dub emailed us all that we couldn't play.  Alas, someone else had booked the whirlyball courts from 1pm-10pm that day.  (i mean really...who is playing that much whirlyball on a school day anyways??)  But, we did not lose hope.  The manager was excited that a bunch of youth ministers wanted to play whirlyball (she figured we were coming to see if we would want to bring our own youth groups soon...we let her keep thinking that) so she said that we could come back next week and play for free.  And play we did.  We played and we played...we played through broken throwers, broken whiffle balls, bloody fingers, whiplash, pent-up aggression towards each other, really bad aim, bruised knees, sweaty tushes and carts that would sometimes stop working for no apparent reason.  But the game must go on.

Our whole group.  Don't we look intimidating?  No?  Ok, I'll just settle for good looking.



Kyle was really excited to play.  He was taking video before we even stated playing.



Chelsea halfway through our game....this is an exhausting game.  It really is.

The Red group.  They were good, just not as good as my group!



I actually drew blood from Chris!  I broke skin!  He was not very happy with me. 
I felt really bad, but....you've got to do what it takes to win!



Yup, even with me and Joe's horrible aim and ridiculous amounts of missed shots,
we still managed to be victorious!



Ex-FLOCKers. November 22nd, Entry #43.

Sara:  There is one thing that no one ever warned me about in this job...that when your kiddos go off to college they don't just disappear.  You're still going to have a relationship with them...a relationship that will continue to grow.  I did not think of this 6 years ago when I started this job.  And then my first group of seniors graduated...and we still talked, and they still emailed and called me with questions and for advice.  Huh.  Didn't see that one coming.  But it has been a great blessing over the years to watch these awesome kiddos go out on their own, grow, struggle, grow some more, question, make good choices, make bad choices, grow even more and then become awesome young adults.  It is very rewarding.

And I say this because some fabulous ex-FLOCKers are back in town for Thanksgiving break right now.  And I had the very fortunate pleasure to chat with one of them for 2 hours yesterday.  My dearest Kaitlin Long....I mean, c'mon, who doesn't love Kaitlin??  This girl has the biggest and best heart EVER!  She's beautiful in EVERY sense of the word, she lights up any room she enters and she makes everyone she knows feel like the most important person in the world.  If you know her, you know I am not making any of this up.  It was great to hear about college, her classes, her new friends, her house, challenges, struggles, excitements, her joy.  We've been in touch ever since she left, sharing cool quotes we've come across, really cool blogs, dumb boy stories, good boy stories and equally giving advice.

Because not only do I still have a relationship with these kiddos, but now we also have an adult relationship.  It's not just mentor/mentee anymore....it's equal.  Kaitlin was one of the first people that I told about a cool personal development in my life, she's my friend, I wanted to tell her.  It's just neat.  Neat to watch the growth and development.  It makes me excited for the future.  It makes me that much more aware that I have the best job ever.

Duties as Assigned. November 23rd, Entry #44.

Sara:  I spent 2 hours this morning tying yarn to paper Christmas tree ornaments.  You might be wondering, how does this fit into your job description?  I feel that I must enlighten you to a particular phrase that was included in my job description and contract: duties as assigned.  This phrase is the bane of my youth minister existence.  This phrase has led me to tasks such as but not limited to: sticking plastic pockets to the back covers of the hymnals (check for them the next time you are at mass), folding 750 Triduum booklets, collecting said Triduumm booklets after the Easter Vigil, setting up 500 chairs for mass...in heels, taking 1900 letters to the post office, removing paint from rocks with nail polish remover, buying 1000 ice cream bars, stopping gushing toilets, cutting hundreds of strips of fabric to line the book holders in the pews (check the pews), ordering toy plastic shovels from Japan, burning the ends of thousands of strings for rosary making (and burning our fingers a lot too), and yes, tying string to paper ornaments. 

Just in case you don't believe me:

My boss is one clever lady.  You throw something like this in at the bottom of a contract, get the sucker (namely me) to sign it and then they can never complain about having to do menial, random and totally unrelated tasks.  Darn it...she is always one step ahead of me.

And just in case anyone forgot:

Yes, I do have a college degree actually.  And you see that gold sticker at the bottom, it says "with honors".  Yes, I graduated with honors. It takes someone extra smart to tie yarn.  Don't you be forgetting that.

Cashardy or No Fortune. November 21st, Entry #42.

Sara:  I love game show nights at FLOCK!!  I'm just a sucker for trivia in general so I love to share the love!  We've done these before, probably once a year....but I think everyone would agree that this was the most epic one yet.  Why do a regular ol' game show when you can combine ALL the awesome things about your favorite game shows??  So, that is exactly what we did.

Cash Cab + Jeopardy + Deal or No Deal + Wheel of Fortune = Cashardy or No Fortune.

We had video bonus questions like in Cash Cab.
We had a game board and Daily Doubles like in Jeopardy.
We had boxes (suitcases) that teams could swap for other boxes...but you didn't know what was in them so it was all a risk like in Deal or No Deal.
And we had a spinner to earn extra points like in Wheel of Fortune.

I think our favorite new feature to the game show night were the video questions.  We had 3 video bonus questions using videos of some fun FLOCK events this year.  BUT, we also videoed 4 other youth ministers asking questions about themselves.  Would you like to know what happens when you put youth ministers in front of a camera?  I know you do....so look below.

Kyle - just thought we should let you know that the first group that answered guessed 19!  Hahahaha...19.  It must be the youthful glow...and maybe the faux hawk.

Cdub.  Cdubsalot.  Cdubsawholelot.  Cdubwithgoodhair.  Cdubsinthemorning.  Cdubsintheafternoon.  Cdubsafterdinner.

(Really Kyle...picking the nose?  really?  and you wonder why they guessed 19?)

Such a wonderful bromance.
(PS - Aaron's laugh in the background=favorite thing!)

And, let's not forget a shout out to the Orange team.  It's like the old saying "if life gives you lemons, make lemonade".  But, this one goes something like this: "if your youth minister gives you toilet paper as a prize, TP her office."  I think that is totally legit and I would expect nothing less.  Thank you Orange Team, I have trained you well.

New logo. November 17th, Entry #41.

Sara:  Thanks to Kyle Kuckleman for making my day.  So, check out the possibilities for the new logo here at St. Michael.  I think they all show a breadth of depth and honesty to the image of our defender of the faith.  The question is....which one shows the real St. Michael the Archangel??

So, which one is it going to be??

For other delightfully funny and pretty much accurate depictions of our faith, check out Deacon Eddie Dwyer's artwork.  I just love being Catholic.

2 Photos. November 11th, Entry #40

Sara:  I just wanted to share 2 photos with you that I thought were particularly telling of why my job is awesome.

Don't judge us.  It was for the kids.  Either way, I think we are pretty darn good looking.  Aaron's going to be mad that I posted this picture.  Oh well.  Good thing he's such a pretty lady.

So, this is my desk.  And it normally looks like this...covered in all sorts of crud.  But I noticed some pretty cool things about my desk that you just don't see at other jobs.

#1 - The bible laying open.  Yeah, part of my job is to read the bible.

#2 The Veggie Tales video.  Yup, just doing research for FLOCK.

#3 The hand carved Mary statue.  One of my kiddos had her grandfather carve it for me. 

#4  The St. James Academy cup.  It's just my water cup, but it's pretty great.

#5 The quote taped to my computer: "Know Him. Be known. Be loved. Be Holy."

Ahhh....just another day at the office.

Seven. November 6th, Entry #39

Sara: Things I loved about the High School Rally "Seven":

My girls:
* The party starts when they show up.  I'm not even kidding.  We get to the rally, I tell them to head for the front row (you always have more fun in the front).  By the time I sign everyone in and get there they are dancing to the Mikey Needleman Band and literally getting the rest of the group off their feet and dancing along.  Every time.  We bring the party.
* The humility to go to confession.  It's not easy. Way to rock.
* Their welcoming and inclusive attitude.  We had lunch with kids I didn't even know b/c they invited them.
* Their athleticism.  We played one epic game of ultimate frisbee.  All of them played and we outnumbered the boys, but we could hold our own.  And, the server at Sonic also noticed their athleticism...even though it was kind of creepy.  We won't talk about that anymore.

The Mikey Needleman Band:
* I mean, c'mon, who doesn't love them?!
* All the Matt Maher they played....and how the crowd went wild for "Hold us Together".  Of course.
* Party in the U-S-A.  The only dudes I know who can rock that song and make it look cool.
* Telling the high schoolers that they should know "Don't stop believing" b/c it was on Glee.

Fr. Rob Spaulding:
* When he talked, you could hear a pin drop. I think talked for over an hour the first time and everyone was still attentive.  That man can engage.
* His courage to tell his story.  To be honest.  To change the hearts of a lot of kids with his message.
* For his priesthood.  That he is  able to bless the world with his gifts due to the forgiveness and compassion of 2 amazing families.

My frisbee:
* R.I.P my dear UPA approved, 175 gram disc.  I hope you rest eternally on the roof of the Sonic.

Matty and Jared:
* We love you.  We miss you.  We pray for you and to you.  We will see you at the altar.

Don't be mad that we picked the better job. November 4th, Entry #38.

Sara:  There is a running joke between Aaron and I and the rest of the Christian Ed staff here at SMTA.  Sometimes they come upon Aaron and I doing things that seemingly are not work related...but you have to remember that a) we have the best job ever and b) we are youth ministers.  So, when you come into my office and we are coloring pages out of a Halloween coloring book, this is totally normal, it's a mail surprise for some college students, of course.  When you come upon us tapping a beach ball back and forth to each other to see how long we can keep it in the air, we are just doing research for FLOCK.  And when our boss comes into the copy room to find us tracing life size cut-outs of Aaron, this is just prep for FLOCK.  And when the rest of the Christan Ed staff is baffled that we are participating in these fun tasks, we simply respond.... "Don't be mad that we picked the better job".

Just so you can see that the seemingly unrelated tasks, are in fact, work related, see the following task from start to finish.

Step 1 - Locate model.

Step 2 - Trace said model. (and try not to get marker on the model's shirt, he does not appreciate that)

Step 3 - Begin cutting out process.

Step 4 - Admire handiwork.  Attach to wall with magnets.  Let kids throw wet sponges at handiwork.  Connect to David beating Goliath.  Job accomplished.

Just another day in Paradise.

Joe's Hero. November 3rd, Entry #37

Sara:  Ok, so I have 2 thoughts from yesterday at AP FLOCK.

#1 - I need to apologize to Aaron.  Let's just say that I made a joke about his friend...and Brian and Joe WOULD not let it die.  Later in the evening Joe decided to tell a story about his hero...so he just retold Aaron's story about his friend and changed some of the details.  We all got one major ab workout from laughing soooo hard....Aaron was literally rolling on the ground laughing.  I love it when Aaron laughs...like really, really laughs.  Let's just say that if you are ever in New York with a friend and he wants to buy socks...at the Gucci store....RUN AWAY!!  I would tell you the story but it is so wildly inappropriate that we shouldn't even have had it.  Yup, that's what we do at AP FLOCK....be totally inappropriate.

#2 - What do you think about true masculinity and true femininity??  This is a thought/concept that has been on my mind and heart for the last 2 weeks.  So, I have been bringing it up to certain kiddos to see what they think.  Annelise and I have been having a 3 day conversation about it.  We talk about it, think about it and come back to it at the end of the day and talk some more.  Last night Aaron and Jordan and I had some good thoughts about it after AP FLOCK.  I don't really have any answers...but I am very intrigued by this idea right now.  What it really means to be masculine and feminine but not in the way our culture sees it...in the way that it is meant to be, in the way that God created it.  If you have any thoughts we'd love to hear them.

Sock Hop. November 3rd, Entry #36

Sara: Last night was crazy sock night at GIFT.  And, since I don't think we write very often about GIFT, I thought we should give all those j-hiers a shout out.  I'm not going to lie....I really do like high schoolers better.  I enjoy being able to have deep conversations, use sarcasm and not worry about when they showered last.  But, I need to remember what I have always LOVED about j-hiers...their enthusiasm, excitement and willingness to be silly.  It's so fun watching them feel comfortable and then letting their hair down, really being themselves.  That's what I enjoy most about j-hiers.

But, enough about that, check out my favorite socks from the night.

What would a crazy sock night be without toe socks??

Ok, so these aren't socks....but you guys know
how much I love anything cowboy.

Loving the miss-match.

This was my favorite.  He is wearing his brother's socks.
His brother is 6.  Sam always gets so clever with the themes!

I look good.  Don't you forget it.

Umm...he didn't know it was crazy sock night...this is his normal sock. 
 I'm still not sure if it is supposed to be grey.