Believe in Miracles every day...

So a lot of things are happening fast. We bought a house. Yesterday I turned 25! Valentine's Day is Tuesday. Finally, Thursday Dave and I fly to PA for something that is very very VERY close to my heart.

In 2007, as a student at Penn State University, I did something crazy. I decided that I would spend a weekend not sitting and not sleeping, but standing. That's right I would stand for 46 long hours. You may ask why. You may say, why forgo the drinking and partying (which I can tell you I hardly did) to do something silly like that. It's simple: Life.

In 2006 I was introduced to THON, a 46 hr dance marathon for kids battled pediatric cancer. It opened my eyes to a world of things I did not understand. All I knew about this world was that I had to be a part of it. I had to help. I vowed that the next year I would dance.

So in October of 2006 I began fundraising, hoping to raise as much money as I could so that I could dance with the Penn State Thespians. I stood out in the cold for hours. I asked everyone I knew. My question was simple: Would you help me stand for those who cant?

In February 2007 the weekend after my 21st birthday I danced. With the help of my dancer partner, Sean, My Penn State Thespian Family, our THON family, the moralers, the PSU students, the Entertainment, and the other dancers, I made it all 46 hours. I was even delirious for a few of them since I forgot to eat during one of the food breaks. I was having way too much fun to waste my time with food.
Here are some photos:



Sean and I with Jenna our Thon Child who today is cancer free!

The year I danced we raised $5.24 million last year THON raised $9.5 million

Sean and I before standing.

Somewhere in the middle of 46 hrs my bridges collapsed and my knees began to swell. I didn't want to cheat and sit in an ice bath so I stood and they wrapped my knees in ice.

You might not understand why I did this. I did this because no one ever deserves to hear the words "Your child has cancer". No deserves to hear the word cancer associated with a loved one. But if you could feel the love in this room for this cause. If you could stand among the thousands of students dancing and realize just what is happening, you would be in awe.

Every year I fight for THON. I raise money even though I haven't been able to get back up there. This year THOn turns 40. and I will be there!

In case you still don't understand, here is a video. Watch it and if you need to: go to YouTube and watch more. I think you will be surprised.

Asking the girls

This weekend I completed a big project. Now it won't look like a big project, but trust me...it was. I had to color seven pictures. SEVEN and that's not easy when you are a perfectionist when it comes to coloring!

Anyways I live far away from all of my bridesmaids. So I couldn't take them out to dinner or do a fun activity and ask them. I don't make enough money to fly home every other weekend or I totally would have done this differently. However, I think that these little bottle are cute and I hope they will like them.

Each girl gets a message in a bottle. Inside is a picture of a Disney Princess and her sidekick. Wrapped around the picture is a small note to each girl telling them why they are important to me and asking them to be my bridesmaid. My sister's says Maid of Honor, but she already knows and accepted the challenge.

So what do you think?