christmas letter...

So, my parents are sending out the traditional Christmas Letter...and normally they sign my name at the bottom along with all of my siblings and siblings-in-law. However, this year it is just signed by their names...no Mitzi. So I've decided to write my own Christmas Letter. There's not a whole lot going on, but perhaps it will give some insight as to what has happened in my life in the past year...rather than the three to four sentences that my father writes in the family's letter.

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year to all!

It has been quite a year in my life with so many changes and experiences that will be unforgettable. A year ago in January, I participated in the first-ever Veritas Convention in Wichita, KS. The convention brought together several Catholic student leaders across the Big XII and by the end of the convention...it came about that I would be coordinating next year's convention at KU. So in T minus 2 days, Veritas 2006 will commence! A few weeks later in the month of January, I helped lead about 120 student to Washington, D.C. for the March for LIFE and discovered my passion for the LIFE movement. It suddenly hit me that this movement would be a part of the rest of my life. It is my apostolate. So with that, I applied for and received the position of the March for LIFE Student Coordinator at St. Lawrence and will be leaving in 18 days for D.C. with about 130 students! I know it will be an unbelievable experience and I ask for your prayers for the success of this pilgrimage!

In February, I was blessed to become an aunt to both a niece and nephew. While it is amazing in itself to be an aunt, the true amazement is watching my sister and my brother along with their spouses become parents. I only hope that someday I can do the same. I was also blessed to become the Godmother of my niece in early April...this title I will always hold close to my heart.


May came and went so quickly that I could hardly believe that my junior year of college was over and I was a senior...but there was little time to think about that as the family prepared for my sister's wedding in early June. It was certainly the event of the summer and brought together the whole family once again before we all parted ways in August. My brother was deployed to Iraq and my newly married sister and her husband made the move to their new home in Ohio.


So as my senior year began in the middle of August it was certainly an adjusting period to figure out where my life was headed after all my siblings had started their new lives. The fall semester kept me busy though. I returned to my position in my hall and found that I would be doing more work than my job description described...but isn't that always the case. I began my coordinating of both the Veritas Convention and the March for LIFE...both of which became the things that I loved to do as the semester went on...even with all the hardships that have come with both of them.

A few of the highlights of the semester would be: my Fall Break trip to Ohio, hanging out with my favorite niece and her parents in KC on a day that I just needed to get away from everything, the free Neil Diamond concert in December w/ my sister and brother-in-law, raising over $9,000 dollars for the March for LIFE, and realizing that I only have one more semester left of college.

To answer the question of what I'm doing after graduation this coming May...you'll just have to wait until next year's letter. I don't know what I will be doing. I feel that I want to stay close to home because I know I'm not ready to move halfway across the country...but time will tell and hopefully I'll know before I graduate as to where I'll be. Until then, I'll be here and I'm happy with that.

Love,
Mitzi