happy love day!

happy valentines day!

there are a lot of things in my life that i love, but most of all i love my family (my family and my nd family).

happy love day to everyone ... i hope your day was filled with lots of love.

miss you all. xoxo Rikki

happiness.

This semester I am taking a philosophy classes titled

Friendship and the Good Life

Today in class, we were discussing Aristotle, Plato, and what we thought constitutes happiness.

A lot of different definitions were thrown around ...

"to love and be loved"

"to have all of your wants fulfilled"

"happiness is a state of mind"

"being content with what you have"

obviously, there are many different ways that one can interpret happiness....

But I have come to decide that happiness is a combination of spending time with the one's you love, doing things that bring you joy, and knowing that no matter what, you always have someone there to support you.

With that being said, I thought I would make a list of things in my life that bring me

HAPPINESS

the grotto.

catching a glimpse of the sun beaming off the golden dome.

running around the lakes.

driving and singing with my sister.

hanging out with my buddy P.J.

my genius brother Ty who keeps everyone on their toes.

doing "mom" stuff with my mom.

working out with my dad.

having the time of my life doing absolutely nothing with the girls.

the feeling i get from having a really good vault.

football season.

being a gym rat.

being with the nd family.

looking at the mountain stars.

My list could go on and on, but these are a few of my favorites ...

What makes you happy?

don't worry mom and dad...

This morning while I was enjoying my tall skinny caramel latte (yummm!) from Starbucks, I was very intrigued by the "The Way I See It" on the cup...

"success in life is that your kids want to spend time with you once they have grown up"

well mom and dad, i am pretty grown up (sort of) and i still thoroughly enjoy spending time with you ... i think that makes you VERY successful!

SO:

What happens when you have these three ...

Plus these lovely girls...

Plus their parents ...

AND

friday night gala

saturday night "family dinner"

COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME

(entirely rented out for the night)

sunday morning mass

JUNIOR PARENTS WEEKEND!!!

i can't wait to see you next weekend mom and dad!

college game day.

College Game Day:

ND vs. UCONN

January 24, 2009

Starring: Rece Davis, Hubert Davis, Digger Phelps, Bobby Knight and Jay Bilas.

AND

the GREATEST student body in the nation.

A few weeks ago ESPN held its Basketball College Game Day at Notre Dame

Since its debut in 2005, this was the first time that Game Day was broadcast at Notre Dame. Needless to say, the student body was pumped about it!

Notre Dame had the largest turnout for Basketball College Game Day ... EVER!
LEPRECHAN LEGION (student body) and a BLACKOUT crowd

We decided to make the game a jumper outing ... even though ND lost, it was great to spend time with the JUMPER GIRLS

LOVE THE NOTRE DAME!

come holy spirit

two sundays ago i was lucky enough to attend mass in alumni hall, where father hesburgh was presiding. that was the second time that i heard him speak that week, but still managed to learn a very valuable life lesson during that short hour.

before mass, father hesburgh said his intention for the mass was to pray for all of us and our vocations. typically, especially at notre dame, vocation refers to those who are being called to serve the church as priests, but father hesburgh brought new meaning to the word:

each one of you will be called by God to a specific vocation. hopefully, some will be called to life as a religious, but for most of you, this calling will be different. for some a doctor, for others a lawyer. teacher. mother. husband. wife. no matter how stressful the search for that calling is, always remember that God has a plan for each and every one of you. while they are not all the same, they are all equally significant.

needless to say, this got me thinking before mass even started. i have been doing a lot of refocusing lately, trying to get things in order, and this was exactly what i needed to hear.

then, during his homily, father hesburgh told us about one of his "secrets to life." he told us that no matter how stressed or uncertain he is about something, all of his troubles seem to disappear with three small words:

come holy spirit.

he told us that every morning before we get up, we should say "come holy spirit" and invite God's presence into our lives. in times of trouble, in times of success. either way, he told us to give it a try. he said that it had never failed him in a difficult situation and that he promised that it would do the same for us.

well, over the past few weeks i have made a sincere effort to making this a daily happening. every morning, before i get out of bed, i close my eyes and say "come holy spirit." again, before i go to bed, i do the same thing.

this has honestly made a huge difference for me ... stress seems to disappear and things seem to run so much smoother.

so if ever in doubt, stressed, or just needing a little help, try it out.

like father said, i promise it will make a difference.

made with love.

for those of you that don't know, i have a slight obsession with coffee. i drink countless cups a day and spend ALL of my flex points on starbucks.

for christmas, dad bought me a new coffee pot, which has already been used too many times to count ...

with that being said,

meet mr. coffee:

AND

meet justine:

Prologue:

over the past few weeks, my love of coffee has shifted to a love of tea. luckily, mr. coffee has many talents and can also be used to heat water for tea...or hot chocolate...or whatever your heart desires.

so, after a FREEZING walk back from dinner, justine (who lives right across the hall) and i decided we were going to make some tea while we did our homework. little did i know that my dependence on mr. coffee was about to pull someone else in: justine.

Chapter 1:

today, after a long day of hobbling around on my crutches, i had a lot of homework to do.

since justine lives right across the hall (and has a very COZY futon), i decided to do some reading with her in her room.

again, we decided to make use of mr. coffee.

after making the tea, she handed me my sparkly ND coffee mug and said:

"here's your tea pookie ... nice and warm and made with LOVE"

Moral of the story:

My friends are the best.

I love the ND fam.

PRAYER AT THE GROTTO

Dear Mother,

it is good to be here with you,

to come sit with you,

to rest in your presence

and leave all worries and anxieties in your lap.

Thank you for welcoming me with love.

Mother, my life is full with due dates, expectations,

and faces of those I love.

I come to you with a full heart,

so that you can lift me up and offer me to your Son.

I am filled with peace when I come here.


The candles, the people praying,

the trees and tolling bells

help me clearly feel your love and prayers for me.

Please hold me close to you and place your son in my heart.

Amen.


Lighting a candle at the Grotto.

Despite the cold, She is always there to hear our prayers.

Today I took a trip to the grotto. Without a doubt, it is my FAVORITE place on campus. I always feel so at peace and so relaxed. Despite the cold, it was a great time to reflect on everything in my life and realize how blessed I am to be here.

If you ever are having a hard time or just need someone to pray for you, just let me know ... I am always willing to go and light a candle for you.