Notre Dame 2012: Let No One Ever Again Say...

"Let no one ever again say that we dreamed too small."  ~ Father Jenkins, President, University of Notre Dame

Apparently the lesson God planned for me to learn on this trip was to dream big.  God likes to work in threes.  You know...like the Trinity and all.  Here's the trilogy from last weekend.

Father Sorin's Story

Father Jenkins spoke the words above during his induction as President of the University of Notre Dame.  A college that was started by one 30 year old French priest named Father Sorin.  A man who didn't like to be told what to do and a big dream.  He built a one building college for priests in rural Indiana.  And then, it burned to the ground.  On that day, Father Sorin said, "“I came here as a young man and dreamed of building a great university in honor of Our Lady. But I built it too small, and she had to burn it to the ground to make that point. So, tomorrow, as soon as the bricks cool, we will rebuild it, bigger and better than ever.”  And the next day, once the bricks cooled, they did just that. 

Feet on the Turf

On Friday morning, we did the "tunnel tour" at Notre Dame, which lets people walk down the tunnel from the Irish locker room to the field, and to take pictures on the sidelines.  A fence blocks off the sideline area from the field.  While we stood on the sideline, I stuck my foot through a gap on the fence and touched my toes on the turf at Notre Dame Stadium.  I was so excited by this that I couldn't wait to post pictures on facebook.  I thought this was a dream come true.  Turns out, the story didn't end there.  As you know, on Saturday night at the end of an overtime victory for my beloved Irish, I wound up square in the middle of that field, both feet firmly on the turf.  All of a sudden, the whole toes on the grass thing seemed insignificant.

Full Circle

I've got a vivid memory of being a teenager standing in the kitchen at the Hepburn's house.  Mrs. Hepburn asked me what I was going to do when I grew up.  Never having an actual answer to this question, I said something like working at a bank or something.  She looked at me and said, "You're meant for bigger things than that.  You need to be a doctor or lawyer or something bigger."  I had never though about being meant for something bigger.  And idea was planted that day.  An idea that it was okay to aim for bigger things.

On Thursday, Baby  Hepburn seemed pretty unsure about the idea of going to school at Notre Dame.  Over the next 72 hours, I watched her entire mindset change.  While she was talking to the cute tour guide on campus, or walking around St. Mary's lake, or cheering for the Irish at the football game....somewhere, she had the same realization that I had in her parents' kitchen all those years ago.  It was okay to dream big, to think that she was destined for bigger things.



The Take Away Message
 

Father Sorin, Baby Hepburn, and I, we have something in common:  we dream too small.  Maybe you do as well.  Think about it.  How often in our lives do we aim too low?  How often to do settle for our toe touching the turf and never look back?  How often do we let a setback--like a fire--deter our plans?  How often do we accept the lie that we are not good enough?  Probably more often than we'd like to imagine.

And what great things do we miss out on by dreaming too small?  Running marathons?  Curing cancer?  Falling in love?  Writing books?  Laying on a beach?  Ending hunger?

What could we achieve if we set our goals higher and dreamed our dreams bigger?  What if we went for it and never looked back? 

We might end up building one of the premier universities in America.

We might end up smack dab in the middle of the field singing the alma mater next to All-Americans and snapping pictures with Heisman hopefuls and head coaches.

We might end up applying to a dream school and looking forward to four years that would shape our life.

"Let no one ever again say we dreamed too small." 

Lesson learned.  Thank you, Notre Dame.

Notre Dame 2012: The Rest of the Story!

"The best thing I ever learned in life was that things have to be worked for. A lot of people seem to think there is some sort of magic in making a winning football team. There isn't, but there's plenty of work." ~Knute Rockne

So yesterday you read about my rushing the field experience at Notre Dame.  Well, in a minute, you're going to read the rest of the story. :)  See, my family has been friends with the Hepburns for years.  My grandma and mom set up Mr. and Mrs. Hepburn in high school.  I used to babysit the little Hepburns when I was in high school.  So when they asked me to go along with them as tour guide for Baby Hepburn to do a college visit to Notre Dame, well you know I was all in.

We kicked off the trip with a flying dash through DFW after a slight delay and even slighter lay over.  There was some stress, but after a nice run to up our heart rates, we made the plane and arrived in Chicago.  If you guys know me at all, you know good and well where the first stop on our tour was.....Bongo Room.  That's right, folks, home of the infamous pretzel pancakes!  We met up with Notre Dame Friend and stuffed our faces.  And, because she's the sweetest person on the planet, ND Friend made us some of her world-famous cookies for the drive to South Bend.  You know, to wash down the pretzel pancakes.  We're kindrid spirits, me and her!

Next up was a tour of the Notre Dame campus.  We started off with the tunnel tour, which let us walk down the player's tunnel and stand on the sidelines of Notre Dame stadium.  This was super exciting at the time, but seems kinda lame after the whole rushing of the field that happened 24 hours later! 

Next we did the actual campus tour led by a kid from NM that knows Hepburn's cousins.  Small world, it is. 

While on wondering around campus, we ran into this lovely dog.  I'm usually not the kind of person who stops to see dogs, but this one was so cute.  He shook my hand and everything.  Then I asked his name.  The answer?  Rudy.  Of course....what else would you name a dog in South Bend?  Based on the picture below, I can now say I met Rudy on the Notre Dame campus.

Meeting Rudy

The next morning, we crawled out of our nice warm beds (I left comfy out...we were staying at a pretty unimpressive Red Roof Inn....there weren't lots of game day options in South Bend!) to do our Run for the Little Flower Project around St. Mary's lake with a stop off at the Grotto (you've read before about my love for the Grotto).  As you read about earlier this week, it was an awesome experience.  And we had to take a classic jumping photo!

And then, it was time for all of the game day activities.  We did it up right.  Bag pipers playing in front of the Main Building.  Trumpets playing under the dome.  Eating burgers and steak sandwiches from student groups on campus. 

I also took some time to snap some game day shots that I thought were touching, but are of kids who I don't know.  I'm probably going to get arrested for this one day.

There was also some extra excitement because College Game Day was on campus!  We got to see the crew (and I refrained from yelling mean things at Kirk Herbstreit) and the sight was great, right between the stadium and Touchdown Jesus.

During our tour on Friday, we learned about four different statues on campus that have been re-named by students with football related names.  You know me, I love anything football related, so Baby Hepburn and I decided we should pose with each of the four to share with my blog friends.

First Down Moses

Fair Catch Corby

The Holy Hand Off

Touchdown Jesus

And then it was game time.  You know already how much I loved that. Yes, it was cold and rainy.  And Notre Dame kept things way too close for my taste.  And our popcorn was way too salty.  But it was AWESOME. 

I said this two years ago when I came to my very first game, but game day at Notre Dame is something everyone should do.  There really is nothing like it.  I could not be more grateful to have had this experience (again!) with such amazing people.  I am truly blessed.  And Go Irish!

Notre Dame 2012: Rushing the Field...ND over Stanford in Overtime!

"What though the odds be great or small old Notre Dame will win over all, while her loyal sons are marching onward to victory."  ~Notre Dame Fight Song

 

When I was four years old, I had a Notre Dame pennant on my wall and a t-shirt I wore on Saturdays.  When I was 10, I heard Rudy speak in person.  Two years ago, I went to my first game at Notre Dame.  Last Saturday, we rushed the field and my very own feet touched the turf at Notre Dame Stadium.  There are no words.

But there are pictures.  And videos.

Pre-Game Photos!

HERE COME THE IRISH!

The Game!

 Just in case you missed it, the game went into OT.  Notre Dame scored a touch down on their first possession.  Then they held Stanford three times on the goal line.  Of course, the last play had to be reviewed and you could have heard a pin drop in that stadium as the ref was announcing that the call on the field would stand and Notre Dame had won the game.  While the replay was going on, everyone in the stands was on their phone and watching Doug Flutie on the sidelines who kept pointing to his elbow saying the Stanford runner was down.  Good call, Doug!

Overtime!

And then the celebration started.  The students started to rush the field.  We were sitting with the students.  You know what happened next. 

Us on the field at Notre Dame Stadium!

Here we are singing the Alma Mater with the players.

By the way, the full Notre Dame recap will come tomorrow and Wedensday, but I just couldn't wait to tell you about this part!

 

 

**Linking up with Sami for Weekend Update (even though it was last weekend, I assume she will forgive me because it is a weekend update, it's about football, and she's a fellow OSU alum and we stick together!)

Little Flower Project Virtual 5K

"Recognizing the beauty and dignity of each and every individual person, China Little Flower works to build a culture of life by reaching out to those who are rejected, abandoned, deemed as useless, and who have no voice." ~Little Flower Project Mission Statement

I don't usually blog on the weekends, but I'm making an exception to tell y'all about The Little Flower Virtual Run that I did last week.  My blog friend, Katie, organized this virtual run to benefit The Little Flower Project.  (Thank you, Katie!!)

The Project is located in China.  They focus on providing care to abandoned orphans, and specialize in taking in kids with serious medical conditions and special needs who have been abandoned.  The photos that they share on their website will just break your heart. 

Even though the run date was actually on 10/20, the Hepburns and I wanted to do the run while we were together at Notre Dame.  So we rolled out of bed early on game day last Saturday and headed to campus.  It was absolutely perfect.  Still, quiet, and peaceful.  We ran around St. Mary's lake to the Grotto, where we stopped to take our photo to be shared with The Little Flowers, and to say a prayer for them at the grotto.  There were only two other people there and it was just beautiful.



So please say a prayer for The Little Flower Project today.  Last week, they lost four of their precious little ones who they had been caring for. Last week, I whined about a sore throat and a summary judgment motion. Running and writing a check was the least I could do.  If you're interested in helping out, you can get more info here.  These people are doing the work of Jesus for these kids in China.  God bless them!

Stand by....

“The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.”  ~Bruce Lee

I know I keep doing this.....but I have zero time to blog about the absolute AMAZINGNESS that was my weekend.  Duty calls at work in the form of a big project due on Wednesday.  But after that, oh do I have stories to tell y'all!!  Here's a sneak peak so I can keep your interest until later in the week!