Happy Easter!

Hello, dear friends!

Happy Easter to everyone, and I hope and pray the hope of our resurrected Lord, Savior, Friend, and Father is surrounding you at this moment! :D  God is indeed good!

March has been a quiet month overall, with a few highlights which are fast becoming cherished memories. :)  The month started off with my wonderful friends Rox and Dan coming to visit from Nebraska.  Theater lovers and Disney fans, they are always a blast to hang out with. :)  Wicked, my favorite musical, was in town, and Jay, one of the musicians for the show, happens to be close friends with Rox and Dan.  So, we were blessed to get house seats to watch one of the performances, and afterwards, we got to meet Elphaba personally backstage, along with Galinda and a few of the Ensemble! :D  Also, Jay blew us away with a private backstage tour of the show, including props, set pieces, and costumes.  Everything was absolutely stunning! :D

The next day, Rox, Dan, Jay, Joe, my friend Bryce, and I all went to Universal Studios to Harry Potterland.  I've been a number of times, but it's always fun to revisit the Hogwarts ride, eat at the Three Broomsticks, and shop at the numerous shops, including Olivanders. :)  The two major highlight at Harry Potterland were getting to see my friend the Conductor, who then gave us VIP passes to go on the Hogwarts ride again, and getting Chosen by my wand at Olivanders! :D  For those of you who don't know, Olivander chooses a young "wizard" out of the audience, has them try out various wands and perform "spells," which fail, and then he gives them the "special" wand that chooses them.  :)  In my case, mine is a wand of birch with a heart of phoenix feather (or really, a wand of plastic with a heart of resin, but one can imagine), which means I am "destined to make my mark on the world."  Cute show, scripted, but I don't care.  I believe it. :)

After Harry Potterland, we went to visit my friend Gene, who was working with Captain America and other superheroes, such as the X-Men and Spider Man.  Since he is awesome, we got a private meet n greet with all of them!  :D  And, best part of all, Captain America (who, btw, is my favorite superhero) asked if he could Pick Me Up For The Picture!!!!  Uh... Yes, Please!!! :D  I was grinning like the Cheshire Cat for the photo! :D  Yes, definite win. :)

Still on an emotional high from the weekend, I was even more elated the next day, March 5th, to hear of my best friend Jessica giving birth to her second daughter, Gemma Jolynn.  Mom, Dad, sister Shayla, and Gemma are all doing beautifully, and I can't wait to meet the newest family member in person! :D  Congratulations, Sandros family! :D

And life continued on for some time, working and loving life, until the next major highlight, which came in the form of a phone call from Casting, calling to congratulate me on being chosen for this year's Star Wars Weekends. :D  I'm so excited!!  This will be my sixth year at the event.  May the Force be with you, always! :D

Last but not least, that brings me to today, Easter, and the last day of the month.  Today, in and of itself, was fairly uneventful.  I had to work, so I missed church, :( but afterwards I was able to relax, hang out with Joe, make Easter brunch, and then watch a movie with my roommates.  Good day.  What makes this day amazing is the remembrance of what Easter is all about, where the Creator of the Universe wanted to be my bestest friend, and in order to do so, He died for my sins, defeated Death, and rose again, offering Eternal Life that started as soon as I accepted His Love.  If I were to make a difference in the world, my dream is that through me, God is able to bring others into right relationship with Him, bringing hope, love and peace into this darkened world.  All it takes is one spark.

May you all remember Easter, and go out and change the world for the better.  I love you all. :D