February 2011 Archives

Betty at Betty Beguiles.com asked bloggers to share about their wedding dress and if they still loved it or wished they had done things differently.

When I was prepping for my wedding and looking for a dress I was a little worried since I hated wearing dresses to begin with and I'm a plus size and didn't have as many choices as other brides-to-be. I remember my sister BC and I were shopping in Orange County and we decided to stop into a bridal store just to see styles and prices. After looking at the stick-thin girls and big price tags, I felt really out of place and didn't stay very long. Shortly after, my family moved to the Calif high dessert where it was more "cowboy country" than we were used to. I was driving with JC, another one of my sisters, and we came across a local wedding boutique. It looked more home-town humble than high-class snooty so we stopped to take a look.

The sales lady was really nice and brought out some dresses in my size. The first one I tried on confirmed all my fears. It had a "western" look to it and in it I looked like a big, white marshmallow cowboy bride. I looked over at my sister who was in the dressing room with me and we bust out laughing. Not quiet-giggles laughing but the I'm-going-to-wet-my-pants-if-I-don't-stop laughing. The sales woman came over and asked if anything was wrong. I bit my tongue hard enough to make myself calm down and told her that we were fine. I quickly changed and after a few more tries we came across a dress with an empire waist and I loved the way it looked and fit. I looked at the price tag and even the discounted $800 was more than I could really afford. But at least I now knew that there was a dress style that would work on me and not send me into hysterics.

The next few days I went online and searched for a dress that matched the one I liked in the store. I came across a beautiful dress with an empire waist, beaded bodice and longer train. I loved it. The price was half the amount at only $400. I loved it even more. After checking the return policy, I said a pray and ordered it. As it turned out, the dress worked perfectly and for the first time in my life I felt like a princess and actually loved wearing a dress.

Looking back, the whole wedding dress fiasco pretty much summed up the majority of my life experiences - a little craziness, a few tears, a lot of laughter, loved ones with me, and eventually everything working out great in the end.

Thanks to Betty for a fun post to write. :-)

Next to "how we met" stories, I love baby birth stories. My sister posted the story of her son Frank and since she is also a guest writer at RoL, she let us post it on our website. Here it is for you to enjoy!

Better Late Than Never

by EML of Barefoot and Sometimes Pregnant Blog

My first baby, Edith, was a week early so I figured Frank would be early too, but I was very wrong. Frank's due date came and went and not much was happening. I would get contractions here or there, but nothing that would stay. I tired walking, shoveling snow and all the other things they tell you to try to get the baby to come out, but Frank was taking his sweet time. Finally, on the day before I turned 42 weeks, we spent the day at Colonial Williamsburg. We walked around for a good six or seven hours and by the end of the day, I could feel the contractions coming a little stronger. I went to bed thinking Frank was probably going to be coming in the next few days.

I woke up at exactly 8am with a very hard contraction and they continued to come every 20 mins or so. I was still thinking they might just be a false alarm so I went about my morning. By noon, they were coming between 6-9 mins apart and with enough force that I needed to stop and let them pass. I called the midwife and let her know, but I was still thinking it he wasn't going to come until the evening or later. The midwife said she was going to come to the house and she arrived around 2pm, we ate lunch and then I went to our bedroom since the contractions were starting to come more often and much harder.

While I was on all fours dealing with the contractions coming and going, my 1.5 old daughter would bring me water, pretending to time contractions and writing things down.

(Continue Reading...)

The pregnancy is coming along fine, although when they tested my progesterone last week they found it is still really low so I will have to stay on prog until I am 37 weeks to make sure the baby stays put. I have good days and down days when the Braxton Hicks are coming too close and I have to stay off my feet. It is a little tougher when I am home alone taking care of the boys but when Brian and Bella are here they are a huge help.

In fact, the other day I found a "to do" list on the table that Bella wrote. The day before she had been extra helpful and made sure that I stayed resting on the couch while she took charge after she got home from school. Her to do list read:

"1. Help mom do the work. 2. Give her two cups of water a day. 3. And make sure she is happy."

She certainly has made me happy! She has such a kind and tender spirit and her smile alone warms my heart. She's my special girl. :-)

This list from Wired.com is perfect and I'm happy to say that we have all of them!

The 5 Best Toys of All Time

For those Catholic singles recovering from the Valentine's blues, here's a new book you may be interested in - How to Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your Soul. It is authored by the incredible couple/ chastity speakers Jason and Crystalina Evert. (I love these guys! See their past interview at RoL here.)

Here's the book description:

In your quest for love, don't lose yourself along the way.

While navigating through the dating scene, every woman begins to wonder:

* How do I know when a guy really loves me?
* Am I being too picky?
* Do I even deserve love?
* Is my relationship worth keeping?
* Is love worth the risk?
* Are any decent guys left?

Single women often feel left alone to find answers to their deep questions about love and intimacy. Some hang out and hook up, hoping for love. Others are afraid even to hope. At some point, every woman needs reassurance that she--and her standards--are not the problem. In How to Find Your Soulmate without Losing Your Soul, you'll discover twenty-one strategies to help you raise the bar, instead of sitting at it, waiting around for Mr. Wonderful.

Isn't it time that you discovered a love that helps you to become yourself?

Check it out at http://www.howtofindyoursoulmate.com.

I woke up this Valentine's morning to find a love note from Brian waiting for me. In it he told me how much he loved me and what I meant to him. It brought me to tears because I knew it wasn't just "words" on a day he was expected to be romantic. He shows me that love every day - from a unexpected kiss to changing an incredibly stinky diaper without being asked. It's all those little things we do for each other and the foundation of our love for God that keeps us in love. 11 1/2 years and 4 kids later, he is still able to melt my heart with his smile. :-)

Pondering all this had me thinking about how we first met. I reread our story that we posted on RoL ages ago. If your curious, you can read it for yourself. Enjoy! And Happy Valentine's Day. (And for those singles, don't lose hope!)

BOBBI: In my late twenties, it started to become the family joke that if I was not married the age of thirty then I was going to pack my bags, move to Zimbabwe, live with the natives and die for a noble cause! (Okay, so I was a little dramatic.) Time was ticking and I was trying to grow closer to God and accept my singleness at the moment. My younger sister Elena suggested I try the website Single Catholics Online (now known as Ave Maria SCOL). I laughed at the idea, insisting that I was not desperate enough to look for a good Catholic husband on some dating service! She gave me that knowing look, smiled and walked out of the room saying, "Instead of crying about wanting a husband, get to work and check it out." How does she know me so well?

I immediately logged onto the site...just for fun of course. I was amazed at what I saw. It was not a "dating service" as I imagined but a cyber community of like-minded faithful Catholics who desired to live a life of holiness in the vocation of marriage. The extensive questionnaire alone was enough to allow me to find out more about each man's likes and beliefs than weeks of "surface dating." I also liked the fact that you had to pay a fee to use the site, knowing that the required time and effort would tend to attract more serious Catholics.

I decided to take the plunge but I waited a few days for October 13th on the anniversary date of Fatima's Miracle of the Sun. I knew that finding the right guy was going to take Our Lady's intervention and the Miracle of the SON. For the next couple of weeks I browsed through the profiles and met a few nice guys but nothing serious. Then it happened. A new member named Brian posted his profile and although he didn't have his photo up yet his answers immediately caught my attention. He seemed perfect for me! In fact, he seemed too good to be true and I thought to myself, this guy must be a phony; either he is a fake, writing from a prison cell, or he's real and should be in the seminary!

I couldn't find the nerve to write him so I printed out the top 7 or 8 profiles of guys that I thought best matched what I was looking for. Out of all those guys I knew Brian was my top choice but I still feared that he seemed "too good" for me. I went back to my sister Elena and gave her the stack of profiles I printed. I told her that I planned to start writing one of them but I wanted her to choose the one that would fit me. She came back with Brian's profile and said, "Write him." That was enough confirmation for me. I took a deep breath and composed a short email that would open the opportunity for conversation yet was still ambiguous enough for him to not respond if he didn't want to.

BRIAN: On November 1st, the feast of All Saints, I was on my way to the Monterey Peninsula. That day I left the seminary after a year and a half stay. I realized it was not my vocation and God called me to start a new chapter of my life. (Continue Reading...)

Hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary.

Wow, it's been nearly two months since I've last posted. That's pretty bad, even for me. All I can say is that daily life has just kept me extra busy lately. However, we are all doing well and the baby is growing, along with my belly. I'm in my third trimester now and so far so good. There are a few times when the Braxton Hicks contractions come too close and I have to stay off my feet but so far it's been manageable.

Speaking of babies, congrats to my sister EML for giving birth to her third child Greta Anne. (Love the name. :-) She had a successful homebirth even with Greta being over 9lbs. Ouch. ( Fun fact: EML was my mom's first home birth and I witnessed her birth. Pretty cool.)

Brian and I have been trying to have a few outings before the baby comes and we were blessed to spend last weekend at Pebble Beach. It's certainly not the normal place we could afford but since Brian works there he had the chance to "test the product" for free. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Tap Room and stayed at The Lodge in one of their gorgeous rooms overlooking the ocean. Hey, they can call me anytime to test out the food and accommodations!

This weekend is the Super Bowl and normally I wouldn't pay much attention to it. However, this year since Brian's beloved Packers are playing we've got to support him and his team. So the Brian and the kids are ready with their hats and shirts and I've got the party food ready to go. Hopefully it'll be fun, whatever the outcome.

The other night I came across the indie band First Class Hope. I really enjoyed their single Tonight so I downloaded their EP Love and Redemption off itunes. They are Christian and in fact, I think they may actually be Catholic. Anyone know if that's true?

Well, John-Paul just came over and turned off the computer while I was typing this so I guess that means my time is up. (And you wonder why I don't post more often!) I'll leave you with our Christmas/New Year photo. Have a great weekend...and Go Pack!