Recently in music Category

I love fall! It is my favorite season. Although here on the central coast of Cali, it feels more like summer. We get lots of fog and cool weather in July and August then it warms up in September and October. But now that November is here the chill is slowly moving in and anticipation for the holidays gets stronger. I am especially excited because we always spend a week in So Cal during Thanksgiving and I am sooo ready to see my family again - some of who have yet to meet John-Paul! Only 17 more days! WooHoo!

I tried that recipe for minestrone soup that my sis EL recommended. It was so tasty! Lots of veggies and flavor. Here's the link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Jamies-Minestrone/Detail.aspx

Brian and I recently saw two movies with a Catholic theme. The first was Ostrov (Sold at http://www.notofthisworldicons.com). "The story begins in northern Russia during World War II. A Russian coal barge with a two-man crew is captured by a Nazi patrol boat. The Nazis force the young cowardly Russian furnace stoker, Anatolii, to shoot his captain. The Nazis blow up the barge but Anatolii is rescued by monks from a nearby monastery. Anatolii spends the rest of his life repenting in sorrow, and through this repentance becomes a God-bearing Fool-for-Christ who, with his God-inspired insights into human hearts, gives miraculous help to suffering people who come to him for aid. Nearing death Anatolii's own suffering is resolved through a miraculous manifestation of forgiveness."

It is a beautiful story and heartbreaking to watch Anatolii's sorrow over killing his captain, but he never gave up hope on God's mercy. In his humility and wretchedness, Anatolii became completely dependent on God and grew in holiness. God was then able to do marvelous wonders with the "little fool." (ie. He could read souls or knew when something bad was going to happen.) The story is in Russian but with subtitles.

Speaking of where we bought the movie, if you are looking for icons, check out Not of This World Icons.com. It is our favorite place to shop. So beautiful!

The second movie we saw was 2008's Henry Poole Is Here with Luke Wilson. It is not a religious movie but it had a surprisingly positive portrayal of the Catholic Church. Wilson plays Henry, a stand-offish loner (with a bit of mystery about him) that buys a house in his old neighborhood. His desire to be alone is thwarted by a friendly (and persistent) Catholic Hispanic woman who believes that a water stain on the side of Henry's house is actually a miraculous imprint of Jesus' face. During the course of the movie Henry must deal with his neighbors' faith, his own disbelief and anger, and his growing friendship with a single mom and her mute daughter. The movie is low-key and never preachy but there is a definite underlying message of faith and (physical/spiritual) healing. (Note: The movie is rated PG, mostly for language. Watch it when the kids are asleep.)

I also really enjoyed the soundtrack on the Henry Poole movie. There were some cool songs; however, there are two from the movie that are missing from the official soundtrack. If you get it from iTunes you'll have to download the Bob Dylan song (I didn't mind skipping that one) and the Blur (Song 2) separately. (I did download the Bur song - I hadn't heard them in years!)

Okay, Andrew is up and ready for breakfast so I need to get off the computer. I'll end with a pic of the kids from Halloween. Have a blessed weekend!

I've been running around all day and now that I am home I have no energy to even get out of my chair. So I thought I'd give the quick take Friday thing a try.

I just received my order of Pampered Chef items. I am looking forward to trying them out. I especially want to make the mini-quiches we had at the cooking party. I have to laugh at the recipe since it lists all their products within it, but regardless, they were delicious.

My mom is flying up from Southern California on Sunday and she will spend a week with us to help me with some pre-baby things - finishing the nursery (which is a corner of our bedroom), wash the baby clothes, do some bigger chore housework etc. Most of all I just love having her around and hearing her laughter. I can't wait! (And as I think more about the upcoming labor, it is also comforting to know that if she could handle nine labors, I can surely handle my third.)

I was looking at a friend's photos of their trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and it made me miss not going there more often. So I finally bought an annual pass for the whole family. Bella has been excited to see the new Sea Horse exhibit and I know Andrew will love the hands on kid's zone. Hopefully I can take my mom while she is here.

What I Am Reading: I took a break from my Agatha Christy novels when I borrowed a copy of Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza. I had started it but never got to finish. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it!

What I Am Watching: I love old B&W movies and am leery to watch remakes of the old classics. Case in point - I rented the new version of The Women and it was so bad I couldn't finish it. Don't even bother. Rent the 1939 version with Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford. It's an interesting (and at times heartbreaking and at times humorous) view of female cattiness, marital infidelity, forgiveness and the "bad guy" getting his (hers) in the end.

What I Am Listening To: Matt Kearney's City of Black and White. Loving this disc right now.

Brian will be home in a few minute so I have to keep this last one short. He works so hard for us and even when he is tired he'll help me out with the kids or cleaning the shower or scrubbing toilets because it is hard for me to bend over with my growing belly and he doesn't want me smelling cleaner fumes. Sometimes I forget that it's all the little things he does that says he loves me. So tonight I have one of his favorite meals and the kids are going to bed early so we can have a little one-on-one time after a long and busy week.

Have a blessed night and weekend yourself!

Some of my siblings in So Cal have been telling me about friends who started a band called Love, Resonate. They now have their three song demo online at http://www.myspace.com/loveresonate. The band is also doing some great missionary work. Check it out!

To go with the previous Kris Allen post, here is a video of him singing. (He was the worship leader at his church.) I didn't know that when I first started voting for him but makes me love him even more. :-)

Congratulations to Kris for winning American Idol last night. I had been cheering for him since the beginning but I honestly didn't think he'd actually be able to beat Adam. I was ecstatically surprised when they announced his name. (I even forgot how sore my fingers were from all the texting and redialing I did on vote night. :-) Way to go!

When it comes to Christmas tunes, I am a sucker for the classic crooning of Bing Crosby and Nate King Cole. Today, however, I have been in the mood for a change of pace and have been loving Christmas a la Relient K and Sixpense None the Richer. Falalalala!

Having just completed an 800 mile round trip with countless hours of kid's music being played, we have chosen a number one band in our house right now - The Imagination Movers! We've been fans of the Imagination Movers for awhile but since their new show on Disney, Bella AND Andrew are loving them and we've been OD-ing on their music. And I've got to make my own confession - I like them just as much as the kids! The Imagination Movers show can be a bit corny (hence the genre - kid's show) but they've got a great sound, kid friendly lyrics, most are fellow parents (Scott & Dave each have two kids and Rich has five) and they've overcome tragedy in their personal lives (when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana they lost their studio and three of the guys lost their homes.) So before you start your next road trip or if need an upbeat album to get you and the kids moving, give a listen to Rick, Scott, Dave & Smitty. (If you don't have anything of theirs yet, start with Juice Box Heroes.)

Speaking of music artists, here are two up and coming Catholic artists that were recently brought to my attention. Both have interesting stories behind their music.

If you like Josh Groban type music, check out www.johnpaulrudolph.com.

If you like coffee house/alternative, check out http://www.helpmebecomeapriest.com/.

I received this CD in the mail and I was anticipating a satisfactory version of various Christmas songs sung by Catholic youth. I received much more than that! The opening track O Come O Come Emmanuel immediately made me sit up and take notice.

The Catholic music group "Cousins in Christ" is composed of family members John Paul Rudolph (20), Rebecca Meyer (19), Matthew Rudolph (18), Katie Meyer (17), and Stephanie Meyer (15). The group, along with narrator David Rudolph (16), has created a moving collection of timeless Christmas classics.

The arrangements of the songs range from sweeping chorus and various instrumentation to a simple piano and the solo voice of John Paul in O Holy Night, my personal favorite. Regardless, the talent of the Cousins is richly displayed and a joy to listen to.

When you consider the young age the artists and the independent label of the CD, this is a truly quite an accomplishment and the disc itself is of fair greater quality than other indie productions we've received. I highly recommend this CD as an addition to your holiday collection. It has certainly become a favorite of mine! Kudos to the Cousins! (Bobbi 12/05)

Songs on the disc include: O Come O Come Emmanuel, Joy to the World, O Holy Night, O Come All Ye Faithful, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Silent Night, Gesu Bambino, What Child Is This, Ave Maria, Away in A Manger, Lullay Thou Little Tiny Child and Dona Nobis Pacem.

O Night Divine can be purchased at Amazon.com or directly from the Cousins at www.roseofsharonmedia.com.

UPDATE: There will be a 1 hour special with the Cousin in Christ on EWTN on the 22nd at 6:00 Eastern and Christmas morning at 5:00 am Eastern. Also, their songs can be purchased individually through itunes and several other online digital distributors as ringtones, etc.