Recently in holidays Category

I never got the chance to post any Christmas photos last week so I'll do them this week. :-)

Happy New Year! We are back in town, back to school, back to work and I'm back at my computer. I have a house full of Christmas decor that needs to be packed, suitcase that need to be unpacked, and huge messes wherever you look. The thought of tackling all that does not sound too appealing so for the moment I am going to make the posts I was supposed to do last week! This should have been posted 12/30/11 but I didn't make it online until now. Oh, well. ;-)

It's funny that the top three most popular posts this year all had to do with Brian and I meeting, dating and marrying. I guess we are all suckers for a love story. It is also no surprise that the top three were all initiated by blogging queen and fashionista Betty Beguiles. So kick up your heels (or flats, in my case) and enjoy!

Hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary.

Heart of Gratitude: Day 1 & The Email That Started It All (Engagement - Synopsis Version)

It's been so busy lately that I hardly have any time online to blog or catch up on my google reader. I had a few moments this morning and I saw that Hailey started a "Heart of Gratitude" 14-day challenge for your husband. I looked at the date to see when it started and I realized it was today, November 9th, which is a special date for me and Brian.

It was thirteen years ago on November 1 when a young man left the seminary after a year and a half stay. He had discerned that it wasn't his vocation and felt God calling him to a new chapter of his life. He thought about marriage but he had dated before and it never really worked out. He recalled reading about a new Catholic online dating service (AMSCOL) and gave them a try, filling out their questionnaire that day. Later he knelt before God and humbly poured out his heart. He told God that if he was called to the vocation of marriage, then God would have to place the girl on his doorstep. With a resolved sigh, he began the first day of his novena trusting that it was all in the hands of Our Lord and Our Lady. (Continue reading...)

Our Engagement Story: An Answer to Prayer (Longer Version)

Yesterday Hallie at Betty Beguiles had the great idea of asking bloggers to post their engagement stories. It was so much fun to go back to my old journals and read about our early months together. Sometimes it's easy to forget the romance when you are dealing with the every day busyness of raising little ones. It was a good reminder that Brian and I need to carve out a little alone time no matter how busy. I don't have time to write out the story (I'm typing with one hand and holding a restless baby with the other) so instead I'll just repost the story of our "courtship" which includes our engagement. Brian and wrote this together so you'll get his side of the story too. (Also, after we were married I found the notes Brian used write down what he wanted to say when he proposed. I was so happy to find that because in the emotion of the moment I don't think my mind was registering all the beautiful words he was saying to me. Now that they are in my scrapbook I can go back and relive them word for word. )

Now, on with the story...

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? (Continue reading...)

Betty's Wedding Dress Round-Up

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.(Continue reading...)

Those Perfect Catholic Moms Are Killing Me

I recently added a number of new blogs into my google reader and I'm sifting through them to see which ones I'll read regularly and which ones are good but not where I am in life.

The first ones to go are the blogs that depress me. You know the ones I'm talking about. The ones that have countless posts by talented moms showing their beautiful gardens, their homemade baked goods and home cooked meals, their hand sewn clothes, and their Catholic craft of the day. I can take these in small doses but not all the time. Like I said, it depresses me.

And it's not their fault. It's mine. I just can't seem to follow their lead. I've tried to garden. Truly, I have. In fact, just a few months ago I decided to start again but to keep it simple. No veggies or elaborate flower beds. Instead I have two simple window boxes of flowers and three herbs - basil, Italian parsley and cilantro. I was doing really well but as usual I forgot to water and not just once or twice but for days. Yesterday I went outside to check on my herbs and lo and behold, I'm the only person on my block to have a garden of dried herbs. (Dried... dead... is there really much difference?) Yeah, so gardens and I don't do so well. (Continue reading...)

Operation Clean & Organize: Vol 1

I've discussed in a number of previous posts (like here and here) about my battle with keeping a clean and organized house. I'm naturally messy and the amount of work I have to do to clean up and organize our house is overwhelming. However, it's a project I want to undertake because it's important to me. I think there is some truth to the saying "cleanliness is next to godliness." Someone once told me that a person's exterior life reflects their interior life. I don't know if that is true but I do know that after awhile I get tired, frustrated and grouchy with all the piles of papers and junk and disorganized areas of the house. A house with little kids will never look like a museum - and never should - but I could definitely use a little more order in my life and I know the difference it makes.

When I do clean up an area and have it organized it makes my life run a little bit smoother. (Who can't use that?!) I am more at peace and feel that I am better accomplishing my mission in life - to raise a happy family and make our home a little taste of heaven on earth as we work towards entering our eternal home. It is my small way of showing God that I love him - to put aside my natural messy tendencies and find the orderly and creative woman I know is lurking in there somewhere. (Continue reading...)

Catholic Baby Shower Ideas

I've updated our main website Revolution of Love.com with ideas for a Catholic Baby Shower. I thought I'd post the prayers, activities and gift ideas on the blog as well.

The First Joyful Mystery: The Annunciation

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph. The angel said to Mary, "Hail full of grace! The Lord is with you. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:26-29, 38)

Blessed Mother, through your humility and obedience God's plan of salvation was put into motion by a simple "yes." May (NAME) be given the grace to say yes to God in the small and big things of her life, so that she, too, may participate in God's plan of salvation through her vocation as a wife and mother. (Continue reading...)

10 Year Anniversary: Where Were You on 9/11?

When I was younger I used to always wonder why people would ask "Where were you when Kennedy died?" I didn't get what the big deal was. Now when someone asks me "Where were you on 9/11?" I understand perfectly what they were talking about. On 9/11 I was no where near NY. I was living in Pacific Grove, CA with Brian. I was almost 8 months pregnant with Bella. I woke up to kiss Brian goodbye for work and he told me I had better check the news because he saw online that there was news of a terrorist attack.

When I turned on the TV, I first thought a single terrorist flew his own plane into the Twin Towers. Then a realized a regular commercial flight with innocent people on board were made into human bombs. And not just one flight - many of them. I kept thinking that the Twin Tower workers probably never saw it coming but the people on the plane were aware and watching it unfold. I was dumbstruck until all I could do was sob. (Even now its hard to hold back the tears when I think about it.) I don't think I ever got off the couch that day as I watched and cried. Brian came home and eventually made me turn off the TV so I'd stop thinking about it. (Continue reading...)

Brian, the kids and I wish you a very blessed Christmas and joyous New Year! Blessed be God!

Here is a little Christmas video treat for you to enjoy a techno performance of Feliz Navidad using ipads and iphones. Thanks to @ozycatholic on twitter for the heads up! Oh, and I sooo want to play the iphone tambourine if we ever do this live. ;-)

Yesterday I looking over this post from last year.

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!

This year (2011) I am in love with Michael Buble's Christmas album. Love it.

Next, when I am in the mood for a coffee shop Christmas, I listen to A Very She & Him Christmas. I love Zooey's voice and it makes me think of my little sister J. :-) (But it also makes me want to watch Elf. ;-)

Lastly, I've been enjoying this older album I got from my mom - Third Day's Christmas Offerings. It's been re-released as a CD & DVD combo pack of the concert. I really like the lead singer's gruff voice and their take on Christmas classics.

What are your favorite Christmas albums?

This morning my sister forwarded me an email from Holy Heroes' Advent Adventures. It sounded interesting so I signed up. Check it out for yourself. Here is a copy of the email.

If your family life is anything like ours, it seems that Advent comes at the most hectic time of the year. It is easy for our children to get caught up in the commercialism, materialism, and the me-ism of the culture's pre-Christmas (or should I say "holiday"?) frenzy.

Instead of the frantic activity of "Only XX shopping days left until Christmas!" the Church prescribes something different: prayerful, conscientious, joyful preparation for the days approaching our celebration of birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

But, you're really busy.

You have a lot to do to prepare for the wonder of Christmas Day.

So, this year, here's how you can prevent your Advent plans from being overcome by the hub-bub of what the world tells you is the proper way to spend "the Christmas season:"

Take your family on the fun, free, and easy "Holy Heroes Advent Adventure!"

It's free, it costs you nothing, nada, zilch. And you'll get almost daily fun, easy, free--and time-saving!--activities for Advent.

You'll find that we have done all the work for you, so you can also enjoy the Advent Adventure with your family. And you will all--from youngest to oldest--actually learn something during Advent which (we pray) will help you on your way to heaven.

It's free. Click here to sign up.

Nearly every day during Advent, we will send you an email with a link that takes you to that day's activities.

You'll see short videos, listen to short audio selections, download coloring pictures, word searches and games, take quizzes to see what you've learned, and more.

NEW IN ADVENT ADVENTURE 2010:

***New Jesse Tree videos and printable, colorable ornaments (complete with Scripture citations) plus--BONUS!--a video and ornament for every "O Antiphon" which we pray the last 7 days of Advent

***More quizzes suitable for all ages and abilities to reinforce what you've learned

***New coloring pages and fun based on Glory Stories artwork and audio recordings

***A new discount code for all Adventur-ers which not only gets you discounts on every order, but also some surprise free stuff, too

***Now available for purchase: our year-after-year re-useable Jesse Tree DVD! Yes, ma'am: it can be used EVERY Advent, year-after-year, because we added EXTRA videos and EXTRA printable, colorable ornaments which you won't see online in our free Advent Adventure...so although Advent changes in length every year, you'll always have enough content to fill your Jesse Tree (and no excuses for not finishing the tree you started--the kids can pop in the video every day whether you're too tired or not!)

It's free, it's for children of all ages, it's fun AND educational, and all you have to do every day is open the email we'll send. Enroll your own family, or forward this email to your grandkids, nieces and nephews, and friends.

May God bless you and yours,

Your Advent Adventure Guides

Congrats to my sis-in-law Maria Rangel for the beautiful Madonna and Child she finished painting! This painting is now available as a high quality printed card. They make great Christmas cards and since they are blank inside they can be used year round. They also make a great gift. Wrap a bundle of cards in a pretty ribbon and add a nice pen to the bow and you have a great unique gift for a hostess, teacher, or Catholic friend.

The "Madonna and Child" cards are blank on the inside and approx 5"x7" folded with envelopes. The cost is $2.50 each or bulk rate of $1.50 each for 10 or more. Shipping is $3 for orders below 10 cards and $5 for orders of 10 cards or more. Make checks payable to Maria Rangel. Orders can be mailed to 310 S. Jefferson St. #49A, Placentia, CA 92870.

The site has been getting a lot of search engine hits from people looking for All Saints Day costume ideas so here is the link to an old post at RoL for saint costume ideas and pics of Bella and Andrew in their costumes.

Brian and I love icons and have many in our home. One of our favorite suppliers is the Not of This World Bookstore in Santa Rosa, CA. We live too far to go there in person but fortunately, you can order any of the icons online at http://www.notofthisworldicons.com/index.html. The next time you are looking for a religious gift or an icon for yourself, be sure to check them out.

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!

Hey there. I hope you are enjoying your Advent season and aren't too stressed out! We have our new computer up and running again and it is great to be back online.

The other day I was reading through these older RoL articles.

"Keeping Christ in Christmas" Ideas Part I

"Keeping Christ in Christmas" Ideas Part II

Check them out for some great reminders & ideas. (Do you have your own idea to share? Let me know!)

In the meantime, have a blessed feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!

Speaking of the holidays, if you are looking for an edible Christmas gift, we heartily recommend two gifts that we have received and truly enjoyed.

Mystic Monk Coffee

Mystic Monk Coffee is roasted by the Carmelite Monks, a Roman Catholic monastery in the silence and solitude of the Rocky Mountains of northern Wyoming. The monks live a hidden life of prayer and contemplation in the pursuit of God. The monastery is inundated with young men who seek to leave everything to pray for the world, in a tradition at least a thousand years old. It is the monks' great joy and privilege to share the fruit of their life with you in every cup of Mystic Monk Coffee.

(Note: My sis bought Brian the Mystic Monk Coffee for his birthday and he LOVED it! Personally, I am not a coffee drinker but the smell of their hazelnut coffee makes you seriously consider converting!)

Gethsemani Farms

Since 1848, when 44 Trappist monks from the Abbey of Melleray in western France made themselves a new home in the hills of central Kentucky, Gethsemani has been a hardworking community. Supporting themselves at first by farming, the monks now depend on their mail-order sales of homemade fruitcake, cheese and bourbon fudge.

To a Trappist, work is a form of prayer. In fact, the cycle of public prayers the monks chant seven times daily is known as the Work of God, or Opus Dei in Latin. Trappists also pray privately at intervals throughout the day, encountering God through the ancient monastic discipline known as lectio divina, or sacred reading.

(Note: We have only tasted their cheese so far, but it was superb. Make sure to try the "smoked" one. Yum!)

I was excited to see that the movie Holiday Affair is finally out on DVD. Made in 1949 and starring Janet Leigh and Robert Mitchum, it is the perfect marriage of Christmas cheer and romantic comedy. Check it out!

Some of the local Catholic families were talking about how they are incorporating the Advent season into their home. One of our friends had an excellent idea so I thought I'd share it with you. She says:

In previous years I've waited until the last minute to decorate, cook, etc, but that puts a huge strain on the season in those final days of Advent. This year I wanted to keep Advent as a waiting period and a time of penance, but also try to avoid the last minute rush. This is what we're doing this year.

Once "Pink week" comes this Sunday (the third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday) we will slowly begin to decorate (dragging it out for the next 2 weeks) since "pink week" invites us to recognize the hope and joy to come. But our biggest change is we have our tree up and decorated with wonderful PURPLE balls, silver garland, and PURPLE and PINK lights. I saw all these things at Target and now we have an "Advent tree!" This way our tree is up and ready to go and is getting the water it needs. Closer to Christmas we'll take down the purple and put up the Christmas decorations.

We also have Advent calendars, Advent wreath, candles in the window as a sign of waiting, etc.

I love that idea and will keep it in mind next year. (This year we were so excited to have a real tree and house to decorate that we put up our Christmas decorations now along with our advent things.) For a refresher you can also read last year's article Keeping Christ in Advent and Christmas. If you have an advent idea you'd like to share, let us know!