I’ve got half an hour free so I’m linking up with Kelly for this week’s 7 Quick Takes.

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Song of the Week – Heartbeat by Mat Kearney

We are big Mat Kearney fans in this house and were looking forward to his new album that came out this week. (When I say “we” I mean the kids and myself. Brian is more of a Clash guy.)  I don’t think I like Mat’s new album (it had more rap) as much as Young Love but I have only heard it a couple times so far. The song Heartbeat is a favorite play in the kitchen. The kids will dance around and laugh and giggle with me. That is until they accidentally hit the salad bowl and send the contents crashing to the flour. At that point, I kick them out. 😉

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Tears for Opa

I was need of the upbeat song to perk me up. Earlier this week had been rough. I posted this on Instagram and people were asking me what was wrong.

Day 7 of #onlyonething & #holylens – It has been a rough day today and I’m PRAYING to the FATHER that I can still see beauty despite the heartache.

It was concerning my FIL. As you may remember, after his stroke he was making good progress physically and mentally. We thought it was a miracle that there seemed to be very little damage after they got the blood clot out. Well, that optimism has diminished. Over the past two weeks he has been declining mentally and by Saturday I told Brian that something was not right. He was more than a little confused, he was getting worse. The following day the doctor talked to Brian and my MIL and told them that he has been diagnosed with vascular dementia and he is displaying many of the negative symptoms that go with it. My MIL was crushed. We had such high hopes because he was doing so well.

On Tuesday, I went for my morning walk and I was thinking about how changed my FIL was. He was older but was active and mentally sharp. He’d try to explain about finances and investments to me and it would be over my head. He would pick up the kids from school and often take them to his house where they would hike in the woods and have fun. And now… there will be no more of that playful Opa outside with the kids.

I couldn’t stop the tears from falling as I mourned the dad I used to know and it took me by surprise. He’s not my biological “daddy” but he has taken a special place in my heart. I know he also has a special place in his heart for me. My MIL would often call me up and say, “Can you please talk to your father and tell he he should (fill-in-the-blank). He won’t listen to me but he’ll do whatever his ‘sweetie’ asks of him.”:-)

Thankfully, I had my sun glasses on so I could just let the tears flow and my fellow  walkers didn’t know the difference. I am feeling better now and learning to make the most of what we can do with Opa.

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Catholic Conference 4Moms

Have you heard about the online Catholic Conference 4Moms that is taking place next week? There are numerous presenters (including two of my faves Auntie Leila and Rachel Balducci) and various topics. This is how it works:

Every day during the conference, Friday, March 6- Monday,March 9, you will have access to 5-6 talks, just as if you were at a live conference. This link will come via email. What’s different is that you can choose which talks you want to watch or listen to and when you you want to do it. Early morning? Wonderful. Nap time? Great. Before bed? Super. Car line? Fine, as long as you don’t try to watch while driving!

After the conference is over, it will all be available for purchase for one low price of $39.99 This will include online access to all the videos, as well as a download of every video presentation. And besides all of this, there will also be bonus downloads, PDFs, discussion questions, ebooks, and other goodies.

The hope is that with this package you not only can enjoy the conference again at your own convenience, but you can also share the conference with other moms, perhaps in a support group setting or just over tea. Each presentation in the conference package will include discussion questions.

I like the fact that you can attend at your convenience and don’t need to be plugged in at a specific time. I’ll be signing up. You can get more info and register here.

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Downton Finale!

Are you ready for the Downton Abbey finale tomorrow night?? I bought the DVD for Season 5 so I’ll be cheating and watching the finale for our at-home date night tonight. My final Downton Recap for the season will be posted on Monday!

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Grand Hotel

Speaking of addictive period dramas, have you heard about Grand Hotel? When I have a lot of cooking to do, I like to set up my laptop in the kitchen and watch something while I am chopping veggies and making soups etc. I just finished watching North and South again. (I may or may not have watched the last episode twice just to see Mr. Thorton plead once more…

“Look back at me.”

Anyway…. on the list of Netflix‘s suggested shows they had Grand Hotel so I started watching. It’s weird at first because it has the feel of Downton Abbey and you expect to hear British accents but it takes place in Spain and is in Spanish. However, it does have English subtitles.  The synopsis on imdb.com says:

1905. Julio, a young man, arrives at the Grand Hotel, an idyllic place in the middle of the countryside, to investigate the disappearance of his sister. He gets a job as a waiter and comes across the sexy wealthy daughter of the owner. He falls in love with her and starts a dangerous affair while she becomes the only person who will help him to discover the truth about his sister’s disappearance. Find out all the secrets and mysteries hidden in the wonderful Grand Hotel.

I got hooked on one episode but wondered if it was worth going through the next three seasons. But then I saw that Micaela and Jen were both raving about it so it’s a go. I’ll let you know how it progresses as I watch more episodes.  😉

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Introductions

On Monday, Blessed Is She had Monday Introductions on Instagram. For any new reader here, I’m reposting my entry so you can get to know me too. 🙂

My name is Bobbi and I’m a Blessed Is She writer/Instagram contributor. I live in CA along the coast in Monterey Bay. I’ve been married to my husband Brian for 15 years and we have 4 kids – Bella 13, Andrew 7, John-Paul 5, Matthew 3 (pictured) & 2 babies in heaven. Our house is overrun by Legos and light sabers but I secretly love it. I also love being out in God’s creation, going to the movies, Disneyland, the sound of laughter, Jane Austen, planners and stationary, road trips, mi familia, period movies, BBC mysteries, tacos, dark chocolate and witnessing kindness. (Is that random enough? ) I blog  at Revolution of Love Blog.com about motherhood, living a life of faith and the other topics I mentioned here. To answer the question of the week – my favorite prayers are The Divine Praises, The Lord’s Prayer, and the Memorare.

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Your Turn

Okay, now it’s your turn! Tell me a little about yourself! AND/OR what’s your favorite prayer(s)?

Have a great weekend!

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