12): Motherhood, Sherlock, NFNS, & My Inner Nerd

By bobbi
June 15, 2012
2 Comments

– 1 –

Mother/Daughter Bonding – This week is we officially began our summer vacation. Bella was out of school last Friday but the boys last day at preschool was Wednesday. That gave Bella and I a couple days to have fun ourselves. It was sweet to have some alone time with her and talk and laugh together. There are so many things about her that I love. I told her I wish a knew her when I was a little kid because she would have been my best friend. She loved the idea of a little mini-me running around as a kid. It made me think of my own relationship with my mom and how we’re mother and daughter but also friends now. I look forward to that kind of future relationship with Bella. I told her that when she gets married I hope she lives close by because I want to be able to see her and babysit my grandchildren! She told me not to worry, she will. I’m relishing this time when she still loves to be around me and doesn’t buck at everything I tell her. That will come far too soon.

– 2 –

Still My Baby Boy – On Friday it was Andrew’s 5th birthday, as seen in this week’s {p, h, f, r}. I was reading through my old pregnancy journal and was reliving the joy and fear of being pregnant again. It took us a year to conceive Bella and after that I had a hard time conceiving and maintaining a pregnancy. It took four years of trying and two miscarriages, until we finally got our little Andrew. Since I already posted my pregnancy journal for Bella, I am typing out some of the entries of Andrew’s, along with his birth story. I’ll hopefully have it ready to post in a day or two.

– 3 –

I Am Sher-Locked – With summer vacation here I have been able to stay up late and catch up on my Google reader, emails, and DVR-ed shows. (Brian is a morning bird but I am a night owl!) I have FINALLY cleared out a number of season finales from last month, including some favorites: Once Upon A Time – So now that the curse has been broken, can the residents leave? Do they live their storybook lives or their alter egos? Will Regina be worse than ever now that magic is back? Will Pinocchio turn back into August? Fun! 😉 // Grimm – Will Nick be able to save Juliette? Will the beloved Monroe find a kindred spirit in Rosalee? // Masterpiece Mystery: Sherlock – Brian and I love the Sherlock series and I am going through withdrawl that is just about equal to my Downton Abbey withdrawl. How did Sherlock survive? Did the garage truck play a part? Was Watson knocked down by the bicyclist on purpose? Was the hung dummy at the beginning a clue? Is Moriarty actually dead? So may questions to be answered. I love it!
In the meantime, I have been waiting for the season finale of The Killing ( Do you really think Jamie did it?) and enjoying this season of The Next Food Network Star. Have you been watching? Who is your favorite? When it first started I didn’t have one team that I liked more than the others but I definitely had favorites. My favorite from Alton’s team is also my top pick – Emily. I love her 50’s vibe and retro rad concept. She is still my favorite but last week she was a little annoying. I think they explained it perfectly when they said they wanted her to be authentically quirky and not just a character. My favorite from Giada’s team is Ippy. I like his cool laid back style but I’m not sure if he could take it all the way. I also liked Martita a lot and her Spanish flair but it seems like FN already had the Mexican food niche filled. There is also something about Yvan that I like, and although I don’t think he’d win, I hope he sticks around longer. My favorite on Bobby’s team is Michelle, even though she is a little too Ann Burrell for Brian’s taste.

– 4 –

Summer Reading – During the summer I also have extra time to read. I have two books I am starting this week. The first is Beyond the Birds and the Bees by Gregory Popcak. The second is Maggie Come Lately (The Pathway Collection #1) by Michelle Buckman. I have been enjoying her book Rachel’s Contrition and came across an old interview she did with The National Catholic Register and wanted to read some of her earlier works. I’ll let you know what I think.

– 5 –

Hanging with the Cool Kids – This morning I got an email from my sister telling me that a favorite mom blogger (and photographer extraordinaire) at Colleen’s Green Grass mentioned me in her Quick Takes. She says:

A new favorite blog. You must go check out Bobbi’s Revolution of Love blog if you have not already. This sweet mom of four has been blogging for 9(!) years and I just love her style. She’s smart, funny, honest and inspiring and she blogs about movies, organizing, parenting, books… so many of the things that I love.

Major blush! Thank you, Colleen! You are such a sweetheart. You know, I may sound vain or weird saying this but it has been a pleasing week in blogdom because last week the rock star of blogging (and today’s host) Jennifer Fulwiler “liked” one of my instagram photos and I felt like a tween at a Justin Bieber concert. Then the queen of Sweetness and Style Hallie Lord commented on another instagram photo and said she grew up close to where I live now and that the next time she visits family we should try to get together. Happy dance. Then Colleen says such kind things about me. Wow.
Do you remember the movie My Big, Fat Greek Wedding and the scene where Toula fixes herself up and goes back to college and instead of sitting at the lunch table alone, she goes to sit with the pretty, popular girls at their table? That’s what I feel like. Like I am hitting my blogging stride (it only took nine stinkin years) and now I was invited to sit at the table with the fun, pretty, popular girls. I know, I know. I need to get out more. Sigh.

– 6 –

Chipmunk Cheeks – Now before you start thinking that I am getting a big head or anything, don’t worry. God likes to keep me humble. I did get out the other day and went to Costco. (I’m getting wild in my old age.) As we were leaving, the friendly door man checked our cart and looked at me and then looked at Matthew. He told Matthew, “You’re a happy little guy! And I can see where you get your cheeks from!” Um, thanks…wait. What are you trying to say??

– 7 –

Mom, The Security Blanket – Speaking of cheeks, all the kids have had a little security soothing habit that entailed me. Instead of sucking their thumb or rubbing their security blanket, they required me. Bella used to sit on my lap and rub my cheeks over and over and over again. Andrew used to sit next to me and rub my upper arm over and over and over again. John-Paul loves to sit next to me on the couch or behind me on a chair and rub my lips over and over and over. So far Matthew hasn’t had any weird quirks unless you count the number of times he likes to lay on top of my feet as I am cooking and he will occasionally bite my toe. I hope it is because of his teething and he isn’t going to have any weird foot fetish or desire to act like a dog. Hmm, maybe I better stop patting him on the head and saying “good boy” when he does something right.
Oh, well. That’s it for my time and to prove this take #7 I leave you with a photo of JP sitting behind me while I am typing. I wish I was more like the fresh-faced mother with her sewing basket as pictured above. Instead you have me, washed out and sweaty from my walk, typing away on the computer with my little monkey on my back. I love that little guy and his cute smile!

Have a great weekend and Happy Father’s Day to all the Papas out there, especially my own daddy and the daddy of my children. Love you both!!

{pretty, happy, funny, real} – vol 30: Matthew’s 1st Birthday Edition

By bobbi
May 4, 2012
1 Comment

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

This week’s {pretty, happy, funny, real} will be like last week’s. I wanted to share a few photos from Matthew’s birthday. Since they could be considered in more than one category, I’ll just lump them as one big {p,h,f,r} category.

{pretty} {happy} {funny} & {real}

We had a small party for Matthew on his birthday. I love the birthday sign that Bella made to go with the circus theme.

While I was decorating the family room Matthew kept himself occupied by decorating our long hallway. I think he mistakenly took a roll of toilet paper for streamers.

On every first birthday we make cupcakes and let the birthday boy eat one on his own. (Once the child really gets into it Brian says, “Come one! Do you have to let him make such a mess?!” My mind immediately start playing the song “Tradition” by Tevia and I respond, “Of course, sweetie! That’s half the fun! And think what a fun post this will make.” 😉

Matthew points out which cupcake he wants.

He digs right in.

He says, “Wow, this cupcake is bigger than I thought. I need a breather.” (And so you don’t think I am an abusive mother, I do remove most of the cupcake from his hand so he won’t get too full.)

He is one happy camper and I must say the neatest of all our baby eaters. He didn’t want to waste any of the yummy goodness on his hair. (Brian was relieved.)

I also wanted to get photos of the kids and when I was taking Andrew’s picture he was more concerned that he had to keep an eye on John Paul so that he wouldn’t eat his cupcake when Andrew wasn’t looking.

Lastly, here is the birthday boy playing on his new birthday toy. 🙂

Book Discussion: Style, Sex, and Substance (Chpt. 3)

By bobbi
May 2, 2012
2 Comments

For the next few Weigh-in Wednesdays I’ll be doing a book study of Hallie Lord’s Style, Sex, and Substance: 10 Catholic Women Consider the Things that Really Matter .

Previous posts:
Chapter 1 – “How I Fell Out of My Minivan and Found Myself” by Jen Fulwiler.

Chapter 2 – “Style: Balance, Beauty and You” by Hallie Lord

Book Discussion Part 3: Chapter 3 – “God and Godiva” by Karen Edmisten

Two Concerns – When I write about prayer and the spiritual life, I find it difficult because I never know where the other person is at spiritually speaking. There are some Catholics who will say grace before meals and perhaps a quick prayer in the morning and the night. Then there are some who go to daily Mass, pray a daily rosary, attend weekly adoration, read the Bible and the Breviary. There is not much I can tell them that they don’t already know. On the contrary, I am the one who can learn from them.

So when I first saw that Karen Edmisten’s chapter was about prayer, two thoughts immediately came to mind. First, I hope she is not over-my-head spiritual and I get lost when she starts talking about locutions and whatnot. The second concern was what can she say that I haven’t already read a hundred times? I sighed and opened up the chapter anyway.

God Speaks – Just as I was about to start reading, Matthew (my one year old) started banging his toy on our flat screen TV. I looked up and could see the color of the TV screen go white at the spot where he was banging. Quickly I turn off the TV and took the toy away knowing that it would do little good because it is a game he enjoys playing. I tell him no, take the object away and get him interested in something else. He waits for me to walk away and then he runs back to the TV and bangs it with any object he can find. As I am looking at him exasperated, I can hear that “God voice” in my heart says, “You know, Bobbi. You are just like little Matthew. I tell you something. You listen for a few minutes then you are off doing your own thing again. You may have heard all that prayer stuff many times before but are you actually listening and following it? Are you so proficient that you have nothing left to learn?” Touché.

I’m Hooked – I return to the book and dig into Chapter 3, knowing that God has his lessons for me. My second concern that Karen would be too lofty was alleviated when I read advice like this:

“Theoretically, the when of prayer is simpler than the what. We pick a time, and we commune with God, right? Eh, not so fast there, missy. In my experience, life rarely goes as planned. We all keep waiting for that golden, magical moment when life will settle down, and everything will shimmer and waft dreamily into place. Listen to me very carefully: Life doesn’t settle down. Not on this side of heaven. Still, there are a few things we can do to help our messy, unshimmery lives run a little more smoothly.”

Oh, yeah. That’s a woman after my own heart! Seriously, I feel like skipping my comments and just tell you to go read her chapter for yourself. It is concise, down to earth and spot on. I can’t explain it any better than she already did and the Holy Spirit may highlight something to you that is completely different from what he wanted me to hear. It is a great overview and you can get other material to delve deeper into the areas that most struck you. Regardless, I’ll go ahead and share a couple things that touched me the most.

But I Already Know That – One of Karen’s opening paragraph’s sums up the whole need for this chapter:

“But no matter what the temptations, the solution to conquering them is the same: grace and prayer, the sacraments, accountability, spiritual support from others, and ongoing discernment to keep our relationship with God flourishing.”

She goes on to say:

“We know what it is. We know we need to do it. And we agonize over fitting it in. But without prayer, we haven’t got a prayer.”

That’s right. We’ve all heard it. We all know it. But like the little toddler with his mischievous ways, there is always something to learn or be reminded.
Karen talks about various forms of prayer but I especially enjoyed when she said to “embrace your vocation or current state in life.” She continues:

“Whether you’re single, married, or discerning a call to religious life, deliriously happy or a confused mess, offer it up to God. Give him every moment. Prayers and pleas muttered throughout the day (God loves intimate muttering, I’m sure of it) are a great way to stay in touch with him.”

This reminded me of a time last year when my brother was really sick and almost dying. He was on my mind all the time but we lived far apart and I couldn’t be near him. Instead I turned to God. In a previous post about it, I wrote:

“…with my brother on my mind so much I have been constantly turning my heart to God to pray for him or to just talk to God about what happens to be on my mind. It is a reminder of how I should always be – going about my work but aware of God’s presence with me. I noticed that when I had to stop what I was doing to tend to another toddler crisis, instead of complaining or having a fit of impatience, I just sighed and thought, “I do this for love of you, my Lord.”

I still think of that today and try to remember it. Karen gave some beautiful examples of how we can keep that prayer going throughout the day to day activities in our lives.

Visual Aids – Karen shares:

“My friend Johnna, a mother of eight, stations strategic visual reminders around her house to help her focus on her calling. ‘When I’m in the midst of chaos,’ she said, ‘which is our house most of the time, I need to see that I am not alone.’ The corporal works of mercy are labeled in various rooms of the house. A homemade sign exhorting, ‘Feed the hungry’ is taped to a cupboard. ‘Give drink to the thirsty’ is above the kitchen sink, and ‘Clothe the naked’ graces the washing machine. The time-out chair beckons, ‘Visit the Imprisoned.'”

I love that idea! We have a very (as my mother-in-law calls it) “Catholic house” meaning that people can tell we are Catholic by all the icons, religious pictures, statues and prayer altar. (Hopefully our actions prove the fact. 😉 I am a very visual person so I like to keep an icon of Mary and baby Jesus on my kitchen window ledge and a cross on the kitchen wall and a crucifix and an icon of my patron saint (St. Anne) on my desk in front of my monitor so I always see it.

In fact, I loved the Works of Mercy idea so much that I made a 5×7 sign, printed it on cardstock and posted it to the cabinet above my washing machine. It is a perfect reminder as I am washing the tenth load of laundry that day.

Scheduling – Remember that first quote from Karen that I posted, that was from the section about making time for prayer. I am happy to say that I finally made it work with my confession time. I like to go to confession at the least once a month (more often when I am in need of extra grace.) It was always sort of hit and miss but now that Bella is old enough to come with me I had to make it a steady habit, for her as well as me. We decided to go every last Saturday of the month. It is on our calendar and Brian knows that he’ll babysit the boys while she and I go.
Just last Saturday (which was the last one of the month) I was already thinking, “Gosh, I have so many errands to do this Saturday. I want to get to Target first then head to Costco right at 9:30 AM when it opens… maybe I’ll just skip Confession and go next week (since confession also starts at 9:30 AM.) It’s not like I won’t go… I’m just waiting an extra week….” But I knew I couldn’t. Instead I rearranged my day so I could do to confession first then run my errands. Sure things were a little more hectic in the parking lot and crowded in the Costco aisles but my heart was able to take it since it was filled with grace. 🙂 And it was a small act of love I could offer to God. (Yes, I am so low on the spiritual totem pole that forgoing an early trip to Costco counts as a sacrifice. 😉

Accountability & Spiritual Friendships – That is an area I definitely need work on. I don’t have a formal spiritual director although I go to confession to the same priest who knows me and my family situation so he is able to guide me in my vocation. However, I don’t have female friends who I am really close to in order to discuss deeper, spiritual topics. I used to but it seems like since I was pregnant with Matthew we sort of fell out of touch. That is something I’ll have to rectify. I can talk more about that in the chapter about friendship.

Discernment – Karen briefly talks about the book Retreat with the Lord by Fr. John Hardon. The book offers simple steps for discernment based on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. She gives bullet point categories of discernment that we should consider while praying. I found this really helpful since a mother’s life is full of prayer and discernment about herself, her family and those around her.

“My One Thing” – In the last section of Karen’s chapter she says:

“Though my life has been full of about-faces, since my conversion I can say one thing with confidence: I know who I am. Life is still messy, but I get that the goal in life is to will one thing: loving Jesus Christ.”

We should each have that one goal that is always at the forefront of our mind and at the center of our hearts in all that we do. As I mentioned in another previous post, lately my one goal has been to love Jesus and to be a comfort to him. I wrote:

“… I was at confession and the priest talked to me about being a comfort to Jesus. He told me to let my heart be a dwelling place that brings comfort to Christ… It is easy for me to call on Jesus and seek his help but something struck a nerve when the priest told me that I could console the heart of Christ. Since then I have often prayed, “Lord, may I never bring you grief, instead may I be a comfort to your heart.”

Sometimes I forget that but Karen’s chapter helped me to not only remember but it gave me practical means to put that into practice. So I guess I did have something to learn after all.
A special thanks to Karen for writing this chapter and sharing her wisdom and wit with us.

Flashback: Modesty – How Do We Find A Balance?

By bobbi
April 27, 2012
No Comments

To celebrate the 9th Birthday of the RoL Blog, I am posting flashback posts from the first year of blogging. This was originally posted on June 6, 2003. I thought it was appropriate since we were discussing modesty on Tuesday’s Book Discussion of Style, Sex, and Substance. (I updated some of the clothes links.)

Modesty: How Do We Find A Balance?

I was browsing Two Sleepy Mommies blog and Pansy had an interesting commentary on Zoe Romanov’s blog about Modesty in dress. The topic of swimwear was discussed and how some kids aren’t allowed to swim at all because of lack of modest swimwear. I was thinking about this last week when I had to buy a bathing suit for Bella. I was disgusted. I went to the Kids r Us store and was offended by some of them that seemed more suitable for a Vegas showgirl. However I did find one that was decent looking that even came with a little bathing skirt to attach to it.

However, I think Pansy’s little girl was older and didn’t fit into her old modest suit. She was looking for non “Laura Ingalls” suits and posted a link for Wholesome Wear Suits and she said she liked the convenience of them (kids jumping in and out of the pool/lake/ocean) as well as the modesty of them.

Personally, I would not buy them but I found some modest swimwear (in my opinion) for girls at Land’s End. They usually sell a bathing suit for girls with a built in skirt that is not too low cut.

You could also pair swim shorts like these

with a tankini top like this

or a rash guard/ water shirt.

Or you can forgo the bathing suit all together and get a hip looking surfboard suit (although maybe that’s more normal here in California)

All this talk reminded me of growing up at both ends of the spectrum. When I was younger my parents were not practicing Catholics at the time so modesty was not much of an issue. After their conversion there was a period of “only skirts” type of thinking. Finally we found a happy medium of modesty without being too “extreme”.

I think a lot also has to do with attitude. I know a number of home schooling families and one in particular dressed their girls in prairie skirts/dresses but the girls were really flirtatious and boy crazy. They tried to act “hot” regardless of what they were wearing. On the other hand, I see my younger sister who was homeschooled and who’s a sweet, wholesome girl in college. She and her friends dress in today’s fashions but they always look modest and wholesome without standing out like a sore thumb. Even beyond their clothes you can see their wholesomeness in their demeanor and attitude. They demand respect because they respect themselves.

It reminds me a lot of the interview I did with chastity speaker Crystalina Padilla a couple months ago. She talked about woman respecting themselves before expecting a man to. Hey, on a side note, did you know that she married Jason Evert of Catholic Answers on Saturday!! What an awesome couple! But I digress. Anyway, those are just some thoughts I had about the topic.

Book Discussion of Style, Sex, and Substance, Chpt. 1

By bobbi
April 18, 2012
2 Comments

As I mentioned last week, for the next few weeks I’ll be doing a book study of Hallie Lord’s Style, Sex, and Substance: 10 Catholic Women Consider the Things that Really Matter . I had been making notes over the week but yesterday I was ready to forget the whole idea.

Yesterday was an awful day. Seriously, it wasn’t the usual busy and stressful day of mishaps. It was different and I couldn’t put my finger on why. When Brian came home I went to my room, locked the door and begged God to help me and literally cried myself to sleep. I haven’t felt like that in a long, long time.

A half an hour later I opened my eyes and came out of the room like a weight was off me. Brian hugged me and asked if the demons had been attacking me. It clicked. That is exactly what it felt like. The interior struggles were like familiar demons that I have not battled in a long time. In my experiences, usually when there is a “spiritual attack” it means God is preparing a turning point… some good fruit that will come out of a particular situation.

I am not sure what that situation is. Maybe it’s my own personal growth as I am studying this book. Maybe it’s the trip Bella and I are taking tomorrow. Maybe it’s something I am not yet aware of. Whatever it is, yesterday I thought I’d never post this book discussion because I was the last person that should be sharing lessons with you. But now that the fog has lifted and I am at peace again, I’ll go ahead and post what I’ve written so far. If you haven’t read the book yet, hopefully it will encourage you to pick up a copy. It truly will be one of the best $10 you ever spent. 🙂

Book Discussion Part 1: Chapter 1 – How I Fell Out of My Minivan and Found Myself

I love Jennifer Fulwiler’s writings and was pleased to see that she covered the first chapter of the book: How I Fell Out of My Minivan and Found Myself. After wiping the tears of laughter from my eyes from her Dukes of Hazzard’s van story, I was hooked by this paragraph.

“I had a specific idea of what the authentic Catholic woman was like: She was the picture of joy and grace every time she went to Mass and always had an emotionally powerful experience upon receiving the Eucharist; she kept her home tidy; and she joyfully crafted elaborate celebrations for each liturgical season.”

I could relate to Jen’s feeling of inadequacy. In fact, this is a topic God has been drilling into me for the last 9 months. It all started last summer when I wrote the post Those Perfect Catholic Moms Are Killing Me. I had been reading a number of Catholic mom blogs and seeing all their accomplishments at homemaking and motherhood was making me feel like a loser.

As days and weeks passed I told myself that I can’t help it if I was messy and disorganized and that I couldn’t sew a button or keep a plant alive more than a week. So what if I get impatient and fired up at the slightest mishap, especially on the days when I forgot to spend time in prayer because I was too busy checking my facebook and emails. That’s just how I am.

But it was bothering me. Is that it? Am I to resign myself to “just being myself.” I knew there was plenty of room for improvement. Then I started reading the book The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers – Reclaiming Our Passion, Purpose, and Sanity by Meg Meeker, MD.and the first Habit was called Understand Your Value as a Mother. In my post about it I talked about feeling inferior, rediscovering my talents and listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. In one part I wrote:

“It’s funny that once I stopped comparing myself to my perceived super moms (after all, I am seeing a tiny, sanitized glimpse of their lives,) I started seeing that I possessed some of those same talents that I admired in them. It is as if my creative side woke up. I started posting on my blog again because I love having an outlet to write. I’ve tried new recipes and found cooking fun again. I’ve started organizing small sections of the house and realized I, too, could be organized. (Relatively speaking. ;-)”

That got me to thinking – what is “me” and what’s a warped vision of me? Then I read Jen’s words:

“To uncover your unique brand of holiness, you have to sift through your God-given quirks and talents from your sins.”

Suddenly the light bulb clicked on. That’s it! (If I was an Oprah fan I’d say it was my AHA! moment.) That’s what the Holy Spirit was trying to tell me! Separate the quirks from the sins. I had my own unique calling and vocation that matched my personality and my temperament. I didn’t have to become a carbon copy of mom A, B or C. I just had to be the best version of me and slowly God is showing me how to achieve that.
Jen sums it up using one of my favorite quotes:

“St. Catherine of Siena famously stated, “Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire.” We tend to focus on the second, more dramatic part of the statement, but the first is just as important: Be who God meant you to be. Embrace the one-of-a-kind brand of holiness that God has chosen for you. Reject your sins, but love your quirks.”

Perfectly stated.

At the end of the chapter, there are a number of questions for deeper reflection. I’ll share one of the questions and my reflection with you.

#4. What saint has challenged your ideas about what holy people are like? What did he or she do that surprised you?

A saint that forever changed the way I think about holiness is St. Francis de Sales. My old parish was named after him and I remember the pastor once giving a talk about his life. He said St. Francis was known as the “gentle saint.” He was a model of kindness and patience in guiding souls to Christ. He said this was ironic because St. Francis actually had a fiery, sometimes violent, temper and it did not take a lot to set him off. However, with God’s grace he was able to tame his temper, transforming his greatest fault into his greatest strength.

This also reminds me of what a priest once told me in confession years ago. I was struggling with certain temptations and feeling overwhelmed by them. He said that if we surrender ourselves to God and rely on his grace, we can turn our biggest weakness or sinful tendencies into the very path that will lead us to heaven. He gave me the example of St. Mary Magdalene. She was a prostitute, a woman undoubtedly who dealt with sins of immorality. Yet, when she gave heart to Jesus and repented of her sins, something in her shifted.

Mary Magdalene found false love in the men she was involved with, but with Jesus, she found true and pure love. Her desire became not to please men but to please Jesus. We know that she succeeded in purifying her heart and loving Christ deeply because she was granted the grace to be the first person to witness the risen Lord. Like St Francis de Sales her weakness was transformed into her strength. It doesn’t mean that they did not struggle but they relied on God’s grace and they slowly became their “true” selves.

Now that I am following Jen’s advice of separating my sins from my unique quirks, God is helping me to overcome those sinful tendencies. When I fail I like to remember St. Francis de Sales. I’m encouraged to know that God’s grace can do anything so I pick myself back up and continue on the path chosen for me.

The next post about the book:

Chapter 2 – “Style: Balance, Beauty and You” by Hallie Lord

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Revolution of Love

Do small things with great love.

Category Archives: family life

7 Quick Takes (6/15/12): Motherhood, Sherlock, NFNS, & My Inner Nerd

{pretty, happy, funny, real} – vol 30: Matthew’s 1st Birthday Edition

Book Discussion: Style, Sex, and Substance (Chpt. 3)

Flashback: Modesty – How Do We Find A Balance?

Book Discussion of Style, Sex, and Substance, Chpt. 1