Happy Monday! If you attended the Edel15 conference or the ComicCon then I was really jealous of you this weekend! However, I held no grudges and did hope you were  having a fun time as I kept myself busy stalking you. 😉 Now that it’s over I am linking up with Bonnie for 7 Quick Takes and Kendra for Answer Me This.

 

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Grateful…

• A moment of unusual calm that lets me type here with a minimum amount of yelling from the kiddos playing outside.
• For the beauty of the earth.
• For the lazy mornings that let me sleep in a little later than usual.
• For stolen kisses from the man I love.
• For glimpses of hope and light when all seems grey.

Praying for..

• Those who are being persecuted for their faith.
• Those who are hurting, depressed and have lost their faith.
• The attendees of Edel, that their spirits are refreshed and friendships deepened as sisters in Christ.
• For those who couldn’t attend Edel, that they find joy and peace in their circumstances and feel united to the sisterhood of Christ.
• Those who are ill, especially for those fighting cancer, and that Brian remains cancer-free.
• All pregnant moms, those trying to get pregnant, those who have lost their babies (especially my sis) and for moms contemplating an abortion.
• The souls in purgatory, especially family, friend and those most forgotten.
• Some special intentions.

UPDATE: A very special intention today. Please keep my brother Rob in your prayers as he is having surgery today. May he recover quickly and get back to his wife and two little boys!

 

Pondering…

I was listening to a fave Christian podcast Relevant the other day while I was taking my walk. As you know, I love walking on the Monterrey Peninsula. The beauty of the ocean waves, the trees, the mountains, the wildflowers…they turn my eyes and heart to God as I marvel at his majesty. I was reminded of this when Relevant featured a live performance from Gungor. Their song Vapor carried me away and moved me to tears as I humbly witnessed the holiness of God in nature. With all the negativity and turmoil than can trouble my heart, I truly needed that moment to gaze at nothing more than the goodness of God and to remember that He is bigger than any problem or difficulty we may have. Blessed be God!

Here is the video of Gungor playing in studio.

Or watch the visually beautiful music video here.

Vapor Lyrics:

Oh the vapor of it all — It’s a chasing of the wind — The powers of the earth so pale and thin — We will set our hearts on you again

Heaven taunts the hearts of men — We can feel it from within — The beauty of it all — The mystery — The swelling of a voice — A rising sea

Holy — You oh God are Holy — Trees clap their hands for you — Oceans they dance for you — You are holy

Oh the mystery of it all — I can never peer within — I’ll never find the words or understand — The fullness of a God — Become a man

Holy — You oh God are Holy — Trees clap their hands for you — Oceans they dance for you

You are holy — Infinite and holy — A billion suns rise for you — Clouds paint the skies for you — Mountains stand tall for you — Valleys bow down to you — Everything rising to — Sing all our songs for you

Holy — The impossible and holy — Kings become fools for you — Kingdoms to ruins for you — Vapor finds ground in you — Music finds sound for you — Everything rising — Everything rising

Come like dawn — Like waves — Like sunlight — Bring this world to life

Come like rain — Like breath — Like springtime

Bring this world to life

 

 

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Around the House…

When summer started I thought I would have ample time to do some serious house cleaning and organizing but in between traveling, swimming lessons, spending time with Opa, speech therapy,  errands and such, I have as much time as I did when I was running around during the school year. Oh, well. I just try to do what I can in the pockets of time I have. So far I have been able to tackle a couple of things on my summer cleaning list. I’ll post more details in the weeks to come.

 

Family Chit Chat…

Now that we are back from Tahoe, we are into our normal summer routine. We’ve started swimming lessons, which the boys love.

I’ve also been trying to take an hour each day to have the kids review some school material. Mostly math and reading. I got the boys these Star Wars Workbooks. They enjoy using them! Well, as much as a normal kid can enjoy doing school work on a summer day. It makes it easier when they know they can play with their light sabers or watch an episode of Star Wars Rebels if they get all their work done. 🙂 (One note about the books if you are going to buy one, check the “look inside” feature on Amazon first. I noticed that they are a little easy so you may need to go to the next grade up.)

 

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In the Kitchen…

Sunday – We get a treat tonight with Burrito Bowls at Chipotles. YUM!!

Monday – Chef Salad topped with chicken and fresh baked bread.

Tuesday –  Turkey Enchilada Lasagna, homemade pinto beans and salad.  (Making a double batch to share with a new mama.)

Wednesday –  Italian Red Wine Roast Beef in the Slow Cooker  with roasted potatoes and broccoli. (This is my new recipe of the week. See the Pin below.)

Thursday – Breakfast dinner. Leftover enchiladas with scrambled egg.

Friday – Tuna Melts, chips and broccoli.

Saturday – Leftover roast beef on toasted garlic wheat rolls with Southwestern corn and black bean salad.

 

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Watching…

(At the Movies)

Here are the latest…

Inside Out – I originally was going to take all the kids to see this but in the end I only took Bella. I am glad I did. The movie was sweet but it never would have held the boys’ attention. Many people were in love with the movie and although I thought it was enjoyable and had some really nice moments, I doubt I’d watch it a second time.

Jurassic World – Before I went to see this movie with Brian, I let Bella and Andrew watch Jurassic Park for the first time. Even 22 years later, it is still an incredible movie that hasn’t lost it’s awe and tension. It was a nice preview before watching Jurassic World since there were many cool tips of the hat to JP. That being said, it was hard no to compare the original with this version. JW was a fun summer popcorn movie but it had it’s flaws. Some of the acting and dialogue was stiff and characters were flat and stereotypical. However, this movie wasn’t trying to win an Academy Award. It was trying to give you two hours of dino mayhem and fun and on that front it delivered. — UPDATE: After writing this mini review, I took Bella to see the movie. (She is excited that she is finally old enough to see some PG-13 movies.) I have to tell you that I enjoyed it so much more the second time around. Maybe because there wasn’t all these expectations and I could just relax and enjoy it. I had a lot of fun and Bella loved it.

Minions – Our family loves the Despicable Me movies, especially Matthew. I didn’t know how a third Minion-only movie would be pulled off and now I know. It is basically 90 minutes of slapstick (and sometimes crude humor) with a splash of occasional bare behinds that will send the kids giggling hysterics and you chuckling despite your resistance. If you’re already a fan, you’ll probably enjoy the movie with your kids. If you aren’t a fan, skip it.

 

(On Youtube)

I have been following the ComicCon in San Diego and was excited to see some of the videos and previews coming out, including these:

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens Official Comic-Con 2015 Reel (2015)

Skip this one if you aren’t already a fan of The Walking Dead – Season 6 Preview

Skip this one if your aren’t already a fan of zombies and TWD. – Fear the Walking Dead: World Premiere

 

Listening to …

With the gorgeous summer weather, I have been trying to walk more and hit my 10,000 steps goal every day of the week. To do that I have added new music to my walking list. These two songs are my faves of the week. 🙂

Night Riots with Contagious from their EP Howl.

Renegades by X Ambassadors from their debut album VHS.

And if you aren’t into music, then check out the interview from Jennifer Fulwiler’s podcast with Jeanie Gaffigan. I have been reading Jim’s book Dad Is Fat and it is hilarious. I was interested to hear his wife Jeannie speak. It’s not often you find faithful Catholics working in the entertainment industry. The interview was short but I was touched by Jeannie’s faith, especially when she spoke about their little daughter that only lived a day and the struggles it caused in their marriage. Yet, their faith and trust in God pulled them through and made them stronger in their marriage and commitment to God. It is beautiful. I think Jeannie needs to write a book next! 🙂

 

Reading…

These. Some of these I am previewing for Bella. She like teen/romance novels bur from a Christian perspective. Any suggestions?

 

 

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Here are last couple of posts…

• Pinterest Party & Link-up (vol 37): Homemade Coconut Granola
• Answer Me This: 4th of July 2015 Edition
• Five Favorites: Summer Activities with Kids at Lake Tahoe

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In the blogosphere…

I have 150 posts in my Bloglovin feed that have yet to be read. I’ll tackle the highlights this weekend and share my faves next time. 😉

However, I did read Kendra’s Answer Me This and I did answer her questions.

Living in along the coast of Central California, we pretty much have mild weather year round. The homes here don’t have air conditioning, ours included, because it rarely gets hot enough to need it. When we do reach crazy hot temps (over 80) then we just pray the fog rolls in quickly to cool things off. LOL. Right now we are having a warmer summer with less fog, which is nice since it actually feels like summer. The temps in our house now are in the 70’s but normally it’s in the 60’s. In winter we set our heater to about 64.

2. What is your favorite frozen beverage?

I mostly drink water but if I get a treat then it would be something lemony. Like the lemonade frozen drinks at Disneyland. Yum. 🙂

3. Where do you keep your keys?

We have this hanging in the entryway of our home, just opposite of the fmaily altar. You can see part of the Jesus icon in the mirror.

4. Have you ever really been lost?

Before the widespread use of GPS, I would get lost ALL THE TIME. The worst was when my sister and I would go to shows or clubs in LA or San Diego. I have a poor sense of direction and I’d never just go from point A to B. There would always be a few U-turns and detours on the way there. These days Siri is my best friend! The ironic thing is that I use Siri to go to kid friendly destinations instead of clubs and concerts. Oh well. 😉

5. What is the last movie you saw in the theaters?

See above. Although I forgot I also saw Me, Earl and the Dying Girl. I’ll wait to tell you about that for the next Online Daybook. 🙂
Pinned…

Italian Red Wine Roast Beef by Barefoot in the Kitchen

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Here are some Instagrams I’ve taken this past week. (It’s been a slow photo week!)

 

1. #insteadofedel – Watching the Minion movie with the kiddos.

2. #projectblessed – Dark. It’s a little dark in this section of our local library in Carmel but Blessed Junipero Serra keeps watch. #insteadofedel

3. #projectblessed – beauty. (No filter.)

4. #projectblessed – Hello. What’s that you say? Why is there a ghostbuster in our house? Hello??!! Life with boys!

 

So that’s what I’ve been up to lately! What about you? What’s currently happening in your life? Do share.

Have a great weekend!

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads Letterboxd, Spotify or Instagram. 😉

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