Best Books Ever!!

Books are: friends, escape, teachers, romance, a gift that will keep on giving. Basically, books are the best things ever, and GOOD books are priceless.

It took me a long time to discover some of these books, so I want to put them up here so that you won't have to pry them out of other people. 

These are probably  my favorites (although, knowing me, I probably left out some obvious one) :P

So enjoy!!

1.  Waking Rose by Regina Doman--from her modern fairy tale series. I can't tell you how much I love this book. You just have to read it. 
2. Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. This book is pretty awesome and super exciting, involving spies, pharaohs, and a breathtaking romance in ancient Egypt.
3. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. A true story about a daring woman who hid Jews during World War 2, and who eventually got sent to a concentration camp. Many WW2 books are dark and depressing, but this story tells not only of the war's horrors, but also about miracles, hope, and a peace that would seem impossible in such an evil place.
4. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. This is a great fantasy book. I really liked a lot about it.
5. Lay Siege to Heaven by Louis De Whohl. This is my favorite saint book yet!! It is so vivid and descriptive, not bland at all. It's a story about St. Catherine of Siena, who lived during a time when the Church's servants were falling into greed, when the boubonic plague broke out. 
6. First Impressions by Deborah White Smith. This is a take off of Pride and Prejudice, and it's really good! 
7. Into the Twilight, Endlessly Grousing by Patrick F. McManus. This is basically a book of hilarious short stories. If you ever open this book, make sure you read the chapter, Uncle Flynn's Hairy Adventure. I literally fell on the ground laughing. It's hysterical!!
8. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. I'm sure you all know about this series, and I thought it was really good. However, you might want to check with your parents before you read it, as they may have objections.
9. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I loved the descriptive language in this, and it was just a great look into the twenties. 
10. Left to Tell by Imaculee Ilibagiza. I would give this book a rating of PG-13, due to the violent destruction of Human Life within it. It is a very touching, intense book about the Rwandan Genocide, and about a girl with an incredible story. This book showed me many things, one of them being that you can always have hope. 

I love each of these books in a unique way, and I hope you read them!!!

If you have a favorite that's not on this list, please put it in the comments section.

Ciao!
<3 Nina

"I trust in the sun, even if it doesn't shine

I trust in love, even if I don't feel it
I trust in God, even if He keeps silence"

____

Because I liked you better 
Than suits a man to say, 
It irked you, and I promised 
To throw the thought away.

To put the world between us 
We parted, stiff and dry; '
Good-bye', said you, 'forget me.' '
I will, no fear, said I.

If here, where clover whitens
The dead man's knoll, you pass,
And no tall flower to meet you
Starts in the trefoiled grass,

Halt by the headstone naming 
The heart no longer stirred, 
And say the lad that loved you 
Was one that kept his word.

~A. E Housman, though I found it originally in Waking Rose, a fantastic read for all of you who haven't read it yet!

_____

Put your eye to the eye of a telescope
The universe looks back through a microscope

You're feeling scared, Jesus is your bodyguard

You feel alone, take a look in your backyard

~Wisdom, by The Guggenheim Grotto.  I love this, it's a bit odd, but it conveys a lot to me.  I love these lyrics, and the sound is so mellow.

____

We stare at broken clocks, the hands don't turn anymore.
The days turn into nights, empty hearts and empty places.
The day you lost him, I slowly lost you too.
For when he died, he took a part of you.

No time for farewells, no chances for goodbyes.
No explanations, no f***ing reasons why.
I watched it eat you up, pieces falling on the floor.
We stare at broken clocks, the hands don't turn anymore.

If only sorrow could build a staircase, our tears could show the way.
I would climb my way to heaven, and bring him back home again.
Don't give up hope, my friend, this is not the end.

We stare at broken clocks, the hands don't turn anymore.
The days turn into nights, empty hearts and empty places.
The day you lost him, I slowly lost you too.
For when he died, he took a part of you.

Death is only a chapter, so let's rip out the pages of yesterday.
Death is only a horizon. And I'm ready for the sun, I'm ready for the sun, to set.

An absolutely terrible and screechy song, but the lyrics are all so true.  Having personally dealt with loss when my best friend passed, I know what it's like, losing something so dear and watching it slowly take over others.  Prayers are needed so much for the grieving, and luckily I had a great group of family and friends, but please, remember to pray for those who don't,and just to try and be there for them.  It can be awkward, and you may not even know what to say, but being there is really big, and counts for more than you know.  

_____

I've been listening to a lot of poems/depressing songs lately (not that depressing, more just...different :) and I'm really loving iti!  There are so many cool little tidbits out there, and the internet makes it so accessible   Do you have any favorite song lyrics/poems/quotes?  I know I could go on forever about mine, but I'd love to hear all about yours!

So, in case you haven't noticed, we've kinda been slacking off over here in our crazy little world, and between school, the play, and life in general our lives have been so jam-packed of random awesomeness we haven't really had time to update the blog in a while.  So yes, sorry.  

Just warning you that the next few months will be a lot like this, though we'll try to put up something when we can...make sure to poke your head every now and then and see what's going on!!

xoxo, Us <3

Pray for all those affected by the Boston Marathon bombing please!!

Wedding photography

Any of you who have seen me in the past month or so will know that my camera has become just another limb on my body, going wherever I go...it's like a beautiful baby that never needs to be fed or have it's diaper changed, not to mention...it takes awesome photos!!  I really love it, and lately I've been looking for photography websites for advice on how to boost my potential.  As I was looking I found a beautiful hidden gem, a photography website that makes me smile every time.  While they don't give specific advice, they  post a new candid photo everyday from wedding photographers around the world.

What I love about Moment Junkie is that while there are  quite a few sentimental photos, and a share of plain ol' cute ones, they still have hilariously terrible ones too :)

Just something to leave you with...

 

  

 

Hmmm

Just something that made me think...I found this somewhat beautiful and a little bit weird, but hey...

Stephan Dobyns (like Dobby, get it? Okay, well, whatever...here ya go! :)

Oh, Immobility, Death

Each dance step we execute is a slap in the face
of immobility. Are you light on your feet? Do you wear
tap shoes and feel an elasticity of sole and thus
you spring upward? What makes this more than 
merely bouncing? Because you seek a chosen path.
Some tunes jingle inside, some tunes jingle outside.
This is when the extremities recall having been wings,
when the blue sky bends down to help us heavenward.
Just yesterday you weighed three hundred pounds and
now you're a feather rising on the notes of somebody's 
whistling. What is music anyway? ask the scientists.
Being limited by what they know, they turn to math.
It must be counting, it must be numbers, it must be time.
And what is music's opposite? Silence? Almost correct.
Music's opposite is the tomb and so we dance to keep
the shadows back if only from the heart's dark corners.
The grave cannot stand a racket and even a tapped foot
is a form of boogie. You call it time? It is forever.
To spin on the pinnacle of one's genitals. To kiss
gravity goodbye. To bear the souls of birds in the belly,
as harmonies loop and dip behind your eyes. This one
likes Bach, this one Bop, this one likes the Beatles:
and so their feet are carried aloft, lungs throb and
palpitate, the pores pour forth their cheery tears
of pleasure. Even the skeleton chants a creaky song.
And immobility? It only has to wait. What is age but
the process of bringing the dancing inward? The heart
opens and two by two the dancing feet pass through:
an ark sailing the body's blessed blood to the grave.
You had your battle, little soldier. You danced a lifetime.
Those stones and monuments, those memorials and tombs:
without their weight the ground would hop. Oh, immobility!

* * *

Oh, immobility, how thoroughly you set yourself
against us. Gravity's buddy, entropy's pal.
Every stoplight becomes your flag. The erect
cop with his hand raised to articulate halt
wears your uniform, no matter the color; or rather,
he duplicates your gesture. The simple negative-
no, nein, nicht, nada, nyet-becomes a vote cast
in your favor. Silence is your national anthem,
a vulture your favorite bird, rust your flavor.
Meanwhile we trot: one foot forward, then the next.
Not straight, not crooked, but in a circle. Perhaps
we produce a few sparks. Perhaps we go toot toot.
My right hand extends to where it grips the shoulder
of the fellow straight ahead, perhaps my left grasps
the hand of the one jogging at my side. You get
the point. You might think that we are unhappy.
We are singing. True, it is nothing too lively,
but it is loud enough to let us shuffle our feet.
Immobility is the focus of our muted ruckus.
And the orchestra? Let's say a disembodied violin
hangs in the night air with its cracked bow jazzing
across the catgut. Scratch, scratch. You find it ugly?
It is the sum of earthly beauty. It plays the tune
that drives us forward. We have begun to love it,
just as we love the trudging feet, the beating heart,
the joys of flatulence, the rush of blood in the brain:
just a few of the roadsters on our daily racetrack.
I ponder this as I sit on my bed poking at my slippers.
Sunlight chips a morning wedge across the carpet.
Outside, the daily hammering is well advanced.
Time to get up, old carcass: to work, to work!
Set your feet among the flux! Drag your shadow 
out across the land! It's time to mingle your shoes
with the buyers and sellers, one foot forward, then
the next. The reality? To bang your drum in the mortal 
parade. And the dream? To believe yourself dancing.


From PALLBEARERS ENVYING THE ONE WHO RIDES (Penguin, 1999)


Yes, it's in purple...I stole it directly off this very purple site, but I think it's actually not stealing/too illegal, right?  Because I gave them the credit??  I don't know, just thought it was cool.  Here's hoping we don't get shut down for illegal practices :)

A blessed last week of lent to you(!)
xoxo, T&T


Oh my gosh, and It's St Patrick's Day!! Happy St Patty's Day to you <3

Habemus Papam!!

...or as spell check wants me to say "bemused papam"...either way, WE HAVE A POPE!

76 year old Argentinian Jesuit Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio took the name of Francis I, wowing the crowd gathered in St Peter's square with his gentle and loving mentality.   

Perks of going to a Catholic school...your principal interrupts your final class to tell us all that there was white smoke, and later letting us go to the main center to watch the new Pope being revealed...awesome :)

Really, I'm way to Pope-high (that's like a sugar high but soo much better:) to write this post so I'm leaving you with this video to watch...Look! It's a video about our new Papa!

It's probably not the best video, but it has all the basics and I'm hungry, exhausted and so excited!!!  Off to go eat some "papal pizza"...my mom made this and I can't wait to eat :)

We are a genius crowd, aren't we?  

Pray for the Pope! Pray for Benedict the non-Pope! Pray for us!

xoxo, Rachel

New Pope, Same Old Church

So, If you haven't heard yet, the Holy Father, (aka Pope Benedict XVI, aka Papa Benedict) is stepping down and resigning from his position of Peter's successor, saying "...In today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me."

I'm sure people are hoping that this new Pope will suddenly agree on the Church's behalf that same sex marriage, abortion, and whatever trending nonsense is completely all right and morally acceptable (he won't). 
Knowing today's media, there will be hundreds of articles about why he really left, probably a lot of them looking like this, or filled with scandals, so make sure to pray that wavering Catholics are not turned off by the "scandals" created by the press.  

Also please, keep Benedict in your prayers!! Imagine being sick and tired enough to resign from the Papal Throne.

~Rachel 

You can see the full abdication video here...to get English subtitles, click on the CC button in the lower left corner of the video and choose "English"

...and read a great letter from a local youth group leader here...it's basically what I've been trying to say, but 10 times more coherent, and covering all that I should have and would have if I had known how :)