(no subject)
to follow the recent trend on my friends' page, i thought I'd awaken from my LJ slumber. i still read pretty often, but don't typically find the time to write and/or don't know how to make the ins-and-outs of my life interesting to read. but here goes:
in case you didn't know, michael proposed to me back in october and he's well.... terrific. i'll spare you from writing all of his positive aspects, because upon meeting him one will quickly sense that he is a holy man, honest and true, walking slightly off the beaten path (much like myself).
during this engagement it's been a real fun roller-coaster ride. one common theme that stands out to me is that our culture needs good marriages, good families. and in order to have a strong marriage, you have to be hell-bent on it. you have to really know what you want because you'll be getting advice and "suggestions" from every direction and you need to know which way is up. we're trying to be Catholic in every sense of the word - devoted to our Lord and Church, hoping to raise a family, and living as brothers and sisters to those who do and don't share our beliefs. i never realized the depth to which our values pervade our lives until recently... every aspect from house-hunting to budgeting to vacation-planning to even registering for household appliances is impacted by our set of beliefs in some way. (not to say "we have to have a toaster that is blessed by the Pope," but more like "ok, if we're planning to have kids, do we want to spend money on _____?") we also don't want to become hokey people whose conversations consist mainly of birthday party themes and diaper brands... i guess it's about balance and we won't know much more about that till we get there.
it's a beautiful calling we have, certainly not an easy one, and one we have to accept every day. love is a choice we make, and i can't wait to make that choice every day for the rest of my life. :)
in case you didn't know, michael proposed to me back in october and he's well.... terrific. i'll spare you from writing all of his positive aspects, because upon meeting him one will quickly sense that he is a holy man, honest and true, walking slightly off the beaten path (much like myself).
during this engagement it's been a real fun roller-coaster ride. one common theme that stands out to me is that our culture needs good marriages, good families. and in order to have a strong marriage, you have to be hell-bent on it. you have to really know what you want because you'll be getting advice and "suggestions" from every direction and you need to know which way is up. we're trying to be Catholic in every sense of the word - devoted to our Lord and Church, hoping to raise a family, and living as brothers and sisters to those who do and don't share our beliefs. i never realized the depth to which our values pervade our lives until recently... every aspect from house-hunting to budgeting to vacation-planning to even registering for household appliances is impacted by our set of beliefs in some way. (not to say "we have to have a toaster that is blessed by the Pope," but more like "ok, if we're planning to have kids, do we want to spend money on _____?") we also don't want to become hokey people whose conversations consist mainly of birthday party themes and diaper brands... i guess it's about balance and we won't know much more about that till we get there.
it's a beautiful calling we have, certainly not an easy one, and one we have to accept every day. love is a choice we make, and i can't wait to make that choice every day for the rest of my life. :)