Marriage Prep 4: Adjustments

So the fourth session of marriage prep was about adjustments and it was quite fun! I haven't written about it for a few reasons and none that I feel I can go into publicly.

Anyway, some of the highlights are:

- We met another family that goes to our parish and learned about their lives, marriage and children.

- We played the "Nearly Wed" game and every couple did quite well making the 8 couples' engagements look sound.

- The winners (not us) were rewarded with a cake-cutting ceremony and pictures of the event. It was quite cute.

- The topic asked us to discuss how we see our lives changing and what we will expect from each other on a daily basis from who does what to help out around the house to how we'd like to see holidays planned.

It is surprising to realize that we are halfway through and only have three more sessions left. We still have to take the FOCCUS test but I'm not really worried about running out of time. So, I'll update on what goes on this evening for #5.

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O, Most gracious heavenly Father, thank You, for being present in our lives in every way possible. Thank You, for the restlessness that reminds us to desire to be with You at all times. Thank You, for St. Louis and the wonderful family of friends we have there. Thank You, for Father Larry, Father Oliver and Father Paul. Please, bless them and keep them close to You. In Your name, we pray. Amen.

Marriage Prep Day 3: NFP and other stuff

Our last marriage prep meeting was great! Amy and her husband, Adam, gave the talk about NFP. All the couples said they wanted children so that cleared the way for more discussion. It was interesting to hear Adam talk about what it was like to not be Catholic and go through marriage prep and NFP classes with Amy and that it was okay. We didn't get much else out of it besides witnessing to the wonders which is the Creighton Model System and encouraging the other couples to look into it. The two couples there who we know practice NFP are into the Couple to Couple League which teaches the symptothermal method.

A poem in Bishop Sheen's autobiography which is germane to the discussion:

Some moralists claim that the Pill

May be used even though you're not ill.

It gives the ability

To banish fertility

But I can't really think it's God's Will.

Another thing about Bishop Sheen that you see throughout his writings is the concept of freedom of choice. God gave us the freedom to love and accept him or to deny him. We h

ave the freedom to do as we please but God's Will is not the freedom to do what we want but the freedom to do as we ought.

This past week I was able, with Matthew's help, to get quite a bit of wedding planning done. I ordered the cardstock for the programs (yay!); I found a great price on Saint Michael medals and ordered those; and the brown wooden beads were ordered. So when these arrive we'll have much more work to do. We went to Hobby Lobby this weekend to get some pricing ideas on a frame and matte for what I want in our home. And we worked on the invitations and are close to checking those off of our list.

A few of the girls from church wanted to start a book club so we met on Friday and picked

out a selection of books. We are first going to read The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. It his a

biblical historical fiction novel written about what it was like to be a woman during those times, specifically from the point of view of Jacob's daughter, Dinah. I read it many moons ago and I look forward to reading it again and discussing it with the other women. Our second book

for Lent will be The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton. So exciting!

Marriage Prep Day 2: Intimacy

Last night was day two of marriage prep class. The topic was intimacy. It went smoothly, we didn't really learn anything new. Just a reminder to think things through about each other since we are so different.

The couple leading the discussion, Martha and Javier, were really great! I enjoyed hearing about their marriage and they worked well together on the presentation. I found it interesting that they were married at ages 18 and 19 and that a priest wouldn't marry them because he didn't believe they would make it. So they were civilly married for a few years before having their marriage blessed. They discussed how hard it was to go to Mass and not receive communion. I was very impressed. They have been married for 32 years! It is a shame that someone in authority did not trust that they heard His Voice and listened to it.

We have a homework assignment for next week but I haven't had a chance to look at it yet. I hope this weekend we can get a lot of wedding plans accomplished. Although most of Saturday is taken for a Young Adult Advisory Board meeting and the Rally for Life at the capital. Today is the day in history that Roe vs Wade was passed. I keep praying for the respect for Life in our nation and around the world.

It fills me with sorrow the way our world is today. Those of us who are devoted to God have trouble understanding because it seems so simple. To me, the answer is that we trust God completely and when we don't trust Him that is when we suffer the most. Realizing this and focusing our trust in Him strengthens our relationship with Him. I don't remember my first grasp of my trust in Him because I was a child and that doesn't mean I didn't continue to sin. Every time I sin it is because I stop trusting Him. I can imagine that for someone who has no trust in Him at all that it would be hard to take that first step because God doesn't want just a little bit of your soul, he wants all of it. It seems that to some people that He is asking too much. They are missing out on much joy.

Anyway, I have been suffering from allergies because I don't always take my medication (I don't want to be pumped full of drugs if it isn't necessary and the doctor told me that was fine). I have been trying to check on the allergen counts and it wasn't very accurate about this past weekend so I am coping as best as I can. I had to leave during part of Mass this morning so I could cough without disturbing everyone else. It looks like most of January, February and March have high expectations of mold and pollen so I guess I will be taking my pill every day.

So today I pray for abortionists, those who are thinking about having one, and those that have had one. May they find God and comfort in Him. And I pray for the other couples in our marriage prep class. I hope that they are getting as much out of it as we are.

Marriage Prep

Last night was our first marriage prep class and it was about communication and our love languages. I think we had already covered much of that material on our own, which is good and we gained some new insights into understanding our backgrounds.

One major point that I felt was stressed was that we are taught how to communicate at a very young age by our families. Keeping this in mind we then analyzed how we communicate with others and predicting how our fiance then must primarily communicate. It was very informative since Matthew and I were obviously raised differently. A Catholic household does not identical make.

Also the topic of the Sacrament of Marriage was covered. I wish more time could have been spent on this but, alas, no. I'm sure some more information will be covered down the road. The more interesting topics broached was why are we getting married in an age where 48% of people get divorced? And that the sacrament of marriage is a covenant of three vows: permanence, fidelity and procreation.

I believe there are 8 couples in our program, which is cool! Last night everyone stood up and said how they met, what their occupation is and their wedding date. We have two friends with us, J. C. and Rebecca so it is fun to talk to them and share this experience with them. I do hope to get to know the other couples a bit better. It would be neat to know that they are there for the same reasons we are and not just to fill a requirement or make their families happy.

I forgot to add in my 2009 Year in Review that I found Father Zuhlsdorf (Father Z) on What Does The Prayer Really Say and fell in love with my Catholic Faith and have learned so much about our religion's history, present and future from this amazing blog. His blog tends to earn awards in the religion categories and I don't know how many followers he has but it is at least a couple thousand worldwide.

Oh, and some have asked about what kind of cakes we will have at our wedding. So here is the list:

Raspberry buttercream

Almond

Hazelnut

Spumoni

Cannoli

The cannoli and hazelnut are my favorite but all taste good! If you desire something specific and it isn't at your table then turn around and trade a piece with another table. Matthew and I will be having cannoli at our table, yum!

Tonight is our first marriage prep meeting and I am really looking forward to meeting all the people and learning a few new things.

Happy New Year! (Belated)

Just spent three weeks in Kentucky for wedding planning, Christmas, and Rachel's wedding. When I am at my parents home, I tend to not want to get on the internet or respond to emails nor answer the phone. It is strange because in my other life that is not like me at all.

My 2009 Year in Review:

I started dating Matthew!

Mom and Dad came to Austin for a visit.

Lost a roommate and moved into a one-bedroom.

My first catechumens went through Easter Vigil and received the sacraments of initiation.

Went to D. C. and to Colonial Williamsburg.

My cousin was married and Matthew met my family.

I got engaged to Matthew!

I dedicated time to meaningful friendships and maintained the past ones from grade school.

I deepened my faith and educated myself on what it is to be truly Catholic. (that will be a never ending process)

I started seeing strands of gray hair appear in my hair. *sigh*

We start our marriage prep tomorrow and I am looking forward to that. I don't think every time will be fun but it will help us relate better. I'm not always easy to get along with.

I have a wedding dress, cakes are picked out, music is selected for ceremony, we think we have our readings decided on. We met with the photographer, caterer, DJ and make some preliminary decisions. So far so good.

What's happening

I've been very busy lately, as well has been Matthew. Thanksgiving was great and relaxing here in Austin. We had dinner with Dick and Karol and our friends, Seyma and Tayfun, came over to eat and play dominoes with us. Food was great, company was great! God is good!

On black Friday we did go shopping but not until the afternoon. We went to Macy's. Matthew needs to throw away some clothing that he has had for too long and replace some things! So we've been slowly updating his clothes with things more comfortable, better quality and fashionable. I'm very excited about his new clothes. We had to leave our items there because we purchased them on a sale price that wasn't going to happen on that day. I am going to stop by Macy's tonight to pick them up. I bought three pretty dresses and I might take one back but it was worth it to buy it at the discount price and decide later to return.

We have been busy thinking about our Christmas plans and I have been working on my Christmas gift-list. I am happy that I have something in mind for all who I am shopping for and I will be able to stay within my budget.

Our engagement party is just around the corner so I am making my checklist for that! We are very excited to be engaged and are happy that so many friends and loved ones want to celebrate with us. I have the cutest dress to wear!

We are going to be gone for awhile over Christmas. We are leaving Monday, December 21st and won't return until Saturday, January 9th. A lot of wedding planning will be done while we are at home. We need to meet with Msgr. Neuhaus, Father Ed, Fred the photographer, Marylin the baker, the caterer, musicians, and a host of other things. I'm looking forward to visiting with family and friends. I look forward to the cold weather but I hope travel is easy.

We watched Therese, Fulton and Gianna last night and had a fabulous time. The kids love to be read to and play games. Putting them to bed is always the end of the fun, children never like to brush their teeth or say goodnight but we managed without too much difficulty. I can't imagine what it would be like to watch other children who don't have the charitable hearts and innocence that the Gretencord clan have. The worst we get when a child is angry is, "I don't like you," "I wish you weren't here," or "No, I won't put my pajamas on." I would be horrified to hear them say anything harsh. Sharon and Adam are marvelous mentors on raising children. We have learned so much.

Matthew has decided on his game plan for graduate school and it coincides pretty nicely with my education. I'm really happy that he is happy and that it so far seems like a challenge but within reach. The more we learn about homeschooling the more desirable it is to us. Since I will be the one in charge of the education then it is important for Matthew's career goals to take precedence. My own goals include working for us to have the extra income to save for the future and buy a house. We might decide later that some schooling outside the home is a better idea than us doing all of it so it is important that I complete my degree so that I can return to work later and be qualified.

Anyway, that's what's been going on with us lately. I hope to have some time to write more later.

I've added the daily readings to the blog more for my benefit than for others. We have been going to daily Mass together every day and it would be nice if I read the readings the day before. Sometimes I have trouble following by just listening. I know we are supposed to "listen" to the Word of the Lord and I try but following along helps me focus and retain. If I was asked what I just heard I would, more often than not, not have an answer. I know that I am a bad listener, I have spent years working on it and I do care about what people say.

Anyway, Peace in Christ be with you all!

Wedding Website

We have a wedding website! It is cool, you should check it out.

Click here.

We also started working on our registry. We've decided to register at Macy's and at Crate and Barrel. I originally thought Crate and Barrel would be too expensive but they actually have quite a few things that are nice and less expensive than Macy's (such as wine glasses and some kitchen stuff).

This past weekend we went crazy at Macy's since they gave us a huge discount and we bought an engagement party dress for me, three new pairs of shoes for Matthew, dress shirts for all the groomsmen and all the ties for the wedding. I'm excited because we got such great deals and that so much can be checked off on the list!

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Praise be to God! Oh, and a special prayer to Saint Elizabeth of Hungary:

Our Father in Heaven, Your servant, Saint Elizabeth brought care to the sick, food to the hungry, and hope to the hopeless, grant us your blessing that we may follow in her footsteps with love and joy on our hearts. Amen.

Happenings

So what has been going on lately:

1. Matthew and I looked at wedding bands and have narrowed down to two choices for each of us. Mine is going to be simple (yay!) and his is more ornate. We are thinking of getting him a tungsten carbide band that has a Catholic cross design on it. I think it is exquisite!

2. We bought his suit for the wedding, it is very stylish!

3. Greg has a girlfriend.

4. School has been frustrating.

5. Church has had loads of activities going on.

6. We switched our Adoration day and time to Friday at 7pm. I was struggling so much with the Tuesday 11pm time. If anyone is interested... I'm sure that spot will be hard to fill. We gave it our best shot.

7. We've had some fiascos that we can only thank God for His humor.

8. I finished Life of Christ and now I am reading The World's First Love. I can't get enough of Bishop Sheen's writings!

9. The economy is in bad shape.

10. America is trying to institute health care reform. But the USCCB is not endorsing anything that would imply funding abortions.

11. The Church is opening Its doors to conservative Anglicans.

Too Far Behind

I am so far behind on posting and I have had so many things happen that I don't even know where to begin!

I am engaged! Hooray! I am determined that despite the best efforts of my mother that I am going to have a happy engagement and wedding. We are getting married at St. Mary's Cathedral in Covington, KY on August 7th, 2010. It isn't that far away! Father Ed Brodnick is going to marry us and I have known him since I was nine. I have always dreamed of him being the celebrant at my wedding. Most girls dream about what dress they will wear and who they will have as bridesmaids but me? I dream about who's going to be the priest! Hahaha.

I am really happy with the ring that Matthew gave to me. I have always wanted something different and a sapphire really does it for me. Even the cut is spectacular. A fun part has been in having the stones shipped from around the world for us to look at and decide which color blue we liked the best and which had the best brilliance. It is exciting to have it on my finger and probably and hour doesn't go by that I don't stop to look at it and smile.

Anyway, now that I have that posted I will get more on here ASAP with pictures and videos. We took Makayla to the circus and I have some great footage which I'd like to post.

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Thank you, Lord, for this day and for the blessings you have bestowed upon us. Please continue to help us get through each day with praise and honor to You. Please help us keep Your love in the center of our hearts when we are facing difficult interactions with our friends and family. In Your name we pray. Amen.