Where Did The Time Go?

Summer is starting to come to an end. It amazes me how time flies. I didn't realize that I had let so much time go by since my last post. Since our trip to Italy, so much has happened. Savanna performed in the children's opera, "Brundibar" (go to facebook for pictures). Charles and I attended summer camp with the Legionaries (Charles as a camper, Me as a cook.)

Savanna finally got to go on her "Grandpa and Grandma" trip. She has waited years for her turn for that one. She spent 4 days in San Diego with her grandparents and cousin Bailey.

We all just spent a few days at a wedding in New Hampshire and a few days in New York City. Definitely a trip to remember. Other than that, the summer has been quiet.

This summer has been the season of growing around here! I think they have grown just as much this summer as they did as toddlers. Charles has finally shot up taller than Mom. He is quite proud of this and lets me know often. They are both growing into a young lady and a young gentleman. Don't know if I'm ready for this!

Pics from Italy

While wandering through St Peter's, I noticed that many people were using flash photography. I was surprised, since I know that the flash is bad for paintings and frescoes. When I asked Father about it, he replied, "Are you sure they are frescoes?" I replied quite confidently, "Yeah." He just gave me a look and walked away. I was pretty sure until I took a closer look. I was blown away! All the beautiful art and pictures in St Peter's are mosaics!!! I looked at over 10 - 15 pictures and thought they were paitings! The detail is incredible and even when I was fairly close to the mosaic, it was hard to tell. On the left is one of these incredible pieces of art! Truly something to be marveled.








While visiting the Vatican Museum, I photographed this mummy for Charles. I caught him with his heart still beating!











Something you will never see here in the States! As you walk around town, throughout Italy, in the most random places, you will see little

shrines, statues, frescoes and paintings of

religious art! I just loved looking for these. When I spotted them, I felt that I was being watched over by the particular person being depicted. Some have been there for hundreds of years.

The one of the left was on a building that we passed by every time we walked down a little side street to Father Avram's.

This fresco faced a little piazza in front of the Pantheon.

I thought this was just too cool not to take a picture! This is a window display for a store. Look carefully, they even sell the mitre for bishops. We saw a few of these walking through Rome. The window on the other side of the shop entrance had Ordinary time displayed in green. Rumor has it that there are store fronts like this one with habits for religious sisters. I didn't get a chance to see any of those.













The view from the top of the dome at St Peter's. 551 steps up and 551 steps down!

Grazie...

Thanks to all that kept us in prayer while we were away. The blessings were many and we had a safe and wonderful time.

We are arrived home safe and sound late Mon night. I can't believe that it's over. It is amazing how one day you are in one place and the next you are thousands of miles away some where else. The ride home was long and tiring. What an adventure!

Thank you God for showing us your greatness through the many Saints, the beautiful Churches and the wonderful people we met on our pilgrimage. Thank you God, for all the many blessings, big and very small, that you poured out on us while we were travelling. Thank you God for our incredible tour guide and friend that took the time to show us around, even when he wasn't feeling well.

God Bless us all.

One Last Look

Our final day in Rome started with the most beautiful Holy Mass I have ever attended! We celebrated Holy Mass with about 30 priests concelebrating in the chapel at the Casa where Father Avram lives. It was just incredible! Our family was the congregation. I love listening to them sing and pray in unison.

After Holy Mass, we decided that we needed to have a Pope's Lunch in Rome, so off we went for pizza. We decided we would get gelato later along the way, so we headed to the Basilica of St Paul's Outside the Walls. We next visited the Basilica of St John Lateran and the Church where St Charles' heart is displayed. Throughout our trip, we were able to visit all the saints that we set out to visit! Mission accomplished.

Returning to our hotel, we were surprised that we were able to pack all the clothes back along with all the items we gathered along the way. We were packed tight, but we did it. After a little siesta, we caught up with Father Avram and his friend, for our final meal in Italy. I will truly miss the excellent food!

We met many people on this journey. One of our new friends is Fr Miro, from Croatia. The kids loved him (we did too.) Keep him and all the priests at the Casa in your prayers! God Bless.

T-2 Days

Well, we're just about done here in Italy. We have had a great
pilgrimage and journey.

Friday found us on the road for a big chunk of the day. We drove from
Venice to Rome. That was about a 5 hour drive. The Italian contryside
is just beautiful; the medieval towns perched on the hills are
something we don't see in the States. We have come to know Italian
fast food from being on the road. I wish American fast food was this
good!

Today, Sat, we toured the Vatican. We visited the Vatican museum,
which included the Sistine Chapel, climbed to the top of the dome (551
steps up and down) and then to the crypt below the Basilica, to pray
before the tombs of St Peter and Pope John Paul II.

This evening, Mike prepared dinner for a few of Fr Avram's friends at
the Casa and for Brothers Colin and Sean from the Legionries of Christ
Seminary. We did our best creating Mexican food with the ingredients
we could find in the store. It was like looking for barbacue sauce in
Mexico. Have you ever tried to make refried beans with Italian
beans? Well, Mike pulled it off. The two Mexican priests were content.

Tomorrow, we have two major Basilicas and St Charles to visit. It
amazes me that we have been here for just under two weeks and we still
haven't seen everything! We definitely need to come back!

One more day and we will be on our way home. Thank you for your
prayers and please continue to keep us in your prayers. God bless.

Sent from my iPhone

Where are the Straights?

Yesterday we visited the patron saint of our family, St Anthony of
Padua. To pray at his tomb was very powerful. We arrived in Venice in
the late afternoon and had dinner in town. Today we took the ferry and
cruised the Grand Canal to St Mark's Square and Basilica. The square was
flooded and there was a labyrinth of raisesd walk ways to get to the
Basilica. We wondered around town and stumbled upon this store full
of Carnaval masks.

Thanks to you all for your prayers! Keep them up. God bless.

Mmm...mmm...good

Hot chocolate Italian style. Welcomed after a chilly stroll along the
Ligurian Sea. Can't wait to show you all the photos (+600). God bless.

Fried Little Fishes

Charles' lunch on the Italian Riviera.

Will the Train Ever Come?

Here we are in Vernazza waiting to catch the local train. The five
fishing villages are connected by this line. Because of the past
rains, the hiking trails are closed so we won't be able to hike
between villages. Yes, it is quite cold, hence the hoods pulled up.
Hopefully the train will ce soon!! Keep praying. God bless.

Car Ride

We are packed in like sardines, but we make the most of it. The kids
are real troopers.

Twist and Turn

We sadly said good bye to Assisi and drove about four hours to the
coast and here we are in Cinqueterre. What a ride! The road that
leads to this very small fishing village is unlike any twisting,
turning road I've ever seen, driven or rode on. It was long, narrow
and crooked. The sun finally broke through here today, after ten days
of rain. Hopefully the sun will continue to shine so we can hike
tomorrow. The village, Veranzza, is definitely a summer destination.
Only a few establishments are open and the village is very quiet.
Thank you for all the prayers. Please continue to pray us through the
next half of our pilgrimage. God bless.

On The Road Again

We decided to stay an extra day in Assis because it is just
magnificent here. The imposing church behind us is Santa Chiara (St
Clare). Inside this church is the San Domiano cross. It was neat to
visit. We also took the long, downhill (very steep) trek to San
Domiano church. We just made it in time to see the little church. We
didn't realize it closed at noon. Tomorrow we head out for Cinque
Terra, five small fishing villages on the Italian Riviera. Thank you
all for your prayer support. I'm praying for you all too. God bless.

Walking Assis

Assis is built on the hilltop and we chose a hotel right at the top of
the hill, so down we walk to the Basilica of St Francis. As many of
you know, St Francis holds a special place on my heart, so to be here
in the very place that he lived, breathed and walked is quite
extraordinary to say the least. Our tour of the Basilica started with
Holy Mass celebrated by Fr Avram. It doesn't get any better than
this. Visiting the Basilica is quite overwhelming. I think I could
spend a few months here and still not get enough. Please continue to
keep the prayers coming as we travel. You are all in my special
intentions. St Francis, pray for us. God bless.

No Parking All Day in the Entire Courtyard

Here we are in Assisi, this place is amazing...Medieval town, perched
on a hill, beautiful and much more peaceful than the big city of Rome.
Here is our little rental car parked in front of the hotel. Will they
tow us if we can't read the sign? Keep us in your prayers, we are
truly being watched over, please keep the prayers coming. God bless
you all and thanks for your spiritual support.

Some pics

Today's Adventure

Hello Family and Friends, Another exciting day in Rome. We walk tons
here which is a plus since we are eAting a ton of pasta and gelato. I
can't believe how many gelaterias there are around here. As you saw in
an earlier post, we visited the Colliseum. After lunch we visited
Palantino Hill which had an incredible amount of ancient ruins. Only
in Europe can you walk on stairs and sit on chunks of marble that are
thousands of years old, amazing. Unfortunately, part of the ruins were
were on bog condition due to the recent rain. Our shoes were covered
in mud, but the walk home helped take care of some of that. When we
got back to Father Avram's, my bag was there!!! Hooray! I now have
clean clothes to wear. The last adventure tonight was getting stuck in
an elevator! It was pretty funny, luckily it wasn't for top long. We
eventually saved ourselves, after waking up all the other priests at
Father's. Anyway, we are off tomorrow to see Assisi. I'll catch up
with you there. It's late and I've had enough excitent for one day.
Continue to pray for us! God bless.

Sent from my iPhone

Roman Catholics Roaming Rome

Yeah, That's the Collisuem. Enjoying Rome! Seen tons of great stuff.
The weather has improved with sunshine and just a beautiful day to
walk around Rome. Still waiting for my bag, it was suppose to arrive
today. Keep praying, the graces are flowing! God Bless.

Breakfast in Rome

Happy Epiphany! Typical Roman breakfast...pasteries and coffee. We
are on our way to Holy Mass with Pope Benedict.

By the way, for my friends that knew my situation for what to wear to
mass, I'm wearing it! I actually wore it on the plane. God is amazing
how he plans things! ...no, I haven't gotten my bag yet. Keep us in
your prayers. God Bless.

The Beagle Has Landed

Here we are having dinner in Rome with our good friend and personal
guide, Fr Avram. We had a pleasant journey with the exception of one
lost bag (mom's) and nobody to pick us up. Actually, our faithful tour
guide finally showed up after wandering around a different terminal.
After a white knuckled taxi ride, we arrived at our little "pensione"
and took a short walking tour to Father's favorite eatery. We'll be
back tomorrow. Pray for us! God bless.

The Pilgrimage Brgins

Here we are on the second piece of transportation. We left Rescue at
7:30 am and drove to Walnut Creek to my parent's house. My Dad dropped
us off at BART and we are on our way to SFO. We'll be in touch again
soon. Please keep us in your prayers. God Bless.

T-17 hours

Stay tuned, the blog will be updated frequently for the next two weeks. Tomorrow, Mon, Jan 4th, Mike, the kids and myself, will begin our pilgrimage to Italy. We've been talking about this for about 2 years now and the time has finally come. Please pray for us while we visit many of Holy sites in Italy and know that you are in our prayers too.

St Anthony of Padua, Pray for us.
St Francis of Assisi, Pray for us.
St Charles Borremeo, Pray for us.
St Christopher, Pray for us.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pray for us.
Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, Pray for us.
All the Holy Angels and Saints, Pray for us.

And We're Off...again and again and again...

December is always a busy month for us. With three birthdays, company parties and Our Lord's birthday, we have very little down time. This year the kids performed in a play the weekend after Christmas. They did such a great job with all their friends. We were all quite impressed with their performances and with the stage set!

With much help from the other moms, our production of "Christmas at Greccio" was a success! Charles played Mariano, a highway man turns good and Savanna was St Clare of Assisi. They both learned their lines on their own and did a fantastic job! Savann loved it! Charles declared that he would prefer to pass on the next production.

Right after the play, we whisked the kids into the truck and headed to S. Lake Tahoe to catch up with the rest of the family. We spent 3 nights playing in the ice skating, sledding and playing in the snow.

Ice skating with the cousins at North Star, eating deep fried, breadlike sticks covered in sugar (otherwise known as churros.) What kid wouldn't enjoy that!

Savanna and Charles had a great time skating for hours with their cousins.

Saucer rides at Granlibakken in Tahoe City. What a fun place to go. Uncle Anthony actually rode the hill in his saucer too. They would make trains of 10+ people! They looked like a snake sliding down the hill.

The ski hill at Granlibakken in the background (their one and only ski hill)

Though Granlibakken was a small ski and sled hill, they did accommodate the frost bitten visitors with a nice warm lodge.

Yes, Charles is standing on an ice berg. No, I am not a negletful parent allowing my child to play on the ice, the water was no more than knee high. I was fully prepared for wet feet, pants etc. if he had landed in the water. The water's edge was so close to our condo. The kids had fun playing in the snow and on the ice right on the beach.

We needed the much appreciated family time and down time. What fun! We spent one night in our cozy beds to head off again, this time to Grass Valley to ring in the new year with our wonderful friends. One night there was enough for the kids. I think we overextended their ability to late nights. So our weekend stay was cut short. That really is okay, because we have much larger trip looming in the future.