Called to Serve

I mentioned in my last post that a common theme on my heart lately has been the things of this world and the spiritual things that truly matter. There has also been something else that I'm really working on: Being a servant. In my home. I have known for a while that my spiritual gift was serving, but had never paid attention to using that gift at home until recently.

Two weeks ago, I went on a women's retreat, where the theme was "Divine Mercy". I learned a lot from this retreat (more at another time) but one of the stories that stuck with me was this. I believe it was St. Faustina, but I could be wrong. (Told to the best of my memory)

One night, she had gotten in to her pajamas and gotten in her bed, when her roommate said "Sister, would you get me a drink?" She got back up, got dressed again, and put her boots on. There was no kitchen in their house (convent) so she trucked across the muddy grounds to the kitchen and got the sister a drink. But then she realized that she had tracked mud in to the kitchen, so she had to clean it up as well. Then she got back to the bedroom with the drink, and there was Jesus. He told her "Whatever you do to the least of these, you do for me."

This struck me so hard. All I could think of was my husband. Many times we get in bed and he asks me "Will you turn off the lights?... will you go cover the kids up?.. Will you go check to see why the child is crying?" And so often, I say these same things, and many times, he does them for me, and I don't do them for him. After the retreat, my goal was to be more of a servant to my spouse.

However, this weekend, we were so incredibly blessed to go on a marriage retreat. In doing so, we talked about our children and how they apply to our marriage a lot. I realized there are many things I don't do for our kids, because well, I don't want to. I don't like it. I'm lazy. It's boring. It's gross. I hate doing it, etc. etc. But that's NOT what God has called me to do. If my children are not the "Least of these" then who are? Oh man, I have so much work to do! My new prayer is "Lord, please remind me to be a servant to others, so in doing so I will serve you."

And amazingly enough, as I was working on this, this video came across my feed. Sums it up perfectly.

Material versus Spiritual

I feel strongly that sometimes, God puts a theme or topic on your heart, or in your mind. Something for you to chew on, soak up, and think about a lot, and often for you to work on. The common theme on my mind and heart lately has been the material and earthly things of this world versus the spiritual things. What do I mean?

On Sunday mornings, sitting at church, receiving Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, my mind is on Him. I want nothing more than to walk out of that building remembering that He is in me, and that everything I do should bring glory to Him. That anything else doesn't matter. 

Then Monday rolls around. My kids are a hot mess of not wanting to do school. So I'm trying to find a new way to make the science lesson come alive, and therefore skipping religion. I need a new jacket so being the thrifty person I am, I check all these sites for the best deal. My friends are posting all of these great links on Facebook that I just have to read. Especially because many of them are spiritual things, I'm sure they'll help me improve my spiritual walk. But the truth is, these are all distractions. The posts I read, I'll usually forget within minutes of reading them. The jacket, I don't really need. And when is science more important than teaching my children the faith? These are all things that are taking me away from Our Lord. I am so busy with all of these things, I can't take the time to spend 10 minutes to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet or read the readings for the day. 

I've pulled up about 7 tabs of things I want to read from Facebook, and interestingly enough, one was about yesterday's readings. The first one really struck home with me:

Romans 14:7-12 Brothers and sisters: None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.For if we live, we live for the Lord,and if we die, we die for the Lord;so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.For this is why Christ died and came to life,that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.Why then do you judge your brother or sister?Or you, why do you look down on your brother or sister?For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God;for it is written:As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.

I found it interesting that today's reading was talking about He is Lord and every tongue shall praise Him. That our soul purpose is to live for the Lord. I realized, it's not just my tongue that should praise Him, it's my actions, how I use my time. How I respond to things. 

We have some changes in the coming year. It's hard to not worry about these changes. What will happen, how will it work out, where will we end up? But, none of that matters if I'm focused on the here and now. The here and now, spiritual side of things says to pray about it and tell Our Lord "Jesus, I trust in you!" 

When I'm talking about the material and earthly side of things, it is in so many areas. Being focused on clothes, how I look, what I say, where I go, what I do, what I think of myself, the people I spend time with, etc. It's so easy to be pulled in to these things that take so much focus in our world. It's like the pinterest ladies who always have these great crafts or foods made. I look at them and want to think "Oh, that's awesome! I should do that!" and then I get so lost in the trying to do all these things, that I've lost my spiritual focus. Or I want to have everything put together, like some of these homeschool bloggers do, and that doesn't matter. What matters is that my kids are learning. Whether it's in books, or through experiences, etc. (Side note, I'm personally REALLY struggling with homeschooling right now!) 

I think back to so many of the Saints. Some were very poor, and yet, they found all their joy in the Lord, and suffered so many things to be united to His suffering. They never cared about Facebook or their clothes, the politics of this or that, the things that did not matter. They were not focused on the material, earthly possessions, but on the Lord. 

Another great example is all of these wonderful blog posts I'd love to read, because I'm sure they'll have great information or encouragement.... But what's really the point? Is it going to help me grow in my spiritual life? Will I remember it 10 minutes from now? Or is it just my way to connect with someone?  oh the irony that I'm writing a similar blog post. Truth is, it's so I can look back on this and be reminded of it more.

The reason I feel the Lord has brought this phrase to my heart lately is because I have been missing out on the real spiritual. The sitting down with my children and reading a good book together, studying a Saint together. Spending time in prayer and in my Bible, or reading a book that will help me grow. I have really made some changes in my life lately because I was doing so much "for the Lord" that I was neglecting my first priority and gift from Him, my family. I was stuck in the earthly doing that I was neglecting the spiritual loving I should be doing. I'm so busy with the planning, I'm not enjoying, like the photographer behind the camera, so busy clicking the photo he isn't enjoying the moment he's in. 

All in all, what I'm trying to say is that it's a real and difficult struggle. I have the desire to focus on the Lord and seek the spiritual things, and to not get drawn in to these things, but then I am so quickly drawn to them and forget about the Lord. It's like a diet. You know you shouldn't have that chocolate, but then, in a moment of weakness, when you aren't thinking about not eating it, you eat it. Not that they are evil or a sin, but they are distracting from God. As my husband so kindly pointed out "The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." Prayers is so important in overcoming the material temptations of this world. 

This is not to say the things of this world are not important, but that it's important to keep the Lord the priority. 

Homeschooling so far

"Best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray"

Yes, that is the story of my homeschool year this year. I had those beautiful lesson plans I created, and we are no where near following them. Truth is, I"m really not enjoying homeschooling this year, with one exception. The subjects are more complicated, and more difficult to figure out how to teach them to a child on their level. The kindergarten child wants nothing to do with reading and there's many tears, and I've really just given up teaching her for now. We'll try again in a month or so. And the toddler, oh my the toddler makes teaching very challenging. Religion, while I have usually loved our religion books, I feel really bored with it, like I'm teaching the same exact things as last year. I mean seriously, the kids KNOW the story of creation. I don't see why every year we need to focus on it again, when there's so much more. So, I've sort of left the religion books behind for now. Maybe I'll come back when we're in a better spot.

The one exception is History. OH MY! I am LOVING teaching History. We started using RC History this year which is a unit study. I'm teaching all 3 of the older ones at the same time, and we're really seeing History come alive. I'm understanding now where the Sumerians and Babylonians came from, where Abraham went during his journey, and i love that my kids know what a cuneiform and a zigarahet are. (Well, and I know now too!) This week, we'll be making ancient clothes from the people of that time. Last month, the kids made a diarama of creation together, plus we made Abraham stew and Locust biscuits. It's so much fun and we're learning a lot. This is what I had always wanted as far as teaching, and I'm so glad to have found it!

Lesson plans and school room

I have done all my lesson plans! I'm so thankful for God's help and my husband's. Together, we created this beautiful spread sheet.

I also needed it in written format, not on a screen. So I have done two weeks in this planner. The idea is I can delete cells if I miss a day, or we get ahead, etc. on the computer. Then every two weeks, I"ll sit down and update the planner below, and use this for what we will actually accomplish. I ended up getting this planner from Mardel, and another one from Michelle Quigley, but that one hasn't arrived yet. Don't ask why I bought two. I'm not sure either truthfully. I really wanted this one, but alas, didn't like the $59 price tag. The two I bought were less than that one. 

This blog post is really helpful for some ideas. Actually I like a lot from her organizing and preparing for the year posts. A friend posted the assignment sheets last year. I had all intentions of using them, but didn't. This year, we will be using them, as I love them and hopefully the kids do as well. These are $2, but worth it to me. There is a free one as well, but the $2 packet had several options with chores, Bible study, reading, piano, etc. One, they're fun and cute. Two, they're a checklist. My kids love checklists and being able to mark off what they've done. And I do as well! The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, so hopefully they'll be useful. The other thing I like is if they want to 'get ahead' they can do all their work on Monday if they want. And yes, they just might. 

Here are a few pictures of my remodeled school room. 

I added a single bookcase to the side, giving us more room for the shared school books, moving some of the bins out of the toddler's reach, and leaving some cubbies for her toys/activities.

I switched the bench and closet and moved the rug over here. This gives a nice little play area for the toddler on the rug.Days of the week and months are still on the front of the closet. The clock is now on this wall, so I can easily see it from my desk.

Inside the closet, I put these great bins that I got used for an amazing price. :) They have all kinds of activities in them- stickers, manipulatives, etc. Soon I will label all the bins. 

I had also printed all these cute shape cards last year and never hung them. The only spot I really had for them was on the inside of the closet. Because we're real particular in this house (not!) and the closet gets left open pretty often, I decided this would be a great place to hang them! :)

 

The bench is now where the closet was. And the school desk is a bit closer to the board.

Each kid still has their own box to keep their school books in. 

I moved my desk off the wall, so my back wasn't to the kids all the time. I kind of like having the little "Mom's area" where they technically shouldn't be going. The scanner/transformer/laminator will all be put away soon, but I'm finishing up things still, so they're just hanging out there. The toddler has destroyed the chalkboard, so I will likely be buying a new one when the Ikea down the road opens this month.  (she also drew all over my my first week of lesson plans this morning!)

As for the coming year, we have some big plans for curriculum. 

We're sticking with Faith and Life for Religion and MCP for Math. 

We loved Voyages in English, are using CHC's speller and Explode the Code online.

We haven't really done science in the past, so we're starting to use CHC's science program.

We're doing CHC's Art Pac for all the kids, and starting to use CHC's reading books for 3rd grade.

Handwriting is Handwriting Without Tears- starting cursive for the older two!

My Kindergartener will be starting the Little Angel Readers-I loved these last year!

And then we're beginning RC History, which I'm really excited about. 

Bring on the 2015-2016 school year! Staring in 1.5 weeks in our house.

Anxiety and schedules

I read this verse and 3 short paragraphs over my coffee yesterday morning. I laughed thinking "Yeah Lord, I know, I often get anxious about things, but I think I'm pretty cool right now thankfully! Please keep it that way. :)"

My day progressed much like many others- minus the dentist appointment- and by the end, I sat down to my desk to do some work. It's the end of July, and that means school should be starting back soon. But I am not in the slightest bit ready. I've been freaking out and avoiding it. I finally cleaned the school room, organized my desk and bookshelves, and ordered a planner. Well, two planners. Because when I'm overwhelmed, I apparently avoid and do everything but the task I need to do. So last night, I sat down and started mapping out our schedule for the year.

Last year, I did not do this. We were very free-flowing last year. Meaning every day was "Do 2 pages of math, 2 pages of English- sure, you can do extra if you want.- etc" It worked, but adding another kid to our school routine, and life being a lot different now, including my husband being here, I know I need a plan for the year. I sat down.

Math for #1 planned for the year. Check. Math for #2 for the year. Check. I'll come back to #3 when I find her math book. English for #1 and #2. Check. Religion for #1 and 2. Check. Ok, now what? History? Well, I have a lot to do to prepare for that, i'll come back. I then looked around to find the other school books I ordered. Nothing. OH MY! It's the end of July and I haven't ordered all our school books!!! Problem is, I started looking about 2 months ago, and got overwhelmed trying to figure out what to use, that I walked away, with plans to come back. I just didn't expect those plans to be at the end of July!

I felt so upset with myself, so mad. And so worried about planning the coming year, more so than I had before. I went to bed, my husband telling me it'd work out. "Yeah, easy for you to say. This is the point where I want to get mad at you, because you insisted we homeschool." Yeah, that's an honest thought that crosses my mind about once a year, when I know in reality I wanted to just as much as he did. He just said it way before I was ready, so I want to play the blame game. I mostly avoided last night- I told him I wanted to say it, but I know it's not true. ;-)

As I climbed in to bed, I heard a small voice. "Anxiety weighs down the human heart..." OH MY! Hello God! I haven't heard you that clearly in a long time, and I am totally hearing you more lately. Thank you! Ok, you're right. Lord, this area of my life worries me. I offer it to you. Your will be done. and asleep I fell.

I woke up today, knowing I needed to work on lesson planning more, while I was still in the mood, and order books! I wanted to find a chart I had printed last year, and will be using this year. I went searching. In the mean time, I found some wonderful blog posts that I needed to read. One on Decision Fatigue and one on how to not suffer from that fatigue. Low and behold, the second one mentioned having some kind of schedule.

This is where God is funny right now. He's telling me to get a schedule in our life. I hate the idea. Here's how he's told me. I randomly picked up A Mother's Rule of Life. I haven't finished it, but it's given me some serious thought. She, like me, was very opposed to a schedule, but she realized she needed one. She makes good points that God has called me to this vocation, and I should not be wasting that and should be doing it to the best of my abilities, in all areas- holiness, motherhood, wife, homemaker, teacher, etc. Then I was reading the daily missal, and there was a devotional on scheduling. Then I was reading my personal morning devotional, again, on scheduling. Then a friend mentioned something about a schedule, and today, I read the two posts above.

I remember learning from my Sunday School teacher in high school that if God tells you something once or twice, you should listen, but if it's THREE times, He's knocking you on the head to get you to list. I KNOW God's calling me to create a schedule for our family. Not strict and by the books, but more along the lines of "school starts at 9am" or "After breakfast, everyone cleans up, brushes teeth and hair, makes beds." etc,

My problem, and why I still haven't, is I feel overwhelmed at the thought and not sure where to start. Oh? Did I already talk about that in this post? "Anxiety weighs down the human heart, but a good word cheers it up." Lord, this area of my life worries me. I offer it to you. Your will be done. Let me add this time Please show me how to create a schedule for our lives that will work well within our family, provide peace and harmony, and bring us closer to You. Amen. 

If you don't mind, pray for me, as I try to make this work. And that I can find the time to create it.

God's promises regarding change

I think we all have those times in life where we realize things have got to change. We have somehow become complacent, stuck in the mundane, giving in to society, sin, slothfulness, something else, or all the above. I have reached that point. Several things in my life need improvement, and I have just about hit rock bottom truthfully. I know I need to change several things in my life, and I've been so overwhelmed at the thought that I've avoided it.

A little over a month ago, I was waking up every morning at 5:45 and going walking. It made a huge difference in my day and I actually found myself loving it surprisingly. I never thought I'd say such crazy things about that time of morning. I would then come home, and spend the morning on my computer waiting for the kids to get up, reading Facebook, blogs, etc. I had gotten out of this newly formed habit when we had company for two weeks. My husband was off work, so the need to go before he left at 7am was no longer there to push me.

Today, I started back. Instead of taking my ipod, I went alone. I prayed. Well, sort of. I prayed, then let my thoughts wander, then came back to praying, then more thoughts, etc. But hey, I was still praying, uninterrupted by littles. Then I came home, and fixed my coffee and kissed my husband good by. I sat down to have a devotional, and my dear one year old came in to join me. So we went and made breakfast. I never bake for breakfast, but this morning, I felt energetic, and made a delicious baked oatmeal with a new recipe. Then we went and sat on the couch. Her with her milk, a banana and a book, and me with my devotional. God really knows what to say when He talks to you through devotionals.

The first one, I accidentally turned to Thursday's devotional, but needed it so much.

"For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say 

to you, "Do not fear, I will help you." Isaiah 41:13 

"Life presents us with new obstacles and challenges all the time. 

Through it all, can I remember what it means to trust in God?" 

I just needed that reminder that through the challenges, through the changes I'm trying to make, God is holding my hand and will help me. There are fears that come along with these changes, so this was the perfect scripture. 

The second, longer devotional I did referenced Jer. 29:10-14. I think many of us can quote Jer. 29:11. But this book used The Message translation, and it really hit home.

This is God’s Word on the subject: “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years 

are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised

 and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned 

out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the

 future you hope for.

“When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.

“When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.

“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything 

else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.”

When you read more than just Jer. 29:11, you see that God is telling them that they have a long road ahead of them. Things aren't going to happen over night, but that it will take 70 years! That's a long time to wait for God to come through. But He promises them that when that 70 years is up, He will show up and take care of them and take them back home. He knows what He's doing. 

The changes I'm trying to make in my life won't be easy, or happen overnight, but when I call on God, He will listen and I will find him. I love the last part. “Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” Please Lord, help me, as I'm serious. 

Do you have any big changes you need to make in your life? I hope this is encouraging to you, as it was to me. 

German Mass- Funny Story

My husband's brother is a priest, Fr. N. He's been visiting for about 2 weeks. With a priest staying with us, we were going to Mass daily. Unfortunately, due to the American holiday this past weekend, there was no Mass available at our parish on Friday and Monday. So we spoke to a local retired German priest we know, and he hooked us up with Mass in two German churches. Fr. N speaks German, so he was fine to con-celebrate in these parishes. The one on Friday was fine. The one on Monday the priest told us he would be celebrating his 57th anniversary since ordination, and he'd love to have us! Fifty-seven years is amazing! That's like celebrating your 57th wedding anniversary!

On Monday, I had a meeting an hour away, and had all kinds of issues coming home (Almost out of gas and struggling to find gas- my worst fear in Germany! But God provided, and provided the gas station I needed... plus staus (German word for traffic jam- everyone knows the frustration of these!) and construction.) I got home 30 minutes before Mass was suppose to start to pick everyone up. Hubby sped to the church and when we got there, there were tons of cars all over the street. I thought "Wow, this is a lot of people for a 2pm daily mass, or a lot of people are coming for Father's Anniversary Mass!" We got in, and they had a guest book to sign in. I thought that was really nice for his anniversary Mass, so my husband and I signed our name.

The church is under renovations, so they have Mass set up in the parish hall with individual chairs. We went inside, looking for 5-6 seats together. There was one row open with that many seats, and we promptly went to that row. I looked around at all the people- mostly elderly Germans- and thought wow, these people must really love daily Mass here with this many people! Then I noticed there was a picture of a man up front and thought "Oh cool, they even have a picture of Fr. P from his younger days to celebrate." Then I looked around again, and promptly realized most people were wearing black and white. I turned to my husband, with shock on my face and said "Are we at a FUNERAL Mass??" He shrugged and said "I dont know! I think maybe!" A few minutes later, my brother-in-law came out and told us it was a funeral Mass, he didn't think we wanted to stay.

So we stepped outside, and Fr. N and my husband went to talk to the priest. It was true, the Anniversary Mass had been changed to a funeral Mass, but the priest would love for Fr. N to stay. So we walked back in and retook our seats. My husband in a bright orange shirt, one of my daughters in a floral dress, and the rest of us in denim shorts with dark shirts, totally standing out against all the black pants and white and black shirts. I'm not kidding, black and white were the only colors there aside from us. All the while, we weren't understanding a single word around us. I never in a million years thought my first funeral Mass would be in German for a man I didn't know. I guess for the most part, it was just like a normal Mass like most people have told me, but I really couldn't tell if there was extra prayers or anything. In one way, aside from the fact that it was a funeral, it was hilarious. And awkward. As for the man that passed away... May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

The Sad Time of Year

The grass is always greener on the other side, isn't it? Being in the military has it's ups and downs. We're in our 30s and have never bought a house. But we're traveling Europe! Goods and bads. Right now, it's one of the downs. One of the worst things to happen when in the military is deployment. We all hate it, but all know it has to happen.

The second worst thing in the military? PCS season-summer. PCS means Permanent Change of Station. In other words, people are moving, as often happens in the military. This is very good at times, and very hard as well. People come and people go. Where we are, because it's such a transient community, all our friends are military. When I lived in CO, most of my friends were non-military and are still living in CO. It's very different here. Every summer since getting here, we have had friends move. Last summer, I had my first close friend move back to the states. That was hard, but I still had my other close friends.

This week, one of my two closest friends, my wonderful neighbor, got her house packed up. Movers were in and out of her house all day, and we just sat next door watching. I walked in to her house last night and the empty rooms and cheap military furniture on loan, made it all sink in. She's about to leave. In a few weeks, they will be moving on to a new place, a new house, new school, new friends, new everything. This time is so exciting for them. They are sad of course, but excited about what the future holds.

In a very few short months, our absolutely dearest friends will be leaving. We are so close to this family. My husband is good friends with their husband. The wife and I are best friends. We've even had people confuse us many times or call us twins because we look very similar. And our kids, our kids all love each other. They are definitely our "Germany family". We've watched their kids many times, and they've watched ours more times than we can count. Almost weekly dinners together is common. Park dates or afternoon playdates are usually a weekly thing as well. We both homeschool and have very similar parenting styles. They are the one family where I feel absolutely 100% comfortable. I don't have to guard myself, guard my children. My kids can be kids, and I can be me. I can say what I think without worrying about hurting or offending them or getting in a disagreement and vice versa. I never walk away replaying a conversation and wondering if I said it wrong. They get us and we get them. And yet, like my neighbor, they are about to get their house packed up and move on to bigger and new and exciting things.

I am so happy and excited for both of these families. But, at the same time, I'm so incredibly sad. It's been said before, and now I get it. PCS is harder on those left behind than those who leave. And I'm really feeling it. I know that I need to keep a box of tissues on hand for the next several months, as I'll probably tear up at very unexpected times.

We went to my husband's work picnic today, and before, we use to know so many people and really enjoy it. This time, I didn't know a soul, until the end when the husband mentioned above came out and we talked for a few. My husband said he barely knew anyone there anymore either, as he'd been gone for a long time deployed, and major turnover had happened. It felt very weird. And for a moment, I wondered if this is what the next year would look like. Even at church, I'm looking around and realizing I'm knowing less and less people. I'm not sure if this is because I haven't made many new friends in the last year (I was really in survival mode, not make friends mode this year with my husband gone), or it's just a sign of the major turnover. Which brings a whole new struggle. Do we as a family "date" new families, to grow close to them for one year? Or maybe longer, since we're not sure how much longer we're here? Or do we just stay content where we're at?

I thought that maybe I'd find some spiritual wisdom while typing this, but none came. While I'm sad and I tear up almost every time I think about it, I know this. No matter what the future holds for my dear friends leaving, or what the future holds for us, I am so thankful for these ladies (and their dear families) being in my life and that I am a better person (and decorator lol!) thanks to them. They have fed me, served me, listened to me, hugged me, watched kids for me, prayed for me, encouraged me, walked with me, and most of all, loved me and my family. For this, I'm eternally grateful to call them my dear friends and sad to see them move on.

Turin and Cinque Terre, Italy

We just got back from a 5 day driving trip to Italy. Our trip started off Monday morning leaving at 9am. We arrived in Antagnod, Italy at about 7pm. We stayed here. This was about an hour from Turin, where we would head on Tuesday. All of the apartments in Turin were super expensive, so I decided to stay an hour away, and found this great place for €80 for the night. I thought it was a place Jon would love. Well, in hindsight, considering the price of gas and the amount of time it took to get way up the huge mountain, and the throwing up by the youngest getting car sick, it wasn't necessarily worth saving the money on the apartment lol. However, it was absolutely beautiful and Jon did love the place we stayed. Our only complaint was we had to wait for the woman that spoke English to come check us out, and it took over 20 minutes waiting for her. However, watching the moon rise from behind the mountain after the kids went to bed was amazing.

Tuesday morning, our plan was to leave at 8am. Because of kids, we went to check out at 8:15 and didn't get to check out until after 8:35. We headed back down the mountain, this time having two girls get car sick from the crazy roads. Then we headed to Turin, Italy. We learned earlier in the year that the Shroud of Turin was going to be on display. If you don't know what this is, it is the cloth they believe Jesus was wrapped in when he was buried in the tomb. I'm not positive if it is or not, but either way, going to it made me consider what Jesus did, and imagine the Crucifixion in a way I had not previously done. The Shroud rarely gets put on display, but Pope Francis asked that it be displayed this year, and well, if the Pope asks... So we got to go see it! 

Our appointment was for 1:30 pm. We arrived and walked first to the Basilica of St. Don Bosco (Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians). When we walked in, Mass was taking place. It was during the Gospel reading, so we decided to stay for the Mass instead of looking around during Mass. At the end, we headed in to the Reliquary. I have never seen so many relics in all my life. According to wikipedia there are 6,000 relics! A relic is something that belonged to a Saint. They also had several of St. John Bosco's relics- His prayer book, his rosary, scapular, etc. We also got to see a wax statue that after later research I believe held his incorrupt remains. 

The sideways relics of St. John Bosco because I can't figure out flipping pictures again...

The wax body

Then we headed for the Basilica where the Shroud was on display. We arrived a bit early, and there was a food area, so we went to use the bathrooms and grab a bite to eat. After waiting in line with the kids for 20 min for the bathroom, we got in to discover they were the lovely hole-in-the-ground toilet, and we all decided we didnt have to go that bad. I just can't. Jon was grabbing food for us, which was this fried pastry ball thing with rice, cheese and ham in it. It was weird at first, but by the end, we all really liked it.

We headed in to the Shroud exhibit. A friend had recommended taking our stroller, as there was a stroller/wheelchair lane. If you know me, I NEVER travel with a stroller in Europe. In fact, I was frustrated walking through Turin with it. I just throw the toddler in a baby carrier. But this time, I listened to my friend and was SO THANKFUL! Right after we got in line, a man came up and asked if it was just the 6 of us. He pulled us and sent us down the side and we passed hundreds of people that were in groups of about 50, and just passed and passed and passed them. It was amazing, especially having 4 little ones with us. We were so grateful for the stroller line and to be alone! 

After all the lines, we went in to a room where a video was shown to us. It was very well done, with an image of the shroud and they would show one part of it, and explain what it was in 6 different languages ("the head", "blood from the crown of thorns", etc). When we got inside the church itself to see the Shroud, they also let us go to the very front because of the little kids, so they could see. We had about 2 minutes in front of the Shroud, where they said a prayer before the Shroud in Italian, and we had the chance to look at it and think about what Jesus had done for us. It was not this huge, glorious, hear-the-angels-sing moment, but it was still very surreal and I'm glad we went. I hope the older three remember it for ages to come.

After this, we headed back to the car and began our three hour drive to Levanto, Italy. The toddler had fallen asleep, so we refused to stop extra and were able to make it with just one quick stop. We parked our car at the beach, walked to where we were suppose to pick up the key, then he walked us through the small village to the apartment. It was an amazing apartment and very large for what I was expecting! I loved that it had a washing machine, to wash the clothes that had gotten thrown up on, and to wash beach clothes! The shower didn't drain very well, probably due to the beach sand and rocks, but that was the only thing even slightly wrong with it. I promised the kids that after grabbing a bite to eat, we'd walk down and check out the beach, but not swim. What was I thinking??

"You can step in it but dont get all wet"

What was I thinking lol??

We headed to bed, and got up early the next morning. We were here to see the 5 villages of Cinque Terre. As tripadvisor says, this area is named for the 5 towns of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore on the Mediterranean Sea, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (We keep adding these to our list of things we've seen!) We went and paid for our apartment and bought our train tickets while there. We headed out for Riomaggiore, the village the furthest away, with plans to hit all but Monterosso on the first day. The villages are all very small, and about a 2-5 minute ride between each. We got to Riomaggiore, walked up above the train station and took in the amazing views. We were going to walk the trail around to the next village, a 30 min walk along a trail on the mountain above the sea, but it was closed because of a rock slide. This proved to be a huge problem later in the day. Then we took an elevator to the top of the village, saw the village church, and walked back down through the village. Jon and I got some fried calimari to snack on and the kids begged for a nutella crepe. Instead, I got them a nutella formaggi (sort of like a pizza crust I guess) They loved it. Score for making them try 2 new foods on vacation! 

On the train to Riomaggiore

Looking down at the marina while near the top of the village of Riomaggiore

The village of Riomaggiore

Then we got on the train to head to the next village, Manarola. Unfortunately, the train passed it and didn't stop! We ended up in Monterosso. Frustrated, we looked to see when the next train going back was. We had to buy new tickets to head back. Waited for about 30-45 minutes, and got on a train to head back. And for some reason, again, it passed the village and we were back in Riomaggiore again!!! I was so mad and frustrated, and so were so many other people on the train. This time, instead of trusting the train schedule, we went and asked the Ticket Information counter. Next train in 45 min. So we had time to kill again. I went and bought my husband some lemoncello (liquor popular in the area) as a peace offering. He laughed. And we finally made it to Manarola after spending way too many hours on the trains. 

This was the town I absolutely did not want to miss. I had seen pictures, and they were beautiful, but I knew seeing it would be even more beautiful, and it was. We walked down the steep hill from the train station to the water. I bought everyone gellato to make up for all the train rides, and we decided to take the trail along the coast to the next village while eating gellato. We saw several people walking back and realized that that trail must really be open. As we walk around away from the village, there is a beautiful cove where people are diving off the rocks and swimming. I wanted to swim there so desperately, but we didn't bring our suits that day. Unfortunately, as we walked part of the way, the trail was indeed closed, but we were able to see the next village from the trail. We then found a small park, and took a 30 minute rest to let the kids play and have some kid time. By this time, we were all done, and ended up skipping Vernazza and Corniglia, There is no way I could convince anyone else, and I realized it's just part of traveling. :)

Manarola

Eating Gelato. Just behind my husband's head, you can see the trail that we started to take to walk to the
next village. Above his head is the playground where we let the kids play for a while.

Such a cool and beautiful village!

The gorgeous cove where people were swimming.

We headed back to the apartment, ate dinner, and went to the beach to swim for an hour or two. That helped make up for the day. Our apartment was across the street and down the sidewalk to the beach. The first night we went, we took back so much sand and rocks. The second night, I suggested going up to the restarant and bar areas, and seeing if there was a shower. I was so glad we did! Going home was much better after everyone rinsed off haha.

After the 2nd night at the beach, I changed my Thursday plans. We were going to go to Monterosso and spend the day on the beach there. However, I realized the beach by our apartment was just as great, without having to take the train back all dirty. So we took the ferry in to Monterosso and spent the morning there. 

It was Corpus Christi, the Feast of the Holy Eucharist and a Holy Day of Obligation in Italy (celebrated on Thursday in Italy and Sunday in US parishes), so we had found out in advance that there was a Mass at 11am. We arrived in plenty of time to the village. Unfortunately, we didn't look to see where the Church was on a map. We figured the village was suppose to be pretty small that it'd be easy to find a church. We found one, which wasn't the one we planned to go to, but the sign on the door said Mass at 11. Unfortunately, by 11:10, there still was not Mass. We guessed that there was only daily Mass at one of the Catholic Churches, and we were at the wrong one. So we found another playground, and let the kids play while we grabbed some Italian croissants to snack on. Then we headed to the beach part of Monterosso, and ate lunch at the train station. Funny, I would normally never eat at a train station, but this wasn't what I expected at all. It was on the second floor, open and breezy, right near the water, and the best fried cod and calamari I've had since living in Europe. We were very happy with the meal we ate out. We took the train back, changed in to our beach gear, and spent the afternoon hanging out on the beach.

Beaches of Monterosso

train station lunch

Train station lunch with my Sangria and a sleeping baby and Jon's latte.

On Friday morning, we got up and made the 12 hour drive home. It's an 8 hour drive per google, but when you add in an hour stau and kids, potty breaks, food breaks, etc. it adds up. As do the tolls, gas, etc. For anyone curious to make a similar trip, between the €40 vignette in Switzerland, the €50 tunnel toll*, and the Italian/Swiss gas prices, we spent approximately €280 on those things. If we were going to just Cinque Terre, we could have flown Ryan Air to Pisa for less. But since we were going to see the Shroud, driving worked for our large family. 

Overall, we had an absolutely wonderful time. I think I did a decent job of planning something for each of us to make us all happy on this vacation, which is somewhat difficult at times for 6 people. 

*This was round trip tunnel fee on the way to Turin. I think it was €30 something for one way. Unfortunately, we didn't use it round trip, and came back through Lake Como since we came from Levanto instead of Turin and there was no tunnel. 

**I put links, prices, complaints, etc because I often share these posts with other people in the area.

Rome- final days

On day 5 of our Rome trip, Father was unable to hang out with us due to school, so we decided to head to the Villa Borghese, a beautiful, huge Garden in Rome. Small pond with paddle boats, ducks and turtles, and the toddler's favorite- pigeons.  We mosied around this park, then went to the zoo in the park. This was a very expensive zoo, and not really worth it in my opinion, but we went ahead and did it anyway, as my kids hadn't been to a zoo in 3+ years. They enjoyed it, and that's what counts. Sorry for the crooked images! I edited them all, and saved them, but they loaded sideways grrr...

A daddy and his girls

We then met Father Nathan at St. Mary Major, in hopes to be able for him to say Mass here. He was able to get an alter, but we had about a 45 minute wait. Around the corner was a pillar that it is believed that Jesus was tied to when they whipped him. It was a hidden piece, and it was overwhelming seeing it and just picturing our Lord tied to it while being beaten.

We then had Mass in a beautiful side chapel within the major Basilica. It was covered in gold, and so much different than our previous Mass with Father in the Catacombs!

Family on the subway

 We then headed back to the apartment, and made dinner. After we put the kids to bed, a friend Jon knew in high school came over. They had gone to the seminary together, and he was now living in Rome working on his studies to become a priest. It was great getting to know him a little bit, and found it funny that we were all in the same snow storm in Prague 2 years ago. :)

The next morning, we headed out for Ancient Rome. First we did Paletine Hill, as Jon and I did not get to see this the last time we were in Rome. We all loved it. I think I liked it better than the Colluseum. THen we headed over to the Colluseum as well. We also went to St. Mary Nova, a Church right outside of the Roman Forum, which provided yet again, a nice place for cool air and shade.

After the ancient Rome area, we headed to St. Paul outside the Wall to meet Fr. Nathan for Mass. When we showed up, the offices were closed (as many places are in the afternoon in Rome), so we went and grabbed some lunch while waiting for the office to open. At one point, I took the girls to the bathroom. A nun was in there and asked us if we were from the US. As we talked more, we found out that we were from the same town and she graduated from the local Catholic high school (BK)! I thought it was crazy and promised to pray for Sister Agnes.

Unfortunately, we were unable to say Mass at St. Paul's, so we headed back in to the city, and decided to try at St. Giovanni. Unfortunately, we got there at like 5:05, so instead joined in on a Mass that was already going on. It was in French with what looked like a high school pilgrimage group. We all got a quick out of the fact that none of the teens were really singing the Alleluia, but our toddler was, at the top of her lungs and louder than anyone else.

We headed back to the apartment, started packing up, and left for the airport early the next morning. THankfully we had learned how to get to the airport a much shorter route on the first day, and arrived in time to make our flight. We probably would have felt more comfortable if we had had a bit more time, as the line was huge when we got there, but we made it home safely.

Ugh! I wish I knew how to rotate these. Please let me know if you know how! Family selfie upside down!