Day 4- Papa Francesco!

Day 4 began with our plans to attend Mass at St. Anne's Parish. This is the Church where Fr. Nathan said his first Mass, and the parish church for everyone that lives in Vatican City. We allowed plenty of time to get there, but unfortunately, the metro ran a lot less trips on Sunday, so after waiting 7 minutes, one showed up, with everyone squished in more than we'd ever seen before. SARDINE TIME! We ended up being about 7 minutes late, which we hate.

This church is pretty small, and there were no seats when we got there. No biggie, we can stand. However, several people stood up and insisted the girls and I sit. So we did. Very difficult, as Beka started asking for milk. I put one girl on each side of me, and maneuvered the Tula to nurse her while wearing her. She nursed and fell asleep, score! Makes the best Mass, especially in a place where we have the only children, and are surrounded by tons of old ladies. The girls decided though they didn't want to sit and they wanted to stand with daddy. I told them no, that nice people had given their seats up for us, and we were going to accept their gratitude. In typical 4yo fashion, Abby started to cry nice and loud, everyone staring at us now. ::Sigh:: Pick my battles, let her go stand with daddy. So now 6yo decides well, it worked for her, so she started crying, and got to stand with him as well.

Afterwards, we headed out of the church and waited for Fr. Nathan to meet us. Then we headed for the Plaza of St. Peter's to get ready to see Pope Francis. We found one small shady spot in the shade of a fountain, and sat there, and had a picnic snack. During this time, they had huge screens showing what was going on in St. Peter's. It was very evident that Mass was going on with Pope Francis and some other man from another nationality. Fr. Nathan, knowing a bit of Italian, said "My Italian's not great, but I THINK he just said something about a Doctor of the Church and Armenian genocide." We later discovered that yes, Gregory of Narek was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Francis. This happened in February, but I guess this was the Mass that made it official. Very cool info to learn, and to know we were there for it without exactly realizing it. The man at the Mass must have been the Armenian leader of the Armenian Rite.

A little while later, with the plaza packed, Papa Francesco came out of the little window and gave his address in Italian. Fr. Nathan translated it to Jon, but I wasn't able to listen. They said something about how he said respect our elders in a nutshell. Then he did the  Regina Coeli. Typically he'd do the Angelus, but since it was Easter, he did the Regina Coeli and gave his Papal Blessing. So cool!

Then we left the crazy and packed plaza and went to look for somewhere to eat. During this time, we ran in to John, a guy my husband knew when we was at seminary. They talked for a minute or two, then we moved on. We happened to go down a small road that no one was on, and found a nice little pizza place, so went inside for coolness (it was so hot on the plaza!) and lunch. Pizza, sodas, cappuccinos, and veggies. Very good, but in the end, a bit expensive. But since this was the only full meal we ate out, we were ok with this.

Afterwards, we headed toward the Castle San Angelo. We walked around the outside of the castle, then went inside. Unfortunately, as we were going in, my blood sugar was dropping quickly, so we got to handle me drinking tons of liquids while trying to climb the stairs. We took our time, to hopefully avoid dropping my sugar more, and enjoyed the views.

We had promised the kids we would get gelato this day, so we headed back to St. Peter's and went to the Old Bridge Ice Cream place. Can't recommend it enough. Jon splurged and got everyone a waffle cone. They were huge, and after we were all covered in sticky ice cream, we headed back to the apartment to wash up, rest, and get a good night's sleep.

B definitely liked Father's Banana flavored ice cream the best.

Rome Day 3- Catacombs

It's almost 4pm here, and I have to admit, I'm trying not to fall asleep. My 6yo was crying saying she wanted a nap, and all i could think was "You're telling me! I want one too!!" Alas, everyone is upstairs playing in the girls room instead, and I'm enjoying a leftover cup of coffee, trying to stay awake, and writing this post instead of finishing unpacking suitcases.

I emailed my husband yesterday, asking him if we had done anything else on day 2. And he's amazing, amazing I tell you! He sent me a list of every thing we did every single day. I dont know how he remembers things like he does!

So yesterday, I forgot to say that after the bookstore, we took a long walk along the Tiber River, ending up at Piazza Populo, where there are two churches next to each other that are identical. We decided to go in to the one on the right, and boy were we glad we did. As we walked in, we saw that Adoration was going on, with the Blessed Sacrament on the Altar. We had a nice time resting in the cool church and praying before Jesus.

On Saturday, day 3, we had decided we were going to sleep in. We were exhausted from not getting sleep the night everyone was sick, to then staying up late packing/getting up early to get to the airport Wed. and Thurs, and then getting up early to get to St. Peter's on Friday. We needed a resting morning if we were going to survive the rest of our vacation. Unfortunately, they started setting up the market in the street at like 6am, and the kids woke up to it! We got them to go back to sleep until about 8am. We had breakfast, then our whole family went and explored the market. We had a lot of fun, shopping together for whatever looked yummy to us.

In the afternoon, we set out for San Callisto Catacombs. We had meant to make reservations to say Mass here, but forgotten to. So, when we arrived, Fr. Nathan went and asked if we could say Mass. The man said do the tour, then afterwards, we could say Mass. We went on the tour, learning how they just kept digging deeper and deeper, so the people on the top were from the 2nd century and the people on the bottom were from the 5th century. It was very interesting. We had visited these catacombs 3 years ago, but it was neat taking our kids back. At the end of the tour, they took us to to an altar IN the catacombs, to say Mass where all these martyrs for the faith had been buried so many centuries ago. This was by far one of the most amazing experiences we had.

Unfortunately, I edited all of these pictures to be right side up, and they're still showing up sideways. :( I can't figure out how to change them.

 Setting up for Mass.

Jon doing the reading.

Father giving a homily.

Hannah receiving her 2nd Communion.

Zach receiving his 2nd Communion.

Our family after Mass.

Afterwards, we went to the Holy Stairs. St. Helena brought them to Rome, and they are the stairs from Pontious Pilate's house. It is believed that these were the stairs that Jesus climbed when he was being condemned to death. You are not allowed to walk up them, and must go up them on your knees, so we all did (Except the baby was on my back, asleep), praying all the way up. Very humbling to say the least. Then we went in to San Giovanni. This Basilica is special because it was the Church that Fr Nathan was ordained in 3 years ago. It was neat to take our children there and explain this to them.

Afterwards, we headed back to the apartment, where Jon made the best meal we had. He roasted a chicken and fresh veggies (eggplant and zuchini) and made risotto for the first time ever. It was delicious!

Rome- Day 2 First Holy Communion

Day two was the big day. This was the biggest reason we had come to Rome. Zach and Hannah were going to be receiving their First Holy Communion. Father N was able to reserve an altar for their first Communion. However, at this particular church, they only allowed Mass on their altars early in the morning. So, we got up at 6am to get ready to go, and take the subway in to St. Peter's Basillica!

We arrived at 7:45 and I took Hannah in to the bathroom to get her white dress on. I hadn't wanted to dare let her wear it on the subway! We were all ready, and followed Fr. N into the great church. He went and got dressed in the Sacristy, then we were escorted behind the ropes, and down in to the grotto of the Basilica.

Here, there are several small chapels, and we were going to be having Mass in the Chapel of the Bruised Madonna. In the 15th century, a soldier, mad over losing while gambling, threw a stone at the picture of Mary and she began bleeding. The tiles the blood fell on are still hanging in the chapel, and we  were able to touch them. There is also a very visible bruise on Mary's face still to this day. All around us, there were other Masses going on in other languages. And it was beautiful hearing all these chapels singing "Alleluia" since it was the Octave of Easter.

Fr. N said Mass, and Zach and Hannah were both able to receive their First Holy Communion. We were all so happy, excited and proud of them. Here are a few pictures.

Afterwards, we went outside and grabbed some pictures and snacks. We were the spotlight. When I put these two next to the church to take a picture, all these strangers started taking their picture. I felt like the whole time I was on guard to get between people and their camera, but I failed a lot. At one point, I got done taking their picture to turn around to see at least 10 people with their ipods/tablets standing behind me taking their picture!! Other cultures are so odd to me about some things. 

Then we changed in the bathrooms of the Basilica. I had a really cool nursing experience happen. I was sitting in the air-conditioned hallway while the boys were changing, nursing Beka. Across from me, a lot of teens were sitting on the floor and the guard came up and told them they couldn't sit there and they needed to head outside. Then he walked towards me, bringing me a chair! I was very grateful and impressed. 

Afterwards, we went back inside and did the Dome of St. Peter's. The younger two girls and I went to the middle of the Dome, saw it up top, then hung out on the roof of St. Peter's. Meanwhile, Jon, Fr. N, and the older two decided to climb all the way to the top. I made the executive decision I didn't want to climb the tight, claustrophobic area, and that we did not need to take Abby up that high after her immense fear at the top of Notre Dame. So we ate nutella and peaked in the giftshop and took a few selfies lol. 

When we got back down from the Dome, we took a few more pictures. Then we headed to the USO Rome because they advertised free pizza on Fridays from 12-2. We got there at 12:30 and they had just ordered the pizza, which soon arrived- 1 box. It was ok. Maybe they were not use to large families coming? As we were leaving, a family of 5 came in, before 2, and they had already cleaned up from lunch. I appreciated that we got a bit of free pizza, but i put this to warn people, dont count on a full lunch if you plan to go there and have a large family. It was nice to use clean bathrooms though. They don't have a changing table though, and seemed really surprised when I asked them if there was somewhere they'd prefer me to change her lol. I just used their couch.We then went to a store for a few souvenirs and headed home, to eat leftover tortellini.  

Rome - Getting there and Day 1

Our family just got back from an amazing week long trip in Rome. I plan to share many of the details over the next few posts. In this post, I'll share some of our prices, where we stayed, and our first day. We left Thursday April 9 and returned home Wednesday April 15.

First, we flew Ryan Air. I've heard people rave about Ryan Air for being cheap, and I've heard many people complain about them. I was able to get round trip tickets for €524 so I felt that was a decent deal, especially compared to all of the other websites I looked at.

Next, we stayed here. I cannot recommend it enough, esp for large families. We paid €636 for 7 days, plus €3.50 per person/per day city tax for anyone over 18 (there is also a €150 deposit which we got back). If you contact the owner, and tell him I sent you, he will give a discount. It can sleep up to 7 people, and was perfect for our family.

Right outside the door, there was a fresh market every day except Sunday. Right across the street was a great little Italian bar (bakery). Every morning, I'd go get fresh croissants and eggs from the market. It was fabulous. I'd also pick up a chicken or pasta and veggies and fruit, and we cooked dinner every night in the apartment. We took fruits and veggies with us during the day and had snacks for lunch most days. The kitchen, while small, was very fully equipped. It had everything we needed to cook, which helped tremendously. Anything we were unable to get at the market, there was a grocery store just 2 blocks away.

Other important details-I asked the owner if there was a baby cot available by chance, and he made sure to provide one for my youngest. There is a lift available, which was helpful with the heavy suitcases. There was also a washing machine. This was amazing because I was able to pack 3-4 sets of clothes for everyone, and wash them during the week and reuse, instead of packing clothes for 7 days. And the other great thing, we were about a 5 minute walk from the metro station, Ponte Lungo.

With that said, if you book the apartment and are flying in to Ciampiano, one bus company, Cortal, does a shuttle bus from the airport to Anginina metro station, the last metro stop on the A line. Take this! We didn't realize this, and took a shuttle bus to Termini station. We were a bit frustrated when we watched the bus drive right past our apartment (We had google map street viewed it, so knew that's where we were going to be staying), and then drive a total of an hour, to then get on the subway and come back another 15-20 minutes.

Our trip started when Monday, the baby threw up twice. I thought it was just too much Easter candy. Then come Tues night, I got sick and started throwing up. As we were heading to bed, all three of the other kids started doing the same. I was freaking out, and praying like crazy, knowing we had to fly out Thursday morning. The night was horrible, with constant throwing up. Thankfully, by Wed afternoon, everyone was better. Praise the Lord!!

We got up early Thursday morning and drove to the airport. Nothing bad, or exciting to report about getting on the plane. It went very smoothly and the two bags we had planned to check were just under the 20kg limit. Score! Ryan air was decent enough. Nothing fabulous, but for the price, it was fine for an hour and a half flight.

When we landed, there were several airport shuttle buses available. I had done my research and found the cheapest one to Termini, so we bought tickets. Unfortunately, it had about a 45 minute wait, so hubby and I grabbed a capachino and got the kids a snack. We eventually got on the bus, and went ot Termini- the main station in Rome and horrible crowded because it's the ONE place the two metro lines connect, and also where the trains come in to. Not my favorite place in Rome haha.

We eventually got to the apartment, met the man, and then let Fr. N (Hubby's brother who lives in Rome at this time) know we were there. We walked down to the grocery store and bought some things, and Father arrived soon after we got back. We made some tortellini for dinner, then went on a walk to San Giovanni (the Basilica). This is where Fr. Nathan was ordained 3 years ago, so we wanted to show the kids. On the walk there, we walked in to a random church and said a few prayers. We also found a playground on the walk, so let the kids play for a bit. By the time we got to the church though, it was closed. The walk had been a lot longer than we realized, so we took the metro home two stops.

Our main reason for coming to Rome was to see Fr. N, and because he was going to do #1 and #2's First Holy Communion. We planned the Holy Communion to be on our first full day, but then later realized the kids wanted him to do their First Confession as well. So, in an untypical fashion, when we got back to the apartment, they did their First Confessions on the balcony of our apartment on April 9, 2015.

We then put the kids to bed, and stayed up late catching up with Father. I'll write more tomorrow :)

Domrey, France and Bingen, Germany

Last Oct., my sister-in-law was staying with me for 3 months.  During this time, we had a guest come stay with us. Her name is Meg Hunter-Kilmer and she was going to be speaking to our ladies group at church.  With two days in our area, I knew I needed to take her to some cool places, so we set out to Domremy, France- the birthplace of Joan of Arc- and Bingen, Germany- where St. Hildegard is from.
In Domremy, we saw the Church that now stands where Joan of Arc was baptized. The original church isn't there anymore, but the baptism font where she was baptized is still there. We then saw her home. It is still standing exactly where it was then. The village was super small, with a cute little stream running through it. Then, above the village, on the hill, was a large basilica built in her honor. We took our time, making it really worth the long drive, but we could have seen everything in two hours or less.

 Below is her home

 Below is the church that stands where the previous church was.

 The same baptismal font used on Joan of Arc

 In the basilica

 Beautiful rainbow near the Basilica as we were leaving. 

With Bingen, we knew we wanted to go here, but did not have time to do research, so just drove there. Not the greatest plan. There was a museum in honor of St. Hildegard (a doctor of the Church!) but they only told us about her past, and things of that time. We then took the car ferry across the river to Rudeshiem and went up to the convent. Here we were able to look down on the village, with beautiful vineyards in between the convent and the village. They were gorgeous. We were able to see the Church, and the gift shop up there. We came down, headed back across the ferry, and went to the Basillica in Bingen. We thought it would have something to do with St. Hildegard, but it did not. We ended up back in Rudeshiem later in December for a great Christmas market. 

 In Bingen, looking across the river. You can see a castle on the hill.

 This is looking across the river at Rudeshiem

 This made us laugh. warning: Don't drive in to the river.

 On the ferry crossing the river!

 The beautiful vinegards, with the convent/Church in the background

 The Church- I think this was created by St. Hildegard.

 Up on the hill near the convent.

 We loved this sign: This way to Jesus! :)

 The Church

 My sweet girl praying before Jesus.

 The kids and me with a statue of St. Hildegard

 These cute signs were all over the two villages, showing something that was part of the road of the Saint.

Willing to Sacrifice

We've all been there. Those days where you go to Church, and you were MEANT to be there. The Lord completely talks to YOU. The priest may as well have said your name while he was giving the homily. And your children are even quiet so you can hear it! Today was one of those days...

Well, let me rewind. It really started yesterday. I was frustrated with a few things at home, and decided I was going to go take a shower. By some absolute miracle, I got a shower with no interruptions, and took the time to pray and pour out my heart on a few issues. Things that were happening in our lives that I was feeling excitement, but also bitter and jealousy over. Things where my husband was wanting to do things, big goals really, and I felt like saying "But what about me!?!" I was having a pity party because he has goals, he's making himself better, he's doing things for God. And me? Well, I was bummed that "my" dreams and goals consist of staying home and teaching our kids for the next 17 years or more and 'just' being involved in our women's ministry. (I put "my" because well, I'm not sure that it's my goals and dreams, but I know it's what we want for our kids and what God has called me to do.)

Anyway, I was praying in the shower, and trying REALLY hard to not do all the talking, and instead trying to let God talk to me. I eventually heard Him say to stop holding my husband back, that I was truly being selfish about this. That marriage isn't about ME. And same thing with my kids and homeschooling. I got out of the shower with a different look, and two things I knew I was going to change. I told God that I hated not having a goal, and He whispered a goal I can have. One that I want, but don't want. You know, a goal where I want the end result, but not the work that goes with it. So, I"m still praying about my attitude on that.

So back to today's Homily for ME. It was on John 12:20-33. It was regarding the piece of wheat that falls to the ground, and if it dies, it produces much fruit. But if it doesn't die, it remains just a piece of wheat.

Our priest kept asking "Are you willing to sacrifice to let someone else live?" He said it over and over. And it was like God asking me "Aimee, are you willing to sacrifice to let others be what I need them to be?" To be the small thing that supports the big things. Am I willing to stop saying "What about me?" so that my husband can do the things God needs him to do? Am I willing to knock out the "What about me?" so that my children can grow up with the best education possible for them, learning more and more how to love and serve God and others? Am I willing to sacrifice myself for their lives, for their lives to be lived to the fullest for God? Am I willing to sacrifice to make them Saints?

Then I thought but that's so hard! I'm not sure I can do that. And God reminded me "Aimee, you've already been doing it. You've already sacrificed 8 years of a career for your children and for following your husband through military moves... You've already gone through surgery four times for your children. You're a mother and a wife. You sacrifice every day, and it's what you're called to do. You've been doing it all along with my help, and I will be here to help you through all these other sacrifices."

Well, I can't really argue with that, can I? I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13)..Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends (John 15:13)....Lord, please remind me of these verses when Satan or society tries to whisper to me and asks me "What about you?".

Six months gone, and here we are

I know, it's been forever since I posted, but I had very good reason. My husband was deployed for 6 months, and I just did not feel comfortable advertising all our happenings while he was away. It was a very busy 6 months, and we are just this week getting back to a normal.

Just before he left, we decided to rearrange our house. We took the huge 'office space' that contained Jon's desk, all my craft supplies, and junk, and converted it in to a much larger classroom. The old classroom we turned in to a 'library' with several book shelves and our prayer altar we had always wanted. Schooling in this larger room has been such a great experience this year. We began school right after my husband left, using a new program- St. Thomas Aquinas Academy. I really liked that they planned everything for me and told me what to use, etc. especially given that I wanted to spend all the time I could as a family, and not planning school, right before my husband left. However, we won't be using them the coming year. They were great, really they were. But I just didnt have a need for the guidance to make it worth all the money we spent, so we won't be using them at this time. This coming year, we're going to start using RC History. This is a Catholic Unit study. I have always wanted a unit study curricumulm, which is part of the reason I went with STAA, as they advertised they were. However, there was no unit study while using them, other than combining a few subjects for Zach and Hannah, which I already did. So we'll be using RC History and a hod podge of other things I've used and has worked great for us. I'm sure i'll do another post on that later down the road.

During the time Jon was gone, his sister Emma came and stayed with us for 3 months. During that time, we did tons of traveling. We went to Paris for 4 days, Koln, Luxembourg and Bastogne, Domremy, France, Bingen, Trier, and several Christmas markets. I will post a few travel posts in a few days about some of our travels. I was so greatful for all her help and company for those 3 months. It was also wonderful getting to know one of Jon's sisters so closely.

Aside from this, to keep my mind busy, I discovered chalk paint, and redecorated a lot of our house while Jon was gone. We had 3 mismatched bookshelves in our library, which I painted a dark brown with teal on the inside. Then I made letter plates that hung on the side saying "Read", "play", and "Sing". I also moved our game shelf in to the library and moved the prayer altar in to the den. They both fit there so much better. I also rearranged our den some, and with the help of my awesome neighbor, arranged my books in a much more lovely way to show off our book collection and make them stand out a bit more.

With all this said, my husband returned a few weeks ago, and started back to work this week. We took the time off school while he was home, so we're getting back in the routine of school as well. My 1 year old is busy terrorizing everyone doing their school work, trying to take their paper, pencils, and turning lights on and off. She's very busy and makes school a challenge, but it's a well-worth it challenge. This girl brings us such joy. We just forgot what it was like to have a 1yo. My 6yo daughter is in a play, which keeps us very busy with practice twice a week. Hopefully in the near future, my son will be starting karate as well. And my 4yo is beyond happy to have daddy back, as she's such a daddy's girl.

Anyway, that's about the briefest update I can give for 8 months of not posting. Here's to hoping I start posting more, but as we all know, i'm not that great at it.

Rain, Day trip, lots of kiddos, and more

There are so many things in life I am thankful for. One is that my children are great friends and can entertain themselves for hours. It has been raining non stop for the past two days. Just a light drizzle. I could send them outside, but then that means I'd have to give baths again and I'm not in to that today ;-) Instead, they have been playing LEGO all day without many fights and not telling me once that they are bored. They even took a 20 min break to help me clean up around where Beka is crawling.

Yes, that's another bit of news. Beka began crawling last week. She hit 8 months this weekend, and is enjoying crawling, pulling herself up, and eating solids, while making fun messes. We aren't big in to purees, so she's eating everything we eat. YUM to salsa chicken the past two nights- black beans, corn, rice and chicken. She got her bottom two teeth about a month ago, so those have helped some, but she'd be fine if she didn't have them.

Last week was insane, but I think the kids loved it. Our dear friends who watched our kids while Beka was born and are her godparents, they had their baby. So of course, we watched their kids. Unfortunately, there was some small complications, making the baby have to stay much longer than planned, so we had their kids for 8 days, and then 2 afternoons until mom and baby were able to go home. It seems so quiet in our house now! And we all 9 survived.

Weekend before last, we drove two cars and took the 7 kiddos to Belgium to visit a Trappist Cistercian Monastery, Orval Abbey, with our Catholic homeschooling friends. Jon had a lot of fun telling our Abby "Hey Abby, guess where we are. At an Abbey!!" (Similar to how they use to tell their sister Mary "Merry Christmas" all the time.) WE left with some yummy monk cheese and Belgium beer.

 These are the ruins of the first buildings they had.

 Me and my snuggle bug sound asleep.

 Jon and all the kiddos minus the baby... and his beer.

 More of the Monastery. 

THankfully while there were so many kids here, the weather was beautiful and they spent many days outside, using their imagination like crazy. Here, the kids created a barefoot park. Each section had something different- rocks, mud, dirt, etc. During the time, Hannah also learned to ride without training wheels, and Zach lost another tooth (making it 5 now).

I wish I could say we were preparing for our coming school year. But alas, I sent our information in to the new program we're using and haven't heard back yet. I hope I do in the next few weeks, because I know it'll take a while to order our books, which has me freaked out a bit. We've still been doing lots of reading this summer and continuing to work on math. 

The only other thing in life right now consists of telling a lot of our friends goodbye as they are PCSing. Tonight I'm going to a farewell dinner for a very, very dear friend whom I met in TLF our first week here. Three years later, and she's leaving. We should technically be leaving as well, but have extended so have two more years. I'm thankful we have two more years, but incredibly sad to see so many of my very good friends leaving. This particular friend has been an amazing friend and example to me in so many ways. I'm so grateful she's been in my life these 3 years.