tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87963843464411419542024-03-18T17:37:20.265-07:00Me and My HouseMeeting the Eternal in the presentelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.comBlogger541125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-23174749654267800872020-12-05T10:46:00.001-08:002020-12-05T11:06:56.446-08:00Lord, that I might see<p> I've been undergoing an unusual cross of late. My eyes started giving me trouble a few months ago. Looking back, I see that its been longer still that the symptoms started to first appear. First there was an itchiness, then redness and burning, which eventually gave way to soreness, strain, blurriness, spots and floaters. About 3 weeks ago I finally made my way to an opthomalogist friend who diagnosed me with a few small problems creating a medium size problem for me. </p><p>The medium sized problem was actually a large problem for my soul. It made my anxiety, which up until now has been well managed, really spiral out of control. So I have found myself climbing out of bed each morning and clawing my way forward through the day- a sensation I felt certain I had conquered long ago, I am now revisiting. With my usual gusto I decided I would meet the challenge and tackle both my eye issues and anxiety issue simultaneously and get back "in control" of them. </p><p>It turns out that God has other lessons he desires I learn.</p><p> Yesterday, the dam broke when I realized that the anxiety medication I had wanted to try would exaccerbate my eye trouble ( by drying them out further) and that my eye trouble would then exaccerbate my anxiety ( by making me fear a blind future). When I threw everything I had at my problems full force, I saw I had created a great big loop of troubles and nothing more. I had been absolutely useless. </p><p>Almost imediately inside I felt like something in me broke. </p><p>And in that brokenness, I felt myself surrender. </p><p>I surrendered to God. I took my whole problem and stopped trying to fix it and instead just sat with it and accepted it for what it was. You'd think I would've wept or despaired, but no. I did plenty of that in the weeks and months leading up to it. Instead I found the very strangest of things inside of me- hope. </p><p>This morning, I woke up hopeful. I have no answers, no new solutions, but a brand new self knowledge to guide me forward. I can see that God has lovingly given me this cross because he trusts me with it. He knows I will bring good out of my cross as he has out of his. That good is meant for my salvation and it hurts, at times terribly, but is necessary. This cross is largely invisible to the world. My eyes look fine so no one, even if I tell them, can really understand how my world has changed. Picking up a book or my phone to read has been an agony some days. it feels so perfectly designed to be my cross that I know it is by intention. I suppose there is a strange comfort in that. God knows me so well that he knows exactly what a cross for me looks and feels like in order to be meritorious. </p><p>I also know that talk is cheap. For a long time I thought I knew what <i>"we walk by faith, not by sight</i>" meant. Now, I know I actually walk by sight and that my faith is weak indeed. Only when my physical eyes offered me spots and distortions, pain and worry, could I connect to how spiritually blind I am too. How often have I stumbled spiritually because I live too much attached to the world and what happens tomorrow or next week or next year, when spiritually I have neglected my eternity. If I worried half as much over my spiritual vision, as I have over my physical vision I'd be a saint by now. </p><p>Naturally, I begin to see the meaning in the myriad passages of the gospel that speak on vision now- almost daily the words vision and sight comes up in the readings. How have I missed it all this time? I took it for granted, is how. The richness of the stories is becoming a new found treasure. </p><p>In my recollection I take the position of blind Bartimaeus. Sitting by the roadside begging "<i>Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me</i>". I thought what needed healing was my eyes, but God saw further. <b>"<i>What wilt that have me do unto thee?</i></b>" is the question he poses to Bartimaeus and to me, so I ask along with him "<i>Lord, that I might see</i>". And because he is faithful, he has allowed me to see that my spiritual blindness is far greater than my troubled eyes. </p><p>Immediately after recieveing his sight, we are told that Bartimaeus, followed Jesus, in <i>the way</i>. </p><p>And so must I begin, in faith. </p><p>Again. </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-41912085657751111302020-05-03T22:28:00.002-07:002020-05-04T10:58:21.692-07:00The path is forwardI haven't written in a long time. Life catches up with you. The good thing about keeping a blog is that it is always there, just a keystroke away. So here I am sitting quietly in my living room after midnight,the only quiet time I ever get, approaching our last week of school for the 2020 year in the midst of a pandemic.<br />
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<b>And I am well.</b><br />
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I write that last sentence not as a boast,but because it is hard for me to believe it is true. You see, for the last 10+ years, I have suffered on and off from an anxiety disorder. I get, at times, crippling panic attacks. I worry. I shut down. I shake. I cry. I think and think until I can't think anymore and my brain exhausts itself. Never one to pretend things that are happening to me aren't really true, I have always been honest with my family and friends about my anxiety. I also spent a few years in counseling working my way through my own brain and how to manage the hiccups and tantrums it sometimes throws at me. Occasionally with medicine,though mostly without. In the last year or so, my anxiety had notably decreased. Not gone, but I really knew how to handle it now and that is genuinely something to be happy about.<br />
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Then the pandemic hit. And I waited for my whole life to fall apart. Surely, someone so prone to panic woulod succumb to the infernal treachery of this awful pandemic? I would most definitely suffer setbacks, right? But that didn't happen. Instead I found myself able to move through and cope and reason with my daily life in ways I had never dreamed possible before.It appears that 10+ years of anxiety has innoculated me.<br />
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The more I spoke with family and friends, the more I realized that the whole world was having a worldwide panic attack, only they didn't have the tools to deal with it, because it was new to all of them, but not to me and my anxious brain. Person afte person would call and ask how I was and I would tell them and ask in return, only to be met with existential fear and uncertainty. I was stunned- not because I didn't understand, but because I understood so deeply!<br />
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That angst I had felt for so long....the questions that linger and hang over your mind....the doubts about tomorrow....or next week....or next year....the scenarios that play on you about work, and children and health and faith....gosh they can be tormenting. Suddenly they were on everyones lips, but not my own.<br />
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For ten years I would muster the courage to say things out loud like ....<br />
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What if I get cancer and die?<br />
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What will I do if one of my kids die?<br />
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What will happen if my husband dies?<br />
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What will become of my kids if I die?<br />
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What if the church continues to collapse?<br />
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What if there is no more work?<br />
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What if someone in my family doesn't die but gets terribly hurt?<br />
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what if there is an economic collapse?<br />
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what if???<br />
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what if???<br />
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what if???<br />
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If you have suffered anxiety, you know how debilitating it can be. If you have not, you may be getting a taste of it right now and I'm sure you'll agree its brutal.<br />
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So here are some things I have learned that may be of help to you right now. They are all simple and you've heard them before, but maybe haven't yet actually tried them. The path through this pandemic is going to look for you and me, alot like the path out of anxiety. That path is forward.<br />
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First- take a deep breath. I mean right now. While you're reading take a deep breath and recognize that you are actually breathing. That means you're alive and when youre brain is telling you the world is going to end, and the media is helping it out, its good to remember those very basic things.<br />
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Next- ask yourself what you are most afraid of and get yourself to say it out loud to another human being. Holding your fears in the dark is not helpful. Shine some light on them. I used to worry that if I said them out loud they'd be more likely to come true, but that turns out to be a lie. So go ahead and name things, no matter how ridiculous it sounds.<br />
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Next, ask yourself what your job is for this day. Not tomorrow, not next week. When you are suffering anxiety, its is ridiculously important to stay in the moment as anxiety is a time stealer. It robs you of your present and future by borrowing and inserting troubles that don't belong there.<br />
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Once you figure out what your job is for this day- begin. You don't have to do all of it, but begin. Take small steps. Focus on the task at hand. Make a dinner. Do some laundry. Make the bed. Teach one lesson. Go for a walk. Keep moving forward. Anxiety can trap us if we allow it to. That usually happens when we are idle. Our minds wander and soon enough we are imagining worst case scenarios. Just do the next right thing.<br />
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Be courageous. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I had to actually face my fears in order to get through them. There is no other way. The monster under the bed needs looking at to be proved he is not there. Tell someone what you are afraid and figure out what dealing with it looks like.<br />
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Are you afraid of lost work?- okay- taht is real, maybe you've lost your job. Thats awful and you need to feel upset and sad and acknowledge that- but also think of a game plan for when you may be able to find somthing new, or change fields, or do something temporary until things look better. The point being not to let oneawful thing defeat you, or have a snowball effect on your whole life. Take a sgtep forward and confront that fear and you'lll make progress. If you stand up to one fear and start working on it, in time it may resolve or a new opportunities may open up. Begin with setting a plan.<br />
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Don't try to do it by yourself. One of my greatest strengths while I was dealing with anxiety was being able to acknowledge it to others, and even laugh about it. It takes the sting out of so much when you can crack a joke at your own expense as we all take ourselves too seriously.Talking to my family and friends has literally saved me countless times ( THANK YOU!) over the years.<br />
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Pray. Remember that God has a plan for your life. He is ordered and precise, and most importantly, He is on your team. He wants to see you succeed. It is not a mistake that He has allowed to you to be born in this place and time, it is His design. Trust that He knows what He is doing and that He can bring order our of the chaos of your life and of your brain.<br />
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You have this day. Be not afraid. Enter it with joy. The world around you needs you!<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-64401978114445221662018-05-29T09:29:00.000-07:002018-05-29T13:40:22.719-07:00One more sleepOnly one more sleep til we see you!<br />
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We've had a beautiful few weeks in Italy catching glimpses of this country. All of us feel so satisfied by the visit. You can't know a whole culture just by visiting it, most of the time not even by living there, unless it's for a long while. But the glimpses we have seen reveal so much beauty and gentleness that our spirits are really lifted up.It rained here today, first time all trip. Since it was super hot when we woke, it was a blessing because it cooled the earth down. We were walking in Pordenone when the showers came and we were able to duck into a little alcove to stay dry. It bordered a parking garage, but you would've thought it was a secret garden instead. There were roses growing up and wisteria hanging down, and rain falling all around us. The sound of the rain on the brickwork streets was lighter then on the roads at home, I didn't realize that would matter to my ears but it did. It has felt like each day is a small feast for our souls as we take in new places and foods and people.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Honeysuckle is so sweet</td></tr>
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It's growing on nearly every street</div>
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Today's a harder day on both Abbie and Pete as parting just isn't easy. Dad and I have done our best to keep them preoccupied, but we also remember how hard it was to be apart, and there's no getting away from it. Still, the engagement is hopeful and helpful.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two young hearts</td></tr>
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Of course dad and I don't want to leave Peter but, but, but, we get to come home to our favorite people tomorrow! What you haven't realized is that while we were away, when we saw fun things that reminded us of you, we actually got them! So tonight you can go to sleep wondering about what interesting little trinkets we will have for you to unwrap. I think we got something for everyone...I sure hope I didn't miss anyone of you...with so many kids maybe I forgot one? (it makes me laugh to write that.) Do you know how many times people ask dad and me that question for real? I wonder if they think it could truly happen? As if the times we have had here together is somehow not part of what we have as a whole family. I mean I know that Peter was the only real family member in Afghanistan last year, but weren't we all there too most days and nights? It seemed so to me, and I know how many days it did to you too .<br />
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And now tomorrow we get the chance to bring pieces of Italy back to you, not just in boxes and bags, but mainly in stories and pictures and reminders we have now to tell you about until it's your own turn to visit a special place and tell us all about it.<br />
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Sweet dream. See you tomorrow!<br />
Love,<br />
Mom and Dad<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-31095756426978652092018-05-28T13:51:00.000-07:002018-05-28T14:31:42.996-07:00How do you say "snarky" in Italian?Hi kiddos! We made our last trip to Venice today. We had planned to get up early and head to Trieste, but when we woke up, we all realized how wiped out we were and readjusted for Venice. The weather is now hot and summery, and honestly, we just love Venice. Plus, I hadn't seen St Lucy yet or actually visited St Marks tomb.<br />
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So we took it slow, ate along the way and just checked out whatever our hearts desired. St Lucy is incorrupt so we headed to that church first. The doors were locked, but also glass, so you can set up a visit with prayer cards an offering etc right from the front which we did.<br />
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Then we took a water bus to St Marks and waited on a miraculously short line to visit the tomb of the apostle. The church is a masterpiece, but I was mostly in saint mode today so lots of candles and prayer time. We had a chance to venerate St Marks tomb which was such a blessing.<br />
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Afterwards we had an early dinner then visited Santa Maria Gloriosa friary and we're all mesmerized by the art work and statuary reliefs. If it sounds like we visited alot of churches, let me try to put it into perspective for you. Our guide told us there are 180 Catholic churches in Venice wit 60 of them currently operational (the others are either being restored or are museums). We saw about 10 since we arrived. Each one is a little gem of history and art. It's just a heavenly place.<br />
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Our train ride home was...interesting and the reason for the blog post title. Dad had been a little overheated today and was happy when he finally got onto the train home. In fact he put his feet up across from me cause he was so tired and just not feeling himself. A few minutes went by and a woman came walking down the aisle, she looked like she worked for the train company. She stopped and asked dad "excuse me, can I sit here?" To which dad immediately replied "of course" and sat up to make room. She followed up with "do you think I want to sit there if your feet have been on the seat?" Her tone was awful, her demeanor worse, and quite frankly-she hadn't anticipated Dad. (when I heard her starting I thought gosh it's time to buckle up, dad is not gonna do well and we're gonna get kicked off the train. You know and I know, that Dad doesn't take smac talk from anyone, unfortunately, this woman did not). Before she could take a breath he returned fire "you do know if you wanted me to put my feet down, you could have asked me instead of talking to me like you were going to teach me some schoolboy lesson?" She stammered on about the seat, Peter sat up wide eyed to listen closer, "it is not our custom" She tried to say before dad went at it again. "Okay, then you should have said so instead of being so rude" (She actually was really rude, and quite frankly the only person in Italy that has been in the last 14 days, not bad stats at all). She kept muttering things under her breath as if to regain some of the lost footing she had just suffered. Finally dad just took a deep breath, looked her dead in the eye and said "what's the Italian word for snarky?" She huffed and walked off. When she went to the next car laughter broke out all over. Peter and Abbie almost split their sides laughing. 3 stops later she was getting off the train herself and as she left she called out to dad "I am polite!" To which he called back "sure you are!" And Abbie added "and I'm six feet tall!" causing a fresh round of laughter as the doors closed.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-73279708325721189022018-05-27T11:38:00.000-07:002018-05-27T11:38:00.755-07:00Lignano BeachHi All!<br />
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I'm so happy you're all going to the drive in tonight. That sounds like a fun time, I hope the movie is good.<br />
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I told you in yesterday's post that Dad had the idea to go to a beach. Abbie really liked that idea. Peter and I, not so much. You know I love the beach, but both Pete and I were a bit nervous about going to a new beach without chairs, umbrellas, towels etc. and just baking in the sun. Because Das and Abbie really wanted to, we both talked when they were out of the room and just agreed to make the best of it.<br />
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Wow. We were both so happy we did! We drove about an hour to Lignano Beach on the Adriatic Sea. It was 83 degrees with a warm breeze coming off the water. It smelled exactly like the beach at home except not as strong or salty. Dad said he thinks its because theres no crashing waves from the sea, like there is from the ocean. The sand is darker and much hotter on the feet, but finer too. We pulled up and parked with no trouble at all. In front of us were literally thousands of beach umbrellas and beautiful lounge chairs already set up. The beach was not at all crowded. The people we spoke to said July and August was the busiest time so we just happened on a really perfect sunny day to enjoy it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Super nice umbrellas and chairs lined the whole beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pete and Abbie grabbed hot dogs at the stand</td></tr>
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We weren't sure how the whole umbrella/lounge chairs thing worked, so we all just walked down to a spot we liked, set up and then went for a swim! The water was like a warm bath and really shallow (about knee deep) for the length of a football field. It was just a gorgeous day with lots of families and little ones swimming and sunbathing. We stayed in the water or in the beach chairs for a few hours. Then Peter asked if we wanted to go check out the town just as an Italian gentleman came to tell us we could buy tickets to use the lounge chairs and umbrellas. Of course we all started laughing because he is the first guy in all of Italy to ask us for a ticket. We've rode trains, buses, and water taxis all week and though we've bought tickets for everything, no one has checked anything at all. Dad and I keep scratching our heads wondering how they manage to do business this way. We didn't have a ticket and we were leaving, so he just said "no problem".<br />
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We left and headed for the boardwalk. It is really similar to home and Ocean City. Arcades, shops, gelato, lemonade stands, line the streets. Of course, this made us miss you guys so much even as we were loving every minute. We stayed all day and had a late lunch/early dinner plus sundaes (these are the first sundaes we've seen in Italy. Gelato is everywhere but just cups or cones).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sundaes!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The whole beach is set up this way</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOY0p9dEmWGtcgnm9SwBZdipX5pdfZ6xwvJFYbJ1YnejFfTGivr4oxLMiIPZ5qOwk1Q0GW11UEmUaVB1sPUW_7CPdTRjfCONO9ZZN4nOw3W1OGqeFMDPXklUkRQYiwKqXC0AQUixvLZ7o/s1600/20180527_165735.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOY0p9dEmWGtcgnm9SwBZdipX5pdfZ6xwvJFYbJ1YnejFfTGivr4oxLMiIPZ5qOwk1Q0GW11UEmUaVB1sPUW_7CPdTRjfCONO9ZZN4nOw3W1OGqeFMDPXklUkRQYiwKqXC0AQUixvLZ7o/s320/20180527_165735.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coffee and gelato</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGnQAyDMbJTrAuRkg-XWsOiVGh4cRaa-FGFBLVskpdd-e0gyn4MXC9wkMQ6omEcu4NlamuEVqdolwLpgiFbtBJoETk1uunmSVw37OP3hNjao6w8_DsCa6tUtW2mC1-K2zd81cfJL-5nQ/s1600/received_869804593216874.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="891" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGnQAyDMbJTrAuRkg-XWsOiVGh4cRaa-FGFBLVskpdd-e0gyn4MXC9wkMQ6omEcu4NlamuEVqdolwLpgiFbtBJoETk1uunmSVw37OP3hNjao6w8_DsCa6tUtW2mC1-K2zd81cfJL-5nQ/s320/received_869804593216874.jpeg" width="178" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary, dad thought you laugh at the mannequin. She has pants on her head (all of them did!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5s2WEwzRfqTM3wD5rjFODn2iYdseo46UqOhgDNlMQsrWK9TdwF3uZN8fGvs49SfFghLdgECr9RHM6J-rlaMtg2s1bcZMjUL5qsV3nDN5Y5GOoCUw8bRZ_SsyEmu6WPBgPas3k2SKM0jE/s1600/received_869807313216602.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5s2WEwzRfqTM3wD5rjFODn2iYdseo46UqOhgDNlMQsrWK9TdwF3uZN8fGvs49SfFghLdgECr9RHM6J-rlaMtg2s1bcZMjUL5qsV3nDN5Y5GOoCUw8bRZ_SsyEmu6WPBgPas3k2SKM0jE/s320/received_869807313216602.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pete wondered if they knew what they actually naked this store?</td></tr>
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Fresh lemonade!</div>
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<br />
<br />
We went to the pier at the end of the day and Dad watched some local men fishing. He probably could've stayed there a few more hours just watching them.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg9CuPVOPvEfYIfOhPb48mXrJEuL-4OFkyeGCO2Dm0VBS5P1ZnLI7CKAgT5noU6mrKJv341Q7aDoyV6flJuRI7ck5dsOH9NSlWg-Hu4PXS6bcGkm4Qr04BRYcYarQHpVtZ0u-XewGsl1I/s1600/20180527_172430.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg9CuPVOPvEfYIfOhPb48mXrJEuL-4OFkyeGCO2Dm0VBS5P1ZnLI7CKAgT5noU6mrKJv341Q7aDoyV6flJuRI7ck5dsOH9NSlWg-Hu4PXS6bcGkm4Qr04BRYcYarQHpVtZ0u-XewGsl1I/s320/20180527_172430.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">at the pier, watching the fishermen</td></tr>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-7836199057766697372018-05-26T13:01:00.000-07:002018-05-26T13:01:18.806-07:00Ordinary lovelinessOnly a few days more til I get to hug and kiss you all and let you unwrap some presents! Thanks for being so good for John-Paul, Andy and Rachel. We miss you all more than you know. While it has been the trip of a lifetime, I'm so happy that my every day life is filled up with so much of you that I feel wealthy in love.<br />
<br />
Dad talks about you so much and laughs and tells Peter and Abbie all the funny things you do. He's been so happy to have us to himself after two years of seperation.<br />
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Leaving Florence</div>
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Such a beautiful city</div>
<br />
Today, we sadly left Florence. It's a toss up whether we like Venice or Florence better. I told dad I couldn't choose and he said not to bother-if I pick Venice he'll choose Florence and vice versa so we'd have both one at the top of our list at all times. Sounds legit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjLrB7NBYLWErejinP82SHNZcxnvUkLrYth2jF0iV2IUuvV92aI5H_HEblJT5stpoRSm2dES_-gi79bRWkMt8xTag7QeV00svrbfqBoR63M43N8ZeU9EuZorvb7oMY-dkehNvMLzUl4eE/s1600/20180526_120346.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjLrB7NBYLWErejinP82SHNZcxnvUkLrYth2jF0iV2IUuvV92aI5H_HEblJT5stpoRSm2dES_-gi79bRWkMt8xTag7QeV00svrbfqBoR63M43N8ZeU9EuZorvb7oMY-dkehNvMLzUl4eE/s320/20180526_120346.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This pigeon thought he owned the train station</td></tr>
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We did alot of travelling today, and all our connections were only minutes apart from each other, so we were on high alert all day, but we made it! We're back in Aviano and we went to the vigil mass just after we checked into our hotel. It's even a little nicer than the first rooms (which were really nice).<br />
<br />
Tonight Peter took us to a local chicken place called BEFeD. It's strange sounding, especially for a chicken place, but it was really delicious. Its all natural and organic and the spices are pretty amazing. Pete says it's a chain and Abbie has wanted to try it since he told her about it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We haven't eaten one bad thing here. Not one.</td></tr>
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<br />
Afterwards, we walked all around Pordenone and just soaked in the ordinary loveliness of a small town in Italy. The streets smell so strongly here of flowers, almost exclusively honey-suckle. I wont ever smell it again without thinking of Italy-Rome especially.The culture is just beautiful here. People are out eating on the streets, and setting up tables for parties, and pouring wine. With so much alcohol around, I'd expect it to be wild, but it doesnt appear to be from what I've seen. And while there's alot of technology, I see less people overly connected to their phones which makes me happy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGt4X8-JpNVNzhA13tR6icqhyphenhyphenafQvfCKdEBXDVUDRgIAjLw_J6-qHvqKzcwP9ArrEdCM3k7VmPe1UfGW5Wj0sKOlxvBseADHjzP7jZ4aBjb9HOUZUD9ReRnXD-uHbshilZAcSwwrsWDFo/s1600/20180526_203833.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGt4X8-JpNVNzhA13tR6icqhyphenhyphenafQvfCKdEBXDVUDRgIAjLw_J6-qHvqKzcwP9ArrEdCM3k7VmPe1UfGW5Wj0sKOlxvBseADHjzP7jZ4aBjb9HOUZUD9ReRnXD-uHbshilZAcSwwrsWDFo/s320/20180526_203833.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I need one of these for the girls!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij7HaoLaeZPGI_-SHQ11VS7aMl9df9HYyphUfelb8Y82xwE9Aupf4Ghcmdq5ay9jtHt3CO__ojGLjWDDAtiYM8GvSGccDnCoAk_NqND9cER9notR54wn2N8AwBNF2jhS8FEtDB8SJ2JR4/s1600/20180526_201944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij7HaoLaeZPGI_-SHQ11VS7aMl9df9HYyphUfelb8Y82xwE9Aupf4Ghcmdq5ay9jtHt3CO__ojGLjWDDAtiYM8GvSGccDnCoAk_NqND9cER9notR54wn2N8AwBNF2jhS8FEtDB8SJ2JR4/s320/20180526_201944.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> a pop-up party and the streets are cordoned off </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd5Td6AqWd6CgSu-NaH2QAOeIZQh5vwx60gtDMpNmT-Umh1f9L8bcbaaaUaJBu3KGPNmhQy4Xb-dcOAc4aemnuiYcOZCQrLM22XlAKeOxXNXvypjoiQ5Zymf3BgWyyOdE6wA8STaB-p68/s1600/20180526_202943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd5Td6AqWd6CgSu-NaH2QAOeIZQh5vwx60gtDMpNmT-Umh1f9L8bcbaaaUaJBu3KGPNmhQy4Xb-dcOAc4aemnuiYcOZCQrLM22XlAKeOxXNXvypjoiQ5Zymf3BgWyyOdE6wA8STaB-p68/s320/20180526_202943.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A random government building, so pretty!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKar6TnOn2kVhiU7sAN2K3JiCx7jF9UjMk8fp5ACrcZY_l4-ioHwmWjRZYD1_yGJTobWdNYTabzatDSaovNi013qStaed5Ac-hoMWrn4vkXyZ-9gHfxzMHHBLj0xZ0ohuvy_Wk0ZMMpmo/s1600/20180526_202205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKar6TnOn2kVhiU7sAN2K3JiCx7jF9UjMk8fp5ACrcZY_l4-ioHwmWjRZYD1_yGJTobWdNYTabzatDSaovNi013qStaed5Ac-hoMWrn4vkXyZ-9gHfxzMHHBLj0xZ0ohuvy_Wk0ZMMpmo/s320/20180526_202205.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
There's some talk tonight (dad and Abbie) about finding a beach. it's not my first choice of outings, but Dad always has good ideas so I just go along when he gets onto something like that-Pete is the same as mr.I'll let you know if it turns out ok.<br />
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Mostly today we've been talking about our family and we've decided that ordinary loveliness is a really good part of it. Can't wait to hug you all.<br />
Love,<br />
Mom and Dad<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-19884735586083152642018-05-25T14:16:00.000-07:002018-05-25T14:25:37.997-07:00David-Florence-AbbieSweet Abbie loves art and is an incredible artist herself. We got skunked out of the Vatican museum while we were in Roma, as we couldn't get our phones to order tickets (we don't all have wifi and if one of us does, it's tricky, except for where we stay at night, hence the strange post hours and lack of editing as I am blogging from my tiny phone very late).<br />
So when we got to Florence I promised we'd buy her tickets to the Academia which houses David and other famous paintings by Michaelangelo and his confreres. We made a special stop yesterday to buy tickets in advance so we could visit today with no lines. It was a perfect plan. Of course every where you visit here is so full of famous beauty you cannot easily escape it. Still Abbie had her heart set on seeing the real deal, and who could blame her.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEUEe-70iWVtAeNG5osj1kJBrWYXatyPFSke5bycLG7e5ZJpyvkdC45mitwcWYRr-sNnUGa3h8CYEh30wT_TMXU6gyjqkG-sxy-v7zlaGv6Z85ElXQzKLIpJKnEiMmMdOkkopTL90faD8/s1600/received_2144403029180241.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEUEe-70iWVtAeNG5osj1kJBrWYXatyPFSke5bycLG7e5ZJpyvkdC45mitwcWYRr-sNnUGa3h8CYEh30wT_TMXU6gyjqkG-sxy-v7zlaGv6Z85ElXQzKLIpJKnEiMmMdOkkopTL90faD8/s320/received_2144403029180241.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This morning at breakfast Abbie was cooking Fred and Peter eggs and Fred asked "how is it decided that one sculpture is so much better than another? I mean, what kind of standard is applied?" He said he could see how that would be pretty easy to ser with a painter, but not so easy with a sculptor.He was totally being honest and just really curious. Abbie expained alot about sculpturing and we listened, and then she and Pete headed out by bike to buy sneakers (her feet have been aching her from the 10 mile days) and meet us at 1 for our tour.<br />
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We walked into the first room of the museum and looked at some really magnificent paintings and a few sculptures.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcqTxTjHwWDkWAr428tuSrJigrEFUUV5sPvLJgw1VekpRi3iVciyCg0UVF2xuWEyIp7xnfBRNy635EP1qcQxnBIzY8tnzj11STbSojat5qks2zb1dn94QXt1r02bonDBOgk7Leeq-Roes/s1600/20180525_134142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcqTxTjHwWDkWAr428tuSrJigrEFUUV5sPvLJgw1VekpRi3iVciyCg0UVF2xuWEyIp7xnfBRNy635EP1qcQxnBIzY8tnzj11STbSojat5qks2zb1dn94QXt1r02bonDBOgk7Leeq-Roes/s320/20180525_134142.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rest of the beauty!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3zDODu1SLa8wEvUJCUk3VAQxG-088RqgMuIaYVqeHnCB51jqDLCWsR3IDkDCVu7cprMi_-iCz6CRiwkOBi_g7YxJenOEsmAYrdrZmtobggJxG6prp6vu3vmdH6QxngjOWFAFwoQtr_h0/s1600/20180525_140544.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3zDODu1SLa8wEvUJCUk3VAQxG-088RqgMuIaYVqeHnCB51jqDLCWsR3IDkDCVu7cprMi_-iCz6CRiwkOBi_g7YxJenOEsmAYrdrZmtobggJxG6prp6vu3vmdH6QxngjOWFAFwoQtr_h0/s320/20180525_140544.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I loved these paintings!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSQD-n59CghKh2j368zYaoHrOaMJWKd6dDdggnohyB7XAAn5c5BqxaKmbCISzJDLPSxu-BaNWxpNlJ8gaDw3HoGvv4QlPWkrfpZBRjKzDC5P8eEfSM2U2Aqcz6p9_FzDrqNFAIRK2lm7Q/s1600/20180525_134056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSQD-n59CghKh2j368zYaoHrOaMJWKd6dDdggnohyB7XAAn5c5BqxaKmbCISzJDLPSxu-BaNWxpNlJ8gaDw3HoGvv4QlPWkrfpZBRjKzDC5P8eEfSM2U2Aqcz6p9_FzDrqNFAIRK2lm7Q/s320/20180525_134056.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This whole room was filled with these depictions</td></tr>
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<br />
Then we turned the corner of the next room and...there he was.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA7GDkfcrmKiwhlXgQ94BAybZirZBAeqdavKwtcogDq3qDhWC17su-ZRvFKAlj0L6E5VDNeW6R8TTQdg9WvLuXpUrxD9CEmk-Qj-QEQhkr52RgMUDmaShLvW02sc11qzIcDomVIbhKnWI/s1600/received_868651386665528.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="595" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA7GDkfcrmKiwhlXgQ94BAybZirZBAeqdavKwtcogDq3qDhWC17su-ZRvFKAlj0L6E5VDNeW6R8TTQdg9WvLuXpUrxD9CEmk-Qj-QEQhkr52RgMUDmaShLvW02sc11qzIcDomVIbhKnWI/s320/received_868651386665528.jpeg" width="178" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at the people to gain perspective on size</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXUu6InVuyYsUR9xGIecJoCFM353j7CtqX210zLmpLvBopwQT46Feuz7gZPUOpUiIDT5m0brniwW9swxEcQ1MJCweNX0ak8OqJABAOuS3XgYYJ8qSgWKZ0Sb-txoexO5WFwkdvSSOgFY/s1600/received_868650409998959.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="852" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXUu6InVuyYsUR9xGIecJoCFM353j7CtqX210zLmpLvBopwQT46Feuz7gZPUOpUiIDT5m0brniwW9swxEcQ1MJCweNX0ak8OqJABAOuS3XgYYJ8qSgWKZ0Sb-txoexO5WFwkdvSSOgFY/s320/received_868650409998959.jpeg" width="170" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Up close</td></tr>
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In a single instant, all the questions were gone. He is a breathtaking sight to behold. In fact we all seperated and found different spots to sit and stare for as long as we possibly could without being rude. After about a half hour of gazing at David, I said to Abbie "would you like to finish the tour so we can see the other statues and paintings?" She smiled and said "sure, but what's the point?" She summed up all our feelings perfectly. Fred said as we left the building, "all my questions were answered in a single glance". What an incredible day for her, and us all.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1iGZqkvi0VMCDiR-b40vzecIqO0Kkygio1ENbr8cPfeKqUdMm6cDYyt-zEwul08AHy02xkPXanysOdyAJBSoVFsysus9RnvExDB5yDc9vM7ezq7LoF95Kz7oU542UrvMwJ1sR0DUtII/s1600/20180525_132759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1iGZqkvi0VMCDiR-b40vzecIqO0Kkygio1ENbr8cPfeKqUdMm6cDYyt-zEwul08AHy02xkPXanysOdyAJBSoVFsysus9RnvExDB5yDc9vM7ezq7LoF95Kz7oU542UrvMwJ1sR0DUtII/s320/20180525_132759.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love watching her watching David</td></tr>
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<br />
For the rest of the afternoon Pete and Abbie rode bikes around Florence (I wonder where they got that idea?) and Fred and I visited any church we hadn't yet seen. There are quite alot, so we have fallen into a form. We enter (we don't pay, we are pilgrims not tourists and I remind Peter and Abbie each time they gaze in awe that this is their church, by right and they are not visitors). We then pray for the Holy Father and his intentions, we see if one of the name saints is that of someone in our family or friends close to us, we light alot of candles. A whole lot of candles. At every church. I knew we couldn't possibly afford to pay for gifts for all my dear friends back home, but you can be assured I have lit a candle for you and remembered you before God in some really special places. To finish our intentions, we ask God to bless anyone we are forgetting and to watch over their intentions and give them special graces. All of these prayers have been my very favorite part of our travels, especially because almost every church simply asks a donation for a real candle and so I am free to light so many!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWmmN7V7JC1qTI0MVwlfDedehyphenhyphenJM_fP6y-vbZFNXQ2RcuCPDDrHdKz23mx0oik3WKBN2I9Bp2oEmxwDrHd7Eor0JKsFOvyxcAEFtpANw73NsvCN67ALQGgqXEFnibr5TcImNtUDsJwpg/s1600/20180525_160213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWmmN7V7JC1qTI0MVwlfDedehyphenhyphenJM_fP6y-vbZFNXQ2RcuCPDDrHdKz23mx0oik3WKBN2I9Bp2oEmxwDrHd7Eor0JKsFOvyxcAEFtpANw73NsvCN67ALQGgqXEFnibr5TcImNtUDsJwpg/s320/20180525_160213.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Candle trees</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWF8p5XtkVs196RAuBQaTl06_eoAnTXrjpCyH-mEdhAu7evk-ZD-guUuFHOwf7IUEWGIljkSExNJGpdZxhiim7TcwXGzfLDVK2-KrGr3xph0CXYhKH7amVOOO21vM60wlLKpG8NTuzd00/s1600/20180523_183333.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWF8p5XtkVs196RAuBQaTl06_eoAnTXrjpCyH-mEdhAu7evk-ZD-guUuFHOwf7IUEWGIljkSExNJGpdZxhiim7TcwXGzfLDVK2-KrGr3xph0CXYhKH7amVOOO21vM60wlLKpG8NTuzd00/s320/20180523_183333.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our children, grandchildren, and godchildren</td></tr>
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I love how the candles are standing in sand</div>
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Tonight I decided to cook for the 4 of us on our last night in Florence. I bought pancetta and fettucinni and fresh Romano cheese plus tomato and chicken and we had a lovely dinner together. There is a romantic place to watch the sunset so Pete and Abbie biked there after we ate and Fred and I are laying low til we feel it's time to get gelato. Speaking of gelato, Fred has decide it's good, but that he still prefers ice cream. Since I don't like even ice cream I'm a terrible judge. I had salted caramel gelato and it was nice, but I'd take tiramisu any day over it (and in fact I have most days here).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nPNcJjT6NMTje4LWrBalr-DbTGurrvrJwqETj8eFidW4TzlakOFErz9QYThPXbZtghI7LHNhK60pJ36VxrQ-1BCS-zSsfykwtirJO56Vk2vaWxdPrr2CtmArJtHP3IhktWbGPwXue6I/s1600/20180525_184330.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nPNcJjT6NMTje4LWrBalr-DbTGurrvrJwqETj8eFidW4TzlakOFErz9QYThPXbZtghI7LHNhK60pJ36VxrQ-1BCS-zSsfykwtirJO56Vk2vaWxdPrr2CtmArJtHP3IhktWbGPwXue6I/s320/20180525_184330.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Home made dinner<br />
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I don't know how this got here, but it's too much work to remove now, sorry.</div>
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Dad made me pose like this statue while we were getting gelato</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-25335227238903123712018-05-25T09:06:00.000-07:002018-05-25T13:09:46.625-07:00Bonus post-the restroom situation Ok girls and boys, there's only been one rather difficult part of our trip, lest you think we've visited paradise. I will politely say that restrooms in Italy are not quite up to American standards. I mean that literally as we have toilettes named 'American Standard'. Anywhere you go in the US bathrooms are standardized and there are no surprises. Some are lovelier than others of course, but they all follow the same format, which turns out to be genius.<br />
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In Italy, sometimes you actually have to pay money to use the restroom. This is not like at a store, where you might be loitering (think starbucks). Public bathrooms cost you about a buck to use. You also don't know what you'll find when you go in. I don't necessarily mean dirtiness or filth, I mean maybe they won't have a lid or seat at all. Some bathrooms don't have even a toilet and instead a porcelain hole in the floor (which I promptly left so I wouldn't have to figure out how it was used). The toilet is seperated by another door for the sink, so the whole process is a bit disorienting. Mainly I have found I think far too much about restrooms since I've been here, and have had to plan my days around my best chances at a respectable one.<br />
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Since I didn't want to post anything gross, I decided instead to take pictures of the handles or flushing device on each one. You see, none are the same. You basically have to do a where's Waldo to figure out how to flush the toilet in every restroom. Sometimes its a button on a wall, sometimes its a lever on top, other times you push at something at the floor (this goes for sinks too-it can take 2 minutes to get a sink to actually work), still other times its a panel not connected to the toilet or tank. I will be grateful for an American bathroom when we get home. Let me prove it:<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-66717971303113751522018-05-24T16:01:00.003-07:002018-05-24T16:01:57.726-07:00FlorenceHi kiddos! We tried to call home, but I think you may not be catching us on skype, and JP is out of commission with those wisdom teeth being pulled, so we may have to wait a day to catch up. We did talk to Matty and are so happy he loves his cool new job!<br />
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Today, we woke up late and split up so we could spend time exploring different parts of Florence. It's been really easy to travel with Abbie and Peter as we are all giving each other space to just do what we like and then meeting up together to eat or sightsee.<br />
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Dad and I went walking towards the duomo and I soon realized I left home without my phone. I've only been using it to take pics and blog when we get home as I have no internet access on the streets. It's so freeing. In any case, the pictures from today are from Dads perspective as I didn't have a camera.<br />
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We visited the duomo (St Marys basilica of Florence). It us easily the most beautiful church exterior I have ever seen. It's an architectural masterpiece. Because the exterior is so beautiful, we decided to have lunch at a cafe outside it, looking up at it (and I ordered the tuscany bean soup-it didn't let me down). While we ate lunch this woman in a beautiful gown sat and played the Ave Maria and various other beautiful songs on her violin for street money. It was like something out of a dream.<br />
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Afterwards, we decided against the 'tour' of the church (which cost money)and instead went inside (the Catholic entrance) and sat and prayed for a while and lit candles for JP and a few other special intentions.<br />
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Peter and Abbie headed to San Maria Novella where the relics of the crown of thorns and the cloak put on Christ while he was being mocked was kept. They said it was beautiful. It also had a special altar for St Thomas Aquinas and they lit candles for Tommy today. Then we met up and walked the streets which is just great fun. We also saw a mime on the streets that made us stop and laugh for 20 minutes. We could barely walk away he was so immensely talented.<br />
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Dad had gotten it into his head that he wanted to ride bikes around Florence today. Sure enough, he found an incredible app for the phone and so late this afternoon Dad and I took 2 bicycles all thru Florence. I haven't ridden a bike in years, but it turns out to be true that riding a bike, is like riding a bike, and is not a skill easily lost.<br />
Since Florence is small but rich with history and art, you can get all over the city pretty easily. Seeing it by bike was a great experience.<br />
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Tonight, we had another great dinner on a restaurant street. The weather has been truly perfect. At dinner, Pete decided he wanted to try a "lost space" adventure. This is the equivalent of our escape the room. We all said yes. Of course as we got closer I had a few misgiving-see my kids and family know I suffer from anxiety, but maybe not all my readers do because I manage it really well. I began to question the prudence of allowing myself to be locked inside a prison cell, in a foreign country, with a language barrier to boot. But in for a penny, in for a pound. We were blindfolded, our phones taken away, and locked in 3 seperate prison cells- Peter was handcuffed in his. It took us 35 minutes to free Peter from his cell using chopsticks we found and 2 tiny pieces of rope to hit a switch in the ceiling. He never got out of his handcuffs and we remained locked up entirely. I was glad to see I wasn't the only one who had doubts as Abbie kept repeating "we're all gonna die in here!" Until I politely told her that wasn't helpful. After an hour,we were released and walked home dejected but happy for the fun of the night. It's almost one here now, so I'll sign off. Tomorrow, we head to some beautiful art museums which Abbie has been waiting to see!<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-3382892980676503852018-05-23T14:15:00.000-07:002018-05-23T14:15:09.474-07:00Apostolic BlessingsWhen we picked up our tickets yesterday for the papal audience, they told us to arribe at St Peters at 7:15am. This meant we would have to have another early day, and none of our feet could really take that. So we decided to roll the dice and leave on a later train and hope for the best.<br />
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God must have known we were really dog tired as He worked out the plans for us. We got a 8 am bus and made it to St Peters square by 8:45. We were actually in our seats by this time (I assumed we'd lose them and have to stand). Within a half hour the Holy Father was in the pope mobile making the rounds of the crowd!dad got good video of it, I hope you can play it all right.<br />
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It's amazing to be in a crowd from all over the world with people you know share your faith. It really touches the heart. Hearing the pope proclaim the days gospel then listening to it in a dozen more languages drives the universality of the church home.the Pope granted his Apostolic blessing to the crowd as he finished and extended it to our families at home. Be assured that I took that seriously and brought to mind all those I love for the graces. What a perfect way to leave Rome and head off to Florence!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arriving at the square</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Huge crowds and we got seats! (Thanks JP!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peter and Abbie waiting for the blessing</td></tr>
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We took the bullet train from Rome to Florence (it goes 180 miles per hour!). It was really cool, we got there in an hour and a half.<br />
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I'll post more about Florence tomorrow, but let me tell you we all LOVE the apartment we rented here! Try to picture an Italian villa in your mind, complete with tall windows (wooden frames of course), tall doors, a courtyard with both roses and honey suckle growing,plus a rooftop terrace, and you'll picture our flat. Abbie and I both gasped with happiness as it was precisely what we both pictured it would be like in Florence! We split up after we unpacked to explore, then met back up for dinner and walked along the Ponte Vecchio.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dining room</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitchen </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRoP2wH5W6zG4Mdxlz6Ycvo8fV0XK-z4_SWuRaC7GJMTiwImKbZ43Y9df3QxsKNHdxV1WQsaL72-wlg3ayEb5FjfbmZEG4gVeVrMq8ZhEHrP1msIkwFBk5MqqgMNuLsrXjzqVhWcV-NeI/s1600/20180523_214605.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRoP2wH5W6zG4Mdxlz6Ycvo8fV0XK-z4_SWuRaC7GJMTiwImKbZ43Y9df3QxsKNHdxV1WQsaL72-wlg3ayEb5FjfbmZEG4gVeVrMq8ZhEHrP1msIkwFBk5MqqgMNuLsrXjzqVhWcV-NeI/s320/20180523_214605.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hall/living room</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abbies room</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Honeysuckle on the terrace outside our room</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3HvcY4yNvfASTKVJxH_Fk48oYq5VxGAkr560awQ9gzKuiFtWkgK9fCWQwg6UzkS2E26Vy1YvyRHZUdM_-nDQ-L4I9PYFMWw3zKmfKu8Qr80b0bMzHExjPHU4SQVvxDtzw_QRh62CMR4/s1600/20180523_212118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3HvcY4yNvfASTKVJxH_Fk48oYq5VxGAkr560awQ9gzKuiFtWkgK9fCWQwg6UzkS2E26Vy1YvyRHZUdM_-nDQ-L4I9PYFMWw3zKmfKu8Qr80b0bMzHExjPHU4SQVvxDtzw_QRh62CMR4/s320/20180523_212118.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ponte Vecchio with my main squeeze!</td></tr>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-15911006150047948322018-05-23T13:20:00.002-07:002018-05-25T14:35:26.156-07:00S.P.Q.R. (bonus post)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When Joseph heard we were going to Rome, he asked us to take a picture if we happened to see the Roman letters S.P.Q.R. which he heard appears in several places around the city. The letters stand for the Roman Senate and People, (namely the government).<br />
This post is for him, from his loving brother Peter, before we leave this ancient place. Something tells me Michael (who studied Rome this year) and Thomas, (who studied it last year) will like it just as much.<br />
Without further ado, I give you----- S.P.Q.R.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDCoHaEf8od7tqUuM0u5MOtf3MozbdMQC1KrOPTJk395CHry37nhVEbTMl6UuM0Jn6qmWXrOWzRvbGmMbOEnwRvqwOnAi8i6lAfLYQdV8V10Jh4aJgHh6zgwyM51FWOR3zpU4hsXHk8A/s1600/20180522_161429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDCoHaEf8od7tqUuM0u5MOtf3MozbdMQC1KrOPTJk395CHry37nhVEbTMl6UuM0Jn6qmWXrOWzRvbGmMbOEnwRvqwOnAi8i6lAfLYQdV8V10Jh4aJgHh6zgwyM51FWOR3zpU4hsXHk8A/s320/20180522_161429.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On a fountain, below Peters hand.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiva0x0zFdsQxQbROG9DU1HOCxXlbvnI0lHTDdgBPLhip9dItf0KHek0rVoLrPFXzoG9bnPDHw3NXMxMZqmlyJFxtF74d6nFRp4bvJaJsFpTpA_L7uewlIRec4a8s1xAF0rrab0iod8uuk/s1600/20180521_223213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiva0x0zFdsQxQbROG9DU1HOCxXlbvnI0lHTDdgBPLhip9dItf0KHek0rVoLrPFXzoG9bnPDHw3NXMxMZqmlyJFxtF74d6nFRp4bvJaJsFpTpA_L7uewlIRec4a8s1xAF0rrab0iod8uuk/s320/20180521_223213.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">street grate (late night, sorry it's so dark)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3X-qU2JFSHUFBNLMPJhwzbqqw1jZ4qsBVmaEgLtR1zQP-lstCYHc-Fggksn8rDkg30IyMv3Ax_aXfH3eVfv50A5mZJl-sC0EMPtx_B-hcqhqW2IuKZNnAr3ZLwLHwFjwL5waaitYWTJg/s1600/20180522_103549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3X-qU2JFSHUFBNLMPJhwzbqqw1jZ4qsBVmaEgLtR1zQP-lstCYHc-Fggksn8rDkg30IyMv3Ax_aXfH3eVfv50A5mZJl-sC0EMPtx_B-hcqhqW2IuKZNnAr3ZLwLHwFjwL5waaitYWTJg/s320/20180522_103549.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
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Another grate</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX5-ZtE65Ry_ti043IE0C9C6tMSwE-GdSi15eqYZW7vYrzm8Sw2jXsuGXH0yuMzTg0iXWoUhElvVFWOMye-LGzh0ztHYzFe0jpHF59oU6mHBYdKhb16J_GZYlXQEUjCxacIfagobL4fLM/s1600/20180522_100832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX5-ZtE65Ry_ti043IE0C9C6tMSwE-GdSi15eqYZW7vYrzm8Sw2jXsuGXH0yuMzTg0iXWoUhElvVFWOMye-LGzh0ztHYzFe0jpHF59oU6mHBYdKhb16J_GZYlXQEUjCxacIfagobL4fLM/s320/20180522_100832.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shop window</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXIXyYPw-VzW65zpmaEN3jT0YNrGfc6VOwyNEB-ay3vV2K1aAISJMFimoacBIruoXNF9DGfj0P_jot9jYSS4G8kg-qyBtPdyiZNozVjSDbpZv5Dc0htvj2imNnBtyvTQBlHp1RL0fxdc0/s1600/20180522_005006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXIXyYPw-VzW65zpmaEN3jT0YNrGfc6VOwyNEB-ay3vV2K1aAISJMFimoacBIruoXNF9DGfj0P_jot9jYSS4G8kg-qyBtPdyiZNozVjSDbpZv5Dc0htvj2imNnBtyvTQBlHp1RL0fxdc0/s320/20180522_005006.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Common on almost every street</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXzrbrBOaHbhrBnabLMN7yhZz6wKlhqgRwoNey6AUDd69z8t8JuUnIRAd_Wj0YAvBn-25f9s2bsD4Crl-MbP_cHcBv4KKaD-LUPu9pGDe5RrNZNYZne8dWNzLp92Am58l96n8CB_p5dnY/s1600/20180522_002706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXzrbrBOaHbhrBnabLMN7yhZz6wKlhqgRwoNey6AUDd69z8t8JuUnIRAd_Wj0YAvBn-25f9s2bsD4Crl-MbP_cHcBv4KKaD-LUPu9pGDe5RrNZNYZne8dWNzLp92Am58l96n8CB_p5dnY/s320/20180522_002706.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carrying Abbie on his back but still pointing to the letters </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHS9BUvtg4wPdlAfdVoghc-bj-5mQPxEwBD2mxYgvZcmRWrNlYxGiIPJU-8Q2U31O9QDgnQU-GWH6CQf-TLyXUsUto7ek-AauWGINJa7WWdj-mh6TncjesOJeuPbkshDUQLc351u_mOok/s1600/20180521_223822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHS9BUvtg4wPdlAfdVoghc-bj-5mQPxEwBD2mxYgvZcmRWrNlYxGiIPJU-8Q2U31O9QDgnQU-GWH6CQf-TLyXUsUto7ek-AauWGINJa7WWdj-mh6TncjesOJeuPbkshDUQLc351u_mOok/s320/20180521_223822.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monument</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5AJnk6FN2fRiJkBKaR-f2P-3ldk8dG-HF1CNZhnMgpSoipqM7H4qNtKfCjQxbCcWSS-DQ2Ydw-uzNuVr6zZ94gZYTss9pu7DkNJ5VGUK3ICgW8ERkooNNbqVrDSlOM02PsosT8hTNhjI/s1600/20180521_223754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5AJnk6FN2fRiJkBKaR-f2P-3ldk8dG-HF1CNZhnMgpSoipqM7H4qNtKfCjQxbCcWSS-DQ2Ydw-uzNuVr6zZ94gZYTss9pu7DkNJ5VGUK3ICgW8ERkooNNbqVrDSlOM02PsosT8hTNhjI/s320/20180521_223754.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another monument</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWVG0OvqxTHfFfV12YtCSMMetqQ0QsmEvfEsynXENVX8H-YAzuF_UjlwCtST36hCehb_Ex_0GzwDVfSy_kZyQL5zxfmzycPCa46Iprjl1aD2VNSlGR-453LdBuT2bDa6MgWU456QT6Sqw/s1600/20180521_223745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWVG0OvqxTHfFfV12YtCSMMetqQ0QsmEvfEsynXENVX8H-YAzuF_UjlwCtST36hCehb_Ex_0GzwDVfSy_kZyQL5zxfmzycPCa46Iprjl1aD2VNSlGR-453LdBuT2bDa6MgWU456QT6Sqw/s320/20180521_223745.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And another monument</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOQJI2-Cah4xjqUjuNDzSa-AxXdu6RtPmLsaigpBOA96enRek0BPL4V87LaN7gM9oqVieQkjpFCatjSlXTjicET4UJ-kxxycc1dSfOXVIIdjlxyunVqdQ06ZNXIQb6Kn9nZ3oIZqpTt8s/s1600/20180520_173508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOQJI2-Cah4xjqUjuNDzSa-AxXdu6RtPmLsaigpBOA96enRek0BPL4V87LaN7gM9oqVieQkjpFCatjSlXTjicET4UJ-kxxycc1dSfOXVIIdjlxyunVqdQ06ZNXIQb6Kn9nZ3oIZqpTt8s/s320/20180520_173508.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More street grates</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSqIJFOYOG9YlUmZfNSfM_qAnBi8KkGJh5pLY1ncmQgH_ywAEI_sVysJylsuSc2HV75rM0QBsitYt6dltcA-4YFNNNECozxtNCay0cX_kRYorg5Out5XPQlWXQQIIkEZYGx8b_HpaT84/s1600/20180521_224221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSqIJFOYOG9YlUmZfNSfM_qAnBi8KkGJh5pLY1ncmQgH_ywAEI_sVysJylsuSc2HV75rM0QBsitYt6dltcA-4YFNNNECozxtNCay0cX_kRYorg5Out5XPQlWXQQIIkEZYGx8b_HpaT84/s320/20180521_224221.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water spigot</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMIgp6PBaYipVwbdDV-ETwtOPn9Nc8zBXmEqazEQxqIBPY2nxsXYBtKeHkhTpjx8eeoIQXoJGT6WEx6ZIvzqofIJsx_v59sr2QGgb7PyLiAdACUPa70EbiFAET8-wFix9qCp6YcQlDeu4/s1600/received_867023136828353.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="891" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMIgp6PBaYipVwbdDV-ETwtOPn9Nc8zBXmEqazEQxqIBPY2nxsXYBtKeHkhTpjx8eeoIQXoJGT6WEx6ZIvzqofIJsx_v59sr2QGgb7PyLiAdACUPa70EbiFAET8-wFix9qCp6YcQlDeu4/s320/received_867023136828353.jpeg" width="178" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yet, another monument<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsfXhBUTvnyeJbxThqdTLYdAIcJDw1GfkMwHnAmdo1ZNLIm8kEzyc309mjvU2Ni0e0huLPQ_PjOK0AWReOTnKK4SGN-qVQcnzUZoUH13miBOur17l_3SFLdl6tePTn9t0iRu6qhXB26GU/s1600/20180523_121838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsfXhBUTvnyeJbxThqdTLYdAIcJDw1GfkMwHnAmdo1ZNLIm8kEzyc309mjvU2Ni0e0huLPQ_PjOK0AWReOTnKK4SGN-qVQcnzUZoUH13miBOur17l_3SFLdl6tePTn9t0iRu6qhXB26GU/s320/20180523_121838.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
Train station </td></tr>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-46177296061442492322018-05-22T12:25:00.000-07:002018-05-22T12:25:15.408-07:0025 Years Today was a precious day for us. After traipsing around Rome with Fr Greg until after midnight, the four of us crashed. We couldn't sleep for long though as we had early plans today. You see, I mentioned I didnt know Fr Greg until we got to Rome, but Andrew, Rachel, and Pete do. When Andrew heard we were heading to Rome on our anniversary, he asked his dear friend Fr Greg if he would say mass for us on our special day. He agreed and also agreed to be our tour guide, and dinner companion and genuine <br />
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friend over the next few days. Fr Greg planned a special mass for us at St Peters today. And not just at St Peters, but in the crypt church. And not just in the crypt church but in the chapel of the madonna, which holds a miraculous image of Our Lady and is the oldest chapel in the basilica located just feet away from the tomb of St Peter.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuXcahA_5kxNNPjAMYo49WE6dA_SjskTAIfS7P_5TRaFxAZMEs9VbL3yRG9JTbb1P4aMW8lGtKyscgyoMvocNUnkY5q6QzrprdOvj5nlYElMqVwdeBfhf5vxznxOLGW9R18bJn3NDS-88/s1600/20180522_065606.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuXcahA_5kxNNPjAMYo49WE6dA_SjskTAIfS7P_5TRaFxAZMEs9VbL3yRG9JTbb1P4aMW8lGtKyscgyoMvocNUnkY5q6QzrprdOvj5nlYElMqVwdeBfhf5vxznxOLGW9R18bJn3NDS-88/s320/20180522_065606.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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If we weren't already overwhelmed by the goodness of all the graces of the last few days, today did it. The mass was so beautiful and Fr Greg tied the readings to our married life and family. He offered the mass for us and all our intentions and we both remembered to pray for all of you and all of those who have been with us as we prayed today. We were so overwhelmed and still are. It felt as if heaven itself just reached down to hug us today. Fr Greg said he wanted to bring us into the heart of the church, quite literally, by saying mass for us there today. How Andrew, Rachel, and JP kept that secret from us, I'll never know. I would have personally burst. Of course I was so touched Andrew was so thoughtful to do this for us. And Peter and Abbie got to see St Peters namesake church and saint.<br />
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After mass we got an incredible tour, and while it is all amazing, I was still just trying to take in the gift of the mass. We left and said our goodbyes to Fr Greg, and I can't wait to see him again.<br />
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The only other appointment we had to make today was on behalf of John-Paul. When he heard we would be in Rome on our anniversary, he asked archbishop Lori for tickets to the papal audience tomorrow. We picked them up this afternoon. So tomorrow, we'll get up early again for another great reason.<br />
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I love my kids.<br />
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They have been the greatest accomplishment of the last 25 years. 10 beautiful souls who we've been entrusted with. Celebrating our silver anniversary makes us more aware than ever of the blessing of married life. The simple joys of sharing a day together no matter what it holds can be so beautiful. Fred and I are acutely aware of how undeserving we've been of the graces we received. We don't just love each other, we like each other too. We laugh at the same jokes, like the same food, Pray together, and walk together.<br />
God has been so good to us. We don't deserve the marriage we have, but we are so grateful. Say a prayer for us both tonight if you can spare one.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-45289153989930138712018-05-21T16:36:00.000-07:002018-05-21T16:36:04.799-07:00Saint Mary MajorHi Kiddos!<br />
We're crawling into bed at 1 am tonight after a very, very full day. I'll post pics and give a brief description but the bulk of the stories will have to wait til I have more time.<br />
We started off the day on the metro to the colliseum. Since it was really crowded and we wanted to save our legs for walking with Fr Greg this evening (he promised to give us a spectacular night tour after vespers and dinner). So we took a tour bus to get a really basic feel of the city. It was actually quite good. It was supposed to last 1 hour and 40 minutes, but about an hour into it, we were passing St Mary Major and I said to dad "let's get off now and go in" and he did, along with Peter and Abbie.<br />
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Abbie is still a baby Catholic so watching her walk around this church made me SOOO happy! Of course all of us were blown away, but she loves art work so much and was so overwhelmed by the beauty that it a really precious moment for us all. When we left, she said it's the most beautiful church she's ever seen. Of course I agree. My personal favorite part was down in the crypt part of the church where there was this little museum. I had been thinking earlier on the bus how I wish there was some relic of Mary, but because of the Assumption there isnt. Inside the museum is a lock of her hair. I immediately burst into tears. Day-made. It didn't matter if I saw anything else at all. Of course, we did, but you get my point. We also stopped at the Holy Stairs and St John Lateran before heading home for a break.<br />
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We met up with Fr Greg for Vespers at the monastery. It was so powerful to listen to all the men chanting in Latin. Afterwards, we headed to dinner and all of us ordered the carbonara. It was the best we ever had, hands down.<br />
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Fr Greg took us for a walking tour of the city so we could see all the great places when they weren't crowded and he could give us details. It was so much fun I feel at a loss for words. It's so hard to believe there are so many different historically important places laced throughout one city. One minute you're looking at a cool McDonald's that's nothing like the states, the next minute you're looking at 1st century ruins, and next to it is a place for gelatto, and there's the Pantheon too, and around this corner are the bodies of two apostles, and the Trevi Fountain.Your mind just can't process it all so fast. Hopefully the pics will help!<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-40996681707061802902018-05-20T11:32:00.001-07:002018-05-20T11:32:34.494-07:00RomeToday, Sunday, we left mighty early for Rome. We got in from Murano about midnight, then packed up the room. The base lodging has been really comfortable. Curiously, when I'm in a hotel anywhere, I don't sleep easy as I'm unfamiliar and on high alert as a consequence. On base I haven't had that problem once. It could be that seeing a fortified military base where no one gets in or out without checkpoints is my perfect ticket to a sound sleep! God bless our soldiers and airmen.<br />
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Anyway, we got about 3 hours sleep then headed to the train station for a 5 hour ride. We met up with Fr. Greg straight away. We feel like we've known him forever despite that only our older boys having met him. (Ok, the truth is, he had frizzante waiting for me when I arrived and that *may* have had something to do with my general sense of ease!) Fr Greg lives in the Benedictine monastery on the Aventi, so first he showed up around there a bit.<br />
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Then we headed out to late lunch at a local Roman restaurant (not italian). The food was uh-maze-ing! I think I'll cry when I get home and think of the mozzarella cheese and the eggplant. People just know how to eat here. And eating is so important that to have every meal feel special makes you feel loved and cared for in a truly human way. You can't help but walk away from the table feeling like you're special if someone took so much effort to make a beautiful dish just for you. And even though you're given a menu, you can still talk to the waiter or waitress and they want to know "what would you like to eat?" They want to get it right and because of that attitude, they do.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was the antipasto we began with!</td></tr>
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Our flat is sweet and had a little courtyard you can look out on. We are a stones throw from the monastery. In the morning, we're going to take the metro to a few churches and ruins, and then we'll meet back up wuth Fr Greg for vespers at the monastery and dinner. I can't wait! We miss your happy faces, but are also having so much fun. We tell people about you and it makes us happy and proud to be your parents. I was so nervous to think of leaving you for so long, but now I see its made me glad because I get a chance to miss all that is good and right about you (and a chance to be with my Peter and Abbie when they are so happy to be together).<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-52792145395163682752018-05-20T10:53:00.001-07:002018-05-20T10:53:22.554-07:00MuranoSorry this is a day late! I wasn't able to post last night as we were packing to head up to Rome, where I'm writing from to you now.<br />
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So, kiddos I FINALLY got to go to Murano! Yes, I saw them blowing glass. Yes, dad and I were like little kids, totally fascinated as we watched wide eyed. There are a lot of different furnaces you can choose to watch from, but we kind of just stumbled into one and started up. Sophie, you can't imagine how surprised and excited we were when the artisan created an owl! And Sarah, at the very end, he blew a giant glass bubble and then popped it on the floor, making the sound of shattering glass!<br />
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When we were done there, dad and I took a water taxi back to the main square of Venice. Peter and Abbie were spending the day with friends, so we had some time to kill. We decided to go to a museum, thinking it would take up 20-30 minutes to get through. The entrance price was steep (20 euro) but we only get this one shot at life so we rolled the dice on admission. Within minutes, Dad turned to me and said "that was the best 20 we ever spent!" We were in the great Venetian Palace. I've never been in a palace before, so the first thing that struck me was the size. Our whole house could fit into one room, and there were so many rooms we couldn't count. We saw an armory complete with all its weapons, prison cells, big council rooms, and each room was adorned with religious art work. Can you imagine me staring up at the ceilings at these beautiful paintins of jesus and Mary? We spent 2 full hours inside and didn't see all of it. I just told dad I couldn't see any more beauty, my brain was exploding!<br />
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We left there and had to find a vigil mass, but we werent too worried because Venice has 160 churches. We found a little church with no one inside. There was a side altar that had the relics of St Athanasuis! Dad and I kept wondering if we had read it wrong. We asked the docent and he replied 'si, si, St Athanasius". We asked him again "you mean the doctor of the church Athanasius?" He replied "si, si". Dad looked at me, we both gulped, and then he said "we better go pray some more."<br />
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After mass, we went to a little restaurant out in the open streets and I told Dad all about your St Athanasius story from CCM and Mrs Phelan. We got in so late we had to pack up to leave for the early train, which is why I'm only writing now. I'll try to tell you about our first day in Rome next! Miss you all.<br />
Love,<br />
Mom and Dad<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-31916874076436625532018-05-18T14:09:00.001-07:002018-05-18T14:09:31.902-07:00The AlpsToday, we spent time in the massive mountains behind Peters base in Aviano. The Dolomite are part of the alps mountain range. It's hard to describe how big they are. You feel dwarfed by them every time you step outside the door or open a window. I can imagine Joe and Tom skiing on these slopes and thought of them both, most of the afternoon as we explored the area and looked at the ski slope now closed, while the peaks of the moutains were still covered in snow.<br />
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Peter and Abbie kept telling us we had to see where they got engaged, so we drove there today. The steep climb up the mountainside took almost an hour by car, and every vista was more breathtaking than the last. It was almost a shame to take photos as we all knew it's not really possible to capture that on film. Lake Barcis (pronounced Bar-chiss) was an unearthly green. I kept thinking it belonged in a sci-fi<br />
movie.<br />
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All I can really say is that as far as places to propose, Peter nailed it. It was indescribably beautiful. We ate lunch at a sweet restaurant on the mountainside and drank coffee.<br />
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The people we've met have been so warm and genuine. No one seems bothered when we don't know the language, just appreciative when we try. The coffee everyone raves about seems simple to understand. At home, we brew a pot of coffee for anyone to take. In Italy each cup is made individually because they care about making each cup well. What a lesson to be learned. I value efficiency so much as a person, but here the beauty of the inefficient attention to detail has been striking. I love the contrast it's showing me.<br />
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There was a very old church we stopped into on our way out of town. It was so old I wiped a few wrinkles from my face before I left. Standing in old places with ancient traditions helps ground the soul. We pass away in the blink of an eye, God remains.<br />
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Tonight, Pete took us to a local vineyard for pizza and wine tasting (they had frizzante, no worries-but I did try the wine and it still tastes mostly like vinegar). the sun was setting in the background and we listened to music and laughed and told stories from when Pete was a kid.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-84589568562905838252018-05-17T16:55:00.001-07:002018-05-17T16:55:37.393-07:00VeniceI'm sorry that we're still having connection problems kiddos! It was good to see you're faces tonight even if the chit chat kept breaking up.<br />
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As promised, I'll tell you a little bit about our day. We headed to Venice early afternoon. I've always, always, always wanted to go to Venice, so I was just a little excited! We took the train and I made a mental note to mention that poppies grow upup all along the countryside here, sort of like tiger-lily's do back home. They are so lovely that it's hard to believe they are simple wildflowers. The train ride was uneventful and then suddenly we were in a watery city.<br />
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All the things I've hoped Venice would be, paled in comarison to what we actually found . It was better than visiting Narnia and had such a magical feel. I've never seen so many teeny shops lining cobblestone roads. The food is laid out in all the windows for you to look at from the streets. It reminded me of the windows described in the story of The Little Match girl, as easy lovely thing seemed brand new and delicious.<br />
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What's very neat is that you can walk into a shop and buy a sandwich with very good meat and cheese on fresh bread and its inexpensive. Then you can walk a few paces more and fine another shop with hundreds of tiny desserts so you are able to try quite a few, without spending much money at all. They call the seltzer here 'frizzante' and its my new favorite word.<br />
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After shopping and eating and looking at so many old and wondrous things, we turned a corner and there was a nice gentleman asking if we'd like a gondola ride. Dad asked how much it was and promptly said no. Peter and Abbie did the same and also said no. I looked at them all, shook my head, paid the man, and got onto the boat. They followed along. Within 5 minutes they were all so thankful we had done so. If you ever go to Venice, ride a gondola, even if it's expensive.<br />
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<br />
What we didn't realize is that while the afternoon kept getting better and better, it was building up to being in St. Marco Square. Nothing could have prepared us for such a magestic site. The church is collosal in size. When we went to the front door to head in, it was closed for touring for the day.<br />
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<br />
I'm not easily deterred, so I went to the exit and approached the female guard. She told me we couldn't go in and look around, but if we came back in an hour, we could go to mass. Dad and I almost cried. Our timing was perfect. We attended a beautiful mass with the rosary before it, all in Italian. We were so happy to be there. we even got to light candles for all of you (and one for Uncle Mark since it was his namesake). It was the only place all day that it didn't matter we didn't know the language. Everything is familiar in the mass, so even when you don't know the words, your heart knows the tune. It was the perfect end to a day that was so much better than expected. We ate dinner at a little cafe and headed back by train arriving home after midnight.<br />
<br />
We miss you all and have bought some great little trinkets to share when we get home.<br />
Here's a close up of Abbies ring!<br />
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<br />
<br />
Love,<br />
Mom and Dad<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-70957241712994374272018-05-16T10:39:00.002-07:002018-05-16T10:39:24.837-07:00Italy -PordenoneHi there!<br />
<br />
We don't have great wifi access yet, so it looks like I may need to resort to blogging and Facebook messenger to keep in touch with the kiddos. I'll do my best to post pictures so you get a better idea.<br />
Travelling was just okay. We were scheduled to leave in the midst of a tornado watch, which put our flights back 2 hours and made us miss our connecting flight in London. Since I love airports and they gave us free tickets for food, this seemed like an awesome opportunity. Unfortunately, Abbie and I were both travelling a little bit sick with colds, and not sleeping for 39 hours straight was just not a good combo.<br />
<br />
When we did arrive in Venice, Pete was waiting! We got a quick bite to eat, and then collapsed.<br />
<br />
This morning (really,afternoon as we slept til 12) Peter and Abbie went to Lake Barcis and he proposed. She accepted! Here we go again with another LeGare/Willman wedding!<br />
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Needless to say, they are both over the moon with happiness. They spent the afternoon calling each other 'fiancée'.<br />
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<br />
The base is beautiful. I'm so happy to see where Pete is living after so many skype sessions. It reminds me of a California landscape as there are terrace cotta rooves, vineyards everywhere (inclung the base), and palm trees, which I wasn't expecting. A few fighter jets took off while the boys were in the grocery store and Abbie and I were both seriously impressed. Fred came tearing out but had missed them. This happened again today and I saw it again, but Fred didnt. (It's driving him crazy, and making me laugh.)<br />
<br />
This afternoon, the 4 of us went to Pordenone to celebrate their engagement. We had a light lunch at an our door cafe on cobblestone streets. The weather is perfect, sunny and mid 70's. It's unfortunate I don't like wine, and I have come to realize I just never will. However, if you ask for water they bring you seltzer and I cannot begin to tell you the happiness I feel at this being a normal thing here!<br />
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<br />
We had cappuccino with a dessert in the middle of the afternoon. Fred and I have realized the eating timeline in Italy is much closer aligned to our own. Late dinners with snacks throughout the afternoon will be just fine by us.<br />
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<br />
I'm wondering how all my kiddos are managing. Hoping Joe's getting through drivers ed okay, and that the last day of classes went well. I'll do my best to update here daily!<br />
Love you all,<br />
Mom and Dad<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-26634073437211683622018-02-04T18:51:00.002-08:002018-02-04T18:51:39.064-08:00Germain <div class="MsoNormal">
I said goodbye to a dear friend today. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We met at daily mass a few years back. I had seen him there
for many years before I had ever stumbled on any of his works or writings. Most
of what he spent his time doing with his whole life would have gone way over my
head anyway, so it didn’t really matter that I didn’t understand. But
friendship is a funny thing. It often looks past the things everyone else gets
stuck on. My friendship with Germain was like that. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m not sure how the most deliberate, clear-thinking, man on
the planet ever wound up calling this home-schooling mother of ten children a
close friend, but in fact, it’s true. The times I spent with Germain were
special and treasured. Our lives were as opposite to one another as possible
but we found common ground on many levels and I believe we had an understanding
of the heart. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It came about in a strange way when I look back. Having decided
to make better use of my summer reading a few years ago, I began researching
the internet for good Catholic substance. I remember having typed in a question
about Catholic marriage and finding an article that spoke to me so clearly and
authoritatively that I stopped midway to find the author. It was Germain
Grisez. That afternoon I poured over his website, The Way of the Lord Jesus (<a href="http://www.twotlj.org/">http://www.twotlj.org/</a>) and felt like I had
just stumbled upon a spiritual gold mine. I kept stopping to ponder that I had
seen him in church every day for so long, yet had never known what was there,
below the surface. By the end of the day I knew I was going to have to speak
with him in person. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next day after mass, I approached him outside of the
chapel. I told him I had found his website and that I loved his work. The
following day he asked me to come to his office over in Bradley Hall hidden
away in a back corner. We sat and chatted that afternoon about my life, his
life, and his writings. He gave me a copy of <i>Personal Vocation</i> and signed it for me. I knew that afternoon I had
met someone important in my life. I finished the book in a few hours and wanted
more. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And so our friendship began; me, asking a million questions
and Germain smiling and wondering why in the world a housewife from down the
road with almost no education at all was interested in what he had to say. He
was patient with me and often laughed at how my questions took their own path
into other areas of life. I trusted him immediately and told him if he ever
needed anything I was nearby with my small army of a family to help him out. I
doubted he ever would. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One afternoon, he did need me. The phone rang and he was asking for just
that. He needed a ride somewhere and, as it turned out, I was not available (I
almost wept knowing I was missing this opportunity to pick his brain about faith
and life). My good husband offered to do the driving instead, knowing I was
completely taken with Germain. So off Fred and my son John-Paul went to spend
an afternoon chauffeuring. Fred and John-Paul came home having hit it off with
Germain as well. Fred did better than I had by inviting him to dinner. I
couldn’t quite imagine how Germain was going to manage dinner at my house with
all my kids around but I left that piece to God. It’s a good thing I did,
because my older boys still talk about those conversations with him around the
dinner table, which felt like small sermons on how to find Gods will in your
life and follow it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When he told me he would be moving from Emmitsburg to
Pennsylvania, I felt my heart sink a little. He wrote to me to ask if Fred and
I would come to help him figure out his building design for his new living
space in his son Paul’s house. I was crafty enough to make a deal with him. I
told him Fred and I would come over and talk about building, if he would find
time to talk to us about heaven. So it went that way for a few months. Fred and
I sitting with him to go over his designs, and then another evening drinking
limeade (he loved limeade and I’ll never drink it again without thinking of him)
while sitting at his house talking about citizenship in heaven. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My own house is a chaotic, frenetic mess of energy all the
time. It’s noisy, messy, piles of books and laundry baskets splattered
everywhere you look. Germain’s house was ordered, and peaceful and neat. I
could feel my blood pressure drop just walking through the door. By the time I
would leave at night, it would be as if I’d been on a weeklong retreat. He
didn’t just live an orderly life, he brought order to the life of a fallen
world. His thinking was clear and his explanations clearer. If I got stuck on
some troublesome question arising within the church, as seems so often to today,
he’d say “Don’t worry Ellie, that’s not
necessary for you to worry about, God hasn’t given you that problem to work on
so you just focus on what he’s asked of you.” I would sometimes remark to Fred,
“Do you realize Germain has done more with his life then several thousand men
have done with their own?” What was more remarkable to me was how he did so
with such a slow and deliberate approach. He knew he wasn’t great at
relationships and friendships, and he knew people sometimes misunderstand him
as a consequence. He also was quick to give credit to others for their
contributions to his work over the years. Early on he wrote to me “<i><span style="background: white; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You should
take into account that most of what I’ve published has benefited greatly from
the help of many able and good people. So the person you encounter in my
writing is not the usual me—it’s someone quite a bit better than the usual me,
not that I want to pretend to be better than I am, but that I want to be a
better announcer of the truth of the gospel than I ever could be by myself.”</span></i><span style="background: white; color: #1f497d; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is true
humility. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He was the quintessential tortoise in the tortoise and the
hare story. His slow and steady progress on any work he took on, wound up
becoming an avalanche of truth that benefitted the mystical body of Christ. His
thinking will shape the church for years to come. Who can say that of
themselves? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps my favorite memory of Germain comes though when he
asked me one day to help him pack up his files in his office. He said he needed
some good strong hands to do the work, and wondered if I might bring along one
of my boys. My son Matthew got the honor
for those days. When we arrived he showed me a wall of file cabinets. All
alphabetized. He then showed me a stack of boxes and packing tape. We had to
put the boxes together first then makes notes of what files were getting put
in, then pack and tape them, number them, and add the address label. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After one box I knew I had to take over. The work simply
wouldn’t get done without a huge effort on my part. He told me when I was
taping a box that I had put the tape on wrinkled, I looked at him and said
“Yes, Germain, it will all be wrinkled from now on, but you’ll have this mostly
done when I leave here today and then you’ll be happy.” He sort of took a deep
breath and then nodded in agreement. So
Matt and I took over the work and he catalogued from his computer. That day he
started calling me “his speedy friend”. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Each file I opened contained hand written letters from
Bishops, Popes, Cardinals, cardinals-not-quite-yet-popes, theologians, philosophers
and the most important thinking minds of this century. Germain would have both the
letter, and his response included in the file along with any documentation. If
you emailed him he’d print out the email before answering your question and
then include his response and file it away. I wondered that day if there was
anyone in the church that hadn’t written to Germain and asked his advice at
some point in time. What was more striking was that he replied to each and
every question with care and attention. If you asked him a question, he felt
you deserved the attention of his answer and it was always thoughtful and
cordial both. </div>
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At one point when he and Matt took a short break, I found
myself unable to leave the room and instead stood quietly praying in front of a
wall of file cabinets with the distinct feeling I had my ear pressed closely
upon the heart of the living breathing church. It was all there, the history of
the mystical body hidden back in some obscure corner office no one had any idea
existed. It was so clearly Gods way to do this. To hide this prized jewel in
obscurity. We packed 13 boxes together out of a total of 30 that eventually
were sent to Notre Dame for archiving. He laughingly wrote to me later that
night to let me know he realized he had really needed me that day, as after I
had left it took him 3 hours to pack the next 2 boxes alone. The tortoise and
the hare.</div>
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I thought of
Germain’s advice not to worry about the church and how he told me it wasn’t Gods
work for me to have to figure these questions out. Of course I realized that day
he knew that because <i>it was his work</i>.
It was the work God gave him to do over the course of a lifetime. He wife,
Jeanette knew this too and was so humble and good that she worked tirelessly
beside him until her death in 2005. He missed her desperately. He thought for the church, he worked for the
church, he collaborated with other great thinkers for the church, and he fought
for the church. He was so filled and focused on truth that he didn’t worry about
who he might offend by it, so long as he pleased God with it. </div>
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He was afraid of no one, and spoke his mind, but he also was
quick to point out even when someone has done or said something wrong, we
mustn’t judge them, only their words and actions. He was full of mercy in that
way. He knew that Truth was a strong enough weapon to fight anything that came at
it and didn’t need any bravado. </div>
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When moving day finally came, Fred and I sat with him the
night before as he drank a glass of wine and let a few tears spill out as he
closed the door on a chapter of so many years of his life. He promised to keep
in touch and he did. Fred and I visited him several times, the most recent this
past fall in November where we went out for Japanese food locally. He was so
happy and comfortable and well cared for with Paul and Linda that it never
occurred to me it would be the last time I saw him alive. </div>
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May all who follow in his footsteps be as brave and bold and
deliberate Germain. The world has lost a giant. Heaven has gained one. </div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-83720915208726187642017-08-20T20:17:00.000-07:002017-08-20T20:33:14.843-07:00Heavenly helpers My Uncle Dave, my Moms brother and a Catholic priest, was an emormous influence on my life. Many a week did I spend reading through books he would have nonchalantly left on a counter for 'anyone interested' while I was growing up. They were mostly spiritual classics and lives of the saints. In grammar school we moved into the same parish he was stationed and each Saturday he led my girlfriends and me in devotion to the rosary through the sodality he ran. In High School he was the chaplain at Sacred Heart Academy, my philosphy teacher, and he also took me to Lourdes and Paris. a few years later, just after my dad had died, he took me on a trip to Medjugorje where I met my Freddy. To say he was formative in my life is putting it mildly.<br />
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Story has it that he was born into the first Little Flower parish in Brooklyn, NY soon after St. Therese was canonized. When my grandmother Ellen Graham Farley gave birth, the nuns told her he would have a vocation to the priesthood. My grandmother had great devotion to St Therese all through her life, as did my own mom. My grandmother prayed for my uncles vocation particularly to the Little Flower. If ever my mom was particulalry worried about something, she would pray to the Little Flower, St Therese, and she'd sometimes take out an envelope and give it to you to place under your pillow during the novena prayers. Inside the envelope were the petals of a rose that my grandmother had recieved after praying a novena to St Therese in answer to prayer for my Uncles vocation.<br />
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As a child I was fascinated by that envelope, though I only saw it a few times, as it was precious to my Mom. I can still see the beautiful handwriting belonging to my grandmother in my minds eye, and I can feel the temptation to open it and look at the flowers that were sent as a heavenly sign. I do not know where that envelope went after my Mom passed away, but I hope one of my siblings has it. St Therese has remained a favorite saint for all of my siblings and for me as well. My sisters all have her name in one form or another either at birth, or in conformation. She's a reliable family go-to. A regular in all our family litanies. Saints are like that sometimes, they choose you long before you choose them.<br />
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My John-Paul headed off to the minor seminary today. He is many years away from making a decision to the priesthood, but one large step closer than he was yesterday. This isn't a huge surprise for anyone who knows JP. We've had inklings of it since he was about seven. John-Paul was the last child in our family that my Uncle Dave baptized. John-Pauls middle name is David in his honor. My Mom and my uncle were both thrilled when they found we chose John-Paul as his name, though Fred and I argued about it. My obstinate Fred said the Pope was already a saint, and I argued he wasn't official yet and that a child should be named after a canonized saint. Fred said our JP would just have to wait. I finally gave in.<br />
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My Uncle Dave died on Divine Mercy Sunday when my John-Paul was just a baby. Pope John-Paul II died on Divine Mercy Sunday 2005 when my John-Paul was almost 8. Its been my opinion my son was named after two saints not one.John-Paul happily celebrated when Pope John-Paul was canonized in 2014 after hearing his own name story for so many years.<br />
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I am meandering through this strange tale because I think its important to remember how often our faith has been first entrusted to us by our families. Those who love and go before us so often shape who we are, and how we come to know a loving God and Father. God sows seeds and if we watch, and watch closely, sometimes we see them sprout up. God finds ways to speak to us if we have the ears to hear (Matthew 11:15). <br />
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Today I couldn't help but listen. John-Paul spent the summer working on his application. I have never seen so much paperwork in my life. No need to worry about the current screening process, its tighter than a jar of peanut butter at a squirrels convention. It was a long process and exhausting at times. Then, finally, one day about 3 weeks ago- acceptance.<br />
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We had spent so much time on the paperwork, that when he finally was accepted I gulped hard and realized he'd be gone in a few weeks. I asked him when he was entering, he told me August 20th. I gulped harder, my Moms birthday.<br />
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So, this morning I woke up, on what would have been my moms 90th birthday, and I told her in my prayers that today I supposed I had a chance to give her one last birthday gift, my John-Paul. I pushed back the tears for the sake of the younger kids, and helped JP pack his bags into his car. Then we all drove to DC and unpacked him, and met fellow seminarians, and formators and priests, and ate some cookies and prayed Vespers before hugging our third son goodbye. <br />
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If I'm unable to do a good Irish goodbye, I at least opt for a quick one, and today was no different. We were off as quickly as possible. The kids cried and we talked them through it, and reminded them he wasn't going so far like Peter, but would come back soon and visit. I texted my sisters from the car, and they all, so faithfully, cried along with me. As we drove Fred said we should do something cheery to lift thekids up a bit and so we stopped for dinner at a Chinese place they all love.<br />
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When we stepped from the car and I was confronted with an entire hedgerow of pink and red roses. It almost knocked me over. Sophie ran over to look at all the roses with her sisters. I felt as though St. Therese had never made herself so clear to me in all my life. And so on our way out of the restaurant, when we were all in better spirits, I asked Fred to pick me three roses. When I got home tonight, I cut the petals from the roses and I placed them in an envelope and wrote in my best handwriting "In answer to prayer from the Little Flower", and I sealed it. Tonight, I will place it under my pillow, tomorrow I will put it away for safeguarding with memories that mark this day as a blessed one.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-90457959711785414492017-06-16T20:39:00.004-07:002017-06-16T20:39:49.952-07:00On grandmothering <br />
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This is Philip. He is my first grandson. He was born 2 days ago, and I had the privlege of being there to witness his entrance into the world. Of course you all know what people say about being at the birth of a child.<br />
Its a miracle<br />
unforgettable<br />
lifechanging<br />
spectacular<br />
This is all true, but Philips birth was not the most memorable part of the day for me. Somewhere shortly after he was born and the doctors and nurses were able to determine that all was well, they left the room. It was semi-dark and quiet. No more monitors beeping or electronic sounds buzzing. Philip was crying and his very new parents were introducing themselves to him. I sat back intentionally silent, and tried to keep myself still and as invisible as possible, moving only to capture a photo now and again. Their voices were sweet and full of emotion as they said his name to him and whispered words of love and calm into his tiny new flesh. They answered him in sing-songy voices and gentle touches and breaths as he called to them in that primal language of cries.<br />
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I have done this with my husband ten times now. I have heard Freds voice rise and fall to the new face of a son or daughter. I have whispered I love yous over and over to fresh ears. But I never realized that it was in those moments that a family was born. It comes after the birth, and before the utter exhaustion of newborn life. It comes in a promise we make to these tiny fragile little creatures who depend on us for every single thing.<br />
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I saw this on Wednesday with fresh eyes in my own son and his bride. It was so striking. I felt as if my soul was lifted along with them as I witnessed the love shared between them and Philip. Andrews eyes filled with tears of joy and Rachels closed as she kissed his newborn forehead over and over. They drank him in and nestled him close to their hearts. I was keenly aware of how powerful the love they now held for him actually was. The words of Song of Songs came to my mind:<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"> For love is as strong as death</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"> its jealousy unyielding like the grave</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"> It burns like a blazing fire</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"> Like a mighty flame</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"> Many waters cannot quench love</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"> rivers cannot sweep it away</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"> ( Song of Songs 8:6-7) </span></i><br />
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I witnessed the birth of a family. The flicker of this powerful force as its tiny embers were being blown on and kindled in the sweet voices that now shelter it. I had hoped to be a help to Rachel as she labored and delievered her first son. Instead, she and Andrew were a help to me. They allowed me to see the past from a new perspective; conjuring the births of my own children and those precious first moments I have shared with my husband. I found an incredible gratitude in my heart in seeing this new generation begin again that tireless work of being a christian family. They will take the flame and pass the faith. The faith we sheltered in our hearts for them in those first moments of their lives is now shaping itself into a new hope for the age that they are called to.<br />
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I am a very new grandmother. But this new role seems to be filled with promise.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-11111575452025887692016-12-31T17:33:00.002-08:002016-12-31T18:20:06.599-08:00Praying bigI love Advent. I am not very good at Advent ( I'm much better at Christmas), but I do love Advent. The idea of awaiting our redeemer, which most days I simply take for granted, stays fresh in my mind. As a Catholic mom, I try to find ways to instill the faith in my kids, and so liturgical seasons give form to my hopes for them. Of course, most of what I realize in trying to mold my own children is how hard my own heart is, and how much interior work there is still to be done. I am by nature, an optomist, and even while knowing my weaknesses, I am able to look forward to what I might one day become.<br />
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This Advent was special. The kids I teach at our cooperative and the kids in our homeschool group, helped me make blessing bags for the poor. We made alot of bags. I took some to the Silence of Mary Home in Harrisburg, and a couple of weeks ago, as Advent was winding down, Fred and I went to drop some off at the Frederick Rescue Mission. It was closed, and not wanting to forget to return, we looked for someone nearby in need. </div>
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In minutes we found a homeless couple. We passed on some blessing bags and they were grateful. We also started talking to them. They mentioned they could no longer stay at the abandoned building they had been at and were getting a ride out of town that afternoon. We got in the car and the plan was to go shopping but mostly for the rest of the afternoon, we just spoke about Joe and Jen. We wondered how they got there. We shook our heads at how to fix it. We lamented there wasn't more to do. We wanted to do more, to make a difference. </div>
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I thought of them the following day, but they slowly left my thoughts as the afternoon wore on and the responsilities piled up. Wrapping. shopping. cooking. baking. Christmas was near. At 1pm we headed to confession and mass before Christmas. Afterwards we headed to McDonalds. </div>
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And there they were. </div>
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Right in my town, Joe and Jen. We stopped the car, we talked some more. We introduce the kids. They thanked them for the blessing bags as the childrens eyes grew wide. They had just arrived. They were living in the woods in a tent. We bought them lunch, we asked if they needed anything, we took a small list of supplies. It felt like God was speaking to us, but neither of us could really understand the words. We both know we cannot solve poverty, but we also equally know we are our brothers keeper. Not knowing how to fix this we just tried to do what we could that day. And the next. </div>
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As the week wore on we got to know them better. They do not seem to be involved in drugs or alcohol. They just seemed really simple, and unintelligent, possibly mentally ill, but not cetainly. I waited for them to try to take advantage of me. It was Advent and I was ripe for being put upon, but no such luck happened. The requests were profoundly simple: water, ramen noodles, a blanket, batteries. After a few days I secretly prayed they would ask for something more to both assuage my guilt for having so much more, and also to do some actual good for them. It was not to be. I have so much. I have been so blessed. I have resources and a community of people I am surrounded by. I can get things done. Despite my most sincere tries, I could not make this better. </div>
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By a weeks end, I asked my friends for advice- what else could we do? I had been calling shelters and soup kitchens and getting nowhere. My friends offered new leads,thoughtful prayers, real tangible help, and solid advice. We made a supreme effort to reunite them with family, but despite our best efforts, it never happened. On Christmas day I got another ordinary text from Jen : </div>
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"Merry Christmas. Could you bring us 3 gallons of water, creamer, salt and pepper, and some chocolate snacks?"</div>
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I closed the oven door where my Christmas dinner was cooking and asked Fred to drive me to Sheetz, the only open store on Christmas day. We picked up the water and creamer along with the salt and pepper, then scoured the aisles for chocolate snacks. Kit Kats, M&M's, Hersheys. It all felt so small and we felt like such failures. As we were leaving Jen and Joe that day she asked "Hey, do you want to hug me?" and I said yes and we did. </div>
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Over the course of two weeks I asked God what I was supposed to do about this couple, what did he want of me, how could I be of help. No answer came. No heartwarming results and Christmas miracles were accomplished. Joe and Jen seem to prefer to live in the woods, away from people and no matter how much good we want for them, we cannot make them do what we wish. </div>
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2 days ago the real answer from God came. I realized God didn't want me to do anything more than I had done. But he did want me to know what his own heart feels like. All those days I had been recieving those lists and texts I had such power and ability to assist Joe and Jen. They could have asked me for so much and I would have moved mountains to try to help them, but they didn't want mountains moved. They couldn't see what was and is in their best interest. They don't want help or to change. They are content to live this way. When I cautioned them about how bad things could get, they laughed it off and said they'd been through worse. I believed them and felt such pity and heartbreak. They were grateful, but they oddly never tried to get to know us any better, even as we tried to get to know them. </div>
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When I was in a "godly" position my heart was intent on helping them and I was waiting for <u>any</u> real opening to help to move these simple souls in a better direction. I kept my phone nearby in case the weather changed or a need came up. I was so attentive. I simply ached to do good for them. </div>
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Then, I thought of what my own prayers must sound like to God. What do I really ask my father for? When he looks at me, He too sees a simple soul wandering this earth, homeless and living in a dangerous world. He desires for me to be safe and warm and sheltered. He would move mountains for me, even move me into his own house if I wanted to, to assure my eternal safety. He would give me <i>anything I asked for that was good for me.</i> </div>
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Instead I too ask for water and chocolate snacks. </div>
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I wonder how disappointing my prayers must seem to a father who is so generous. I often think, probably as Joe and Jen did, that I don't want to wear out my welcome with a God who has forgiven me so much, and blessed me so much, but I saw that its just not true. I have only misunderstood Gods hospitality, his generosity, and his genuine devotion to my real needs. He wouldn't tire of bringing me water and salt and pepper, or even the extravagant 'chocolate snack', but I know he must wish that I would ask for more. Especially if he felt it could move me closer to Him and into his safe heart. </div>
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I'm sure he would like me to pray bigger. </div>
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I don't mean bigger as in more water and chocolate snacks, I mean bigger as in I need to start asking for the most important things from him, like peace, and forgiveness, and eternal life. I need to trust him enough to bring him a list that says things like :<br />
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I'd like my kids to always keep their faith,<br />
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I'd like to see more souls converted to you Jesus.<br />
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I'd like to be able to let go of my pettiness and fears.<br />
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I'd like you to cure my friends cancer.<br />
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I'd like to help end homelessness.<br />
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I'd like you to fix a failing marriage.<br />
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I'd like peace in war torn areas.<br />
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I'd like you to bless a childless couple with a baby.<br />
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<i>Mostly, I'd like to know you better Jesus, I'd like to want to know you better,and if its really not too much, I'd like to sit with you for eternity and listen the sound of your heart.</i><br />
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I need to trust He is happy to give those things to me if and when I stop standing in my own way. The next time my conscience tells me I am getting myself into trouble I have to remember not to boast to Him that I've been in worse trouble before, as if that somehow minimizes what is currently wrong in my life. </div>
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2016 is coming to a close and 2017 is moments away, I have learned so many things this year both good and bad. Perhaps the very best thing I have learned is to not be afraid to pray big.<br />
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Friends, remind me of that as the year wears on... would you?<br />
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Have a blessed New Year.</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-60940071565606907752016-11-24T12:27:00.002-08:002016-11-24T15:36:00.546-08:00<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-69537558436631300182016-11-24T12:27:00.001-08:002016-11-24T19:52:33.232-08:00Thanksgiving in the twilight zoneDear Peter,<br />
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Knowing how you love spending Thanksgiving with the crew, and seeing that you couldn't be here this year, I thought you'd particularly appreciate the blog post.Being with family is such a comforting thought at the holidays so I'll do my best to make you feel like you're right here with us!<br />
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I'd like to tell you our trip started uneventfully- alas, that isn't true. We were scheduled to leave early Tuesday morning and Dad was really looking forward to a short break from work this year. Sunday, we got a call from Andy saying his roof blew off his house in the storm. Wondering if he was exaggerating, Dad headed over to find Andy and Rachel's kitchen roof in their yard. We went Amish style and called in all of our manpower ( there are a lot of advantages to having 7 sons) to get it mostly put back together by Tuesday evening. (You can imagine Grams reaction that Andrew might not be able to make it.)<br />
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As Dad was pulling out of the driveway, Matt mentioned that Rachel couldn't get the furnace started.<br />
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We left anyway.<br />
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5 hours and 16-calls-about-furnace-repairs-and-you-tube-videos-from-Andy later we arrived in Gramaland ( cue the Twilightzone music) slightly behind schedule, but still here. Grama and Grampa greeted us at the door just before midnight. Gramps entire head is bandaged up. I gasped. "Phil what happened?" thinking he must have fallen just before we arrived. "Oh, that's nothing. Its just some cancer." Fred came up behind me. "Oh my gosh dad, what happened?" This time Gram chimed in "Oh, didn't we tell you? Phil had a melanoma removed last week." <br />
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No, no, you didn't tell us.<br />
No mention whatsoever.<br />
We had no idea Headwound Harry would be hosting us for Thanksgiving. <br />
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After putting all the kids to bed, we collapsed. <br />
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This morning Dad awoke to 23 offers of coffee and the various ways he could enjoy it ( black, cream, sugar, just cream,real, decaf, half caf, Jamaican, dark roast, milk, non-dairy creamer, splenda).<br />
When I walked downstairs Gram pointed at the coffee pot and said "Help yourself ". You know the drill- Boys Rule, Girls Drool in Gramaland. <br />
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Meanwhile, next door, Uncle Dave woke during the night to find his entire electrical service is out. I mean O-U-T. Dave spent the day getting parts to fix the lines and making phone calls to restore power. Hopefully, the power will be back on by tonight. Michael arrived from school this morning and so he Stephen and the pack of boys are currently roaming the neighborhood, in cars now though.The little girls have been riding bikes and eating cream puffs all day. <br />
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Andrew finally fixed his furnace and he and Rachel are on their way. Gram is relieved Thanksgiving can proceed now that Andy will actually be in attendance.<br />
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I was glad we got to facetime with you for a bit. Gram was lamenting you not being here so we prayed the family rosary.<br />
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The power is still not on next door, so we all had mince and rice for dinner (Diane arrived from work and was offered eggs). Dave decided to fire up his generator since the power company is delayed. Unfortunately, the generator wouldn't start. Dads heading over now to take a look-see.<br />
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No political fireworks yet as we all voted on the same team here. Friday could be interesting with the arrival of the left wing of the Legare clan. (I personally have never witnessed these political fights I've heard tale of in the past. Maybe this year will be different). Dad suggested that just in case tensions run high, we should consider filling a pinata in the form of DJT -with cream-puffs. He's unsure if Gram will let us.<br />
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The carburetor on Daves generator is busted. Grampas generator has been transferred next door. Diane is making pies over there and walkIng them over here to bake for her trip to Theresa's tomorrow. Dads threatening to eat them. Andy and Rachel arrived close to midnight and were promptly given napoleons.<br />
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The power is still not on next door. They may be wearing coats to bed.<br />
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To be continued in the a.m...<br />
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This morning Dad went to Dunkin' Donuts to avoid the hysteria of coffee choices. The power company finally restored the electricity next door around 10am. The turkey is being stuffed and I'm being peppered with questions about cooking temperasure for the size the bird-I have zero answers. I'm watching March of the Wooden Soldiers instead.<br />
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By mid-afternoon we did our traditional Thanksgiving walk thru the graveyard. I'm not sure how this became a tradition, to walk through the graveyard, but we did. Naturally I asked if we should pray for the dead to gain an indulgence for them, but John-Paul pointed out it was a Christian cemetery not Catholic, so these souls wouldn't go to purgatory. after some hesitation we said the prayers anyway-just in case.<br />
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Dinner is just about underway now, and the house smells incredible. Gram is in the kitchen saying she destroyed the turkey (she didn't) because she cooked it upside down. Grampa is insisting it's because she's rushed it. No one else cares. </div>
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Your little brothers are out in the cow pasture as I write, trying to muster the courage to approach the bulls. They won't go out there at night as Gramps scared them to death about coyotes. </div>
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The others will be back later tonight after dinner, Nikki will be back with them. We miss you and wish you were here! Thank you for your sacrifices for our great nation. we truly are blessed and most thankful.</div>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ellielegare"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-a.png" alt="Follow ellielegare on Twitter"/></a></div>elliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00764357801293385173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796384346441141954.post-12867295900792540782016-02-11T21:42:00.001-08:002016-02-11T21:42:36.900-08:00These are my friendsIf you're friends with me on Facebook, you're probably sick of my <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/11/us/mount-st-marys-university-firings.html">Bunnygate</a> posts this week. I can't really blame you for that, but my friends John and Angela, who've been heroic in their vigilance to these matters, posted about our community tonight and reminded me again why we are all actually fired up. They shared some memories from their past with us, and offered context as to why some of us are fighting so hard. It occurred to me that it would be good for me to do the same. I haven't written a blog post in eons, but this seems like a worthy post. <br />
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The people in my community are a strange mix of home-schoolers, professors, and Washington DC guys who can't- tell-me-what-they-do-for-a-living-or-they'd-have-to-kill-me. We are in the same clubs, troops, and home-school classes. We belong to local parishes that share our youth group. Monthly, we get together at our place for a pot-luck dinner and rosary night where we all wrestle with squirming kids. We eat together, talk about our life, break up our fighting kids, and try to teach them to pray. We all want the kids to see that they grow up in a community where our faith matters and should be the litmus test for our actions. We fail at that example an awful lot, but we keep trying.<br />
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Some of us did better than usual this week, no doubt by Gods grace. When given the opportunity to do what was right and what was easy, they chose to do what was right. Even when that meant their whole world would come crashing down around them. So, the flurry of posts from the rest of us, are really an effort to stand alongside the people we have come to know and trust, to support the friends we pray with and play with. At times we may seem to flail a bit in our efforts, but I can assure you that our intentions are all good.<br />
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I don't generally do much picture taking at our gatherings cause I'm usually too busy talking to do so. This year though, my friend Chris asked me to take pictures of all of us at Christmas time for one single purpose. He said, "Ellie, you should take pictures tonight because it would be good to look back at them some day and remember how happy we all were, for some day when we might need them." So despite my usual aversion to pictures, I actually walked around that night and took shots of my friends. These pictures aren't of some newsworthy professors. No major social justice advocates came into focus in my lens. No one in the room appeared gutsy enough to sacrifice themselves for the good of others that night as we joked and chatted and made merry like we always do.<br />
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Tonight, I offer you some glimpses of the people who have been making national and international news all week. Fred found some more from Easter, and a few days in between. Maybe these glimpses can help you put a human face on some of the really wonderful people that I call my friends. Maybe you will understand why some of us are fighting so hard to keep them standing.<br />
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