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The Grace of the Sacrament of Marriage, Why It Matters & How it Can Get You Through Anything.
Did you know it is National Marriage Week? Well, neither did I 😂 — until a good friend of mine reminded me — so in honor of that, I thought I’d share two reflections I shared over on Instagram on the Sacrament of Marriage…I hope they bless you and remind you how beautiful this call to marriage truly is! The picture below was taken on our honeymoon, and John and I still love to tell our kids about the fact that we were so broke in those early days that John sold his champagne-colored Cadillac so we could go on a honeymoon. Our budget was so tight that we ate…
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Travel Posts To Get You Going
Hey guys, thank goodness summer is not over yet! Here is to hoping you are making the most of your last days of summer — I know I am trying to. I am getting ready for our own family adventure, so I figured I’d share some of my favorite family travel posts from the past 3 years. Hopefully, they will inspire you to start planning your own crazy family adventures. Without further ado, let’s get to it! This one is an honest and light-hearted look at the 7 Do’s and Don’ts of Family Travel. I’ve made lots of mistakes along the way, so hoping this will help the next guy…
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Once Upon a Time in Melaka a.k.a. Making the Case for Pilgrimage
Technically, John and I made our first family pilgrimage to Rome when our oldest daughter was still in utero. Understandably, our life with littles quickly transitioned from world travels to beach travels — and somewhere along the way, we began to lose sight of the importance of pilgrimage. Maybe it was because I assumed deeming something a “pilgrimage” would bring with it extra sufferings and hardships, and I was barely keeping my head above water with so many littles in the mix, as it was. Whatever it was, we likely would have kept choosing family vacations over pilgrimages if it wasn’t for an opportunity that John and I had to…
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Pilgrim Toes, Thirst, and the Canonization of Mother Teresa
The weekend of Mother Teresa’s canonization began quite peacefully. The Romans were slowly returning home from their month-long summer break — boy do they know how to live — and the crowds in Rome were smaller than we had expected. There was a part of me that wondered how the Italians were going to pull off a huge ordeal like a canonization when they were so sluggishly returning to their routines. It seems people were avoiding St. Peter’s because they feared the crowds — that was a big win for us! Thank you Jesus for smaller lines at St. Peter’s and easier access to good food and gelato — I don’t think this tired…
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7 Quick Takes: One Night in Rome
Rome was hot, very hot. And I was often wearing a baby, so multiply that by 10. 🙁 So, needless to say, we were sweating all.day.long. But something really wonderful would happen each evening –there was a coolish breeze and the scorching sun went away –so an evening walk was a great way for us to end our time in Rome. Honestly, Rome by day is impressive — but by night — it’s kind of amazing! This is true for cities all over the world, but especially the cities of Italy. At night, families come out and spend their evenings in their favorite little piazzas. The old and the young, romantic couples…
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On Pilgrimage: Rome with Kids (Part 1)
I have been slowly making my way through our recent pilgrimage to Italy. Please forgive me if it takes until our next family trip to finish this series of posts, but life –just life. I’d love to write every day, but I’m still trying to find the balance between blogging and living. Since my return, we have slowly transitioned back into the ordinary rhythm of life. Usually I return from a family vacation feeling empty and exhausted — the shell of a person I once was. Don’t get me wrong — I love our family trips — but I usually need to hide away for a few weeks to recover from them. This…
