My Sweet Mom

Isn't she the best??!!!  

     Mom came over for Clare's party, and has come over many times in the past few weeks.  I'm so blessed! 

     Some of my favorite things about my Mom: 

1) She is such a fierce advocate of her family

2) She love me and my family and my siblings SO MUCH

3) She works tirelessly to help hurting people and alleviate their suffering

4) She is good at laughing at herself and staying humble

5) She has a great sense of humor

6) She keeps track of my kids' lives and stays in touch with them

7) She called my kids on their first day of school to see how it went

8) She wants to help each of her children live out their vocations, and she tries to help them however she can

9) She is so prayerful and has petitioned for many miracles that have come true

10) She has a great smile--as you can see! 

Love you, Mom!!

Clare's Back to School Bash!

   Clare got the year off right, having the whole class over to our house for swimming, diving, racing, cannonballing, and lazer tag fighting!

God bless the 5th grade!!  May they have a holy, happy, blessed year!  

Motherhood is a Privilege

     Amid the back to school shuffle, I have been tempted to get exasperated.  So many details--uniforms, school supplies, lunch boxes, parent orientations, carpools--the list goes on.  Last night ended in my tears as I felt that I I would never get to the bottom of my list of things to do for them.
    This morning, I watched the sun come up as I said Morning Prayer with the chant of the Monks of Christ in the Desert playing in the background.  After praising God for our family's many blessings, my mind turned to all that the day had in store: Jacob's first day of high school, errands, cooking for school lunches for the following day.  The thought struck me: "What a privilege.  These days of caring for these precious human beings whom God has placed in my life are priceless.  I do not want to miss a moment."
    Lord, give us mothers the grace to see that caring for our children is the highest vocation we could have.  Though some of the tasks may seem small and trivial, they are in fact the heart of love.  Doing them thoughtfully is one of the primary ways that we send the message to our children that we love them.  Love for our children is divine: it is a participation in the life of the Trinity.  Lord, help us to carry out each task with the poise and awareness that what we are doing is holy, sublime work.  It is the greatest job on earth.

The Final Days in Greece

A monastery --Hosios Lucas--breathtakingly old and beautiful!

 Ron lecturing at the Pnyx

I having lectured at Socrates' Prison

Ron having lectured at the Aereopogos where Paul preached in Athens

Jacob in front of the Acropolis

Having fun in Plaka at night

Nafplion--a beach town and the old capital of Greece.  We hiked up to Agamemnon's Palace nearby.

What a delightful town!

Greece was a joy in every way.  The ancient cities are still preserved, and we got such a rich understanding of the ancient world.  We love Greece!!!!

Our Trip to Greece

    The Summer Rome Program ended with a week in Greece, imitating the Fall and Spring Rome Program's 10 day trip to Greece.  The Summer Program's inaugural Greece trip was a smashing success!
    It began on a little bus, bumbling up the unspoiled, mountainous countryside of Greece's mainland, which looks, I imagine, very much like it did one million years ago!  After several hours plus a gas station pitstop where we grabbed some spinach pie (can you believe they sell that at gas stations??), we arrived in the lovely town of modern Delphi on Mount Parnassos.

     Delphi is the site of the ancient Delphic oracle.  We visited the ruins, which are some of the best preserved ruins in all of Greece.
     What an amazing thing for me to walk in the steps of Socrates, who himself visited the oracle, who said to him, "You are the wisest man in all the world."  He pondered this claim with which he strongly disagreed, since he knew he did NOT KNOW anything.  He finally realized that the oracle must have called him the wisest man in the world because he KNEW that he did not know anything.  Ah, to wash my hands in the same natural spring washing place that visitors have washed in since Socrates' time!