Habemus Papem!

We have a pope! By now I'm sure those words are known to everyone whether they are Catholic or not. It is amazing to me how much one event can captivate and inspire the world. Not to mention the excitement of seeing the white smoke!

Now I'm a huge dork and once I heard the news that Pope Emeritus Benedict was retiring I decided I was going to become more knowledgeable about the whole conclave process. I highly recommend the book Selecting the Next Pope by Greg Tobin. He gives a high overview history of the Papacy and discusses how conclave became what it is today and why many of the rules came to be. For instance did you know that the rulers of Italy, Austria and France used to have veto power? And the tradition of selecting a new name is just that a tradition it has no basis in church law.

“The first pope to exercise the option of choosing a new name was Mercury, an elderly Roman presbyter, whose given name was that of a pagan god; he reigned as John II (533–535).”

Excerpt From: Tobin, Greg. “Selecting the Pope.” Sterling. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.

Check out this book on the iBookstore: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/selecting-the-pope/id425139342?mt=11
All in all I enjoyed it.

I am excited about Pope Francis I. I am no theologian, bible thumper or even that religious but I feel he is a grand new beginning for a new phase in church history. Call me naive but I don't think we can look to his past actions to see how he will lead our church. It is such a life changing role that to try to compare it to when he was a parish priest or even a bishop is like comparing apples to oranges. And maybe the College of Cardinals were right to select an older gentleman to be the Bishop of Rome. The world changes much more quickly than in the past, so maybe we should have a more frequent change in leadership as well.

One more thought and then I will retire my soapbox... There will no doubt be many naysayers who say the Church is flawed and that the Holy Father should  make more rapid changes to our faith. And they are right the Church is flawed because the Body of Christ is flawed. All humans are flawed. The beauty of our Church, our Body of Christ is that it is OURS to change. Gandhi had it right when he said "Be the change you want to see in the world"

There you have it... my thoughts on it all. As you react remember I'm just a stay at home mom trying to figure all of this out too- so be kind. I just feel so excited to be able to see it all and in a few short weeks visit the place where it all happened.

If you would like the thoughts of someone much smarter than me check out Whispers in the Loggia. He has actual degrees that make him have qualified opinions!

I promise I will soon be back to my regularly scheduled program of kids antics and travel quips!

Happy Day!

Ramblings...

Just a few random thoughts for you today...

1. I think someone forgot to tell Italy that it is March. March means spring- so less clouds more sun. I'm almost desperate enough to visit Sun City (the only local tanning salon). It gets even worse when I get emails from friends in Israel and they are arranging beach play dates. Not cool ladies...

2. I'm kinda over my love affair with Pinterest. I feel like I just see the same pins over and over again.  And let's be honest here people, I'm not going to go about hoarding toilet paper rolls or used soda cans to make these "crafts". And what dollar store are these people going to? That stuff was not there the last time I went. And finally, I just don't understand the attraction of pallets. Again where do you find those? And they are cheap wood, with knots and splinters, cut off grain- they are the junk from the mill. Why would you want that in your home?

3. We are one step closer to finally having our own home in Italy. Apparently the final contract and deposit are being delivered today. Hopefully this means we can take delivery of our belongings early next week. The goal is to be unpacked before the kitchen arrives the first part of April. Now where all of our stuff is going to go in a house without a single closet- thats another issue for another day! Luckily I have had plenty of time to brainstorm.

4. I am drowing in my Italian lessons. I literally walk around town thinking please don't talk to me, I don't have enough brain power to translate in my head what you are saying! My tutor is great, but it is a lot harder to study when you have two kids!

5. I've been obsessing over conclave and the election of a new pope. I even signed up for an email alert when there is white smoke. I can't help it I love the symbolism, history and even the faith that goes into such a momentous time. Head over to Pope Alarm so you don't miss "Habemus Papem!" It is also not to late to adopt a Cardinal to pray for while they discern God's will for His Holy Catholic Church.



That's it. I'm officially out of thoughts!

Happy Day!

Momma and Me

Last week was a tough week- Cranky Kids, Cranky Momma, Bad Weather  and a carb free diet all led to  Friday meltdowns of epic proportions! (You know it is bad when your husband considers coming home from work early!) So since today is a whole new day my husband and I tried a new (to us) idea. On Saturday I got to take E-rie out for a momma and me date. I was thinking that the meltdowns might be from not enough attention so we decided to split up the kids and shower them with affection!

I'm ready momma! Can we go shopping?

I had a few places I needed to stop by and trust me E-rie found a few "must go ins" along the way too! Now we live in a small town of about 140,000 people so almost all of our shopping is small boutiques. Wonderful because I swear boutiques have some amazing stuff and no two are alike, the downside is we pay boutique prices. So unfortunately we don't shop as much as I would like! However if I need anything dressier than play clothes or pajamas I know where to head- Tenerezze di Grazia.  It's got the three S's- silk, smocking and sweetness. Because my little weeds have outgrown their sweaters it was our first stop. 

I mean with windows like these how can you not be drawn in?

 

E-rie's eagle eyes spotted our next stop from a block away! I don't know what little one wouldn't want to explore this wonderful shop. This is only half of it and the windows oh the windows... I swear the windows in this town are a retail girls dream!

After a few more stops and picking up goodies for the hop hop guy to deliver at the end of the month we met up with some handsome lunch dates...



What a guy What a guy!





I swear the name "Patisserie Ferrari" is etched into my kids brains. You mention treats and it is the first word out of their mouths! Just the perfect thing for a sweet Saturday.

It was the perfect day to reset our attitudes and get us back in the swing of things!

All the world is a stage for this girl!

Can I be more clear? I do not like shopping. I do not like shoe shopping. I do not like shopping!

King of the Krewe with my new haircut

I promise we are going to be out exploring Italy very soon and all I will say right now is our next trip is one of those "once in a lifetime" kinda things! Can you say Roman Holiday?

I give you fever...

10 points to you if you are singing that song now!

...Cabin fever that is! We are in the upswing of winter, but that we still cold, dreary gray days. In fact last week we were stuck at home for 5 days in a row. Now five days is an eternity to on the go busy body kids and their on the go mama. By the fifth day it was time to get creative or this case of cabin fever was going to be cabin madness! Fortunately for E-rie and Wildman their Mimi sent some markers for Valentine's Day. All I can say is thank goodness they are washable!

oops, i think i got it on my belly

vroom vroom

they actually colored on the paper too

 go-look i can touch my toes!

And because I am desperate for Spring we dressed spring-like for church this week! Who are these big kids with me? They certainly aren't my babies!

I'm Back!

My amazing traveling personal shopper has returned bringing with him all sorts of goodies! I'm currently relishing my new, unbroken iPad with a heavy duty Otterbox case. I know they say these things are for military use, but obviously they have never lived with the Wildman! He even spoiled me and got me a bluetooth keyboard. Now trust me I'm not tech savvy so having an iPad as my "computer" is perfect for me and this keyboard makes life so much easier!

When our travel schedules allow we take the train home from the airport (since it is €145 cheaper!) and this time it worked out for me and the kids to meet daddy at the train. It was their first trip to the train station and they were pretty pumped but I don't know if it was the trains or the cookies that had them excited!

yummy cookies!

a much more delicate eater

oooh I hear it! I hear the train!

My kiddos were ready for daddy to be home- one because they missed him and two because he always brings back presents! And this time he did not disappoint. Right after dinner the two of them were digging in the suitcase to explore all of the treasures.

styling!

what other goodies can i find?

Needless to say we were well accessorized for our walk the next morning!