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When In Rome…

Why, Hello There!

We are safely back stateside dears! I know you could hear the birds begin to sing a little bit sweeter when our plane touched down on Saturday evening. 😉

What an AMAZING trip!! Craig and I are so blessed to be able to have enjoyed such an experience! You can see ALL of our pictures (well, the ones from our digital camera) here. But I’ll give you some highlights from our trip below:

Peering Into St. Peter's Square
Peering Into St. Peter’s Square

Our first day in Rome, we arrived early – as our driver from the airport moonlighted for the Italian version of NASCAR. We took back roads, crawling with traffic and mopeds at well over 90 miles per hour. We enjoyed a breakfast at a small cafe near the Vatican while we waited for our bed and breakfast to open at 10am, at which time we dropped off our luggage and took to the neighborhood for exploring while our room was made ready. The photo above was taken while peering through the huge columns surrounding St. Peter’s Square, looking in at the Basilica.

That evening, after a LONG NAP to catch up on our beauty rest, Craig and I enjoyed a DELICIOUS dinner at Renovatio La Sofitta Ristorante, which can provide ANYTHING on their extensive Italian menu in a gluten-free version!

Pier Enjoying Gluten-Free Pasta
Pier Enjoying Gluten-Free Pasta
Said Gluten-Free Pasta...Yum!
Said Gluten-Free Pasta…Yum!

We also enjoyed a night out at Saxophone Pub:

Craig Enjoying A Beer at Saxophone Pub
Craig Enjoying A Beer at Saxophone Pub

The view from our room at the B&B was spectacular at night:

Room With A ViewCraig & I visited the AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL Vatican Museum.

The Vatican Museum

I mean...That's a CEILING - and not even the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel!
I mean…That’s a CEILING – and not even the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel!

My highlight of the entire trip was our next stop: St. Peter’s Basilica. If this place didn’t make your jaw drop, well…perhaps, your soul needs a check-up. I could hardly bring myself to take any pictures. I was mesmerized.

Looking At The Altar In Saint Peter's Basilica
Looking At The Altar In Saint Peter’s Basilica

We were so blessed to have the opportunity to celebrate Mass there that evening. It was amazing. I can’t speak for my better half, but there were tears in my eyes the entire time. It was that beautiful.

We enjoyed a sushi dinner at Konnichi Wa:

Sushi In Rome: This is what happens when the Sushi Menu is in Japanese with descriptions in Italian. Actually these were DELICIOUS!
Sushi In Rome: This is what happens when the Sushi Menu is in Japanese with descriptions in Italian. Actually these were DELICIOUS!

We toured the Galleria Borghese, which houses the original “David” by Bernini.

Galleria Borghese: Unfortunately, photos INSIDE are not allowed!
Galleria Borghese: Unfortunately, photos INSIDE are not allowed!

Until my decision to NOT wear a coat came back to bite me, we saw the ALMOST COMPLETELY OUTDOOR SITE of Castel San Angelo.

We toured Trastevere and must have walked 20 miles that day alone…It too was BEAUTIFUL!

We ate at a “fancy” ristorante called Il Viaggio (“The Journey”), and Craig thoroughly enjoyed his brandy!

My scotch wasn’t too shabby either!

We visited the Trevi Fountain and made our wishes!!!

In Trastevere, we saw St. Mary at Trastevere and prayed a very special prayer.

Santa Marie In Trastevere
Santa Marie In Trastevere

We also visited the Basilica of St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music, and my confirmation saint. It was a very special trip for me, thank you to the careful planning of my sweet husband. 🙂

Saint Cecilia
Saint Cecilia

If you’ve never read this amazing saint’s story, you should. And you can here.

Of course, Craig and I visited the Colosseum and the Ruins of Ancient Rome.

Colosseum
Colosseum

The Arch of Constantine
The Arch of Constantine

Absolutely breathtaking, and such an experience to be surrounded by so much culture and history. We enjoyed our busy time in Rome, and before we knew it, it was time to head back home. As our travels typically are, the trip home was an adventure, as well, and we made the 10 hour flight from Rome to Washington, D.C., and then raced through customs and the D.C. airport to make a flight back to Atlanta.

We made it!

We are now once again enjoying our little family, all home together: Craig, Pier, Daisy and Lucy – who is beginning to understand the importance of both sleeping through (most of) the night, and pottying outside. Yay! We are so blessed and so thankful for all of the many blessings we have. Please pray for continued blessings for our little family.

Tonight is C & I’s Movie & Popcorn Date Night for Mardi Gras, followed by Ash Wednesday tomorrow, and choir practice, and then Valentine’s Day – Our first as a married couple! I cannot WAIT to give C his gifts – which I had to hide (from MYSELF), so I wouldn’t break down and give them to him early. I’m horrible about that!

Happy Fat Tuesday to all of you! I hope you’ll all enjoy a big evening, before Lent begins tomorrow! Have you decided what to give up and/or add to your Christian walk?

Lots of Love,

Pier & Craig

 

 

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James 1:2-4

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4

I love the Book of James, and I really felt led to share this passage with all of you today.

Love To All Of You,

Pier & Craig

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What A Weekend…

Oh. My. Goodness. This weekend was absolutely crazy…but everything ended up working out for the absolute best…Praise the Lord. Literally. I just can’t believe I actually made it back to my desk at work today. I should actually be curled up in bed with Daisy, getting the rest I never got…

Friday, before leaving the office, I heard a tiny thud and saw a blue stone on a printed out e-mail at my desk…Lo’ and behold, it was a sapphire from my wedding band…Never a good way to begin the weekend…Luckily, my sweet husband is working with the guy who made my engagement ring from Craig’s design to re-design my band and fix it all up. After it is all said and done, the ring will be much more structurally sound and just as beautiful as ever.

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After work, I began my 42 mile trek home…Yes. My commute is 42 miles each way, and each leg takes me about an hour and a half. Gotta love it…ANYWAY, I rushed home as quickly as I could so Craig and I could enjoy dinner together before he flew to Dulles for the evening…I got home, said hi to sweet Daisy and my amazing husband, and enjoyed a much needed glass of wine as he finished cooking my a delicious, from-scratch, meal of Gluten-Free Chile Rellenos, with the poblano peppers we grew in our own little garden. It was a delicious meal, and before I knew it, it was time for Craig to fly away…So, he left, I did a blog post about our new sofa and then went upstairs to change out of work clothes and slip into my comfy sweats…I came downstairs and watched a great movie, enjoyed another glass of wine and our extra comfortable new sectional…And then decided, since I had a hair appointment in LaGrange the next morning at 9:45am, I should probably head to bed…Well, usually when I get into bed, Daisy is right on my heels…But not this time…And then I realized I hadn’t seen her since Craig left much earlier… I called her multiple times (she answers to her name), to no avail… I looked ALL over the house…No Daisy…Around 11:30, I put on warm clothes and walked all over the neighborhood crying like a baby and calling for my sweet kitty…At 1:30am, I was all cried out, and I went inside to go to sleep with no happy thoughts in my mind…Craig was very worried too and he assured me I should go to my hair appointment the next morning and he would begin to search for her as soon as he got home…Tearily and with a heavy heart, I agreed…I cried the entire hour and a half drive, until Craig called to tell me he’d found her!!!!!! My poor sweet girl had been underneath the ground-floor deck at the neighbors’ house the entire night…She was cold and covered in cobwebs and grass, but her sweet father had rescued her and brought her back inside. Whew.

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Daisy was safely at home, so I enjoyed the rest of my hair appointment and visiting with Ralph & Cynthia, but I was concerned about my mother. She had not been feeling well all week…I’d called on Thursday night and woken her up around 9pm…That was unlike her…I had called Friday night to see if she felt any better and my Dad had answered the phone and said she was still not well…Then that morning, I had called to let them know Daisy was lost – before Craig found her – and I spoke with my Dad the whole time because she was so sick…

Well, I got home and Craig and I went to pick out our pumpkin as we had planned to do before, since Daisy was now safe and sound…We went to the grocery store to get dinner ingredients for Sunday evening, and to Target to buy throw pillows and a few throw blankets I had seen on sale. We stopped by Blockbuster to pick up a scary movie (my fave: The Shining), and while we were waiting in line, my Dad texted to let us know he had taken my mother to the emergency room and would keep us posted!!!!! Of course, I was very concerned. My mother hates doctor visits as much as I do, so I knew this was serious…but all I could do was wait. Dad said not to worry about coming down until he knew more… So Craig and I went to dinner at our sushi place, and while we were eating my mother called to let us know they were taking her into surgery around 10pm for an Appendectomy. We were so relieved to hear her voice and know that they had figured it out and she would be fine by the next morning!!!!!!!

With that relief, and the promise of a phone call from my Dad when all was said and done, we went to Folklore – a haunted house in Dallas. Let me tell you. I have been to my share of haunted houses and this one was well worth the price of admission! Extremely creepy and entertaining!! If you live anywhere nearby, this is definitely a must-do for the Halloween season!

When we had heard my mother was safely in recovery, we set to work on carving our pumpkin… Whom we had dubbed “Nerdkin”… So cute! We worked hard on this one, but in the end, I think it was worth it:

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ImageI think it turned out really well…and you should SEE all the seeds we got from the Nerdkin! Goodness gracious! An entire mixing bowl full!! We are roasting them with butter, sugar and cinnamon this evening and I am sure they’ll be delicious!!

Sunday we went to early Mass at 8am, met with a man via Craigslist about purchasing our old coffee and end tables (which he did – YAY!!!), and then headed to LaGrange to see my mother! Oh my goodness she looked fabulous! Seriously, like she had had surgery less than 12 hours prior, and looked better than I did. Unfair! 🙂 But such an absolute blessing!!

In all seriousness, we are truly blessed and although this weekend was a whirlwind, and complete insanity, throughout the entire time we prayed and prayed and prayed…Prayers of pleading for help and of thanking God for his mercy! So much happened, but God led us through all of it victoriously! Praise Him!

Please continue to pray for healing for my mother, and for Craig and I as a couple – that we maintain the strength to get through the good and the bad. 🙂 Thank you for all of your kind comments and your love and for reading our blog!! We are sooooo lucky! 🙂

Much Love,

Pier & Craig

PS – You’re all in for a treat…My dear husband told me last week he plans to do a blog post here on his own about our almost-complete bedroom, with pictures of our new bed, bedding, and the nightstands he built. 🙂 Stay tuned! xoxo

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