This is "Lucky."  She's not quite eight years old.  She is 1/4 Japanese Chin and 3/4 cavalier king charles spaniel.  We were present at her birth.  Her mother belonged to my dear friend Ann K.  

Is she not adorable?  She's one of the sweetest dogs we've ever had.

A few years ago Lucky was diagnosed with a heart murmur.  Cavaliers are prone to heart problems.  We had hoped that Lucky's Japanese Chin blood would serve her well against this vulnerability.  Unfortunately, that has not turned out to be the case.  Now she has congestive heart failure and it is advancing.  She's coughing, not eating much, and has labored breathing.  We all know that Lucky is approaching the end of her life.

I bought her some canned dog food today.  She's only slightly interested.

Please pray that Lucky will have a peaceful end and that our family will have every necessary grace to say good-bye.

One Moonless Night

While in Florida my family frequently chose to head to the beach at night.  It's very peaceful at that time and the ocean very beautiful.  We get our feet a little wet in the waves and just appreciate God's creation for maybe an hour.

One night we didn't get there until about 10:30 PM.  There was no moon.  My husband Mike does not usually bring a flashlight but he did that night.  Several of us were further ahead when we saw a frantic moving back and forth of the flashlight beam.  I looked back to see my daughter gesturing urgently to come back.  Wondering what was wrong we rushed back to join them.

They silently gestured further up on the sand.  There was a great mass of something thrashing rather wildly.  Loud whispers followed, "A turtle!  A turtle!!"

It was a sea turtle burying her eggs!!

After she had finished, she slowly and made her way back down to the ocean.  She was a magnificent creature.  I don't believe I have ever seen such a large animal outside of a zoo.  Her back alone was probably five feet long, not including her legs and head.  Her head was much larger than a human head.  Her eyes were like baseballs.  As she moved slowly and gracefully back to the sea her path came about twenty feet from where we stood.  We were awe struck.  She lay in the wet sand.  A few small waves gently touched her.  Then a large wave engulfed her and she disappeared.  "Wow," several of us quietly whispered.  We knew we had just witnessed what most people will never have an occasion to see.  As one of my daughters said, "It was like seeing a dinosaur."

Judging from photos, we believe she was a leatherback turtle, an endangered species.  They can grow up to seven feet long and weigh more than 2,000 pounds.  Most of the offspring do not survive.  One site said that only about 1 in 1,000 hatchlings make it.  Some are consumed by predators before they reach the ocean.  Others are consumed by humans who consider them aphrodisiacs.  (I know.  Please.  An endangered species!!)

We tried to take pictures with cell phones but it was much too dark.

I have seen the sea turtle nests cordoned off on the beach before and never thought much about them.  Let me tell you, I will be thinking about them now.  I will be thinking about the gigantic creature who crawled out of the ocean one moonless night to leave her eggs in the sand.  And I will be thinking about the glory of God all over creation and the responsibility of all of us, His children, to protect and care for His creatures.

It's hot here in MIchigan.  It's been a very hot summer.  My flower beds cannot last a day without watering.  In fact, after watering, they are again visibly dry after only a few hours.  We aren't used to this kind of heat.

Our family took a trip to Florida to see my mother-in-law.  It was over 100 degrees here when we left.  Florida was in the comfortable 80s.  Weird.  Florida is always hotter than Michigan.

But the trip was fun.  Only Jimmy and Zach could not come along.  We stopped in Atlanta to spend a couple nights and pick up Anne.  Got to see these two new little adorable kitties!!

Walking the beach was a relaxing and beautiful experience.  Soon I will write about what we saw on the beach one moonless night!!

Just saw this fabulous video thanks to Suz McConnell.  It's from a site called Catholic Called to Witness
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=D9vQt6IXXaM&hd

It's about the Catholic vote.  Please check it out.  It's not long.

We certainly do have a responsibility to vote for those candidates who will support policies that we believe are right.

This is a crucial election!!

Holy Orders!

I went to a beautiful ordination this weekend.  I had never been to an ordination before and it was a very moving liturgy.  It was especially meaningful because Father James had been friends with my oldest son since grade school.  Educated initially as a classical guitarist, James had also given my younger son guitar lessons for several years.  And while we were in Rome we had had lunch with him at the North American College where he was completing his theological studies.

In other words, we knew Father James and had been enthusiastically anticipating his ordination.  It was an honor to be there.

The holy card commemorating the ordination included on the back the following quote from Pope Benedict XVI:

If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great....for only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide.

I think that says it all.  May God bless Father James every day of his priestly ministry!!!  And may we all follow the calling the Lord has placed on each of our lives!

Yesterday was the last day of school.  I love the last day of school.  Love having my children home during the day and the more relaxed schedule.

The weather in Michigan has been beautiful, but a little dry.  I've had to water my flowers nearly every day.

I need to get out on my bike more often.  This is what I see when I take my favorite bike ride.

Yeah.  It's a lovely ride.  From my house I ride a little less than a mile on residential roads, cross one busy street at a crosswalk, and the rest is all bike paths.

......And I love riding my bike.  Not to mention that I need the exercise.  And it really helps my knee, improves my mood......yeah.  I have no excuse to not get out there and ride.

You have to love Peggy Noonan.  She has written a great essay for the Wall Street Journal entitled "The Long Race Has Begun," explaining how BOTH Obama and Romney are bad at politics.  It's a very interesting article.

Mr. Obama has become actively bad at politics. Here is an example of how bad. Anyone good at politics does not pick a fight with the Catholic Church during a presidential year. Really, you just don't. Because there's about 75 million Catholics in America, and the half of them who go to church will get mad. The other half won't like it either......

Only if you are really, really not good at politics do you alienate the bishops of a great faith in an election year.

I couldn't agree more.  What was he thinking?

If you haven't signed the petition yet at www.stophhs.com, please do so, if you believe in the First Amendment!!!

Obama described as having been born in Kenya???

OK.  What is this about....I must admit that I for some time have just assumed that there was really no issue about Obama's citizenship, the the birthers were nuts and coming from who knows where...

But what are we to make of this, published today on Breitbart.com and referenced on the Drudge Report. Check out the entire article here.  And while you're at it I'd suggest taking a look at the other articles Drudge has linked on the same subject.

While this does not prove that Obama was not eligible for the presidency, I think it does show irrefutably that he did present himself as having been born in Kenya.  Perhaps that was the dishonesty.....  If he was born in Kenya, I believe he would not be eligible for the presidency although he would still be an American citizen because his mother was an American.  If born outside the United States both of one's parents must be Americans in order to be eligible to run for president, according to about.com

But something certainly does not add up.

Why would Obama's literary agent use a brochure up until 2007 that describes him as Kenyan born?

Is it reasonable to think that Obama never looked at what his literary agent had written for his bio?  If he had looked at it even once would he not have noticed that his birthplace was listed incorrectly?  Would someone with political aspirations not read his own bio?

Would a literary agent actually mess up in a publication of an author's bio a fact so significant as his birthplace?????

Am I overreacting?  This seems huge to me.

Someone tell me if I'm missing something.....

Vatican Museum!!!

The Vatican Museum is so full of gorgeous art and incredible artifacts that it's difficult to even take it all in.  I took pictures of some of my favorite pieces and they are below....

Ancient Christian graffiti....how cool is that?

This is the oldest liturgical bell in existence

St. Helen's sarcophagus...

 OK. These are not statues but they are some of my favorite people....:-)

There is so much beauty in Rome I think you could spend years just absorbing it.  Maybe years just to see it all....So much glory to God..

The Coliseum

I don't know what Blogger has done.  I do not like this new setup.  I've posted two photos of the Coliseum, planning to post text around it as I usually do and the photos seem to be stuck together.

All right, let's start here.  Above is a photo of the cross inside the Coliseum, placed there to honor the thousands of Christians martyred there.  Brother Mark told us that the deaths of the Christians were not the primary attraction at the Coliseum.  They were more of a sideshow.  The gladiator dramas were the big attraction.  The Christians were more apt to silently pray or sing hymns before their deaths.  Not as exciting to the bloodthirsty spectators, I guess

The Holy Father led the Stations of the Cross at the Coliseum on Good Friday.  I don't know if you can see it bet there is a cross made of votive candles to the right of the canopy.  It was very moving.

The Coliseum was built in AD 80 and it held 50,000 spectators.  There were 8 entrances and tickets were pieces of broken pottery with seats, rows, and sections marked.  The entire place could empty in about 15 minutes.  There were many shows a day and they were free.

Underground passageways, now exposed because the floor is no longer there, held prisoners, wild animals, and props.  The animals were from all over the world and the gladiator would not know what he would face until the animal arrived through trap doors and elevators right onto the floor.  I had to wonder how people would enjoy that.  I believe it was the Christian Emperor Constantine (son of St. Helen) who put an end to these shows.

From left to right-- Liz, Mike, me, Mary!, Anne, and Zach.  Mike Sr. took the picture.

All stadiums today are designed in the same manner as the Coliseum.

More on Rome...

I think I have not been writing that much about Rome because we were so busy while there and since we've been back I am still basking in the joy of having been there and still overwhelmed by the memory of all we saw. So instead of a coherent and logical description of what we did when I am just going to post a little here and there....

OK. This is the Holy Father at the Chrism Mass at St. Peter's Basilica on Holy Thursday. There was a very kind Sister of Charity sitting next to me and closer to the aisle who urged me to come closer and helped me to get a good view. She asked for my prayers and I said I would pray for her, but now I can't remember her name which was a little unusual. Please pray for the gentle, sweet sister who helped me to get this photo of the Holy Father.

Saint Peter's Basilica. We were given a fantastic tour of St. Peter's Basilica by Brother Mark Thelen, a friend of my son's and the son of a friend of mine. It was so Christ centered, so spiritual, so focused on the church. Mark is a seminarian studying to be a priest of the Legionaries of Christ. Could I ask for prayers for him as well? Such an impressive young man. Just the kind of man we need in the priesthood.

The 95 foot tall bronze baldachino designed by Bernini. And the dome towers over the baldachino. Are you getting a sense of the size? It's monumental!

The Pieta....this is where I prayed for the special intentions of a blogging friend of mine. It is such an awe-inspiring sculpture. Brother Mark explained that this was Michelangelo's first work. His FIRST WORK!!! He was only 25 when he finished it. It is the only work that Michelangelo signed. And look at how the legs of Jesus are not really limp against Mary. It is almost as though they are floating a little above, almost a prefigurement of the impending Resurrection.
Here is Brother Mark with Mike and me, Mary and Liz, and Mike.

The Trevi Fountain at night. This very beautiful fountain is still powered by the aquaducts!!

Mary and Liz throwing a coin in the Trevi Fountain which legend says ensures you a trip back to Rome!!! Hope it's true!!
My sister...also hoping for a return trip to Rome!!!
More on Rome soon.....

More of Roma!!

More from Roma!

St. Peter's Square at night. I understand the Pope's residence is the top floor of the building in the background--- the last four windows from the right. Maybe he's up writing another book?

St. Peter's Basilica at night...

Papal Audience....Mary got this picture...

University of Dallas-- Rome Campus...


And back to St. Peter's Basilica....