Grecian Getaway

Just a week ago Patrick and I hopped in the car and headed south through the Austrian Alps (and a massive get-behind-a-snowplow kind of snowstorm) to the Milan-Bergamo airport.  Final destination for this four-day weekend:  Greece.  We touched down in Thessaloniki, picked up our tiny car from the Hertz parking lot, and once again headed south.  After a lovely lunchtime stop in the village of Katerini and a few more hours on the highway, we found Sernikaki (a little village near Delphi) and Kelari Studios, our lodging for the night.

 Having enjoyed a home-cooked Greek dinner (complete with lamb and Greek salad), a much-needed night of sleep, and a quick breakfast, we explored the ruins at Delphi under a beautiful blue sky.

A few hours later we were winging our way south and east toward Athens and the Acropolis.

From our perch, the Athenian horizon appeared packed as tight as our carry-ons on the trip home.  It was time for a quick snack and then back to the car ... once we found that parking lot again. (Amazing story of God's provision during our exit from Athens not included here at this time.)  

Our next destination ... Meteora.  "From the 14th until the 16th century, twenty-four monasteries emerged on the countless summits of rocks and became the centers of the Orthodox creed in the Byzantine era.  Today, six remain to be explored and admired by all."  Beginning in the upper left corner and moving in a clockwise fashion: Hotel Pineas (our resting place), view of the incredible landscape from our hotel, a "selfie" in front of Great Meteoro Monastery, and finally a shot of Varlaam Monastery and Great Meteoro.

Great Meteoro

After hiking up and down and up and down and up and down, we took a little siesta and then hit the town of Kalampaka, featured below.                                 

                                    

What a huge blessing to celebrate twenty years of marriage...  

to celebrate in a land so beautifully crafted by our Creator.  

So thankful.

Twenty

A beautiful fall morning twenty years ago today on the other side of an ocean two wooden doors swung open and there you stood, your brother at your side.  I vaguely recall a trumpet playing, a bunch of people standing around me and a stone and oak church.  I remember you reflecting the beauty of that day.  God was playing his own music.

Much has changed since that day.  We are no longer just two but seven with capacity for love increasing with each new addition.  We have taken on the schooling of our children with each year bringing many new things to teach.   Houses have come and gone.  Each one made a home by your special touch.   We have changed careers, moved to new cities, and found new friends to make.   We have experienced longer times of separation than we would have ever dreamed and greater times of reunion than could be imagined.

Through all of these changes you have endured much.  There have been long days on hard bleachers in hot gyms, poor singing, bad poetry and occasional grumpiness, to name just a few.   There have been smelly diapers to change, much laundry to do.  My tastes have changed considerably.  You have taught me the joys of broccoli, ice cream and holiday traditions.   I have discovered a love of wine, desserts and hymns.  Back then I didn't know what it meant to be reformed, that I actually enjoy the company of the French, or that I would much care where John Calvin lived.  Now all of these things bring joy to my life.

With all of these changes one thing has never changed and that is my desire to be with you.  My love for you is greater today than ever before.  Through you God has given me five children and a family of joy to come home to.  Through you and your love, respect and support God has made me better than I ever was before.

Soon we will begin to see our children go.  Soon they will marry and have children.  May our sons be blessed to find a woman as wonderful as you.   May our daughters be as good a wife to their husbands as you have been to me.   May these blessings produce many grandchildren in whom we will find much joy.

May we grow old together…may the best be yet to come.

Ever loving you,

Patrick

This Kind of Love

It seems like we've waited for a lifetime,

Just to be standing in this place.

We both were praying for the right one;

I know my search is over by the look on your face.

There's more to love than just this feeling,

Promises more than words can say.

We'll put our trust in the hands of the Lord; 

There's no other substitute, no other way.

This kind of love is for a lifetime.

We're given one lifetime to love.

And when these moments here are over, 

And we've shared our vows together, 

Then we'll begin to live forever.

This kind of love.

We've placed our lives upon this altar,

To show the world it can be done.

Ours is a faith that will not falter,

Our God is able to complete what He's begun.

This kind of love is for a lifetime.

We're given one lifetime to love.

And when these moments here are over, 

And we've shared our vows together, 

Then we'll begin to live forever.

This kind of love.

I will always love you, never turn away, no.

I will hold and keep you, through every joy and tear

You know that I will be here.

This kind of love is for a lifetime.

We're given one lifetime to love.

And when our days on earth are over, 

And we've shared our lives together, 

Then we will live with Him forever.

This kind of love.

*Sung at our wedding by our friend, Rich Ruiz.
October 2, 1993

Is It That Time Already?

Since I know how crazy-busy May becomes, I thought I would get a head-start on all the reminiscing that one's senior year of high school brings.  Our senior is, of course, Micaiah ... Rachel Micaiah Lopez.  Here, in the middle of the summer before her senior year begins, I am anticipating already the many "lasts" that this year will bring.  Here, in the middle of Europe as we begin our final year of this tour, the number of "lasts" multiplies before my very eyes.  And yet, I am so thankful for the opportunity to look back and to remember all the blessings of being mom AND teacher to our eldest daughter.

The Lopez Family Homeschool officially opened its doors in August 2005 (with three students enrolled)...

and now as we begin our ninth year, our enrollment has increased 67 percent, and we will be graduating our first class this next May.  This encourages an even bigger dose of end-of-the-school-year questioning:  How close are we to our goals?  What areas do we need to improve and strengthen as we move forward?  Are there things we need to be doing differently?  What does this upcoming school year potentially hold as challenges?  There are no parents (I refrain from using any adjectives here) to evaluate the job I am doing as a teacher so the need for honest self-evaluation is crucial, and thankfully, our principal (Dad) provides great wisdom and guidance all throughout each school year.  As always, may we remember the command

"Hear, O Israel:  the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." --Deuteronomy 6:4-7

It will be much too soon and we will be doing this again ...

May ... Bear at Work and Play

The close of April was somewhat disheartening as we said "Good-bye" to Mimi, and some in the Lopez home questioned why she had to go back across the pond.  Thankfully, May brought many exciting events to turn the heart toward rejoicing again.  Among them ... a Birthday Celebration and "Take Your Child To Work" Day.  For these two events to take place within the space of a week is almost overwhelming for a soon-to-be-six-year-old boy.  

Bear celebrated his sixth birthday at Playmobil FunPark in Zirndorf, Germany.  Quite the adventure!

While pirate ships and castles and rope ladders offer challenges and plenty of fun, spending the day at work with Dad on Warrior Field may have surpassed the day of play.  Helicopters, snipers, weapons, and obstacle courses - oh my!

A Return To Italy

It has been a long time since we first traveled to Italy (Belle was just 10 weeks old); it has been a long time since I last posted on this blog.  Such a long time that I believe only a few masterful photos may work as an attempt at the heartfelt apology.  And so here is my offering (with all credit going to my husband for the masterful photos):

We traveled to southern Italy and made this 400+ year-old stone home, situated about 20 minutes west of Cassino, our base-camp for the week.  One unique feature (discovered upon arrival):  if you desire heat at night, you must build a fire ... and in the mountains in early April, you desire heat!

Market Day in Sora is quite impressive.  Variety of merchandise, number of vendors, enthusiasm of buyers.  To be honest, for a non-shopper it can be a bit overwhelming.  We have experienced a few markets during our time in Europe, but this is the first time we have seen live animals for sale ... bunnies at a market??  We walked away with photos only!

Ahh, Rome.  It is true.  Rome cannot be "done" in a day.  While this is true, part of us took in as much as we could from atop the ever-popular Hop-On-Hop-Off tour bus.  The younger part of us roamed the roads of Rome on a different day, and Patrick played guide to both parts. 

Palantine Hill, the Colosseum, St. Peter's Basilica, the Tiber River, the Swiss Guard ... and the lesser-known-but-just-as-popular-with-the-five-year-old-boy-crowd Pinocchio Store.  Our Roman Experience.

One day we piled into the van and scaled the heights of some amazing mountains in Abruzzo National Park.

A few days later we turned south and after careening through tiny, narrow, cobbled streets in what looked like third-world-country villages, we ended at Pompeii and wandered through some of those archaeological finds.  As the sun began to set on that day, the Mediterranean called out to us and some had to answer the call with jeans rolled up and shoes tossed aside.

With views like this all around us, we would readily agree with Bear's statement "I could live here."