I left my heart in philly....

It's 8:11 and I finally have a free minute to blog about what's been going on. I went to Philadelphia for the weekend with the kids and my cousin to visit my sister in law's family and especially to give my cousin a sense of "larger" america-- the part that isn't southern, and isn't small-towny.
It was an amazing trip!
We enjoyed family time with my SIL's family, especially since Annika has a cousin there who is exactly her age. She and Ava played and had a great time, while Annika's older cousin, Alex, shared some of his daily life with me. He's a really great kid with a lot going on upstairs-- talented, funny, and heading on towards manhood.
We took the train into the City and visited all the historical sights that would have made my dad proud.... liberty bell, Ben Franklin, and the place where the declaration of independance was signed. It was the first time I really got a chance to dig into the city-- and I loved it as much as I was sure I would.
It's funny how I used to be such a city girl, and now I'm just blown away by how fast and crazy everything is there. I left the quiet North Carolina Countryside (to give you an idea, here is the lake right next to my house)

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books and liesurely walks in the country side,
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peppered by the occasional 82nd Airborne raid
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and found myself planted in the middle of the sweaty, loud, smelly, beautiful city, among masses of people who cross each other's paths every day without even blinking. Amazing.

When we got off the train, we were acosted by this group of militant, mean looking black guys who were raging about how the white man was trying to keep them down, all the while poopooing the Catholic Church as the cause of slavery. Ironic. Kinda nuts. My cousin couldn't take his eyes off them... he's been on the news in France for leading student strikes at his school, etc. He loves that kind of stuff.
I had never realized the significance the liberty bell had for people in other parts of the world until I saw it myself. It was very moving.
I also had the opportunity to visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art--- where I saw some AMAZING artwork that basically blew my mind.

The highlight of my trip was a visit to the shrine of St. Gianna Molla, as well as attending Sunday mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Bridgeport... the city that Wayne and I want to move to.
We had some wonderful girl time, too. All in all, an excellent trip--- and I was proud of how I overcame alot of the difficulties, like having no where to change the kids in the city, or the fact that I had to share a bed with them in the hotel and therefore got NO sleep.

The next day, I was fortunate enough to attend Holy Mass at the rectory again-- this time with my four favorite ladies.
It was awesome. Wayne has had a couple really promising interviews this week and I have one coming up. Enjoy the photos.


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Annika and Ava


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The MIL and the SIL


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Waiting for the train from Bryn Mawr


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Annika plots a revolution


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Aurelien the greek


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Portrait gallery


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First Bank (all the buildings are cool and old like this!)


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My handsome moy (man boy)


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Annika sees a groundhog. Or a tennis ball. I'm not really sure.


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Saint Barbara!


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The Lord on the Cross.... so beautiful!


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San Damiano Crucifix!


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They were really proud of owning this in their collection :P


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Wow. Words fail me.


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Asian land


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Armory


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This one reminded me of Wayne so much!


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In the back you can see the Rocky Statue!!!!


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The actual rocky steps


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Valley Forge


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The girls being silly


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I will eat you mommy!!!


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Beautiful beans!


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Ishod took advantage of the trip to stand for the first time


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Everybody's scared of grandma time...


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Alex and Ishod-- those men have got to stick together!


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Alex reminding me how to play Magic, the Gathering. as you can see, I suck. And no, I didn't contract any demons.
:P


Bye bye Philadelphia--- hoperfully the next time I see you, I'll be living in your suburbs!! :)