Happy Easter!

 Yes, I know Easter was last Sunday, but we are an Easter people, and it's still Easter season, so happy Easter!

Malachi and Pilot joined us for Easter weekend.  It was a quick visit, as they had to get back to college, but we enjoyed it.

The younger three and I went into my parents' house to visit and celebrate Easter for a few days.  The kids were on spring break this week.

We had another little adventure today, which I will try to post about tomorrow, but now it's back to a regular week.  Spring break is over, but the end of the school year is fast approaching.  The college boys will be done in a month, and the younger kids will be done at the end of May.  We still have lots of track and school to finish up in the meantime, but the end of the year is coming.

Family Camp

 

 

Every September, we get to go to Family Camp!  This beautiful Catholic camp is in the Nashville, Indiana area.  This year, they had re-done the rockwall, and Lydia and Emry both flew to the top.  After the first try, anyway, for Emry.  He was nervous the first attempt, but after that, he had no issues!  By day two, he was racing a friend to the top while being timed.

We tie-dyed shirts, kayaked, hiked, and did archery.  The kids were excited to ride the horses there for the first time:

The weather was perfect, just right for camping/outdoor activities.  Gyunay spent a great deal of time at archery.  On Saturday, he used the adaptive bow, but on Sunday, he figured out how to use a regular bow with his little arm.  And he made a bull's eye!

Milan

 I never posted about our quick visit to a cathedral in Milan.  When we took the train from Turin to Zurich, we had a brief stopover in Milan.  I do mean brief - it was only about an hour between trains, so we had to pick something near the train station.  This cathedral was built in the 1950s, and it is not Milan's main cathedral, but it was beautiful.

We only had to walk a few blocks to get to it, and it was nearly empty, so I was able to wander around everywhere and light candles and pray.

There were stained glass windows of saints throughout.

This mosaic was really beautiful.  It's another one of St John Bosco.  There were several large mosaics in the church.

Gardening

 My garden has been slow this year, and I didn't plant as much as I originally wanted.  Still, I have quite a few green tomatoes now.  These are the closest to getting ripe:

There are also several peppers getting there.

And I'm going to have to find a better place for Mary.  The flowers are pretty, but they are taller than her, and blocking her.  I haven't decided where to place her yet.  

June Harvest Totals and post-VBS

 June Harvest Totals:

Eggs - 135

Garlic scapes - 3

Pea pods - 1/2 c

Tatsoi - 2c

Obviously, this was not the kind of harvest I was looking for!  Deer and severe heat were both issues, and eggs are lagging because a raccoon took out 4 layers and our beloved Rooster Sam.  It's not been fun.  We have re-secured the coop, but we now only have 6 hens.  I was looking to raise meat birds and a few regular chicks, but we will have to increase the number of layers, so more chicks will be forthcoming.  

Last week was Vacation Bible School week, so Lydia, Gyunay, Emry, and I helped out every morning.  Here is Emry getting ready for a skit with the rest of the cast.  He was so excited that he got to be Saint Juan Diego, one of his favorite saints.

On Friday, we had an epic swim birthday party for Gyunay.  His birthday is actually this week, but we celebrated early by renting out the aquatic center and inviting the homeschool group and our family.  He had so much fun.  The weather was great for it, and it was really nice.  It was so nice, the homeschool moms are considering pooling money to rent it again next year. 

On Sunday, five of the kids and I headed to the Newport Aquarium, where we met up with my family to explore sea life.

Basilica di Santa Maria Ausiliatrice

 

I saved going to this church for Sunday Mass, and it was a great decision.  Basilica di Santa Maria Ausiliatrice (Our Lady, Help of Christians) was founded in the 1800s by Saint John Bosco.

This basilica is magnificent.  It is built on the site of the martyrdom of early saints Adventer Solutor and Octavious.  The church contains their relics and those of many other saints, although I'm not quite sure where all of the relics are.  

Three saints from the 1800s are buried here, including Dominic Savio, who died young.  He was one of Don Bosco's students, and after he died, Don Bosco wrote a biography of him.

Naturally, St. John Bosco is also buried here:

And also, St. Maria Mazzarello, who worked with Don Bosco to found the Institute of the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians, is buried here. 

Mass was largely in Italian, but it was Mass, so I could mostly follow along.  I could sing along with the parts in Latin (Agnus Dei) and the Kyrie.  I even understood quite a bit of one of the readings, although I was pretty lost on another one.  Parts of the homily made sense, but certainly not all of it.  Still, it was a beautiful Mass, and I was happy to get to participate.

More from the Museo Reali in Turin

 

Mosaics!  After seeing the Savoy Palace, and the Chapel of the Holy Shroud, we also got to see the Antiquities Museum.  They also had a Cleopatra exhibit going on:

And the art gallery:

There were plenty of fantastic artworks to see.  

Basilica del Corpus Domini

Yet another beautiful Baroque church in Turin, Italy is the Basilica del Corpus Domini, or the Basilica of the Body of Christ.

It's hard to see the altar painting, but it is portraying the Eucharistic miracle that happened on the site of the church.

On the floor, this plaque designates the exact spot where the Host levitated in the year 1453.  The story goes that a group of French soldiers were plundering a church nearby Turin.  They took the Mass vessels, including the ciborium holding the Body of Christ.  Their donkey (carrying the loot) fell down on this spot, refusing to move, and the Host was seen rising out of the saddlebag and into the air.  The church was built on the site about 30 years later.  It has been modified a few times, with fantastic art added.  For more, see here: Basilica of Corpus Christi and the legend of the miracle - Torino Rete