Honeymoon Part 4: Siena

While in Florence, we made a day trip to Siena, an old mid-evil (I feel like I'm spelling everything wrong) that is such a gem. We ate a fantastic lunch there and I sipped on a very good wine. The particular day we visited happened to be a festival day with horse racing and ancient clans claiming their greatness. These clans roam the streets in mid-evil clothing (including suits of armor)carrying their flags and sometimes doing tricks. It was fun to watch. We didn't stay for horse races...The old church in Siena is San Bernardino...it really is a lovely little city.

Honeymoon Part 3: Firenze

After Rome we hopped on a train and made our way north to Tuscana (Tuscany). We stayed in Florence and this was our favorite city. It's where we fell in love with bruscheta, the Fiat 500, canoli, and eating in big piatas. We saw The David (and took a picture although we weren't supposed to) toured the Ufizzi, stood on the only bridge that wasn't destroyed by the Nazis, stumbled along cobbled streets, ate some good pizza, visited some old Churches, and was crazy about Florence. Seriously. We loved it.

Honeymoon Part 2: Roma

We began the second leg of our honeymoon in Rome. Slightly jetlagged (okay a lot) and feeling overwhelmed, we ran around this ancient city like a couple of young kids that I no longer am (Bela may still be...this is yet to be determined). We saw St. Peter's, the Vatican Museum, The Sistine Chapel, the Pantheon, the Collesium, lots of ruins, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a big memorial to the ruler who conquered Dacia (ancient Romania) and therefore changed the course of my husband's history, the Spanish Steps, many fountains, and ate some good food. We only had 2 days in Rome and probably could have used another to see a few more things. All in all, we saw a lot. At first, I wasn't crazy about Rome, but looking back over these pictures, I am. The Collesium was for me truly amazing.

Honeymoon Part 1: Miramonte

The first couple days of our married life were spent in Palm Desert at the Miramonte...what an amazingly beautiful resort! And thanks to my sister and her family for such a precious wedding gift!
Here are a few pictures of our days in the desert before we left for Italy.

Wedding

Some of you have been wanting to see photos of our wedding and for now I'm going to direct you to my friend's blog and then also our photographer's blog...
On a personal note, it was the most beautiful wedding I've ever been a part of. :)

Ramblings
Zabrosky Photography

And here is one to whet your appetite:

Confession

I've been a poor blogger. I know. Especially the last 6 months or so. I have a decent excuse, though...
And that excuse is putting me on a plane early tomorrow morning and flying me to the USofA where I will make a covenant with a really great and beautiful man.
And here is my confession, that even as I plan to wed and even as I plan a banquet that will hopefully serve as a reminder of THE banquet we hope for, 2 little girls stood begging in front of me today, and, I confess, I forgot marriage and feasts and traveling.
I saw girls who were dirty and persistent even while being humiliated. Rachel spoke with one of them and we all tried to honor them, hoping that in their humiliation they would know that they have dignity.
And yesterday the little twins's mom came up to our room so that she could hear her daughter read. The mom said: I don't know one letter. I tried to imagine what she was feeling, the hope she has for her kids, how their lives might be different than her own, but also the shame because she herself is illiterate.
I gave the litte girl twin a hug and she held me a long time, rubbing my back...we were saying good-bye. At lunch we prayed together over our food because we'd been late for the group prayer.
And I confess, that in the face of so much hope, I sometimes feel hopeless. I confess that in my joy I am scared. I confess that in my love there are tears. And in contentment I've found how much I miss what I have lost. I miss the grandma who should be here, I miss the grandpa who should bless me.
I confess that amidst the blessing I still long, I still desire. And I am faced with the heart-cracking, blinding reality of how precious all this is.
How precious is a child...dirty and begging.
How worthy is a woman...illiterate and uneducated.
How pricelss is the embrace of a girl in whom there is no guile...innocent and sweet.
How unimaginably amazing is the mixture of hope and fear, of faith and desire, of love and trust...I open my hand, I lay down my life and I confess: I want to live.

Isaiah 63: Vulnerable

Love
transformed into flesh
Man:
~because of death
because of choice
because of pain~
the most vulnerable.

Extravagance
transformed into flesh
obeyed
hoped
suffered
lay down and died.

Lavish compassion
transformed into flesh
the generous bounties of God
given away
laid bare
naked
vulnerable.

And I will list
all the things that need praising:
the invincible, the unchanging, the eternal
suffering, hoping, opening.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I see the faces of the vulnerable~
the weak
the poor
the humble
the sick
the broken
I remember Him
what He became~ vulnerable
and the extravagance of love in that becoming...
and I hope that I too, might know such vulnerability
so that others would be able to taste
extravagant love,
feel lavish compassion.
I choose this, then,
a vulnerable life.