TRINITY ACRES

2026 - Rome March 4 and 5 Day 8 and 9 - Assisi and Home Sweet Home

2026-04-19T21:36:00.004-05:00

After missing the first train (went to the wrong platform!) we were on our way to Assisi!

Beautiful drive except when going through the mountains

our ears! (literally through the mountains)

Such a beautiful town!

Heading into the bones of St. Francis off Assisi

which were on display/veneration to the public

for the first time in 800 years!

Life- size

Basilica of St. Claire

Major relics of St. Claire of Assisi

Habits of St. Francis and St. Claire

Her "wedding" dress the day she was

received into the order.

Portiucula!

We truly did not get enough time in Assisi.

Just the same it was everyone's favorite place.

I want to go back for sure

On our way back home

Belladonna's fresh bread

And a delicious meal!

2026 - Rome March 3 Day 7 Part 3 - Vatican Museum

2026-04-19T20:42:00.006-05:00

I love seeing the Swiss Guards!

It's quite a walk to get from St. Peter's to the Vatican Museums

Lunch on the street

Vatican Museum

Mummy!

I love these tapestries!

oil pots. They are small!

Very cool stairs

Photos were not allowed in the Sistine Chapel so I'm snitching a few online

Sistine Chapel Ceiling

St. Bartholomew holding his

skin! He was flayed alive.

Current restoration

Nice photo of a papal conclave in the Sistine Chapel!

Nice visual!

One our way back to our hotel, I had my wallet stolen,

thankfully not my passport! But it was messy (but simple)

to get it all straightened out and they got nothing!

I did get an email that they attempted!

2026 - Rome March 3 Day 7 Part 2 - St. Peter's Basilica

2026-04-19T20:10:00.001-05:00

On our way into St. Peter's Basilica.

crowds

That ancient obilesk, I think 4000 years old!

Swiss Guards!

Pope John Paul II tomb

St. Josaphat

The first 2 times I went to Rome we could touch the foot of this statue of St. Peter

It is now blocked off :(

Going into the crypt of the popes

Pope Benedict XVI

Tomb of St. Peter's

Dome

Tomb of St. Gregory the Great

Relics of St. John Chrysostom

Heading up to the dome

I believe that is where the indoor Wednesday

audience with the Pope

Up we go!

Aragorn waiting down at the bottom

up up up

So narrow!

beautiful Vatican garden

We made it!

down eek

2026 - Rome March 3 Day 7 Part 1 - Pantheon - Church of St. Louis of France

2026-04-19T18:20:00.002-05:00

Rome was much more crowded with tourists

than expected this time of year but with

the Olympics having finished and a marathon of

some sort there were long lines even with ticketed entry

Yes, a hole!

It is now a Catholic Church

Church of St. Louis the French

Caravaggio!

On our way to St. Peter's and the Vatican Museums

and a major pick pocketing adventure.

The Church of the Sacred Heart of Suffrage (Chiesa del Sacro Cuore del Suffragio) is home to one of the strangest museums in Rome, that of the Museo delle Anime del Purgatorio (Museum of the Souls of Purgatory).

Unfortunately this was closed for renovation.

street players

Saintwich restaurant 😂

Lots of walking... taking a break

2026 - Rome March 2 Day 6 - Part 2 - Mediterranean Sea - Mouth of Truth - Legos - La Forchetta

2026-04-19T18:02:00.000-05:00

Taking the train to the Mediterranean Sea!

This part of the Mediterranean Sea is called the Tyrrhenian Sea

Yeah, McDonald's in Italy is different

Later Kili and I went for an outing. We first went to the old Circus Maximus

Sitting on some old steps

Mouth of Truth

This is in the entry way to Santa Maria in Cosmedin

Skull of St. Valentine

Later I took Kili to the largest Lego exhibit in Europe

It was amazing!

The whole Circus Maximus!

Trevi Fountain!

St. Peter's

Pieta!

Rome!

Special effects exhibit

Then walked to Victor Emmanuele

Forum of Augustus

Looks like they are renovating. Probably to make it

look like it did during the "golden age" of ancient Rome.

Our favorite Italian restaurant "La Forchetta d'Oro"

The Golden Fork

This time we decided to just have him surprise us

no gas

St. Mary Major by night

2026 - Rome March 2 Day 6 - Part 1 Capuchin Crypt

2026-04-19T15:57:25.340-05:00

Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri

St. Mary of the Angels and of the Martyrs

Santa Maria della Vittoria

The Pendulum

The Meridian Line

part of a large solar clock augurated on Oct 6, 1702

by Pope Clement XI

Basilica Santa Maria della Vittoria

Ecstasy of St. Teresa of Avila by Bernini

oranges!

Church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini

Holy Mary of the Conception of the Capuchins

a beautiful museum complete with audio headset

very fascinating

ouch

Caravaggio paintings!

Padre Pio

The Capuchins separated from the Franciscans in 1525 to live the spirit of Saint Francis in a more authentic way and wanted to go back to basics. They wore sandals without socks and a tunic with a hood to cover their heads. The name of the capuchins is derived from this cap.

As a Cardinal, Barberini had the remains of thousands of Capuchins excavated at the Via dei Lucchesi Monastery and had their bones placed along the walls of the crypt like works of art and symbols. After that, the brothers also began to make their own bodies availabl. The crypt now houses the remains of about 3,600 brothers buried between 1500 and 1870.

Into the crypt!

Yes, these are all bones!

Crypt of Tibias and Femers! 😂

Who would have thought? AMAZING!

2026 - Rome Sunday March 1 - Day 5 Viva el Papa - Santa Maria sopra Minerva - Spanish Steps

2026-04-19T15:13:00.006-05:00

Walking on our way to Mass

Santissima Trinita dei Pellegrini

Most Holy Trinity of the Pilgrims

FSSP (Fraternity of St. Peter)

Walking to Vatican Square to say the
Angelus with Pope Leo XIV

and listen to his Sunday address

The Tiber River

(no pachemama sighted)

Castel Sant'Angelo

Mausoleum commissioned by Roman

Emperor Hadrian

Construction began in 135 AD

later it became a military building

Pope Clement VII used the fortress as a refuge

Standing on the spot where the pillars all meet as 1 row

Waiting!

Ancient Egyptian obelisk in St. Peter's Square

brought to the Circus in Rome in 37 AD

represented as dominion over Egypt

In 1586 Pope Sixtus V had it moved to St. Peter's Square

where the Circus was in Vatican City

VIVA EL PAPA!

This seminarian from the Legionaries of Christ

recognized our American English.

Brother John Paul Gregor from Michigan!

Nearly a neighbor!

We meet again! These lovely people sat

in front of us on the plane. Then we ran into

them in the Colosseum. Then again at St. Peter's Square

They had gone to the Institute of Christ the King in Rome

(our original plan) and then we ran into them again along the street.

We are now friends on Facebook LOL!

Oh. They are also from Wisconsin!

Br. Joseph had a rosary the Pope blessed during

his Sunday audience and he gave it to Kili.

Romulus and Remus

back in time

Lodi!

St. Benedict Joseph Labre

peaking in at another church

Santa Maria sopra Minerva

The only Gothic Church in Rome

St. Catherine of Siena!

Santa Vittoria

tomb of Fra Angelico

A bit crowded at the Pantheon

The Pantheon

Basilica of Santa Maria ad Martyres

The floors are even beautiful!

Trevi Fountain

Poppy and I walked around this evening

Went to the Spanish Steps

Trinita Dei Monti

St. Therese the Little Flower's relics are here

I believe they were still on tour.

Ludovico (Louis!)

In the city of beautiful art. Serious artwork.

Seriously lacking that is.

Loved the kebab's at this take out restaurant

2026 - Rome February 28 Day 4 Catacombs of San Callisto and Trastevere ETC

2026-03-31T07:28:00.003-05:00

On our way to the Catacombs of San Callisto

The catacombs being the cemeteries of the early Christians
https://www.catacombesancallisto.it/en/index.php

I'm pretty sure these are the baths of Caracalla

A few of the following photos are borrowed

(see water marks)

We arrived...

Then we took a wrong turn

But it was a beautiful walk and we had plenty of time.

Huh? Yeah. Not.

I was sure I had taken a photo of the "do not enter"

sign where we were supposed to enter...

Anyway, we arrived in plenty of time and got into an

earlier tour. Keep in mind, these Catacombs are HUGE

and people can only stay underground for a short amount

of time.

Making friends

Inexpensive eats.

St. Francis Crucifix on the wall

Some of the interior, wealthy family tombs

Tombs were carved out of volcanic ash, once

it hits the air it becomes hard, but it was easier

to dig into than dirt.

Christian symbols (this being the Chi Rho)
Greek letters...

This is where St. Cecilia was buried

She is now in Trastevere which we will see later...

Crossing the Tiber

Entering Trastevere

I love the little devotionals built right in

Interesting name of a restaurant

Santa Cecilia in Trastevere

And here is where St. Cecilia is buried currently.

We made a point to come here as Eleanor's

Confirmation saint is St. Cecilia.

Crossing the Tiber over to the San Bartolomeo all'Isola.

This is an island in the Tiber where St. Bartholomew was buried

These are the lists of martyr relics, but took them a bit late.

Steps!

Heading up to Santa Maria in Aracoeli

right next to the Victor Emmanuele monument

Hm... sellers in the temple?

Victor Emmanuele, "horse machine," "wedding cake"

Later hit San Pietro Vincoli

chains of St. Peter

... and Moses!

Santa Francesca Romana

knee prints of St. Peter

he was praying for Simon the Magician

they since cut these out and put them on the wall to preserve

And put this on the spot.

Tomb of St. Bonaventure

We ate Kebab's several times.
YUM

2026 - Rome February 27 day 3 - Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum

2026-03-15T22:44:00.000-05:00

bathrooms with community sinks

stairs!

It was nice to have a little map along!

😂

Looking down into the Roman Forum

Julius Caesar was killed in Pompey's senate house

today known as the Largo di Torre Argentino

in the Forum of Augustus (not the Roman Forum)

on the Ides of March (today I am

posting this just happens to be the Ides of March...)

He was cremated in the Roman Forum

I snitched thes

We did not spend enough time in the Roman Forum

but it was my 4th time seeing it so I can survive.

Lots of walking... starving!

At this point we decided to purchase a week of metro/bus passes

although walking is the best option, 6 to 11 miles a day was alot

and we had things to see at a distance. It was great!

It took a while to get the passes with credit cards and such

That afternoon Poppy, Marigold, Kili and I went
to St. Paul's outside the Walls.

Chain from St. Paul's imprisonment (I think with St. Peter)

St. Paul's tomb

Later Poppy and I went down to see the

Colosseum by night.

Then walked around. Here is the forum Julius Caesar was stabbed at.

No cats there any more

"horse machine" by night

actually the Victor Emmanuele monument

2026 - Rome Day 3 - Colosseum

2026-03-15T20:20:00.003-05:00

Back up the stairs to the Colosseum

My crew!

(I'm almost never photo'd as I'm doing most

of the photo'ing.}

They now have a really nice

museum/exhibits in the Colosseum

Many martyrs died here in the Colosseum

Hard to believe that was "sport" back then.

Some people aren't happy

Such an amazing place! Hard to imagine how they

filled it with water and had sea battles!

found this cool photo!

Arch of Constantine

Now we are heading over to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum...

2026 - Rome Day 1 and 2 February 25-26

2026-03-15T19:36:00.000-05:00

After parking at the Park and Fly we hopped on the shuttle

Walking through the airport

Then we waited in the airport.... and waited.... and waited.

Can't see it too well but now I guess they make

luggage tots can ride on!

All cozy for a long flight.

We flew direct Chicago to Rome, Italy

snack

dinner choices

Paris I believe

Customs went well, then we met our drivers

who shuttled us to our hotel. It was only abut 8 am

Rome time so we had a full day ahead of us yet.

Who sleeps on an airplane?

Drive by St. Paul's outside the walls

Pyramid of Cestius - yes, his tomb

obviously he had a fascination for Eygptian ways

First glimpse of the Colosseum

We were up some 5 flights of stairs

I believe it was 100 stairs up

or take the lift which fit 3 of us.

Hungry

Went to one of our favorite churches

Church of St. Praesedes

This is a piece of the pillar Christ was attached to

and it is all banged up from the weapons

close up of the pillar

This is the Church of St. Alphonsus with
icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help

This was the hotel Aragorn and I stayed in twice

We could look out our window and see St. Mary Major

St. Mary Major

Need to go through security to get inside

This beautiful reliquary holds 5 pieces of wood

from the crib of Christ (manger)

This is where Pope Francis is buried

May he rest in peace

At this point we split off and some went back to the hotel

and I took Merry, Bilbo, and Rosie to make a further trek

Parking is unbelievable

Sancta Scala

Holy Stairs

brought from Jerusalem to Rome by St. Helen

Constantine's mother

28 marble steps from Pontius Pilate's palace

that Our Lord walked up during His Passion

St. John Lateran major Basilica

High Altar contain the skulls of St. Peter and St. Paul

Inside the altar is a wooden altar used by early popes

including St. Peter

Pope Martin V, popular place for people to leave coins

Peter and St. Peter

Side view of Scala Sancta

Outside of St. John Lateran

I wish we had gotten to see the Baptistry as it is fascinating

The wall

Walking. I took a nasty very ungraceful fall

after tripping on an uneven pathway.

Sancta Croce in Jerusalem

Relics in this church are:

fragments of the True Cross, a nail from the crucifixion, 2 thorns

the finger of St. Thomas

hotel

Out for a walk

Someone lives under that blanket.

Let's just say there are alot of steps in Rome

Trajan's baths

Aragorn and I have eaten at this amazing Roman restaurant many times

This time we just said bring food and indeed he did.

La Forchetta d'Oro

Painter!

orange trees through the wall

2026 - February 22-24 Bridge Breaking

2026-02-24T16:45:00.003-06:00

This little guy loves "ugs" (bugs)

Finished Math K

I love "The Good and the Beautiful" Math!!!

And so does GC1

Kili's "strongest" bridge. First place!

ART!

YES! 😂

2026 - February 12 - 22 Happy Be-earlied Birthday SB1

2026-02-22T12:49:00.001-06:00

Some more glorious photos from FB SC trip!

The ocean was cold. 😂

Just a pretty picture

When siblings end up in line at a car wash 😂

Cisco went to icombat with a friend.

Sweet!

The taming of the goatie

Donuts!

Adorable!

Memories from the past. 😂

Best memory ever

Valentine pancakes

Flowers and chocolates from.... someone or another 😂

Celebrating Rosie with

Cool waves with science class!

art class

Defective cracker

Happy birthday to my brown-eyed grandbaby!

He'll be five this week! 💗

😂😂😂

Card from Great Grandma M.

It's the little things in life

Can't remember where I saw this statue of St. Pius X

but it looks exactly like the one we had at St. Michael's.

cool

Getting the prom flyer ready

WOW!!! mercury by the moon! Snitched from a friend.

😂😂😂

😂

Very cool since Marigold had to

write a paper that included Tiananmen Square.

2026 - January 30 - February 11 - Baby News - Silent Retreat - SC

2026-02-22T11:31:00.002-06:00

The built these beautiful stairs!

Goatie!

Working on a thing.

😂 my kids called this "buddy huddle!"

Grandbaby #12 due in August!

I love a beautiful sky!

Senior picture 😂

FG fam went on vacation in SC!!

Rosie's donuts! YUM!

Happy 3rd birthday, SB2!

Awww!!! carrying twins! 💓

Bilbo and Marigold with Philip Campbell

I went on a SILENT retreat.

This was my "cell"

It was WONDERFUL!

Candlemas

Notice the violet vestments

Notice the change to white (gold) vestments!

Meanwhile bottle feeding and diapering a goat

Retreat Schedule

Project day at CSH

Solo Mio! LOVED it!

Thanks to my sister's generous Marcus gift card and snack vouchers

we could see this for free.

2026 - January 26-29 - Epic Tour

2026-01-29T22:00:00.001-06:00

Field Trip to Epic

SB1 playing with our Nativity

Science class using the acoustic resonance apparatus

Gummy bear machine

Back to Epic

Ever wonder what happened to the carrousel

from Ella's Deli? It's at Epic

They found a cave while excavating and building!

Not for tours though

How to keep walls dry

Learing or Learning Center?

2026 - January 18 - 25 Happy Birthday Frodo and GC2

2026-01-29T21:08:00.004-06:00

😍

I love the cake!!

Happy Birthday GC2!!!!

I had no part in this 😂

I was really disappointed when I learned

that they weren't shipping these 3

down to my house!!! 😂

So cold this poor birdie froze mid squawk.

How sad is that?

Meat's back on the menu, boys!

Great training session!

The bottle it worked on the 2nd bottle didn't go so well.

😍

Dr. Who?

Went to Mass at Blessed Solanus Casey's childhood parish

One of our science labs

2026 Vision Board with word of the year.

Chose Gratitude as our word.

Saints Carlos Acutis, St. Faustina,

St. Josephine Bahkita, and St. Francis of Assis.

Not sure, but doesn't look good.

Hot Pot!

Got Aragorn one for Christmas, favorite meals!

Theresa go into making homemade donuts

in our air fryer. SO yummy. These were the

super sugary ones but the glazed were so good!

😍😂

Happy Birthday, Frodo!

Didn't see any *snap*

Yeah, very cold here.

Hooray!

Now to just pass!!

Going for Level 1 instructor!

2026 - January 12-17 Miscellaneous Funsies

2026-01-29T20:40:00.002-06:00

Well, we did a good job as he didn't have

to have his hand cut off.

😍

GC are having twinkies!!!

😂

YAY!

LOVE THIS!!!!!

YUM! Great job!

CURLS!

😂😂😂

😂

May Carol K rest in Peace.

From the drama club.

😂

2026 - January 13-17 wedding

2026-01-29T20:26:00.001-06:00

One of my scientists

Alfalfa

We went to a lovely wedding.

GC1 was a flower girl and so adorable!

Joy of the party 😂

I always love seeing the face of the groom.

Sorry, can't share the faces

but the wedding was so lovely I had to share

everything else!

St. Agnes

They had a lovely photographer! 😍

all the little details were so cute

So much like GC3

Rosie painted their card box

Then a thing happened.

Note to whom it may concern:

Non-twist off bottles require a bottle opener.

This is a hand, not a bottle opener....

Apologizing to the bride and groom for

breaking their bottle of sparkling peach or apple cider.

😂

Congratulations to a beautiful couple!

Such a fun wedding!
I missed the toss of the flower bouquet

but Rosie caught it.

2025 - December 26 - 2026 - January 11 - Happy New Year

2026-01-11T19:25:00.000-06:00

Grandkids are so awesome!

Enjoying our hot pot

Sweet family!

Root beer floats

Making brats

It's a Wonderful Life!

C2 Juicery is one of my favorires

And so is this friend! Grateful!

Fun Extended Family gathering

Happy birthday to our God daughter!

Hard to believe she is TEN!!!

Kid gift exchange

Glorious!

Knowledge Test! Passed!

No her hair was not bleached!

I went to one of the loveliest evenings!

The husband of a friend give her a gift of time with friends:

food, Adoration/Confession, social

Then this was the most lovely morning

with friends new and old

Gorgeous cookies

Delicious breakfast and lunch

Vision board 2026. I picked the word

GRATITUDE

No, it isn't time for a haircut or anything

😂

😂😂😂😂😂

Rest in Peace dear Aunt Audrey

https://www.fissbillspoklasnyfuneralhome.com/obituaries/audrey-clausing/obituary

2025 - Christmas

2026-01-11T19:06:00.005-06:00

My sister N and family 💗

DTS gift exchange day

Love it when we get gifties in the mail!

My Gnomie Homie

This really bloomed!

Midterm

I don't think I'll ever learn my 3rd degree form

😓

Finally Aragorn landed sometime after Midnight.

We were greeted!

Wuthering Heights at #2 bookclub

I don't know how we manage to

always have different copies!

Hmmm, not sure

Fantastic concert!!!

David! GREAT movie!

Chocolate House

Just like a gingerbread house....

More like Charlie Bucket's house

Yes, we did Lutefisk, it's truly not bad

with Rye crackers and clam chowder

Waiting for Midnight Mass

Sweet!

Smorgasbord

bucket hats in honor of Lars

The reason for the season

Books from Great Grandparents out east

My little elf helpers

😂

matchie matchies

cookie exchange

the seran wrap ball game

Hot pot

2025 - Happy birthday Bilbo - Rest in Peace Jean

2026-01-11T18:51:00.007-06:00

Eternal Rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let
Perpetual Light shine upon her,

may Jean rest in Peace.

Working on hair for the play

Colorado return travels from CA a bit tedious

for Aragorn. 2 pm return time was midnight.

making jerky

We bought a hotpot. Yum!

We took Bilbo out to Mongolian Grill

for his birthday.

Happy 18th!

Just FYI 😂

truly never heard of some of these.

😂

2025 - December 14-16 Cave of the Mounds

2026-01-11T18:11:00.001-06:00

I love this photo!!

Dragon fruit

He held the door for a man in Woodman's

and received a tip!

Cave of the Mounds field trip

all gussied up for Christmas

glowing rock

Utter darkness!

Lunch out with a dear friend!

Annual drive along Monroe St. to see the blow up Santas

😂

Next street over are snowmen

2025 - December 3 - 13 RSNA part 2

2026-01-11T17:41:00.001-06:00

Grandma Maher's molasses cookies in the Christmas Mosaic!

Back in Chicago

Chik-Fil-A

We were taken out to TAO again!! Oh. Yum!

DELISH!

Edamame

Oh. My. Very yummy!

Sushie to die for!

Duck and more and more food

Dessert. AMAZING!

A giant fortune cookie on top!

Everything is edible including the carrot cake pot!

Uber driver with a rosary

Nativities are going up!

Ticket extravaganza!

Cool science lab!

PB fudge

Setting up the tree

CSH showcase

Amazing art display

Play parts are out!!! Great Job!