We put in a lot of walking today. We did a 2 hour walking tour in about 7 hours. Maybe a little less. But we saw lots of fun things. We were walking down the via (road) and there it was - a really cool building, columns and all. We saw the Pantheon. I don't remember all the scenes in the movie "Roman Holiday" with Audrey Hepburn, but I think we may have seen at least one today.

We also dawdled at one of the piazzas (squares) where many vendors sat with their wares. We ate dinner at a ristorante on one side of the piazza. Oh yeah, guess what I got? Nope. Nope. No. I'll tell you. A tattoo.

It's a henna tattoo and will last 20-25 days. It is the Chinese symbol for patience, and it's on the base of my neck. My friend got a groovy design around her wrist.

Can I just say we did an awful lot of walking today? A whole lot. Tomorrow is The Vatican Museum and the Catacombs. Then Wednesday, it's off to Florence.

I would like to wash my pants. We have not investigated any laundry facilities, and my pants selection grows dirty. We may have to wait until Florence, where if I read correctly our hotel has a laundry service.

I vowed to be in bed before midnight, so I am off to bed. Bellanotte.

We are here, my best friend and I. Rome is not what I expected, but still a nice city. For a review of our first day in Rome go to www.merelymusing.com My friend has given quite a good rendition of the oh-so-fun day.

And she did write about today too.

I enjoyed my pizza today. In fact I want to get more, it was so tasty. The crust was crisp. The sauce and cheese was hmm-hmm good.

Tonight we will be playing games until we fall over asleep. She brought with us Rummikub, Scrabble, Skip-bo, Quiddler, Uno, Phase Ten, Phase Ten Dice, and a deck of cards. She would like to play several rounds of all games. I hope she doesn't think that is happening tonight.

For the rest of our stay we are planning to visit the Catacombs, St. Peter's Basillica, The Vatican Museum, Trevi fountain, and Pompeii. She has other fountains and sights in mind, but I am not sure we will get to them.

Much better second day.

We fly to Italy today! We leave in a half hour for the airport. It was hard to leave my husband and daughter yesterday to take the train to my friend's house. I cried at the train station. I cried last night. I cried Tuesday night putting my daughter to bed. I cried this morning. I'll cry or get teary eyed every time I think of them. I love them and miss them dearly.

This weekend was very nice. I saw my friends from college, we bought pumpkins, and went to the cabin. They day on Saturday was beautiful, with blue skies, a fall breeze. Autumn is in the air. I also had a surprise visit from my very good friend. She also changed my girl's stinky diaper. Anyone who is willing to do that is okay in my book.

We relaxed at the cabin. We had a fire. I needed to relocate three spider egg sacks, because mama spider thought the fireplace was a good spot for them. I used a leaf blower for the first time, and let me tell you, I could do it again. It was quite fun to watch those leaves blow around. My daughter rode on my back and helped sweep leaves off the porch and gather firewood. I think next time we go to the cabin, she should be able to explore on her own. She is nearly walking all be herself.

After church on Sunday, we headed to the apple orchard and bought cider, apple cider doughnuts, and eating and baking apples. Everything was delicious - we of course had a doughnut in the car and drank some cider with lunch.

My husband took off this morning, so we could stay over last night. I also had us pose for our picture on the rock. I think we be doing that yearly. I always enjoy staying at the cabin. Such great memories.

Today my girl and I went for a walk. She is still learning to walk on her own. She does rather well holding on to something and can go 5 feet or so all by herself. This afternoon she used her walker - a toy she can push while walking. It also has a place to put things.

On our walk she found some leaves and a stick. The stick came home with us, though she discarded once at our front door. She did very well with her walking. The only times being carried were across a drive isle and when she insisted on going up someone else's steps. She has learned to steer her walker, so when she ran into the grass, she was usually able to get back on the sidewalk.

The walk around our court, which would take a me about 10 minutes, took my daughter and me 45 minutes. She walks slow, finds distractions, and does not walk in a straight line.
But we had a good time, mother and daughter.

Thank you God for another day. Thank you Lord for the lessons I learn. May I apply them to my life. May I be a disciple who makes welcoming others, the common mission of Christians, mercy, and Christ's call my priorities. *See Luke 9:46-62* May I not listen to my pastor's sermon and go away the same person I was. I need to change.

Do I practice what I believe? Do I see people the way God does? Not always. Am I getting better at following Christ? Am I maturing as a Christian? Sometimes I think so, and sometimes I feel like a dismal failure.

Satan tells me lies. God shows me truth. Satan shows me failures. God shows me blessings. Satan beats me up. God drenches me in grace and mercy. Satan leads me to sin's door. God leads me to Christ. Satan hates. God loves.

I choose God. Who do you choose?

We are finally getting the rain we have needed for awhile. And since it has been so long, we are getting quite a bit. So far, it's been raining for over 24 hours. It is a bit wet out.

It also has messed up the plans my family had for today. We were going to go to Merrymead, a local dairy farm, to pick out pumpkins, get lost in the corn maze, maybe get ice cream. Do the fall fest things. But it is a soggy boggy day, so we are staying home. Next week we have a full weekend planned. First, Friday night is dinner with friends we haven't seen in over three months, then Saturday morning driving to Messiah College for Homecoming to see friends we haven't seen in a year, then driving to my grandparents' cabin in the Poconos to hopefully see some fall foliage and relax. My husband may take off work Monday morning, so we can stay over two nights. I love staying at the cabin (see my first entry.)