March for Life, etc.

This week Marc went to the March for Life in Washington D.C. with our church.  He had the BEST trip!  I am so glad he went- it was a beautiful pilgrimage to speak up for those who can't speak for themselves.

They left Wednesday afternoon and drove through the night to D.C.  They got there and went straight to the Museum of the Bible.  I was so hoping they would see this place- it's amazing!  Marc loved it.

Afterwards they toured the Library of Congress and had lunch there.

After lunch they went to the Air and Space Museum.

After the museum, they went to the Pro-Life Expo and then to the hotel for rest and dinner.

After dinner they went to the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial and World War II Memorial.

The next day was the day of the March for Life.  They started off the day with breakfast and Mass at St. Matthew's Cathedral-

Then they made it to the giant march!  They were pretty close to the stage and got to see President Trump!  This was the first time a U.S. President has attended the March in person.  The speech he gave was amazing!  He is truly a friend to the unborn!  He has done so much to help the movement (see the speech for examples).  He also said:

All of us here understand an eternal truth: Every child is a precious and sacred gift from God.  Together, we must protect, cherish, and defend the dignity and the sanctity of every human life. ... When we see the image of a baby in the  womb, we glimpse the majesty of God's creation. ... 

We cannot know what our citizens yet unborn will achieve. The dreams they will imagine. The masterpieces they will create. The discoveries they will make. But we know this: every life brings love into this world. Every child brings joy to a family. Every person is worth protecting.

And above all, we know that every human soul is divine and every human life, born and unborn, is made in the holy image of Almighty God.

I can't believe those words came out of the mouth of the President of the United States.  Thank you, Lord!  

Marching past the Supreme Court-

After the march they had lunch at and spent the day at the National Gallery of Art.   They all enjoyed it.

Then rest and dinner-

After dinner they prayed the rosary at the hotel and then the youth played card games in the lobby and Marc and some of the boys went to the hotel gym and worked out.  :)

Saturday they got up and spent the morning at Arlington National Cemetery.  They were able to see the Iwo Jima statue, President Kennedy's grave with the eternal flame, and they went to a beautiful wreath laying/guard changing ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  The wreath was placed by veterans from the Battle of the Bulge!

Then they made their way to tour The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception- the largest church in North America.  

After touring the shrine they went to Mass held in the crypt church with all the students from our diocese and our Bishop and priests.  Our diocese alone sent over 200 people to D.C. to march for the unborn!  They always do!

Marc was honored to altar serve at the Mass-

He had such a great time.  They drove through the night and got home early this morning.  He has said he is so glad he went and how seeing the crowd of over 500,000 along with the U.S. President united in our belief that every human life is precious was inspiring.  

Speaking of the wonder of a child-  

We read "Hans Brinker" over the holidays and really enjoyed it.

 It's sort of a story-within-a-story and the middle section is a tour through Holland.  We would read a chapter and then look up the sites on YouTube.  I feel like I really know Holland a lot better.   We went to a little book group where the children discussed the book and did crafts. 

We made "silver skates," which were what Hans and his sister were competing to win in the book.

The skaters in the book always kept gingerbread in their pockets.  We decorated gingerbread men-

We also watched the movie, which we love-

There is also a great version on YouTube we watched as well.  Such a sweet story.

Here's the happiest girl.  She will sing, dance, clap and laugh any time you ask.  I love this baby!

Dancing-

We have taken up some "band" instruments in our home.  Tucker is playing the trumpet, and Julia is playing the clarinet.  We will see how this goes!  They are doing great so far!

 These boys are having such a great basketball season!

Tonight the choir had a fundraising dinner with the Board of Directors and had a small ensemble of boys sing a few songs.  It was sweet to see Marc and Tucker with the group-