By the Numbers...Again (Part 1)

9 months - It was brought to my attention this past weekend that it has been a LONG time since I updated the blog.  As in.....over 9 months.  Life has gotten busy.  I mean, it always has been busy, but keeping up with three boys has meant that other things have had to be shelved.  And that's okay.  So, I won't be consistently updating this blog anymore.  But I will, periodically....when time allows, share a few things as I do hear from far away family and friends that they love seeing what we're up to and seeing the boys grow.

I'll start with the present numbers:

22 months - John is currently screeching at his brothers (they, more than likely, took something away from him that he wasn't supposed to have).

2nd grade - Jeffery is busy doing math work downstairs

Kindergarten - Jakob just finished with his school work for the day and is butting heads (not literally) with John.  As is typical.  

On nice days, we take school outside

2 - the number of legs that Dave broke 5 weeks ago.  Yes.  You read that correctly.  We had been home for one week from Europe and had had only 2 good days due to jet lag and the plague that felled our family, when he managed to break both legs at the gym.  Thankfully, the fractures (in each fibula) weren't bad enough to warrant casts or boots but he is tired of hobbling around on crutches.

0 - the number of things that have changed for me.  :)  And I'm fine with that.  

That's it for the present.  Now to play catch up.

9 - the number of tornadoes that hit Richmond during a severe outbreak last September.  1 - one large funnel cloud went directly over our neighborhood.  It was a stressful afternoon.....to put it mildly.

0 - the number of times Dave has had to go into the downstairs coat closet with us since we moved into this house.  Seriously.  He has NEVER been here when I've had to empty out the closet and get us all in there as our phones are screaming with messages to "seek shelter immediately".  Delightful....I assure you.

Dozens - poor little John has had to sit through so many dozens of soccer practices and games and clinics that I lost count a long time ago.  He used to be great about it but now that he's walking, he's no longer content to be confined to his stroller.

2 - 2 boys who LOVE playing soccer.  Jeffery is U8 and Jakob is U6 and they have been so blessed with wonderful coaches and teams.  Jakob is having great success this spring season in making goals and Jeffery's team continues to dominate most other teams.  

4 - the 4 Gentlemen of the Railway Club (minus John) attended the Fall NASCAR X-Finity Race here in Richmond and had a grand time!!

1 - short weekend vacation in October to Virginia's Eastern Shore and Kiptopeke State Park.  We rented a cabin at the state park (VA State Parks are AMAZING!!!!!), watched the hawk migration, played in the Chesapeake Bay, and had the most amazing ice cream at the Brown Dog in Charles City.  We're hoping to go back this fall.  

1 - annual fall trip to Carter Mountain (near Charlottesville) for apples and apple cider donuts.  It is one of our favorite things to do and one of my mom's favorite outings when she visits in the fall.  

5 - the number of people in our house who were felled by a horrid, nasty, no-good plague the very day my mom left after her visit.  (Thankfully, she did not get sick.)  Sadly, this was the very week of Thanksgiving and Dave and I were the last ones to go down....on Thanksgiving.  Everyone rebounded by Friday....except for John.  Having emerged from my haze, I realized that he was more than likely suffering from dehydration as he was still refusing to drink.  So.....

1 - a very sick little boy.  After 4 attempts to get a vein so they could get him going on an IV, the ped urgent care sent us to the ped emergency room at our nearby hospital.  After 6 more attempts to find a vein, they had to use an ultra sound to finally, and successfully, find a vein.  He was one sick little boy but was a trooper through it all.  I think I'm more scarred from the experience than he is.  

17 - After taking his own sweet time, John finally started walking at 17 months old.  And now....we can't stop him from running.  :)  

3 in 1 - we were blessed to see our dear friend, one of our spiritual advisors, and our former priest.....Father M....after Christmas!!  If you recall, the Karl in our John Karl Laval's name is for this wonderful man.  There are no words to describe the joy and peace we feel after time spent with him.  Everyone needs a Father M in their life!  :)

Dozens - the number of winter birds the boys saw on their special field trip with Dave to Back Bay down in Virginia Beach.  They saw tundra swan by the dozens, snow geese, and tons of ducks.  They played in the Atlantic Ocean and then feasted on seafood at Margie and Ray's.  It was an epic day!

2.5 - the number of years it has been since Dave and I have been away from the boys

9 - the number of days we were gone in March

3 - the number of countries we went to: Slovenia, Croatia, and Italy 

2 - equals the AMAZING Oma and Papa who came out from AZ to hold down the fort while Dave and I were gone

A small village - the amount of help my parents had from our friends who: helped take the boys to Mass, got them to soccer clinics, helped my dad get a car delivered to UR for our return home, cleaned up the pew and the floor at church after Jakob got sick right after communion (yes....that happened), etc.

40+ - the number of people on the trip with us.  We went as adult "chaperones" AND singers with Schola Cantorum.....the mixed choir at the University of Richmond.  (Dave directs the Women's Choir.  His choir was unable to go due to budget limitations.)

Here we go!!!  

British Airways had Fawlty Towers episodes to watch.  One of our favorite series!  We LOVED it!

2 - pieces of luggage that were a day delayed getting to us in Slovenia, after we landed in Croatia.  I'm not complaining.  We got them in the end and were only slightly inconvenienced for a day.  

1/3 - if you stand at the top of the tower at the Ljubljana Castle (Slovenia)...you can see 1/3 of the country.  :)

2 - the number of castles we went to in Slovenia.  With the castles, the church on an island in the middle of a lake (Bled), the Julian Alps, and all of the dragons everywhere.....we felt like we were in a fairy tale.  Slovenia is a truly magical place and I hope to return someday!!

Julian Alps

On a pletna (a large rowing boat) on Lake Bled

On Blejski Otok (Bled Island) with the Bled castle in the background

Blejski Otok - Bled Island and the Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Mary

Blejski Otok (Bled Island) from the Castle

99 - the number of stairs on Blejski Otok (Bled Island) that you have to climb to reach the church.  We were told that couples who marry in the church -- the Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Mary (not an active parish) -- must show that they are worthy to marry by having the groom carry the bride up all 99 steps!!!  We were also told that 4 out of 5 grooms are successful!  :)

3 - the number of times the wishing bell had to ring when you pull it from inside the church for your wish to come true!

Untold Number - the famous Bled cream cakes that were consumed.  They are a glimpse into what awaits us in heaven....if we make it.  :)

Thousands - the number of hand painted bee panels we had to choose from.  Bee keeping is HUGE in Slovenia and the bee panels they put into the hives are richly painted with folk and religious scenes.  This is the one we bought as when I saw it, I had to have it.  On the back it says:  The Cross you bear is heavy.  Heavier it will be with your wife sitting upon it.  Hahahahahaha!!!!! 

1 - unbelievable hotel in Medulin, Croatia where our room looked out on to the Adriatic Sea.

2,000+ years - the age of the Pula Arena, the name of the Roman amphitheater in Pula, Croatia. It is among six of the largest surviving Roman amphitheaters and is in better condition (by far) than the Colosseum in Rome.
0 - the number of people who volunteered to take Dave on in the middle of the arena's floor.  He was calling people (in our group) down to fight him to death but no one took him up on it.  Dr. Riehl finally came to the call.......riding into the arena on an invisible horse (we were all dying from laughing so hard) but even he quickly acquiesced and Dave was named the day's victor.

More numbers to come.......See post below

By the Numbers......Again (Part 2)

Continuing with our numbers......

2 - ways we had a delicious Italian lunch drink.  The first was in Trieste, Italy and it is supposedly the original: Spritz Bianca.  Procesco + sparkling water + lemon wedge = PERFECT drink for lunch!!!  The second in Venice....which had its own little twist on the recipe.

Numero Uno - because this was the best gelato I've ever had!!!!!!!!!  Thank you Trieste!

1 - unplanned and on our own pilgrimage to Padova (Padua).  We had the better part of a day as free time while we were in Vicenza.  Dave's baptismal saint is St. Anthony of Padua.  We pray to St. Anthony in our litany of family saints every night.  And Padova was 30km away from Vicenza.  Well...when you're that close to your baptismal Saint....you move heaven and earth to make a pilgrimage.  We hopped on a regional bus which got us to Padua and then walked 20 minutes to the Basilica where he is buried.  It was simply breathtaking.  We saw his incorrupt tongue, his jaw bone and gums, AND Dave got to pray at his tomb.  It was an amazing day.

140 - the miles per hour our bullet train went as we sped back from Padova (Padua) to Vicenza.  Bullet trains are a beautiful thing!!!!  The 30 minute bus trip became a 15 minute train ride.  :)

5 - concerts we performed on our trip....and all in absolutely amazingly beautiful Catholic churches.  2 in Slovenia, 1 in Pula, 1 in Vicenza, and the final one was a Mass participation at....wait for it....St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy!!!!!!  The first concert in Slovenia we combined with a madrigal choir local to Ljubljana and then enjoyed an after-concert reception with them.  They were amazing!  The second concert was in a small town 20 minutes from Bled.  It was FREEZING and the women were allowed to wear our coats over our dresses (thank you, Dr. Riehl).  The third concert, in Pula, we combined with a local children's choir and sang in a Franciscan church that St. Anthony of Padua reputedly helped build!  (That was the only night on the whole trip where it poured rain.)  The fourth concert was in a beautiful church in Vicenza where the Priest Emeritus was 95 years old and had seen the church destroyed by Allied bombings (way to go, Allies) and was instrumental in it being rebuilt.  The actual pastor was a 35 year old man from Texas and Dave had a wonderful time talking to him.  Each concert had its glorious moments but my favorite was and always will be the Durufle "Ubi Caritas" that we got to sing each time.....including at St. Mark's. 

Dozens - of memories made in a VERY short time in Venice.  Oh, Venice....you completely stole my heart.  We only had one day in Venice but we made the most of it.  

2 of 2 - here is the Venetian twist to the Spritz Bianca that we had in Trieste.  They had the liquor, Aperol, and add an orange wedge instead of lemon.  This has become our Sunday drink after church.  And the our lunch that day......UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!

Millions - of dreams came true.  My mom, when she found out we were going to Venice, said that if we did nothing else, we had to fork over the money and go on a Gondola ride.  Having been there a couple times with my dad, she even told us exactly where to go to get the gondola (they're all over the place).  So....we did.  It lasted 30 minutes and it was one of the most magical things EVER!!!!!  (And no, they don't sing.)  I couldn't stop smiling when we were done.

2 - Saints we saw on the trip.  The first was St. Anthony of Padua (above).  The second was St. Mark, the Evangelist --- as in the Gospel writer.  That St. Mark!  !!!!!!!!!  

Zillions - the number of mosaic tiles that cover St. Mark's.  And the tiles that are gold and on the outside, when the sun hits them, they become ablaze with color!  It is breathtaking to behold as the sun sets on Venice.  

3 - new passport stamps!!!  Slovenia, Croatia, and Italy!!!

2 - AMAZING Oma and Papa who took care of our boys, and our home while we were gone

4 - people in the Pedersen household who were felled by a plague as Dave and I were coming home.  Everyone got sick...except my dad.  My dad ran defense the whole weekend.  He stripped beds, switched out buckets, made sure everyone was hydrated, did laundry.....the whole 9 yards.

2+2 = miserable - upon our arrival home, my parents almost immediately left for AZ, resulting in a quick return to reality.  And then...we got the plague.  So both of us were severely jet-lagged + terribly sick = absolutely miserable!!!!

3 - nattily dressed boys for Easter  

25 - the number of years since the Sonoran Desert Chorale was founded by my dad and my mom....and several others.  

Thousands - of people who have been touched and inspired by the choir

100+ - people who have sung in the choir over its 25 year span

24 - years my mom served as Treasurer for the group

2,500 - miles I traveled last weekend to see my dad and mom's final concerts with the Sonoran Desert Chorale.  My dad has officially retired.....from all of his jobs in music.  And my mom has decided to not continue singing with the group.  The choir has selected a new director and will hopefully continue to thrive and grow under his new leadership.  But my dad has stepped down from the helm...and I'm still not quite sure how I feel about this.  

0 - boys who came with me.  I went by myself, leaving Dave to deal with the boys and all of their complicated logistics for soccer this past weekend (well.....I dealt with them from across the continent but still....)

Countless - tears were shed by me (I know, I'm silly) at both concerts as I watched my dad and mom doing what they're passionate about....and having it be the last time for both of them.  

I love this picture!  The expression on my dad's face....and my mom singing.

2 - I got to see my niece and nephew (my sister and brother-in-law's children) on this trip.  I hadn't met my nephew yet -- he's only 6 months old -- so that was wonderful!!!!  They are adorable kids and it was so fun to see their little personalities, to see my nephew just beam at me, and to twirl with my niece to make her laugh.

6 - the number of friends I got to see and catch up with on a weekend that was pretty packed with activities.  I was floored by how many friends I got to spend time with as I've been there for 9 days before and have seen not even half that many.  It was wonderful!!
1 - email that was truly serendipitous!!!!  Our best friends, the Winfields (Jason was our best man, we were in their wedding, and they are Jeffery's godparents) sent me an email the morning of my last day in AZ.  They live about 3 hours away from my parents but the email said that they were enjoying breakfast at my favorite breakfast place about 20 minutes from my parents.  They had NO idea I was in town.  They are two of the friends I was able to catch up with and it was simply wonderful!!!!

Those are the numbers for now.  It has been an eventful 9 months....as one might expect with 3 children and international trips.  :)  And summer is shaping up to be just as busy and eventful.  I don't know when I'll post again but I hope you enjoyed catching up with us!  :)