Pilgrimage to Europe

We are a little over a week away from the beginning of our pilgrimage to Europe. Bob, Jenna, John-Paul, Hannah and I leave will be traveling to Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, France, Spain and Italy. Bob would like a quick stop in Monaco too! I don't know if there is a pilgrimage site there or not, but if there is I will find one! Eric is staying home to guard the home with our guard cats, Dakota, Sierra and Koka. This is Eric's busiest season with his wedding videography company. Planning for this trip actually started back in 2003, when Bob and I found out that we were expecting a little baby. We waited seventeen years for this little one! Jenna, our oldest was born in 1984 and then our son, Eric was born in 1987. It seemed that God had decided that our family was complete and that we would not have any more children. Many years before John-Paul was born, I told my husband if we were ever blessed with another boy, I wanted to name him after Pope John Paul II. The big day of the ultrasound came and the technition announce that, "It's a boy!" Bob and I were both surprised as we had thought that it was surely a little girl since our oldest daughter had consecrated her life to God. We thought since we have our oldest daughter to God, he would give us another daughter! "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD." Isaih 55:8 From that day on, we called our little boy "John-Paul!" The desire to have our little John-Paul receive his first holy communion in Rome started while he was growing in my womb! So when our friend, Dianne landed a job as the office manager at the US Embassy tothe Vatican in 2008, we thought she might be able to help us in getting Johnl-Paul to receive his First Holy Communion in Rome. Also, one of Jenna's consecrated companions was the sister-in-law to the Ambassador to the Holy See (our friend Dianne's new boss!) So both Dianne and Cathy checked into what needed to be done for the first communion in Rome. Then a few months ago, I was writing on facebbook to a friend who's brother is a priest. Fr. John Doyle had been in California and was now back in Rome! Fr. John helped us to write a request to the Holy See asking permission for John-Paul to receive his First Holy Communion in Rome. Although we knew it was a one in a million, or possibly more, that it would happen we sent our request.