Gallivanting through New Jersey

I hadn't planned on blogging about yesterday's adventure.  But, there was a comment made by my mother yesterday that compelled me to take  the few minutes to post an amusing story.
Our morning began spending quality time with my brother and his family before taking off to make the trip home.  Our plans were to break up the trip by visiting Becky and Jon who had graciously offered to make us lunch.  Marty had spoken with Jon the night before to get directions since we has always approached their place from the opposite direction.
Once we hit the northern New Jersey line, we knew that the fun driving was over.  I'm sure that the traffic was compounded by the fact that it is Thanksgiving week and holiday shopping was in full force, plus it was lunch time.  As I attempted to direct Marty, it became quite obvious that the given route number did not exist.  It seemed as if we were driving in circles, there was no mercy from the New Jersey drivers when it came to shifting lanes or yielding, so we pulled over into a parking lot to call Becky for help.  While Marty was talking with Becky, and my dad was commenting that he thought that these kind of things only happen to them, my mother put her hand on my shoulder and said, "We're out gallivanting, aren't we?" I agreed wholeheartedly and decided that it was worth posting on the blog.
As you can see by the photo, we arrived safe and sound at our destination, had a wonderful visit, and headed home later in the day, none the worse for the wear, although I think my parents have had enough gallivanting adventures to last them awhile.

Alive with the Spirit

Today was truly a spectacular day as we witnessed the baptism of my brother's youngest baby, Rose. The ceremony was held in the same church where her parents were married nearly 18 years ago.  My brother drove his family for two straight days to the home of his in-laws for this special occasion, so that more of the family could be in attendance.  We were fortunate to be able to drive my parents so that we, too, could witness this blessed event.
And what a special occasion for Rose, who had her 97 and 93 year old great grandmothers in attendance! Both great grandma's were certainly excited to be able to attend the ceremony.
Rose's grandparents opened their home for us to continue our celebration, and Marty and I had a grand time playing with Rose as well as enjoying our nieces and nephews.
Rose is certainly a sweetheart of a baby, and we heard barely a peep of complaint out of her the entire day.  When she does begin to complain, she has five older siblings who do not hesitate to rush to her side to see what kind of antic they can try to entertain her.  Can't ask for much more than that, can you?
What made the day even more special for me was seeing Rose dressed in the lovely heirloom dress that I had so painstakingly made for my godchild, Abigail, Rose's eldest sister, nearly 12 years ago.  I learned today that the same dress had been worn by Brigid, as well as two of their cousins.  It has become a special family heirloom, and I was so touched to know that so many baby girls had worn the dress that I had made, and that it was now considered to be a tradition in that family.
Yes, it was definitely a special family day, filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit, and Marty and I feel so blessed to have been able to play a part in it.
Don't forget to check out the photos on flickr.

The Newest Mrenna Adventure

Dinner at Apricot Pub

Tomorrow, the newest Mrenna baby, Rose, will be baptized in Connecticut.  Marty and I decided to make the trip to join in the festivities, and we have Mom and Dad along for the ride with us. They behaved beautifully on the 4 1/2 hour drive, and never asked one time, "are we almost there yet?"  At one point, Marty thought that he needed to be in charge of the heat in the backseat, but I convinced  him that my parents were capable of handling the backseat controls. 

We stopped at the Connecticut welcome center, and while we were stretching out our legs, a Ford Expedition Limousine pulled into the parking lot.  The doors opened and about a dozen young men and women came popping out of the door and headed to the facilities.  Just about the same time, my dad was heading down the walk, and he couldn't resist starting up a conversation with the limo driver.  The driver was having a grand time answering all of Dad's questions.  Suddenly, I heard the driver ask my dad if he wanted  to take it for a drive.  Marty and I exchanged worried glances, but Dad decided to decline the offer.  Thank goodness for that, because Marty and I didn't know we'd be explaining to Mom just what happened to Dad if he suddenly disappeared in a limo!

We rolled into our hotel around 4:00 this afternoon, and we headed into town where we enjoyed a marvelous dinner at Apricot's Pub.  All of our dinners were fabulous, and the owner was happy to take a photo of all of us around the table.  So far, we're having a grand time and we're certainly looking forward to the festivities tomorrow!

A fun time at the Pittsburgh Slovak Festival

Ever since our wonderful trip to Slovakia, Marty and I have enjoyed spending time hanging out with Slovaks, eating great Slovak food, listening to Slovak music and talking with many interesting individuals who share our love of this culture. This weekend added to the experience as we attended the Slovak festival held in the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh.  The festival is only four hours long, but packed with a variety of entertainment, and scrumptious food at a very reasonable price.  The photo of today's blog features Marty with Jozef Ivasko signing the CD that Marty purchased.  We had seen Jozef perform in New Jersey in September and we found ourselves amazed at his energy and his obvious love of Slovakia. When Jozef began his singing career, Slovakia was under communist rule.  His lyrics were considered to be controversial and his songs were banned by the communist government.  Jozef was forced to flee to Vienna so that he could pursue his singing career.

He is quite the entertainer, dressed in his native attire, still attempting to woo the audience, with the ladies loving every minute.   When his performance began, he spotted an elderly woman in a wheelchair who was dressed in her Slovak finery and obviously enjoying every minute of his singing.  She was 95 years old, and her daughter had placed her in the front row for the performance.  Knowing that her mother was quite happy watching the entertainment, the daughter sneaked off to take a peek at some of the beautiful Slovak items that were featured in the displays around the perimeter of the room. As Jozef began singing, he grabbed the elderly woman's wheelchair, and wheeled her  into the performance area with him.  She was having the time of her life, shaking her hands to the music, absolutely loving all of the attention.  In the meantime, I noticed that her daughter was making her way back to the spot where she had left her mother.  There was obvious  panic in her face as she scanned the audience looking for any sign of her mother.  I realized that this woman had no idea that her mother was on the floor with Jozef.  I caught her eye, and I pointed to the floor where her mother was still having a grand time singing along with Jozef.  The woman let out a huge sigh of relief, came over to me, shaking her head and said, "I thought to myself, 'Surely, no one would taken Mother!'" I thought I'd share the fun by inserting a video clip of this event.

You can find more videos and photos of the Slovak fun on my flickr site which is featured at the bottom of my blog.