Exciting things going on in the world

First of all, I'm so proud of my sister Lillian ... she was named one of the top 30 conservatives under 30!!! If you haven't yet, please take a moment to check out her work and where her fiance works—those organizations offer some great resources. Also, if you click through to read her interview, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I thought her remarks were brilliant! (No bias, of course!)

Did you hear? Papa Francis is publishing his first encyclical this Friday!!! My immediate reaction when Frank sent me that article was something like, "AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Are you as excited as I am? :)

Finally, in case you're interested, here are a few little photos from around the apartment. These are just the parts I've managed to get cleaned up... there's still a decent amount of unpacking and settling in to be done.

Almost everything in our kitchen was a wedding gift, and one of my favorite things about our home is how using anything reminds me of the dear person who gave it to us. There's something so sweet and special about it.

I think of Theresa when I use my floral teacups, of Helen and Mary when I pull out my tablecloth, of Serena when I use my latte bowls, and of Claire when we eat off our animal plates. The espresso maker brings to mind my Abuela, the Vitamix blender was a gift from my Grandma, and every time I use my Kitchenaid I think of Frank's parents who gave it to us for Christmas. And so, so many others. More than I can name. As I think of each beloved person, I try to say a little prayer for them too.

 ^^This is a dinner Frank made last week. He is spending the summer studying for the bar exam full-time, and sometimes he takes a study break to make dinner before I get home from work. I love that. :)

^^Can you see our icon wall back there? Frank loves icons more than any other religious art, and his collection is so beautiful that I couldn't say no when he wanted to prominently display it next to our front door. I think icon walls are getting to be quite the trend... I loved this picture of Martha's. The funny thing is, this isn't even Frank's whole collection. He has three or four more that are still in storage. I tease him about being a bit obsessed.

How was your weekend? We  enjoyed dinner with our good friends Anna and John last night and went to a Sox game on Saturday. Thank you to everyone who gave me advice about baseball! Frank bought me a score book, and keeping score has been a huge help. We're both really enjoying my process of learning this sport. However, before you get too impressed, you should know that I took a "cheat sheet" with me to the game... and the first thing written on it was, "Runs, not points." So I still have a ways to go!