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{A} Goes to Witness 2 Hope | Catholic Middle School Retreat

August 23, 2010 By Laura 4 Comments

At last, I have gotten it all together enough, to share with you all a little bit about the purpose behind our prayer request for {A} a couple of weeks ago. We understand that some of you may not view it as that big of a deal, but for us, it was big. So we are thankful for your prayers if you prayed. They went a long way for us!

So here’s the whole scoop, for those who have been waiting:

In early July, when we were on the show This Is The day, there was a young man and woman there also as show guests, named Steven Colella and Danielle Olsen, from The New Evangelization of the Archdiocese of Boston, to promote a new program for middle schoolers, called Witness 2 Hope. A similar program for high schoolers, called Witness 2 Truth, had already been established and had been effective. They decided that instilling such leadership qualities in young people even sooner than high school, would be beneficial, and that is naturally the truth.

So after our segment of the show, and having listened to {A} speak about her faith, they approached us and encouraged her to attend Witness 2 Hope. It did sound like a great program, and we were glad to hear such efforts were being made with our young people today. However, at the time we just did not consider it very seriously for {A}, because the 4 day program was quite a distance away from where we lived, costed more than we could really afford at the time, and also, {A} had only just turned 13. Quite honestly, she has not had much interest in her young life, in being very far from her family, for days at a time. So, it was not something we really thought about very long.

However, a few weeks ago they contacted us again, hoping we/she would reconsider. They really just felt that she would be a good witness to others at the program. And then, they offered us a full scholarship, to go. After really looking into it more, {A} decided it was really something she wanted to go to. So then I, as her mother, addressed all of my concerns and questions with Steven Colella, as her mother. He was extremely gracious and more than happy to answer every last one, with detail and re-assurance. So we decided she’d be going, and got packing. She was VERY EXCITED, and grew more so as the time drew near to go.

That is really the bulk of most of your reading in this post. So bare with me! The rest is just photos and short explanations.
** Please note that all of the photos with the black outline are images by George Martel, photographer of the Archdiocese of Boston. The rest were taken by me.

The weekend was Thursday August 12- Sunday August 15th. We drove her, and stopped for a bagel on the way since it was a long way, and through our normal lunch time. The triplets were a little clingy, and didn’t want her to go! (And I knew exactly how they were feeling.)

The weekend was held here, at St. Thecla’s Retreat House, in Billerica, MA. It was a beautiful place, inside and out. When I was younger, I often contemplated and dreamed about living a secluded life as a nun, at a place like this. A quiet prayer life really does speak to me. As much as I love my life with my family, deeply, and know it is my vocation, I still dream about places like this sometimes. I wanted to stay with {A}. lol I knew she was going to have a great, uplifting weekend.

We brought her in, got her registered, a got her settled in her little room, and said our goodbyes! Not easy, Folks! Certainly not for me.

There were 25 middle schoolers attending. The purpose of the program was to build up real leadership skills, teach them to be able to communicate well with people in a group, work well together in creating plans of action, and accomplishing tasks that make a difference in their community, or beyond.

We learned that over the course of the weekends, there were many workshops, assignments, games to demonstrate why the skills they were learning were important, as well as mass, Adoration, and praise and worship. And a lot of fun!! {A} finally saw the movie, the Chronicles of Narnia, which was SO exciting to her, since she has read the whole entire series, many times over. She loved the movie, which they watched outdoors at night, in the courtyard!

On Sunday when the families came, each small group had presentations for us, that showed their demonstration of carrying out a Corporal Work of Mercy. {A}’s group chose ‘clothing the naked’, and they explained and showed their plan, of how they could help with that ministry.

Here is {A} with her small group that she worked closely with through parts of the weekend.
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Fr. Matt. He gave a passionate sermon at the closing mass we all attended. Really great, full of profound points, and humor. He is really great with the young people. I could see they really connected with him, and why.
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Praise and worship at Mass. The music was awesome! I love praisin’ and worshippin’. It was all I could do not to run up there and join them. But I stayed in my pew, and just rocked out there.

See, I do have control of my little self, sometimes.

This is Steve Colella and Danielle Olsen. They designed this whole program for the middle schoolers, as well as the Witness 2 Truth program that is in it’s 2nd year, for high schoolers. They are a great team!
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{A} and Danielle. This young woman has such a joy of God in her, it is hard to miss. She is so blessed, to be so in tune with her faith at such a young age! She was inspiring, and no doubt had some great influence on the kids there. I think God gave her those dimples for life, as some divine compensation blessing, for her work. lol
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I’m going to try not, to go on and on about this boy. But, he could have been mine!! He was adopted by his family from Russia. He stood out to me, right away, because he just carries out such an air of happiness and light. At one point at the closing, we were all in the chapel, waiting for mass to begin. He was in the front row, and I saw him turn around to talk to the kids behind him. {A} was 2 pews behind him, and when he caught glimpse of her, he just popped up and reached through the kids, outstretching his hand, for {A} to touch his. <sniff>. If you just could have seen it….honestly, it was just the sweetest most spontaneous thing. When {A} told me he was adopted, I immediately thought “Darn! I had an opportunity, and I blew it!”. I seriously wanted to take him home. But I am sure his family really wants to keep him.He is another she’ll be keeping in touch with. He is just…..I loved him.
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The whole Witness 2 Hope Team. They all had such a great time together, and {A} came home with more friends, more skills, and more experience.
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She had such a good time, and she was really happy she went.
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All of the kids got a t-shirt from the weekend, and this is on the back of it. It was sort of ironic.

{A} has ALWAYS spoke of this quote by Pope John Paul II, and pondered what she could do, in her own big or small way, to help bring his dream to light. So it was not only ironic that the shirts quoted JPII, but it shows you how much this program was right up her alley!

It was a great weekend, and a new milestone for all of us as a family. One that will present itself more and more as time goes on. But for this Sunday, we were happy to pick up our girl, and bring her home with us again!

We stopped to celebrate on the way home, with a wonderful Mexican meal at this restaurant, Margarita’s. While we gather around the table as a family every evening, we had a new appreciation and gratitude this day, of being all together again.

Thanks again for the prayers! They helped us a lot!

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Beatrice. She’s Really Been Around the Block. | The Story of a Doll

August 14, 2010 By Laura 2 Comments

The Story of a Doll.

{A} was just a toddler, barely walking, when my mother called one day a few months before Christmas. She said, “I am shopping for gifts in this catalog, and I am going to buy {A} a baby doll. Do you want the white one, or the black one?”

Those were her words.

Several things ran through my head. ‘Why would she call me, to ask me this? Is she testing me, in some way? Does she think it really matters to me, which one she gets?’

But I said none of those things. Instead, my focus turned to my own parenting. I was a first time mother, and I already had a long list of what I would and would not do, teach and would not teach, my kids, as God gave them to me. I was a confident parent from the get-go, much to the unnerving of, well, certain people. I did indeed know a whole lot about kids, how to care for babies, desirable and undesirable behavior in growing kids, and where they come from sometimes, all learned in depth through very tender ages myself, of caring for/all-but raising, children belonging other parents. But that is a whole other topic I won’t digress into. The point is, I was thinking, “My kids will be raised to never discriminate against people because of the color of their skin, among other things. It shouldn’t even be a thought. God made us all the same, and we are as equal as we are in His eyes.” But I had to answer, so I responded, “The black one is fine.”

I know what you are thinking. I think. Maybe not. But, if you are…..I suppose by ‘choosing’, I was discriminating in some way. But what I was thinking was, ‘This an an opportunity, here. {A} will undoubtedly fall right in love with this doll without hesitation or thought, and she will learn quite early on, in this early lesson in her life, that love knows no color. Or perhaps better, love knows all colors.”.

Previously, {A} never did care much for toy dolls at all, through her childhood. But for some reason she did indeed love this one, from the day she opened her Christmas gift, from Meme and Papa. It was SO soft. Stuffed with cotton and squishy. A little odd shaped, perhaps. There was a rattle inside. {A} was quickly more than partial to it.

Then came the dilemma of course. What to name her baby doll? {A}, of course, was just barely talking. I was helping her figure lots of things out, at that age. So I thought of who gave it to her. And a perfect name occurred to me, as I chuckled more than was kind, on the inside. “ How about we name her “Beatrice” ?“, I asked {A}. “Beee-tissss”, {A} repeated with her usual big smile. And so it was.

When my mother visited again, she asked {A}, as she toddled around with her new doll, what her name was. It was all I could do, not to bust out laughing, while {A} responded, “Beeee-tisss”.

The look on my mother’s face, was priceless. You see, Beatrice, was my mother’s middle name, that she has always hated. As I read my mother’s expression in that moment, I knew she was rather torn somewhere between irked, and pleased that the dolly was named after her

For me, it was just FUN to name her Beatrice, yes, in a humorously teasing sort of way. Out of love. You know. I truly had no idea, how long Beatrice would be around.

This is a scanned scrap booking page of {A} I did years and years ago, with photos just as old. Obviously before I mastered flash. Oh how hard it is to see these things now. But naturally I still treasure the photos. What I wanted to show you here, in particular though, was {A} in the bottom left photo. She is wearing her Daddy’s sweatshirt, and carrying her beloved Beatrice.

{A} carried Beatrice all around the house, and slept with her every night. Along with the nightie I used to nurse her in, that, as she grew older, she had me wear again after being washed, to make it smell like me again.

More scanned photos: When {O} came along, (with her triplet brothers of course), {A} gave her Beatrice. {O} began to sleep with her right away, too. She’s always used her as a pillow. Here they all are together (above), having a couch cuddle. I thought it was sweet that {A} passed on her beloved doll, to her baby sister.

{A} held fast to that nightie, though, which she still sleeps with today.

{O} developed her own special and deepening relationship with Beatrice, as she grew. They read together.
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She made sure Beatrice had other friends too.
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Year after year, Beatrice was still around.

And it’s really begun to show!! I just took these photos of her the other day. {O} was caught more than once as a toddler, biting/sucking on Beatrice’s nubby little clothe thumbs in bed. Soon those were amputated and sewed up.

But check out those healthy hips on her!

It almost makes me feel a kindred spirit with her.

Until I look at her sideways. How does she keep that tummy so flat?

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Most recently, a huge hole in her face, was mended. She’s Beatrice Scar Face now. There are other questionable dark marks, we won’t wonder too long about.

The wear and tear is showing everywhere, on poor Beatrice.

I am sure being washed, as much as she has been, has shown her years too.

But I think being loved, as much as she has, is the most evident.

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After all she has been through, she still has a faint smile.

I think in our own ways, we should all be able to reflect how loved we have been in our lives through the many years, as well.

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{A}’s 13th Birthday | 4th of July Weekend 2010 | Final Part at CatholicTV

August 1, 2010 By Laura 4 Comments

{A}’s birthday wish, was to visit the CatholicTV station, in Watertown, MA. Now, some of you may or may not know, that we are a little familiar with CatholicTV, by having become friends with Fr. Bob Reed, who is the director of CatholicTV, and who also helps out with presiding over Masses at several parishes, including our own.

{A} was the first to develop a real friendship with Fr. Reed, as a result of the frequent masses she served, and the time spent with Fr. Reed in the sacristy. That led to Fr. Reed asking us to be part of the pilot episode of a new show at CatholicTV called House & Home, which was filmed in the fall of 2008, and aired in the summer of 2009. (It was a new show; they had a lot of ducks to get in a row. So we embraced our last bit of anonymity in those months. lol) Since then, Fr. Reed has remained a treasured friend of our family. He’s such a cool guy. So, when {A} e-mailed him (as she does on occasion), to request a tour of the CatholicTV station for her birthday wish, Fr. Reed responded quite quickly with her granted wish. He also said he would personally give us the ’25 cent tour’ himself. He said that the actual 5th would not work, but the 6th would be great. He also asked that we be there in time for the ‘This Is The Day’ morning show taping. We soon realized (when he called us later) that he wanted us to be part of the show too. Oh. lol. Now, one might think I’d be getting used to this being taped for television business, but no so much. A little racing heart comes along with knowing your children will be taped for live TV….you know? As we said, we really are not like that mylar balloon family. But..anything for Fr. Reed.

As a side note, {A} and Fr. Reed have had another special connection, in that her actual birthday is his anniversary of ordination into the priesthood. This would be his 25th year!! So, we were happy to go the day after, or whatever day worked for them. The 5th was a legal holiday anyway.

On the set of ‘This Is The Day’. Now….I had never been on the set before, but I had watched the show. I assumed, (and you know how that goes…), that there was a small audience whom we would be part of. You know, maybe a few rows of those seats like at the movies.

No. Six folding chairs, set up just for us. Oh my. Right next to the cameras, lights, and overhead microphones recording the live show. As I sat there next to my 4, occasionally spontaneous children. Yes, I had given them a brief pre-chat in the car on the way. But looking around, and as I heard the director countdown to the live taping “6…..5…..4…..3…..2……1…..<point of finger>”…..it warranted a moment of eye contact with my little blessings, that said “This is alllll business, Kiddos, but go ahead and enjoy it too! <wink>”….without saying a spoken word.

Here is Jay Fadden, host of the show, and side-kick of Fr. Reed (or is the other way around?)……who is as smooth as ice, with cameras rolling, just like his side-kick. I tried to listen, observe, and learn all I could through the first few segments, before WE were up there. No, I hadn’t necessarily learned all I needed to know (or would be nice to know!), the first time around, with all of this TV business.

But I digress. (Or..did I? I forget now.) But see the Mayflower on the side table there? They put that out in honor of us being there on the show that day! How sweet is that? I’m not sure what it meant, that it continued to be there for several following shows but….still!

So how and in what way were we part of ‘This Is The Day?’ Well, if you have ever watched the show (because CatholicTV is a nationwide cable television station), you might know about the ‘Catholic Treasure Box’. At the start of this show, that airs Tuesday and Friday mornings, Fr. Reed presents a riddle, to give clues to what answer may be in the Catholic Treasure box.

So this day, the riddle was as follows:

Parents and children, in home secure, we find the church’s most humble form.

The answer is: FAMILY. That would be us….<enter family>. We did not fit in the box. We didn’t even try.

We sat on the couches, did a little segment chit-chat, they took several photos of us, and then we got on with our tour. I’m not going to link you here, because really…..I wouldn’t assume you want to see it. And you shouldn’t assume I want you to, either, lol. But the show itself is a great show! Just as the other is.

This a shot taken in the master control room. Fr. Reed showed us the whole place….no stones left unturned. Well…would we know if there was? Maybe not. But, we saw a whole lot of the place, and it was incredibly interesting. Also, we can’t really express enough, what really wonderful people, work for the CatholicTV station. Seriously….so friendly. A real sense of family there, at that network. I almost longed to go to work there every day, myself. lol (Behind the cameras, of course.)

After seeing so much of the station, what they do where, and how it all works, Fr. Reed let us into this conference room, which I think, he thought, he had planned for {A}’s birthday. However, the joke was somewhat on him……as his CatholicTV family had this celebration planned for him, for his 25th Anniversary of Ordination. You can’t see in the photo, but the room is full of people. Clapping people.

He. Was. Surprised. I think he thought he had the whole day planned in detail, himself,….and this room full of people, for him, was not on his agenda. (Notice the sweet blush.) He said something to the effect of, “Well weren’t we going to sing Happy Birthday to Alexis?”. Jay explained they would, but they wanted to thank him for his many wonderful years of service as a priest, and the difference he has made in everyone’s lives….and he added how, “The Richard Family was in on this the whole time… .”

Ok…horrible shot here…..the camera actually went off by accident as I tried to hurry and GET this shot, where he was saying to our giggling trio, “WHY didn’t you TELL MEEEE???!!!”

So it seemed, he wanted to celebrate {A}’s birthday, and we were all there to celebrate his milestone anniversary. See, after he had made tour plans with us,, we got a phone call from the staff, saying they were planning a surprise celebration for him, and could we keep him in “Studio A” for as long as possible. Of course we were happy to! We were SO HONORED, to have been there with him to celebrate.

It’s just kind of comical, because it seemed he thought he had some special surprises set up for {A} in this room, which none of us knew about at all!! But there was actually a celebration planned for HIM in this room, that HE did not know about at all, but we did. So….in the end, we were all surprised on some level.

Fr. Reed, cutting his 25th Anniversary cake.

Soon enough, the focus turned on {A}, as the room full of people/staff (off camera)….sang her Happy Birthday, ….

….and presented her with these sweet surprises.

I was going to edit the red of her face out of this photo, but I think it is so cute. She was as embarrassed as the dickens. I don’t recall ever, having seen her blush like this. So much attention. But still grinning from ear to ear.

I really loved how the cake was decorated. It seriously was so perfect for her personality.

Cake…fresh flowers, and gifts……really. She just asked for a tour, so she was SO surprised by it all.

So here she is, just before we left, with her dear friend, Fr. Reed. Who incidentally….truly did give her a birthday she will never forget. To be there, for HIS special anniversary, meant more to her in the end, than anything. She really thinks the world and a 1/2, of him. He’s been a powerful and loving influence in her life, in many ways.

{A} made this bracelet for Fr. Reed. It is the branding colors of CatholicTV. She has made him these before in other colors, and he really wears them! He wore a red, white and blue one she made him, for the longest time.

He had a very special personal gift for her too.

Ok first, on a side note, something I have seen on TV happened to me. Someone said to me, (in this case, Fr. Reed), “Would you mind if I had a moment alone to talk to your daughter?”. “Uummmm….Sure! We’ll be at the car.” lol

Then he talked to her, and gave her this unbelievable treasure of a gift, which has been a personal treasure of his own…..

…a relic of Maria Goretti.

See, St. Maria Goretti is a 12 year old martyr, who was attacked on July 5th, {A}’s birthday, and also Fr. Reed’s 25 Ordination Anniversary. She died on the 6th, and this was her Feast Day. You can read all about St. Maria here, or watch the little video.

Wow, wow, wow. {A} treasures this, so very much, and we know she always will.

(Here is a closer cropped shot. I really love this photo of the 2 of them.)

Thank you Fr. Reed, and everyone at CatholicTV, for making our girl’s birthday so very special, and memorable. We also thank you for how warm and welcoming you always are to our family, and all you do for the Catholic and Christian community. You are a true light to us all, as we continue grow in our faith formation, be it in person, or the glow of our televisions all over the nation.

And one more HaPpY BiRtHdAy to you {A}. You truly carry a light of your own, and we are blessed to have you as such a big part of our life, and our family. We love you, more than you know.

Thanks to all of YOU, our faithful blog readers, for your patience in waiting for this last post! I was SURE I would have it out before July was behind us anyway, but I missed that boat. Nonetheless, we hope you all enjoyed sharing in our celebrations. {A} thanks you all for the thoughtful birthday wishes too!!

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{A}’s 13th Birthday | 4th of July Weekend 2010 | Part III

July 20, 2010 By Laura 11 Comments

By the time {A}’s birthday came, which was following the later part of the long 4th of July weekend, we were on a partying roll. Per tradition in our family, the birthday person gets to choose what they’d like to do as a family, within reason. {A} had a special wish indeed this year, but it needed to wait until the following day. THAT exciting event, ultimately with a couple surprises in store for us, will be the next post in this section. (You don’t want to miss it!) So meanwhile, we spent her actual birthday at home hanging out most of the day, which was very relaxing and enjoyable.

{A} is officially our first teenager! Despite all of the warnings about parenting and the teen years, I don’t expect much to change any time soon.

Here’s a peek at her day:

Her birthday breakfast, which had a special twist this year….

….instead of the birthday number pancakes, Daddy made……

….a birthday number omelet!!

Yes, we are waiting for him to stop outdoing himself, too.

We were all excited to swim in our new pool! LOL.

It’s just a 16′ wide cheap one, with the inflatable ring. But you know, it doesn’t take much to thrill us!

Bomb Pops!
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“Word to the mother”. Literally. He was talking to me. lol ; )

Summertime smiles.
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The birthday girls dinner request: Sausage with peppers, onions and cheese, on a roll.

Instead of birthday cards, the triplets wrote {A} love letters. <sniff> Among the sweet things they expressed, they told her how happy they are to have her as their big sister, why, and how much they love her. She really does have a unique and special relationship, with each of them.
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Grandma sent this birthday gift in the mail. A pewter heart locket, with her initial on it. She loves it.

I was coming out of my skin, waiting for her to open her gift from us!

Yeah Baby!! A sweet camera! You know me….I researched this to death! It’s a Canon PowerShot G11. As a girl who shoots an SLR on full manual mode all of the time, it was an education for me, shopping for a point and shoot! But I found a beautiful one, that has features even I can be happy with! See….our gifts are not usually this big in expense. But, while this camera is pretty much hers, it’ll be the family camera for our little excursions, etc, when I don’t want to be lugging around all of my equipment, but know I’ll want to get photos. Still, I’m very excited for her to have her own camera, and she has really been enjoying it ever since! It was a great idea for her right now. She is using it for all kinds of projects of her own.

She wanted a Carvel ice cream cake, for her birthday this year. How unusual for our baker! But, her wish was our command. So, we found one for her.

It was not peanut-safe, so {S} had to have an ice cream sandwich instead. Poor kid. He looks so upset, doesn’t he? ; )
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Michael and I couldn’t stop looking at our birthday girl that day. She looked so……13. I had ongoing flashbacks of her birth, as I always do on my kids’ birthdays. Those memories always make these days all the more sentimental. I don’t quite know why I always do that to myself. I am so happy to look at how beautiful they are turning out (inside, and out). And yet I miss my babies and I want them back!! It’s a bitter-sweet tailspin of turmoil, I throw myself into.

When {A} was a baby, a lady we did not know at Mass, told us she had ‘such a sunny disposition‘. I never really forgot that. Mostly because her demeanor reminds me of it every day. She just has a light and happiness about her, that we really love. Except maybe first thing in the morning. And an occasional day. She can be on the grumpy side, then. Anyway, we just love her, and couldn’t feel more blessed, with all she brings to our family. Except maybe first thing in the morning. And the occasional day. O.k., maybe even then.

After our relaxing, eating, celebrating, staring, birth-remembering and crying, we all went out bowling for a couple of games. : ) Then we went home, and had an early night. We had a BIG day the next day, which was a birthday event {A} will never forget.

Stay tuned for Part IV, when we tell you all about it.

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4th of July Weekend 2010 | Part I | Our Vacation Home | Plymouth, MA

July 15, 2010 By Laura 7 Comments

Plymouth, MA

We don’t really GO on vacation very often. Usually it’s not an affordable option for us anyway. Do you know most hotels only allow FOUR to FIVE people to a room, or else you need to book 2 rooms adjoining? They say it’s because of fire regulations. We’re a family of 6. So because we can barely afford one room, we then get into sneaking a kid in, which we feel guilty about, and then worry about a fire, where the firemen will only seek out five of us. The whole thing is such an irk, but anyway….OH MY GOSH….I wasn’t going to talk much in these posts, and immediately got off topic anyway.

So, back on track, we ask ourselves……”Really, where would we go anyway?” Because the truth is, in the area we live in, we feel like we’re always on vacation. Even at home, it feels like to us that we’re just living in a big beach house, and stay through the off season too. There is always wet towels and bathing suits hanging around, sand tracked into the house, the smell of the ocean in the air, sea gulls flying over head….and we’re surrounded by others here, on their ‘real vacation’.

Plymouth MA, America’s Hometown, is a fine place to live. And a fine place to vacation too! So when we want a vacation, we just work a little less, pay a little more attention to where we reside, and make the most of it all!

The waterfront is a glorious place to be, on any given summer evening. We spend a lot of time down there. Just as we did the 4th of July weekend.

The Lobster Hut has great seafood! People who vacation here frequently, or are just here for a visit, most always have to hit The Lobster Hut. So if you ever find yourself in Plymouth, and love seafood, try it out! And call us!! We’d love to meet up with you while you’re here! It would be cool to meet each other ‘in real life’. ; )

Right next door is Cabby Shacks, and that is a real hot spot too, with great food, and entertainment.

The fried clams and fish at the Lobster Hut are sooooo good. The kids love them too.
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Pixel comes with us to a lot of places, and she very much enjoyed the waterfront with us. She’s completely potty trained, so she’s a joy to take along.

Great food, summer evening in the air, the sound of sea gulls, boats coming in, laughing, chatting and hanging out…..

Pixel was a real hit down there. Everyone was stopping to see her…..wanting to pet her…..some were just really intrigued by her. “It’s a Hedgehog? REALLY?” “Really, really”, {A} always says.
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The road we live on, is named after Governor Bradford here.
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Yes, a cat on a leash. A patriotic one at that. Seemed like a normal cat. But the owner, uummm, well anyway, she was kind enough to let me take this photo.

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There is always great outdoor entertainment in the warm seasons, several nights a week.

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The kids, dancing on the waterfront green….

….the giggles evaporated into the night air, and floated out over the sea.
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Do you live somewhere that has a vacation feel? Do you have an area right near by, where you can go to and feel like you’re on vacation, even though you are so close to home?

We really love our vacations at home.

I also I really, really love not having to pack for our family of 6!

Thanks for virtually-visiting our hometown!

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