Colosseo!

 We began our day with a pizza breakfast in our Roman kitchen (notice our arch!) - first time we've ever had leftovers from dinner on this whole trip - last night's dinner had big portions & our "starters" were bigger than we realized.  The cost of meals on this trip has convinced us that we've brought the kids at the perfect time; if they were any bigger we'd have to feed them even more.  The problem with meals is that they're just so daily - we can't feed them really well & then get a break for a few days!  There was a lot of buzz this morning as we all got ready to head to the Colosseum - much anticipated excitement in the air, and for good reason!

 We hopped on our bus to the metro & got off at the Colosseo stop.  This picture is taken 2 steps out of the metro station; it is amazing to walk out of the depths of the metro & have this massive view be the first thing you see when you step outside!  Giddy with the size of it, Roma passes in hand (they covered our entrance fee), and our ipods with our audio tour in our pockets, we joined the masses in seeing this ancient marvel.  We had perfect weather; for the first time since being in Rome it was a bit cloudy & overcast, so the cool temp kept us in ideal shape for long viewing.  Once inside it was obvious that this would be a miserable sight in the heat of summer.  There's no shade & a lot of people.  We were thankful!

Chris kept us on track with our audio tour & Camden shared visions of himself on the sandy floor facing giants & describing his weapons of choice...daggers, 3 swords, the net, & he would have secretly trained a couple of the animals to fight on his side & the Romans would have been so surprised & he would win!  Of course!

We knew we'd be impressed with the Colosseum, but actually seeing it & learning more from our audio guide, far surpassed what we expected, and we went from "impressed" to "blown away."

Love this!  A nine year old boy, excited to keep his journal full of all his "notes" is something to smile about.  It may not be daily, but he's intentional & very excited about it when he decides to do so.

Arch of Constantine: Commemorated his victory & the beginning of his rule

This was a side view from one of the portico arches of the Colosseum; the arch of Constantine to the left and in the center, on top of the slight hill, the ruins of the temple of Venus & Rome

Homeschooling at its best!  And the reason it's "best," is because I didn't remind her to bring her journal & said not one word about writing in it; it's just been what she's chosen to do throughout this trip.  Those who walk closely along our homeschool journey know that this is certainly not always the case, but it's refreshing & reassuring when it surfaces.  She has set the bar high for her brothers on this trip & Andrew has certainly taken her example to heart.

The above Roman soldiers were no match for this motley crew!

The world has scarcely seen such engineering superiority and we're thankful we've had the chance to witness it first hand.  There's no doubt this trip will be a permanent reference point that anchors their understanding of history's lessons, context & ultimately, their place in it.  They've each grown up in various ways on this trip & if nothing else, they picture themselves discovering and exploring even more of the world as a result of our experiences, and they've each expressed that they're excited to get home to read and learn even more. There is deep satisfaction in this moment of knowing that we have done our best to ignite their passion for learning....in the words of Charlotte Mason, "Our aim in education is to give a full life."  

This "full life" certainly comes in many shapes and sizes and can be done in traditional schools, private schools & home schools; and we can sadly miss the mark in each of those settings as well.  I have succeeded and failed miserably in all three arenas; and the failing miserably part occurs daily in the homeschooling category.  In fact, the hardest part of homeschooling may be that I'm constantly aware & daily living out the consequences of those failings.  

Giving a "full life" doesn't necessarily mean that kids have to go on trips to Europe either, because we can just as easily miss the mark with those experiences too.  You may have noticed that I haven't posted pictures of squabbles between children, or me when I'm cranky, or all of us when we've been exhausted & lost.  A full life does include those experiences & how we choose to respond to them, but a full life is first and foremost lived in Christ; apart from that, it's all meaningless.  A full life includes figuring out how to surrender to grace, His grace; to receive it from others, to extend it to anyone who needs it.  This is something we can really sink our teeth into learning, no matter when or where we do this learning; regardless of life's season, location & circumstance.  

With only a few days of this adventure remaining we're trying to fully absorb the moment & be fully present in it.  Thank you for sharing in our discovery & fun via this blog; it's been rewarding to share our pictures & a few tales from our story!  We hope to have a few more posts coming your way!