Last Day of School

The kids began the 2012-2013 academic year in Michigan, and ended the year in Italy.  So proud of all three of them and how they have grown and matured through the transitions and trials.  Today is not only their final day of the year, but also their last day at the elementary school in Leinì.  Pray for them as they say good-bye to classmates and teachers, and that God's continued peace and strength would be with them as they start at a new school in Caselle this fall.  Life of a MK is not always easy, but God's grace is always enough!

Congratulations on a year well done, my little chic-lets!

June 12, 2013

(Soon-to-be 5th, 4th and 2nd graders)

September 4, 2012

Little Learner

Luca was my greatest concern when it came to going to school.  All of my previous attempts to help him learn letters, read and prepare for school seemed like a total failure.  I seriously was concerned, but over the past 9 months first as he started out in a US Kindergarten and then made the mid-year transition to Italian first grade, I have been so encouraged by his growth and development.  He has become a sponge for learning.  His speech has always been a challenge for him, but with his mouth expansion in the fall  it seems like he has had to relearn how to use his tongue to form sounds.  Add the unique sounds needed to speak Italian, like rolling his r's, and it is quite the challenge (for anyone!)  I wanted to capture him reading in Italian for you to hear, since he never speaks or performs on demand apart from saying nonsense words when asked to say something in Italian.  You can see some slowness in being able to form the words with his mouth even though I'm sure he can hear it in his head.  He has increasingly shown some frustration with English and how things are spelled, asking why they use a certain letter when it sounds like another.  Ah, yes...welcome to the complex world of English!

Luca is a little genius when it comes to math and does quite complex problems in his head.  He baffles us in this area.  He has successfully and beautifully learned how to write all his letters in cursive (even with the refusal to hold his pen correctly).  I am so proud of him and how much he has grown and matured this year.  Keep up the great work, buddy!

In addition to being a little learner, he is our little runner.  He does not know the definition of walking and is always leading the pack wherever we go.  Track and field would be right up his alley.

Little Muscician

As I highlight our kids and their unique God given gifts, Samuel would definitely earn the title of "little musician."  He has always loved music and is the only child who consistently sings with gusto each night during our family worship time.  He really enjoys playing the piano and is excelling in that area as well.  For the past couple of months, Jonathan has been song writing and now is in the production phase with a new album.  Samuel has been fascinated with the recording process and many days you can find him just sitting alongside his dad watching and learning.  This boy, turning young man looks up to his dad so much and wants to be just like him (which is dually noted that the apple did not fall far from the tree with our firstborn).

Samuel had a rough patch of about 2 months where he was having a lot of anxiety about going to school in the mornings.  He would have difficulty in eating breakfast, sometimes even getting sick and would have tears many of days before heading out the door.  As we have encouraged him and directed him towards casting his cares upon the Lord and given him promises to cling to from God's word, we have seen how this trial has strengthened him.  For two weeks now, he has joyfully gone to school without talk or demonstration of anxiety.  It was about two weeks ago that he came home from school and said, "I am going to write a song to help me stop worrying"  About a half hour later he presented us with his first song.  Samuel and his dad are going to work together to compose the music, but for now you can hear Samuel sing his song entitled "Stop Worrying".

Little Artist

One of the great blessings of being a parent is watching how the Lord has uniquely gifted your children.  Each are unique in character, strengths and talents.  Emma, being the middle child and only girl has always gravitated to what her brothers do.  She does not like dolls, never has.  On the other hand, give her a stuffed animal and she is golden.  We lost track long ago of the number of animals that compete for her bed each night.  She loves animals and wants to be a veterinarian one day.  

When Emma is not holding Mac, she is usually coloring or drawing.  Together we will find a picture on the internet that she wants to copy and then she insists that I draw it for her.  The occasions where I have done that I wonder what the point is because she will erase nearly my whole picture and make it all her own.  Clearly mamma's drawings are no longer the best.  Yesterday she used a "How to" drawing book to draw these two dogs.  Needless to say, I was quite impressed.

I really wish there was some drawing class she could take, but so far I have found none.  For now, I suppose she is doing just fine being self-taught.  Stuffed animal creating is another area of design she loves.  These little sock characters were designed and created by her using felt and a glue gun.  (*Note to Gramma that she needs more peach felt when you come)  We love seeing her expression of creativity and it is our joy to encourage her in her development of this God given gift of artistry.

Craft Project

The annual Caselle spring street fair is coming up this Sunday.  We have participated in previous years with our prior church plant.  This year we are participating with the charity, Caritas.  The table they set up sells handmade items that have been donated in order to generate money to help the poor in the community.  We are so thankful for the generous contribution from the "Knit 2 Together" ladies from Robinson Baptist Church.  They sent us a large box filled with nearly 100 knitted items for us to contribute to the Caritas table.  Thank you so much, ladies!

In addition, we thought it would be a nice idea to have those who receive from the charity to contribute in a small way themselves towards this project.  As a team we footed the bill for the raw materials to make 20 appliquéd tea towels with those who wanted to participate with us.  There were a handful of ladies interested in crafting with us, but with illness and this never ending season of rain we had a small turnout.  The past two Saturday afternoons we enjoyed the fellowship and opportunity to build relationships with two ladies.  We had fun together and it was very satisfying for all of us to complete each towel.  I enjoyed the opportunity to teach this project to the ladies and I think they turned out well.

Hey, do you know?

"Hey, do you know?  Do you know...Luca turned SEVEN?!"

March 29, 2013

Yes, our littlest guy is not so little anymore.  And do you know?  Luca practically begins every phrase that comes out of his mouth these days with, "hey, do you know...?"  It is so darn adorable and a phase of speaking that just makes us smile every time he opens his mouth.  It is very repetitive, but much better and easier on the ears than every sentence starting with 5 mamma's.

Luca loves to run everywhere!  And he always has to lead the pack and be first.  He is a very determined kid and if he chooses to put his mind to doing something, very little will stop him.  At this age, that can be a positive or negative depending on the objective.  Trusting that God will mold and develop that determination into a strength used for His glory.  Luca is also an unabashed mamma's boy.   Maybe that is due to the fact that he was born in Italy. J  I certainly will take all the cuddles he still gives me and treasure his longing to always be near his mamma.

A few nights before turning seven, Luca prayed and told God that when he turns seven he will try new foods.  Praying each day for progress in this area, 'cause honestly, how long can a child live off of PB&J, yogurt, fruit and chicken nuggets?  He begs to differ that meat gives you strong muscles, as his strength is something to be reckoned with for sure.  For his birthday dinner, we had coconut flour waffles (super high in protein and the only way to get lots of eggs in him!) and strawberries.  He was happy and maybe tomorrow he'll try some new foods. Ha!

We love you so much, Luca!  We are honored and blessed to be your parents and to have you as a special part of our family.  May Jesus draw you to himself as you grow more and more in your knowledge of him and his love for you.  Happy 7th Birthday, buddy!

 Lego toys are still the coolest toys for this boy

 I found a pin the tail on the donkey game in storage, and the kids had fun with that.  The birthday boy won and Samuel nailed the radiator.

 Emma was a very willing assistant in making the cake this year.  She wanted to do it all, and one day she will!  She made sure I made Sonic the Hedgehog correctly.  I tried a new technic in making a frozen buttercream transfer, and was pleased with the result.

Chicken Day

Yesterday, we had the privilege and joy of distributing 46 fresh chickens to families in need (plus another 4 to the volunteer staff).  We worked collaboratively with the Caritas group in which Melissa has been helping since the fall.  She has been offering cookies, tea and a warm smile on a weekly basis as these families come and wait to be heard and assisted with paying bills, receiving food bags, or whatever.  I have joined Melissa once before on a Tuesday afternoon to serve alongside her.  I cannot imagine what a depressing experience it was for the people prior to her arrival.  She has brought a warmth to the experience and much organization that really helps rid the frustrations that disorder can create.      

As a team yesterday, our desire was to provide the families with a gift in which they could use to prepare a special meal for Easter.  To most of these families, fresh meat is a luxury, so you can understand the smiles and expressions of gratitude we received.  We purchased the chickens as a team and gave them out in the name of our church, Solae.  We also created a booklet with an Easter message that we pray will be read (that alone would be an answer to prayer) and that hearts will be touched by the hope we have in Jesus because of his resurrection.

We are praying that this simple gesture and gift would open up doors to further communicate the gospel.  The economic situation in Italy is going from bad to worse, very rapidly.  Could this be a means in which God chooses to draw people to himself?  We pray so.  We pray also for great wisdom and compassion to reach into the lives of so many hurting people around us.

 Our display and chickens in the crate on the table

 Booklet "Jesus touched the coffin"

(Sorry, I can't seem to rotate the image)

Luca stayed home from school for the afternoon since he was not feeling well, and although he covered the flash with his hand, at least we have a picture to show of us right before opening the doors at 3:00.  

This is after the initial rush of people came through for their Easter gift.  I hesitate to take any closer or better people pictures in order to protect their privacy and be sensitive to what can be very a humiliating thing for so many in asking for help.  You can however, see the table through the people in which Melissa serves tea and cookies.

On Monday, Melissa and I spent the entire morning together making 150+ cookies.  We had to double the normal amounts needed only because we had asked all the families to come yesterday to receive a special gift.  There are basically two groups that rotate being seen every other week.