So proud of Luca and his growing confidence in Italian and for his desire to read the scripture reading in church today before Jonathan's sermon. (2 Timothy 3:14-17)
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Friday, December 19, 2014
Birthday Time
Turning another year older isn't so bad especially when surrounded and loved upon by my precious family. For the busy time of year that it is, I have to give great credit to my husband who always finds ways to celebrate my birthday amidst the holiday hustle. This year, my actual birthday was a busy day of baking for our weekly ministry to the poor, then spending all afternoon with those needing assistance at Caritas, and concluding with some parent-teacher conference meetings. Well, the later my husband offered to attend while I cooked dinner. (Great reports by the way from Samuel's professors) Jonathan made me a fantastic cheesecake again this year.
Wednesday was a lighter day for us so we extended the celebrations and even took Emma and Luca out of school for the afternoon so we could do something fun as a family. Seeing as they have to go to school up through the 23rd, we had no problem playing hooky for an afternoon. Jonathan started out the day by taking me up to the Superga that overlooks Torino. It is a landmark church that is visible from all across the valley and a sight you see from an airplane view as you descent into Torino. Unfortunately, we have not been the best tourists to our own area and are determined to change that in 2015. This was a good start and a gorgeous view of the Alps and valley. There are hiking trails all around the hilltop and we hope to take the kids for a sunrise view on a clear winter day. If the mountains are breathtaking from down here below one can only imagine what they look like from this view on a clear day. And unfortunately, these pictures don't do the view any justice.
For the afternoon we headed out to see a movie followed by dinner. Bonuses included free popcorn at the theater, no cooking for dinner and ICE SKATING for FREE! It is rare to come across freebies in Italy and we hit two in one day! The kids were elated to try ice skating for the first time. This particular outdoor mall had a rink set up where you could use skates at no cost (okay, well you had to show a receipt that you bought something at the mall--but a coffee would have counted). It was an unexpected surprise to us and so much fun! And it worked out well since we had a half hour to spare before the restaurant opened up.
Wednesday was a lighter day for us so we extended the celebrations and even took Emma and Luca out of school for the afternoon so we could do something fun as a family. Seeing as they have to go to school up through the 23rd, we had no problem playing hooky for an afternoon. Jonathan started out the day by taking me up to the Superga that overlooks Torino. It is a landmark church that is visible from all across the valley and a sight you see from an airplane view as you descent into Torino. Unfortunately, we have not been the best tourists to our own area and are determined to change that in 2015. This was a good start and a gorgeous view of the Alps and valley. There are hiking trails all around the hilltop and we hope to take the kids for a sunrise view on a clear winter day. If the mountains are breathtaking from down here below one can only imagine what they look like from this view on a clear day. And unfortunately, these pictures don't do the view any justice.
For the afternoon we headed out to see a movie followed by dinner. Bonuses included free popcorn at the theater, no cooking for dinner and ICE SKATING for FREE! It is rare to come across freebies in Italy and we hit two in one day! The kids were elated to try ice skating for the first time. This particular outdoor mall had a rink set up where you could use skates at no cost (okay, well you had to show a receipt that you bought something at the mall--but a coffee would have counted). It was an unexpected surprise to us and so much fun! And it worked out well since we had a half hour to spare before the restaurant opened up.
I couldn't tell if Luca was struggling to skate or if he just found it fun to fall and roll on the ice. By the end of the half hour, he was so freezing cold and could not wait for dinner to be over so he could go home and change out of his wet clothes. A special birthday filled with fun memories...
Friday, December 12, 2014
Strike Day
Strikes in Italy are generally communicated well in advance whether that be for a bus strike, train strike, gas strike or teacher strike. There is usually enough time for you to make the appropriate adjustments even though highly inconvenient.
Strike notifications come frequently for the schools, but rarely do they actually follow through. This week only Samuel and Luca received a notice of a teacher strike for Friday. Emma did not, because well her teacher never misses a day or opportunity to more forward with her lesson plans, thus she NEVER strikes. It is communicated to you that you need to bring your child to school and verify whether or not the teacher is present before leaving your child.
Today Samuel arrived at school to find out that the professors for the first four hours of the day were on strike, and to return at noon for the final two hours since those professors were not on strike. Each class section was different as some resumed classes as normal and some were off for the full day. Like a studious and obedient student Samuel returned at noon to discover that he was the only one from his class that actually came back. I guess the students struck back. Instead of sitting in on the 8th grade English class and providing conversation for the students between he and the professor for two hours he called me to request I come pick him up. Go figure. At least it was a productive morning for him here at home to get ahead on homework for the weekend.
Luca ended up having classes which is what we expected.
Strike notifications come frequently for the schools, but rarely do they actually follow through. This week only Samuel and Luca received a notice of a teacher strike for Friday. Emma did not, because well her teacher never misses a day or opportunity to more forward with her lesson plans, thus she NEVER strikes. It is communicated to you that you need to bring your child to school and verify whether or not the teacher is present before leaving your child.
Today Samuel arrived at school to find out that the professors for the first four hours of the day were on strike, and to return at noon for the final two hours since those professors were not on strike. Each class section was different as some resumed classes as normal and some were off for the full day. Like a studious and obedient student Samuel returned at noon to discover that he was the only one from his class that actually came back. I guess the students struck back. Instead of sitting in on the 8th grade English class and providing conversation for the students between he and the professor for two hours he called me to request I come pick him up. Go figure. At least it was a productive morning for him here at home to get ahead on homework for the weekend.
Luca ended up having classes which is what we expected.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Emma's "Mega" Animals
I can hardly believe that I have not posted anything yet on Emma's obsession with the rainbow loom. She discovered at the end of the summer that in addition to making bracelets on the loom you can also make animals. With that discovery she was hooked (no pun intended) and has since gone from easy to extreme levels of difficulty on her projects. She has the patience to watch video tutorials on YouTube and if she gets bored she'll just invent the rest of the animal on her own. It is amazing to me the projects she has created without instructions.
For her birthday she got over 20,000 bands and she is plowing right through them! She even got Nano hooked on the craziness and they enjoy sharing new projects with each other every week on webcam.
Anyways here is a look at her "Mega" animals that I would estimate took her anywhere between 4-10 hours each, depending on the difficulty.
But first here is where she started...
Her most recent project: a Phoenix
It is hard to see in the picture, but there are two layers of feathers for the wings.
Wolf...
Sunday, November 30, 2014
November Wrap-up
It was a busy month that passed all too quickly, but here is a look at some happenings in November. Yes, we did carve our pumpkin a day late, but the traditional still held, so better late than never. As our family in Michigan received record levels of snow this month, we have been enjoying our temps in the 50s and are still waiting for the first freeze of the season. I have enjoyed my roses into the fall which makes me happy. Our fall colors reached their peak mid-November. Thankful for it all!
Thursday, November 20, 2014
CD Release in Italian
I am so proud to share that Jonathan has finally released his first CD in Italian, Lux Aeterna. No record labels or deals and no desire for profit, just the satisfaction of knowing that people are listening to your music is reward enough for him.
Jonathan has been composing music since before the time I met him and amusingly enough it was his first song titled in Italian, Noella Mia Bella, that captured by heart hook, line and sinker. Let's not forget the fact that he also composed ALL the music for our wedding. I have been on the receiving end of his amazing talent with songs written at defining moments of our relationship and I am truly blessed.
After years of dedication to learning the Italian language he has composed his first CD in Italian. I am in awe of his ability to communicate at a level that expresses the heart. For those that have learned a second language you know exactly what I mean. This project took him a year and a half to complete. Countless hours were invested in the composing, recording and mixing. I only ever heard pieces of the whole project--like the same line 500 times over and over, hour after hour--but when I finally heard all the pieces together it was truly moving. My mind can't even comprehend how he makes music, but I praise God that he gave my husband this gift.
The first printing of 300 CDs arrived the end of October and since then he has been passing them out to everyone who will take one. People have been amazed that he would just give them away and have been really touched by the gift. One school mom said she hasn't taken it out of her car's CD player since she got it. The barista lady liked it so much she gave it to her friend to listen to. Another missionary friend has asked permission to play it on their Christian radio station in Perugia. We continue to pray for the words of the songs to impact hearts, to cause reflection and to open more doors for us to be able to share the gospel. Will you pray too?
Just as soon as this project was complete he was on to the next. His current undertaking is to put 52 Psalms to music for the church. The idea is one Psalm for each week of the year. Just this week he has begun the recording process for the first 5 songs.
We give praise and glory to God for the things He has done and will do through Jonathan's passion for music and the church.
If you would like to hear the CD yourself, please head on over to his website: jonathankleis.bandcamp.com
You can make a donation to download the CD or simply name your own price of $0. Again, he just wants his music to be a blessing to others and isn't looking to make a profit. So pass the word! Oh, and there are actually TWO versions of this CD--one in English and one in Italian. Thank you to many of you who purchased the English version of the CD this summer. Your gifts were used towards the printing of the Italian version.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Party Time
Turning 10 is a big deal, a really BIG deal! We got a good laugh when Emma said "now I am double digits--next up, triple digits!" Sweetie, I won't be around to throw you a party in nine decades, but the celebration of your first decade was truly a blast!
On her birthday we spent four hours as a family at the local charity in the afternoon and she was a trooper having to wait until afterwards to open presents. She was delighted with every gift, oo-ing and ahh-ing over each one. She is so fun to watch opening gifts as every word on a card and every gift is just the best ever. Luca was too cute making her a money holder card all on his own in which he gave her $3 and 50 cents (everything in his wallet). Emma kept getting the money count wrong by saying "thank you, Luca for my $3" and he would respond "and 50 cents!" My heart sings for joy when I see the sibling love come out in unexpected ways.
Emma's birthday meal request was a steak dinner. I was thankful not to have to cook that meal as we headed out to our traditional birthday restaurant of Bam Bam.
This girl loves parties and maybe the planning of them just as much. However, she was kind of stumped on a cake theme this year. To me, the obvious choice was to highlight her rainbow loom craze with lots of colors. Emma got busy making cupcake pencil toppers out of rubber bands as party favors. Everyone was super excited about the little gift since favors are not a part of Italian party customs. I had to frantically make the final few as we had last minute confirmations and man, do I have more appreciation for her work and the hours of patience she has to pour over a project. I had more rubber bands flying around the room than I could count.
We hosted Emma's party the day after her birthday and even then it was a bit crazy trying to fit it into our schedule as we had to make a turnaround transition from party to Bible study within an hour of each other. But we did it and it was a great success.
Emma invited her entire class and eleven of her classmates and four siblings came to celebrate. Three of the siblings are in Luca's class so that was a special treat for him too. The kid count was 18 and the house was rocking. The kids brought their elastic cords to play the same jumping routine game I played in elementary school. I can't even remember what we called it, but it is funny how the same games get passed on from generation to generation. At one point there were three separate games going on, then it was on to Twister. A few of the moms stayed and we amazingly had really good conversations despite the decibel levels being through the roof. A couple are seriously interested in a Bible study with us! Be praying.
Presents and cake rounded out the evening. What a fun week of celebrations! Happy 10th Emma!
And more rainbow colored food...
On her birthday we spent four hours as a family at the local charity in the afternoon and she was a trooper having to wait until afterwards to open presents. She was delighted with every gift, oo-ing and ahh-ing over each one. She is so fun to watch opening gifts as every word on a card and every gift is just the best ever. Luca was too cute making her a money holder card all on his own in which he gave her $3 and 50 cents (everything in his wallet). Emma kept getting the money count wrong by saying "thank you, Luca for my $3" and he would respond "and 50 cents!" My heart sings for joy when I see the sibling love come out in unexpected ways.
Emma's birthday meal request was a steak dinner. I was thankful not to have to cook that meal as we headed out to our traditional birthday restaurant of Bam Bam.
This girl loves parties and maybe the planning of them just as much. However, she was kind of stumped on a cake theme this year. To me, the obvious choice was to highlight her rainbow loom craze with lots of colors. Emma got busy making cupcake pencil toppers out of rubber bands as party favors. Everyone was super excited about the little gift since favors are not a part of Italian party customs. I had to frantically make the final few as we had last minute confirmations and man, do I have more appreciation for her work and the hours of patience she has to pour over a project. I had more rubber bands flying around the room than I could count.
We hosted Emma's party the day after her birthday and even then it was a bit crazy trying to fit it into our schedule as we had to make a turnaround transition from party to Bible study within an hour of each other. But we did it and it was a great success.
Emma invited her entire class and eleven of her classmates and four siblings came to celebrate. Three of the siblings are in Luca's class so that was a special treat for him too. The kid count was 18 and the house was rocking. The kids brought their elastic cords to play the same jumping routine game I played in elementary school. I can't even remember what we called it, but it is funny how the same games get passed on from generation to generation. At one point there were three separate games going on, then it was on to Twister. A few of the moms stayed and we amazingly had really good conversations despite the decibel levels being through the roof. A couple are seriously interested in a Bible study with us! Be praying.
And more rainbow colored food...
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