NEW Piggies

It has been a very long 10 months since our beloved "Mac" passed away, and the kids have been anticipating getting new guinea pigs. There was no point in getting new piggies, when we would then have to find someone to care for them during the summer and we would miss out on the fun and bonding time with them while they were little. So you better believe that acquiring guinea pigs were at the top of our priority list when we got home, right after stocking the fridge with food.

Learning from our past experience with Mac, the kids immediately declared that we needed two piggies because they would live longer and be happier. Who couldn't resist the double dose of cuteness?! Two piggies, therefore mean having adequate space for them to live in, and so we ordered the perfect piggy palace that also met our tight space restrictions. Jonathan spent a good 3.5 hours building this piggy dream home.

 Our tri-level Piggy Palace sits perfectly in our kitchen corner 

After school on Tuesday, September 11, we went to a pet store in Torino. We called around to several stores prior and this was the one with the most selection available of guinea pigs. It was love at first sight when we saw the copper-colored guinea pig. He was the smallest of the brood and a must have for us all. Desiring to take home two guinea pigs, our choices were to choose two females or a male-female combo. According to the research done by our kids, they said that male guinea pigs are more interactive and bond better with humans. Therefore, two females were not an option for them. So even though this choice poses a certain intervention in the coming months so we don't start a guinea pig farm, it will be worth the cost. The other straight haired guinea pig that captured our eye was the one with the white and beige body and grey eyemask. She was a little bit bigger than the other and so pretty.

Double-cuteness and Double-trouble

The choosing was super easy but the naming was much more painful! Surprise, surprise that everyone is much more opinionated than they were seven years ago. Eventually, everyone realized that there are some hills not worth dying upon and names were finally suggested that everyone could live with. So without further ado meet...Rambler and Cocco. Rambler is the little brown one and Cocco is the white one.

It has been nearly two weeks since we brought them home and their personalities are now becoming more evident. Rambler is living up to his name and loves to talk! He squeaks for his food, talks back to me when I am in the kitchen and is the voice for Cocco. His noises are adorable and rumbles with delight when he gets some petting and loving. Cocco, on the other hand, has not muttered a word as far as we can tell. She likes her quiet and dark spaces and is much timider. She is intelligent and speedy fast and was the first to discover how to use the ramps in the cage. Rambler was not happy at first when she would disappear and he couldn't find her. But now he has it figured out too and they make for a crazy wild pair in the mornings when they play and run up and down the ramps. 

We thought to weigh them after their first week home and Cocco was 10.2 oz and Rambler was 8 oz. They are tiny for sure and are estimated to be about 60 days old. 

We are in love with our new furry little friends!

The box we brought them home in. They were pretty frightened.

Rambler fit in the palm of my hand

Rambler reminds us of Mac

Happy kiddos

Cocco may be quiet but she doesn't fight being held

Putting their size into perspective with this photo

School Begins Again

There were a whole lot of memories made and blessings received over the course of our summer in the United States. Did I share a single one? Nope. Will I? I hope to, but I cannot promise anything at this point. So I think it best, for now, to just pick up where we are currently in life and move forward. 

Last you read, the school year was finally over. And here we are mid-September posting about the school year starting again. We returned to Italy on September 7, and all the kids started school on Monday the 10th. The weekend was full of running around picking up book orders, supply shopping, finishing up summer homework and working through jitters and jet lag.

This is the first year that our kids are all attending different schools. Three different cities. Three different means of transportation. Three different schedules. It sounds chaotic and honestly, it feels chaotic until we get used to the new norm.

All the kids have had a good first week and a half of school. They are still on a provisionary schedule meaning: Luca is done at noon for the first two weeks; Emma was done at noon last week and 1pm this week and most likely next week too; Samuel is done at 1pm and is also looking at another week of the same. Once all the professors are in place, the weekly schedule will then be set for classes, and then they can resume their full days of school that will be until 1pm or 2pm (depending on the day and school).

SAMUEL

10th Grade

Liceo Classico - Torino

Samuel has returned to the known quantity of his high school, classmates and professors. He will have a couple of changes in teachers but other than that he has just picked up where he left off. The bus stop did switch drop-off locations in Torino so that threw him the first day back, but he navigated his way to school successfully even if going a roundabout way to get there. I take him and pick him up from the bus stop in Caselle every day.  

EMMA

9th Grade

Liceo Scientifico - Ciriè

Emma had a fantastic start at her new school. She has quickly made new friends in her class and is so thankful for how God worked everything out for her to switch tracks and schools at the last minute. She now travels on the train with a whole slew of friends from Caselle. For now, Emma walks to the train station in the mornings (12-minute walk) and I pick her up on her return home. If the weather is bad, she will need a ride to and from the station. 

LUCA

7th Grade

Scuola Media - Caselle

Luca struggled to get all his summer homework done over the summer months, but once school started he was super motivated. After his first day of school, we spent about 7 hours completing his one grammar/reading comprehension book that he was to bring in the following day for correction. We worked non-stop to get it done and then, of course, the professor did not have time to correct it. (Insert eye roll and sigh). Hopefully, we can work on his procrastination tendencies this year. He has had a lot of entry tests these first weeks. He too is happy to see his friends again. Thankfully, Luca can walk to and from school making that one less trip out in the car for me.

We pray this year will be a wonderful year of growth and maturity for our kids, a year to deepen their dependency on Christ, make new friends and have fun while learning!