Christmas in July

While Munga and Gramma were here the kids received their belated and early Christmas gifts--BIKES!  We had planned to get them as soon as we returned to Italy in January, but soon after we started to contemplate and pray about the possibility of moving.  With the uncertainty of whether or not our new location would be accommodating to bike riding we decided to put the gifts on hold.  Then we found a house large enough to store bikes and with access to a bike path nearby--praise the Lord!  The warmer weather took a while in coming this year and with the gift givers headed our way we thought it would be fun for them to be present when the kids picked out their bikes.

It was a test of patience in getting these bikes.  The first shopping trip the kids all found bikes they wanted, but then the salesman told us a storewide sale was starting a few days later.  We figured a few days longer would be worth the possibility of saving some money.  We returned to the store the morning the sale started only to discover that 1) the bikes were NOT on sale and 2) there were no longer any girl bikes!  Double bummer.  We should have adhered to our rule of thumb here:  if you see something and want it, get it.  Don't expect that it will be restocked in a timely fashion or that you will ever see it again.  Lesson learned...again.  So we had the store put aside the bikes for the boys while we waited another week for the new shipment of girl bikes to arrive.   Thankfully our kids have adapted to the unpredictability of life here and did pretty well in the wait.

A HUGE thank you to Munga and Gramma for the new bikes!  And thank you too for fixing up my bike so that at least one of us can ride along with the kids for now.  

Full House

Casa Isonzo is hopping with hospitality this summer--33 days of it to be exact!  Thus the reason for sporadic and delayed postings here on the blog.  Upon returning from Croatia we had one week to plan, prepare, organize and work ahead before Jonathan's parents arrived from Michigan.  With a translation project of 300+ pages to complete and a house to pack up by the end of August, there is no time to sit and twiddle thumbs.  Add to the fact that it takes a lot of energy to keep three kids from driving each other up the wall.  Summer homework books are a welcomed distraction, but those didn't arrive until less than a week ago (and Luca's may not ever since the publisher is having printing issues).  So this mamma has had to create projects to do, a summer reading plan and chores to occupy time while my time is spent in the kitchen cooking, hanging laundry or packing boxes--and trying to relish time with family.  

Munga and Gramma have already passed the first 11 days of July with us.  Time has gone by so quickly already!  

Currently, there is a brief 4-day break in their visit as they take a side trip up to England.  We have been laying low for the most part with them and carrying on with our regular commitments while they recovered from jet lag and aches and pains.  Nothing super exciting but there is something to be said for just living with us in a normal rhythm of life.  The number of "Go Fish" games has exceeded my count and nothing beats lots of grandkid cuddle time and silliness.  We are so thankful for the time we get to share with them this summer and anticipate our remaining days together before they leave on the 20th.

Then we have a week to regroup before welcoming Noella's brother and family from Iraq.  They will be here for 2 weeks then head off for a one-week side trip before returning for a final couple of days and then depart on August 19.  That will then leave us with less than 2 weeks to finish packing up the house and repainting the new house before we move in on September 2.  Wow! Really?!  I'm tired just reading all of that--but I wouldn't trade it for any other way!

Family Vacation

Summer vacation began for us mid-June when the kids got out of school.  The calendar was already filled up with scheduled visits from family and preparing for our move.  We did not think we would be able to get away as a family this year, but at the last minute we decided the need for rest and concentrated time together as a family before the intense summer was very important and needed to be a priority.  Our last "just us" vacation was four years ago when we went to Paris.

The options were vast to choose from as you can imagine from the Alps to international renown cities to the seaside.  And with so many countries within striking distance it made for a fun search.  In the end, we decided that Croatia provided the perfect atmosphere with quaint villages and cities to visit but nothing that would require intense days of sightseeing and fighting massive crowds.  When we told our families where we were going, everyone's response was the same:  "Croatia?! What's in Croatia?"

Croatia was the former Yugoslavia up until 1991.  It is a country known well to European vacationers, but overlooked by the American traveler.  Croatia's Adriatic Sea contains more than 1,000 islands and in the Croatian part of the Istria Peninsula where we stayed the earth is red in color.  Vineyards, olive groves and lavender fields throughout the region give great resemblance to Tuscany.  In fact, Italian is a minority language in Istria due to their history of Venetian rule and most signs were written in Croatian and Italian, making our travels and communications very easy.  We vacationed during the final days of the use of the Kuna as on July 1, Croatia entered the European Union.

We thoroughly enjoyed our family vacation in Croatia and would return in a heartbeat.  The house we rented had a pool and with the ideal Mediterranean weather the kids spend no less than 3 hours a day swimming.  Little excursions were made throughout our time, but it was so nice to only be gone for a few hours or half a day.  It was hot for sure, but with the cool of the stone house, frequent intake of gelato and refreshment of the pool made it was more than bearable, even if we had no AC in our van.  I did a lot of food preparation in advance and brought it with us, so even though I was cooking on vacation it was still very relaxing.

The kids had a blast with their highlights being the cave exploration, climb up the bell tower, aquarium, ice cream and pool.  I could go on but will save my rambling of special memories for a private journal.  I did my best to narrow down the 800+ pictures to give you a glimpse of Croatia and our unforgettable family vacation. Enjoy!

Piano Recital

On Saturday, June 15th Samuel and Emma participated in the end of the year musical association recital.  Thankfully this year the recital was not held on a school night and they started with the younger performers at 4:00 in the afternoon.

Samuel and Emma resumed their piano lessons after a seven month break while we were in the States last year.  They both returned to their studies with Samuel the ever willing enthusiastic player and Emma a bit more reluctant and disinterested.  We are so proud of them and that they desired to play for God's glory whether they played perfectly or not.

 

When did they grow up?!

I was a nervous wreck as Emma was frantically trying to memorize her piece just days prior.  I did that once myself and it was a disastrous performance.  A very similar thing did end up happening to her when the next note just didn't come to her finger tips.  I admire her courage and composure as she just restarted the whole piece and played it through without any problems,  something I was unable to do under the same pressure.  Emma played "Minuet" by J.S. Bach.

Samuel was very calm, although his practicing was more steady from day one and he quickly memorizes music.  I wanted to insist they carry their music with them on stage but both were sure they could play from memory.  Go kids!  Samuel played "Swanee River" by Stephen Foster.

Maestro Ruben with his star students

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".