Grape Harvest

We have four grape vines in our yard and even though we were not home over the summer months to care for and prune them, the fruit is abundant.  The grapes have a marvelous flavor, but unfortunately the skins are bitter and they are filled with too many seeds for anyone in the family to really enjoy.  Each day the smell of ripened grapes filters through our window and I feel bad that they are seeming to go to waste.  Thanks to my dad--who is ever full of agricultural advice, motivated me to try to at least make grape juice.  Since the kids had no school today (in celebration of our city's patron Saint) I figured it would make for a good productive project on this gorgeous fall day.

We seemed to barely make a dent in our grape collection, but three hefty bowls of grapes were harvested and enough to get started with...

Thankful to have a large wash basin in our laundry room, we made sure to give the grapes a good washing to remove bugs and dirt...

Then with a gentle pulling the grapes basically fell off their stems with greater ease than I expected...

Another rinse...Then off to crush with a potato masher to release the juices...

After bringing to a boil, they gently simmered for 10 minutes...

Straining came next...

The fresh grapes yielded 7+ liters of white grape juice...

Best of all, the taste was approved by everyone!

We have five days or so to drink the juice or I better start to learn how to make and can grape jelly or juice.  If anyone has any recipes or tips on either, let me know because there are a whole lot more grapes left on the vines!

First Day of School

                           

And we're off on another academic year of adventure here in Italy! We are so very proud of our now THIRD, FIFTH and PRIMA MEDIA (6th) graders in the family.  There were a bit of nerves running through the two older kids over the weekend in anticipation of their first day.  However, we are thankful for a good night's rest and stomachs that could handle breakfast this morning.  And now that the first day is over with, they are all feeling so much better and excited to report that their first day was "AWESOME!"

Luca had no arguments or worries about heading back to school.  He of course led the pack on our walk to school, as is normal.  He was non-stop chatter all the way home about his morning...telling us how he talked about his vacation in America and that his friend Nati saved him a seat and that he didn't get in trouble.  We are so proud and encouraged to see how much Luca has been speaking in Italian since we got back.  The quote of the day from Luca was: "this was the awesomest day of my life!"

                                          

Emma also had a good morning and much relieved that there were no interrogations!  The academics can be tough here, but thankfully they kick off the school year gradually with half days for the entire first week.

                            

Samuel started middle school today and of course they began the assembly to parents and incoming 6th graders by saying that middle school lasts 3-5 years as you can only fail twice.  No wonder these kids get all freaked out before they even begin middle school.  The pressure is on!  Just take a look at the stack of books Samuel has...and he is still missing 2 or 3!  Oh, and here we start to pay for books in middle school with the price tag of what you would expect for college academics.  Crazy, huh?!

Samuel was happy to have three other classmates from 5th grade in his section and is feeling much better having the first day under his belt.  Now off to start his French homework for the night!

Home Again

We returned to Italian soil on Saturday safe and sound. After a scare we might not make it back as scheduled due to an Italian air traffic control strike in Rome, we were so thankful that for us it only meant a 2 hour delay. I doubt others were so lucky at the look of this monitor...

We are home. We are tired. We are grateful. We are happy. We are ready to continue God's work by his grace and strength.

West Coast

We landed in California a week ago and it has been one hit the ground running, non-stop action kind of a week!

We started off on a good foot for sure by hitting up In-N-Out within the first 30 minutes of our visit!  Need I say more?!

The Fisher family is spread far and wide around the globe and with our coming and going, you can imagine how each and every minute is a gift for all of us to be together.  Therefore, there is no wasted time, thus the non-stop action.  The cousins were living on pins and needles for weeks, maybe months, for the arrival of Samuel, Emma and Luca.  And are now having a blast.  As Luca told Diego after a full day together, "This was the best day ever!  You know why? Because you were here ALL day!"

My older sister and her family are packing up and preparing for their soon return to the Dominican Republic as missionaries.  This past weekend we held a two-day garage sale as a fundraiser for them. Items were donated from churches and we sold them.  The kids sold cookies, Emma made rubber band bracelets to sell and everyone participated from young to old.  It was a very successful event and it was a joy for our family to participate.  I often feel so far away and helpless in serving my own family so this opportunity to physically be present and participate in blessing my family meant so much to me, despite the exhaustion that followed.

We also had the joy of meeting our newest niece, Nyah, for the first time this past weekend.  The 8 kids, ages 3-11, all get along so well and love each other deeply despite the distance that separates them more often than not.  What a gift of God's grace!  Maddie, who lives 1 hour and 15 minutes from Papa and Nano's house was in tears on the way home and the next day wishing they lived closer so she could see her cousins more.  So precious!  And now we are awaiting the arrival of Zoe on Tuesday to complete the cousin reunion.

Here is just a snapshot of the action...

Thoughts to Ponder

Not sure if these would all be on my top 10 list, but some certainly resonated and were expressed well in this following article.  Something to think about...

10 Things Missionaries Won't Tell You

Independence Day

We started off the holiday celebrations on the 3rd of July with a trip to the ballpark.  After all, what is more American than baseball?  It was a first for our kids and let me tell you--they absolutely loved the experience!  We cheered on the home town minor league team of the West Michigan Whitecaps.   It was a high scoring game with lots of action and even though our team lost 8-9, it was a great game.

 Rally cap time!

The kids were enthusiastic to say the least in their cheering.  We adults might have been more entertained by watching them than the game.  Heads kept turning around to see who was screaming.  They were highlighted on the big screen, but of course I was in the bathroom when they got on camera so don't have the proof of their fame.

We stayed after the game for the fireworks show, again another highlight for the kids.

The morning of the 4th, Samuel woke up with a fever and nausea (the same virus Luca had 2 days prior).  Therefore, our day was really low key.  Emma baked and decorated cupcakes and a cake, then she, Gramma and I went to a craft show in the afternoon.  Hamburgers on the grill were amazing and then we ended our day with fireworks in the driveway.

The kids were each given $5 from Munga and Gramma to buy fireworks at the dollar store.  It actually wasn't too bad of a show...not as dramatic as our next door neighbors, but why pay the big bucks when you can just watch theirs!

Happy Birthday, USA!