The Weekend

Last week our van was at the mechanic's for four days which left us house-bound and a little stir crazy by the end of the week. Thus, it was all the more appreciated when we were able to get away this past weekend. On Friday we had our field council over to our house for an early Independence Day celebration. We enjoyed grilling and had a wonderful afternoon of fellowship together. Our kids lit some sparklers before bedtime and that pretty much concluded our July 4th celebrations on this side of the pond, apart from touching basis with family back in the States on Saturday.

Mike & Prisca (+ baby)

Over the past month we have had the great joy of reconnecting in person with Mike and Prisca Eberly on two occasions. A month ago they came to Torino and stayed with us for a night before heading up to France. We met each other back in the fall of 2006, while living in Perugia. It had been two years since we last saw each other. They are an amazing godly couple and we have been so blessed through their friendship over the years. The Lord moved them to Mantova shortly after we left Perugia. This past Sunday we drove the 3 1/2 hours to visit them. The kids were thrilled for the road trip and managed the trip quite well even without a working air conditioner in the van.

We arrived in time for lunch, and then the guys headed out to a music festival in Parma which was about an hour away. One of Jonathan's favorite UK bands was one of the six featured bands at the festival and with it being free it was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. The guys had a great time together as it was something they both could appreciate being musicians themselves.

Jonathan discovered Pineapple Thief when we arrived in Italy and has been a part of their forum for several years now. He has developed friendships with many fans and band members alike through this on-line venue. Needless to say he was thrilled to finally see them play live, meet the band and also several forum members who made the trip from the UK. He was so excited to tell me that when he struck up a conversation with the guy at the merchandise table and introduced himself, the guy said, "Oh, Bruce [lead singer] wanted me to come get him when you arrived because he wants to meet you." Rarely do you find an artist that interested in meeting a fan, but according to Jonathan's interactions with them they were all very much down to earth and genuinely interested in his life. They even gave him a free t-shirt! It made Jonathan's day to attend a concert and I was just as excited for him to have this experience. However, his itch and longings to be a in band again were rekindled. It definitely brought his memories back to his Semblance days. Ah, well! The weather even held up despite the forecast predicting an 80% chance of rain for the entire day.

Pineapple Thief + Jonathan

While the guys enjoyed their afternoon/night out, the kids and us women had a very active and more exhausting time. We decided to walk to a "nearby" park so the kids could play. However, it was a much longer walk than anticipated especially with three little ones and no stroller. It took us 45 minutes to walk there in the heat but the kids managed it pretty well. When we arrived Prisca (5 months pregnant) and I crashed on a bench while the kids somehow still had enough energy to play for over an hour. We stayed as long as possible hoping it would cool down a bit and be more shady for our walk home. The park was amazing, it felt as though we were in America with the beautiful lush, well kept lawn and open space.

There was a small pond with ducks, chickens and geese that kept the kids' attention as well.


On the way we stopped at a smaller park to refill bottles of water and catch a bit of rest in the shade. When we finally arrived at the bigger park, Emma revealed to us two huge blisters on her heels, one of which had already popped. Thankfully, I had my first-aid kit with me and enough band-aids to replace them several times on the way home. Emma was wearing shoes that were too small and we ended up having to switch her shoes with Luca. I told Luca I would not take a picture that would later come back to haunt him of him sporting Emma's purple flowered shoes. Luca's sandals were bigger and the exchange worked out enough so that I did not have to carry Emma back the entire way. However, piggyback rides were given the majority of the way home for Luca and Emma. I was exhausted and am still suffering from hip and back soreness today. The kids were asking to go to bed the entire way home, but go figure when they finally put their heads on their pillows it took them nearly two hours to settled down enough to go to sleep!

We drove home Monday morning and our overnighter really felt much longer than that. It was a great weekend though and we're so glad we made the quick trip!