Finally...snow!

It may not be much, but it does qualify as our first snowfall for the winter--meaning it actually accumulated on the ground. The kids always get so excited when it snows. They woke up to the surprise this morning and it took them a good 30 seconds to figure out what they were looking at in the dark of the morning. We will enjoy it while it lasts (probably just through this afternoon).

Dragons

Care to see what Emma created over the Christmas break? I think seeing Dragon Trainer 2 got her all inspired to roll out this line of dragons. She is so proud of her creations and has been SO anxious for me to post pictures to share. We are indeed impressed with her craftiness and her incessant desire to always be creating things. God has uniquely and wonderfully created each of us, and we stand back in awe as parents watching character qualities and giftedness being revealed in our children as they grow and mature. What a gift they are to us! 

This is a "Banshee" that is 12-inches wide and was Emma's most complicated and lengthy project to date. She has her eyes set on making "Smaug" from the Hobbit that is three times as big. OH MY!

Holidays 2014 - Part Two

We did not celebrate the holidays with family nor even with our colleague who was back in the States, but we did have the joy of celebrating with another American family.  In November, we received an email from our friends who were having some visa issues in their host country and were told they needed to leave for at least fifteen days before reentering.  Needing a last minute place to stay we as a team offered to host them.  Melissa lent them her apartment which provided the space we all needed considering we had six kids between both families, and we hosted meals from around the corner.  Although their kids are a bit younger than ours, it was like having little cousins around and it was great fun.  Another bonus was that they are from the Grand Rapids area as well as one of our supporting churches meaning that the kids made an immediate connection of places, people and fun points of interest that they frequent on visits to grandparents.

The kids finished school on the 23rd, making Christmas Eve a little bit more frantic with preparations just not having the time prior while schedules were at full intensity.  We enjoyed a Christmas turkey dinner akin to Thanksgiving, but who doesn't like a roasted turkey more than once a year? 

Just a little work in the kitchen on Christmas Eve :)

Christmas morning the kids were up early, eager to open presents, of course. We had a quiet morning together enjoying the conclusion of our Advent readings and then watching overjoyed faces as everyone opened gifts. The kids got an archery set and that was a huge hit. Books, LEGOs and rubber bands also made the favorite list.

Luca's new scarf immediately turned into a Ninja costume

Wood burning tool for the boys

Our visitors left for a few days to visit Venice during the middle of their stay, at which period I got knocked out with a cold in part probably due to exhaustion.  I basically tried to do nothing for a few days and made good progress in my recovery by the time they returned.  New Years was low key for us playing games and watching movies.  The kids always love to watch the fireworks display from neighbors as we ring in the new year.

On January 3, Jonathan boarded a jet plane and headed to Dublin for a week. His third master's module was again a great time of learning and encouragement for him and I am so thankful for this opportunity for him to pursue higher education through the Irish Bible Institute. It was hard having him gone especially over the final four days of vacation for the kids, but having our friends around through the 6th was a helpful distraction. However, when he returns his bag is full of foreign delights such as half-priced Starbucks and Cheddar cheese--I am easily consoled!

For the first time ever I took people to the center of Torino all by myself for sightseeing. We braved public transportation with six kids and are so glad we got out on the most beautiful day of December with weather in the mid-50s that had us peeling off our jackets. All of Torino was out touring as it was the National Museum Day meaning that all museums in Italy were free admission. Of course, one would have to brave the lines to get in which we did not find worth it with our crew of youngsters. We walked and walked who knows how many miles, ate pizza and gelato on a final hurrah before they left.

This pretty much sums up our Christmas of 2014 and start to the new year.  We are excited to see all that the Lord will do in 2015--through the highs and the lows may He be glorified as our faith is increased and our hearts continue to be transformed to the image of Christ. I'll do my best to keep you posted along the way.

Holidays 2014 - Part One

I would like to say that I did not post about our holiday season until now, because it was a period of rest and time to walk life slowly.  Although there were moments throughout the season to breathe deeply and reflect, it did not happen as much as I would have liked.  As a family we did find that daily breath and reflection time in our observation of Advent.  The kids get so excited each year for our daily readings and ornaments to hang.  This year we enjoyed Ann Voskamp's new release Unwrapping the Greatest Gift in the evenings in addition to selected scripture readings in the mornings.  Although we already had two previous sets of ornaments from her prior publications, I couldn't help but print out the free printable ornaments to match the book.  The kids jumped right in and colored them beautifully which we then put on a wall calendar in our kitchen.  I am so thankful for this family tradition and for the deeper understanding our children are gaining from year to year of the significance of Christ's coming to be with us. 

Building a gingerbread house (thanks to IKEA) was also a repeat activity for us this year.

Non-stop Christmas baking seemed to encompass the entire month.  Baking for neighbors, Caritas volunteers and friends, in addition to what I bake weekly for those who attend Caritas plus for our own family meant that I spent a lot of time in the kitchen.  Oh and my dishwasher decided to die on me the beginning of the month and did not get fixed until just this week.  I had an ornament hanging near my sink that simply said "joy" which I needed as a reminder when the sink was an overflowing mess! The kids helped as they could but school kept them busy all the way until the 23rd.

Tray of cookies for a friend who had cancer surgery right before Christmas. She was overjoyed since she was not able to bake herself.

For our neighbors, we gifted them my homemade grape jelly from our fall harvest, a jar of cookies and Jonathan's CD. Our gift deliveries to our six neighbors took less than 3 hours this year, but still we had some time with each of them and are thankful for this time of year when hearts and homes are more open.

Ten plates of cookies for those that volunteer weekly at the local charity.

I was tired even before we hit Christmas day but it is always worth it to give and bless others in the name of Jesus.

Kleis Family Singers

We had the privilege of singing together as a family for the Christmas service on December 28th at the church in Torino that we are attending.  Jonathan of course insisted on composing a song and finished it with just a couple of days to learn and rehearse as a family.  Surprisingly this is the first time that we have all sung together.  Thanks to our Christmas guests, we had someone to take a video for you to see.  We are a small community and no one runs the sound system apart from turning it on, so therefore you get to hear mostly Jonathan's amazing voice instead of all of us, but the kids were singing even though you may not hear them.

Here is Jonathan's version of Psalm 98 put to music...

As another side note in the music department, Noella has been singing on the worship team and Emma even sang one Sunday with her.  Not necessarily considered the musical one of the family, however when you can count the number of regular women attendees in church on one hand, they will take any voice. ;)