Happy 12th Birthday, Samuel!

Yesterday we had the wonderful joy of celebrating another year of life given to our first born and precious son, Samuel David! The years have passed quickly from cradling him in our arms to now officially surpassing his mother in height. This past year he has gone from boy to young man and we couldn't be prouder for how the Lord is maturing and growing him both physically and spiritually.

Samuel is a bookworm just like his dad, but not only that, he has the ability to retain everything he reads. He loves to share his knowledge about everything from space facts, to Tolkien, to Duck Dynasty, to science, you name it. If he's read it, he'll share it! His siblings often get annoyed because he likes to say to them "hey, want to do trivia questions about ___?" And of course, it is usually a subject or topic they are clueless about, but that doesn't matter to him because he can just tell them the answer after they say "I DON'T KNOW, SAMUEL!" Seriously, when he asks me a question I don't know if he is really wondering the answer or if he already knows and just wants to share.

Since according to Samuel all knowledge comes from reading, he often believes that this will then translate into being able to physically do a task if you just read about it first. He gave us this argument years ago when learning how to ride a bike. The other day he saw the tortilla package on the counter with written instructions on how to fold a burrito.  He exclaims to me "Why didn't you show this to me before? I would know how to fold a burrito!" When in fact I have been instructing him for years on the proper technique of burrito making--you are one quarter Mexican after all!

The kids just had a four day weekend for Carnivale vacation and to make things even sweeter when having to return to school on Wednesday they had a late entrance of 10:30.  Samuel got to sleep in on his birthday and it was nice to start the celebrations early considering it was going to be a long day of school for his siblings followed by picking up their report cards, which one never knows how long you might have to wait.  Thankfully, this time we only had to wait 2 hours instead of three or four, which got us all back home by 6:30pm.

Samuel was very happy to receive a new Kindle since his died a couple of months ago.

This year was a tough choice for Samuel in what to have for his cake. The past two years he has requested cheesecake, but his siblings convinced him that he should choose a themed cake (because they both hate cheesecake!) His choice: A Neutron Star! He said it would be easier to make than a black hole. We love you, Samuel!!  Happy 12th Birthday!

In honor of Samuel, here are some facts about Neutron Stars:
"Neutron stars are small, only about 6 miles across, yet they are heavier than the Sun. One teaspoon of material from a neutron star would weigh a billion tons. Neutron stars are covered by an iron crust, 10 billion times stronger than steel. Inside, they contain a liquid sea of neutrons--the debris from atoms crushed by a supernova explosion." Space a visual encyclopedia

Snowfall

We had about 12 cm (5") of snow back on February 5th.  I know, I know it is nothing compared to the feet of snow that our family in Michigan receives on any given winter storm that passes through their region. For us, our five inches was a really BIG deal and the first good accumulation in a couple of years here in the Po Valley. The fact that it snowed during the day was simply wonderful. Even if Samuel was laid up all day due to illness, he still managed to muster up the energy to play outside for a bit. Emma arrived late to the snow party as she was enjoying a well deserved rare nap (that is why there are fewer pictures of you, Emma! And not to mention you weren't in the mood for photos :b)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Far from the commercialism of the Valentine's Day hype that one experiences in the US, we celebrate in our own quiet way here. In Italy, the holiday is recognized between couples and not extended to those outside that category.  Therefore, there are no cutesy school crafts or the exchange of candy or valentine's notes. I am tired after caring for some sickies this week and anticipating and preparing for a big and busy week ahead.  Therefore, today left me with little energy to be creative.  I am so glad my kids are at an awesome stage where they can start to carry the load in the house, especially in the kitchen.  I told them if they wanted a fun treat for Valentine's Day that they could create whatever they wanted.  Red Velvet cake was one of the first things that popped into their minds.  Not sure why since I have never ever made that before.  But they are adventurous like that and it seemed like a reasonable challenge to make from scratch.  I helped find and print a recipe and the rest was up to them.  They worked well as a team with Samuel reading the instructions and Luca and Emma ensuring precision...

So maybe they added an extra bit of baking soda to an already leavened flour...but they were just following directions so it wasn't their fault.  The house was strangely filled with amazing cake smell along with the burning batter on the bottom of my oven....

It made us all think of the book "Five Little Monkeys Bake a Birthday Cake" (for Mamma).  At least we didn't have to call in the fire department for the burning cake...

Emma was chosen to be cake writer since she has the best handwriting (although Samuel was willing to debate that)...

Samuel made sure his heart was very symmetrical...

And Luca finished it off with his flare and creative touches!

Happy Valentine's Day!
With love from Samuel, Emma and Luca