Another amazing highlight in April and a tremendous gift to
our family was the two-week visit from my mom. It was a relatively last minute
and unexpected visit with just a few months to anticipate her arrival. We
received notice in January that this years annual Leader’s Meeting for our
mission was also extending the invitation for wives to attend. It was a moment of “ooh, that is awesome!”
followed by the disappointing reality of how I am supposed to leave the kids
for a week? My husband was already two steps ahead of me in thought and
proposed that we fly my mom out to watch the kids. (Thanks Capital One miles!)
She was more than willing to come and traverse across the ocean all by herself from
California to come and spend some quality time with her grandkids while
Jonathan and I went to Berlin. Words cannot express our gratitude!
The awesome thing about the timing of her trip was that she
got to celebrate Easter with us! Rarely are we with family over holidays, so this
was indeed a special treat. She brought food coloring, plastic eggs and jelly
beans...the essentials for Easter traditions of which we cannot find here.
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| Per Italian tradition...the kids got their chocolate Easter eggs |
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| "Aebelskivers" a family holiday tradition from Solvang, California |
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| Easter breakfast |
We had our friends from the Bible study group with us on Easter day and Jonathan shared an Easter meditation prior to a BBQ and potluck lunch. It was a great time for mom to see and interact with those that we share life with here in Italy. We spent all day together eating, relaxing, Easter egg hunting and conversing on a beautiful spring day.
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| Games and Talent Demonstration for the Young and Young at Heart |
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| Our First Easter Egg Hunt in Our Yard |
Bright and early the next morning Jonathan and I caught our
flight out to Germany.
Being as it was Easter vacation for our kids, they only had
3 days of school that week. In fact, out of Nano’s 14-day trip the kids only
had 4 days of school total. That meant lots of quality time together!
She did an amazing job caring for the kids--no surprise there--and preparing all
of their favorite meals. Thanks to the suitcase full of authentic tortillas,
the kids enjoyed TWO taco nights, bean burritos, carnitas, sopa burritos and much more
while we were away. She out cooks me in the kids’ eyes, of which I whole
heartily agree! Ooh, and special compliments to her for never once blowing the power
breaker.
Emma learned how to knit and crochet from Nano. That was
something extra special and meaningful for my mom to be able to teach her
granddaughter. Emma is a fourth generation knitter and there is no stopping her
most recent obsession! She is now “psycho” like her Nano when it comes to
crafting. (That was Emma’s way to describe it, which gave us a great laugh
about her use of the word.)
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| Emma made the bunnies to send back with Nano to give to her Cali cousins |
Mom also was able to get me started on a weighted blanket
for Luca. The plastic pellets got delayed in the mail, so she was unable to
complete the project before she left. However, the prep work and initial sewing
was definitely a job for her expertise. She saved me SO much time and stress
and left me with the easy part of filling 160 pockets with 11 pounds of
beads, then sewing across her guide marks. Luca weighed the pellets for each pocket and helped me complete this project just days after mom's departure. Luca is thrilled and is benefiting
from the use of it this past month.
Nano was also able to celebrate some belated birthdays with
the boys...
...attend a friend's birthday party, watch Emma in her second gymnastics competition...
...walk the kids to school and otherwise get a good taste of day to day life for our family. That last experience is probably the most beneficial to her prayers and understanding of our routines and life having lived them alongside us for two weeks.
Special memories were made and we cherish the time we had
together. Thankful for the sacrifices made by both my mom and my dad to be
separated for a significant length of time in order to bless, encourage and
love on us in Italy. We love you and miss you tons!!
1 comment:
What a special blessing this was! I understand the significant of your mom being able to observe your daily routines in Italy. My in-laws were able to spend three months with us back in 2013, and it was so special to have Grandpa Garcia pick up the littlest boys from pre-school and make sweet memories.
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