Ohio

After our stop in St. Joseph, we drove to northeastern Ohio to begin our week in the Buckeye state.  In trying to keep our kids engaged while driving, I give them crop and animal identification quizzes and like to ask questions related to their surroundings. Here is an example:

Me: What is the nickname of the state of Ohio?
Samuel:  The Buckeye State
Me:  And what is a buckeye?
Samuel:  A deer eyeball.

:) I therefore proceeded with some education on the subject.  We've got two Buckeye's by birth in the family, but when you are a third culture kid, identification with your roots is always a complicated matter.

I always find it interesting how our kids' memories are triggered when we visit places and stay in peoples homes.  They insist they don't remember places or people, but if you can get them to remember the animals associated with the people it is instant recognition and the floodgates of memories start to spill out.  "Oh, this is the house where they had chocolate chip Eggos...this is where Trixie lives, the dog with one blue eye and one brown eye...this is where they had pet rats...this is where we played horse shoes...this is the church where we ate McDonald's happy meals in the lobby before the service..."

As they are growing older, your names are being remembered and the ways in which you have invested and blessed them in our brief visits are taking precedence over your identity as the owner of your pets.

Pastor and Mrs. Hayes are now identified as Cocoa's parents

After two church visits in NE Ohio, we drove to Cedarville where we camped out for the week.  So it definitely wasn't "camping" as we were hosted in the lovely home of our dear friends, the Potter's.  

We had a wonderful week reconnecting with friends and churches in the area.  Our days were full and nights were late, but the blessings of rich fellowship and encouragement received were truly a gift to us.  A highlight for us is always the time we spend with our home pastor and his wife.  We could not ask for better leaders and encouragers who are full of wisdom, vision, insight and understanding of missions and the unique challenges faced by missionaries.  They get it...and that is a gift to us along with their friendship! 

In addition to the late night game playing with Mrs. Potter, the kids love the peer interaction they get while in town.  This visit was highlighted by the growth in their bonds with the Wallis and Ardnt kids.  Samuel also really loved that he got a chance to attend youth group.

Thank you to everyone who spent time with us, opened up their homes, fed us, treated us to ice cream, the pool, told us they pray for us and so much more!  We love visiting Ohio and wish we could stay longer!

Our the road again...

Reunion in St. Joseph

Sarah, Tara, Jodi, Noella

It has been six years since this group of college friends have all been together.  Tara and I were roommates for three years in college and our families do see each other every time we are stateside due to our proximity in the mid-west.  Jodi and Sarah were roommates at Cedarville too and all three lovely ladies were nursing majors.  I always felt that maybe I should have received a honorary nursing degree.  

What a special abbreviated weekend we had together, June 20-21, in St. Joseph, Michigan.  Even though states and countries separate us and we go years without seeing each other, it is always a wonderful feeling to be able to pick up where we left off. A very special extra thank you to Jodi and family who drove from Minnesota and for Sarah and her family from Pennsylvania!  Your sacrifice meant so much to us and we are so thankful we were finally able to make this reunion happen.  Let's plan on not going six years between visits again, okay?!

We have celebrated a few births since our 2008 reunion and our kids have grown just a tiny bit...

The kids got along so well together and had a blast at the beach and in the hotel pool.  Our motley crew of 15 kids ranging from 6 months to 11 years old formed instant friendships.

And the hubbies (Jesse, Jon, Jonathan & Steve) were there too soaking up the fellowship...

Greenfield Village

Within the first week that we were back in the States we snuck in an overnight trip to Dearborn, Michigan with Munga and Gramma.  They treated us to a fun visit to Greenfield Village which is a part of the Henry Ford Museum.  It was a historic step-back-in-time experience as the streets were full of Model T's and horse drawn carriages.  A train ride on the steam powered engine was fun, but a bit dirty with coal ash flying on us.  Historical homes and buildings from Thomas Edison's Menlo Park full of workshops and the first light bulb, the Wright Brother's home and Bicycle Shop (yea, for our distant cousins!), homes of Noah Webster, Robert Frost, Henry Ford, George Washington Carver, Heinz and many more.  The kids really enjoyed the craft works section of the village where they saw glass blowing, helped on the printing press, pottery, textile and wool spinning demonstrations.  The kids were still recovering from jet lag as their endurance levels were unusually low and the effects were further confirmed when ALL three slept for the entire 3-hour drive home.  What a great little trip to give our kids a taste of American history!

Braces for Luca

Here is Luca with his new summer look.  Teeth straightening will be accomplished in 2 months time so he can return to Italy brace-less.  It was a dental day for him with a visit to Indiana this morning for a cleaning and two fillings on the area where his lower expander had been on for nearly two years.  We are so thankful for the generosity of both orthodontist and dentist that have covered these dental expenses for our family.

In the USA

We have safely reached the good old US of A.  Thank you for your prayers for us in preparing for departure and then as we made the long journey across the pond.  All went super smoothly; the kids ages for sure make traveling such a breeze now, which allowed us parents to get some rest in along the way.  That is as much as one can when sleeping upright.  The kids were wildly impressed and excited that not only did they get individual monitors on the airplane, but now they are equipped with a video game console.  Was it bad of me to let them play the whole 9 hour trip?!  I was exhausted and needed some rest, so don't judge me too hard on that one. 

We are currently enjoying our time of reentry and jet lag recovery in the comfort of Jonathan's parent's house in Michigan.  The kids have already been put to work helping in the yard.  Yesterday they unloaded two yards of stone gravel to lay under the deck.  Two kids fell off the truck in the process, but thankfully only suffered minor scrapes.  Luca was a work horse heaving stones and pushing the wheel barrow around.  

While the rest of us headed out for an afternoon doctor visit and shopping he stayed back with Munga and completed the project.  Later a neighborhood boy and former school mate came by to play with Luca and then invited Luca over to his house to swim in their pool.  He was super stoked about that and looks forward, along with the other two kids, to playing and swimming more with their friends on the block.

I just have to post this picture of a drawing that Luca and Emma made on their final day here one and a half years ago.  Impressively, Munga and Gramma have kept in on the dry erase board the entire time we have been away.  I love it!

After day 3, jet lag is finally taking it's obvious toll on some...just as I was getting jealous of the kids seemingly ease of transition.  Luca crashed at 5:00 today after a full day of eye and orthodontist appointments, shopping etc. and could not be awoken to eat dinner for anything.  We finally got him to wake up to get a scoop of ice cream but immediately he returned the couch completely knocked out.  Jet lag is tough!

Finishing and Beginning

These final two weeks prior to leaving for the USA have been very busy.  We are nearing the finish line of school and a ministry season with barely enough time it seems to catch our breath before starting another race at a sprinter's pace for the summer.  I have had moments of feeling completely overwhelmed, but "sometimes simply exhaling and doing the next thing is an act of defiance against stress." (Ann Voskamp)  So I focus on today and try to do things well in His strength.

Our hearts are heavy as we leave friends who are hurting and suffering, some of whom are living through such circumstances without hope or the ability to even turn their eyes towards the true source of peace, comfort and joy.  One woman is caring for her husband who has gone from well to being near his final days in the course of two months.  Another woman is awaiting two risky surgeries with an anticipated 50-day hospital stay, another friend is mourning the loss of her husband this past weekend, and more friends are struggling to put food on the table for their families.  It is hard to leave them.  Pray that the times we have shared the gospel and planted seeds would start to take root even in their sufferings and in our physical absence for the summer.

Our final days here have been filled with hospital visitation, a funeral, class parties, preaching, hospitality, graduate essay completion, a weekend graduate school course via Skype, Bible studies, orthodontist appointments, cake decorating, birthday celebrations (Jonathan's and Melissa's this week), meetings, homework, yard work, packing and the list goes on.

Pray we finish well AND start well...

Jonathan was able to complete another graduate school module via Skype over the course of one weekend in April and another in May.  We are thankful for the unexpected opportunity as he was going to have to skip this summer's module since we would be away.  Added bonus was that he was not away for a week in Dublin! He will begin writing his essay in the fall.

A friend of ours asked me for help with a birthday cake for her daughter who was turning 18.  It was a true collaboration as the mom baked the cake and prepared the cream filling, the daughter chose the cake idea and assembled the cakes, while I decorated.  Even with three pairs of hands, it took us a full morning to complete the task with the finishing touches added the next day.  They were thrilled with the results and the money saved.  Here one pays for a cake by the Kilo.  Therefore, this roughly 5Kg cake would have cost 100 euros (20euro/Kg) from the bakery!

Jonathan is well established in the preaching rotation at the church we attend during the interim as we await launching services of our own in Caselle.  It is a joy for me to see him passionately teach from God's word.  Love this man so much!

5-Day School Break

We are currently in the middle of an unexpected 5-day weekend, thanks to the regional elections taking place here in Piedmont.  We received notice of the 3-day closure of our kid's elementary school just one week prior.  It seemed to take everyone by surprise which is odd because posters have been plastered up everywhere of candidates and one would think that the place of voting would be known well in advance that the teacher's would have expected the interruption during the final days of the school year.  I don't pretend to understand the Italian logic or their methods of communication and organization.  It is what it is, and our kids are thrilled for the extra days off, making their official countdown of remaining school days: 6!

Luca had a class field trip scheduled well in advance for this Wednesday.  His class will still go even though there is no school.  So Luca gets a 4-day weekend.  Emma's teacher has gone so far as to arrange the use of the church's annex for Tuesday and Wednesday mornings so that they can continue on with the material she had planned to cover for the year.  We were told of the arrangement on Friday afternoon and although not officially mandatory, if she missed she would have to make up any work from those days.  Therefore, Emma gets a 3-day weekend.  Samuel on the other hand will enjoy the full 5-day weekend.

With the end of school in sight and the anticipation of going to America the day after school ends, the energy levels of the kids has really ramped up!  If they are not bouncing off the walls, there are lots of sibling irritation and disputes erupting that are really starting to frazzle my nerves.  Trying to remain patient and loving among fights and what seems like constant whining is very tiring when I have a very long list of things to prepare for in leaving for 3 months.  Prayers for patience and strength would be much appreciated!