So Lovely

We had another full weekend, filled with those most dear.

Last week 17 students from the States arrived to spend five weeks engaging students about the gospel.  We love the energy these students bring and rejoice in what God always does through their time here--and in them.  Saturday morning Cody spent some time talking to them about what evangelism looks like in Italy.  He is so good at that.

That night we had dinner with friends and then on Sunday we went over to some others friends' home to celebrate a birthday.  The weather was perfect, and we savored time to just sit and be.

The whole weekend was delightful, but one thing stood out to me, as my kids ran and played and talked and shared.  Hannah is growing up!  She is becoming such a lovely young girl--inside and out.

This morning, I just wanted to celebrate her beauty.  And give thanks that I get to be her mom and watch her grow up.

Evidence #1 that she is growing up is the control she now exerts over her hair.  She is serious about having those bangs and wanting to grow her hair long again!  She also loves that she can put it in a ponytail by herself now.

Beautiful.

And always overflowing with personality!

For some reason, Hannah and Cody got into a fierce tickle torture war this weekend.  Her giggle was so contagious!  Her fun spirit overflows with joy.

Our baby girl isn't exactly a baby anymore.  We're entering a whole new phase of parenthood, but it is deeply good.

Pedibus

Pedibus (ped--ee--boos).

What the heck is a Pedibus?  It does kind of sound like a bad skin rash, doesn't it?  It just so happens to be a very unique new initiative our community is trying with school kids.  It translates roughly into "walking bus."

In an effort to get kids walking more, they've organized a walking route to get kids to school in the morning.  Cody volunteered to help lead the our "line" on Tuesdays.  So last week, the Pedibus started its inaugural route.  

Cody leading the Green Line into the school

We walk to school almost every day, so we thought it was a fun idea to get a group together to walk with each other.  We were both shocked at how organized it was though!  Kids and volunteer parents all got vests to wear and all along the "route" are posted signs with the "stops" the Pedibus makes.  All very official.

Signs for four of the routes' stops.

After the fact, we realized the Pedibus was a much bigger deal than we had thought!  The community (hard to translate to something in America--it almost operates as its own little town) took lots of pictures of the first day of operation and posted them on their official website (that's where these came from. . . ).

Safe at school

The irony of it is that only Cody and one other parent volunteered from our route to lead the Pedibus.  So our line only operates on Tuesdays--and there are only two weeks of school left. :)  But we're doing our part to contribute!  Really, it's all very fun.  Hannah had a great time, and I'm pretty sure Cody did too.

Happy Birthday Cody!

I need to write an abbreviated blog today. :)

Tomorrow is Cody's birthday!!  Doesn't he just get more handsome every year?

To celebrate, this past weekend we took a trip without the kiddos up to the northern region of Italy for a wine-tasting tour.  We had never been up there before, and it was like visiting a different country.  In fact, we heard far more German spoken than Italian.

It was absolutely lovely in every way.  I don't think Cody could have asked for a better weekend or a better way to celebrate his big day.

Happy Birthday to the love of my life!  I am so thankful to be bearing witness to the life God has given you.

An Italian Childhood

Our kids had a great time in America last Fall.  But if you ask Hannah, she will say, "I don't want to go back to America for a long time."  Though she likes the US, Italy is her home.  A totally normal thing for a missionary kid.  But still a little weird for Mom and Dad.

Our family has experienced all the same events during our time in Italy, but our kids are being shaped in an entirely different way than we are.  Their childhood memories will be completely different than ours ever were.  Riding trains are a normal part of life.  They go to school in classrooms where the lights aren't turned on unless it's raining outside.  Just different.

Of course, a big part of an Italian childhood are birthday parties.  We have said it before, but they are just a huge part of childhood for the kids.  We went to yet another party this weekend, and it was a fully typical Italian party.

The family of the birthday girl rented a social community center and invited every kid from class, plus all the extended family.  Birthday parties are such a big deal that there are business who provide the entertainment and activities.  This family hired such a company.  Above, the kids are playing old-fashioned tug of war, facilitated by the entertainment guy.

Sack races, using trash bags

Of course, a group of boys gathered to play soccer.  Gavin played for the entire evening.

In between planned activities, there was lots of dancing.  Here is Hannah with her friends, doing a choreographed dance they often do during recess at school.

Mostly Ben sampled the food and made sure the swing got a workout.

Food is an integral part of every birthday party.  And you usually have to feed a lot of people!  At this party, they served fresh crescentini.  Crescentini are something specific to Emiglia-Romagna (the region of Italy Bologna is in).  In fact, our friends who live in other parts of Italy have never even heard of them.  Very representative of what Italian cuisine is like--vastly different dependent on region.  

Anyway, we LOVE crescentini.  They are one of our very favorite things.  Basically, they are sopapillas that you use as sandwich bread.  You spread something similar to cream cheese on it and then top it with sliced meats.  This meat is cured prosciutto.  Then you fold it in half and enjoy!  On the sweeter side, you can also spread nutella or jams on top.  Yummy, yummy, yummy.

Italian etiquette is that you don't leave until the birthday cake has been cut--usually about two hours into the party.  This cake was tiramisu.  And it was good. :)

After the cake, but before the presents were opened, the entertainment crew did a magic show.  That was a first for us.  

The weather was beautiful, and we enjoyed every minute of being outside.  Gavin was quite upset when we finally left at 7:30 to get the kids to bed.  "But Mom, we only got to stay for three hours!"  And truly, we were the first people to leave. 

This is where we seem to have the best ministry opportunities.  Three hours of partying leaves a lot of time to chat with the other parents.  It's what the kids will remember as their "normal childhood," and it's what we'll remember as the environment God used to teach us a lot about Italian family and culture.

The World's Newest Yellow Belt

Sorry I'm a day late this week.  We just got back from our Agape Italia Staff Conference, and I brought back a little virus with me.  I'm moving slow. . .

Just before we left, there was great excitement in the Phipps household, when we watched Gavin participate in his Taekwondo belt test.  We are proud to say we now have an official yellow belt amongst us, AND an official card-carrying member of the Italian Taekwondo Association.

My kids never cease to crack me up, and this new accomplishment brought with it some great new quotes. "Mom, when I'm a black belt, I'll be able to kill someone without using a weapon."  Ah, boys.  And "Mom, guess what?!  Dad says if I keep doing karate, I'll be able to do the moves they did in Tron!"  It's all about the cool factor!

For the grandparents, and those who are interested, here's a short video of Gavin's testing and certification.  It's about 2 1/2 minutes. We are so proud of our little warrior!