Not Thru Yet

Last night Gavin came to me at bed time and said, "Mom, I feel weird."

"What's wrong, buddy?"

"I don't know. . . I just feel weird."

And then tears brimmed in his eyes.  "I miss Italy."  The tears no longer brimmed.  They flowed.

I grabbed him, and we sat in our big red chair and cried.  Both of us.  I had really been missing Italy yesterday too.  I was missing our little corner on Via Arno, by now all decorated with lights and full of the anticipation of Christmas.

"I wish we could get on a plane tonight to go back," he said.

"Me too, buddy.  What would you do as soon as you got there?"

"Go get gelato."

"What else? What else do you miss?"

"I miss Via Arno."

Me too.  A lot.  Last week the ache for Italy wasn't as strong.  But yesterday it burned.

There are days I want to announce that our "transition" back to the States is over.  Funny how I'm not sure that day is going to come any time soon.  As soon as I begin to think we're settling into where we are, a flood of memories and emotions come back to remind me that it will never feel like a clean break.  Our life in Italy will always be a part of us.

My sweet Gavin.  His heart is so tender.  What a sweet moment it was last night to let our tears intermingle and our hearts share the ache of the life we left behind.

"Mom, I miss running to beat you down the stairs too."

Yeah, me too.

How Did That Happen?

I apologize for not posting last week.  I was on my death bed with a "flu-like virus."  It was u-g-l-y.  I am finally recovered, and I will never take my health for granted again!

I wanted to post a couple of pictures of what has absolutely taken my breath away this week.  The first is of our little Maximus.  He is not so little any more!  He weighs more than Ben now.  He is still so sweet and gentle and cuddly and perfect.

The day we picked him out.  Four weeks old.

The day we brought him home.  Nine weeks old.

And today!  Five months old.  How does that happen?  Did I mention he's probably not done growing?  Cody's hoping he reaches 80 pounds!

And then even more shocking, how did this precious three-year-old. . .

Become this stunning (and incredibly fashionable) ten-year-old?

Yes, the time is flying.  We fall more in love with Max every day, he becomes ever more attached to us, and our daughter is blossoming into the most beautiful, creative, fun, spiritually-minded young lady.

Thanks for caring about our family and bearing witness to such milestones with us.  We are honored.

Playing Around

We are headed into a couple of weeks of craziness, with mom taking a theological development class next week.  It actually started last week when I began having to devote copious amounts of time to preparing for said class.  But on Friday, I begin 9-4 every day for a week.

There is nothing like mom's household time being limited to throw a family into a tizzy.  So this week is packed with doctor's appointments, grocery shopping and cleaning.

That sounds fun, huh?! Especially if you're three. :)

So we started off the day with a little play.  Ben put every piece of track he had end to end.  One lucky little train traveled all the way from Ben's bedroom into the living room and then was promptly turned around for the return journey.  Only one train though.  Ben felt pretty strongly about that.

Unfortunately, playing can never last as long as desired.

It's back to cleaning, menu planning and the difference between atheistic and theistic existentialism.

So goes our crazy, missionary, family of five, wouldn't-trade-it-for-the-world life. 

Hannah Turns Ten!

Is she growing up or what?!? This is our beautiful daughter on her tenth birthday.  Her birthday is on New Year's Eve (which she loves!), and for the occasion, Grandma Phipps flew in.  Hannah was beside herself, and we had the best time.

She, of course, had the day planned out long ago (doughnuts for breakfast, time at the park, Mimi's Cafe for lunch, dad's ribs for dinner and a night watching Little House on the Prairie), and she loved every minute.  We also threw in painting some pottery, which was a great memory-maker with Grandma.

We are so proud this growing young lady.  She has demonstrated such courage in the past couple of years. This last year was a really hard year for her.  She gave up a lot for what God has called our family to do.  But it's been such a deep joy for us to watch her begin to develop her faith.  She is learning how to trust God with her own heart issues.

Hannah always keeps us on our parenting toes, but she daily blesses us with her creativity, her inquisitiveness, her leadership, and her strength.  She has so many incredible gifts.

And as I mentioned, we also got to enjoy four days with Grandma Phipps over the weekend!  The kids hadn't seen her in over a year, and they loved her attention.  Cody and I both were bedridden with the flu on New Year's Day, so we were also grateful to have to another mom in the house!  We really savored our time to be together again.

We enjoyed a sweet Christmas break with family, and we are looking forward to a new year.  We have much anticipation for what 2012 will bring, with its new season of life and ministry for our family.  Blessings on you and yours!