A Culinary Schizophrenic

Can I confess one of the most paralyzing things I've experienced since being back in the States?

Deciding what to cook and going to the grocery store.

It seems like it wouldn't be that hard.  Kind of like getting dressed in the morning.  You just do it.  For the first month after we returned, I was struck every day with panic over what to feed our family.  I would walk into the Super Target right across the street and meander aimlessly through the aisles.

For the first 34 years of my life, I shopped at an American grocery stores and cooked American food.  Why did that all of a sudden seem impossible?

I guess this is a classic expression of reverse culture shock.  Did you know there is culture shock in returning to your home country?  I think I had heard about it before, but I certainly hadn't given it any thought.  And then I was paralyzed.

I am not exaggerating when I say I cried every time I went to the grocery store for the first three weeks we were back.  It was absolutely overwhelming.  I had gotten used to cooking Italian food.  Now I couldn't find the ingredients to make what I was used to cooking and I couldn't remember what the heck to cook with the American food on the shelves.

A wise friend offered great words of advice.  Having lived overseas herself, she said, "Your life in Italy will always affect your current life.  Think of that as a good thing."  Yes.  Good that I don't want to make hamburgers or pot roast or Bar-B-Que.  It's OK that we are craving mozzarella balls and pasta carbonara.

So step one was accepting the new culinary schizophrenic I had become.  I don't have to cook like an American and I can't cook entirely like an Italian.

Fast forward two months and our meal plan this week has two all-American dishes and three Italian dishes (and a Chinese dish just for the heck of it).  We made Bolognese Ragu for the first time last night (it's been way too hot outside to make it before now. . . ), and it was divine.  With the coming of Fall in Italy always came Ragu.  It just felt right.  And on Christmas Eve this year, we will have have Tortellini and Brodo, just as every family is Bologna will.  Of course, Christmas Day will bring a big, ole' turkey or ham--neither of which will be eaten by an Italian.

Step two was finding somewhere to shop where I wouldn't break down in tears!  I found a great little "market" of a store called Freshfield Farms that helped me imagine a manageable shopping experience.  They have beautiful fresh produce, and they have fresh meats they cut themselves.  That's it.  On Saturdays I drive up to Winter Park to go to their Farmer's Market, which is life-giving to me.  Small vendors, fresh produce, seasonal vegetables.  And there is even a vendor where I can get some of the Italian cheeses we desperately miss.

There is still much I miss being able to get at the store, but I'm slowly filling in the gaps.  And no tears in weeks!  Once more, I am learning how to embrace the new me.

The Phipps Six

A couple of years ago at dinner, Gavin announced, "One day there's going to be six of us."  Cody and I both caught our breath, lest his words be prophetic.  We certainly weren't planning on expanding our family!

But today his words came true (at least in his mind).  We are now the Phipps Six.  Maximus Braveheart the Bruce Phipps came home last night!  We are all in love.

Is he not one of the most handsome little guys you've ever seen?

Hannah has been asking for a dog for years.  Our excuse for a long time was that she had to wait until Ben was at least three because we couldn't handle a puppy and a toddler.  Then he turned three. . . and we dog sat our friends' dog, Preacher (see the March 7 post). . . and we returned to America. . . and Hannah started doing serious research. . .

So here we are.  We looked into a lot of breeds and decided the labradoodle was probably one of the best options for our family.  There was a great breeder located here in Orlando, who we met back in August.  After one trip to her house, Cody was sold (who knew he was such a softie toward pups!).  We reserved a newborn puppy, and yesterday he was old enough to come home.

After years of wanting a dog, Hannah was beside herself in anticipation of Cody coming out with Max.  I think she's still in shock he's actually ours.

It's been five weeks since we last saw him, and he's almost tripled in size.  At the vet today, he weighed in at 11 pounds.  He'll probably grow to 60.

Coming up the steps to our apartment for the first time.

Savoring a few minutes before having to leave Max behind for school.

Now I know I'm a proud Mommy, but I really do think he's the very best puppy in the whole entire world.  He let the kids love on him until we made them go to bed.  He walked right into his crate last night and slept like a dream.  We woke him up once to go the bathroom and didn't hear a peep until we got up in the morning.  He's picked up walking a leash and has done great with house training so far.  And he's just so darn sweet!

Really, really fun.  In the midst of so many changes for our family, looking forward to Max's arrival has been a sweet blessing.  I'm sure there will be many more pictures to come!

Surviving without Daddy--A Very Random Post

Cody has been in the States since last Wednesday, so my opportunities to snap some pictures and think of a blog entry for today have been limited.  Cody's back in Texas following up with some people who are interested in our ministry, with whom we weren't able to get together last Fall.  He has had a really good trip and has been deeply encouraged.

And the kids are I are surviving.

What's been going on this week without Daddy?  No surprise that there's been lots of train building.  First thing, every morning, Benjamin wakes up and starts configuring a new track layout.  He takes a train on a couple trips around the track, but really the challenge is in the building more than the using.  It then sits in the middle of his room until we take apart and put it away for the night.

Friday was an exciting day for Hannah at school.  Her teacher announced they could no longer wear long-sleeve shirts.  Making the switch from winter clothes to spring/summer clothes is a delicate dance here.  A couple of weeks ago her teacher had said they could still wear long-sleeves, but everyone had to put their hair up because all the sweat was making the classroom stink.  So I was actually really thankful for the clear direction toward cooler clothes!  

On Saturday, I was blessed beyond measure for a chance to take a girls trip pottery shopping.  I took the kids to my friend Kim's house, and her oldest daughter watched them while we headed northeast out of town to Nove.  There is a pottery maker there who has an outlet open to the public.  You can get ridiculous deals (and I did!!).  I got this beautiful ornate blue pitcher.  I just think it is so lovely.  And I had a wonderfully refreshing time hanging out with a couple of girlfriends all day!  A needed break I was most thankful for.  When I picked up the kids, they all fell asleep in the car before we even made it home.  I think they played outside all day.  Medicine for their souls too!

Of course, Saturday was also really warm (almost 90 I think).  So we had to begin temperature maintenance in our apartment.  This is a picture of what our kitchen looked like.  We lower our tapperellas to block the sun from making our apartment one big convection oven.  It works pretty well, but it's rather. . . depressing.

Oh, and did I mention I went dumpster diving?  These beauties were sitting next to a dumpster on the way to school on Friday, and something within me just couldn't leave them there, when they could look so fun on our balcony.  So I dragged Ben with me to help "move some trash."  It's truly amazing what treasures can sometimes be found sitting by a dumpster in Italy.

We've also made homemade donuts, played SkipBo until we're delirious, watched Beverly Hills Chihuahua (film-making at its finest), took a trip to McDonald's, had cereal for dinner, slept over in Hannah's room, and gone for gelato (twice).

We can not wait for Daddy to get back in 2 days!  We can't keep this survival mode up for much longer. . . 

The Joy of Worship

So my mom hates when I post entries without pictures.  I can understand that.  We just happen to be in a season when I don't have a lot of pictures that correlate with what I'm blogging about.  But, in an effort to keep my mom reading, at the end of the post, I have a few pictures from Halloween.  The kids had such a good time with this American tradition.  Enjoy!

Perhaps THE thing I miss most while we are in Italy is worshiping in English.  I don't think I have ever longed to worship--just to acknowledge and praise God for who He is--as much as I have in the past two years.  In the midst of all the craziness and challenges we've faced, simply looking at God and acknowledging His goodness and sovereignty and His heart and vision for Italians (and the world) is the only thing that calms my heart.

God's Word has literally nourished my soul.  I have craved any worship music I can get my hands on.

So the greatest highlight of my time back has been going to church every Sunday.  I have savored every minute.  Since we are living with my parents in Ft. Worth, we had to find a new church to get plugged in to during our furlough.  We jumped in to a church close by who partners with Agape Italia, and it has been such an incredible blessing.  The kids have loved it too!  They love going to church, and they love AWANA.

As I have been savoring my time worshiping among a Body of Christ who speaks my native tongue, I came across a quote from Beth Moore quoting Eugene Peterson that so beautifully captures how I have felt.  I hope you are encouraged, as you read it.  I hope it causes you to throw yourself deeper into the worship of our MOST WORTHY God.  And when you have the chance to be with believers worshiping together, you can remember how much I long for the same.  And rejoice in the opportunity you have.

Worship has endless side effects in the life of the everyday psalmist.  Among them, it exalts God to the highest place, thereby relieving the sojourner of the backbreaking burden of ego.  It defeats our enemy.  It answers grace with gratitude.  And it ends in joy.  "God is a personal reality to be enjoyed.  We are so created and so redeemed that we are capable of enjoying him.  All the movements of discipleship arrive at a place where joy is experienced.  Every step of ascent toward God develops the capacity to enjoy.  Not only is there, increasingly, more to be enjoyed, there is steadily the acquired ability to enjoy it.  Best of all, we don't have to wait until we get to the end of the road before we enjoy what is at the end of the road."

Amen.


And now, the random pictures. . . (love you Mom!)

Our little Puppy, Indiana Jones and Hannah Montana

This was Ben's first Halloween, and he was so shocked people were giving him and candy (and Mom wasn't taking it away) that he hardly knew what to do with himself.

Cody's most excellently carved pumpkins

If it's not one thing. . .

I'll confess now, this is going to be a vulnerable blog. And a little weird. Just trying to keep it real. . .

Looking at this picture, you're probably thinking, "What went wrong?" Indeed. We have written many times about the crazy spiritual warfare we have encountered since we arrived in Italy. One of the many ways we experience that is in the most random physical issues. For instance, the day after Thanksgiving this past November, my right knee suddenly swelled to twice its normal size. It was so painful I could hardly walk. No fall brough it on, no accident I could blame it on. I hadn't even done much walking in the days before. Totally random. I finally had to go to the doctor, and he was baffled. Five days on a super-powered anti-inflammatory seemed to do the trick, and it hasn't bothered me since.

For the past several months, our latest medical mystery has been Cody's growing arthritis problem. He's had arthritis in his thumbs for several years, and they are often quite swollen. It's now spreading to most of the joints in his hands. It has gotten so bad that in the morning he is unable to write with a pen or pour his coffee. It is debilitating to point of great discouragement. Knowing a lot of tests will have to be done to determine the problem, he is waiting until we are home for the summer to have it looked into further. He's only 32 for crying out loud!

And then yesterday, I woke up in pain every time I blinked. In the outside corner of my eye, something wacky is going on. This morning, it looks like this--swollen all around. It only hurts in that one spot, but boy doesn't that look attractive! I thought it might be a sty, but I'm not so sure. I don't even know who I would go see if it doesn't get better! Crazy as it sounds, I think I would go to the emergency room so that I could be referred to a opthamologist.

Thus, my title for today's blog. . . If it's not one thing, it's another. The hard thing (though a blessing, don't get me wrong!) is that none of these things are major ordeals. They are just really annoying inconveniences that can contribute to wearing us down. Never in our lives have we experienced such random, wacky physical challenges. If the Lord brings us to mind, would you mind praying over us? Pray for our whole family's physical protection. Pray especially for long-term relief for Cody's arthritis.

I told you, a weird blog today. Thanks for reading and for praying. Welcome to all the realities of our life overseas! We are choosing to praise God in the midst of it all.

An Italian Super Bowl

As I posted on Facebook, Super Bowl Sunday has to be one of the hardest days to be overseas. Especially this year! Watching the Super Bowl, while eating every possible form of junk food available, is just so. . . American! And though we can stream the game live through our computers, it doesn't come on until midnight in Italy. And whether we go to bed at 10pm or 4am, our kids will be getting up bright and early on Monday morning to head to school.


Last year, our first Super Bowl away, it wasn't a hard decision. We had absolutely no interest in either team. This year is a completely different story! We could only be more torn if the Texans were playing. (Actually, that would be a no-brainer--we'd up at any hour).

All last week, we debated what to do. . . do we watch it or do we not? Do we tape it and watch it later? Do we pretend we really don't care and just go to bed, trying to forget it's Super Bowl Sunday? Alas, we could not help ourselves. So, at 10pm, we turned on the SlingBox to watch the pre-game festivities. We gave nachos our best attempt and rewarmed our chicken wings, which were really just chicken legs.


It was awesome! We kind of forgot we were in Italy for a while. We haven't really watched American TV for almost a year and half, so watching the commercials felt like a crash course in catching up with the current American culture. It was weird to feel so out of the loop. If not Texans's fans, we usually root for the Colts. But Drew Brees and the Saints offered such a good story, we were just as happy for them to finally win the Trophy.

Unfortunately, 7am came just as expected this morning, and wow, are we feeling it! When Cody took the kids to school this morning, one of the other dads asked how he was, and he said he was pretty tired. "Ah! I know why this is! Your Super Bowl was on last night!" Got to love it!