The SuperBowl, American Style

Let me remind you what our SuperBowl Party looked like last year:

And it happened at midnight, local time.

Our SuperBowl Party this year looked a little something like this:

(sorry about the technical problem--no idea how to get "for review only" off these pictures!)

All of the folks we live and work with on our STINT threw one kickin' SuperBowl Party.  We gathered poolside to eat and cheer and eat some more. We have LOVED football season this Fall, not missing one Sunday of action.  We couldn't have been more proud of our Texans' first play-off appearance AND win, and we couldn't have been more excited that the Patriots were denied yet another SuperBowl victory.  Go Giants!

For all the aspects of Italy we miss, we have definitely savored this piece of Americana.  And it was wrapped up with a SuperBowl party as it should be.  What a great day.

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!

Childhood Memories Relived

I remember my very first trip to Disney World.  I was probably seven years old.  At the time, there was only the Magic Kingdom.  Epcot was being built and Hollywood Studios and the Animal Kingdom were not even dreams yet.

What do I remember most?  The Electrical Light Parade.  Could there by anything more magical than Cinderella riding in a carriage of lights?  I remember it being so incredible that my dad bought slides (does anyone remember slides?) so we could relive it over and over in our living room.

Thirty years later, I shared the experience with my own kids.  It was just as magical as it was the first time.

One of the benefits of the internship we're doing is that we were given season passes to Disney World.  Up to this point we've only gone during the day.  But a couple of weeks ago I took Hannah and Gavin, and we stayed until the lights started rolling down Main Street.  Honestly, it was even better than I remembered it. :)

Reliving your own childhood memories with your children has to be one of the most fun things about parenthood.  Seeing the pure delight and wonder on the kids' faces was even more magical than the lights.  I loved every minute of it, even thirty years later.

The Christmas Tree Hunt

Our family did something this year we've never done before.  We went and cut down a Christmas Tree.

The one perk to living in Florida is that there are lots of trees around.  Lots of Christmas trees.  That makes them cheap!  And since our fake tree is in storage in Ft. Worth, we decided we'd go all out and find a place where we could cut our own tree.  We had a blast!

We drove about an hour away to a Christmas Tree farm.  Obviously they know how to make the most of the season, so they had more than just trees.

The petting zoo was free, which the kids loved.  Notice they're in shorts.  It just felt wrong to be cutting down a Christmas Tree in 80 degree weather. . . but we tried to make the most of it.

Not sure what that creature is, but Ben sure liked it.

Once we were ready to pick out a tree, we took a hayride around the farm until we saw the type of trees we wanted.  They dropped us off with a measuring pole and a saw.

It was a hard choice, with lots of good contenders, but ultimately Dad had the last say.  Cody's family often got live trees growing up, so he has some very particular qualifications for an acceptable tree.  We finally found one Cody approved of and that the kids liked too.

So we cut 'er down.  All of us.

And hauled her back to the hayride stop to be picked up, shaken out and netted for transport.

Oh, and there was a giant trampoline pillow the kids were able to get some energy out playing on. :)

 It took a couple of attempts to get it securely attached, but it did make it back to Orlando!

And then we spent the rest of the afternoon decorating--senza the hot chocolate, since we had our air conditioner on.

The finishing touch was Ben putting his train around it.  We're hoping we keep it alive until Christmas.  It's already tipped over twice!  Making memories. . . .

MK2MK

Today I wanted to share a link to a story posted on Campus Crusade's website about a ministry that has greatly ministered to our kids through their transition back to the States.  Not only did our kids get to participate in a weekend retreat just for them, every other Thursday they meet together with other kids who are transitioning back to America.  Amanda Hill, who is mentioned in this story, is who leads that time with them.  She is fantastic.

We are so thankful Campus Crusade cares so much about our family.  Our kids' experience is totally different than ours, and in a lot of ways, a lot harder.  MK2MK has a blessing beyond measure.

The link to Campus Crusade's website, where this story was published is located here: MK2MK

But if you don't want to hassle with the link, I've copied and pasted the story.  In the picture, Hannah is on the left, holding the other little girl, and Gavin in on the far right.

Oh, The Places You'll Go

Helping missionary kids transition after living overseas.

By Rich Atkinson 

 5 December 2011

  

For missionaries and their families, returning from overseas requires adjustments long after their jetlag has subsided. Children tend to face the most difficult transition. MK2MK, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ is there to help. MK2MK’s mission is to build a global spiritual movement of MKs (missionary kids) who impact their world for Christ.

Staff member Amanda Hill says, “MK2MK ministers to third culture kids—meaning kids that grow up in between two worlds forming their own culture.” For example, their parents are American, yet the children may have only experienced living overseas.

MK2MK staff members help families transition from overseas through things like debriefing weekends and visiting them when they’ve returned to the States.

Amanda and another MK2MK staff member traveled to Texas to visit the Runn family who recently returned from serving in Europe. Their teenage daughter Courtney wrote on her blog about the difficulties of the transition process after living overseas for five years: "A girl in my English class asked me how my transition was going and I almost wanted to cry,” she said. “I couldn't believe someone I wasn't even close to thought to ask me that question and cared about my answer."

Her mom, Carrie, also appreciates the care from MK2MK. "As a parent, I am thankful to have godly men and women who serve with MK2MK pray and care for my kids in this new season of life," she says.

“Our heart is really to allow them to tell their stories,” says Amanda, “to be able to express grief if that is where they are.”

During a debriefing weekend in Melbourne, Fla., staff members gathered children and parents together to listen to the Dr. Seuss book, “Oh, the places, you’ll go!” and took part in a “hands-on” potted plant illustration. They showed the children the plant and said, “look how happy he is in his home.” But then it is time to move. They took the plant out of the pot, and with the kids, moved it from station to station around the room. They talked about what leaving feels like and they shook the plant up a bit, leaving the roots hanging out.

The staff members reminded the kids that transition won’t be like this forever, although it feels hard at the moment.

When they came to the station representing their new home, there was a bigger pot for the illustration, because the plant needs room to grow. The staff members emphasizes that God will help the Mk’s grow, too.

“We make it fun, too, like the places that they will go,” says Amanda. “The adventure of life being ups and downs and transitions.”