Valentine's Day in Florence

Wow, what a treat we had last night! Since our awesome and amazing STINT girl Crystal was already set to babysit for us on Monday for a meeting we had in Florence, we didn't have any big plans for Valentine's Day. I was going to make fajitas, but that was about it. Also because of our meeting, we were going to have to get up early to catch a train.

On Friday, Crystal called to see if we would want to go out on Sunday night. She didn't mind babysitting Sunday night AND Monday morning if it would be a blessing to us (she used to be a teacher, so she has great skills with maintaining order among our three!). One thing led to another, and she ended up spending the night Sunday night so that Cody and I could head to Florence early and enjoy our very first overnight away from the kids since moving.

A self-taken photo in front of the Duomo

I went online and found a great deal on this old hotel that had been refurbished recently. I went with it because of the price, but it turned out to be one of the nicest hotels we've stayed in here. All hotels offer a breakfast with the room, but they usually consist of bread and jams. This breakfast was a full buffet with eggs and american-style bacon!

And while we're on the topic of food. . . we decided to forgo Italian on Valentine's night and hit the Mexican restaurant in Florence (who would do that in the States?). Yummy, yummy, yummy! That was an incredibly special treat, since Mexican restaurants (especially good ones) are pretty darn rare here.

We wrapped up our 24 hours away with a stroll around town after our meeting, before catching the train back. Oh, how we were blessed with this little gift of a few hours away to focus on each other! Since I'm writing this (Jen), I can not let the opportunity pass to say what an incredible job Cody did making the most of our time away. I felt pursued in the ways I did when we were dating. :) He truly made it one of the best Valentine's Days we've ever had together. What a great guy!

I am so thankful to say we returned to Bologna feeling incredibly refreshed! It was a short trip, but it went a long ways.

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!

My Crazy Artist

He looks so innocent, doesn't he? You'll notice the red and blue on his cheek. . . not so innocent! Ben is at this stage where he just wants to do whatever a Big Person is doing. Sometimes this is really cute and helpful--like when he vacuums under the table after dinner or walks around the house dusting. Not all of his attempts at being older than his almost two years are so harmless though.

One of his favorite sources of mischief are writing utensils. Every day Ben spends time in his room playing by himself. Last week, when I went to check on him (it was a little too quiet in there), I discovered that somehow he had manuevered a chair in such a way as to reach Gavin's markers. Upon acquiring his prize, he went to town--coloring every surface imaginable in his room, and on his body.

He decorated the floor, the furniture, his quilt, the table, his clothes. . . you name it. He was so proud of himself! I was so shocked I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Thankfully, as a seasoned Mom, I only allow washable markers in the house. So, it took a little elbow grease to erase his artwork, but eventually all returned to normal.

I did have to take a few pictures of his tattoo work though. Colorful, don't you think?

This little guy is such a curious, smart, ordered and happy toddler. And active. Incredibly active. When he is awake, I get very little else done other than chasing him around, keeping him out of disaster and bodily harm. I know this season won't last forever, and there will be a time I will look back and miss it. For now, however, I am just trying to survive!

The Big Cut

I know, I have not posted for a week and half! I am back into "normal" life now though, so keep watching on Mondays. :)

I had to post pictures today of the big event that happened yesterday. After two years of Hannah adamently not wanting to even trim her hair, she came home on Wednesday and said, "I want to cut my hair. . . really short. Right now."

The Before Shot

She can be a pretty spontaneous decision maker, so I told her she had to wait at least a day, so that she didn't make a decision she would regret. She's also a stubborn decision maker, so last night we made the big cut. Mom actually made that first cut a wee-bit shorter than first intended, but in the end, all turned out well.

Who knows what inspired this major life change, but she loves it. She does look super cute! We put the chopped off locks in a ponytail and will send them into Locks of Love, which made Dad feel a little better about such a major change. He's kind of partial to longer hair. As is Gavin. Try as he might, he just couldn't fake that he was devastated Hannah's hair was gone.

Cute, cute, cute!

Just after Hannah's birthday this year, Cody said, "So, I guess she's becoming a Tween." Yep, she is. It's fun to see her becoming more and more who God made her to be. Sometimes that can be more challenging for us than at other times! Though just a haircut, this was a great example of who Hannah is--risky, bold, determined and sassy. Che bella!

Italian Birthdays

I took these pictures on my phone, so sorry they aren't the best quality.

Last month we were invited to another slew of birthday parties. While at one of them, I was profoundly struck by how vital birthday parties have been in our ministry here, and how I'm convinced they are one of the main venues God will use in the future to allow us to share the love of Jesus with those He's put in our lives.

Birthday parties are huge here. There are 25 kids in Hannah's class at school, and last year, I think we were invited to almost 20 birthday parties. And when you have a birthday party, you invite EVERYONE. We could not possibly keep up. But it was after the first birthday party we attended that we began to see the walls crumble in relationships with parents at Hannah's school. It was also at that party that we met our dear friends Fabio and Alyssia. This year, as we've ventured forth even more, we see more and more doors opening for deeper relationships with a group we'll be with for the next four years.

This was a party held at a bowling alley. Honestly, it was just like walking into any bowling alley in American (AMF pins and everything!). Hannah shared a lane with 9 other kids. In case you're wondering, it took 2 1/2 hours for them to finish one game!

There is really no American paradigm for the community parents have here. Every morning we see each other as we walk our kids to school, and every afternoon we hang out and visit, as we wait for school to be dismissed. Hannah will be with the same students (and thus, us with the same parents) until she graduates from elementary school at the end of Fifth grade. And then there are the 20+ opportunities to hang out at birthday parties during the year.

Birthday cakes are a little different here, but this one was really good. Kind of a cross between a cake and cookie.

At this particular birthday party, God allowed compassion to sweep over my heart. I looked around at all these parents who are just like me--battling the same stresses and anxieties all parents battle. I was overwhelmed with thankfulness that the Lord had brought us to this place and allowed our lives to cross with these parents who have already become quite dear to us. I want so much to share with them the Hope that is within me.

The kids always sing Happy Birthday in Italian and English, no matter whose birthday they are celebrating.

If God brings them to mind, pray for this precious group of people God is connecting us with. Pray for their families. Pray God would use us significantly in their lives to communicate the very love of Jesus Christ. You can also pray for our own birthday party plans! Since Hannah's birthday is over a holiday, we are waiting until February to throw our first birthday party. We feel a lot of pressure! Pray it would be another opportunity to communicate our commitment to these parents and their kids.

January Already

Well, we got my parents all packed up this morning and drove them to the airport at 5am to send them back to the States. We were all a little stunned that our time together had already come to an end. It got off to a rather rocky start with weather re-routing them, then delaying them, and finally delivering them to Bologna without any of their bags. On Christmas Eve, three of their four bags arrived, but the one with the majority of the Christmas presents remained MIA. A week later it met us in Salzburg, Austria, where we spent a week just hanging out and enjoying being together.

Thankfully, my brother had arrived uneventfully. He had just returned from serving in Kazakhstan in the Peace Corps, so we hadn't seen him for two and a half years. He had never met Benjamin, so it was a sweet time with him.


We enjoyed beautiful snow in Bologna just before Christmas and had a great, if packed, Christmas Day. On the 27th, we headed north to Salzburg (about 5 hours from Bologna), to spend time just being together. We stayed in a flat that was part of a farm in the town of Anthering, only a 15 minute train ride from Salzburg. It was so quiet!! We didn't realize how accustomed to the constant hum of city life we were until we were out of the city. It was glorious! And the farm provided tons of space for the kids to play and run around on. That was a Christmas present in and of itself.

This is a picture of the Christmas Tree in downtown Bologna. This year, in an effort to promote energy conservation, they had bikes attached to the tree lights. To light up the tree, people had to bike to create the energy. Cody rolled his eyes several times at a Green Christmas, but before the season was over, he was out peddling too.

While we were in Salzburg, we celebrated Hannah's 8th Birthday. She is becoming such a beautiful little girl. We are stunned to begin thinking about the "tween" years, but we really delight in who God is making her to be. She had an absolutely incredible day. It was fun to celebrate her in such a special place.

The kids and I in Salzburg, with Hohensalzburg Fortress (the castle) in the background. We ate lunch at the castle for Hannah's birthday, which was an incredible treat for a little girl.

For Christmas (which didn't arrive until the 29th), Hannah got Mia, an American Girl, who loves to skate. At the farm we stayed on in Austria, there was a little frozen pond. Ever the one to play, Hannah decided she needed to take Mia "skating." Mia did great!

Our beautiful birthday girl! Wow, she's growing up!

It was such an encouragement to have family with us for Christmas. We are so thankful they were able to come. We commented today, however, that as thankful as we are for those times, when they are over, we feel like we've taken a step back. They cause us to count the costs all over again. It is hard to be so far away from our friends and family! So we are gearing up to dive back in. As hard as it was to say goodbye this morning to the comfort and familiarity of family, we know God has plans for us here. We are in the right place. Tomorrow it is back to all things Italy.

Christmas Is Upon Us!

Today is the perfect week-before-Christmas day! We woke up to snow falling, and it has blanketed Bologna is white. Somehow snow makes the constant overcast skies a little more bearable! It is beautiful!

Cody and the kids left a little early this morning for their walk to school so they would have some time to play in our winter wonderland. They had the best time making little snowballs, running in the white, and giggling to keep warm. It was contagious! As the elderly Italians would pass them, they said, "Che bella sorpresa questa mattina! (A beautiful surprise this morning!)" It is only the second time our kids have ever seen snow, so they still just get tickled at the wonder of it.

Christmas begins for us in three days when my (Jen) parents and brother arrive for the holidays. We are so anxious to have family with us! So we've been busy with all our little Christmas preparations. We'll spend Christmas day in Bologna and then head up to Salzburg, Austria for a week. It is only about five hours away, and again, promises more snow! We all can not wait for our week of PLAY!

December 8 marks the beginning of Christmas celebrations for Italians, so there are now a plethora of markets and festivals going on. Last weekend there was a little market right across the street, so we took the kids to see Babbo Natale (Santa Claus). Bless him, but he was the worst Santa Cody or I had ever laid eyes on! The kids first question: "Mom, does he speak English?" And then their first response upon seeing him: "That's not the real Santa, you can see the string that's holding his beard on!" Just as we were about to say "Ciao" to Babbo Natale, he had to make a quick exit because his pants fell off. Oh Mamma Mia! After some quick explaining ("Santa has to have a lot of helpers during Christmas since he can't be everywhere all over the world at once"), the kids were quickly satisfied when Santa gave them both presents.

Also at the market were booths with great food. We picked up some cinnamon-roasted almonds (an Italian Christmas tradition), some spicy salami and some bread for dinner. What we had to say no to were the blocks of this fudge-type candy that lined a couple of the booths. We did try a few samples though. More than anything, I was just impressed with how fun and festive they looked all lined up!

We hope this finds everyone enjoying a truly blessed Christmas season! We are overwhelmed with the truth of God's love poured out for us in Him sending His Son to be born in our midst. He has changed our lives.

Gavin Turns Five!

So this one is mostly for the grandparents, but our little man turned five today. He could not have been more excited! We've been counting down the days from over 100. Finally it was THE DAY. He was up at 5:10 this morning wanting to know when he could open his presents. I had hoped to post a video we took, but alas, technology got the best of me. Instead, here are some photos.

This was in Cinque Terre on The Man Trip Cody and Gavin took this weekend. Gavin had a great time, despite the fact that the boats were closed down for the winter.

Gav broke with tradition this year and went with a SpiderMan themed birthday.

We ended a great day by dinner at McDonald's with friends.





Among those who joined us at McDonald's were another American boy (Drew on the left) and a couple of boys from Gavin's school. Yeah! What a huge milestone that was to have Italian friends join us!

Cody and I commented all day about what a difference there was between this year's birthday and last year's birthday. Not the least of which was Gavin speaking mostly in Italian at his McDonald's party! We are so thankful for God's sweet provision of friends for our shy little guy. It's taken a little longer, but Gavin is finding a great place here in Bologna.

What a great little man God has given us! We were thrilled to be celebrating him today!