Our gift to the neighbors and our landlords

Here is the gift we took to our neighbors and our landlords.

You can go to my crafty blog HERE and see what all we did for them. James and I took the basket over to our landlords and had to sit and taste some of the goodies with them. They were quite pleased with the treats.

Buon Natale from our neighbors

Sunday afternoon James headed out to shovel off the sidewalk and driveway. He was trying to clear a pathway for our English bible study guests. While he was out there our neighbors brought this huge arrangement to us. Isn't is lovely?
It is full of traditional Italian christmas goodies ~ Prosecco (sweet Italian wine), Panetone (traditional cake) cookies and candies. Amazing! They are such a sweet family. I didn't get to talk to them but James said they struggled mightily trying to wish us a Merry Christmas in English. God bless them for their kindess!

I didn't have my goodies ready for them yet. But rest assured I have something planned!

Saturday's Snow

On Saturday we woke up to a White Wonderland. Really was quite pretty and peaceful. We putted around the house for the morning. Then we showered and got ready to head to the base. Jared had a birthday party to attend so we needed to get going. We arrived at the base only to find that everything was shut down due to weather. No commissary, library, birthday party (bowling alley closed) etc. The only thing open was the shoppette (convenience store for those non military readers) and it was obvious. That place was packed! Pretty funny to see everything shut down like that for just a few inches of snow.

On Sunday temps were colder and so it was icy and they still kept everything shut down. We didn't even go to church because our route is very narrow, circuitous and out in the country (no plowing there). The base remained shut down.

Definitely would have seen lots of people going out in this weather had it been Germany or the US.

AIM visitors

Evan and Brandon took the train from Prato to come and visit us. Tracie went to the US to visit her family so she wasn't able to make it this time. We missed her a bunch but understand she needed recharging.

We had a great time just hanging out with the guys. The boys held their WII tournies downstairs. E & B also introduced my guys to new computer games - Ninja Wars I think it is called.

On Monday, my boys had to head to school. So I just hung out with the guys for the morning. Then Brandon and I left for the base while Evan waited for Caleb to come home from school. Caleb rode the bus home so he could visit with Evan. Unfortunately, Evan couldn't find his passport so we couldn't sign him in on the base. Otherwise, Caleb would have waited for us to come to base instead of riding the bus home.

Since I was calling the boys in sick on Tuesday, Jared decided to sleep downstairs in the taverna. Evan hauled the queen sized air mattress (already air upped) downstairs and set it up for Jared. Caleb decided that he didn't want to fall behind in school and he had homework to turn in so he wasn't going to stay home. (Very proud mama and papa for that decision). After everyone hit the hay (mama, papa and Caleb) E & B taught Jared to play many different versions of poker. Man was he stoked. He LOVES that kind of special attention. Couldn't wait to let us all know what he had learned.

We really enjoyed visiting with Evan and Brandon and will probably be making a trip to Prato to visit them soon.
Evan munching down on Taco Bell with chipotle tabasco - I think he went through an entire bottle. Had to buy him his own to take back to Prato with him.

Decorating the Tree

Forgot to post this as well. Shows how far behind I fell. On November 30th we put up our Christmas tree and the boys got it decorated.

Annual taking of the Christmas photo

Pretty self explanatory. Taking pictures in front of the tree and deciding which one to include in our Christmas card. So here are some of the choices...





James likes playing with the different functions on his camera. Makes for a fun photo some times.

So much has happened

So much has happened since I last posted. Nothing earth shattering but enough that I should have posted sooner.

Jared had school Holiday to Remember program. He enjoyed performing so much. The Vicenza Elementary School 6th grade performed for about an hour. I watched them practice on Tuesday before the performance because I was a substitute for one of the 6th grade teachers that day. I was able to get a few pictures but the lighting wasn't great in the room they performed in. That is the reason the picture is so dark.
I tried taking pictures but during the program the Snowman's hat was tall enough that you couldn't see Jared at all. In this picture so you can the aforementioned snowman and her hat. If it wasn't the snowman hat in the way then it was Jared's friend who was playing Santa Claus that hid him from sight. Then for the evening performance before the tree lighting I watched the kids practice and had the perfect line of sight to see Jared. They left to rest and came back about 20 minutes later. I was able to get this one good photo during the practice. Meanwhile I was still standing in the same spot. Unfortunately, Jared was now standing behind the microphone that had a huge snowflake on it. Yes, you guessed it the snowflake was right in front of Jared's face. So no photographs of this event either. None that worked that is. However, one of the women who had a son (the one who played Santa Claus and stood right in front of Jared) in the program was also taking photos. Her son is a friend of Jared's and they stood next to each other in the evening Tree Lighting performance. So she made sure to get photos of both of them. Now when she gets me the photos I will post them for all to see.

We had our Holiday dinner for our FRG (Family readiness Group). Every military family has a group like that. I made the center pieces for the main table and they were given out as door prizes. While Jared doesn't believe in Santa Claus he did take the opportunity to sit on his lap.
And judging from the look on Caleb's face he was caught by James and his "surprise" photographs. Something like candid photos only he likes seeing how silly of a face he can capture.
Also during this dinner the Colonel of 509th Signal Battalion came up and shook my hand. He thanked me for the work I have done for the FRG. He left this coin in my hand.

This is the first coin I have ever received. Not sure what to do with it. Think I will put it with the many coins James has received.

I know there is more to tell but I will save that for another post.

December 6 - Being Fed

Tonight we had English Bible study with our friends. Titus & Angie and the girls came, they brought Ann with them. Davide & Reynaldo came together. This was Davide's first time attending our study. He is on winter break from college. He attends a university in the US and his parents are members of the church we attend in Vicenza. Reynaldo is a great friend from Venezuela that also happens to live here and attend church in Vicenza.

Today, we learned sad news for us but happy for Reynaldo. He is going home to Venezuela. His fiancee and family are there. It will be such a blessing for him to be home with his family again. We will miss his smiling face though. I am so glad he was able to attend this last English Bible study.

We had a good time singing and then discussing the lesson. The lesson today was "The Lord is My Shepherd". A very strong point of the lesson is that God leads us to the green pastures that we need for this moment - not verdant rolling hills of green that give us what we want and need for a while, rather the barren, rocky hills where there are patches of green that will feed us NOW. Such an important lesson. One that reminds me that God provides for me what I need when I need it and if I don't have enough for tomorrow that is the way he plans it. I need to lean on him and let him lead me to where I need to be at this moment. So we fed upon the word tonight and it was good.

We also had a great time eating dinner and just laughing at the table. At the end of the evening before everyone left we took a few pictures in front of our tree.

enjoy! Merry Christmas!
here we are being just a little crazy!

I think I have a nerd for a son...

Actually I am sure of it. Truth be told I am surrounded by them. However, I am not embarassed or ashamed I am actually a bit proud of them. All three of them. Some days I just sit and listen to their conversations - a bit above my head at times but interesting nonetheless.

Today, I took a picture of two of the books Caleb is reading right now. They are E=mc2 A History of the World's Most Famous Equation and Electric Universe The Shocking True Story of Electricity. Caleb is really interested in so many things and spends hours reading books, searching the internet, etc. I think he is a knowledge junkie.

The three guys in my home talk science, astronomy, computers and math A LOT. Today for example, James and I were in the PX looking around and James was stopped by a friend with a question. They spent the next 15 minutes or so talking animatedly about computer programs, touch screens, LEDs, building a touch screen from the ground up, etc. Yep, this is what it sounds like when NERDS TALK.

Got to love them though.

December 2 - Bartholomew's Passage

Every year since 2000 we have read Advent stories to get our hearts and minds ready for Christmas. We read a series of stories written by Arnold Yreeide. Jotham's Journey is the first one, followed by Bartholomew's Passage and Tabitha's Travels is the last one. This year it is Bartholomew's Passage's turn to be read. The books were out of print for about 5 years but have recently been republished. Well, that is, Jotham's Journey was republished last year and Bartholomew's Passage this year. Next year, Tabitha's Travels is scheduled to be republished. Fortunately, I purchased mine prior to them going out of print. I am purchasing copies though as they are released so that the boys will have a copy to read to their families when the time comes.

Part of our tradition is the lighting of the candles. The boys take turns lighting the candles and this year they are taking turns at reading the story out loud. Normally, I read the entire story except for maybe a day or two out loud. However, this year I lost my voice the day after Thanksgiving so I had James read the first day. I read the second day, Jared the third and Caleb the fourth. I think we will continue in this way. Gives the boys a chance to practice reading aloud and gives my voice a break.

I highly recommend these books. They are great stories that follow the children, Jotham, Bartholomew and Tabitha on harrowing journeys that culminate in the Messiah's birth. Full of action, adventure and a bit of humor, lots of historical tidbits, and every day's reading is followed with a "moral" of the story or things to think on.