Colton Samples Italian Cuisine

Since arriving in Italy, I have been doing my best to include some Italian staples into Colton's diet. He now eats a lot of bread with olive oil and parmesan cheese and pasta, for example. Every restaurant we go to is super sweet - they always bring him out a special pasta plate or a plate of fresh, cooked veggies free of charge. We've had some disasters in the process - Colton gagged on and almost threw up artichoke and olive oil - and we've found some things that Colton loves. Of course, just like his mommy, his favorites are not the best for him.

Colton has developed a special love for two things in particular. The first is the cornetto - a croissant-like pastry that the Italians eat for breakfast. Like most of their breakfast foods, it is a sweet bread.

Here is a picture of Colton "helping" me get a piece of cornetto into his mouth.

He dives in!

I never see his mouth open this wide for veggies, that's all I have to say!

The other food Colton loves is gelato. Yup, he's got great taste! :) With both the cornetto and gelato, Colton makes sure we know he wants his fair share. We caught him on video "asking" for both of his favorite foods.

The Stars Come Out!

So, in exciting Florence news...

Ross and I saw Alimi Ballard, David Sinclair on CBS' Numb3ers, today on the Ponte Vecchio!

Ross and I watched that show almost every week in the U.S. so we were pretty excited. :)

More importantly, though, we got to visit today with my Aunt Susan and Uncle Bob. They are visiting Italy in conjunction with a business trip my Uncle Bob is on so we met up for lunch and gave them a tour of our apartment. I'm a bad niece and didn't take any pictures of our visit with them to post, but we really enjoyed our short time with them. It was such a blessing to have a little taste of family/home in the early days of our move!

Finally, today is a holiday in Florence. It is Saint John the Baptist day and is important because he is the patron saint of the city. We are celebrating by going over to a friend's house for dinner. Matt and Melanie are another couple who work with Campus Crusade here (along with their 4 month old son, Silas) and they have been such a blessing to us in our first week here. They have spent social time with us, helped us find our way to key places in the city, and have driven us to Ikea/helped us unload heavy items (like our wardrobes) after we made it home. We're excited to continue getting to know them!

That's it for now. I have a special Colton update coming soon - I'm just waiting until I get pictures to go with it! :)

It's A Different World

There are many things about Italy that are different from the U.S. Some of those things I like, some I'm not so fond of. Today Ross, Colton, and I had an experience that exemplifies one of the differences that I'm not so fond of - the amount of time it takes to accomplish tasks here.

Last night Ross and I decided that we would leave the house immediately after Colton woke up and was fed breakfast to go downtown to the Vodafone store to get cell phones and Internet hooked up. We figured it would be a 1/2 hour walk to the store, maybe an hour there, a 1/2 hour walk back, and we'd make it home again in time to put Colton down for his first nap. So, we left just as we had hoped, around 9:30am this morning. We began our walk, stopping for a breakfast pastry and cappuccino along the way, and arrived at the Vodafone store at about 10:30am. Only, surprise!, the store we thought was there had closed. SO we headed farther into town to another store. When we arrived at, say, 11:00am we found it was closed. Yes, on Monday mornings the store is closed and doesn't open until 3:30pm.

Well, we had a decision to make now. Should we head back home, empty handed, to put Colton down for a nap only to go all the way back to the store later in the afternoon, or should we figure out a way to keep busy/keep Colton from melting down? We decided to stay downtown until 3:30 and filled our morning and afternoon up by running a few little errands that we had to do (ie: finding a baby store and buying plug covers). We also ate lunch. Did Colton nap at any time during the morning/afternoon? No. Should he have? Well, let's just say that he would have usually had one full nap and begun his 2nd by that time. I don't know why, but my child will not sleep if he's not at home in his bed.

But I digress.

Anyway, we made it back to the Vodafone store at about 3:25 where we waited until it opened and got right in to see the customer service agent we needed to see. It took about an hour to get our phones and Internet hooked up and we headed home. Poor Colton was exhausted, and so were we!, but we accomplished our mission for the day (and even got a few other things done). The good news is I can now contact people here in Italy without relying on Ross' borrowed cell phone AND I have Internet access at home!!!

The lesson for me? Next time, no matter how long you think a simple errand will take in Florence, Italy, pack a bottle/baby food and lots of toys in the diaper bag! :)

From Florence with Love

Well, we made it to Italy on the 16th as planned. In some ways it feels like we just got here but in other ways it seems like we've been here forever! Anyway, I'll start at the beginning and tell you all about what's been going on this week.

Our flight left last Monday out of Detroit so we spent the night before at my parent's house (even though they weren't there!). I promised my mom I would take some pictures of Colton at her place, just so she could prove that he had been there. This pictures represent the last time life felt "normal!"

On Monday afternoon, after a great visit with my friend from college, Robin, we packed all our bags and headed to the airport. We definitely had a lot of stuff - 10 large suitcases, the dog, the pack n' play, and a car seat all to be checked; plus two backpacks for Ross, a backpack and diaper bag for me, the cat, and a stroller to be carried on. We were prepared for the worst in every way as we entered the airport but, praise to God alone, everything went very smoothly. We had no problems with our checked luggage or the dog, had no problem carrying on the cat - shockingly he didn't make a peep in the airport or on the plane, and Colton did great in his airline provided bassinet - he slept the entire plane ride except for take off and landing when the bassinet could not be used. Ross and I were able to watch all the movies we wanted and sleep a little on the flight. It was great!

Once we landed in Rome, though, things got a little crazy. We had to rent a van to drive from Rome to Florence and make the 3 hour drive right after a 9 hour plane ride! Again, Colton did well but by the time we arrived in Florence we were all absolutely exhausted. Some of our new co-workers met us at our house to help us unload all our bags and welcome us with a few small gifts and a lot of love. After grabbing a quick (but extremely yummy) pizza dinner that evening we crashed at about 10pm. At 11:00pm, though, we were all back up with a screaming Colton! He was inconsolable until about 12:30 at which point he fell back asleep and slept until 10am the next morning! Needless to say, we got a late start on our drive to Salerno - a city 6 hours south of Florence where some of our friends from Orlando live and work. Long story short, we drove there to pick up some kitchen cabinets and appliances that our friends sold us very cheap. Colton was a champ on the drive - he was so exhausted he slept almost the entire 6 hours! We had a great time in Salerno reconnecting with Jutty and Abbey, Natalie, Jamie, the Waltons, and some of the summer project folks. Here are a few pictures we took on the drive of the Tuscan countryside.

...it's hard to tell, but this is a sunflower field!

Now we're back in Florence and have been for a couple of days. I'll try to summarize how we're feeling (well, at least how I'm feeling) right now but I must admit, it probably won't make much sense. Even in my own head I feel scattered and worn down!

I would say that we are all still adjusting. We're unusually tired, never seeming to be fully awake. Colton has been sleeping well at night, even with the time difference but that is probably mostly because we have been on the go so much that he has not gotten hardly any naps and has been going to bed very late - around 10 or 11pm! Today we finally stayed home most of the day and he got a good first nap. Let's just say, his mood was much improved! He has been very fussy (again, probably because of lack of sleep and so many changes) and not eating well but he seems to be getting back to normal again little by little. Ross and I are working hard to try to get life settled. Our apartment has very few light fixtures and no mirrors so we are starting there - putting in lights and adding vanities to the bathrooms. Our kitchen is still not installed as we need a few more things for it and have questions about the plumbing (Italian plumbing looks very different than American plumbing). Everything still feels very unsettled and probably will for awhile - that's hard for me to deal with. But, with lots of work and a little bit of time we'll make a home for ourselves here. I'm just praying that it doesn't take too long! On our list for the next couple of days is making a big run to Ikea (especially to buy closet systems so that we can finally unpack our luggage), buy a washing machine and refrigerator, and maybe spend a little time with the summer project from Salerno as they are ending their time in Italy with a quick visit to Florence. We also want to continue exploring our neighborhood, spending time with Matt and Mel (coworkers here who have been so helpful to us and are so much fun!), helping Colton adjust to a very different life, and baby proofing our new apartment.

All that to say, things are crazy! This does not feel like home yet - I'm not sure when it will - but God is faithful and we know He brought us here for a reason. It would be easier and much more comfortable to be at home in Orlando right now and, I'm not going to lie, sometimes I wish we were! But being uncomfortable is forcing us to depend fully on God and to rely on one another as husband and wife, and as a family. I feel like we have gotten closer through this experience and laughed more than we have in awhile, and that is a blessing!

Thanks for your prayers and for caring about how we're doing. I can't wait until we have Internet hooked up in our apartment so that we can share more about all the craziness that is going on here, and so we can talk to you on the phone! Until then, we'll update as we can and we would LOVE to hear how you're doing, too. We love and miss you all!

On Our Way

It's hard to believe but it's almost time for us to leave for Italy. We are almost finished cleaning our house for the renters, everything has been packed and shipped, the details for the pets to move to Europe have all come together... we're really on our way!

We are exhausted, I will not lie. Even so, Ross has to leave at the crack of dawn to begin his drive to Michigan tomorrow. Colton and I will meet him there on Sunday evening as we are flying. We will have less than 24 hours to relax there before heading back to the airport for our flight to Rome! I'm a little nervous for all the traveling, especially with the pets and Colton. I feel like Ross and I will be so exhausted we can barely handle ourselves, let alone animals and a kid! Just like everything else, though, I am sure it will work out fine.

As we prepare to leave in a few days I have been thinking about things I'll miss from the U.S. Here's a short list:

* Chocolate milk shakes

* A big, hot cup of American coffee

* Friends

* Family

* Air conditioning

* Clothes dryer

I am excited, though, to see our apartment, explore our new neighborhood, take Colton to the park, figure out what grocery store/markets we prefer, and to get to know our new teammates. It's impossible to wrap our minds around the fact that we're not gearing up for a vacation but a MOVE to another country. We're excited but also aware that it probably won't be long before the "honeymoon" ends and we realize how difficult living in another culture really will be.

BUT, right now it's all about getting ready. I'm off to take Colton and some friends to our house to help Ross finish cleaning it and getting it prepared to rent. Hopefully we'll get it done quickly so that Ross can enjoy his last night in Orlando!

Crazy, Crazy Week

This has been a crazy week on so many levels!  We have been preparing day and night (literally, all night) to leave for Italy next week, Colton has been sick, my parents came to visit, and we had an amazing time with friends during which they sent us off with amazing fellowship and prayer.

Let's start at the beginning:

On Monday Colton got sick for the first time.  He ran a fever for three full days, spiking as high as 103.5, and now has a rash all over his face and body.  The doctor told us to expect the rash to follow the fever, so at least that wasn't a surprise.  I felt so bad for my sweet baby - it killed me to touch his little body when it was so hot, but not be able to do anything about it (besides pump him full of Tylenol).  He slept a whole lot while he had the fever and since it's broken he's been extremely fussy.  It's been tough to add a sick baby to the mix of getting ready at the last minute to move to another country!

Tuesday morning my parents, Colton's Grammy and Big Poppy, came to spend a few days with us before we move.  We were really happy they could come, although we felt like we barely got to see them because we were doing so much moving work.  They were a huge help to have here, though.  My dad helped Ross with the renovations he's trying to finish up and my mom helped a lot with Colton so that I could attempt to get a few things done.  I'm sorry Colton was such a grump while you were here, Mom and Dad!  We love you and will miss you!  

Below are a few pics from their time with us - I don't have any of just my mom and Colton, though!  Most of the time she was with him I was doing other things! :o(

Colton and Big Poppy bonding time!

Family pictures:

1) Pretty happy...

2) Imitating Colton's cries (hey, he'd been doing it all day and we were all a little tired of it) ;o)

3) A good, happy pic of everyone.  Even Colton looks like he's posing! :o)

Finally, Tuesday night our community group from Lake Baldwin Church hosted an amazing send off time for us.  We were able to fellowship with them, they shared special memories and encouragement with us, and they prayed for us.  They also sent us off with an amazing photo book in which they all wrote a special message for us.  Ross and I cannot tell you how special this night was.  We're so thankful for the friend's God has given us here in Orlando.  They have encouraged us, spurred us on in our faith, and been so much fun!  

WE'LL MISS ALL OF YOU!!!

Now that this week is done we have just 4 days to get things together before the movers come next Wednesday!  I am not going to lie, I've been seriously stressed out as it seems everything is getting more disorganized rather than more organized and ready to go.  However, I have been encouraged by friends and family to rest in the Lord, trusting that He will give us the strength we need to get everything done.  Now I just need prayer that I can remember that every day! :o)