A List of Things

A. Thank you so much to everyone who prayed me through language school. It went quite well and was sooooo much different from last time. I didn’t leave too many days with a headache and was actually excited to go to class. So praise Jesus for that.

B. My mom and brother came to visit over Thanksgiving. We ate our way through pasta, gelato, and pizza despite all the rain and wind and cold weather and no heat in our house. 12250037_980609199758_7468082046293472556_n

Having people visit is always difficult. There are a wide variety of emotions that come into play. For example, when my mom and brother walked in the door I sobbed uncontrollably. Who knows why. You’re so happy for a few days to have your people with you but then it begins to hit that your peeps have to go back to their home and the overwhelming sadness of it all takes over. Then you try to not think about it and enjoy the time you have. By the end you feel like an emotional ping-pong ball.

C. Lil’ Paul turned four last month! Now he is doing all kinds of things he couldn’t do at three. We know this because he tells us something new every day that he can now do.

Example #1: When he was three he had to wear a diaper to bed but now that he is four he can wear big boy underwear. I want you folks to know that something in this kid’s bladder clicked because he hasn’t had one wet bed in a month.

Example #2: I fought with Lil’ Paul EVERY DAY the first part of school to wear his school apron. Every day he’d just throw a fit and complain about being hot. I finally just hung the dumb thing in the closest and called it quits. Then, he turned four and he magically wants to wear the thing every day. This has also happened with jogging pants (aka in our house as comfy pants). I tell you he wore a comfy pants every other day last winter, but this year he would have none of it. Of course, I’d already spent good money on several pair of comfy pants based on last years’ mode of dress. All he wanted was jeans. And skinny jeans at that. Again, the kid turned four and “poof” he was wearing comfy pant. His reasoning for all of this is that when he was three he couldn’t wear any of these things but now he is four and he can ’cause fours do that.

Oh, the logic of a four-year-old.

D. WE GOT A CAR!!!!!!!!!

Thank you to everyone who helped us with the purchasing of Snow White as the kids call it. I’m thinking about renaming the car Betsy or Pete.

Paul is a pro at driving here. I’ve seen him get in and out of some spots that would make you cringe…I know I was cringing in the passenger seat.

Me…well, you’d think I’d have learned this wouldn’t you? But alas, I have not the skills necessary for driving a manual. I know everything in theory, but theory is really only good in science and math. Paul is giving me lessons though and we haven’t killed each other yet so I would say they are going pretty well. I have tackled first through fourth gears and stopping and starting. Next lesson – the dreaded parallel parking.

E. The kids had a couple days off school so we went on a day trip to the Cilento park. We pretty much just got lost but kept driving because we didn’t know what else to do. We’d already spent over and hour and a half in the car. I mean, we were committed to this, folks. We had to find somewhere to stop for sustenance and so I could get out of the car and gain some control over my body which was in a severe state of car sickness before we even got out of Salerno good.

Despite the lostness and carsickness that eventually overcame the children as well, we had an awesome view.

F. Christmas baking commenced a week or two ago. Part of our family tradition is to make gingerbread houses. Those aren’t readily available here but lucky for us, my grandmother had given me a gingerbread house kit she’d found in her cabinet a long time ago that I’d thought to bring with us. The tradition would continue.

After spending all day in the kitchen making the gingerbread, which possesses properties unlike any dough I’ve ever seen before, then molding and gluing the house together we all gathered around to put the candy on. It came out pretty good I think.

You can go ahead and be impressed. I was. I had done it. Homemade gingerbread house. Check that off the bucket list. It was so pretty and yummy looking. But then…ten minutes later…