Latest Update

[04.10.2009] Okay,okay we are really not trying to have this much drama in our lives but our plans have changed yet again! We are moving back to Texas...in 3 weeks! We are leaving on the 11th to find a house and then go back to Italy for a week before the movers show up the week of the 27th. Then on May 4th we will all get on a plane together to leave Italy. Kirk will escort us to Texas and get us all settled in a residence inn type place and then he will fly back to Italy to complete the last two weeks of his assignment. He will come back to Texas for good on the 19th of May or so.

So the baby will be born in Texas and with a little luck our sea shipment will arrive and we can be in a house before that happens! Fortunately we have a lot of stuff in storage that we can move into a house and be somewhat livable as soon as we can close. Well, that is it for now...pray that we find a great house that has good resale value :) who knows how long we'll be there?!

Big news...

[03.07.2009] Well, we've had quite a roller-coaster ride the last few months and it doesn't look like we are getting off anytime soon! In case you haven't already heard, there is a new Groninga on the way! The baby should arrive in July and since we have decided to stay in Italy , the baby will be born in Syracuse, NY where we have free rent with Robin's parents. Kirk's boss is willing to let him work from there for most of the summer so he won't miss the birth and then Jake and I will stay until the baby has his or her passport. Hopefully that will be in time for school to start in September.

We just got back from a week in Marbella, Spain and it was great to have some nice quiet family time and sun! Kirk got to go golfing a few times and Jake loved the "kids club". We went to a "sea world" type place as well as safari adventure park which was a lot of fun for all of us. One day we even went to Gibraltar (a UK territory on the southern tip of Spain just across from Morocco).

Aside from all of the drama, we are doing well. Jake is super excited about being a big brother and has been reading to the baby (in Italian of course). Since Kirk is the boss now he hasn't had to travel much which is a huge blessing but we are running low on cheddar cheese so it is a good thing he has to go back next week to England.

Robin has been busy helping to plan a women's retreat here in Varese at the end of March and still goes to Milan every friday to help lead a Bible study so that has made the time go by very fast and we can't believe that the pregnancy is half way through! The baby moves all the time every kick is precious.

Back home in Italy...

[01.21.2008] We had a great time in Minnesota for Christmas with Kirk's family. Jake had a blast with his cousins and celebrated his 6th birthday! Now we are back home and getting back into the swing of things. We are looking forward to breaking up the winter with a little sunshine in Malaga, Spain in February.

It's all greek to me!

[12.11.2008]

We had a pretty crazy trip to Athens this past weekend...started out fine until we hiked up to the entrance of the Acropolis only to find out that the workers were on strike! For the entire weekend! So back down we went and saw the city by double-decker tour bus (we've never done this in all of our travels but it was actually kinda nice). Sunday morning we went to the top of the biggest hill in Athens so that we could look down on the Acropolis and that was nice except all the stair climbing. Oblivious to what happened on Saturday night, we went to the downtown pedestrian area and were a little surprised to see police in riot gear walking past us. One had a slushy in hand so we didn't take it too seriously :) Anyway, after we saw them walk past us again and appear to be leaving the area (must be safe) we figured we'd go down and see what was going on. We go to the bottom of the pedestrian area and saw broken glass and storefronts ruined and burnt rags on the ground. Workers were busy boarding up the stores and then we saw the fire truck near this burned out store. We decided to go back up to the top of the square and get on the tour bus again but the operator said that they weren't running because the police told them to stay put because the anarchists were on the move and they weren't sure where they were going! At that we decided our Athens tour was over and got on the subway back to our hotel to wait for our airport taxi. I'm sure you've all seen on the news what has happened since then. Glad to be home in Italy!

Can't believe it's almost winter!

[11.11.2008]

This fall has gone by so fast! We've had lots of visitors and it was wonderful to see Robin's parents and Kirk's oldest brother Stuart and his family. Jake loved spending time with some of his cousins. School keeps us pretty busy. 4 days a week Jake is at school from 8-4! Very intense but they have lots of free time (recess) and classes like gym, music and Jake's favorite...English! Obviously he is the star student :). I've posted some pictures from September, October and November. Enjoy.

Long time no update...Jake started school!

[09.18.2008]

It was a crazy summer and the fall has not really slowed down yet either! Jake started school last week and we are still trying to get a routine worked out.

Beach vacation!

[07.02.2008]

I know that most of you think we are on permanent vacation living here but it's not really true! Instead of going to another strange city to see some old buildings...we took a real vacation! Sardinia is a large island below Corsica and north west of Sicily. We rented a house from one of the moms from Jake's school which was about a 5 minute car ride from the beach La Cinta in the town of San Teodoro. We had a great time and enjoyed the sun but 6 days was definitely enough. We were ready to get home and leave the sand, salt and sunscreen behind!

Our longest trip yet...

[05.17.2008]

3,000 kilometers and 11 days later, we survived our longest journey yet! We started out driving from Italy to Echternach, Luxembourg. After 2 nights there we moved on to Brussels and spent 2 days there. From Brussels it was on to Holland. We spend a total of 4 nights in Holland including Amsterdam and Groningen. We then started to make our way south through Germany with a 2 night stopover in Karlsuhe and then made the final 5 hour drive home. Needless to say, everyone was glad to get out of the car!

Easter in England

[04.27.2008]

Kirk has been working in Yeovil, England (about 3 hours from London) on and off for a few weeks so Jake and Robin went to visit him and spend Easter in London. Unfortunately the weather was terrible..rain, freezing rain, hail and a little snow...so that put a damper on our activities but we visited Stonehenge, the biggies in London and the Montacute House and the highlight was Easter Sunday church service all by choir at St. Paul's Cathedral.

Just got back from Barcelona, Spain

[03.03.2008]

We were able to make it on our trip to Barcelona after a short trip to the states for the funeral of Robin's Grandma. We were very grateful that we could be there to be with her Grandpa and the rest of her family. It's times like these that we really feel the physical distance but God moved mountains for us to make what seemed like an impossible journey.

In spite of more complications trying to come back to Italy we were able to make it back just in time (literally 7 hours before) for our flight to Barcelona.

We really appreciated the city and it was a good time for us to spend together as a family.

Just got back from the mountains!!

[02.03.2008]

We had a great time on our settimana bianca (white week) in the Dolomiti mountains of Italy. Kirk and I skiied everyday and so did Jake!! He was in ski school for two hours every morning and he absolutely loved it! Hope you enjoy the pictures and video!

It finally snowed!!

[01.03.2008]

Well we finally got snow here in northern Italy! We got to play in it for just one day, the sleet began this morning. But at least we got a snowman in and a little time on the new sled.