I was in the middle of reading something on the computer when he came in.

“Mamma,” he said (probably more than once)

“Hmmmm?”  I vaguely remember having said. 

“The bafroom stinks, me’s fix it.”

“I’ll be there in a minute,” I replied and continued reading my article.

I don’t know how long I sat there engrossed in what I was reading while my son was “fixing” the stink.  I do know that when I finally remembered that he had come to tell me something I’m sure glad I hadn’t put him off any longer.  This is what I saw. 

 

 

As he proudly smiled at me with the lighter in his hand, it hit me.  How often am I  so engrossed with what is going on around me that I miss Gods’ whisper?   Or say, “hang on a minute, I’m a little busy right now.”  By not really listening, what have I missed?  How many times do I long for Him to speak to me in an audible voice, a voice that I can hear from across the way?  The thundering voice that He spoke to Moses with would be so easy to hear and listen to.

The LORD’s voice is heard over the sea. The glorious God thunders; the LORD thunders over the ocean. The LORD’s voice is powerful; the LORD’s voice is majestic, the LORD’s voice makes the lightning flash, the LORD’s voice shakes the oaks, and strips the leaves off the trees. In his Temple everyone says, “Glory to God!”
Psalm 29:3-9

Yet, hearing His whisper, like Elijah, takes work and devotion on my part  because listening for His gentle whisper means my eyes need to be on Him and not on the myriad of things that surround me.  It means I need to be close enough to Him in order to hear His gentle whisper.

The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, hut the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
1 Kings 19:11-12, NIV

My son standing with a lighter in his hands, proudly showing me the candles he had lit, not only was a reminder to pay closer attention to him, but to continue to draw close to Jesus and really listen.

Some of you may recall that Bubba went through this stage where he wanted to draw on everything with anything that would leave a stain…markers, lipstick, stamps, etc.  We didn’t get a chance to repaint our “decorated” walls before we left for America, so guess what we jumped right into as soon as the effects of jet lag wore off?  Yep, we’ve painted all but two rooms in the last week and a half and we’ve used our children and their friends to do it!  Matter of fact, our building doesn’t know quite what to think of us after one of our neighbors conversation with one of our “employees”  The lady met one the the kids coming over.  Noticing her serious face she asked,  “Aren’t you happy to go play with your friends?”  Her reply?  “Play?, no I’m going to work!”

They haven’t decided if we are just crazy to let kids help us paint or if we expect too much of them!  Thankfully, the moms of those who came to help saw it as a good learning experience and were thankful it was one they didn’t have to oversee!  The kids did have fun while working together to sand walls, fill holes, resand and then finally paint and I have an almost finished repainted apartment!  The way I see it, it’s a win win situation.

If I close my eyes tight enough I can almost imagine myself here.  In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Rewound all the way back to the end of September stepping  off the boat, beginning to blog about the adventures we had had and were about to have.

For some reason, every time I open my eyes I’m not seeing water or grandparents!

My seven month hiatus was never meant to be taken.  I had every intention of blogging our whole six month American adventure.  However, those first couple of weeks were so full of change and no routine that writing about what was going on was just too daunting of a task!  So, without further ado, let’s get reacquainted!  If you’re still hanging around, thanks! 

We are back in Naples.  Jet lag just about did me in this time around.  Crossing time zones is so much easier when done on a cruise ship!  Micah and Emma are back in school.  It took them no time at all to get back into speaking Italian.  It took only 2 days before they were both mixing languages in one sentence.  Alessia, with the little Italian she remembers can organize and have all the kids playing in minutes.  Benjamin, well, let’s just say he has turned into one little dream!

Well, that’s it in a tiny nutshell.   We’ve jumped right back into things (and most days this is what it looks like!) 

    

After a 14 day TRANSATLANTIC crossing we are now in Florida enjoying time with grandparents.  The kids were super surprised at our mode of travel as they expected to get on an airplane.  Out of the 14 days we were at sea we only had one day where Emma and I had to sport the sea bands.  We had a blast and there is no way I could share the whole experience in one post.  So I think I’ll just sprinkle a little of our adventure into the posts where I tell you how we are dealing with being back in America. 

We went to church with Dad and Yvonne on Sunday and boy was it a good feeling to sit down and not have a child whisper in my ear that the sweat stains under my arms were huge!  This was not because it wasn’t blazing hot outside but because we rode in a car all the way and parked in the parking lot just outside the front door.  You might be surprised at how riding in an air-conditioned car and not on a super hot metro lowers one’s stress level.  At the end of the service I committed my first culture blunder.  I leaned over and asked Yvonne where we were suppose to put the Lord’s supper cups…I about fell out of my chair when she said, “Oh, they just throw them away.”  Yep, it’s going to be a fun filled American adventure!

See this face?  She could hardly believe we were going to America on the Disney Cruise!

As we were waiting in the terminal we snapped one of the millions of character pictures we would take throughout our journey.

 

We were chosen as the very first family to board the boat.

      

After planning, saving, and preparing for this surprise for a year and a half Charlie and I were almost as shell shocked as the kids.  The first thing we did was eat lunch!

After the mandatory emergency drill we joined Mickey and his friends on deck to celebrate our sailing away from Barcelona.

   

My favorite picture of day 1

There’s been so much happening and I’ve wanted to sit down and write it all down but just haven’t had time.  After trying to make a phone call and realizing the phone company has suspended our phone line three days early, I figured if I don’t write now it may be too late later as I have no idea when the internet is going to go.  It has taken me 2 5 hours just to write this sentence, this is how life has been this last week.  It’s kind of like Christmas but without all the gifts!  Everybody wants to say goodbye so there has been lots of phone calls, last dinners, and pop in visits.

 

I’m not complaining, I Love the fact that God has given us so many friends, it’s just that a simple task takes a little longer than what it should!  We actually had a good conversation over our last real pizza about how much God has given us these last 3 years in Naples.  Emma and Micah came home from playing downstairs and the minute Emma closed the doors she broke down in tears.  When she could finally talk, she said that she was so excited about going to America but she was sure going to miss her friends.  We then discussed our first year here and how we prayed for friends.  He is faithful.  We decided that crying about going to miss your friends was a whole lot better than crying because you have no friends!

We have finally finished packing, and closing down house.  The washing machine put a little kink in the whole process as I had to hold the tube for quite some time as it wasn’t draining.  But, the last load is done and we are ready for the beginning of our adventure.

                                                                                 

 

  Remember this post?

 

Well, sometimes DREAMS do come true.  I’m sure I’ll have many a story to tell about this next 14 day Worthy Adventure.  Until then, go hug a friend.

is a little sassy,

loves to make and create,

is an artist,

can roll her eyes like nobodies business,

loves, and I mean loves to eat,

watches out for her sisters and brother,

loves to pose for pictures

and loves when teams come to town.

July 2011-World Changers

It had been a tough day. I had to keep Emma home from going with the World Changers. Pneumonia has a way of making you feel like you feel O.K. but the minute you get to moving you feel horrible. We know this because the day before we had met up with one group that was down at the park bay. Emma sat on the bench and just watched and by the time we got home she was worn out. Wanting her to get better we decided staying at home, much to her disappointment, was the best option.

Staying behind while a team was here was a new experience for Emma. Micah and Emma, our two oldest kids, LOVE when teams are here, even more when the teams consist of teenagers. This was World Changers week which meant a ton of teenagers!! The kids love to be around the “cool, English speaking kids.”

While the rest of the kids and I stayed home, Micah and Charlie went out with their team. Micah hooked up with some of the girls and off they went to find the kids they had been talking with all week long. Someone snapped these pictures of Micah that day.

 

When she came home she excitedly told me the story behind this photo.

“Mom,” she began. “I got to help someone know Jesus.”

“Wow! that’s great,” I said. “What happened?”

“You know, Mom.” “He asked how to believe in Jesus.” “And then we helped him ask Jesus into his heart.”

“Did you do all the talking,” I asked?

“No, I just translated.” “But Mom, after he said the prayer, he said thank-you.” “Do you think he believes now?”

“Well, Babes, I think you helped him begin to believe and have a real friendship with Jesus.” “I’m so proud of you for being willing to translate and help lead someone to Jesus.”

“Yeah, Mom.” The conversation ended there as she found her sister and told her all about the day.

I had to bite down a bit of jealousy at first as I was not there to see first-hand my child have a part in helping lead someone to Jesus. But as I reflected back on the conversation, I realized how thankful I am for my children and their willingness to go out and be translators for the “cool, American teenagers who love Jesus,” it doesn’t really matter if I’m there or not. I pray that she, as well as the other four, will always be bold in their witness no matter what language they are speaking.

The Bible says in Timothy 4:12 “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” My prayer for the World Changers, especially the other four in the picture with Micah, is that they will continue to set an example for others and that they will continue to share their faith. I thank God that my 9 year old daughter, along with the World Changer kids, was able to be used to further His kingdom.

We have 9 days left before heading to America for a couple of months.  I have a 4 year old with fever and a stomach ache.  Better now than next week.  Right?!

      

“Oh yeah, he did it, Daddy passed his test,” is the song that was sung by 4 happy kids and 1 super proud Mom as Charlie walked through the door this afternoon. After a long 5 months of studying and taking and retaking the Italian driving theory test and then the wait to take the practice test, Charlie now holds in his hand an Italian drivers license. Thank you to all who prayed over this. Perseverance took on a new meaning during this time and through your prayer support Charlie ran this race to the finish.

         

When was the last time you looked inside a nose?  Or had the opportunity to look?  If I had known I was going to get such a detailed look inside Micah’s nose this afternoon I would have begged Charlie to cancel his appointment in order to go with us.  Dr. visits do a little something to me, especially when new procedures are done.  It doesn’t matter if I’m the patient or not.  My heart starts to beating a little faster, my languages mix up (meaning no telling what language I’m going to ask my questions in!) I break out in a sweat and I say the dumbest things. 

Micah has had some snot trouble and continual sneezing attacks among some other symptoms so I decided to take her to the ear, nose and throat specialist.  This Dr. is very sweet and gentle with kids (I know this because she has seen all 4 of mine at one point or another)  Anyway, we get there and she asks Micah some questions and does the routine looking in the ears, nose and throat exam.  THEN, she pulls out this contraption.

       

This is a rhinoscope.  A fishing rod looking item with a teeny tiny video camera on the tip.  It is “snaked” through the nose in order to explore the nasal cavity.    She explains to Micah that she is going to put this in her nose and that it is not going to feel very good (actually, like little ants nibbling) but she will be very fast.  Micah sits in my lap with tears in her eyes and gets ready for the procedure.  The Dr. “snakes” the rhinoscope through one nostril but doesn’t get very far because of swelling of one of the turbinates (we have three in each nostril).   She then turns to the other nostril and goes a little deeper in but has to pull out because of snot rendering the picture on the computer no longer visible.  After cleaning the little camera off, much to our dismay, she says she need to go a little farther.  At this point I wasn’t sure who was sweating more profusely, me or Micah.  The Dr. tells Micah to count to 5 (real slow like) and she would be finished.  She “snakes” the camera in again and I begin to count for a crying Micah..1….”hang in there,” I whisper ..2… “breathe”.….3…”we can do it”….4….”almost done now”…..5…” I’m going to buy you that big eyed stuffed animal you saw when we’re through……and the rhinoscope comes out.    As Micah is calming down (and I try to get my heart to stop beating so fast) the Dr. preps the video.

She walks us step by step through each nostril explaining what each thing is and what it’s job is.  The computer screen shows us an image like this one. The swollen looking bell thing is a turbinate and it’s purpose is to humidify and filter the air that is inhaled through the nose.  When a cold causes severe congestion (you know the dreaded stuffed up nose), it is usually this inferior turbinate structure that swells.  

          

The little camera made its way all the way back to the adenoids which are located where the nose meets the throat.  These things help keep your body healthy by trapping harmful bacteria and viruses that you breathe in or swallow. Adenoids also contain cells that make antibodies to help your body fight infections

While watching the images of my daughters inner nose, all I could think of was God, Elohim, the Mighty Creator.  I was looking at an intricately designed nostril where everything fit and it’s components all have a job to do in order to give our lungs the clean filtered air we need.   He didn’t just plop a nose on our face, He carefully designed one of the many aspects of our bodies.

     

The Dr. used all kinds of vocabulary I was not sure of (remember, she is an Italian Dr. therefore speaks and explains all things in Italian.)  Because language learning is ongoing and I have no problem telling someone I don’t understand and would they please explain it to me, she did.  Now, I know in my head that I understood her explanation, but to explain what I know to be true in Italian in English is a little difficult.  I do know that Micah has swollen turbinates and adenoids (Micah was so brave as that little bity camera “snaked” its way all the way back to look at the adenoids) due to allergies.   But by far, the most important thing both Micah and I know and were reminded of again in a new way this afternoon is this:

       “You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful (even swollen turbinates and adenoids) I KNOW THAT FULL WELL.      Psalm 139:13-14