Amazing Weekend!

We just had one of the best weekends ever. We finally, finally sold our house after one year in this economy. We feel it is a small miracle. We had so much to celebrate this weekend with the house, the end of the school year and the possibilities of our future somewhere West! Time will tell and we cannot wait!

My 40th Birthday and our trip to D.C.

What a way to bring in my 40th with a visit to our Nations Capitol! We had such a great time visiting Christian, Rebecca, Soren and Clara.

I Have A Dream

I have a dream, a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder of a fairy tale
You can take the future even if you fail
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream - I have a dream
I'll cross the stream - I hav...e a dream - ABBA

The lead song to the school musical my son was in last night. After all of our struggles and battles and pushing through the darkness this past year, he was able to finally cross that stream with the help of his amazing teachers who helped him build that bridge. So proud of my big boy, my angel.

Gabi's song of the whale

Our Visit with Zia and Zio

We had an incredible visit with Zia Claudia and Zio Marcello. The kids really enjoyed seeing them and having family around for a change! Though their visit was short we were able visit the museum, go strawberry pickin and have a great big bonfire; and of course, lots and lots of good food!

A great Easter Weekend!

It was an amazing weekend filled with colored eggs, bike rides and lots and lots of chocolate!!

Breaking of the Egg!

Tia is going to be an American Citizen!

is feeling star spangled happiness and banner waves of pride! Just got our baby girl Tizita's date for her Swearing-In Ceremony on April 14th! I never realized how emotional I would become on my daughter becoming an American Citizen! I believe in America because we have great dreams - and because we have the opportu...nity to make those dreams come true. Oh Happy Day!See More

Gianni riding his bike! Look Mom no training wheels!

Gianni discovered the joy of riding his bike this weekend without training wheels. He took E.T on a ride around the driveway, too cute!

We Miss our Nonno

We are so grateful for our wonderful Nonno who came all the way from Italy to help us while Mommy had surgery! Thank you again Papa. :D

What we did on our Spring Break

As I have read about many of our friends trips to Disneyworld and the beach...we chose the path less traveled....We planted multiple gardens, fixed multiple pathways, cleared our forest, fertilized our yard, painted a bathroom, changed filters, Vittorio survived another cortisone injection and we learned Gianni absolutely cannot handle anti-histamine medication! Whew! Is it Monday yet! I need a break!

Sunday by the Fireside!

We had a wonderful Sunday exploring the forest and creek. It is amazing how easy it is to just walk to the creek now after it has been cleared, we can truly appreciate the beauty and enormity of our land. We topped off our day by roasting marshmellows on the fire. After the kids were bathed and put to bed, Vittorio and I went outside to the glowing embers to sit under the stars and wonder how long we would get to enjoy this stillness and beauty.

It's Cake Time!

Our Baby Girl is 2!!

It is so hard to believe that the youngest member of our family is already 2! It seems like yesterday that I flew on a jet plane to Addis Ababa to bring her home. She is such a joy in our lives. Her favorite things are princesses (especially cinderella), dress-up, dancing and playing hide and seek!

Vittorio is pain free!!

Yeah! After a successful procedure where cortisone was placed in his bulging discs he is now pain free for the first time in weeks!!

It was Election week at Gianni's School

Gianni's class at the Parish school had elections to see who would be Kindergarten Class President (Unfortunately Gianni did not get the nomination, but he took it like a good sport).

This is a list of the problems that his class felt would make the world a better place.

Problems That Need Solved:
1. wars
2. problems in Haiti, Africa and America
3. A dirty planet
4. slaves (born of their discussion of Abraham Lincoln. Although they understood there is no longer slavery in America they were sure it was a big enough problem that they wanted to make sure it wasn't happening elsewhere in the world)
5. fighting about stuff
6. Endangered species and cutting down habitats
7. No food
8. Bad laws and bad guys that make bad laws

I think it is incredibly insightful for 5 and 6 year olds! The following is a letter that Gianni wrote to the President. I love this boy

Channeling our inner Erykah Badu

Play-doh bonanza!!

Some of my favorite days with the kids is making play-doh from scratch, adding food coloring and then spending hours creating the most preposterous creatures!

not just a fingernail!

After struggling to clip Gianni's nails last night (we do not attempt this activity as often as we would like because we need to recover from Gianni's fits about it before attempting to do it again), he had an "Eureka" moment. He ran to Vittorio saying "Daddy, daddy, since you are a scientist, take this fingernail to your lab and look at it under the microscope to see what it is made of." I think he is still hoping we will find that he has cells from a mutant spider or more importantly Midichlorians(microscopic lifeforms) that would prove once and for all that he is indeed a JEDI NIGHT!

Gianni's Valentine to Gabi-----the card says it all!

Valentine Parties Galore!

Valentine week is always adventurous, trying to find the right valentines to give for each child, having to purchase treats for their classmates, treats for the teachers, getting your kids to write their names on the valentines, furiously putting together the gift bags for each child in Gianni and Gabi's classes. UGHHH...at the end of the week, I am sick of the holiday and it hasn't even happened yet!