One week down ...
Just some thoughts from the first week:
It has been a busy week. Walk a mile here, there, then back again. Lot's of walking. It is good though. I am starting to find ways to get to places ...navigating is hard. It is not a basic grid so I can get turned around on the winding streets swallowed by building after building. The tourist spots are thick with people now -avoid! The city is BEAUTIFUL. A fabulous view surrounded by God's prize creation that do not realize God loves them ...let's do something about that!
Being a very domestic kinda girl, I am feeling a bit displaced. When we heard the apartment would not be available until mid August -zoiks! That seems forever away. For the sake of space (and to not overwhelm anyone on the team) Rowen and I are staying with Brea and the boys with the Proctors. So family time is different and shared with others etc... I will be glad to get settled and make a home for my family. However, the hospitality of our team is tremendous and we are sooooo thankful!!
Today is Sunday ...and we worshiped together at a missionary friends house. They have been great! They came with a team from a different sending organization -but their team is no longer and they are here by themselves. I am looking forward to encouraging them (they already have us!). It was a sweet time of worship followed by dessert and games.
We were told the contract for the apartment would be signed tomorrow ...in Italian time that could mean Wednesday :) Once that is signed, the apartment is ours (minus the wait time for some electrical work)!! The status: we are engaged now ...awaiting the marriage ...and moving in would be the honeymoon :) It has the largest living room we have seen yet, a great kitchen (It has a KITCHEN! We don't have to put one in!!!!) and the location is perfect! Once the deal is done ...I will for sure post pics or video.
Sorry no pics ...Troy has what I need to get the pics up ...next time. If you took the time to read this -kudos to you :) Thanks!
The Last Week
This has been the last week ...still surreal to us. It has been wonderful to meet with friends and have some sweet moments -but who wants to say good-bye. Not me! I will miss our little house, the yard, great neighbors, all of our wonderful friends and family ...our church! I am thankful that we can stay in-touch easily! facebook, skype, email. In times past saying "good-bye" was just that ... folks were relegated to unreliable mail service, staying connected was iffy. Now it is "good-bye ...I'll fb or email when I get there." Yeah for that! Here is our week in pics :)
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| spending time with friends -love you Baldwins! |
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| Thank You church for a wonderful time of worship and time to connect before we left -it was awesome! Thank you Wendi for this fabulous cake! |
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| So glad Noah got to have time with his special bud Benny! |
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| One last breakfast with the boys. I enjoyed cooking for them and taking part in "the breakfast club" |
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| Yep -there she is -our life broken down into tubs. Now, question is will they all make it? We shall see :) |
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| Caleb has "uncle" in his blood. My kids LOVE Caleb and Andi |
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| One very special thing to me was to have my sister here! She and my niece Madi were a huge help ...and we got to celebrate her birthday with her! |
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| :) Andi & Noah :) |
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| Noah & Rowen's "show" for us on Friday night |
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| WATER PARTY!!!! Fuuuun! |