4 More Weeks in Italy

Can you believe that I only have four more weeks in this beautiful place?!  This summer has gone by at a supersonic speed! I'll be sad to leave this place and these people, but I am so excited to go home!  I miss my family!  :)

For the last couple of weeks Elia and I have been home alone until Gioele gets back in the afternoon.  It's been good...and challenging.  I take Gioele to school, then Elia and I have breakfast.  I have my quiet time after everything is cleaned up and then we hang out/play for a bit.  We do an english lesson late morning and that is a trying time for me.  It isn't Elia's favorite thing in the world...meaning he often fights it and wants to do other things.  So it's a good thing I have my quiet time before - I need it to make it through the lesson!  But then after the lesson we play for a bit and then have lunch.  By the time lunch is over and everything is cleaned up, we are both tired and are happy to take it easy.  After picking Gioele up from school, we usually have time to play cards for a bit or watch TV (it's too hot to play outside now), before we leave for swim lessons.  It's a nice hour of sitting outside and reading my book.  :)  But we are now done with swim lessons!  By the time we get home, it is close to dinner time.  This is the last week of this routine because Rosanna will be done with work and Gioele will be done with school.  I am excited to see what next week brings and the change in schedules.  My days will definitely change drastically.  I am excited for the change, I get kind of bored with repetition, so the change is most welcome!  Plus I am excited to go to the beach more!  I am pretty sure I've never been this tan in my life, and I still have a month of the beach!  My own parents probably won't even recognize me!  ;)


So that is my daily goings on during the week.  The weekend is always different.  I love the weekends!  They are so exciting!  Friday night was Gioele's school dinner.  We don't do this in the States, apparently everyone does it here...but the whole class (and teachers) get together right before school gets out and they all have dinner together.  It's so fun!  The kids loved it and the parents did as well.  We went to a pizzeria right on the beach, it was gorgeous!  I took a few pictures, I will add them at the end.


On Saturday night, I went out with my friend Marianna and we had a great time.  We met up with two of her friends, one of which, she told me, is a famous Italian athlete!  She plays sand tennis, and is very good!  We wanted to just have a laid back night and have dinner, so we went to this little place that was right on the beach in San Vincenzo (google it!  It's gorgeous!).  It was definitely a local place, we practically drove through the woods to get to it, and you would not be able to find it unless you knew where you were going.  It was so fun!  We stayed there for hours.  The guys who ran the place were very nice and the service was excellent.  We ended up staying late and all of the workers ended up coming and sitting with us and bringing us more and more food.  We each ordered only a pizza and a drink and ended up with appetizers, 5 pizzas, a dessert pizza, bowls of fruit, and dancing lessons!  Some of the guys even knew a little bit of english!  So they all tried to show me everything that they could say, it was really funny.  Overall, it was a fun night!


Sunday was another day at the beach!  Marianna took me so that we could see our famous sand tennis friend play a match!  It was a very nice and relaxing afternoon!  On Sunday night we went to Daniele's family for a big dinner and to watch the UK/Italy fooball game (match?).  It was at the Calidario, which is owned by his cousins.  It was really funny, because before I came here, I googled Venturina.  The Calidario was the main thing that came up, with it's natural spring and fancy restaurant.  So imagine my surprise when we got there and I saw what used to be the image I pictured when I thought of Venturina.  I was even more surprised to learn that his family had built and owned the beautiful place!  It was a really fun night, which started out with the owner, discovering that there was an American in his restaurant (me) and wanting to trick his father (the builder) into thinking that I was his niece from America!  I had no idea what was going on, my only job was to say "zio" when I saw him (zio is the Italian word for uncle).  It was a pretty funny beginning to a great night!  I even met a young girl who spoke english really well!  She had me sit next to her and we talked throughout the whole dinner.  It was great to talk with someone closer to my age and just goof off.  We exchanged numbers, so hopefully I will get to see her again soon!  


Monday night was a very exciting one as well!  Rosanna, Elia, and Gioele all performed at their music school's performance night.  Rosanna sang the song from Top Gun, "Take My Breath Away", which she has been practicing for months.  Right when I got here in May she had me sing it so that she could hear how to pronounce the words.  Elia played "Chariots of Fire" on the piano, and Gioele played a little drum in the intro song to the event.  It was the 20th Century Fox intro bit, and he was so cute!  There were a bunch of students up on stage, but he was the youngest one and at the very front!  I laughed so hard because it was just too precious.  It was a fun night with the fam.  :)


On a more embarrassing note, I am sunburned again.  For the third time.  I promise I put sunscreen on!  My skin just isn't used to this much sun exposure...but it isn't too bad.  I'm practically all better.  :)


Well, I think that is all for now.  I wasn't really sure what to write for this post, so I figured I would just go through my days.  I hope it wasn't boring!  Oh!  And I just love the comments being left on my posts.  So thank you to all who have posted them.  Papa Rex, you are so encouraging and I love reading your comments on every post - thank you!!!  I love you! :)  Lauren, I miss you too!  I can't wait to get back and come hang out with you and your precious kiddos!  Aunt Cindy, I just love hearing from you and the girls.  I was really encouraged and thankful for what you wrote - I love you!  Love you too Claire and Ellie!! :)
Lastly, I love you dad and miss you more than I can say.  You are such an inspiration to me and a great example for us kids.  You have taught me so much and continue to teach me in ways you probably don't even know.  You are the greatest man I know!  Love you so much!

Me and Gio

Elia (this is where we had Gio's school dinner)

Sunset

Right before their performances!

Thanks for reading all!
Maddy

Still Don't Like Seafood...

I've been sitting here trying to think of what exactly I want to share with all of you.  It's been a while since my last update, and I want to be consistent in my posts.  This will probably more writing and less pictures...I hope that's okay.  :)  First off, I want to apologize for all of my terrible grammar issues in the last post!  I reread it today and noticed so many mistakes!  I usually write right before I go to bed, like I am now, so I think I am just too tired to read through and spell check everything, so just ignore them.  :)

I've officially passed the halfway point of my trip.  It is crazy to think that I am going home in less than 40 days.  I miss being home and my family so so much.  It's also been a lot harder being away from camp than I thought it would be.  Camp has been my life every summer since I was 10 years old, so it's really weird to think that camp is going on and I'm not there.  It's hard, but it's also exhilarating!  The Lord is challenging me in new and exciting ways, I can't imagine being anywhere else this summer.  While I miss camp and all of the awesome things that go on at New Life Ranch, I am so glad that the Lord brought me to Tuscany for this adventure.  I've always wondered what it would be like to live life in another country, and that is exactly what I've been experiencing this summer.  I haven't gone to any museums, historical sites, or anything like that...I have been experiencing the Italian culture first hand.  I've been grocery shopping, bike riding around the neighborhood and parks, the beach, walking along the town square at night, local pizzerias.  I've taken the boys to school, I've taken them to their swim lessons, I've cooked for them, gone to big family dinners, spent a day out on the sea on a brand new boat, and so so much more!  I have been living life!  How cool is that?! I get really excited thinking about everything I will take back with me this summer, things that I've learned about Italy and her people.  It's such a different and amazing culture, I have definitely come to love these people...and I can't wait to share it with others when I get back home.

Like I said above, we spent Sunday out on the sea in Daniele's brand new boat!  It was so gorgeous and perfect weather for a day spent swimming, eating, snoozing, and just relaxing!  We met up with a bunch of the family's friends and they tied five boats all together and everyone was hopping to and from all of the boats.  It was so fun!  Here are a few pictures of our time out there!

A fun day is in store for us!

A nearby town called Piombino, where the marina was located.

My view from where I sat and read :)

The boys loved to climb through the window into the cabin...

Beautiful!

The sun was going down when we were leaving

My two buddies!  They were so tired..haha

Where we spent our Sunday...

I loved how the water looked...so smooth.

So that was our day in pictures!  It is just so gorgeous everywhere I go...I love it!  I am fascinated with the ocean, I freak out every single time I see it...and the family is so amused by this.  I keep trying to tell them how Oklahoma is NOT by an ocean and the closest one is not close at all.  They are very intrigued by this, having all grown up so close to the sea.  It's always a fun conversation. :)

I wanted to share with you all something that the Lord has been trying to get through to me.  It's something that I've always known, always have struggled with, and unfortunately will struggle with again.  It's about the importance of getting into His word daily and taking time to just be with Him.  It's something I've always struggled with, using excuses of exhaustion, not having time, laziness, etc.  The excuses are endless, but they are also pointless.  The Lord knows me, inside and out.  He knows exactly what I'm doing when I choose to watch a movie or take a nap - rather than spend time with him.  I don't really understand why I choose to not spend time with Him...He always has a way of cheering me up and encouraging during those times.  My days are always better, and easier, after I have a quiet time.  This summer, for example, I have been really really bad about spending time with Him.  I think I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this, I could leave my family and go to a foreign country - not knowing a single soul or even the language - and I could do it by myself.  That was so silly of me, you guys.  As the days went on, and I've already shared some of this with you all, but I would get so frustrated and was quick to get angry when the boys misbehaved.  I knew right away that I was being ridiculous in thinking that I could do this on my own.  I'm only me...but God is God and can do all things.  So lately I have been making time to spend alone and in the Word.  It is SO GOOD, you guys!!  The Lord is so cool in the ways He encourages me, He always lets me know exactly what I need to hear.  

The other day I was reading My Utmost for His Highest (which I LOVE) and it was talking about how one of our greatest hindrances in our spiritual lives is that we will only look for big things to do.  He explained that we need to learn how to live in the daily routine of life with the purpose of forming godly habits and starting with ourselves.  There are so many blessings in everyday life, and I am definitely seeing that this summer!  There are so many opportunities for us to further His Kingdom without having to go looking for that "big thing", whatever that may be.  We just have to keep our eyes, and hearts, open to whatever and wherever He may lead us.  So I challenge you all to keep your eyes and hearts open to whatever He may be trying to show you and teach you!

Oh, and in reference to the title of this post...it's true - I still do not like seafood.  Surprised?  Probably not.  But, in BIG news, I did eat lobster last week and actually liked it!  I even had seconds! :)  Go me!!

Lastly, I just want to ask for continued prayer for patience with the boys and that I will continue in my daily quiet times.  I am also missing my family a lot!  I am already so excited to see them all when I get home.  :)  Thanks so much for reading everybody!  I will update again soon, promise! 

One Whole Month....Without Milk!

Well folks, it's true.  One thing I think about when I think about having been here for a whole month is the fact that I haven't had a sip of milk in one whole month.  For those of you who know how much my family and I love milk, you will know what a big deal this is...we love our milk!  I miss it dearly and can't wait to indulge in a lot of cereal when I get home.  :)

In other news, my first day with Elia at home was yesterday and it went really good!  We did our English lesson, played cards, went for a walk, had a wonderful lunch, and had an overall good time.  He did a great job of listening to me and not putting up many fights, so that was a huge blessing!  Thank you so much for the prayers! :)

I wanted to tell all of you about this past weekend!  It was such a fun few days and I could go on and on about all of it, but I will try to limit myself.  Friday night I was able to go out with my friend Marianna again and boy did she come through!  We went to a town called Follonica and walked around the town square and the seaside.  It was so beautiful!  It was dark out, but I am hoping to go back during the daytime to explore a bit.  After walking around for a while, we drove to this club that looked like it was seriously from a really cool movie!  There were so many people there and everyone was dancing and the lights were crazy!  It was very upscale and right on the beach with sitting areas set up on the sand.  There were even firecrackers coming out of champagne bottles, streamers flying everywhere, and guys running around trying to get pictures of people (maybe famous Italians?? I wouldn't really know...).  But it was just such a fun atmosphere, I had a blast!  I was able to get a couple of pictures, the first is of me in Follonica and the second is over Marianna and I on the sand at the club!

Friday night was a lot of fun and I definitely made some memories, but Saturday night was almost more fun!  Elia had an end-of-the-year dinner with his class that night.  The dinner party was located at the top of this hill overlooking Venturina, and it had the most gorgeous villa on the top.  We ate right inside the villa!  It was such a gorgeous place to have dinner.  Here are some pictures of the view and the building!

We had a fabulous dinner of pasta pomodora and hotdogs with fries!  Rosy asked me if I was okay with being seated with the kids and I gave a definite yes!  I don't think I've ever been so glad to be sitting at the kids table.  I have never been so excited to see a hotdog and fries in my life!  The adults were served some delicious looking appetizers and I was feeling a little disappointed, but then the servers came out with clams!  So let's just say I was super glad with my hotdog!  Call me silly, but I took a picture!  (The kids at the table laughed so hard that I took a picture of a hotdog...)  

After dinner the kids and I went outside to play in the garden.  It was dark by that time (we finished eating by 10pm and didn't leave until around midnight...everything is always so much later here!)  But I had the best time with those kids.  When they heard me speaking English, they just stared at me and waited for me to talk more.  It was hilarious!  Eventually they were talking all over each other asking me questions about where I was from, where I was born, how old I was, what my parents' names were, etc!  I tried my best to answer in Italian and asked them the few questions I knew in Italian.  It was just a great time for me to teach them English words and them to teach me some Italian.  I had the best night!  Here are some pictures of the kids and a video of Federica teaching me an Italian game!

The view was gorgeous!  You could see all of Venturina!

I think I've said it before, but I'm not a huge fan of seafood....at all.  So I was a bit nervous, knowing that Venturina was right on the coast and thought that surely I'd be having it a lot.  Well, I have been very proud of myself - I try everything (no matter what it is) just to say that I tried it and I've even enjoyed things I didn't think I liked (like cherries, spinach, kiwi, artichoke salad, etc.)  Without knowing it, however, I ate a pasta that had octopus and cuttlefish (I had to look it up) pieces in it...I didn't ask what the meat was until after dinner on purpose.  I literally almost threw everything up.  If you don't know what cuttlefish is, just look it up and you will understand!  I've also had fish...at least three times that I know of and it really wasn't bad!  I don't really care to eat it again, but at least I did it!  :)  I really wish my dad were here...he would love the food - fresh fish, fresh produce, everything.  I would definitely let him eat my fish for me!

Lastly, I want to leave you all with some pictures to remind you to always protect your skin!  Enjoy! ;)

Thank you all so much for reading and for the prayers!  It means so much to me that I have so many people supporting me throughout this experience.  Look forward to the next blog...we are putting Daniele's boat into the water on Thursday and then spending the night out on the water this weekend I think!  I am super pumped!  I will make sure to take lots of pictures!  Until next time!  Ciao ciao!!

Hello all!
I felt like it was time for another update!  I have been here for almost 4 weeks, and things are going great!  Italy is exactly what I thought it would be...I am having such a great time!
This past weekend was a definite highlight - I did lots of fun things!  Friday night I went out with the fam and we met another family for dinner at this fabulous pizzeria.  I had the Cuatro Formaggi (Four Cheese) and a coke!  (My first since leaving the US!)  It was such a great meal, and to top it off I was (practically) forced to order dessert, which was also very good!  We then made our way to this fair that comes to Venturina that has everything a person could want.  Rosy told me that people come from all over Italy to sell their goods - the best cheeses, meats, leather, cars, etc.  It was so cool to walk through and just look at everything, as well as sample some of that yummy cheese!  I was also "force" fed Italian cotton candy (it was okay), these dessert chip things (not so good), and an Italian donut (VERY good).  There were so many people there and the atmosphere was just so exciting and fun!  I absolutely loved the experience.  If that wasn't enough, we also made another trip to the Luna Fair with the fun rides and games!  It was a blast to enjoy the carnival with the other family as well.
Unfortunately, I forgot my camera that night...so I don't have any pictures.  I'm very sad about it, but I do have other pictures to share with you all!
On Sunday, my friend Marianna and I went to the beach to soak up some sun!  We spent all afternoon there, and since the sun doesn't go down until around 9pm here...we were able to stay until 7!  It was such a nice day to get away from the kiddos and just relax.  It was much needed and I am excited to go back soon!  It's still so weird to me that a beach is so close to where I'm living...it's practically a dream come true!  I plan on spending a ridiculous amount of time out on the beach.  :)

Marianna and I at the beach!  (Couldn't get the pics to flip - sorry!)

So the other day I was really wanting to play a card game.  If you know my family, then you know how much we love our card games...and I missed it!  So I decided to teach the boys some games.  I wanted to start out simple, so I taught them a game my Aunt Mindy and I love to play - Go Fish!  They absolutely loved it!  The only rule I added was that they speak only in English (it was our English lesson for the day) - and they did great.  We've played almost every day since I taught them, they really can't get enough of the game.  So here are some pictures of us playing our very first game!

Gioele

Elia

We had tons of fun playing together...and Gioele has pretty much beat us every single time.  We play this memory game as well - and I feel like I have a somewhat good memory.  But even though I really do try to win, Gioele has beat me almost every time!  (I've won twice out of around 15 games)  He is one good game player.

Overall, things here are still going great!  I miss home, but haven't been homesick since the first few days - so that is a huge blessing!  I feel like the Lord really prepared me for this trip over the last couple of years.  He's taught me a lot about how I need to rely on Him and not always on the people around me, and that has definitely come in handy this summer.  Coming here and not knowing a soul was extremely scary - but I knew that the Lord was still with me and that is a comfort I really can't describe.  He is so good to me - He brought me to this beautiful country AND is here with me to comfort and protect me...how cool is that?!

Lastly, I have a prayer request.  I have gotten a tad bit frustrated with the boys lately - silly tantrums over silly things...you know how it goes.  I just really want to show them love, patience, and to not lose my cool over their behavior.  They are such wonderful boys, but I need them to realize that I expect more than that - more than tantrums, yelling, disobeying.  Being in classrooms for school the last couple of years, I have found that when a teacher expects the best out of her students, they are more likely to work harder and try to be the best version of themselves.  That's what I want these boys to realize, is that they have the potential to be obedient and kind and helpful.  So just pray that I can communicate with them and have patience with them.  :)

Thank you all so much for reading and for praying for me!  I appreciate it so so much!  I love love love the emails and comments I have gotten - keep it up! :)
Love you all,
Maddy

Happy birthday Jon!

Jon - I don't really know how else to get this message to you....so here is a post dedicated to you!

Well, it's my little brother Jon's 16th birthday today!  I am so sad I can't be there for it, birthdays are my absolute favorite!  But Jon - know that I have been thinking about you lots today!  I can't believe you are so old already...time sure does fly.  I am sad I'm not there to throw the baseball with you, go to the Taq whenever and as many times as possible, watch HIMYM, and just chill with ya being all cool.  :)  I hope you make dad take you to dinner or something soon to celebrate!  I will make sure to get you a really cool birthday present over here to make up for my absence.

Jon, you have grown into such a neat guy.  I love just hanging out with you and laughing at your sarcasm...which has definitely gotten real real good.  As your sister, I can say that you have your annoying moments, as we all do, but you are so much fun to be around.  You are freaking hilarious, kind, gentlemanly, strong, real, thoughtful, respectful, loyal, and so much more.  You are so special and I just love having you for a brother.  I love going to your football and basketball games, I love laughing at your nonstop jokes, I love showing you up in baseball (jokes), I love attempting to throw the football with you, I love going to the Taq with you, I  love how you tell me you'll beat up guys for me, I love supporting you, I love talking with you, and most of all I just love the man you are growing up to be.

Okay, I know...you want me to stop with the mushy stuff.  :)  So I will end this post by thanking you for being such a great little brother and know that I think of you every day and pray for you so much.  You are such a blessing to our family.  I love you so much Jon-o!!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! :)

Jon and I at the OSU Homecoming 2011 football game!