Michael Buble

Ok, so last night was the Michael Buble concert. Can I just say I loved it!!! He is so cool! I love his music and his voice...he is awesome!! At the end of the concert in the encore he was singing the last line of the last song and all the instuments stopped, he stepped out in front of the microphone and sang the last line loud and beautiful. The whole place was quiet and you could hear him singing, just his voice...the man is good!! I loved it. He was a good entertainer too. He knew how to involve the crowd and make it fun. In the moments that he would talk between songs he could be a little edgy but his voice....the singing....would be hard to outdo. I think the only one I know of that could be better is Harry. I mean Buble is good but I would suspect that non can beat Harry.
At any rate me Matt and Josh had a great time. If you like Jazz or Swing as Michael Buble called it I would highly recomend attending a concert!!! It's a day later and I am still humming the songs. Good times!!

Christmas Tree

Ok, so thanksgiving is over. We had a great one too! Lots of food, lots of phone calls, lots of FUN!!! Yesterday was a crazy busy day, as all Fridays are. But we made it through all of our English appointments and a coffee house. I was tired by the end of the day!
Today is Christmas tree day. We are going to decorate the house today. The Roterts and Josh are still here so we will have plenty of help. the only bad part is that we have to take it all down before we leave in December. But it will be worth it to have it up.
Matty leaves today so that is kind of sad. But we have all had a really good time together.
27 days until we are going to T town!

Busy Day

So today has been a BUSY day! But a fun day too. I got up this morning and apparently got bit by the cleaning bug. I cleaned the bathrooms and I mean really good. Trust me they needed it. I also cleaned almost all the windows in the house. This is a big task requiring the ladder and patience. I am not a good window washer so they don't get cleaned often and that means when I do it (about twice a year) it is a big job. But I got it done and they look great I might add!
Then Matt and I went out and did all the shopping for Thanksgiving. Everything is bought! That means tomorrow I can start cooking!! Fun!!! We went out to one of the big stores so I could load up and when we were leaving the store I realized I hadn't gotten everything for dinner. But we had to be at the train station soon to pick up Brian and Josh so we had to go.
We got to the train station at just the right time. Picked up the guys and went home. Unloaded the car and chatted for awhile. Then the guys left to go to the airport and I went back to the grocery store to finish my shopping. The boys went to pick up Matt Hodges. He is here for thanksgiving! It is always fun to have visitors!!
This evening we had a big mexican dinner together and the guys just headed back to Perugia for a few days. It was a really good day!
30 days until we will be in Tulsa!!!!

Italian Burger King

A pic from our concert trip to Bologna to see Coldplay.

 

Hold your lighters, I mean cell phones high!!

Here are the glowing cell phones.... you can see the blue tints throughout the audience.

Coldplay Concert in Bologna

So, last week during our, Angie and my, trip to Perugia to see the Roterts and Josh I drove with Brian and Josh to see Coldplay in concert in Bologna (about two and a half hours away). It was great, on the way up we stopped at a Burger King, which is a rare find in Italy for dinner. We got to the venue about ten minutes before it started, we got our tickets at will call and made it inside just as the concert was starting. The concert was really good, however, I realized how long it had been since I had been to a concert like that when I saw everyone on the floor holding glowing cell phones up in the air instead of lighters. Then again, maybe that's just Italy. 

Thanksgiving is Coming

Thanks to those of you who prayed for my uncle. He is doing much better now. He had the surgery and was even moved from ICU yesterday. Huge steps in the right direction. I am so thankful!!
We had a great time in Perugia, as always. I even got some Christmas shopping done. I have an one on-line order to place and I will be almost done. I started really early this year because I want to have all my shopping done when we go to the states. Except for what I get Matt. I will buy his stuff in America.
I am so in the holdiay spirit. This week is all Thanksgiving plans. Matt is going to order the turkey today. I am going to clean the house and start working on pie crusts, bread and things like that that I can make ahead. The Roterts, Josh and Matt Hodges will be here in Ancona on Wednesday. I love it!!! This is so my favorite time of year!!!!

Uncle Jim

We are in Perugia! Yea!!! It is always so fun to come and visit the Rotert's and Josh. And it came at just the right time. I found our yesterday that my uncle Jim fell at home and broke his hip. I think shattered it is more the right word. He is in the hospital waiting to have surgery and have a full hip replacement. But he had a stroke a few years ago and is on blood thinners. So the doctors can't do the surgery until his blood is thicker. Sounds icky! Your prayers are appreciated!!!!

Catch up November

So I wish that I had more fun things to say but this week has been pretty boring. We have gotten a lot of work done but not really any fun stories to tell. We have been calling November our catch up month. We are catching up and working ahead. It actually feels pretty good to be crossing things of our to do list that have been there for a long time.
We are going on a home service soon and will be in the states from the end of December to the end of June. We are really looking forward to being home for Christmas. I can't wait to see my nieces and nephews. I haven't seen any of them in two years!!! I know they have all changed so much and I miss them!!!
Besides that we have been making Thanksgiving plans. Looks like the team (minus the Casey's and Marcus) will be in Ancona for Thanksgiving. Harold and Enid Fowler are coming also so we will have a full house. Good times!

The Case of the Missing Wallet

So yesterday it was about lunch time and I decided that I wanted to go down to this little shop by my house that sells fresh pasta. They make it frest every morning. I am so loving their handmade ravioli!!! So I get dressed and find my purse but I decide to check and make sure I have some cash before I leave because the pasta store doesn't take credit cards. So I reach for my wallet and panic sets in......IT'S NOT THERE!!!!!! I dump my purse out...no wallet... I look in my coat pockets...no wallet. I start tracing my steps and get Matt involved in the search but we couldn't find it anywhere.
You know that panic feeling you have when your wallet is missing??? You start thinking about having to call the bank and get new bank cards, drivers licences and all those other priceless items you have in there that will be a HUGE pain to replace. Gulp!
I was pretty sure that the last place I had it was at the grocery store. So we went down there to see if I had left it. I walked in and the checker looked up at me and said "Oh your here! We found your wallet!" Ahhhh, I can breathe again. She called the manager who went and got it from the back somewhere and brought it to me. We decided to do some shopping since we were there and as we shopped every employee we saw asked me if I had gotten my wallet. Even the butcher asked me! Apparently, I was the talk of the store!
This is one of the pay offs to living in Italy. I go to the same small grocery store about every other day. The same people have been working there since we moved to Ancona 4 years ago. You start to get to know each other. Boy was I glad they knew me!!!!

Ahhh, don't they look beautiful? And they tasted great. We got the recipe from www.baking911.com. If you are interested you can get it at http://www.baking911.com/recipes/qb/funnelcake.htm

Almost done...

It was definitely easier than we thought....

We decided to make funnel cakes tonight since we weren't able to go to the Tulsa State Fair this year. We have been craving them lately

Life Group on Sunday....

While the Casey's are in the states (during November), Life Group is once again meeting at our house. This Sunday, it was us, Daniel and Simona (who got married in August) and Daniel's sister-in-law, Simona, who has come a few times in the past. It went really well and was very refreshing. I love it when Life Group is like that.

Catch-up Month....

Well, since we are alone in Ancona (referring to Team members) we are taking this extra time to try and catch up on some "bonus" tasks. You know those things that always seem to have a lower priority level. On the back burner, waiting till a rainy day, etc.... I am wanting to upload all of our John curriculum to the internet for other churches to download and use. It has no words written on it, so they can be used in any language. Each has a color story card and a color sheet. I have the stories for each in Italian only, but I plan on making them in English too (eventually). There are about 23 weeks of the John curriculum and it was a huge undertaking to produce it (there are also videos for each week - in Italian, of course). We are working on the book of Judges right now and after that we will do a study on Creation and then Luke. Lots to create, but that is what God has equipped me for, so it brings me lots of joy to do it.

Casey Good-bye

We just said good-bye to the Casey's. Sniff..Sniff The upside is that they will only be gone for about a month. It is going to be a wierd month though. Matt and I will be the only team members in Ancona! This will by far be the longest amount of time that we will have been alone here. Thank the Lord we have three wonderful team mates in Perugia!!! And that God is growing relationships with our Italian friends.
There is so much going on this month so I know it will go by fast. We have English every Friday, Life Group on Sundays, Perugia visit about mid month when the guys are going to see Cold Play in concet, Thanksgiving, a coffee house and a Micheal Bouble concert! Don't start to think we are big concert goers. These are the only two concerts we have gone to in I don't even know how long but it just so happens they fall in the same month. Not that there is anything wrong with that! Going to concerts more often I mean. I enjoy going to concerts we just don't take the time to go.
At any rate, I am sure we will keep ourselves busy with all there is to do but today I am a little bit sad to say good-bye to my friends.