2 more

The kids came home from school with these and I had to post Cloe's (the colored one) for 2 reasons. 1) because I'm on a nativity posting kick and 2) she colored that herself! I think we have a perfectionist on our hands. Hopefully by the time we leave I will be able to translate the poem on the back.


And the stick sort of one is from Brody's class. Definitely a keeper. Not sure how much his little hands helped, but he did say he got to put baby Jesus in his bed.

Christmas in the Catholic Mecca

I've seen some of the coolest nativities, most at my neighbors and friends house but the kids school has the most amazing one. Christmas is more Christ centered here so I guess that's why it doesn't really feel like Christmas ;)

At the kids school. I think i was the only parent that was amazed and had to photograph.

I'd say they reached a big enough population to call this the "Bethlehem city scene" rather than just the nativity

And while at my neighbors I thought her set up was so unique and had to snap a shot. I believe from their reaction, they also thought I was a little weird.

I know that feeling.

Brody has been sick but not too sick for school yet. When I picked him up, it was freezing and I had to go to the post office to pay for their school lunches. Very weird I know. And then we went to 2 other shops. All he could talk about the whole time is "when we get home can I take a bath and have hot chocolate, my legs are cold." So when we finally got home, he got just that. I went in to tell him to turn the water off and this is what I found

then at 6:45 I found him dozing again in my bed. I finally let him go to bed an hour before bed time. I had get some food in his stomach first. Hopefully all this sleeping will help him to wake up healthy tomorrow.

after seeing my cousins, I couldn't resist and had to make one for myself
check it out


http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1465932414

Christmas Performance

Yes, on a Saturday at 9:30, the kids had their school performance. It was about a 30 minute bike ride and since it's Saturday, my legs are jello and want to pedal no more. The teachers did not forget any detail with the costumes and it was great. The whole concept was kids around the world coming to see the birth of baby Jesus. This is definitely one of the perks about private school, we can have school performances that portray the real meaning of Christmas. This would be the only "politically correct" thing done in the show. Holly, you would've loved it.

I haven't quite figured out Italian standard time. It was suppose to start at 9:30, it started at 10:20, after each dance the curtain closed for about 5 minutes while the next "country" set up. And it ended at 13:00!!!

Cloe's class sang a song and did a little dance at the beginning, here she is waiting
and it begins, Brody was an African. Yes, I was told to paint his face black, that hat is suppose to be his afro and he was given the brown shirt and yes, brown tights as his "skin". hilarious!!!

The Asian kids were also funny because they were all wearing flip flops and the boys had drawn on mustaches. But the best is when the Native Americans (is that what we still call them?) were sitting around the fire, passing around a peace pipe!! I was dieing. so classic
Then Cloe came on again and they did an Italian dance


Mary cross-stiching


The angel visits her

More angels come

Abbey getting restless and I don't blame her.

Baby Gesu' is born. I always thought he was put in a manger but no, it was a car seat.


The shepherds came to see

And then all the kids around the world finally made it. I guess flights were delayed because it sure did take a long time!

And to show how long it took, Brody was crying. Maybe he was so touched by the thought of being there to see the baby Jesus. No, he just saw Jesus with Mary and it made him want his own Mom.

Buon Natale tutti! was the end.

another reason why I HATE wal-mart

I don't really need anymore reasons but thought I'd share. This was in the English newspaper here in Florence


Gates of Paradise
(issue no. 68/2007 / November 29, 2007)
Wal-mart finds tax refuge in Florence

With an office near the Duomo, American department store Wal- Mart is saving millions of dollars in taxes. Located on via dello Studio in Florence, the head office of Wmgs Services, a subsidiary of Wal Mart Property, controls millions of dollars of Wal-Mart property and stores in America.


According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, because Wmgs Services operates in another country, it is exempt from corporate tax in Illinois. According to Illinois state legislation, as long as 80 percent of a corporation’s business is conducted outside of the US, the company does not have to pay corporate taxes.


However, state officials from Illinois are contesting Wmgs’ tax liability. Alleging a tax-dodging ploy, the state demanded that a total of 26.4 million dollars in unpaid taxes and interest be paid to the state.

Wal-Mart officials did not put up much of a fight and paid in full, but not without first taking Illinois to court for a full refund. They would not, however, explain why they chose to open an office in Florence.

as the saying goes

"it's like riding a bike, you never forget", Ryan's mom has proven the bike riding part to be true. How many decades has it been since she rode a bike? And look at her, she even has a kid on the back! I took her on the busy streets of Florence and they didn't seem to phase her. My kids have a pretty cool grandma :)

it feels like christmas

Up until this last weekend, it hasn't really felt like Christmas. We had no decorations and after living in Utah, now a little snowfall during December helps the feeling of Christmas. Well, Ryan's mom just came to visit for the week and brought presents galore from family, bought us a tree, made plenty of decorations with Cloe (Cloe was in heaven) and I'll just have to settle with a wet rainy Christmas rather than white. My mom sent advent calenders and a Christmas CD. According to Brody's calender, Christmas was 5 days ago. The tree we got is real so the house smells good and in church today we sang Christmas songs. Last night we took the kids into the center to see all the Christmas lights.

Temple Square has nothing on Florence. Just kiddin. Of course i can't forget about the nativity set I found at the 99 cent store! The wise man looks like he's suffering from vertigo.

And our schedule is starting to fill up with parties, and performances. A busy month? Must be Christmas time. Time to start baking :) And I'm loving it!

our house was also nicely decorated with Cloe's Thanksgiving art

this one was my favorite

Thanksgiving (2 days late)

Ryan and the kids had school on Thursday, so we celebrated Thanksgiving on Saturday. (FYI, Italians don't celebrate Thanksgiving. Yes, I've been asked by some Americans if they do.) I got the Turkey on~ Friday from the butcher and had to finish plucking the feathers, kinda gross. And that night I stayed up making pies and cinnamon rolls. But like I said before, I love making things from scratch, so this was fun for me.Then Saturday morning we continued our little family tradition of running the Turkey Trot.

My kids were the only participants this year and it didn't quite go as I thought it would. Which means none of my friends showed up that were going to run with me. But it's all good, the kids had fun. Then we came home and Ryan and I just kinda stared at the turkey waiting for it to speak to us and give us instructions on how to cook it. This was my first time cooking Thanksgiving dinner. We finally seasoned it, lubed it up and popped it in. Much easier than I thought it would be.
At about 4 our company started to arrive and it felt like the holidays. A full house, people chatting and the woman making last minute preparations on their dishes :) When we all sat down, I was so happy that everyone was there. It was great company, the food was delicious and my wonderful Italian neighbors came over for their first Thanksgiving feast. I made everyone sign the Thanksgiving tablecloth, we filled our bellies and hung out and chatted. Now I'm excited for Christmas, to have another big get together with our "Florence family".
Justin, Tiffany, Costanza, Jordan, Hillary, Emily, Crystal, Loridonna, Francesco, and Tiffany

Our company consisted of mostly students and their families from Ryans school

The kids sat at the Indian table because we ran out of seats

Nikki and Israel