Assisi

Vacanze estive


on the way to Assisi. Italian beach :-)




Franciscan Friars




Old Olive Tree

San Damiano (http://www.bellaumbria.net/Assisi/san-damiano_eng.htm)

our agriturismo - www.malvarina.it

The Convent

Assisi

"Rosone" St. Francis balisica

St. Francis Basilica

We visited Assisi, in the Umbria region of Italy. Assisi is the hometonw of the famous Saint Francis of Assisi. We spent three days touring important religious sites, visiting medioeval churches, eating "gelato", walking cobblestone streets 4 feet wide build 1000+ years ago and sleeping in an "agriturismo" an italian style of bed and breakfast. Look up http://www.malvarina.it/

We had our dose of adventure as well, as Emma injured a finger at a pool and had to go to an emeergency room, where she was given four stitches. She was very brave-.

Finally, it was very hard to rent a vehicle that would fit our family of 6. We handed up with a 9 passanger Mercedes van built as a delivery truck that was as tall as a camper. Problem is that it did not fit in most of Assisi parking lots and small hilly streets... We felt like a bull in a china shop.

More Dolomites Pictures

We spent our first week in the Dolomites (Val di Fassa). It is a wonderful mountain valley in the heart of the Eastern Alps. Here are some more pictures of it. To learn more you can check out: http://www.fassa.com/

first days in Italy

We are having a great time and eating amazing pizza and gelato. Internet connection is a problem to find and you have to pay for it by the minute, but that is good. Weather has been cold in the mountains where we are. We have met old friends and the children are trying to speak some Italian and learn magic tricks.

Drought and tragedy in East Africa.

I follow the news online on the BBC. I find them more global, more balanced and less commercialized than that of the main US news channels. The BBC has been talking about the devastating drought affecting approximately 10 million people in East Africa.

Honestly how many of you living in the US had heard about it? Let me know using the comment button.

Here is a video and article from the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14174893

And one from Al Jezeera English: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/07/201171671748257707.html

Reflections on a trip: VA, D.C., OH

Here are a few brief bullet points abut our trip. I will try to expand of them, as time permits, but for now, I don't want to lose the wonderful memory of them:

We spent ten days travelling across Virginia, D.C. and northern Ohio. Isabella competed at the National Geographic Bee in D.C. May 24. She was eliminated during the Tie-breaker round and so placed 11th.. So close to the top ten, but not there yet. She accepted the "defeat" with incredible maturity and comforted her room mate from Delaware.

Late that evening, she told me: "You know dad, I think God told me today: 'be patient Isabella, this is not your year.' Remember that bible passage that says: "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."? I think God told me that today, after I lost...' 'I will have to try and come back again next year. I was 13th last year, I was 11th, this year. Next year, maybe I can take it all'
It was a great lesson for all of us. A lesson in spiritual maturity. We are blessed for that.

We visited Williamsburg and Jamestown in southern Virginia and drove across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel. Wow! Jamestown was wonderful and surely worth a visit.

We walked around Mount Vernon. What a great place

We spent time with great and generous friends Maureen and Lisa in D.C.

We then drove to Cleveland to show our children where Norine and I were married and to thank the people that were such an important part of our lives during that blessed time: Fr. Tony S., Fr. Tony Fortunato, Ronnie, Peggy, Ellie, Dough and Roe...

We met new friends: Sofia M. from DE - Marlene K. and family in Wooster, OH

We have so many wonderful memories. We wish we did not leave so far away.

Geographic Travels: Donate Shoes for Afghan Girls

We have an internet friend who just came back from Afghanistan and he is helping to organize a drive of new and used shoes for Afghan girls. If you want to help, please email us and we will provide you with the contact information to send the shoes to.
Geographic Travels: Donate Shoes for Afghan Girls

I am speechless - God is good

It has been an emotial time. Isabella has studied hard daily for the past 9 months and once again, on April 1st, won the Colorado State Geography Bee. I wondered may times during the past few months, whether the time and effort we put into this endevor was worthy it... We received many positive encouragements along they way and so we endured. Now I know. Thank you Lord for being faithful and answering our prayers. You see, it is not just about the Geography Bee. We are hoping that this effort will open some door to help us teach other children/students/schools about the importance of geography. Learning about the world will teach students about other people and cultures, will teach students about the almost 3 billion people around the world that live on $2/day or less. It will teach them that there is a lot that can be done to help and even children can do their part. For example: sponsoring a child (see our earlier post about this). We have many ideas on how to make to idea come to fruition, but for now we are heading to D.C. for the National Bee. See you in Washington on May 24th!

Why is Geography important

What do you think? I will write more about this in a future post.

Impact a life - Sponsor a child

I realize I have not blogged for a while. Not that I don't like to, just that there always seems to be so much to do. We try to keep our life simple and limit activities, but still.

This past month we finally took the plunge and sponsored a child in Guatemala. After trying without sucess to adopt another child in the past few years, we decided we could still help somebody who needed it.

She is a young girl of 4, one of 5 siblings, who lives in a rural village and does not have a father. Her life is pretty simple and marked by the poverty that is typical of so many people around the world. I read recently that 3 billion people around the world live on less than US $2 a day.

For only $30 a month we can assure our young new friend will have some food to eat every day (even when the seasonal work of her mother dries up) and be able to attend school.
We are sending her toothbrushes and coloring books for Christmas and we hope to go visit her someday too. She lives close to where we visited in Guatemala last December (see our blog entries below).

We used the organization called: Christian Fuoundation for Children and Aging (www.cfcausa.org), because we know the founder and because 94.8% of all donations go directly to the sponsored person. Only 5.2% is used for all other activities. You won't find a better one.

Think about sponsoring a child. You can make a huge difference in the life of somebody that really needs it for the cost of a simple dinner for 2 every month. After all, you have been blessed to be born in a developed country. This website shows what your life would be like, if you were born in another country: www.ifitweremyhome.com
Enjoy...

Enrico

A trip to the RainForest

with friends in Seattle

Kalaloch Beach, WA

Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, OR

Our family took a week vacation in the NorthWest. What a wonderful place. So much to see. the nature is absolute stunning there and for us leaving in a dry climate, it as a treat to see, feel and experience the ocean and the moisture.

We all loved and will be back.

Our route: Flew into Portland, OR, teh drove to cannon Beah, Or, then up the coast (highway 101) to WA state and all teh way around Olympic National Park to Port Angeles, WA, then Tacoma and Seattle and back down to Portland.

Isabella in D.C. and other reflections....

I am finally here!!!!!

Thanks for your sacrifice. We pray this never happens again.

Isabella with Mr. South Carolina


I thought it was bigger...

Isabella and Daddy with Eistein

Isabella and "Mr. Kansas" (4th place overall)

Will try again next year

Isabella and I flew to D.C. to participate in the National Geography Bee. We were there for 4 days during the last week of May. 54 children participated in this competition. The winner of each state + the winner for D.C., the winner for the US caribbean islands, Pacific US territories and Department of Defense. Overall there where 53 boys and one girl (Isabella). A preliminary round of 9 questions (different for each child) narrowed the field down to 10 children. Isabella missed two questions (one of which was "unfair" in my opinion, but I am a biased parent of course). 12 children did better than her, so she did not qualify for the final.

Still, a wonderful achievement. As we were flying back home, I thought: "this country is reall big!!" It's amazing that Isabella was in the top 20 students nationally!

I, as a parent, feel as proud as if she had won an Olympic medal and in a way she did. Of course, I wish she would have won, but...s he was part of a very elite group of children participating in a National competition in which about 12 thousand schools take part each year. Wow!

It was wonderful to see her interact with other children, who are so very smart and who have similar interest and yet so very diverse background from ours.

It was very interesting to notice how many of these children have some foreign connections. Many of them were indians (from India), at least four had one or two european parent, two had chinese background...

The experience brought about so many emotions that are hard to convey, but that I hope I'll never forget. It left me speechless. Isabella worked very hard for this and deserved it so much... She wa sso close to make it to the top. That part is a little difficult to accept. More for me than for her, it seems. She receovered so quickly and was back to her hours of reading and music as soon as we got on the plane... She is still so much a child. That is so great and I cannot but be glad for that.

I feel blessed to have helped her achieve this goal. I also feel blessed that I have had the time and energy to dedicate to her. On our return, we have learned about the disaster and death caused by volcano Pacaya and tropical storm Agatha in Guatemala. We were just there 6 months ago. We climbed that volcano, we visited some of those villaged now covered in mud... We wonder why those people have to suffer so much. Their life is so often delicately balanced between life and death. They will never know what the Geography Bee is or even what a good school is like... Why are we blessed with so much and can spend our energy studying geography while they have to struggle to survive every day?

Please have mercy on them Lord. Please help us not waist our gifts, let us use them for your glory and for the good of others.

An Amazing Day.. Isabella wins the State Geography Bee

Third time is the charm for geography bee champ

Good friday Reflection

Matt Maher - The Journey of Alive Again: Restoration (4 of 4)

The world wonders why there is suffering, why there is death and where is God amidst all of this. As Matt says in the video above: "God is on the cross". He shares our pain and suffering and it shows us the way. He showed it is not the end and the Resurrection comes after death.