We got a piece of very, very happy news this last year (yes, it was finally a year of good news items!). We received an email from our cutest Carmen letting us know that her Christmas request of her parents was to let she and her sister, Chiara, come to the USA for Christmas and New Years. WAHOO!!!!
Nah, I wasn't excited at all. ;)
We picked them up at the airport around 1:00 AM. How could I complain? It was like my 3rd child was coming home....
What a wonderful treat. Carmen fell right back in to the rhythm of this house, remembering where nearly everything was, emptying the dishwasher for me, prompting the kids to pick up, being her usual attentive, happy and mischievous self. So wonderful!
Marin and Gabe acted like she had been gone for a few weeks instead of 18 months. It was a delight to watch. Chiara was so fun to get to know. She was quiet for the first few days as we all tried to decide how much English she really understood. Sneaky girl....she knows a lot more than she let on! I think she finally got comfortable with the kids by about day 3 and started taking to them. So cute!
They brought a whole suitcase full of treats for us. A Nutella cookbook (it's like cooking by picture since it's all in Italian ~ delightfully fun though!), pastas, sauces, lots of different flavor treats, makeup for Marin, body art for Gabe, a stunning scarf for Brett.....
We enjoyed the snow (Chiara's first time seeing and touching snow), watching movies, making lots of good food, and going shopping. We had one whole evening dedicated to body art with Gabe's gift. It's probably a "Klutz" book but it's in Italian so I can't confirm that! The kids drew animals and designs all over one anothers' arms. They are pretty good!
One of my favorite parts of their time here? Gabe quizzing Chiara on smells with his "smencils". I had so much fun watching Chiara try to memorize and figure out the English names for smells she knew then attempting to repeat them with her eyes closed while Gabe tested her. She was such a good sport and had such fun! I think Gabe's loyalties to Carmen shifted a bit to Chiara after this trip.....
The deal is: the next time we see those wonderful girls it will be on their home turf in Sardinia.
I need to save my pennies!
3 comments:
That looks like a lot of *wild italian fun* going on! Fun to see pics of the girls~ looks like Gabe got quite the body art!
:o)
How did you meet this charming young lady?
Kami, we had the opportunity to host Carmen through our local Rotary Club. They sponsor international students from all over the world for a year of school. It was the perfect experience for us!
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