Villa Testa

Asher 7 months...Finally a new post

2009-11-11T09:10:00.007Z

Hello dear family and friends! I apologize that it has taken me so long to post anything new on our blog. I have been using facebook more these days to post photos and daily comments about what is happening in our lives. If you aren't friends with us on facebook, please send us an invitation! We would love to know what is going on in your lives as well!

We are doing well these days, praise the Lord! Siena got a little cold the first week of school and passed it to everyone in the family, but that's it! The flu is going around here, but thus far we have escaped it. We are praying that we can keep healthy for our trip to the States in one week. We are getting really excited to see our precious family. This will be the first time for most of our family to meet Asher, and it will be our first time to meet Frankie, Nikki's sister's new baby, and Nathan, Anthony's brother's new baby! We can't wait to celebrate the gift of life that God has blessed us with this year. What a wonderful year! Three new babies were given to our family! (I think I like exclamation points....:)

I just wanted to give you a few new photos of our little guy that will make you laugh. He is quite the character. He does what we call the "Ashberry". These are raspberries that he does so enthusiastically that his entire face ends up wet with spit. He also loves to talk and to laugh at Siena and Sammy. He is loved by everyone and there still is not a hint of jealousy, praise the Lord!

Lots of Love,

Nikki

Asher 6 weeks

2009-05-09T14:08:00.008+01:00

Here's our boy! We hope that you enjoy these wonderful photos from an amateur photographer (that's me, Nikki). Sorry about the delay. He's our third! It is true what they say.

Asher is such a delight. He has already let us sleep through the night 5 times (not all in a row, but we'll take it!!!). He is starting to smile now and is just so peaceful. We praise the Lord for His goodness. Siena and Sammy LOVE their new brother too! We have yet to see any hints of jealousy. This is another amazing praise.

We are curious as to whom you think Asher looks like. Does he look like mom or dad, grandma or grandpa? I think that he has the Italian coloring, but he looks just like his Papa Paul. But, the jury is still out.

We love you all and can't wait to introduce this little treasure to you someday soon!

This is the Asher LOOK! (Above)

Now that's the VanDruff nose, isn't it?

OK, enough already, Mom!!!

Asher's Birth

2009-03-24T22:47:00.006Z

Hello beautiful family & friends!

I wanted to send you some pictures of the newest addition to our family! Asher Benjamin Testa, born yesterday (March 23rd, his actual due date) at 20,25 after about 3-1/2 hours of labor, is sleeping peacefully. In fact, he was born sleeping peacefully. In fact, we don't know if he does anything else other than sleeping peacefully. He is pure joy.

The name Asher actually means joy & fortress. We chose the names Asher and Gioia (italian for joy) because many of you while praying over our child prayed that he/she would be a joy for us. We took that as something special from the Spirit to our hearts. Nehemiah 8.10 has become a prayer for us and for Ash, "the joy of the Lord is your strength." Please pray that Asher would be a reminder to us and to the world as to just how much raw strength comes from focusing on Jesus as our primary source of joy!

To all who prayed for Mommy & Ash, we truly want to thank you. We had asked to be able to give birth at home, during the day, with the kids present, quickly and with minimal pain & tearing, to be able to testify to the nurses (we had a chance to share our testimony & the gospel with them), that mom would regain her strength quickly and that we could do it while Nikki's mom, who is visiting, was present. God answered each of these prayers categorically. Siena and Sammy went to bed at 19,30 and then reemerged after the birth from their room. They really wanted to meet there new sibling. They were a little confused, they desired a "baby girl" and since baby girls don't have "pee pee's," as Samurai says, they think we may have gotten the wrong kid.

Please continue to pray for Nik! She is healing nicely. This home birth was truly remarkable. She had tremendous care from Giovanna and Lorella, our obgyn nurses. Additionally, she had about 3 or so strong contractions after her water broke while on the toilet, and then began to push while on the bidet. After just two pushes, out came the head, I almost missed it as I was sending you all a brief request for prayer!

Enjoy these pictures. We will upload these pictures to Anthony's facebook account in case you would like larger ones.

Much grace, love & peace,

Anthony, Nikki, Siena, Sammy & Ash

Siena's and Sammy's Birthdays

2009-03-01T17:05:00.006Z

Siena with her new princess dress, beautiful!

A boy and his first gun!

Siena turns 4! Sammy is now 2?! Anthony and Nikki are weeks away from the birth of their 3rd and they just can't get enough of being parents.

God has just hardwired His people create and help shape life. Here are a few photos of their most recent celebrations with the kids. Note especially the beautiful addition to Nikki's body. It is due out on the 23rd of March.

We love you and love sharing life with you!

Matteo (Siena's friend from school)

Emma (Matteo' little sister with Nikki's dynamite chocolate cake--the kids ate the whole cake!)

Elena & Lorenzo (Elena's son Alberto--not pictured--was at the party). Nikki is getting to know Elena through Siena's school.

Nikki with Stephano (Matteo's little brother), Caterina (Davide & Anna's little girl) & the belly!

Cecilia is Davide & Anna's little girl. Simply a gorgeous smile!

Leah (Nikki & Anthony's friend from Il Rifugio) with Leopoldo (the little boy she nanny's).

The Testa's go Elf

2008-12-19T16:38:00.001Z

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

AMAZING Gourmet Gnocchi with Gorgonzola and Pear

2008-12-19T11:52:00.002Z

Ok, so I HAVE to post this recipe that I made up because it is that AMAZING! One of my favorite pizzas here in Italy is with Gorgonzola and Pear, so I thought, why not on pasta. If you want to impress your company or your husband, just try this VERY EASY recipe:

Gourmet Gnocchi with Gorgonzola and Pear

(Gnocchi alla Gorgonzola e Pera)

Ingredients:

Gnocchi (I used chicche tricolor with tomoto and spinach- little gnocchi that are colored red, green and white)
1 1/2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
3/4 cup milk
salted water to boil gnocchi
3 oz. Sweet Gorgonzola
4.5 oz. of mild cheese (I used fresh mozzerella, but a gouda would be good too)
1/4 cup grated parmeggiano reggiano
1 pear cut into small pieces (preferrably not cubed, but more like little chunks)
Pepper to taste

Directions:

Make a rue by melting the butter in a pan and adding the flour. Once it is boiling, add 3/4 cup milk. Warm the milk and then add your cheeses. Keep stirring until the cheese is melted and the sauce begins to thicken. Add the chunked pear into the sauce just before serving to warm it.
Meanwhile, boil the gnocchi in the salted water (about 2 minutes until they start to boil to the surface)
Pour the sauce over the gnocchi and serve!

Easy and delicious!!!

Sammy talking 22 months

2008-12-09T14:54:00.003Z

Trip to Amsterdam

2008-11-27T21:41:00.009Z

Our trip to Amsterdam was a whirlwind (symbolically and physically with some crazy winter winds and snow). We started the trip by knowingly forgetting our passports, thinking that our Italian identity cards would be sufficient to travel within the EU. But, we found out the hard way that one should ALWAYS take their passport with them when traveling anywhere! We drove two hours to the airport, parked our car off-sight and took a shuttle to the airport, and then had to turn around and catch the shuttle back to our car and drive back another two hours to home.

Before we had left home, Anthony and our colleague Paul sprayed down our bedroom walls with bleach to kill the black mold that had taken over. So, we had to kick out our roommate, Candice, to the couch and sleep in the guest room that night. We woke up at 3:30am, woke the kids up at 4:00am and drove back to the airport another two hours to catch a 7:15am flight. It was a nightmare! And, not to mention, it cost us 150 euro more and Siena had a 100 degree fever the whole time. Needless to say, we will never do that again.

Once we got to Amsterdam, we met Candy, Anthony's second cousin, and went to The Hague to visit them for the day and spend one night together. It was a joy to be with Ken and Candy in their beautiful home. Unfortunately, we didn't get any photos, probably from our total fatigue! Siena continued to have a fever and was struggling to sleep because of the nightmares she was having. Anthony got to visit the Tribune with Candy to see Ken in action during a trial at the United Nations for the Bosnian War Criminal trials. It was quite an experience! Then, we enjoyed a wonderful Mexican dinner and some great conversations.

The next day we ventured to Amsterdam to visit our friends. Anthony and our friend from il Rifugio attended a conference on church planting. It was very inspiring!!! Nik and the kids stayed with some friends who have kids. It was an adventure staying in their basement (Dutch stairs are CRAZY narrow). Then, finally on the last two days we spent time with Siena's best friend, Ameli. The first day we went to a fun indoor kids' center called TunFun. The kids had a "ton of fun". Then, the next day, before we left, we spent some time at their home. It was a true gift for Siena to see Ameli again, since Ameli and her family will be returning to the States this coming May.

Here are some fun photos from our time:

Anthony and Leo (our friend from il Rifugio)

Dinner with our dear friends who are missionaries in Amsterdam

Great Amsterdam architecture...always on a slant!

Having Tons of Fun at "TunFun"

Sammy loved climbing up and sliding down again and again

Sliding down...or should we say running down

Siena and her best friend, Ameli

Ameli's bro, Gabrien

Ameli and Siena on the trampoline

As the Wiggles always say, "That's our Sam!"

Hanging out at our friends, Todd and Lindy's, home before heading back to Turin.

Family Day at Palazzo di Venneria Reale

2008-11-27T21:19:00.004Z

Hello everyone! These are some photos from a family day out to one of our favorite Turin sights, called Venneria Reale. There is a beautiful palace and gardens. It was a fabulous, crisp, blue sky, fall day. We caught some real fun photos. Enjoy!!!

Siena's a flower girl

2008-10-24T14:21:00.005+01:00

This past Sunday, Siena was the flower girl in the wedding of our teammates and dear friends, Ben and Erin. They have known Siena since before she was born and are regular babysitters for Siena & Sammy. It was so much fun to be a part of the wedding and to celebrate these two precious friends on their special day.

Siena is in a very shy stage right now, so when she reached the aisle she didn't want to let go of mom's hand. I kept trying to coach her to drop her flower pedals on the ground as she walked and to go to daddy, who was positioned at the front of the aisle. She proceeded to take huge handfuls of pedals and dump them all out in her first four steps and then sprint for daddy. I think she could have won the olympic 50yd dash. It was too cute though and everyone smiled and laughed. Here are a few photos that a friend took.

Family Day

2008-10-23T20:24:00.006+01:00

Last week we decided to go out for a yummy chocolate brioche and cappuccinos (for mom and dad) and then tot he park for our family day. We had so much fun! The kids love being together as a family. In fact, Siena regularly asks if we can go somewhere "like a family." It is so much fun building memories!

Siena goes on a date with her daddy

2008-10-23T20:21:00.004+01:00

Here are a few of the photos from Siena's daddy-daughter date. Anthony took Siena to our favorite park here in Torino, Parco Valentine, and he did a photo shoot with her for fun in the gardens. You can definitely tell that she loves being with her daddy from her smile in these photos. Enjoy!

Krakow

2008-10-20T12:59:00.007+01:00

Krakow is a beautiful, hidden treasure, an eastern european jewel, and it is the city of Nikki's ancestors. We had the great privilege of visiting Krakow for the second time at the end of September for a European Pastor's Conference with GCM. It was the first time in four years that we have been childless. The Lord provided a nanny for us miracuously at the last minute and we were able to enjoy six days of wedded bliss, plus a few long meetings in between.

By far, our best day was a trip into Krakow and to the Salt Mines. These salt mines are some of the largest in the world. Only a few short years ago they stopped mining and opened the mines for tourism only. But up until that point the mines had been in operation for more than 600 years. Here are a few photos of our tour. They are not the best photos, as the mines are quite dark. The most incredible part of the salt mines was the cathedral carved out of the salt completely within the earth. Even the chandeliers were made from salt! The sculptures were all carved out of salt, an incredible demonstration of God given talent to men.

This is the group of friends and fellow GCM missionaries that we visited the salt mines with.

After visiting the salt mines, we went into the city of Krakow to enjoy an afternoon and evening together, just the two of us. We enjoyed the beautiful architecture, the search for precious amber jewlery and an amazing dinner of polish dumplings and soup. Enjoy our pictures of the amazing sights of Krakow. We would highly recommend a visit to this city to anyone visiting Eastern Europe. (Mom, the architecture photos are for you!!!)

Nik 4 months pregnant with #3.

Meet "Bean"

2008-09-21T16:58:00.003+01:00

Hello dearest ones,

We wanted to update you on our exciting news, if you haven't already heard, and introduce you to our third child, "Bean" Testa (Right now he/she looks like a bean, so it's appropriate).

Nikki's first reaction was to cry, while Anthony was leaping for joy INSIDE. He didn't want to express his enthusiasm since Nik was feeling so upset about it. But, now that we are past the first trimester (about 15 weeks along) we are getting used to the idea of adding another little blessing to our household. Siena and Sammy are both thrilled (well Sammy has no idea what's going on, but he points to Nik's tummy and says "Baby"). Siena calls the baby Lexi...why we have no idea. I don't think we even know a Lexi, but it's cute! She also says that she wants a "Siena and a Sammy." Thank goodness it isn't two!!!

This time we are going to wait to find out the sex, and the names that we chose are also going to remain a secret. Sorry! You all are just going to have to wait. Guaranteed, we will surprise you, although you can guess that it will be something Italian. We are accepting suggestions.

We are actually considering the possibility of having this baby at home. The Lord led us to a clinic of obstetrical nurses who offer a home-birthing "midwife" service. We had never even considered the possibility before, but for some ODD reason it sounded quite appealing in light of the Italian sanitary system. The hospitals are HUGE and the service is not very personal. Not to mention, they keep you prisoner for three long days eating terrible hospital soup. Who could refuse the possibility of being in your own bed, eating your mom's amazing cooking and being with your family?

Please pray for us as we make this difficult decision. We don't want to take any unnecessary risks, but we are trusting that God will let us know the right thing to do.

2008-08-04T21:50:00.004+01:00

My sister, Jamee, is one of the most beautiful and extremely talented people that I know. If you didn't already know that she is an incredible photographer, just look at the recent photos she took of our family. And, I must add that she took these under the worst possible conditions! We were getting ready to leave the next day to come back to Italy, it was bedtime and we were all a wreck. But, once again, she pulled it off! If you ever want some amazing pics for a wedding, family, baby, pregnancy or whatever you can go to her website for more information atwww.jameephotography.com

Enjoy!

Big Girl Dreams & Little Boy Falls

2008-08-04T21:16:00.006+01:00

Ladies, can you remember ever playing dress up and pretending that you were getting married? Seeing Siena play bride brings back a flood of memories for me. Every time I see her, I wonder what it will be like to see her all dressed up one day at her own wedding. They tell me that before I know it that day will come upon me and I will wonder where all the time went. So, for now, I will relish these moments. Typically she wants to marry her daddy, mommy or Sammy, so we're safe for now.

Sammy, on the other hand is totally into cars and balls. He calls cars, "Vvvvmmm" and balls "Ba!" There is no such thing as walking in Sammy's world. It's either a full out run or nothing. And, more often then I would like, the nothing means that he has once again fallen and smacked the ground. (Although, our recent trip to the E.R. was a result of Siena pushing Sammy in frustration and he smacked his head on a drawer. It's cool though, they don't do stitches anymore. Instead, they use glue and it is really quick. I think we were in and out of the E.R. and back to our car in about 10 minutes. Not bad! We will give these Italians some credit!)

Action is the name of his game for Sammy. Verbal skills...well,we are still waiting. But, he has successfully named almost everything he says with a double consonant. Here's the list:

Baba- his blankey with a doggy head on it that he doesn't sleep without

Gaga- water (could be for aqua in italian)

Mama- that's easy

Dada- easy too

Nena- Siena

No no- yep, he learned that one early from his big sister

OK- We like this one!!!

Uh-oh- of course, most of the time he throws something off the table and then says uh-oh

Baba- also stands for banana

And he has a few single consonant words: Up, dow, ba, go and wow (he usually says this when a loud or fast car goes by)

Siena turns 3

2008-03-03T15:40:00.009Z

Siena Grace Testa turned three on February 23rd and we couldn't be more blessed to have such a wonderful little girl. We invited some of our close friends with kids to join us for a day at the safari zoo park. We prayed that God would bless us with a warm day full of sunshine and laughter, and that's exactly what he gave did!

We arrived about 11am and caught a little train that takes you around the animal park. It is really cool how they have the animals in a large area all roaming free (except they separate the predators for obvious reasons). We saw zebras, giraffes, ostriches, camels, lions, tigers, monkeys, but our favorite animals were the hippos who were "enjoying" the beautiful spring day. Siena now loves to tell everyone that "the daddy hippo got on top of the mommy hippo...that was so funny!"

We took a picnic lunch for everyone. Then we sang to Siena and enjoyed a wonderful birthday cake. Siena even got to ride on a pony! Then we went down toward the entrance to the park where they have a dozen or so little kid amusement park rides. The kids were exhausted but they were having so much fun that they didn't want to stop. Needless to say, they crashed hard in the car on the way home!
Here are a few photos from our day. Enjoy!

Siena playing at the park during lunch! Sammy had fun too!
This is one of Siena's best friends, Matteo
This is Matteo's mom, Renata, and little sister, Emma
Here is Davide enjoying some time with the babies

Anna and their precious little Caterina

Siena is too beautiful...playing peek-a-boo!
Mommy with the birthday cake!
Siena riding her very first pony! She loved it!
Sammy keeps us all laughing!

Siena receives a present as we get ready to eat her cake! Yum!
Siena & Anthony observe a beautiful owl

Our good friends: Renata, Luca, Emma & Matteo
Siena, Anthony, Luca & Matteo on the baby, caterpillar roller coaster
Mommy and Sammy on the roller coaster..."Mom I'm tired!"

Siena loved the big slide!

Sammy Turns 1

2008-02-11T21:32:00.000Z

So, what did Sammy get for his birthday?

From Daddy to Siena and then to Sammy: THE CHICKEN POX (a.k.a. Varicella)

That's right! Sammy got the chicken pox for his first birthday. Needless to say, a big birthday party was out. We just spent time together as a family and celebrated with ice cream sundaes. Later that evening some friends of ours (who had already all had the chicken pox) came over with the cutest little cake for Sammy.

He received (from all of you who gave) a little drum, some fun sharks, a whale and a dolphin for the bathtub and a seat for mommy's bike so we can go on bikerides together as a family now.

Enjoy this little video and some photos of Sammy's birthday and our first bike ride.

A Little Break

2008-01-26T14:34:00.000Z

If you read through our blog, it seems that we are always taking a vacation. The truth is that we try to get away every now and again for a weekend just to keep ourselves sane. This has been a very trying season, especially with all of our illnesses. As I wrote before, Anthony has been sick seven times since September. We were really feeling the weight of it and so we asked our close friends, Davide and Anna, if we could use their mountain home for a couple of days. They are always so kind to always offer us their homes at the beach and in the mountains. We don't know what we would do without them! Anthony went up on a Tuesday for three days of solitude in order to pray and plan for this next year of ministry. Then, Nikki and the kids joined him on Thursday evening for a couple of days of fun in the snow.
We had a wonderful time together!!! Siena loved building snow men (of which we have not even one picture because a kid kept coming and destroying them). We did some hiking with our snowshoes and we put the kids in their backpacks. On Saturday, Davide, Anna and Caterina came up and we did a little hiking with them and enjoyed a wonderful homemade pizza dinner made in the convection oven (it actually worked and tasted really good!). It was glorious! Here are some pictures of our time and a fun little video of Sammy walking. Enjoy!

Sammy pours it on.......

Sammy and Siena in the family room of Davide and Anna's Mountain apartment

Anthony's faces never cease to amaze us!

Hiking with the kids on a beautiful, sunny day!

The kids love the snow!

Hiking with Davide, Anna and Caterina from Clavier (Italy) to the ski slopes of Monginevro (in France)

Sammy discovered the kitchen drawers. We finally got incentive to put on our childproof locks on the doors and drawers. What a ham!

Here's Sammy walking for those of you who asked.

January 2008- Sammy's Walking

2008-01-14T21:19:00.000Z

Ok, so we are not so great at keeping up with our updates lately...sorry! It has been a VERY trying season for us. Anthony has been sick six times since September, and he recently had a strange case of the shingles. That's right, the shingles! Isn't that what old people get? Apparently not! We learned that if you have had the chicken pox it remains attached to your spinal cord and then shingles can appear during high times of stress and when your immune system is down, both of which were the case for Anthony. Poor guy! Not to mention, the kids and Nik have been sick off and on as well. We are SOOOOO over it.
On a more positive note, we have also had the joy of watching our little guy go from crawling (7 mo) to pulling himself up (9 mo), to taking his first steps while we were back in the States for Thanksgiving (10 mo), to walking (10 1/2 months). Now that he is 11 months he is running everywhere, making it a constant challenge for mom to keep up. He loves playing chase with Siena back and forth through the house, waving his hands wildly in the air, and often smacking himself in the face with some hard object. It is no rare occassion to see Sammy or Siena go flying across the room onto the hard granite floors and to see their little faces go from red to purple with their mouth wide open, as I clench my stomach and wait for the blood curdling scream that says, "the world is coming to an end!" With a few hugs and cuddles, mom sends them off with a new distraction such as a fun toy or a cookie, and the world can once again start its course.
We had an epiphony recently in our "on the job training" as parents. After the birth of Sammy, we didn't know what hit us, Siena included. The poor little thing was used to getting all of the attention and now she had to share the attention with someone else. She never objected in word...but in deed, she was objecting all over the place. Of course, we didn't know what to do with these outbursts of stubborn anger and frustration. It seemed that we were correcting Siena around every turn. Things were getting quite difficult and so I sought the Lord and He responded. A friend of mind lent me a book on "Raising Respectful Kids". It was a nice shift from the typical rigid-minded Christian parenting books, but not as wishy-washy as the modern, psychological nonsense advice of other secular parenting books. Rather it kindly shifted the responsibility onto the parents for "setting the example" and to seeking the gold in their children rather than the dirt. Unknowingly, we had shifted our attention from Siena's positive behavior to almost strictly disciplining her negative behavior. The poor little thing! Once again we refocused and began to encourage Siena every single time she did or said something possitive, and IMMEDIATELY we saw a HUGE change in her behavior, her attitude and her overall joy factor. It was incredible! It makes me just want to tell every parent out there! But, I don't praise this book for teaching us anything new. I praise God! It was God who openned my eyes to understand the truth and who gave me the desire and the strength the change. Amen!
Here are some recent pictures of the kids:

Anthony with the kids on his 33rd Birthday

Such a cuty!

At the petting zoo with Nanna Nancy and Papa Sam

Celebrating Christmas with Aunt Sue and Uncle Jim in Chicago

Nanna Nancy and Sammy

Siena and her cousin Annalea in the bathtub

Aunt Jamie and Sherman celebrating Christmas with Siena at Grammy's house

Grammy and Siena playing with the dollhouse...a huge hit!

Grammy goes crazy over Christmas. Here she is with her 12 foot Christmas tree!

Genova and Family Day

2007-11-05T21:50:00.000Z

Hey everyone! Another month has come and gone already. Sammy is now nine months old. He has four teeth and it cutting more all the time. He is standing on his own now for 20-30 seconds and taking steps with help. He will be walking in no time. He is also VERY active. We already had our first emergency room visit with him the other night, which was bound to happen sooner or later. He cut his lip open on a chair that he was holding onto for balance. He didn't have to get stitches though, thank the Lord!
These are some pictures of our trip with the American English Club students to Genova and some pictures of our latest family day. We finally got Siena to say "Cheese" and smile for the camera!
WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU GUYS!

Sammy Smiles!

Siena loves her brother...

he's not so sure about her expression though!

Siena wants to be like mommy!

Who does the kid look like? We think like mommy...what do you think?

Siena is absorbed in the movie, as usual. Sammy thinks it's cool. And we are enjoying how funny you look!!!!!!

Ready, set, go............

Too cute!

Siena was a flower girl

2007-10-01T21:03:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone! We have had a very eventful couple of weeks. Anthony went to Germany and the night before he left Siena had a fever and woke up every hour on the hour all night long. The next day it was Nik's turn to get it and then Sammy and then Anthony. I (Nik) spent two days locked up in the house with the kids and I think we watched every movie that we own. I now have Cars and Madagascar memorized!
Thankfully that passed and we could look forward to the day Siena got to be the flower girl princess in the wedding of the very first couple ever to get married from our church. It was so precious to see how Siena looked forward to wearing her princess dress. She almost didn't walk down the aisle, but, in the end, I handed her off to a friend and ran down to the front to receive her. She did awesome! Here are some pics of her.

Siena also has a favorite new game...Ring Around the Rosies. Here is a cute little video of Siena and Daddy playing in the kitchen after dinner. She loves playing with Daddy!

The Many Faces of Sammy

2007-09-12T17:44:00.000+01:00

Hey guys! I HAD to to post these recent pics of Sammy from our day at the park. He LOVES the swing. His newest thing is this face that makes us all die laughing. You can see why!

The end of summer

2007-09-03T15:29:00.000+01:00

Well, summer is quickly coming to an end, so we decided to take advantage of the opportunity before all of the students get back and we get loaded down with ministry and work. We went on a family day hike to an old castle with both kids in their cool backpacks, and then to the "foothills" near Torre Pellice to visit with some friends of ours who have two kids just a little older than ours. It was fun to get out of Turin to the country and rest for the day.

The kids are growing so much. On the 2nd of September, Sammy turned 7 months. He decided it was time to crawl that day. He is already pulling himself up on the sofa and letting go to stand for a second on his own before falling to the ground. He is one coordinated and determined little kid. He loves to smile and is really enjoying eating solids. His favorite thing to eat is squash. He also enjoys sucking on fruit and bread. He has already cut his two bottom teeth and is currently cutting his top front tooth. Ouch!

Siena is now singing all the time. Her favorite song is "I Love You Lord" and she also loves "Si,si, si Signor" (Yes Lord, Yes Lord) in italian. She also loves "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" because she likes to do the spider with her hands. She keeps us all laughing! Currently she loves to make you smile with: "I have no clue!", and recounting stories in Siena fashion. For example, "Emma got hurt. Teo hit. Teo got disciplined. He's not nice." and "The rain came up the stairs! Our car's broken!" with her arms going up and around to describe how much water cam into our basement to flood our car.

Check out these videos to see a little bit of these two in action.

Il Rifugio goes to Parco Gran Paradiso

2007-08-19T20:28:00.000+01:00

Ciao everyone! We just got back from a trip to the mountains with some of our friends from Il Rifugio. Almost everyone is gone on vacation, so we decided to take church to the mountains for the rest of us to get a little get away of our own. It was a wonderful time of fellowship, hiking, playing, praying and praising. We did the whole trip for 13 Euro plus transportation. Not too bad! Our friend Julia (pronounced Youlia) invited us all to stay in her mountain home, which is about as basic as they come. Everyone slept on the floor except for us since we got the nice room for the kids.

Siena and Sammy LOVE the mountains and their baby backpacks. I think it's because they don't have to walk. Wouldn't it be nice to go along on someone's back!

Sammy just started to pull himself up. I'm scared! My guess is that this kid is going to be walking by 10 months.

Siena is a handfull these days when we are at home, but an angel whenever we are out.

We are VERY blessed with two wonderful, beautiful and healthy children.

In the Mountains

2007-08-15T15:57:00.001+01:00

Siena loves the mountains. She can't wait to "go hiking" and "climbing". So when we decided to join Davide and Anna & their 9 month old daughter at their summer home on the French border, Siena squealed with delight. She loved every minute of the time.

Claviere boasts some great playgrounds. Siena is particularly fascinated with the climbing features of the parks. Even Sammy is starting to swing around. He is so active!

We took one hike. Sammy loved it and Siena wanted to see every flower possible. She had several bouquets of flowers by the end of our date together.

After the flood, we didn't have much in terms of funding for a vacation, but God provided thru Davide and Anna. They are amazing hosts. We had a chance to encourage one another in parenting and pressing into Jesus.

Please continue to pray for us. We want to constantly grow as parents and in how to push Davide, Anna & Caterina to love Jesus more!

PS Did we mention that Sammy is eating solids, at least 33% goes in the mouth.

PPS Did we mention that Anthony went prematurely bald?

Euro Wilderness Leadership Training (EWLT) 2007

2007-08-01T16:17:00.000+01:00

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when dreams come true, there is
life and joy. -Proverbs 18:12,New Living Translation

There are few things that satisfy our hearts like seeing the dreams that God puts inside us realized. One of the first dreams I had here in Torino was a ministry that build disciples through exposure to God's creation. And God began to color in this dream with the recent EWLT trip here in Torino.

We left early Tuesday morning eight people in all.

Ben Bringartner, an American, who was always eager to serve.

Candice Santeferraro, an American, who lived with us this summer, who constantly reminded us the unique beauty of God in the mountains.

Teo Socianu, a Romanian, who was a pyrotechnician.

Niku Mergotti, an Albanian, who always had a song to sing to Jesus.

Julia Mastrogiacollo, an Italian, who encouraged each one to keep pressing on and into Jesus.

Andrea Testa, an Italian, who served as a second in command, he has a desire to lead trips like this in the future.

Keesong Choi, a Korean, who smiled 100% of the time.

And I, another American, who felt very much like one of the shepherds in the valley caring for His sheep.

Our trip began with several trials. Our car broke down before leaving for vacation and wouldn't be ready for the trip to the mountains--our destination required the car or another's car. We were not able to take the train back from our vacation till one day before the trip because the trains in the region we were vacationing in were on strike--no one knew what was happening as a national strike changed to a regional strike at the last minute. God provided us with the car of a student in the church, but the ignition jammed for about 2hours in a gas station on the way to the trail head. We didn't know if we would even be able to continue with the trip. And during the entry hike we took a different trail and then the connecting trail, clearly marked on the trail, didn't exist. It disappeared! We arrived into camp at 9pm. God's grace was clear, the weather was amazing and He led us to the perfect campsite for the next four days.

The site was amazing! We had views up and down the valley, no disturbance from the herds the roam these valleys and only two hikers passed us the whole time! Our site was so secluded that they couldn't see us from the trail.

Our goal was so simple:meet with Jesus and create a space for Him to speak to our hearts. Our first days hike took about 6 hours. The next day was solitude, silence and fasting. The following day, more solitude and fasting. The fourth day of the trip we broke the fast together, but continued in solitude and then during the evening we came out of the solitude to share what God had done through our time apart. Teo build an enormous campfire and I was amazed how God used this time in our lives.

No one knew quite what to expect during the time, but one common theme was how the lack of "scaffolding", i.e. things to do and people to talk to, forced them to face their hearts, their flesh and meet God in an intimate way.

One young man asked his friends & family what he could pray for them and in the midst of praying for them, God revealed to him His purpose for his life.

A young lady who had always dreamed of a time like this, but never had time to organize it, said she wants to do it again. This was her first time fasting.

Finally, one of the greatest skeptics of the time said that he loved it. He heard God speak to him of his uniqueness in Jesus and reveal to him where God is leading him with numerous future decisions.

As for me, the trip was very arduous. Leading it with its various trials revealed many absences in my heart. God showed me my need to die to my flesh and confess with greater regularity my faults and hidden sins. I was also challenged to become a man of greater action. James 4.17 says, "Anyone who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." My continual prayer is that I would be conscious of the good that I need to do and then would follow through in action.

Andrea and I are already praying about the next EWLT. I would love to expand it and to also invite others from other GCM European churches. This trip involved people from five different nations and three different continents. Who knows what God would do with this.

A huge thanks to all you who prayed for us. Your prayers brought much fruit and encouraged my heart as I saw the "Fulfiller of our dreams" at work (Ephesians 3.20)!

Papa Paul's Visit

2007-07-26T21:33:00.000+01:00

We are now recuperating from a wonderful time with Papa Paul (Nik's dad) and Paul's brother, Uncle Van, and Aunt Sharon. It was a whirlwind trip, but a very rich time together. I think Papa Paul will need to recover for a few weeks.

We spent the first day just getting them oriented. The next day we decided to go to Lake Como for the day, but by car so that the kids could sleep on the way there and on the way home. We ran into a little glitch though! Ten minutes outside of Turin our car decided to die right in the middle of the highway in a construction zone. Thankfully the police showed up within five minutes and started to flag everyone around us. Whew!
We ended up leaving our car at the tow truck place, taking the other car and trading it with a dear friend of ours for his seven (eight) person minivan. At this point it was after 1pm and we decided go anyway. We are glad that we did! We had a wonderful time

taking a boat ride,

eating gelato and going for a wonderful walk,

watching Siena ride the little train

and enjoying a wonderful meal (once we found the restaurant).

We didn't get home until after midnight...oh boy. The next day we got to share our church with them for the first time and introduce them to the wonderful people of Il Rifugio. I think they were very encouraged by the work that God is doing here! On Monday we took off for the seaside, this time in train since our car was dead. We had a wonderful time seeing Cinque Terre, Bogliasco and Genoa. It was good to get some one on one time with dad.

Thanks Papa Paul for coming to visit us! We love you!

Special Gifts

2007-07-04T14:43:00.000+01:00

One thing's for certain, kids are a blessing from the Lord! They teach you how to laugh...a lot! They teach you humility with their constant demands and "poopies". They teach you the beauty that can be found in the little things, like a gelato, a "buddafly", a tickle war, "helpin mom" with the dinner or the cleaning, building a tower with leggos, going pee pee in the toilet, and so many other daily successes and discoveries...

but MOST of all each and every smile.

I never thought being a mom could be so much fun! And I never realized how much my mom did for me...until now! Holy cow!

I have the blessing of staying home with my kids and I still can't keep up with everything. How did you always keep the house clean, mom? Having two so close together is a challenge, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

Siena LOVES her little brother and he is enamored with her! I only wish we could have all of our loved ones near. So here are a few photos to keep you updated on the two most prescious gifts in our lives.

God's Answer

2007-05-30T13:52:00.000+01:00

As we begin the English clubs, God gave me a promise:

16 “In that coming day,” says the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’ instead
of ‘my master.' 17 O Israel, I will cause you to forget your images of Baal;
even their names will no longer be spoken. (Hosea 2.16-17)

I have been praying that God would replace the idols that the students have with his name: my husband. Well, last night at 1am, Marcos repented and asked Jesus to lead him. He & his wife are from Brazil (but have been living in London till 3 months ago). They knew of Jesus, but now he knows Him. Svemi is close. She is going thru a tough period. Pray for them to get rooted into God's love for them. Pray that they would be able to boast in the fact that "they are the ones the Lord loves!" Pray also for her sister (age 14) Anna who is without a dad and is really hurting here.

Love you cats. Pictured (left to right) Shawna, Charlie, Marcos, Suemi, Anthony & Nikki!

URGENT: PRAY 4 ENGLISH CLUB OUTREACHES

2007-05-24T11:57:00.000+01:00

Quick note, we began English Clubs on Tuesday. They are going to last for two weeks. Please pray for the health of all those involved (each of our missionary families has at least one person sick--Sammy is under attack too.)

Please pray for our sensitivity to the Spirit to lead us in conversations, appointments and our boldness to share God's message as we should!

Please pray for unity amongst our team & joy amidst challenges. The students and graduates (pictured here: beginner team, intermediate team & advanced team) are from Texas and Florida. They are amazed at just how spiritually dark this city is!

Please pray for the students that are coming to the clubs--71 signed up! (pictures of the advanced level students that I am helping teach). Pray that God would draw their hearts and that they would have eyes to see his power and love in us! (Picture #1,from left to right--marcos, svemi, fallon, craig, sverdi, mighena, paola, carola. Picture #2, anthony, isabella, sara, nikki)

Finally, please pray for us. Candace Santaferraro, a good friend of ours, is coming to live with us thru till August 2nd. She is coming to help Nikki out with the kids, learn Italian and serve the students as a missionary. Pray for our unity, chances to sharpen each other and that God would touch her heart deeply for Italians!

We love you and wish you were here!

Time in Tuscany

2007-05-24T10:34:00.000+01:00

Well, it wasn't the getaway and celebration of Nikki's Birthday and Mother's day that we had hoped for, but it was special to be together, return to Siena (birthplace of our daughter's name) and visit our dear friend Luisa Pasquale (met her brother Danny at Denver Seminary when God was calling us to Italy) and her church family in Firenze.

I'll describe our trip briefly and then post some quick pictures. don't forget to check out the videos, there is a great one on there of Siena the pigion chaser!

Before we left for Florence/Siena, Nikki contracted the flu, so we didn't even know if we would go. Then our friend who was going to host us got sick, so we needed to find other accomodations last minute. God provided! (picture of home behind Siena)

Nikki was feeling better the day we left. And some friends of our's hosted us in the Tuscan countryside. They even babysat Thursday night so that we could enjoy a somewhat romantic dinner nearby.

Friday was in the town of Siena. At lunch, Siena turned to one of the people in the little pizzeria where we ate and said, "Jesus loves you!" We cried. So beautiful to see Siena beginning to live out God's values for her life. Later, Nikki explained to Siena the meaning of her name (Interior Beauty of Jesus 1 Peter 3.3-4: Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.) while in Piazza del campo (see pictures). That night we cruised by San Gimingnano, a city that Anthony studied in Architecture studio creating his favorit design project(see picture). Finally, we returned to Florence, exhausted--2 kids 2 years old and under are not meant to travel all day--to stay with Luisa who had recovered from her sickness.

Saturday Anthony me with Campus Crusade's leader in Florence to build a relationship and pray together. He got a bigger picture of what God is doing on the campus' in Florence, Rome, Pisa & Salerno. Then we ate lunch in Boboli Gardens and went to meet the Ammirabile family once again in the Tuscan countryside. We had dinner with them and we overwhelmed by their ministry of hospitality (see pictures of their camp & size of an average dinner gathering at their home).

Sunday was spent in Firenze at Luisa's church. It is very different from ours, however, we felt the presence of Jesus and were warmly welcomed. We met a missionary from Chicago who has been in Italy for over 30 years (Luisa & her roommate, missionary with Crusade pictured,also)!

Our drive back was beautiful, Tuscany at dusk is magical. We didn't know this till returning, but they have some 6,500 feet mountains in the northern part of the region and an extensive coast line.

We never did run a race--one of the original purposes for visiting Tuscany during this period. But the smile we share, the people we met and God's leading the trip and healing Nikki and Luisa were priceless. Sammy agrees :)

Refreshing Ourselves

2007-05-01T20:53:00.000+01:00

We are all busy, right! We all need to take a break and enjoy each other and Jesus. Here are some pictures of recent moments where we as a family have said "NO" to many other things and just enjoyed time together. Hope this encourages you and let's you see a window into what we do between openings at Il Rifugio, Alla Scoperta, E4, Worship Services (culto in italian), endless dinners, evangelism & discipleship one on one, English clubs & Short Term Mission Trips...did I forget anything??? (Like learning the language & the culture still!)

Hiking trip in the mountains on today, Italy's labor day.

Day alone as a staff to picnic, play bocce, hike & celebrate Janice's birthday.

Day & a half trip to visit with Davide, Anna & Caterina at the seaside.

Well, speaking of being refreshed, I gotta go steal a few moments with Jesus while the kids sleep!

Resting in Slovenia

2007-04-08T15:43:00.000+01:00

March was a joy and a blur! We began with a visit from Jamie, Nikki's sister, then we dedicated Sammy, celebrated Siena's 2nd birthday with friends, signed up students for 1 week of English Club outreach, we hosted the outreaches and campus preaching (Anthony translated from English into Italian...exhausting), followed up and then rested in Slovenia on Beautiful Lake Bled (see photo).

We gathered their with over 100 missionaries from western and eastern Europe for some teaching, debriefing, rest, hiking and enjoying great food (most days you could eat fresh fish from the lake!) Siena loves kids so after she recovered from her third illness since Sammy was born on Feb 2nd, she played with them (see photo at pool).

Nikki and I took a hike through the beautiful Vintgar Gorge--reminds us of the Smoky Mountains in eastern Tennessee (see photo of us and last photo). We even enjoyed some of the Slovenian and Italian food--Bled Cream cake and Italian coffee--Italy borders this former Yugoslavian county.

Pray for us as we reengage ministry. Pray for the missionaries pictured towards the end of the photos (Asp Family, Eric & sons, they are moving back to US to help European missionaries, and Todd & son Gabrian, he and his wife have two kids and a 500 sq. ft. apt). Nikki and I are also training for a run for Mother's day 2007. A huge hug to you all, enjoy the photos!

Intentional Mentoring Community

2007-04-08T15:23:00.000+01:00

11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Ephesians 4.11-13 (NLT)

Recently, God launched an intentional community that for us has been 3 years in the making and for God has been and eternity past in the making! Frank, Paul and I began praying 18 months ago for who, how and when this community would launch. And on March 2nd, 2007, 12 young people, who signed on for a 3 year commitment, entered this equipping process. 5 are Italians, 3 are Romanians, 3 are Americans (though 2 have spent the majority of their adult life in Italy) and 1 Ecuadorian. In bringing them into maturity in Christ, we intend to raise them up as future leaders at Il Rifugio21, the current church in Torino, and in the next church plant(s) which we desire to begin in the third year of the community.

Here are some photos of that initial gathering. Please pray for the students and the five equippers/mentors: Frank, Pam, Paul, Janice and myself. Pray that we would embody Ephesians 4.11-13 and 3.20. We want to believe God for grand dreams in our lives!

Epiphany

2007-01-06T23:09:00.000Z

The last series of photos and experiences are from our very recently getaway to Cogne, Italy. IT is a quaint mountain village at the foot of Gran Paradiso National Park and nearby Mount Blanc (15,771 feet and Europe's highest mountain). Hope you can appreciate the photos, Siena did some of her first sledding ever. Enjoy!

New Years 2006

2007-01-06T23:02:00.000Z

On New Years, which is typically the grandest party in Italy, we were invited to spend it with Luca and Cristina (they were at our Christmas Party) and 6 other friends. Davide, Anna & Caterina were present also. There was entirely too much food at this gathering, however, we were so blessed to hear Davide and Anna respond to the question launched "What New Year's resolution do you want to make this year?" "We want to become better at parenting and being married!" They testified to the power of Jesus in them who values relationships over materialism and humility over achievements.

Christmas2006

2007-01-06T22:10:00.000Z

Okay, so I am not the most efficient at updating the BLOG. Evidently, I am not an avid BLOGGER. However, take comfort, this is my first one this year and only 6 days have past!

So how could we highlight our Holiday season? Joyful, expectant and relaxing... after the 24th that is. We began the season at il Rifugio where we hosted roughly 60 students at our annual party. This year we had a sketch on "why do we celebrate Christmas?" It was answered by Aida (a 13 yr old member of the church) who said, "We celebrate Christmas because God broke into our world to bring us hope in Jesus." Checco Testa (no relation), a very young passionate believer, shared his testimony urging people to check into Jesus. The entire night was a testimony!

Next came our annual family Christmas Party. We celebrated it with four other couples, only one who know Jesus. We were rather behind that evening, preparing all the food american style, but at the end it wrapped up nicely. One friend of ours named Stefano, after reading Romans 5.8, said, "That is the most beautiful description of Christmas I have ever heard." We had a chance to pray over each couple urging them to check out who the Jesus of the Bible is. They stayed with us till 3am helping clean up.

Thanksgiving Outreach

2006-11-26T22:23:00.000Z

So...this is my first blog ever. "Woohoo!" as Siena would say. This is just my first attempt to highlight what's going on in Torino to those who are closest to Nikki and I.

Last Friday night we were set to host 30-50 students in an evening of praise and celebration of what God has done in our lives (annual thanksgiving feast) and instead we couldn't find anywhere to sit. There were over 73 students crammed into Il Rifugio. Ones of the greatest joys was that the students planned the gathering. They invited their friends, they planned the venue and they set up and tore down the space (even cleaning all the dishes from the evening-esp. the men!!!)

Attached are some of the photos of the night and a special photo of the "Alla Scoperta" group that Nikki, I, Checco and Maurizio are leading together. Of course there's the Sweets, she slept up in daddy's office while the evening proceeded. That is she and BAA BAA! They are inseparable.

One last highlight is of Aida, a thirteen year old member of Christ the Rock, who invited her friend Anita and Anita's mom to the gathering. Aida is quickly growing up in Jesus and wants to share this love with all she knows. It was a joy seeing her participate in "bringing her friends to Jesus." She reminds me a lot of Matthew's outreach (Luke 5.27ff).