8 marzo 2009

Today is my mother's 68th birthday. She was born in the Women's day and always joked that the cebration has been put today to let the whole world celebrate her :)

As long as i don't get along at all with her ( unfortunately ) and she can't accept at all my ideas and my ways and my beliefs, still she is my mother and today still is for me mom's birthday.

In the afternoon we'll go to her place for a little celebration, i sewed for her a present, a bag for her grocery and a small purse. I was suppose to crochet something but the past week has been way hectic so i'll finish that project for another moment.

Happy Birthday Mom i wish we could be closer then we are i really do. But i can't change and you can't either. Let's put everything away for today and just have a beautiful day ....

Then there is another news, on friday, when Fabio was away in Florence to get another jukebox

(http://www.jukeboxtubeamp.com/ ) Leo lost his second tooth ! He was washing his hands and all of a sudden he rushed back ' Mom the time has come pull my tooth ! ' And boy was he right the tooth came out with no problem ! How could he know ! We have a long tradition of losing teeth during moving ( Gaia started it and usually Fabio misses the 'event' )and having the house on sell we hope to keep up with the tradition ....

On the homeschool front thursday we gave the principal of the elementary school another more detailed official request to take the kids off from school. She is so surprised, as i said before in Italy there is only a handful of families homeschooling and is an unheard practice that most of people think it's even illegal ( but it is not ) and i really believe she doesn't know how to menage this situation. Anyways we gave her some more time and already set another meeting on 31 march, so in case we might take them off after Easter holidays. Please keep us in your prayer and thoughts for this new path we are just about to begin, i'm so excited and scared at the same time, but so willing to begin and keep my children close to me in their learning and growing and to pass them other then knowledge an whole way of thinking, living and mostly believing.

'The education of children is a creative task, more like art then science' (Bruno Bettelheim)

'School is that exile where adults keep the children until they can live in adults' world without bothering them' ( Maria Montessori )

Have an amazing new week !

MamaF

Reflections

My path to spirituality seems to be much more clear nowadays. I can see a thread connecting so many different side of my own life and existence that sometime i'm left speechless in amazment.

Every night before sleeping i read some Bible. I found out that i can find both encouraging words and very clear directive for me to faithfully follow in this moment of my life. Sometime it seems that what i read has been written just for me.

Then i've started reading ( thanks to mr OldfashionEd ) Paulo Coelho as well, and in his writings imbued of searching and spirituality could give me encouragement in my walk as well.

If i look back, the last 4 or 5 years have meant so much for me. I'm such a different person then i was. Yes i was considered a much more successful person back in the days, working outside, having the 'modern' attitude with children, but i was so empty. Frozen food, day care formula and let them cry. But i felt something was badly wrong. life can't be so few. Life's centre can't be on things. Can't be on a job.Can't be in a pub, to a gig . So i started to give up. Give up the ideas that shaped me in my childhood ' housewives are just lazy women'. Give up my training ' women have to work and be economically indipendent so they don't have to get married'. Give up the ' kindergarten should be open also in the night attitude'. Not easy. Leaving behind an whole life. Accepting that you don't accept how you grew up. And then after the darkness .... a new light. I simply opened my heart at some point. And things started moving. Little miracles started happening. I tried, with humble heart and found myself enjoying unknown pleasures in life so fullfilling that no carrer could compete. Baking bread. And cakes. Making jam and canning. Sewing, and decorating and preserving and using a woodstove, making my own clothes and curtains and quilts and blankets, and carnival dresses. And now a step ahead again. One more. Once again opening my heart and accepting. Homeschooling the kids. Fear. Again. Let go. Some more. But now i feel this is the real life. The full life. The right life.

( Carnival dress for Leo, Crocheted and sewed curtains, a dress, doll'sdress, window star )

''And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has been mindful

of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him,

from generation to generation.

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;

he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

He has brought down rulers from their thrones

but has lifted up the humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things

but has sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

remembering to be merciful

to Abraham and his descendants forever,

even as he said to our fathers

(Luke 1:46-56)


MamaF

Milla's birthday - 23\02\09

On 23 february Milla celebrated her fifth birthday. My little girl is already 5 and it seems just yesterday when she was just a tiny yellow newborn. And now she is my fairy. She wakes up in the morning smiling big and sweet and greet me with a hug and a kiss. She calls me in the night ( not everynight :) ! ) and when i arrive quite grumpy i find her - yes you got it - smiling big and sweet ' Mom, could you please hug me and kiss me ? ' and of course i do, and melt away, and think that a moment like this is worth few sleepless time. I dearly love her, as i dearly love and tresure all of my kids, of course. Some pics from her birthday 'party'

Milla's cake. I did it with the decorations she chose ( we went grocery shopping together for all the stuff :) )

Leo, Milla and Gaia ( Seba was angry or something like that and went away ... )

Milla blowing the candle

A new bike !! ( Actually her first new bike since she always had an old one from older sibling )

Talking with gramma on the phone. I think her very first phone call :)

We had great time !

MamaF

Updates

Hello folks,

long time with no writing once again but life is (luckily ) busy and full.

Many things happened. Last wednestady my dear brother in low and beloved uncle of the foursome, Massimiliano Putrino, had his first concert. Of course we went all there and had so much fun. He is such a talented songwriter and singer and guitar player, kids were delighted, they love their uncle's music to pieces and spend hours listening and singing along his cd 'La vita è qui ' so listening and watching him live has been such a big big thing for them ( of course this was their first concert ! ) and i must add a great life lesson, to see how you can follow your dream and be true to yourself. Thank you uncle Max ! ( www.myspace.com/massimilianoputrino )

Then PapaF business is finally officially started and thank God work seems flowing his way, we're waiting 6 or 7 juke-box for next week and countless tube amp, i'm very proud of him, this week before the arrival of all this he'll have to build a wooden shelter outside to secure everything, he can be reached at his website http://www.jukeboxtubeamp.com/ and you can see there how he works.

Another big thing is that we have forwarded the official request to homeschool our kids. In Italy is a much unheard practice even if some thoused families already homeschool their kids being anyways legal. It's so unheard of that most of school principals and teacher thinks it's illegal so i'm quite nervous of what might happen, but i'm so so convinced this is the best choice for my kids and for the values i wante to pass them.

Tuesday in Italy is the last day of carnival, so today we'll a party for the kids at the karaoke place, and tomorrow is Milla's 5th birthday, so a week of celebrations.

I'll upload couple of pics here, but i promise i'll try to find sometime more to properly update and show you the concert and what we're doing and how we're doing.

Seba 'Winnie Pooh' with Gaia. Gaia was ready to go to a birthday party. I sewed all the dresses and i'm especially happy of the outcome. The kids loved them !
And Leo is a little UmpaLumpa ! Isn't he lovely ?

Have a blessed and resting sunday everybody !

Trip to Tuscany

Last weekend we went once again in Tuscany. We always go in the same little medieval village up on the mountain Amiata, Abbadia S. Salvatore, a place we really love.
On the village there was no snow at all, but we just had to drive few km up to the mountain road to find plenty of white stuff to play with. We've even been blessed with additional snow during on our stay. Unfortunately we only spent there couple of days, but still better being happy for 2 days over then unhappy because we couldn't stay more ...

Finally in the snow ! After moving back from Finland more then one year ago we've been dreaming about snow. The kids have been so so happy !

Sliding in the snow, making angels and snowmen, fun fun fun !

Here a pic of the beautiful place we where !

And then ! Surprise ! During the night in the village we had some light rain, but going up on the mountain the rain was snow !! So the next day, in the very same place everything looked like this ( just for you to know, the village is around 800 metre on sea level, this place is approximatively half way from the top at 1300 m and the top is around 1900 metres on sea level, but we didn't tried for the top, too much snow on the street )

Driving back, this is a sight of the road, or better of the treas topping the road, is so beautiful !

And here a pic we took of the countyside and hills just driving out of the small village on our way back home. As you see no snow at all, it's amazing, it was just 10 minutes drive from the snowy place of the previous pic. The tower you can see in the pic is of another mediaval village, Radicofani, it's a beautiful place and it makes for a wonderful sight from far away as we were.

Long time

It's been quite a while since the last time i posted something on here. Actually in the last couple of weeks my time for the net has been non-existant. Life is busy and other then busy can be quite complicated. We're at a crossroad, with the house on sell and still no idea of what we'll do. I trust God it will be probably the better thing for us whatever we'll end up doing and whenever we'll end up going, but still sometime i fail to be patience and wait in acceptance. It would be much easier to have all the answers in my pocket isn't it ?
Anyways, updates filled with pics in the next posts ( or this one would become neverending :) )
I wish everybody might drop by and read this a wonderful weekend and a blessed new week.

p.s. Mr President Oldfashioned i'm sorry i've been so out of touch, i'll e-mail you as soon as i can find some more time !

Being Special

Sometime i find myself struggling with a strange feeling. I'm happy of my life. I'm happy of what i do. I'm happy for the direction i started walking some years ago. But still from time to time rise in me modern and up-to-day kind of sensation : I want to be special. The kind of special that everybody can notice and gives you attention and pride. These days i felt a bit that way, you know nobody ever notice or even know how much i'm good feeling.

Then this morning just by chance i picked one of my inspirational books, you know those that you keep at the side of your bed, mine are quite eclectic, from Bible to Narnia to Everyday is sacred of Sue Bender ( hopefully my memory is serving me right ). Well as i open it, i read a quote ' We don't do great things, we do small things with great love ' Mother Therese used to say so. I immediately felt humbled from what i read. Every small thing done with great love is such an important thing. Giving love is the important part of the matter, not being noticed, not being special .... Yet i realize i can't make my whole upbringing disappear in few short years, my ego's been filled with the notion that you must do great things, things everybody can admire , things unusual and artistic, but not the simple art of everyday living with love. But i'm learning. Studying and learning. Learning from what i read, from what i see. God's creation can be the most simple yet amazingly complicated pieces of loving art ever ... ( hopefully this makes some sense ... )

This is the close up of a beautiful Sunflower we planted last summer

This is a close up of beehive we found in our yard during the summer. You can see the small bees growing inside every cell.