Pictures of Our House Being Packed Up

I always take before and during and after pictures when we move. Here are some pictures of what the house looked like during the packing phase and a few of the kids sneeking boxes from teh movers to make an outside hut! And then later the Bookworm made a hut in his room and decided to sleep in it!

Here are the Princess and the Bookworm's Huts! And yes, the captured Sandy our English Cocker Spaniel and held her captive! And see, proof that the Bookworm slept in his hut that he made in his room!

The Van is Shipped

The van shipped yesterday. We had it detailed cleaned on Saturday. The AGIP right by Post cleaned it, and they did a wonderful job. I have to say that I took these pictures, along with ALOT more so that in case "something" happens to the van, I'll have "proof"!(you can see our silver ford taurus in the background in the first pic.) When the Hubby took it to Transportation to ship, the man asked him since it's a van we must have kids. The hubby said yes, and he said, well your van is so clean and no marks or anything, it doesn't even look like kids have every rode in it! I certainly take that as a compliment! And yes, the kids do ride in the van, but they know that they are to keep their space clean! So, we should get the van not too long after we get to SC, they say it's taking about 50 days. So that would be around the 18th of November....hummm our household goods are suppose to arrive in country around the 17th of November, I surely hope that this happens!

Marositca Human Chess Game

I totally forgot to blog about the Human Chess Game that we went to a few weeks ago in Marostica. It is the city were the Human Chess Game originated. It was a wonderful experience to be able to go and see it.

Although the game itself was very short, the parade of townsmen, horses, dancers, firebreathers, fireworks and etc. were neat to see. The costumes were absolutely beautiful. We are glad that we were able to go and see it since we are due to move and we wouldn't have had another chance to ever see it.

This wierd thing was quit strange and spooky looking, don't really know what the point of it was!
Here is a closet.....I guess it is suppose to be Medusa(note the snakes in the hair)?! At the end there were fireworks coming from the castle, it was pretty. It was a fun evening. Another memory to add to our European Adventure.

Beds and Treadmill....Sold!

So, yesterday was a good day. We sold our guest room bed, the captain's bed and the Princess's canopy bed. She has decided that when we get to the states, she would like a full size bed. We said sure, she wants to use my dresser and headboard that I had as a tween/teen. It is very pretty and is in good condition. It's called a pickle wood, like a dark pink color with little spots of brown/tan, very antiquey and perfect for her. So all we'll need to do is buy a full size mattress and box spring.

Yes, the guest room bed is also gone.........for all of you visitors that came and saw us.....hummm....the four of you.......you can atest to what a great bed it was! I think that it turned out to be perfect for our guests.

And then last last thing to go yesterday was the treadmill. It was in EXCELLENT condition and went to a friend of ours, so we know that it will continue to have a good home. And yes, we did use it, it wasn't used to hang clothes on or to collect dust!

The Hubby and I went out on a date last night to Regina's, our favorite restaurant here! It is a very small place that only sits about 20 people max and has a fixed menu of 10 euro and the food is beyond wonderful. It was a nice date, we enjoyed some time together away from the Princess and the Bookworm........Lord knows what they were up to at home......probably the computer on Club Penguin and the Wii! If you don't have date nights with your hubby, let me suggest starting the tradition. You and your spouse need to have time out of the house and away from the kids with grown-up conversation! We are rejoicing that the Princess is now old enough to kidsit and that our two kids get along well together so that we can leave her in charge. Although I do fear of coming home one evening from a date night with the Hubby and finding the Princess tied up by the Bookworm, you know little brothers can be a real pain sometimes! Then again, it could be worse, we could come home and find that they've tied the dog up!

This and That and Then Some

Weird heading I know, but I've had a little of this and a little of that and a then some kind of day!
So my blog for today will be some of this some of that and then some! First things first....TGIF!

So, today the kids and I schooled, then they were determined to see whom was going to be on the computer first to go onto Club Penguin and see the Fall Fest! Yes, this is one of their favorite sites to get on and yes, they are a member of Club Penguin and yes, it has my Mom approval stamp! So, the Bookworm decided that he would do his "homework" that Mom assigned to him while the Princess went first on the computer. She was on for and hour and then the Bookworm got on for an hour while the Princess did her "homework". It worked out, it doesn't work out when you DON'T have a plan! The laptop and the Wii or the two items in the house that are on a first dibs basis since all of our other belongings are now packed up and on their way to the states.

Speaking of the states.......we dropped that van off this afternoon at the local AGIP gas station for them to detail clean and to clean the engine. We will pick it up tomorrow morning. It gets shipped on Monday morning. I just pray that it doesn't get broken into tonight at the AGIP station or it's not on sender blocks in the morning with all four tires gone! And yes, I know that all of you are probably laughing right now, but honest to goodness, that is the truth! Living in Italy is NOT like living in Germany! We take the van NO where but on long trips to Germany or to just go on post, for everywhere else, we drive the Hubby's car! So once Monday gets here and the van is shipped, we'll be down to one car. And as scheduled and organized as I am, I already have it all planned out how we are going to work just having one car. The Hubby will have the car on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I will take him to work on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then come back home because we have soccer and flute on those days. So....those two days will be my errand days. It'll work, it has to! There are NO other options!

On a happy note, the Hubby's replacement gets here on Monday! YES YES YES WE are so excited about her getting here, that means we are so much closer to the Hubby's Change of Command and him NOT being in Command anymore. Which by the way, his Change of Command is on October 30th, which just so happens to be my Dad's birthday!(Love you Dad)

Oh tomorrow......tomorrow is going to be a looooooooong day! The kids have to be at the soccer field at 8:30 for soccer pics., then their game is at 9. Then we have to pick up the van at 11, then we will get lunch on Post and then we will go to the Bazaar that is on Post and finally we have two people meeting us at 4 to come and get two beds and a treadmill that we have advertised for sale. Let's just say that the money made from these items is going toward pet tickets for our one way plane trip home.

So that is that, I am ready to go and take my bath and get in pajamas and go watch Survivor!

Jack and the Bookworm

Good news on Jack and the Bookworm. The Hubby has an Italian lady that works for him whom raises birds! Answer to our family's prayer for Jack. The Hubby talked with her this morning and she was very sympathetic with the Bookworm. She said that she would love to take little Jack the parakeet. She has 4 parakeets already at her home and would love to have another. She said that she has a big open area in her foyer where her parakeets are and they are able to fly freely all around. She said that Jack would be very happy. She has invited the Bookworm to come to her house and see where Jack will be living. The Bookworm is really anxious about seeing where Jack will go, and promises that he will only go to a very good home and one where he can keep in touch with Jack. The lady told the Hubby that she will e-mail the Bookworm and send pictures of Jack all the time so that the Bookworm can see how well Jack is doing. We will take Jack to her about a week before we fly to the states, it is already sad, but I am sure that it will be really sad once the Bookworm has to actually give Jack to her. Please pray for a peace to be over the Bookworm when that day in the near future comes.

For the Birds(Bird).....Literally

OK, so half of this afternoon has been on the phone with the USDA/GOV. Why, because we have a bird, or better yet, the Bookworm has a pet parakeet. We were told that oh, it's a domestic bird and all he needs is a health certificate.........WRONG!!!

Big desicions to be made on the part of Jack(the parakeet) are in the near, very near future!

So Jack already has a reservation to fly with us, and now he has to have a reservation with the USDA! When we fly into JFK, he has to be wisked away to be quarantined for 30 days.....yes....30 days in New York and JFK isn't even our final destination! Urgggg

So, all of the people that I talked to at the USDA were very very helpful today. First we have to fill out a permit, then reserve him for a quarintine cage, all of this for a 10 euro parakeet that we got 5 years ago in Germany, not thinking that the bird would still be living! Go figure!

So lets see, the one permit is $93.00 and the quarantine is $325.50. Not to mention, how the heck do we get him back after 30 days! Fly to get him, or I learned that we can hire a bird broker to send him to us.(I didn't even know that these existed) So, if he goes with us fun time we get off of the plane, I can see it like this..........give us the bird, step away from the bird! Only to think, gee, how silly because he was just on a plane for say, ummmm, 10 hours! THEN he has to be quarantined...funny. But I started thinking,what if we send him ahead of us....that could work.....then we could just pick him up when we get there, he could be literally waiting on us! I would have to figure out how to get him there, and hire a "bird broker".

Oh the fun of moving........I have already talked about the possibilities with the Bookworm, taking him and how much it is going to cost, taking him and then the bird not passing his quarantine test and then we could have him, or him dying in quarantine, or just letting him go and letting him be free, or taking him to the local zoo here in Nove' to be with the other parakeets there. The response I got was tears, it broke my heart to see him crying.

It's not that we can't afford to bring the bird, it's just that I would hate for something to happen to this bird in transit.............around $500.00 later!

Everyone Knows We Homeschool

Yes, everyone knows we Homeschool. It's funny when people ask the kids what grade they are in and the kids tell them. Then we automatically KNOW what their next question is going to be! So, who is your teacher this year? The Princess and the Bookworm always look at eachother and then at me and just smile! Then they turn to the person that asked them and they say in unison.....we're HOMESCHOOLED! Oh the looks you get, and then we hear, really, do you like it? I am thinking obviously we do or we wouldn't be doing it! Then you hear the question above all questions, well, what about socialization? Oh yes, I have learned to really LOVE that question. I always turn it back to a question to them, so what about socialization? Then I say, that is one of the reason that we Homeschool, because of socialization! The things kids learn in school from other kids, the language, the mouthy attitudes, poor mannerism, hummmm one of the reasons I Homeschool. Think about how much time is wasted on having to take time away from teaching in schools to correct discipline, too much. My child doesn't need to be in school to socialize! School isn't made for socializing, it's made for learning! My kids are involved in plenty of activities where they can "socialize". The are involved in Chapel functions, Youth Group, Sports(soccer), spending time with their friends, going on trips with their friends, having friends over, etc. So see, people need to really think about what they are asking when they ask Homeschoolers about"socialization"!

At home, we provide our children a quality Christian Education that they can not get in the DOD school here. Our History is based on our beliefs, right from the History book itself, God's Word, the Bible! In 4th grade the Princess was being Homeschooled and was doing US History, what were they doing in the DOD school, NO history whatsoever. This year the Bookworm is in 4th and he is doing US History. Military kids move around a lot, this too is another reason why we Homeschool. Like this year, we move in November and we will be moving again in May.......that would have made 3 schools that the kids would have been in and out of in less than a year's time! That is just crazy!

So enough of me on my soap box....here is a funny Homeschool Video that I found and I wanted to share it.........enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM6uqj0_jQc

Proverbs 31 The Virtuous Woman

10 Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships, she brings her food from afar.
15 She also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household, and a portion for her maidservants.
16 She considers a field and buys it; from her profits she plants a vineyard.
17 She girds herself with strength, and strengthens her arms.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is good, and her lamp does not go out by night.
19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hand holds the spindle.
20 She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed with scarlet.
22 She makes tapestry for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies sashes for the merchants.
25 Strength and honor are herclothing; she shall rejoice in time to come.

Does this woman sound to good to be true? Perhaps she is. Not all women have the same skills, this woman is described as an idealized woman. She is to blessed to be stressed! What is a virtuous woman? A woman who puts God first. What is the secret? Her knowledge gained from the Word of God. It's her manual that guides and teaches her.

There are four attributes in this passage, lets look at them; strength, ability, efficiency and wealth.

First, Strength~ She shows strength. She serves God as a soldier in God's Army. She is a God fearing woman. As a wife she shows support to her husband she offers and gives a listening ear to him. As a friend and a neighbor she offers her hands. Her strength comes from where?

Second, Ability~ She knows her abilitly. She sees NO limits. She knows that the Holy Spirit is her Helper. That is why everything she does seems to be done with ease. She is a spirit-fillied woman. What is her secret? She can draw from the well that never runs dry, the well of the Holy Spirit.

Third, Efficiency~ She knows how to balance all she must do......how?

Fourth, Wealth~ The qualities of the Proverbs 31 Woman are rare. She is one to be found. Rubies and diamonds are precious stones and beautiful, but the Proverbs 31 Woman is even more so!

So, does the Proverbs 31 Woman apply to the full spectrum of women? YES! The lesson from this passage is not just about someone who has lots of skills and gifts and can accomplish lots, but about someone who has full reliance on God.

Ladies, do you have your full reliance on God? Are you doing and doing and doing and not putting God first in your life? Remember, "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

Bored

I am finding that with everything now packed up and gone, that I am bored. Yes, bored. Since Monday I have finished two new books that I bought! Yes, two books with about 400 pages in each one! And today, I bought another one when we went to Aviano to the kids' Soccer Game. I'll probably be finished reading it in a couple of days!

There just isn't a lot to do when you don't have anything in your house! I mean, nothing to clean, nothing to dust and I can only wash clothes so many times and they are all clean! Not a lot of dishes to do either. So I school the kids in the mornings and by lunchtime we are done, so from about 1 til the Hubby gets home or until it is time for me to start preparing dinner or time to go to Soccer Practice or Flute Lessons, I have nothing to do. So I read, or I have a puzzle that I am putting together or I play a board game with the kids, or I get on the computer!

I guess I should enjoy it while I can........in less than a month and a half, we'll be busy with looking for a house and unpacking.........yeah!

BURRRRRR

Burrrr, yes, it is cold here in "sunny,warm" Italy! It's freezing! It is so cold in our house that when the Hubby gets home tonight from Pisa, he must switch the hot water thingy over to heat so that we can turn on some radiators! If my Dad were here visiting, he'd for sure have on his heavy coat! If I'm freezing, then you know it's cold! My nose feels like a popsicle! I have on sweats, a long sleeve shirt and socks!

I am guessing that the weather is going to stay like this, it's been almost a week of cold, chilly weather now! Burrrrrrr, it's time to make chili and hot chocolate!

An Echo of A House

As you can imagine, it is quit strange not having any of your "stuff" in your house. So therefore is becomes very echoee! Yes, very! To the point where the Bookworm can not hardly take it! Trying to school yesterday afternoon was a challenge with the echo problem, I had to open a window all the way up to help with the problem......it helped, some, but then we were freezing to death! Yes people, it is cold here, contrare to what you may think, Itlay DOES NOT stay HOT all of the time, it does get cold here! It has just never gotten cold here this early before. Needless to say it has been cold enought to wear pants and long sleeves and a jacket/coat. I have even seen some wearing gloves and a hat and scarf. I am glad that I kept heavy coats, scarves, hats and gloves out for all of us and I didn't let the movers pack them up. I know that we want need them in SC, but we need them here! It can go in hold baggage, I suppose. Yeah, I didn't let the movers pack up the hat, scarves, gloves and coats.......like the Hubby let them pack up end year report cards for the kids! Hummmmm, just so happens I need them to send to Abeka........Hubby, what were you thinking!

Day 3- Movers Done By 12

Yes, the movers are done and all of our things are now in crates and gone! It is pretty sad when you see your things rolling away.........I mean, it's all of your stuff. The movers were here again before 8 this morning, they packed up the last few things, loaded 3 more crates and they were done by 12, just in time for them to go on their lunch break anyway.

So all in all, we have 13 crates that were packed and will soon be on a ship heading to the US. Wow, we're really moving back to the states, it's a great feeling. We are now just sitting here in an empty house waiting on our loaner furniture to arrive. They gave us a time frame of 12-5, I have a feeling that it will be around the 5 time frame, we'll probably be the last delivery for the day!

The Hubby is so bored, that he is outside cutting the grass while we wait on the loaner furniture, the kids are in the garage making forts out of the boxes that the movers left for them, and as you can tell, I am writing on my Blog!

Tomorrow life will resume as normal as the movers are done and hopefully we will have our loaner furniture, the Hubby will go back to work and the kids will be hitting the books!

Day 2~Packing and Crating

Today was another successful day with the movers. They are such a great company! These are by far the best movers that we have ever had! And I am not just saying that either! Today they arrived on time again, started packing and then another truck showed up with two more movers. They had on their truck 5 crates, so they began to pack up the things that had already been packed up in the crates. So we had 5 movers today! Excellent!

They took a break for lunch and then when they came back they had brought back another truck with 5 more crates. They left at 5:00 with the 5 crates packed!

So thus far we have 10 crates packed.....there should only be 2 more crates to go! Trust me, I'll let you know tomorrow how many crates we have.

So for now, it is time for bed!

Day One~Movers

Today was the big day, and it all started before 8 this morning.........day one of moving day! Yeah!!! The movers arrived before 8 and basically packed up the whole downstairs of our house! This has never been done before on day 1 of any move that we have EVER done! We are blessed to have such a great moving company and we had 3 packers today. They worked from 8 til around 5 and will be back tomorrow around the same time. At the rated that they went today, I suspect that they should be through packing the entire upstairs by mid afternoon tomorrow and possibly start tagging all boxes and items with stickers to be counted. So as it looks right now, they should be packing all of our things in crates for sure on Wednesday.
Exciting, it was exciting for all four of us to see the movers pull up this morning and to start packing our things. We know now that we will really be in the states in a matter of less than 1 month and 3 weeks. We are all four ready to leave Italy(Europe) and go back to the states, it's been a long 5 1/2 years.

Another Weekend in Garmisch,Germany

We love Garmisch, and any chance we get to go, we go! Last Sunday-Tuesday we went as a family and helped watch children for couples attending a Chapel Marriage Retreat. We enjoyed helping and enjoyed being around the little ones.

We had free-time on Monday afternoon, so we hit the Sommerrodelbahn! Our family loves this ride! It's just like a bobsled! And yes, this time the Hubby and the Princess and the Bookworm got Mom on it! So I thought that I would share a few pics. from our trip.

And yes, if you are thinking are we ready for the movers.......we finally are! Everything is packed and piles made for the movers NOT to touch. The only thing left to do is take down the trampoline, and the weather has not been in our favor! It rained all day yesterday and has thus far rained all day today too. It did however not rain this morning and the kids were able to play their first Soccer game of the season with Dad as one of thier Coaches, but once their game was over.....it started raining. And NO they didn't win, they lost 5-0!

My Little Brother

For those of you who don't know, I have a younger brother. Today is his 30th birthday. Yes, he has a very important birthday date from the tragedy that happened a few years ago. But I don't think about that on his birthday, I always think back to when we were growing up.......

I remember when he was 2(I guess he was two, Mom, if you're reading this, how old was he?) he was being really quiet and we didn't know where he was. So Mom and I went looking for him and he had found the laundry detergent(tide powder) and was sitting on the floor and had it all over the floor and all over him! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that he has red hair too, actually it looks more orangey than red. He was cute! Mom even has a picture of it!

I remember another time when he was about the same age and I was 5(I think, we're only 3 1/2 years apart). We were sitting in Church and he grabbed my arm and bit a hunk out of it! Hummm, he got his......Mom grabbed his arm, right there in Church, and bit his arm!! Go Mama! Needless to say, he NEVER bit anyone ever again!

Oh yeah, have to mention the time that we were at our Granparents and we were outside under my Grandaddy's shed, there was a pepsi bottle sitting on the concrete, so my brother picked it up and started guzzeling down the contents. Little did he know that it was GASOLINE in the bottle. Yes, my Grandaddy had put gasoline in a pepsi bottle. So there my parents went with my little brother to the Doctor. When they came back home, my brother had black smeered all around his face from having to drink charcoal, it was funny, but thank the Lord that he was OK.
And one last story, I tell my kids this everytime we go to Garmisch,Germany! We use to go to the Mountains in North Carolina a lot when I was little. I think that my parents took us to every Zoo, Park, Amusement Park and Attraction in North Carolina. Anyway, everytime that we would go, my brother would get sick! Yes, he would get car sick, yes, throwing up sick. So I would say, Jeremy is getting sick, Dad would pull over and we would take care of Jeremy. Back then seatbelts weren't even thought about and we had a Omni HatchBack, so my parents would move all of the luggage back with me in the backseat and Jeremy would get a pallet made for him in the Hatchback of the car. I think Mom has pictures of that too, I know that it is on the family home videos! Yes, I do have evidence of all of these things!

Anyway.....We had alot of fun together growing up. We lived in the country and my parents have alot of land where there house is. We would ride 4-Wheelers and Go-Carts all over the place, we had tracks everywhere, except in the front yard of course! We had an inground pool also so we would swim all the time in the Summer. We also had quit a few pets in our days too! We had goats, puppies, rabbits, cats, dogs, a racoon, a squirrel, parakeets, ducks and I believe that my brother had a rooster. Needless to say we both love going back to visit Mom and Dad whenever we can. We both live in different states than Mom and Dad, oh yeah, that's right, I live in a different COUNTRY! Gee! Anyway, the Princess and the Bookworm also love to visit Nana and Poppy's house, they have fun in the country.

So, to my little red-headed brother......hugs and kisses from your big sister on your birthday. It's about time you joined me in the world of 30! Just think next year you can be like me and say that you're 30-something!

I'm Back...

I don't like to post on my Blog when I will be gone.......so I'm back! The Hubby and kids and I went to Garmisch from Sunday-Tuesday. We went and provided Child Watch for our Chapel's Marriage Retreat. We had a nice get away from home and enjoyed being able to watch 8 kids ranging from age 5 months-4 years old while their parents attend Seminars during the day.

It of course was so nice to yes, once again be in Germany. And as the Hubby calls is"The MotherLand". Our name you know is German and the Hubby's family is of German desent. So this would be our last time in Germany! We truly did enjoy living there, the air is so crisp and fresh.

So now we are back, in Italy.....sigh......it is NOT Germany! We are all really ready to move now and leave Italy. I hope that we never have to come back to Italy.....we all four feel that way. We have made so truly wonderful friends here and we love our house that we are living in, but that's about it!

The Hubby is not doing well. He awoke yesterday morning with his left eye swollen and his left ear was double the size of his right ear, plus his left side of his face and head looked swollen. Still the same today. He will be going to the doctor in the morning. Say a prayer please that it is nothing serious. If you know us well and you know my husband, he always gets nothing ordinary!

The movers will be here in 6 days, on Monday and will be packing for three days. We'll see if they can do it in 3 days! They thought that they could pack us up and move us from Heidelberg,Germany to here in 3 days and it took them 5!!! So this week we will begin packing our big suitcases and laying anything aside that we do not want the movers to pack! Did I mention that we DO NOT fly to the States until November 7th! So we will be without our things for awhile, but the plus is that our household goods should be in the states around the 17th of November! So hopefully we will have a house and be up and running way before Christmas! That's my dream anyway.

On Post Dining Facility

So, the kids have soccer practice two days a week on Post. Their practice is around/during dinner time. The hubby and I decided that we would start eating dinner those two days at the Dining Facility on Post! Yes, that's right. We can all four eat for 16 dollars and get a healthy meal. I can't even cook a meal for 16 dollars a night for the four of us! Needless to say my grocery bill has come way down and I do not have to make so many trips to the Commissary to get groceries! So, Mom has two breaks a week where I don't have to cook and it's nice!

They Took the What.....Pool!?!?!

Forgot to mention that when we noticed that the van had been rummaged through on Monday morning that evening the Hubby asked me to come to the garage. He had up the garage door and asked me if I noticed anything. I told him no. Then he asked me if I did anything with our pool?! I told him no. Then I realized that our pool was gone! Oh yeah, the gypsies or carnies must have taken it! But funny thing is........they did us a huge favor! We had taken the water out of it on Sunday and had it all rolled up so that we could throw it away(it was a blob pool). We were going to get rid of it because we are moving and the filter quit working about a few weeks ago. Don't know what they wanted with it.......but now we don't have to drag it to the recycling center!

This is a picture of the Bookworm in our blob pool!

Gypsies or Carnies....Who Broke Into MY VAN!

Yes, you read the post correctly! After living in our house for over a year, our van finally got broken into. Believe it or not, there is a praise that goes with this story!
This morning we decided to take the kids to a local Zoo that is only about a 20 minute drive from our home, in Nove. So I decided, hummmm we are going to Nove, I need to stop by a store and pick up my ceramics that I ordered a few weeks ago. So I go to the van to get my receipt out of the console. I open the driver's door and I notice that there are a lot of papers on the front passenger seat and on the floor. All of these were from the console and from the compartments in the front. I asked Hubby if he had been looking for something in the van?! He said NO, but yesterday he went in the console to get the kids passports and the dogs pet passport out. He came and saw the mess in the van and went NO, wasn't me! At that moment we both knew that it was Gypsies or Carnies that had rummaged through the van. We must have left the van unlocked last night,which we NEVER do. But thank the LORD we did, or else we could have had a window smashed out of it! Obviously they were looking for gas-fuel coupons and passports, which they didn't find. Thank God Hubby got the two out yesterday! Nothing else in the van was messed with and nothing was stolen.
I say Gypsies could have went in it because there are Gypsies here in Italy and they are known for breaking into peoples cars and homes. Especially if they know of a Military family. Carnies, I mention them because right now our town is having its Sagra(festival) and all of the people that work and run the Sagra are living on our street in there campers! So we believe that it was a Carnie and not a Gypsy that got in our van.
Funny thing......the Hubby's car was parked directly behind mine and his wasn't bothered. His doors were locked, but there was our GPS sitting on the floor in his car. No smashed windows or nothing.
So, I am praising the Lord today that yes, our van had been rummaged through, but there was no damage done.
Now I am thinking.......are they going to come back and try and break into the house? If they do, they'll be surprised when our alarm system goes off, and trust me, it went off on my the other day and it is extremely LOUD!
My question to you is, even though you may have difficulties going on in your life or something bad may have happened to you, have you stopped to thank God for them and for the good too? God puts nothing in our lives that we can not handle!