After Italy - Hard Decisions

Setting out nine months ago, we knew a time would come when some decisions were going to be needed. We had already made a lot of hard choices. Selling the house, homeschooling the girls, moving to another country, but the hardest one of all was the question of what next?

We left California with a full support network of friends and family and a faith that there was no such thing as failure as long as we were together. We have still found this to be true. Those who love us have supported us every step of the way. This “togetherness” has taught us so much about each other, and ourselves. It has also cemented our priorities.The “slow movement” in Italy is a cultural revolution against the notion that faster is always better. Not to hurry through, but be in the moment. To be patient. To take care with one another. It’s about seeking to do everything at the right speed. Savoring the hours and minutes rather than just counting them. This concept has helped me to really “see” my husband and kids. My vision is clearer without all the distractions and rush of life.

The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness 

embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Dave is and always will be a gifted teacher. No matter what he teaches. I feel so blessed to be his wife and to watch him father our two girls. He’s smart. Really smart. He picks things up so quickly and is able to break down what he knows into bite size portions for the rest of us to understand. He is fun when I am serious. He plays “silly” with the girls and gives them room to spread their wings. He moves forward when I am often stagnate. He makes decisions when I can’t. But most of all he really loves me well.

Ashley is my creative home body. She loves to craft. And draw. And bake. And sew. And anything that involves her hands. She loves to be at home. She loves to cuddle: with me, with Dave, and with her sister who a lot of the time is “over” cuddling with her big sister. She cares deeply about young kids and those who are disadvantaged. She always wants to help and would give away her last doll to the kid on the street. She struggles with spelling but loves to read fantasy stories and rehash every last detail to anyone who will listen.

Arya is my organized planner. She loves to think about what she will wear the next day, where we will go, what train we will take, what time it will leave, and once we arrive how we will get to our next destination. She clings to mommy and her pandas - all eleven of them, which are uniquely named, trained, and scheduled as well. She is great at math and is a voracious reader. She loves to play outside and explore nature.

We are traveling a lot. Since June we have been to the Eastern United States, Japan, Australia, Tasmania, Italy, Germany, Austria, England, Switzerland, France, Monaco, and Spain. Between now and July we are scheduled to see Greece, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, & Finland. Sometimes traveling doesn’t bring out our best qualities. We get tired. Hungry. Cranky. Annoyed. We are with each other 24/7. And yet we still want to be together. Hooray! The more we see of this big world, the smaller we feel and the more we want to learn. There is so much we don’t know or understand. But it has clarified our next steps.

We have gotten to have a lot of conversations in the quiet times in Lucca. Those times when we’re not traveling. Honest conversations that at the end of a day of work, commitments, and activities, are rare to come by. We have ultimately decided not to return to California. This is beyond a hard decision. But it is one that we feel confident of. In February, I took a secret scouting trip to the Pacific Northwest and found home. This came after months of research, prayers, meetings with realtors, pastors, and phone calls with family and friends. I was incredibly emotional to find a town, neighborhood, and community that I felt would well suit our strengths and desires. One where we could plug in and become more of who we want to be, find opportunities to serve the greater world without feeling strapped to our mortgage and commitments, and where we could hold onto lessons learned over the past year. 

We bought a home in Lake Oswego, Oregon - a suburb just south of Portland. The house was built in 1981, and needs some renovation before we move in. We are currently working with a designer/contractor to make those improvements before we relocate at the end of July. We have a big yard to explore and bloom in. Bedrooms all on the same floor, a change we wanted. An open kitchen where we can cook all that yummy Italian food, and an central living space where we can enjoy family time and host a myriad of family, friends, meetings, sleepovers and games. 

It will be an adjustment. More rain. New friends. Hop on a plane to see family instead of in a car. No Sharks Hockey. Mud and snails and spiders. New schools. New jobs. New commitments. New passions. Green grass and moss. Oh and I must not forget a puppy on its way in August!

How do you navigate the same places, the same people, the same God 

you’ve always talked to when everything is different? 

Shelly Miller

For us - we ultimately decided to navigate somewhere new. To put into practice our new way of living. The rest will work itself out. We’re excited for the next chapter in our family adventure. We hope you will be too! For our friends in California, we’ll be headed your way in July! We would love to catch up.