Boun Natale 2024 e Boun Anno Nuovo 2025

Boun Natale 2024

Celebrating the birth of

Our Lord & Savior! 

~ Christmas in Italy ~

Our beautiful apartment became magical with the glow of the lights on these 2 trees.                

Last year, I was dreaming of having a snow flocked tree.  All white works too!  

All of this Christmas decor was left in the

apartment by previous missionaries.  What fun to decorate our home away from home.  

 Alzano Lombardo Basilica Di San Martino Piazza 

Every single city no matter the size has beautiful lights and decor for Christmas

La Mariana Ristorante ~ Citta Alta, Bergamo

Famous for inventing Stracciatella Gelato

and Bergamasca Casoncelli Pasta 

Our First Opera ~ A Christmas Gift from our neighbors 

Zoraida di Granata by Donizetti 

The words were displayed above the stage in Italian & English

The Opera was 2 acts that were 2 hours each 

Our Italian Olive Wood Nativity Gift to ourselves.

Divine Gift ~ This White Stocking was in our apartment...A sign from Heaven! 

We have had a tradition in our family of putting a white stocking under the tree for Jesus.

We write notes and thank Him for the gifts of the past year 

and we write notes with gifts we will bring unto Him in the new year.   

Dolfi Store in Citta Alta, Bergamo 

The nativity sets here are beautiful, handcarved and original pieces. 

Fun Decor Citta Alta, Bergamo 

Nativity downtown Bergamo

The Italian tradition is to put baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas Eve. 

Christmas Missionary Zone Conference

We fed 140 missionaries and the precious family of

Presidente & Sorella Wood. 

Complete with Music, Skits, the Nativity reenacted by their grandchildren.

Blake Sampling the Hot Chocolate 

Lots of Cookies

Ginger Snaps

Sugar Cookie Stars

Muggio, Italy Christmas village scene

Baby Jesus is in the manger 

Christmas Market in downtown Bergamo

Ferris Wheel in the background

Carousel across the street 

(See Blake's blog of when our precious family came to visit

our very best long lasting Christmas gift memories! )

Musical Choir and Symphonic Orchestral Preformance

Gift Tickets from a friend in our Bergamo Church Congregation

She is singing in the concert.  She has a beautiful beautiful voice. 

Christmas carols were sung in Italian, Spanish, German, African and English. 

Symphony Hall in Milan, Italy

Outside the Concert Hall 

Christmas Eve Dinner

A Night to always remember

Polenta stirring itself on the stovetop

Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary in the oven

The fireplace stoked with a fire to warm the kitchen and dining area. 

Our delightful hosts and neighbors 

A toast with Sanbitters Soda 

She's wonderful and warm and friendly 

However, I am still learning about this Soda...

A wonderful large family table!  We felt welcome! 

Polenta with Cheese

Automatic Stiring machine

Delicious!  I love this!  

It reminds me of my young holiday memories 

at my Italian Grandma's table served with Ravioli. 

Chicken (capone) served with neck and head

A rooster that has been neutered and has grown larger than a chicken. 

The size of this bird is comparable to a 12 pound Turkey

The Stuffing was inside the bird

It was delicious but has a very different texture than American stuffing.

It was made with breadcrumbs and pieces of the organs of the bird.  

Dessert Candies were amazing

Our First Panettone!

Our First Pandoro!

Christmas Day Dinner with 8 young missionaries 

They were playing Jenga and Uno 

So Fun to host them and give them a big meal! 

The missionaries are so kind and gracious.

They called their families using our computers and internet. 

Holiday Greeting of Buone Feste are everywhere

The people are more warm and friendly!

Our trip around Lago di Iseo 

We watched the sunset and drove through several little towns to see the lights 

As you can imagine, Blake has an awesome time driving through 

tunnels and over mountain bridges.  He marvels at the craftmanship of these roads.  

It was a breathtaking trip in different ways for me.  

Fireworks happen for so many occasions in Italy

New Year's Eve was amazing!

A few good movies, popcorn, lemon soda and my favorite guy!

A New Year's Eve like no other!

The Fireworks started randomly around 6 pm all around us.

We live on the 4th floor (5th floor in Italy because they have a 0 floor)

So, I was hoping back and forth to see off each balcony all through the night.

At about 10 minutes before midnight the Fireworks 

became steady and started going off everywhere.  

Out our bedrooms we could see them going off in every city around us

and even up in the little mountain cities. 

The Fireworks lasted for a solid hour! 

And then they continued randomly till about 2 am.  

I felt like the celebration was going on in my heart too!

We love Italy! I am excited to see that again next year!

Please come join us!  You gotta experience the holidays in Italy!   

 

Visit from Katie and James

November/December 2024 visit from Katie’s family

We were quite pleased to host Katie and James and their three children for Thanksgiving this year.  They wanted to visit and were kicking around a visit for Thanksgiving, after Christmas or even late winter/early spring. Well, once they decided to make the trip, neither Katie nor Jodie could wait ….  they came for Thanksgiving.  We were excited for them to visit and for them to see a part of the Italy that we are experiencing on our mission.  

Welcome to Italy - at the Milano Malpensa Airport

We rented a 7-passenger van so that we could travel all together while they were here.   We didn’t account for the lack of luggage capacity in a 7-passenger van.  We really needed at least a 9-passenger vehicle to get them and their luggage to and from the airport, but somehow, we made it work – thanks to Jodie and James cramming themselves in the very back seats so we could use the foot room in front of the kids for luggage. 

A tight squeeze in a 7 passenger van with luggage

OK, that sets up the visit.  Rather than a day by day, blow by blow run down of events, I plan to just share a bunch of photos.  Most of them will be self-explanatory.  You’ll see photos of kids, castles, gelato, scenery, gelato, etc. etc.  We had a wonderful time with them.  Needless to say, we were worn out by the time they went home, and they were exhausted from the travel to and from Italy.  Totally worth it!

A few photo highlights from the trip.

Walking around Alzano Lombardo

Visit to Bergamo – tram ride, Christmas Market, Ferris Wheel, Carousel, Red Train tour

Visit to Bergamo’s Citta Alta – foccacia, gelato, castle, funiculare, piazzas, narrow cobblestone streets, scenic views of Citta Alta and Bergamo from San Vigilio

View of Citta Alta and Bergamo from San Vigilio

Leolandia – an amusement park for kids and making cookies

Lake Garda, the Sirmione Castle & the Brescia Castle

Visit to Oltre il Colle and Zambla Bassa - two of Jodie's ancestral cities to see old church records (thank you James for facilitating this visit with your Italian language skills)

Katie found these cool hats in a shop in Sirmione.  They were a wonderful addition to help keep the kids warm during their trip.  

Milan – Sforzesco Castle, Duomo and Galleria

The final gelato stop.  It was a cold night, but the gelato was so worth it! 

The cones were filled with warm chocolate or caramel sauce inside.   

Thank you Katie and James for the effort and sacrifice to visit us.  We truly had a wonderful time during your visit.  

We love serving in the Italy Milan Mission and working with Family Search in an effort to preserve precious old records that tie families together and connect generations.  

It was a wonderful treat for us to see some of our family during the Thanksgiving Holiday.  It was a great reminder to us of what is really important in our lives.  Family & Friends!