19 Days

That is how long it has been since Brad left the USA for sunny Sicily. It has not been this cold all winter in Millington. So yes, I appreciate snuggling even more now that there is no snuggling going on... And no, I have not let the dogs get up on the bed!! The thought has crossed my mind but I know better.

As far as the house hunting, he has eliminated the first house on my last post for various reasons. The second house is still in the running, but he got to look at one on Saturday that we do not have any pics of yet that seems like it is THE one! It is still being finished so it is new. He is trying to get another appt to go back and take pictures and measurements to see what will fit. This is quite important since they are coming to get the furniture to send to Italy starting 2 weeks from today...

If you read this post, please say some prayers for the families of all of the military that are in dangerous places all over the world. They do not know where they are or what they are facing each moment and may not hear from them for long periods of time. At least I know where Brad is and we are able to send emails and talk on the phone. Thank you Father for this blessing and help me not to forget to be grateful for everything you provide. You are the God of all comfort and you can draw those who are hurting near to you. I pray that you would strengthen and draw those families near to you, in Jesus name, Amen.

Here is a blog I found of a soldier in Iraq: http://iraqpictures.blogspot.com/ There are a lot of positive things going on in Iraq that the news for some reason does not publish...Take a look.

a new home maybe?

above is the backyard and living room of one of the homes Brad is going to look at tomorrow or saturday that is available to rent through the housing office on base. it has 3 bedrooms. we do not know how many bathrooms. it has a big yard - Ringo, Gracie and Zelda already like it.

below is another possibility - this is the kitchen (which is incredible) and the side yard...

we do not know yet how much yard there actually is or if there is any view from the house - this one has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. there is also an outside kitchen that is nice and which is common there.

really i just want to sell the house we have here...i will be happy there no matter what! Brad said his sponsor Gary drove him around today and they found where the 1st house is and it is a nice area and the neighbors came and and were very friendly and the daughter of the landlord lives nearby so that is good. he also said that although it gets very hot there that it is a dry heat - not like Memphis - and for that i am so grateful. it will be so much better for my arthritis.

they had lunch together and so i am waiting for all the details about how good it was and what it was they ate, etc. i was going to write some Italian but since I do not know the spelling I decided not to. right now i'm concentrating on pronunciation. spelling will be next! :-)

thank you Lord for taking care of us and providing us comfort while we are apart from each other. it is hard to be away from the one you love especially when you do not know when you will see each other again. but we know it will be in God's perfect timing! so that is something to be thankful for!!

Lava & The Med

Finally...an update! Here are some beautiful pictures of the lava going down into the sea and a prickly pear cactus!

Status: We do not know yet what will happen about Brad's VISA situation. We have a showing for our house today at 12:45 so I hope I didn't leave anything out - I think I put everything away!!! :-) There may be someone else interested as well. Ultimately, someone will see the beauty of the property and the house and it will all come together!

It's all in God's hands so there are no worries. Romans 8:28 says 'And we know that God causes all things to work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.' Does this mean bad things never happen? Of course not. Sometimes we cannot possibly comprehend the good that may come out of certain terrible circumstances and tragedies. 1 Corinthians 13:12 says 'For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known.'

This morning the 'goose family robinson' showed up on our pond. This is my pet name for the geese that come and raise their family on the pond each year. This morning there were about 7 geese. I love watching them gracefully gliding across the water - it is very serene and relaxing.

VISA not mastercard...

haha...i actually borrowed that line from a friend of Brads (ours), Bill, who stopped by to see how things are going. he also offered to mow for us if we do not sell the house before it is time for me to join Brad in Sicily. that is an incredible burden lifted! i'm really humbled by the incredible generosity of our friends here in Tennessee. we would pay him of course - he's saving for a Harley Davidson.

the real reason for the subject of today's posting is that we are awaiting a determination on whether Brad must fly all the way back here to Tennessee to get his VISA to work in Italy - which was never placed on his official passport.

you may be wondering - did we not realize this? yes, of course we did...but when we asked, the VISA person said it would not be a problem, handed him his itinerary for travel and off he went. now the personnel services office here is working to try to overcome this issue without Brad actually having to fly back.

when we got home that day we were pretty sure this was a problem so we called the consulate in Detroit. we then called the embassy in DC. no one would commit to saying it was required and a mistake had been made. the bottom line is that the VISA is required if you are staying longer than 90 days (we are) and you are not in the military (we are not).

maybe they could just fly him right to DC...would be faster. anyway...that's where things stand right now. we would appreciate your prayers, and encouraging emails to Brad would be good! he is still using the same bellsouth email address until the service is shut down. thank you!!!

dog chips & the floodzone

Today is the big day for Zelda and Gracie - they get their ID microchips. I'm sure they would be excited if they knew what it was all about...as it is they are snoozing away peacefully because it has been raining here for what SEEMS like FOREVER! I was wondering if I needed to start building an ark in the backyard. There has never been so much water in the yard before. Too bad it wasn't a blizzard - that would have been much better - maybe we would have had another day off!

Brad is settling in somewhat, although he is still running on US time. Last night he was awake at 3am. But he has been sleeping well at least. He sent me many pictures of Catania - and Mount Etna. Here are a few of my favorites so far...Mount Etna and the orange groves... If you click on the pictures you can see the full size!