ciao for now

Well, the Blankenships have big news. And no, we're not expecting again. We're moving...well, sort of. Dan's employer, Boeing, is sending him (and us too -- yay!) to Italy for 3 months...and it's looking like we'll leave next week!

All of this has come about in just the last few days so we're in a bit of a daze -- or at least I am! There are hundreds of unanswered questions of course. What day do we leave? What on earth do we pack? How will we entertain Jackson on an overseas flight? What do I wear in Italy? Where will we live? How many amazing places are we going to visit while we're there? Do they really eat dinner at 9 o'clock at night there? Do they have Starbucks in Italy? The list goes on...

We're pretty much in awe that God is blessing us with such an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and to be honest it feels pretty stinkin' surreal. Is this a movie or real life? This feels very Walk in the Clouds or Letters to Juliet.

Reality check. We have cardboard boxes to buy & there's packing to be done. Jackson's passport photos are ready and waiting for the "expedited passport appointment" we have on Monday in downtown Seattle (Thank you Lord that we live in a city that even has such a thing!). We have a friend lined up to house-sit for us while we're gone. We have diapers to buy and I have got to get the rest of Jackson's birthday thank-you's in the mail before we go!The plan for now is to hopefully fly into Rome and do a little sightseeing as we meander our way down to Southern Italy to the town of Grottaglie which will be home away from home for July, August, & September. For those who are wondering, Grottaglie is at the top of the "heel" of Italy's boot. That's about all I know for now. More details to come as they're made known to us....

Ok, no more time for blogging. I've got work to do! Ciao for now!

Here's Jackson prepping for the trip by working on his Italian numbers. Uno, due, tre...