Ciao!

After a tough couple of months and a grueling week, we finally departed Houston on our way to the biggest adventure our family will ever have. Knowing how much would be involved in pulling off a move like this and how hard it was going to be to say goodbye, we decided to build in a two week vacation on our way to Singapore. Right at this very moment I could not be more thrilled that we did that. The good-byes were so incredibly hard and I'm glad I didn't jump on the plane to get off on the other end and have reality slap me in the face. A couple of weeks to buffer the change will do us all some good.

Destination #1 - Rome (via a layover in Paris)

From the moment we got on the plane, the boys were completely beside themselves in excitement. We flew Air France so the international experience began immediately for them. Nathan was my seat mate and the look on his face when the flight attendant asked him if he wanted water with gas (bubbly) or without (still).....was priceless. Every piece of cold, hard bread was "the best bread he had ever eaten" since France is known for their pastries and all. Every nuance and every sign that we were leaving America behind was pointed out to Scot and me........and we loved watching their excitement grow.

We finally made it to Paris for a short layover and then on to Rome. Let me just tell you, there is no better people watching in the entire world than in International locations. The boys and I spent quite a bit of time sitting at the train station in Rome while Scot scored train tickets for our next destination and did some other legwork for our journey. I decided it was time to school the boys in the art of people watching. They are very good at picking out the interesting people and we imagined all sorts of story lines for them. I started to list some of the more bizarre things we saw today, but there are just no words. In a nutshell, it was fabulous.....

The last time I was here, Scot and I were backpacking through Europe with another couple. We were in Rome for all of 2 days and besides a random chain of events that put us about 50 yards from the Pope and an amazing slice of pizza we scored at the train station, I don't remember much else about it. I can not wait to experience all there is to see here with the boys!

A few pictures from our first afternoon here......that would be after we all crashed for a good couple of hours!

Scot did a ton of research and was able to get us apartments at almost all the places we'll be staying for close to the same price as a hotel. This particular place has 3 bedrooms and a small kitchen and is absolutely fabulous. It's on the 5th floor of this building with the tiniest elevator I've ever seen. It took Scot 2 trips to get 4 suitcases up to the apt. so Garrett and I just ran the stairs. Figured it was credit in the calorie bank for what was to come at dinner!

Notice the large doors at the bottom left that are the entrance to the building, imagine my surprise when this happened:

I guess at some point swinging open those big doors just got to be too cumbersome? I also surmised that there's a height limit of 5'8" to live in the building.

I love the exposed brick on the ceiling of this place........it's very charming!

The man who owns this apartment was giving us a tour around the place (Garrett and I didn't even make it through before crashing in one of the bedrooms), but another priceless Nathan moment came when we entered the bedroom that has this painting above the bed (imagine it without all the blurring and editing I did to it)....

It's a very curvy woman in all her splendor. Nathan stared at it for a moment and then announced that under no circumstances was he sleeping in this room. The bottom left corner that you see? That's where I'm sitting this very moment typing with sweet Francine (I decided to name her since we are getting to know her so intimately) hanging on the wall above me.

It was very late when we finally decided to eat dinner.......a much anticipated dinner I might add. I will enjoy every single morsel and bite the entire time we are in Italy. There is just no better place in the whole world to get a good meal!

It absolutely did not disappoint. The bruschetta was amazing! Scot and Garrett both got heart attack on a plate, also known as spaghetti carbonara that was delicious! We finished our meal with some gelatto and all was good in the Jenkins world for the night.

I am the last one awake and my mind is still reeling from the last 48 hours. I am excited for the adventures we are sure to have these next couple of weeks! We are here until Friday and then it's a bullet train to Florence where my favorite restaurant in the world is located.

I told you it was all about the food.

Peephole

I am sitting in bed at our hotel here in Houston completely and totally exhausted. Today was the final step in our move to Singapore. Everything going by air and staying in storage left this morning leaving the house extremely empty. Scot and I got as far as we could in sorting trash, Goodwill, and suitcases before reaching a point of fatigue where it was hard to focus on any one thing longer than a minute.

I am excited to be spending the night in a hotel since we have spent the last 5 weeks sleeping on air mattresses. Being Friday, I anxiously went to my mailbox in anticipation of the arrival of my People magazine so I could curl up with it tonight.

Or as Scot fondly refers to it, my "Peephole".

It is my guilty pleasure and Friday is always the day it arrives. My friends laugh at me because I read it cover to cover......I figure I owe all the common people portrayed in the magazine the same kind of reading time I give to the celebrities. I'm all about being well rounded, folks!

Not long ago I was at a party and happened to be talking to a friend about Facebook when she made the comment that she didn't like Facebook because it hurt her feelings. I initially found that comment to be odd, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how true that statement was. Facebook, along with blogs and Twitter, provide just a small snapshot into our lives that paint a picture of us that is often distorted and partial.

Kind of like looking through a peephole.

If you were to look at my life through a peephole right now you would see a family getting ready to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. You'd see us taking the next 2 weeks to travel to some amazing places on our way to Singapore. You'd see us being loved on by some amazing friends and family.

What I would love to do is open the door to each of you so your view of me would be whole.....doing away with the distortion in order to see the whole picture.

You would see a woman who is extremely grateful for God's provision and determined to prove herself faithful. You would see a woman wondering what in the world she is going to do in Singapore to feel purposeful. You would see a woman that is sad in the knowledge that life in Houston will never be the same for her. You would see a woman that can't wait to experience the next few years with her guys.

I find that peeking into the lives of others can be so unsatisfying. Opening the door and investing in them is what rocks my world. My challenge is going to be finding some kind of satisfaction in getting glimpses into the lives of those I am leaving behind and not letting it rule my emotions. It is going to be hard, but I would rather have the peephole than nothing at all!