It's official...we're moving!

Well, we've already told some of you, but now we're officially announcing...

In exactly 1 month we will be boarding a plane with about 8 suitcases and a puppy to move back the the U.S.!

It's bittersweet. It's been hard living abroad, but we've grown to love it. There are a TON of unknowns right now, but we are excited about starting this new chapter in our lives a little closer to our family and friends.

We'll be busy this next month going to some of our favorite places and packing...packing, packing, packing. Thankfully we were able to send some stuff home with my mom and sister, but we still have a lot more stuff to pack. (I have no clue how we have so much. And, not to mention, we have a storage unit in the States full of stuff we didn't bring!)

A lot of people have asked what's going to happen to Libby. Surprisingly, it is relatively easy to bring an animal into the U.S. She just needs to have her rabies shot for at least 30 days, a certificate of good health, and a pet export license. And, since she is only 6.3lbs. she can travel in cabin with us no problem. Now we just need prayers that everything goes smoothly getting her license. Everything is time sensitive and needs to be done in a certain order. I'm a bit nervous about doing all of this in Italian, but I have lots of friends who have offered to help us through the process.

Once we know more about where we'll be and what we'll be doing we will share.

Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo

Though we shared the love a little too much (all of us caught a nasty cold/flu/respiratory illness) and had to deal with a very carsick puppy (had to stop 4 times on our road trip for Libby), we had an amazing Christmas and New Year's with my mom and sister.

It was a different kind of visit. Usually when we have visitors we hit the ground running. We are always showing people around Rome, eating out at our favorite restaurants, or on the go exploring a new part of the country. But, this time we spent a lot of time in our apartment. In part because all of Rome shuts down for Christmas and part because we were all stopped dead in our tracks by our mysterious illness. We cooked a ton of food, including a smorgasbord of sweets utilizing all 6 packs of butter I purchased, and listened to my beloved Christmas mix on repeat.

The trip wasn't all downtime though. We rented a car and headed for Tuscany for 3 days. We went to Bagnoregio and Montepulciano, then spent 2 nights in Florence, then went to San Gimignano and Siena before returning to Rome. We even took Libby on the road with us. It started off a little rough, the poor thing got so carsick on the way to Bagnoregio, but once she was able to get out and walk around she was great. (Though it did leave Jim wondering how he managed to get a dog that is just as carsick prone as me). Everyone wanted to stop and talk to us about her and pet her. Libby soaked it up and I enjoyed getting to talk about my little basotto nano in Italian.

Here are some pictures from our trip:

Libby is all ready to go!

Bagnoregio

Santa Maria Assunta - Siena, Italy

The girls in Siena.

Libby in the car.