Fast Forward

I've been saying this for a few months now... I wish we could just hit the "fast forward" button and be in Italy. It's becoming increasingly difficult to say good-bye. Actually, I am an emotional train wreck... so far I have cried almost every single time. Even though I realize that our year away will fly by, there are so many friends and family members that we will miss terribly. And my head is swimming with scary "what ifs."  It's crazy to think that two weeks from today we'll have left our home in Manhattan and will finally be starting this new adventure. Most days I bounce back and forth between excitement and mild terror.

Our flight leaves June 17th and we (mostly Cole) will spend four days at meetings in Cleveland before making the long flight to Milan on June 22nd. These few weeks are packed with last-minute appointments and long "to do" lists.

Eva has had lots of firsts recently. Last week it was her first wheat harvest... Great Grandpa Eilders stopped cutting to see her many times! She was really slowing down the progress. She may even be back in the USA in time for next year's havest since this year it came so early!

Eva also had her first trip to the lake! More about that later... She has really been a trooper - sleeping wonderfully and giving us more and more smiles and happy chatter. She is amazing. There is just no way to explain the joy we feel when she locks eyes with us, smiles and coos! We are anxious about flying with her for the first time. Hopefully the pressure changes and long hours traveling aren't too tough on her!