2016, Part II

Here's an update on the second half of our family's 2016!

We visited Utah in July/August.  It is wonderful to see Michele's brother Jeffrey so well-cared-for and happy at Mesa Vista group home.

It was great to visit with all the family in Utah!  Grandpa and Grandma LeMon continue to show us what it means to live and love.

Kate fly fishing with Uncle Brian in Idaho

John went to a medical immersion camp at Georgetown University.  He got to deliver a baby from a robot!

Michele loved catching up with her college roommate, Amy

And both kids learned to drive a Jeep--on Antelope Island with the Adams!

 Uncle Steven and Uncle Rob visited!  We celebrated Rebecca & Kate's birthdays

 For Kate's 12th birthday, she wanted to go to the Mt Timponogos Temple with John and her cousins

 School started and Kate was on the cross country team

And made a new friend, Theo.  She also assisted the dog groomer on Saturdays, took art and singing lessons and played soccer almost everyday at recess.  She has taken a great interest in cooking and we all enjoy the results!

John studied A LOT.  And started a debate club, tutored a 3rd grader, enjoyed being able to go into the city with friends via public transportation, took rowing lessons, and made time to watch "Parks and Rec" with his mom a few nights every week.

Kate, Jeff, and Emma hiking to Heidi's Village

In October, we went to Lisbon with the Michels family

 

 We loved hosting the Pinegars from Alpine

 

And Sandrina from Johannesburg

The kids overlapped both having braces for one day.  John is enjoying his metal-free mouth.  And Kate has popped off 6 brackets, at last count.

Still trying to go on a date every weekend.  We loved the Regina Spektor concert

 We spent Thanksgiving with about 65 other Americans at the Ledermans' home.

The family surprised me with a week-long trip to South Africa.  It was wonderful to see so many of the best people in the whole world!  A highlight was my friend Jenny's wedding.

I returned just in time for Christmas.  Slightly more impressive than our tree! ... the Swarovski Crystal tree at the main train station.

Not wanting to be left out of the race for the most entertaining medical story of 2016--JEFF!

On December 23rd, Jeff and I were on a date in Bern.  He started having some discomfort so we went to the emergency room.  After some tests and a CT scan, it was determined he had cholecystitis (a gall bladder attack - chronic and acute).  On Christmas Eve, his gall bladder and 12 large stones were removed.  (We wonder if the surgery team was humming "The 12 Days of Christmas" as they worked).   John and I traded nights staying with Jeff at the hospital 2 hours away.  We celebrated Christmas with him but he mostly slept and wasn't too interested in the cake.  He thought the best gift was being with his family!  Aw.

Once Jeff was home and moving along his recovery, we decided he was up to a ~2 hour drive to Strasbourg, France.  We spent a great time there welcoming in the new year!  Jeff got plenty of rest and we ate some great Alsatian food.  Plus it was beautiful!

"The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there"  (LP Hartley).

Some could argue that our family has lived in the "past" for 4 years now as we have lived in foreign countries that have challenged and enriched us.  We are extremely grateful for the opportunities!
As we bid goodbye to 2016, we hopefully look toward 2017.  May it be a wonderful year ahead for each of you and for all the countries of the world.
Love, the Stitts

Winter Spring Summer or Fall?

Hello everyone.  Sorry it's been such a long spell since we sent photos.  Prepare to catch up now!

Our cargo shipment finally arrived from Africa in March!  In a big snowstorm.

 Unfortunately, there was about CHF13,000 damage caused by improper packing.

John was in the secondary play "Alice" at his school.  No photos allowed but I snuck this one at the end (that's him third from left).

And Kate was in the primary musical "The Aristocats."  That's Kate right behind the orange cat.

On the subject of "breaking a leg," I spent the past 3 months recovering from a fractured ankle and heel and ruptured right and left ligaments in my right foot.  Surgery was not recommended.  Only time.

Then

Now

 I am finally allowed now to walk without crutches.  It has been a LONG journey :)

Over this time, we have been so blessed by a physiotherapist who comes to the house several times a week and by the school community--bringing meals, shopping, driving me to appointments, taking Emma with the dog-walking group.  And of course, my family has been amazing!  John doing laundry, meals, and getting Kate to and from school; Kate comforting me and creating lots of cheerful art; and Jeff doing everything else from staying beside me through several painful ER visits to setting up a chair arrangement in the bathtub, to just being patient and kind!  I am very grateful for them and grateful to be healing.  Hope to be legal to drive again in the next few weeks!

For spring break (while I took pain killers and kept my foot elevated), Jeff and John took the train to Milan.

Outside the fashion district

In the Arcade in Milan

In front of the Cathedral

And Jeff and John got to see DaVinci's "The Last Supper"

And Jeff and Kate drove to Neuschwanstein Castle

Spring finally came

Kate had market day at her school.  With Molly and Maya, she sold Hawaiian fruity smoothies and cocktails.

For Mother's Day, we loaded up a wheelchair and went to Viamala Schlucht about an hour south of our home.  There is a beautiful gorge and you can see some of the ancient Roman trading route which connected Italy and Saxony. 

Jeff and kids hiked into the gorge.

I stayed up above.

Then we went to the oldest town in Switzerland, Chur, on the way home.

The following long weekend, we went with our friends the Michels to Lake Lugano in Switzerland/Italy.

The views on the train ride from Zurich were stunning!

Meredith, William, Nathan

Kate and Elise

Menaggio

We took the ferry on Lake Como to Bellagio

Nancy, Dave & Meredith at Bellagio

Dave & Nancy at the Parco San Marco, our hotel.

We celebrated John's 16th birthday on our last night in Italy!

The following weekend, our dear friend Erica Messerly came to visit!

Swiss Chuchi, Hotel Adler

Bürkliplatz, Zürich

And sites in our village:

Küsnacht Dock

Küsnachter Tobel (Forest)

My sweet South African friend Ann has made a point of getting me out on sunny days.  Here we are at Lake Zürich.

Two weeks ago, all the fourth graders at Kate's school hiked 15km round-trip from the school through the forest down to the Küsnacht beach.  They each filled as many water bottles as they could and then carried them back to school.  This was an exercise to show them how many people in the world must get their water.

Recently Jeff, Kate and Emma hiked in our Forest to some Hapsburg castle ruins (Wulp Castle from the 1200's)

John organized a chili cook-off for our English-speaking congregation in April.  Big success!!

And we recently had a picnic together.

That's a worm, not a sausage.  And no, it's not skewered!

John finished his exams a week ago.  He spent last week working on his personal development month (PDM):  intensive German in the mornings and volunteering at Foundations for Learning in the afternoons.  He will continue in the coming week.  He will spend 3 weeks at a medical immersion camp at Georgetown this summer to complete his PDM (required by his school).

Kate will finish school this Thursday.  She spent last week at  Kandersteg Scout Camp with all the 4th graders.  They studied water.  The rain for most of the week was a nice touch, don't you think?!

Kate's class with their teacher, Mr Lamont

Actually, it seems like it has been rainy and cool here every day for about a month.  Our sump pump alarm even went off a few nights ago.  Coming from summer in Joburg in January to winter here to sunny spring to now what feels like autumn--our seasonal clocks are very mixed up!!

Jeff will fly to New York for work tomorrow.  We will miss him!  It has been a great day to celebrate him and be grateful for all he is to us!!  Happy Father's Day!