Sunday

Last Sunday started out just like any other Sunday. We all got ready for church and made it - ON TIME - yeah!! We found our seats and the meeting started. The kids were actually being great - super reverent and everybody was happy. Then the sacrament started - still all is well - everybody happy to wait to color and play with toys until after the bread and water. Then they pass the water. Here in Italy, the congregation is not allowed to touch the tray. Only the preisthood holder holds it and he gives it to each memeber. So each half of the row gets it from a different tray. So Nate and I get our water on one end of the row and all is well. Then Riley, Brad and Shelb get theirs on the other end of our row. Riley gets her little cup and drinks it and promptly lets out a yelp and spits the water all over Brad's lap. Shelby takes hers and then asks if it is poison water. Brad is a little dumbfounded at this moment, with a wet lap and 2 crazy daughters, but prodeeds to find out that the water is a little different. Many people here drink L'auqua frizzante - carbonated water. I guess somebody grabbed the wrong bottle of water and filled that sacrament tray with frizzante. Most Italians are used to it - but appartantly not Ri! It can have a really bitter taste. She was really mad about the whole thing - but we finally got her calmed down, the sacrament portion of the meeting was over, and the first speaker had started. Then we see the Bishop come down from the stand and walk right toward us - we are thinking - it really wasn't that big of a scene! He comes over to Brad - they whisper - he leaves. Brad then gets up to talk with another good friend that we have who happens to be taking his new baby out. He comes back and whispers to us all to get our things and come to the car - RIGHT NOW!!! We - totally confused - do what he says. It turns out there is a driving ban in all of Torino and Moncalieri that starts at 10:00. - it was 9:40 and it does take us 20 minutes to get home! You can only drive if you have natural gas or a hybrid car - ours is not. The police moniter these days heavily - it is becuase of all of the pollution - when it gets bad in the city they pick certain Sundays to have these bans. Most of the people at church had taken the bus! We, on the other hand, had planned on bringing the missionaries home for lunch, so to help ease the pollution we drove not one but TWO cars to church!! On the way out the door, Brad told them to call us to work something out - they said - What - you brought cars to church?!?!?! We did make it home - pulled into our driveway at 10:01!

It turned out to be a great family day and ended like this:
Shelb reading to Nate and Ri - everybody snuggled up warm and feeling loved.


The day was all too much for Ri though and she didn't last through too many chapters!