What was your favorite part of this week?Spending everyday at the beach and pool with the kids.  

What was the most difficult or challenging part of this week?Figuring out a new way to communicate with people who don’t speak English and finding people who I can trust. 

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week.Always helping clean after meals even when not asked. 

Tell us about your week!

Today, July 2nd, we came to the beach to sit under our usual cabana but there was a man laying under it sleeping. He was a man that walks around the beach selling hats, sunglasses, etc. and he seemed like he had no energy; he had had no food or drink and no place to stay. So when we set our things down and got all settled, just before Teresa and Giacomo went to go out to the water Teresa grabbed a packet of cookies that we had and gave them to the man. It warmed my heart and made me very happy to see someone be so selfless and be such an amazing role model for her children. I admire her for the woman she is. I am so lucky to have been brought into this family, every single person has been amazing to me and I know I will always be welcome to come back. It was just fate that brought us together and I know it was meant to be.

There are no words to describe what great people Teresa and Federico are and how they’ve raised their children to follow in their footsteps as the most well-mannered, respectful, smart, happy, and special people. And even though I can only speak the smallest amount of Italian, Teresa’s father has also welcomed me with open arms and it makes me feel like the luckiest girl. It is like I have a grandpa again. No one can ever replace my Grandpa V and I wish I could have met Grandpa Leary, but to have someone who reminds me of them, giving me hugs and kisses every time I see him and smiling at me just gives me an unexplainable feeling of joy. And even though we can barely communicate other than “Hi, how are you?” in Italian, I know the love is still there. I could not ask for a better family to be my second family.A few words (that I can think of right now) that make me think of my experience so far with my family are: Trust, Love, Family, Home, Brother, Sister, Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Comfort, Fun, Happiness, Safe.