A Visit From Italy

A little Brad and Jenn history:

Nearly ten years ago, Brad was a missionary in one of his favorite cities, Udine, Italy. I received a letter telling me of some friends he had made. Pietro Quattrone and Elisa Aristelli were high school students that attended the English class provided by the missionaries. Brad and Pietro had much in common and Brad always said how kind and funny they both were. He told me so much about them that I felt like I knew them as well, knowing that it was very likely that I would never actually meet them. When Brad left Italy, they fell out of touch.

One day in 2004, Brad remembered the e-mail address Pietro had given him and their friendship began again. Last year, we received a message that Pietro and Elisa were getting married in May of this year and that they would like to come stay with us for part of their honeymoon and then continue on a road trip to California. Excitement does not describe how we felt! We waited and prepared and last Tuesday, Brad picked them up from the airport.

What an experience! The week went by so fast! We spent our time together showing them around Salt Lake. We took them to the Salt Lake Temple, the Conference Center, and the U. We went shopping at the Gateway and Park City. We went boating at Pineview. We ate at all of our favorite burger places. We cooked our favorite meals at home for them. We spent the nights laughing and talking. We watched as Elisa played on the floor with the boys and tried to teach the dog Italian. We watched Pietro as Owen climbed on his lap so he could help him win Mario Kart. We saw how kind and loving they were with our children. Owen started crying two days before they left and asking if they would stay for "just four months". He didn't realize that they were only visiting and not here to stay for good. I expected to have a great time with them and we did. What I didn't expect in those six short days was how much our family would grow to love them. Elisa is loving and beautiful. Pietro is kind and funny. Our family grew with the addition of two amazing people.

When Sunday came, Brad took Pietro to pick up their rental car so that they could continue on with their trip through Southern Utah, Las Vegas, and California. We fought back our emotions all day and when it was time for them to go, the flood gates opened. In our tearful goodbye, we promised to not let another ten years pass before we saw them again. We are already looking at airfare for less expensive places to meet!

Brad has always told me how much he loved Italy. Having been there myself, I know what an incredible place it is but after this past week, I too love Italy and now more fully understand why a piece of Brad's heart will always belong there. I more grateful now than ever before that Brad served a mission. We have be so blessed by it throughout our life together and I am so grateful to have met Pietro & Elisa all these years later. We will always hold them dear to our hearts.