Who Are We?

Owen likes things black and white.  If you know my child at all, you know that he is an entertainer.  He loves to tell stories over a cup of coffee and perform magic tricks for anyone that will listen.  He lives for soccer and is constantly being told, "Take that ball outside, please!"  But...he is my kid that sees things black and white.  So, the first few days that Sam came to be with us, Owen could not understand why we were not correcting every.single.thing. that he was doing that was wrong.  We tried to explain to Owen that we couldn't correct everything all at once.  We were going to have to start teaching him who we are as a family and focus on one thing at a time.  Owen has struggled that every time he sees Sam "step out of line" that he is not representing our family well.

This made me realize that we would involve Gabby and Owen in our lessons of teaching Sam about our family.  In order to teach these things, we had to define "WHO WE ARE."  When you are introducing an older child to a new family, you can't assume that he will just pick up your identity. We have had years to repeat things and model things for Gabby and Owen (being a Pizzati is their born identity; they don't know anything differently), but for Sam, we have to teach it, mold it, reinforce it over and over again. We have to demonstrate to him what it means to be a Pizzati.   So, that meant, we had to write it down.  Our family values have always been summarized by these four things:  We work hard, respect authority, love others, forgive quickly.  However, some further explanation was needed.  This list may be modified in the future, but this is what Gabby and Owen, Rene and myself sat down and brainstormed.  So, Sam, ready or not, this is what it means to be "Pizzati".

1.  We are not defined by money or social status, but rather by our love for Jesus and others.
2.  We respect each other's uniqueness and tolerate our differences.
3.  We let the Holy Spirit guide our decisions.
4.  We love to travel and meet new people.
5.  We work together to accomplish everyday tasks.
6.  Pizzatis try new things.
7.  We celebrate individuality.
8.  We find ways to laugh together often.
9.  We love God's creation and take time to marvel it.
10.  We support one another no matter what.
11.  Home is where we are together.