March 6th, 2016

Heir Schmitt joined us for dinner this past Wednesday night. He is the owner/landlord of the house we were originally going to move into before we found our present home. We are grateful for the opportunity to still develop a friendship with this kind man, though we are not his tenants. Perhaps that’s even better.

As we chatted over dinner the other night, he began to share some of his family stories. He captivated us with the details of his father surviving WWII, how his family renovated and rented out the upstairs of their home to an American family back in the 1950’s and the strength of his mother as she solely provided for her injured husband, parents and children.

He also told us a very entertaining story about this local monument of a man plowing behind an elephant. The man is actually Heir Schmitt’s grandfather. I may get some of the details mixed up but here’s what I remember…

Heir Schmitt’s grandfather was a carpenter. He was hired by a wealthy circus family to build wooden horses for the carousel alongside other projects. The family paid Grandfather Schmitt on the front end for these jobs, which was a big deal and not very typical. Over time, a friendship developed.

The circus family lived in a beautiful villa with a large garden. At the start of WWI, the men of the family and most of the horses left the village to fight. This made it difficult to maintain the large garden. One day, Grandfather Schmitt was having tea with the daughter of the family. As she shared about the challenges of keeping up with the garden, Grandfather Schmitt remembered how elephants were used for manual labor in India. He suggested using one of the circus elephants to pull the plow to break up the ground in the garden. The daughter liked the idea so Grandfather Schmitt designed a harness using large, leather belts. He outfitted one of the elephants and successfully plowed the field. 

Somewhere along the way, the success of using the elephant to plow a field was shared amongst the villagers. People did not believe this was possible and a bet was made. A crowd of folks came to a field to watch the elephant at work. Harnessed to the plow, the elephant pulled it down to the end of the field where he then rewarded himself by grazing ears of corn from a neighboring field. The elephant would then walk back down the field, turn around and repeat. When he reached the end of the field again, he rewarded himself with a second mouthful of corn. The owner of the corn field became enraged at the lost of his corn and began to yell at the elephant. Grandfather Schmitt offered to pay for the corn but the farmer would not have it. Meanwhile, the elephant started becoming agitated. The crowd of villagers added to the commotion, agitating the elephant even further. Grandfather Schmitt implored everyone to calm down but they would not listen.

In the midst of the commotion, Grandfather Schmitt watched the elephant suck up several rocks from the field into his trunk and then point his trunk at the crowds. He yelled at the villagers to hit the ground as the beast began to fire a round of stones out of its trunk. The rocks flew over the heads of the people, hitting the surrounding trees with great force. The elephant then trumpeted loudly and loaded it’s trunk for a second round. Chaos erupted! The elephant bolted, pulling a flying plow behind it. The plow swung wildly from side-to-side as the beast ran through the streets, leaving a trail of damaged doors, fences, gates and road. The elephant ran back to the security of it’s circus tent. Upon seeing the damage, Grandfather Schmitt refused to pay because the villagers did not heed his warning. This story became famous and a monument was built in remembrance. 

As Heir Schmitt shared about his famous Grandfather, his face lit up. The boys were enthralled as they listened. They especially liked the part where the elephant shot the rocks out of his trunk! E asked if this was a true story and Heir Schmitt said, “Yes!”

The next day, lil S and I drove over to see the monument again. I was completely surprised to find a sign nearby with a summary of Heir Schmitt’s story! Though it was a shorter version and retold a bit differently, several of the details were similar. The sign had it printed in German, English and a third language (I’m guessing French). Reading through it, I learned that the elephant’s name was Sam.

Gotta love family stories that become a part of local history!

 

March 5th, 2016

I look forward to the season of Lent; from Ash Wednesday’s reminder of the fragility of our lives to the discipline of fasting and the events of Holy Week. I appreciate this intentional time of reflection. My faith story started in the Catholic Church and there are still several aspects of Catholicism that in practicing, enrich my faith. Fasting is one of those disciplines.

Shortly before Ash Wednesday, I came across this article in Time magazine: http://time.com/3714056/pope-francis-lent-2015-fasting/. I was already thinking about fasting from sweets this year when this article broadened and challenged my thinking. The author writes, “Francis suggests that even more than candy or alcohol, we fast from indifference towards others…when we fast from this indifference, we can began to feast on love.”

Around the same time, I listened to this podcast from the Art of Simple: http://theartofsimple.net/21-2/. Its a conversation with the founder of Neighbor’s Table, Sarah Harmeyer. After realizing she didn’t know her neighbors, Sarah asked her Dad to build her a large, handcrafted table she could use to invite them over. She extended an invitation to ALL of her neighbors and ninety one showed up to her first dinner! Her experiences of getting to know her neighbors birthed the idea of Neighbor’s Table. Her Dad continues to be the master craftsman. She calls him the Chairman of the Boards! Now they deliver tables to several states in America for the purpose of sharing meals with others.

These two ideas spurred me to rethink my Lenten fast this year. After talking to Hubby, we decided as a family to open our table six times over the six weeks of Lent to others. We desire to simply invite others into our home to share food and conversation. Its a good time to try to turn our gaze outward again after all the naval gazing we have done the past couple of months. =)

We were slow to start as we fought off sickness in February and our own inhibitions. However, we jumped in with both feet this week! Heir Schmidt joined us for dinner on Wednesday, my friend Amy came over for tea and snacks on Thursday and then our current landlords joined us for dinner last night. We suddenly felt an urgency to get this idea going because we are moving into three weeks of visitors and house guests (to our DELIGHT), starting this upcoming Tuesday.

I understand again what Pope Francis means when he talks about “feasting on love.” Having our guests over this week gave us the opportunity to share life, stories, laughter, sympathy, kindness and friendship alongside food. We were as much on the receiving end as we hoped to be on the giving side. Each of our friends surprised us with gifts. We received food, wine, plants and even toys for the boys. More importantly, our guests came and shared themselves with us. We were blessed immensely.

Here are a couple of reminders of our guests and our first dinners together. We are keeping them inside for now but intend to plant them outside soon. May they continue to grow alongside our new friendships.

 

 

 

March 1st, 2016

We just wrapped up our last week of February. Here are some memories and pictures to capture the passing of time. We continue to transition and settle into life, experiencing so many foreign things slowly becoming familiar.

It snowed! Big, wispy flakes fell from the sky like pieces of cotton. It was beautiful! Lil S and I built a snow cat for Adi who watched us from our Living Room picture window.

 

 

Wednesday the sun came out again and most of the snow had melted. After school, the boys and I headed over to a new trail to show E the labyrinth. The boys rode their bikes while I walked behind them. We also found another stop on the Life Path. It was a long table with a view looking out to the field. On the table were several plates with the words “rest a little while” inscribed in different languages. As we headed back to the car, hubby rode up on his bike. It was a fun surprise seeing him.

 

 

 

On Thursday, S and I walked over to our village kindergarten to inquire about availability. Recently, we learned it is very difficult to get in if you are not German because they are full to capacity. My friend, Amy, put her son on the waiting list last September. I figured I would try to do the same. We met briefly with a woman who took our information and told me that someone would call us. I asked her if I should look into other kindergartens. She said yes and then pointed to the one across the street. I was unaware there was another so close. We immediately walked over and met with the Director. She couldn’t talk very long but invited us back the following morning.

Friday morning, S and I returned for our meeting. I tried to do my best to answer questions in German using my very limited language skills, Google translate and the Director’s broken English. Another new experience under my belt! The Director was patient and kind. She offered us a tour after our meeting. I liked the feel of the school. Its a Catholic kindergarten with beautiful classrooms, large windows that let in a lot of natural light and several staff that were playing with the children. The school can take about seventy-five students and is currently at capacity. I signed S up for the half day program. However, the Director doesn’t know if there will be availability come September. I hope so! She told me that they currently have one native English speaker right now. He picked up German within six months.

On the way home, S and I stopped by our favorite coffee shop to warm up with some hot drinks. I can’t believe our youngest will be going to kindergarten in the Fall! Though we don’t know where, I’ll continue to pray for the Lord’s leading to the right place. Will you join me?

On our way home, we stopped by our neighbors house and introduced ourselves. Now we know names and snippets of stories that we can pick up in the future. They also have cats so perhaps we can check in on each other’s pets when needed. We will see…

The boys received a sweet treat later that day when Daddy delivered a Valentines package from Grammy Julie that arrived in the mail.

This weekend we continued our painting and cleaning. Hubby put a fresh coat of white paint in the boys room while I scrubbed dirty windows and our back door. We also worked on setting up our Living Room. We are making progress on our home! One room has become a major catchall for all things, especially toys. Its a HUGE mess but the others are taking shape.

 

I finally unearthed the German book I ordered through Amazon when we were in our temporary quarters and then lost after we packed up and moved again. I’m working on the eight key question words. Wo, pronounced “voh” means “where” and is the most commonly used. “Wo ist eine toilette?” We are learning a little German via shopping as well. The boys were excited when we found Shaun das Schaf (Shaun the Sheep) animal crackers at our local grocery store.

 

And now…onto March and visits from loved ones! May this month and the start of Spring bring warmth to all of our bodies and souls. Much love from Germany!

hugs~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

February 29th, 2016

We experienced technical difficulties with our computer the past few days that put blogging on a standstill for me while amazing hubby tried to figure out what was going on. Thankfully, he was able to fix things and we are up and going again. Yay!

Our village has a community center. We have been there a few times now and continue to learn about the services offered within the building. We went there when we were first moving into the village to set up our utilities and internet. S and I walked over there this past week and perused the tourist brochures for our area. Though most were in German, I was surprised to find some in English. One of the brochures I picked up was for a nature trail called the Naturerlebnispfad. Seeing the pictures, I knew it would be a hit with our boys.

The sun came out on Saturday for the ENTIRE day! After doing some painting and cleaning (we are still at it), we decided to explore the nature trail. I’m glad we did! The Naturerlebnispfad is a circular route with a length of approximately 1,100 meters. It has five thematic areas; natural touch, sensing, hearing, seeing and comprehending. There are several stops along the way to experience each of the themes. We liked some more than others and a couple were in disrepair. However, the nature path is free to the public and still worth the trip.

When we first walked up, we came to this map…

We then followed paintings of ants on trees to show us the way through the woods. The first station had an awesome net swing. Another family was already enjoying it so we moved on to the next swing and then ran down the path.

 

We practiced our long jumps at the animal jumping station

 

played music on this huge xylophone

viewed the “animals” out in the distance from the watch tower before making friends with them

 

learned about the rings inside trees

tested our agility

 

relaxed

 

threw rocks into the pond

and slowly made our way to the beginning again.

By the time we walked back, the web swing was free. We lingered there for awhile so everyone could get a turn to swing!

 

 

 

The boys enjoyed riding in the swing and pushing their parents…big kids at heart! If you come visit, they might give you a ride and maybe even rock you to sleep.

 

 

 

February 23rd, 2016

Yesterday, E’s school celebrated their 100th day of Learning by encouraging the students and staff to dress up as 100 year olds. He was very excited to participate! As part of our endeavor to age our seven year old an additional ninety three years, we purchased some babypuder and shook copious amounts into his hair. When we were leaving the house, a strong wind met us at the door creating a cloud of baby powder around E’s head!

 

 

A little later that morning, S and I met up with Amy and her son. We went exploring along a trail that hubby had told me about. Eventually, we came upon this carved rock, cross and labyrinth. The rock is engraved with the verse, John 14:6…”I am the way, and the truth and the life.”

 

 

The labyrinth is one of several stops along a 4.5km Life Path created to encourage wandering and reflection. According to a description I read, the labyrinth is 24 meters in diameter with a path length of about one kilometer. Throughout the labyrinth, tree stumps have been carved into pieces of art. S became invigorated as he entered, turned each corner, and eventually found the center first. He thought he had won the race!

 

 

I found this picture online that gives a better overall view of the labyrinth.

I’m interested in walking the entire Life Path with the family one of these days.

We picked up E from school later that afternoon. Here he is with his wonderful teacher who had also aged for the day. She’s great!

and with his friend, Kaelin…

 

…and Mrs. Amy, who loves a good photo bomb. She works at E’s school, is part of the PTO and adds a lot of cheer to the place! Mrs. Amy has reached out to us since we first came and quickly learned E’s name, helping him feel at home.

 

 

 

February 22nd, 2016

Its early Monday morning as I sit here to write down a few thoughts and gather some pictures to share with you. I’m enjoying keeping this blog and the rhythm of journaling again. Thank you for following our journey and staying connected with us. At the start of a new week, here’s a look back at our last one.

These wooden animals are on the grounds of our village Grundschule (Elementary school). Can you see the two pigs?

 

The sun came out one day last week and filled our home with a soft glow. I treasured it!

 

Little S got a “dinosaur egg” at the Museum of Natural History in Frankfurt. He put it in water and had to wait for it to crack. He watched the progress over a few days and was so excited when his dinosaur cracked through!

 

One of my new job titles is “Family Travel Agent.” Traveling around Europe was one of our reasons in seeking out this opportunity to live here so we definitely want to take advantage of it. I’m working on planning a couple of upcoming trips. I spent a few hours doing research and booking plane tickets on a discount airline called Ryanair. I’m also reading books I checked out from the library’s travel section. I have a lot to learn! Here are some clues to places we hope to visit in the near future.

 

 

In light of traveling, lil S and I took a French lesson together using a DVD I checked out from the library. We were instructed to touch our head in French. S loves playing the games.

 

We got two care packages last week! One was full of Valentine cookies and treats from Momo and Popo! The second had Girl Scout cookies from my old (but still young!) college friend, Holly. We felt incredibly loved!

 

As we continue to search for a church home, I’m desiring some spiritual encouragement/direction. I listened to a podcast a couple of weeks ago and learned about the recent devotional Shauna Niequist wrote called “Savor.”  I’m already a fan of her writing style and deeply enjoyed another one of her books, “Bread and Wine”. I ordered this one to give me some daily thoughts to reflect on. I was excited when it arrived! The devotions are short but still flavorful for my appetite right now.

 

On Thursday evening, I watched S play ball with his Daddy while E played mechanic in our garage. We are continually grateful for the space they have to play and get their energy out.

 

 

 

E was fighting a cold on Sunday and took two different naps during the day…a definite sign that he was under the weather. While he relaxed at home, Hubby took S out on a bike ride in the afternoon. They were gone for awhile. I’m continually amazed with the stamina our youngest has. He may be small but he is mighty!

 

 

I stepped away for a short time later in the day to walk over to our favorite coffee shop. The minutes quickly slipped by as I sat, sipped and read. A treat! How I wish I could invite my dearest friends and family from home to pull up a chair. I miss you all!

 

 

 

February 21st, 2016

We had our first car issue this past week. Our Honda started making an intermittent scratchy/grinding/squeaky sound on Tuesday morning as I was driving E to school. Hubby got a recommendation of a mechanic near E’s school that worked on Hondas and spoke English. On Wednesday morning, I took the car in.

I’m not a fan of dealing with car issues and was nervous about having to explain car sounds to a German mechanic. Its awkward in my own culture! After describing what I was hearing, the owner of the shop had one of his mechanics take a test drive with me. Of course, the car barely made the sound that I had heard so loudly minutes before. Classic! Thankfully, he told us to make an appointment for the following morning to drop off the car. He would try to figure out what was going on. I asked him if he thought the car was safe to drive. He said, “I hope so.” Great…

Before I left the shop, I asked if they had a shuttle service. They did not. Since we are a one car family, I wasn’t quite sure how to get home but told them I would try to figure something out and left. Once home, I asked my friend Amy if she could give me a ride. However, that afternoon, their car broke down! We heard there was a bus option but had a difficult time figuring it out. Later, hubby was told by a German national that the mechanic should be able to call a taxi. It was our only option at the time and I was hoping it would work. That evening, the car was making so much noise that it confirmed there was definitely something wrong.

Thursday morning, I attached E’s little red bus pass to his backpack. We had applied for this bus pass as a backup option if we ever needed it. All children who ride the buses are required to have one. Since I wasn’t sure if I would get the car back before school got out, E and I went through bus protocol and how many stops he needed to count before he would arrive in our village. I was told the bus driver would be a German national and may/may not speak English. He would not be alerting kids as to when they needed to exit the bus. However, since I would be at the bus stop, I reassured E that I would not let the bus leave with him. With our plan in place, I dropped E off at school and then drove over to the mechanic.

As I waited in line to drop off the car, the owner came over to me. He informed me that the mechanic would drive back to our house with us, return the car to the shop and then come and get us once the car was fixed. I didn’t even have a chance to ask him about calling a taxi and he had a plan! I was grateful and relieved. The same mechanic I took the test drive with the day before met us outside. I formally introduced myself. His name was Ralph. He spoke English allowing us to chat a bit on the way to the house. Lil S made him laugh.

By early afternoon, we learned our car would need another day in the shop. I contacted E’s teacher confirming his need to ride the bus home. Since I had always picked him up from school, I had sent her a message that morning to explain our car situation and tentative bus plan. She messaged me after she got him on the bus. Besides the fact that E was starving when he got off the bus, he was pretty excited about getting to ride it.

Later, the boys and I were outside playing on our driveway when hubby walked up to the house. He had taken the train home from work. I’m so grateful that we live in a place where we can use public transportation. There are definitely tradeoffs but its helpful to have options.

 

The following morning, we were out of the house much earlier than our norm in order to get E back to the bus stop. I wore our German safety vest as we walked in the darkness of the early morning. Thankfully, another woman was also walking to a nearby bus stop so we weren’t alone. As we walked through our village, we also passed a few others. The bus arrived several minutes early which left a couple of boys chasing it down the street when it pulled away from the stop.

 

Our car was ready that afternoon.The culprit was a rusted ball joint. Ralph came back and picked S and I up at the house. I was about 27 Euros short to pay our bill in cash and offered to pay the rest on my credit card. The owner told me to bring the remaining balance on Monday. He said I was a nice person. I thought the same of him! Here’s our bill of service in German and our old ball joint that Ralph sent us home with.

  

We navigated our first car issue, learned the school bus system and found a good mechanic in the process. Phew! I was honestly intimidated about figuring this all out on the front end with the various new experiences included. By God’s grace, it all worked out. And, now I know what makes “THAT” sound. =)

 

 

 

 

 

February 17th, 2016

Three months ago today, we flew into the Frankfurt Airport to begin our Germany adventure. A few days ago, our youngest asked me how long we will be here. I told him the plan was for another two years and nine months. He said, “I thought we were going to be here for three years.” The clock is ticking!

We decided to return to Frankfurt this past Sunday. We heard The Naturmuseum Senckenberg, Frankfurt’s Museum of Natural History, had a fantastic dinosaur display. Its actually the largest exhibition of large dinosaurs in Europe. In their excitement, the boys wanted to wear dinosaur shirts to gear up. S wore the one his Dear gave him and E had a great hand-me-down from either the Brandts or Whites. We were good to go!

On our drive into the city that afternoon, we passed the airport. Memories of going through customs, gathering our luggage, being reunited with Adi and driving to Kaiserslautern for the first time all came flooding back. I remember riding in the back of the van, taking in the unfamiliar sites and thinking how surreal it all felt. Now, looking out the window, I was struck by the size of Frankfurt and the high rise buildings. I later learned Its the fifth largest city in Germany.

We managed to find a parking spot on a crowded residential street. Hubby got the opportunity to practice his parallel parking skills with his wife standing on the sidewalk trying to be an extra set of eyes (picture me yelling at a really sharp pitch when I thought our car was going to smash the one behind it!). Once parked, we bundled up and began to walk. As we neared the museum, we noticed the art on display across the street. Perfect for Valentine’s Day…and everyday!

E made a beeline for this guy first…

When we walked into the museum, there was a display of brochures/maps in several different languages. We now know to look for the British flag to find content in English. The museum was full of families and patrons of all ages. I quickly noticed how loud it seemed. It was actually comforting to be in a noisy place. We got swept up in the  excitement to see the dinosaurs and everything else this wonderful museum had to offer. The boys LOVED it! Its worth the trip if you find yourself in the area. Super kid-friendly and easy to navigate. It got me wanting to see the movie “Night at the Museum” again.

 

 

 

We fueled up at the bistro in the museum. Hubby ordered a large bottle of water for 5.50 Euros. Water is often more expensive than other beverages so we try to economize by ordering a large quantity. We enjoyed warm coffee drinks while the boys enjoyed a cold treat.

 

Afterwards, we got a couple of dinosaur momentos in the gift shop before heading out. It started to drizzle as we walked. I pulled out my umbrella that I had tucked away in my purse. Even the rain didn’t damper the wonderful afternoon. We found our car and admired how snug hubby managed to get our car against the curb.

On our drive home, I thanked hubby for suggesting that we take this adventure. Its both hard and good for us at the same time. I’m thankful we get to do it together!

 

 

 

February 16th, 2016

Hubby is becoming quite competent in navigating the public transportation system here. His daily use for work and his sense of adventure has accelerated the learning curve. He just invested in a year pass to use both the buses and regional train system.

On Saturday morning, hubby suggested taking the train downtown to the Farmers Market. S was feeling better so we decided to venture out for a bit. We had heard good things about the market and the train would allow us to avoid the hassle of finding parking. After breakfast, we layered up and headed out the door to catch our train. One of the boys was not as game as we were to this idea. And so, in good parenting fashion, hubby carried our arguing kiddo down the street. Yes, we still have our fair share of challenging moments just a different cultural audience. Sigh… Thankfully, smiles returned by the time we boarded.

 

When we arrived at the train station, our Family Navigator got us to the right bus to take us to the market. My train ticket allowed me one bus ride, hubby used his pass and the boys were free. Score!

The Farmer’s Market was in a large, open plaza area. There were numerous vendors selling fruits, vegetables, cheese, flowers, local honey, meat, and more.

 

 

As we walked around, it began to drizzle. We layered our rain jackets over our coats which is our m.o. here. One of the vendors had a machine that made freshly squeezed orange juice using oranges from the crates stacked around it. The boys loved watching the oranges getting squeezed. The end result was nothing short than nectar from the gods. OH soooooo DELICIOUS!

After purchasing some honey, potatoes, onions, apples, and OJ, we took a short lunch break.

The rain was intermittent so we did a little more shopping before calling it good. Hubby treated me to some lovely tulips…a sweet sign of Spring.

We left the market to enjoy some beautiful music being played by a street musician. The boys and I listened as Hubby worked on navigating us back home. Little S and I even danced for a bit. To my surprise, Hubby captured the moment. A treat for me.

 

We walked the crowded, yet relatively quiet streets from downtown back to the train station. E and I played I Spy to help the time pass. After buying some train tickets for a future trip we are planning, we walked over to our platform and boarded our waiting train. We made it! Our ride home was short. Thankfully, so was the walk to our house.

 

 

 

 

 

February 15th, 2016

One of my desires in keeping this Blog is to turn it into a family photo album each year, chronicling the unique and the mundane of our life here in Germany. I want to remember both. Though our ordinary still feels strange and new on most days, there are a few aspects of life that are becoming our new familiars. Here are glimpses of both from this past week.

Ninja Boy…

 

Super Bowl 50…

With the time difference, kick-off was sometime around 12:30am on Monday morning. I attempted to stay awake straight through and made it until 1am. Hubby went to sleep after we put the boys down and then awoke for the game, watched it and eventually went back to sleep sometime around 4am. He wins the die-hard fan award!

Extended play time…

E had this past Monday and Tuesday off of school because of the changing of quarters. He was absolutely DELIGHTED with the extra play time he got at home with his brother. They can spend hours playing cars, airplanes and trains.

 

A Dinner Invite…

My new friend, Amy, invited our family to join hers for dinner on Monday night. It was our first time sitting at someone else’s table for a meal since we left home. I enjoyed hearing more of Amy’s story and sharing pieces of ours. What a gift it is to open your home and your life to another.

Parent/Teacher Conferences…

We met with E’s teacher on Tuesday morning to talk through his report card and progress thus far. She feels like he is transitioning well and has made friends with his eleven classmates. She called him a “peace-maker” in class which was a new name for me to hear someone use for our little guy. Along with his core subjects, he also has Host Nation (a German culture class), Spanish, Gym, Computers, Library and Music on a rotating basis. He continues to be strong in Math and needs to develop his skills in reading and writing (no surprise to us). E practices reading twenty minutes on school nights as homework before Mama takes over with bedtime stories. We celebrated when he read this book during one of our evening reading times this past week…

Ash Wednesday Service…

I joined a large group of folks from our village on Wednesday evening at the local Catholic Church to start the Lenten season. The service was spoken in German. However, I could still follow along a little because of my Catholic roots. Thanks Mom and Dad! To my left sat an elderly woman with a kind smile. To my right sat a woman that looked to be in her twenties. We sang, received our ashes, passed the peace and took communion together. The gathering of people outside the church afterwards felt warm and lively. The body of Christ is becoming bigger to me as I quietly observe others living out their faith in my midst.

More unpacking…

We pushed to get as many of our boxes unpacked and cleared out as possible. We have been storing all the unpacked boxes in our garage. It was filled from end to end and floor to ceiling. The movers came back and took all the boxes away on Friday. Now our house is messier than ever! My next mission is to figure out some organizational systems. This “no closet” house continues to challenge me on this front. Here is our cleared out garage…the cleanest “room” of the house.

Hotdogs for dinner…

Navigating the medical system…

Our littlest awoke Thursday night/early Friday morning with incredibly hot hands. I have never felt hands so warm before. They hurt him and brought tears to his eyes. His whole body was warm. However, his hands were definitely the hottest. We gave him Tylenol, some ice packs for his hands and began to google his symptoms. Eventually, we all fell back to sleep. When he awoke Friday morning, his hands were still warm and he was complaining about a tummy ache. With the weekend approaching, I called the English-speaking medical facility to get him a doctor’s appointment. Its on the westside of Kaiserslautern, about thirty minutes away. In the case of an emergency, we will need to use the German system. Otherwise, this medical facility is our best option. The doctor examined him out and diagnosed him with an all encompassing “virus.” As we checked out, I paid our copay in Euros. He is feeling better now though we are keeping a watchful eye on him and will return later this week if need be. How I hope and pray for good health!

When I picked E up from school later that afternoon, he had a valentine for me. He wrote out my name and his initials on the backside. I know I may not always be on the receiving end of his valentines so I’ll treasure them now!

We hope you had a good week!