Merry Christmas and Happy New Year?

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

I write this note with a very heavy heart. If I had written this letter a week ago, I would have started with a totally different tone. My 2010 was fabulous. One of my favorite years ever. And ultimately, this letter is to be a review of twenty-ten but at this moment, I can barely get past the thought that is on the forefront of my mind. As I sit here trying to reminisce over how great my last year was, my dear friends have to say good-bye to their baby girl. People allover the world are praying for the family of this blue-eyed beauty. China, Scotland, Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Argentina, Japan, and of course, the US, are filled with people approaching His throne on behalf of Brynnley's family.

How does one transition from such a heavy heart into remembering the joys of a past year? How do I write about how great a time I had, knowing that Kjersten is in such pain? I have no idea.

So, as awkward as this is, I’m going to review my year and share the joys of 2010 with you… awkward definitely describes it and I sort of just want to say, “Sorry, Kjersten, for even writing this, while you are in such severe pain. Honestly, you and your family are more on my heart and mind than this update.”

January – We welcomed this year at the hotel in Ramstein, as friends who were traveling through Europe on Space-A were also there, with the flu. I felt so bad for my friend who had to fly overseas while feeling horrible. On the 1^st we went from Ramstein to Stuttgart to visit with our friends, the Baileys. Quick Memories: driving in that red piece of junk BMW that reminds us of why we buy American; giving myself insulin shots 6 times a day and checking my sugars even more often than that; the boys all sledding down the Bailey’s fun hill; seeing the Black Forest and tasting real, Black Forest cake… yuck.

February – We celebrated Carson’s 7^th birthday. We didn’t know a lot of people here just yet, so we met the Bailey’s again for celebrations at an indoor jump house. How blessed we are that they moved here 6 months before us and so we started off our time in Germany with at least one set of friends! It was about this time, as well, that we started going to WAAF Contemporary Service. A family invited us to eat lunch with them at the Food Court after service one Sunday. Since then, we haven’t missed many Sunday lunches as the PX, as it is a time we get to sit and chat for an hour or so. This was the beginning of us making such great friends here in Weisbaden. Quick Memories: craving cake yet not being allowed much due to gestational diabetes; watching Carson crawl on that huge bubble in the middle of the jump house.

March – We welcomed Parker into this world, having our first kid on foreign soil… our first kid not born at Gaston memorial with Sage being the delivering midwife. We were so glad Nana and Papa made it to Germany in time for Parker’s arrival, but really wished Grammy and Anna could have been here as well. They were a part of the other boys’ fantastic entrances when we lived close enough. We also celebrated Bailey’s 6^th birthday at an indoor play place. The ages of our boys on that day were 8, 7, 6, and 5 days old. Quick Memories: my first Dr. Pepper after having Parker; showing my parents around Germany (okay, they saw much of it while I was in the hospital or at home resting, so I didn’t do much “showing” them around…)

April – We celebrated Matt’s 33^rd birthday. We went to Mexico Lindo, the closest thing to the kind of Mexican food we’re used to, which, I’m told, is not “real” Mexican food. We also had our family pictures taken by a fabulous photographer. I loved our shoot and look forward to having another one around Parker’s first birthday. Quick Memories: The first day my parents left, Matt was back at work and I was alone with all 4. I took a treat to my friend, Jessica, who had just had her son, Connor. Then I took all of my boys on our first outing with no other adults to the Neroberg train. I felt accomplished.

May – We celebrated Hayden’s 9^th birthday with a cook-out in our neighborhood. Finally, we knew enough people to have a party! We also enjoyed a trip to Edelweiss, in Garmisch, Germany. While there we noticed an ad for a used Durango… THAT COULD SEAT 6 PEOPLE!!! A month later we owned that Durango and had happily said good-bye to the BMW! Quick Memories: Trying to tour the monastery in Bavaria in the rain. The boys were wearing shoes with well-worn soles, and their feet got wet very quickly. No tour. Grumpy kids.

June – Our older three boys were baptized and Matt was so happy to be able to baptize them. Each of them had previously made individual decisions to accept Christ but it wasn’t until this moment that they were ready to be baptized. What a beautiful thing to watch! Parker slept right through it. Quick Memories: World Cup Games; Picking strawberries in the field across from the Hainerberg neighborhood. Made some great milkshakes and homemade yogurt.

July – Who said it doesn’t get hot in Germany!?!? They were crazy and, as Matt said, should be beaten swiftly. I don’t have many pleasant things to say about July or August, as I just remember being miserably hot. We had fans going, the windows working to our advantage (open/closed/blinds shut blocking light… depending on what time of day it was). The only saving grace was the lake, which we found one week before the heat ended, so we only got to go twice. We’ll get a pass next summer. Quick Memories: feeling grumpy all the time; feeding Parker his first bit of oatmeal cereal; finding the Rhine River “beach” at a local restaurant… made me feel like I was at the beach even if I was just putting my feet in a river; tasting Spundekäs for the first time… Oh.my.word…

August – I have enmity in my heart for July and August. Though I think that by the latter half of August we were back into bearable temperatures, I just don’t remember liking those two months very much. Quick Memories: Hayden starting 4^th grade, the grade I used to teach! Carson starting 2^nd grade, and Bailey starting 1^st. Time is flying!

September – We had to say good-bye to some sweet friends asthey moved across the pond back to the land of Chick-fil-a and really low speed limits. We spent much of September getting into a good routine with school, figuring out how to do this with an infant in the house. I am thankful Parker’s such a good sleeper! Quick Memories: Receiving two Flat Stanleys… well, one Flat Cierra and one Flat Cole; Carson getting stung by a bee near the eye; having a real scientist in a real lab coat come and lead a science experiment. (Thanks, Tara!); Carson wearing his Army BDU Chaplain hat everywhere, until he lost it.

October – WE got to visit the land of Chick-fil-a and really low speed limits! We took a Space-A flight and spent just over 2 weeks visiting family, celebrating as Matt’s brother married a beautiful bride, Erin. Quick Memories: bringing home two containers of Chick-fil-a sauce to enjoy with my chicken over the next few months; riding on a C-17 over the ocean; introducing Parker to Grammy and our NC family/friends.

November – My birthday! I’ve always enjoyed my birthday. I remember sleep-overs, horseback riding, family parties and friend parties. Up until this year my 18^th was my best ever. My parents had worked out a surprise party for me and, let me tell ya, I was surprised! That was the last time I saw Mike, Matt’s dad, before he passed away a week later. The only picture of me taken with him was taken that night. It is a night that I will never forget, as Matt’s dad kissed me on the cheek before he and the family drove off. I later remember thinking that it was as if he were welcoming me into the family. This year, Matt was in the States on my actual birthday but Jessica took care of me that night. She had a whole fun night planned and we went to dinner and then back to my house where the boys had decorated a cake. We danced, laughed, talked, and had a blast, and I almost didn’t notice Matt was missing. Almost. The day he got back from the States he was supposed to go to a guy’s night at a friend’s house. The girls were all going to get together with the kids at the bowling alley just to hang out. When I got there, all our friends, INCLUDING THE GUYS, were there! They got me! And, to top it all off, Matt had remembered something I had said months before. “All I want for my birthday is a cake, like a wedding cake, all girl.” He actually had someone who makes incredible cakes make the perfect cake for me! Quick Memories: finally feeling totally at home here in Germany, surrounded by such great people and having such an amazing Chapel to belong to.

December – I love Christmas. I love the trees, lights, music, snow, atmosphere, getting dark early… it’s just snuggly. And Germany really does Christmas right. NO fighting over “Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays.” No complaining that there was a manger scene at the Commissary. It felt like Christmases used to feel, before it became a soap box for both sides of the argument. The Christmas markets were fun to visit, and the food there was fun to eat. We found some of our favorite treats and went back for them on more than one occasion. I enjoyed having any possible excuse to make it downtown to our city’s Market. I think it was my favorite of all the markets I visited.Next year I want to make it to Heidelberg’s.Quick Memories: watching the mail for my Christmas cards to arrive… they finally did. January 3^rd!!); a perfect Christmas Eve; Singing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus; seeing Parker in his Santa suit that fit him perfectly; hearing the boys read the story of Christ’s birth from Luke; enjoying Christmas day at home with our family of six.

Overall 2011 Quick Memories: Having friends here in Germany who absolutely don’t replace our family and friends in the states but we would add them to our list of family and friends and friends-who-are-like-family even if were living normal-people lives in the States. This Army life has its ups and downs. Meeting such amazing people is its best UP!

What are we most looking forward to in 2011? BEING DEBT FREE! We will be calling Dave Ramsey in a month or two with our Debt Free scream! We will have been working on this for a total of 4 years when we are done. Oh, and as a celebration, we're going to take a trip to LONDON! I've always wanted to go there!

(Wednesday, January 5, 2011)

Some thoughts on Germany...

This entry may be a bit scatterbrained, but at least I’m admitting it up front. The past several weeks have been a complete whirlwind and I’ve loved almost every bit of it. Six weeks ago today we entered the Colorado Inn at Fort Carson since much of our stuff was in boxes and it was next to impossible to be comfortable in our house. We loved that place very much and hated to leave it at all, but with me being pregnant and the boys being, well, boys, we needed to get away from the boxes and on to a place that would house us. Staying at that hotel afforded us the chance to still be on post, near our friends, and among our familiar surroundings. We had a great view of our mountain and the boys had plenty of room to run around. After six nights there we loaded up our van and drove across the country. We chose a southern route in order to see new sights! We stayed in Amarillo and Dallas TX, Lafayette, LA, Pensacola, FL, and finally made it to Orlando a day early. We stayed in a non-Disney hotel for 3 nights before the grandparents arrived for our real vacation and we got settled in Port Orleans, Riverside for six nights. Great hotel with wonderful food, on site with a convenient shuttle bus system to take us back and forth to the parks. That trip was a dream come true, one we had waited and waited for. I so appreciate Disney for offering the Military Discounts that made the magic possible! The only disappointing part was Animal Kingdom but Matt and I had suspected that and, as it was our last day, all of us were pretty much ready to be done and none were too sad to leave the park early. (Not much on animals in the first place.) After we completed our stay at Riverside we moved into a hotel I had selected along with the help of our fabulous Travel Agent, Melissa Sims. It was within walking distance to the POV Processing Center where we were to drop off the van for shipping and it had a free shuttle to the airport. We spent 3 nights in this hotel waiting for our flight to Germany. I’ve written about our experience getting to the airport, about the flight, and our first night in the German hotel in this blog.

So I want to write a bit about our time here in Germany with some pictures I’ve taken of random things I have found neat or interesting.

I’m going to start with some things I noticed at my doctor’s appointment.

* When they had me drink the sugar water, it was not an “orange soda” kind of drink at all! It was 75 g of water that they had mixed up probably the day before with some serious sugar or something. It was just in a mason jar and the nurse poured it into a Dixie cup. I had to drink it all right then…no 5 minute window.

* There is only one chair for giving blood in the offices that I saw, so when they needed to take my blood and the chair was occupied, the nurse just took it in the lobby.

* When they take a vial of blood, they take it to the lobby and put it on the receptionist’s desk. You’d never see that in America. (Not saying there’s anything wrong with this, but it just doesn’t happen in America. Blood doesn’t come to the lobby for any reason!)

* They do an ultrasound at every visit, and the dr. does it herself. She was very quick and I’d say she was better at it than any technician I’ve ever had in America. Got a beautiful picture of Parker in just seconds!

(I took a picture of myself at the request of a few friends wanting to see the baby bump. Here it is at 25 weeks 5 days.)

Here are some random things I’ve experienced:

* Drinks in restaurants – they don’t give you ice in your drinks and since I was prepared for this, I just accept it. I don’t try to order ice, I just drink my coke as it comes. There are no refills so we tell the boys to go easy on it. There is a neat concoction that I had been told about before we came that my boys really like – coke mix. It’s a mixture of sprite and coke! The boys love to go to fountain machines and get a little of everything (GAG) so this is like a toned down version of that!

* It stays dark until 8:30 am and is dark again at 5 pm. I have heard that the summer is the opposite, with it light at 5 am and still a bit bright out at 10 pm.

* It rains almost every day. This leaves everything, sidewalks, streets, playgrounds, benches, etc, soggy and moist all the time. I am using a LOT of stain remover on their clothes and washing their coats all the time due to moss and mud. But at least they’re playing outside. We are currently borrowing a car from some friends and it is SPOTLESS. They don’t have small children with muddy shoes so we’re putting walmart bags on the boys’ feet before they pull their feet in the car. Works pretty well! (And, of course, they don’t get in with muddy clothes. We only get muddy at the playground and if we’re going somewhere in the car, they change into clean clothes.)

* The dollar is very weak. We had to pay 50 Euros for something and we can just use our debit card. The receipt always shows the Euros and the dollar amount, which was something like $76.00. (This pic is of our first ATM withdrawal of Euros - I blurred out important info...)

* The windows are strange here. There’s a handle on the side that turns ¼ of a turn to open the window like a door or ½ a turn for the window to crack open from the top. Odd, but effective

* There are water shut off valves on wall above sink and toilets in my house and they were in the hotel as well… strange placement.

* The houses around here are beautiful and very old! Most were probably single family homes for very wealthy people years ago and have been converted into multi-family apartments. (Wiesbaden is an upscale town, very wealthy. We have seen stuffed animals in store windows downtown that cost 700 Euro, and that is $1025.19!!!!)

* Most of the cars are SUPER small! They look hilarious to me, considering I have 4 kids and these cars often don’t even have a back seat or any storage at all.

* There are few bathrooms in public, if any, and those you run across might require a fee to be able to use them. This picture was taken in a restaurant we ate in. The sign says that if you are a customer of the restaurant you don’t have to pay, but if not, place 50 Euro Cents in the box.

So, to wrap up the past few weeks since arriving in Germany:

We got here on the 25^th of NOV and had Thanksgiving with friends we had met in Columbia a few years ago. We spent 9 nights in the American Arms hotel, ready to be home. We had no trouble sleeping the first several nights after just being so exhausted. But then the time change caught up with us and we needed to “help” our systems adjust so Benedryl became our friend. (I even had to give the boys some two nights… wide awake at 11:00 pm is not my idea of okay, but their systems thought it was somewhere between 3-5 pm…not sure if their body’s were on Mountain time or East Coast time). I also started having my annoying issue with hives again, though until this past Sunday they were not severe. During the time in the hotel Hayden felt Parker kick, and was the first one other than me to feel him. Matt felt him a few hours later. Bailey asked the funniest question: (he's 5 years old) "When Parker comes out, are you gonna love him?" Me: "Oh yes, I will love him so much." Bailey: "If he's not our color, you'll still love him." Me: "I sure will." (But if he's not our color, I'll have some serious explaining to do to Matt!)

And we purchased iPhones after waiting years for them. Very pleased with our purchases and haven’t regretted it for one moment!

We moved into our house with just the things we flew here with on 4 DEC and have felt at home ever since. The Army had placed beds, couch and chairs, and a dining set in the house for us to use until our goods come. A friend in Matt's new unit loaned us enough bedding and linens as well as some curtains to tide us over, and CH Kesling loaned us a TV and DVD player. My what a blessing! Since I can’t purchase coffee yet (must have a ration card for that) Heather gave me some from her house. I think Matt and I would have been growing beans out back if we hadn’t had that gift given to us! He’s going to try to find out about getting our ration cards tomorrow, his first official day on the job.

Our Unaccompanied Baggage (that we had shipped 7 OCT) was delivered 10 DEC and I put our tree up right away. (Our Unaccompanied Baggage in front of our Colorado house being packed for shipping.) (Our baggage being unloaded here in Germany.) Found out that night as I was putting lights on that half of them were out. Matt bought more the next day and we’ve had a beautiful tree up since then! We are lamp people, using overhead lighting very seldom. Being in this house without our belongings, however, has caused us to have to use overhead lights. Now that we have the tree up we can turn off all the rest of the lights and watch TV by the light of the tree, which gives a much more homey feel. LOVE those moments! Oh, and I had asked my facebook friends to pray that my sentimental ornaments arrive unharmed… they did! Not a single one damaged! These are so special to me as Matt and I have been collecting them since we met.

We have had one crying spell with Hayden (8 years old) because he misses his friend, Jeremy. It breaks my heart but at the same time, I know this is part of the experience. He’s learning hard lessons and how to handle them well. He’s written several notes and now I just need to get them stamped and in the mail. We have a trip planned to visit our great friends, the Baileys, for New Years. Stephanie is one of my closest friends and our kids are close as well. I have missed her since she left Colorado ahead of us back in the summer. We’re only 2 hours apart and once I get my van (and driver’s license) it’ll be MUCH easier to visit. For now, we’re excited about getting to see them soon!

I failed my one hour, then my 3 hour glucose tests, so I have to go to a diabetologist. Never heard that word before, but I’m going to see one.

Love the milk… Army milk and its organic. Who knew?!?

Carson lost his 3^rd tooth and he says, “I have an “L” in my mouth!”

I got my internet and phone turned on yesterday and feel SO much better. Access to the outside world and the ability to type with both hands makes me happy! It’s the little things in life…

Well, I’ve been under the weather for the past 4 days and the boys have had to fend for themselves for the most part. I think I’m feeling better so we may attempt a walk around the neighborhood. Tomorrow I go to WAAF (the Army post where Matt works) to schedule my diabetologist appointment and to see if I can get my glucometer. Yuck. Glad to be feeling better!

Merry Christmas, my friends and family! If you celebrate a holiday other than Christmas, then Happy Holidays! (But I must say I'm a bit annoyed that so many TV stations are ignoring that this is actually a Christmas Season and refuse to say that word. I don't mind if they want to add the other Holidays to their well wishes to their viewers, but I wish they would recognize my holiday!) At least they're still showing movies that say Christmas, like 'A Charlie Brown Christmas.' Off my soap box for now!

~Jennifer