I Fell Off the Face of the Earth...Really!

So it must seem that way. I was so deliberate about blogging every night when I first started my blog a couple of years ago. We were in such a different place life wise then that it worked okay for me. Now it seems as though we are going, going, going. My husband is also around a LOT more than he was when we were back in the US. That is one thing I thank God for all the time...well most of the time.

Being that my husband and I have spent so much time apart and dealing with the long hours, we don't always know how to react to each other. Where we are now though life is totally different than it has been for years. He is home at night for dinner. Shoot, he's even home before dinner. He is around to help with the kids in the late afternoon. He is there to help me tuck them into bed, and he is around to hang out with on the weekends. It is a huge difference from the 12 to 16 hour days 6 days a week from before. This is such a blessing, but it can be hard at times. We are learning to live with each other again. We all seem to be adjusting nicely and 9 times out of 10 we are loving it.

I have sat down to write something for the past couple of nights now. It seems as soon as I get started, something gets in the way. When I get the time to go back to it, I'm not feeling the blog I started. So this is attempt 4 at the same info I have left unfinished.

We have been crazy busy recently. It just seems like there has been so many things to pull together. One of the biggest was the purchase of a new car. Well it's not new, but it is new to us. It is far from new. It is a total (as they call it in the military) beater car. It has no a/c, it has body damage, and it has a TON (260,000 km to be exact) of miles on it. All that said, I really like the car. It is a fun, little sporty car. It's a Nissan 100NX. I have driven it a couple of times, and it drives real nice. The best part about a new car is simply two things. One, it will save us a lot of money on gas. With the gas at almost 3 bucks a gallon here, it isn't fun filling up our van. This will keep us from having to do that as much. The second thing, no more 20 questions at night. We use to have to play the great schedule game. It was so hard to deal with everything. If he had something he had to be gone all day for I had to wake up early (sometimes at 4 am) to take him so I could have the van, or I simply would have to walk. Now I don't have to worry about making appointments or what my schedule has. It has been amazing!

On the list of other things going on...The table and chairs we picked out finally made it over here. I can't believe how much I love it. I had picked out another table, but due to it having pressed wood on the base, I decided to find something else. We found a great deal on a dark oak table and chairs. They are amazing. We got it for a really great buy which makes it even better.

The kids are doing good. Genevieve has been loving school. She is really coming into her own, and growing up too fast. She seems to know more and do more each day. She really isn't my little baby anymore. She loves playing with her friends, and she never wants to leave her school. When she throws those temper tantrums now and then, I always have to remind myself that she is only 3. I can't believe in a few short months she will be 4. The time has just flown by.

Samuel has been cracking me up. He comes up with new things every day to make me laugh. Recently it has been asking him if he wants a hair cut. You ask him if he wants candy and he shakes his head yes and says uh hu. You ask him if he wants to go to baby school same thing. You can ask him as many yes things as you can think of. As soon as you say, "Do you want a hair cut" he's shaking his head no and saying nu uh. He's been doing really good with his speech therapy. I think if he were to be evaluated now he wouldn't even qualify for the program. He's been doing great.

I have been doing pretty good myself. I agreed last year to help out on the steering team of the local MOPS group. I have loved MOPS for awhile now. I started going about 4 months before I had Samuel. That group was so great to me. I miss it so much. This group of ladies that I am with now are amazing in their own way. Anyway, we are starting our season up this next week. I'm so excited to see what the year has in store. It has really been a great way for me to still be a mom and to be Emily too. I'm not all about my kids. I am a woman, and I am developing my own identity outside my kids. I am even going to leave my kids in my husband's very capable hands for 5 days in a couple of weeks. I will be flying back to the states for a MOPS convention. I'm so excited to get this opportunity. I'm also scared to death that my family won't be okay without me. I know they will be. God made this whole trip (which could have been very hard to work out details) very easy. Everything came together so quickly. I feel like it is where I need to be. I just worry because my husband will be here with the kids, and I'm not even going to be close if he needs something. He keeps telling me not to waist the money to turn on the prepaid cell. I really think I just might anyway. We all know how much I worry though :p

I have also been dealing with some medical issues. I went in this past week for a couple of reasons. I thought I had hurt my knee again, so in I went. Come to find out my ankle was more of an issue than my knee. I have also been having very bad headaches. I have had them for YEARS, but when you are pregnant or nursing (which I had been for awhile), there isn't a lot you can take. About 2 1/2 months ago I was put on some meds to try and help out. I didn't realize until after I had got them filled that they were antidepressants. My body hasn't reacted good to them in the past, so I was really worried. I had some big issues at the first, and they never really went away. The headaches seemed to be much better for about a month. I started getting some bad ones again so I brought it up. He wanted to just up my dose, but after I visited with him, he put me on another combo of meds. I have been on them a few days now. They haven't gone away yet, and I'm still trying to get the hang of it (it's a couple of them, and you take them together, alone, whatever you need). So I'm praying that these work.

Now that I have wrote a book, I will end it for tonight. See if I would write more often I wouldn't have to go on and on for days. Maybe I'll learn my lesson...and maybe not :)

A Whole New Look

So it's been awhile since I changed my blog look. It was time for a change. I just can't stand having things the same for a really long time. We move our living room around about once or twice a month. We would move our bedroom around too, but there is really only one way to fit all that stuff in 250 sq ft. So the living room gets the makeover all the time.

I have been going through a lot of changes in my life recently, so I thought it was only right to change my online "life" too. The women in my online Bible Study this summer have been amazing. I have gotten close to a few women and made some really good friends. It's hard to do that when you are always moving, and since we have all been through some of the same life experiences, it really brings you together.

I don't know if I have wrote about this or not, so if I have, just skip over it :p I have taken the Hospitality role over in our local MOPS group. MOPS is something that is near and dear to my heart. I love MOPS. I love that women who are in the same place in life can get together and have fun. I love that we all share something in common (mom's of preschool children) and all sleep deprived. Anyway, we start our meetings soon, and I'm excited to get started.

So life is changing and life is good.

I Found One...For Free!

So I love my new quest to find things for free. It has been a fun game for me to play. I told you in the last post that this game all started because I am on the hunt for two things. So today I pulled up into the Recycle Center, and sure enough a microwave! It isn't the coolest looking one, but if it works, it is still a microwave. I am looking for a few things for a couple of families that will be moving here in the next few months. I know how hard it is to pick up and move across the ocean. I know the challenges that come with that. As the wife of their sponsor, I want to make their move as smooth as possible. This is just something I can do to help. So there it is. My free thing of the week. Maybe I'll luck out and find a TV this week too.

No One Died?!

Ever since the kids have been around, they have been in my care. My mom has taken Genevieve for me a couple of times, but that is it. Other than that, I've never spent a night without my kids. I think you can imagine my worry this weekend when I was gone overnight for a MOPS planning retreat.

I am so blessed that my husband felt he was up to the task of taking the kids alone overnight. I got them ready for bed and in their jammies before he dropped me off. I had my cell on me, so I wasn't too worried...until I realized I didn't have service in the house...oops. Before I noticed, I did have a wonderful dinner and chat with the new team. I haven't ever been on a MOPS planning team. I am so excited. It was an amazing weekend.

I did wonder how my kids and husband were doing a few times a day, but I refrained from calling. I figured he had my number, and it was time for me to let go. I know my husband is totally capable of caring for our children. So it was a great test for me to let them be alone and do something for me.

I have really been trying to reach for something that isn't all about my kids. This next year I really want to work on that. I am a person too. I am not my kid's and they aren't my whole life. I think I will be much happier when I can find out who I am and do things for me. This was a good test for me.

So, I am happy to report that everyone was alive and well when I got home late on Saturday evening. No one was hanging by their toes, and my husband wasn't tied up to a chair. I am so happy that I had this opportunity. The big test will come next month when I leave him with the kids for 5 whole days alone. Please say lots of prayers for all of us.

It Was All FREE

So I think I need to make a weekly post of the things I got for free during the week. I have come across many things in the past two weeks that I got for free. So here goes the last two weeks...

Last week I lucked onto something. I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw it. If you keep up with me, you know I have been starting to use coupons a lot. Well, I was walking up and down the isles, and I stumbled on Lunchables for 19 cents each. They weren't the fancy ones at all. Just the meat, cheese, and cracker ones. Still 19 cents each put them at about 80 cents for 4 of them. I did some looking and I came across 4 coupons for $1.00 off any 4 lunchables. So I got paid 20 cents for every 2 I bought. I looked real funny walking around with so many, but I couldn't pass up being paid to eat Lunchables.

This week's find...A leather arm chair. We have a light colored sofa, and this chair pretty much matches it. I found it at the local Reuse Center. We are required to recycle here (yes, they do come around and search our trash). So they have a big Recycle Center here. As part of that, they have a building that they use to put items in that still work or could be of some use to people. We always take things, but we don't always bring things home. I have been up there a lot recently because I am in search of two certain things.

My husband is a sponsor for two families coming up. I know that two things we desperately missed were our TV and our microwave. They are things you don't even really think about when moving. I know I didn't even think twice about them when we were getting things packed up. So I am on a quest. I want to find the two items to have on hand so people can use them if they find themselves in the same situation as I did.

So that's my finds for the past couple of weeks. I'll keep you updated on finds as I get them.

After Seven LONG Years...

We finally arrived! You read it right. My husband and I have not been on a REAL vacation in over seven years. We have never actually taken one. So when family came over to Germany this summer to visit, we figured it was time.

I found a resort down south that was a military resort. They give discounted rates (depending on rank), and they have a lot to do. They run a travel company right out of the bookstore so you can go on day trips (by bus) to different locations. You can also go in and get the information on the places they are going, the address, etc so you can go on the trips by car if you wish too. I really enjoyed it, and I am guessing we will be back before we leave Germany.

We spent a week down in Garmisch and the surrounding areas. The first full day there we went on a tour as a family. Here we all are on the bus getting ready to go. We were headed to a cheese factory and Ettal Monastery. They were both a lot of fun, and our tour guide was taken aback when Genevieve yelled out, "Where's the cheese?" She was so ready to get there and eat cheese. After she tried some of it, she didn't really want any. Samuel did decide he loved the yogurt though.

The next day we decided to go it alone and try our luck at finding our own fun. When looking at the cost of the Zoo tour, it was going to cost us almost $200 to ride the bus up there and do things on their schedule. So we got a map to the Zoo in Munich, and took off that direction. They had a few issues with the parking (there was construction right in front of the parking garage), but we finally found a place on the side of the road to park. It was probably about a mile away, but no big deal. It was free :p

We spent the day with the kids looking at all the animals, admiring the differences in American and German zoos, and having fun together. Mom and Dad joined us on this trip, and they had a good time watching the kids get excited about the animals they found and saw. Genevieve had just spen the week before in school learning about zebras, and she was very excited to see them. She also loved looking at the elephants. When we got to a genuie pig exibit, she looked in there and said, "Look Mom! It's Snickerdooodle's Momma!" (Snickerdoodle is a genuie pig in her classroom.)

On Thursday, we road the bus again. This was a trip we didn't want to make on our own. We headed with Sarah and Sergei to Neuschwanstein Castle. We had a great time here too. Samuel was very tired for the tour so I didn't get to hear much of it due to keeping him behind because of crying. What I saw was amazing though. It sits up on a hill. It is about 1 1/2 miles to hike up the hill. We had about 1 1/2 hours before our tour started, so we just walked the hill. It was a hard walk, but we made it just fine. We had tons of time to spare too. After the formal tour, we had to walk down the hill again. Going down was much easier than up. On our trip down Sarah and Sergei joined us (they took the bus up). The whole group met at a cafe to eat, and then we headed home.

Friday Mom, Dad, Sarah, and Sergei all went on the Three Country tour. When looking at the times, it was over 12 hours long. I figured most of that would be on the bus, so we opted out of that one. We instead took the day to just lounge around and have fun. We woke up and hit the breakfast buffet. After that we walked over to the PX. The kids and I shopped while my husband went for a hair cut. We then headed back to the room to let the kids nap. After the nap we went to the pool for an hour or so. The kids loved the pool. It was only 2.5 feet deep on the one end, so both of them could stand up and be above the water. It was a lot of fun for them.

We headed home on Saturday after meeting up for breakfast. The trip home was not complete without the "I gotta go potty!" cry from a child, and someone getting car sick. Both this time just happen to be from Genevieve. She was fine after it all though, and didn't seem to even care except saying "I spit out my cookies" a lot.

Needless to say we had a great time. We realized we shouldn't let seven more years pass before we do it again. If you have Facebook, you can see a few more pictures I posted there of the trip.

I'm Happy Crying

So several times over the past couple of weeks I have been in tears. My best friend had her baby and right after that my cousin had her baby. God blessed me with wonderful (even though they weren't fun) pregnancies. I did have a few issues with Samuel, but they just made for annoying trips to be put on the monitor. I have always been grateful and felt blessed for this.

My best friend had her baby on July 22 nd (I am a little unsure on the date due to the time change and all that). I was so excited for her to finally go into labor and have her baby. She was so tired (as most of us get) of being pregnant at the end. When I saw the little darling's picture on Facebook, I was in tears. I was so excited for her, and I was so happy that things went well. She has had a few fearful moments, and I have prayed for them a lot. It was so amazing to see the miricale that God gave them. It's always amazing to see that.

My cousin has suffered seven losses. I have cried many times for her and her family. They struggled with everything while trying to add to their family. About 9 months ago we all found out she was pregnant again. She was very hush about it all to start off with. I think everyone understands why. However, the days turned to weeks, and the weeks to months, and I am happy to report she had her baby about the same time as my friend. I was just reading her blog, and I was totally in tears. I have prayed for them so many times, and I have watched her struggle with it all.

I don't know why I am always in tears reading their blogs or seeing pictures from these wonderful women. I am just so excited and happy for them both. I am so amazed at the gift God has given to them. Genevieve saw me a few mins ago and asked why I was sad. I told her I wasn't sad, and she wanted to know why I was crying then. I had to tell her they were happy tears.

Welcome to the world Hailey and Brystol! You are so loved!