Alexander Family's Big Adventure: Ten Days Left!

Ten days left in the Lodge, and although it's been cramped, I have to say that it has been very good to us.

And our van is en route to Wiesbaden, which means I might actually get it this week. Can't wait for that. In the meantime, I have a 2-night temporary duty (TDY) to Grafenwohr tomorrow. I got a government car and drove for my very first time in Germany. I was pretty nervous but it wasn't so bad. If you think about it, send up a prayer for me tomorrow since I'm driving 3 hours by myself. I'm still nervous about that even though it's basically a straight shot.

Griffin's skin issue is pretty much all cleared up, fortunately. I think we're getting Alex's skin funk under control, but not without some small ordeal. At our second visit, the pediatrician said there was too much going on and made us an appointment for the dermatologist. The nurse wrote what looked to me like 1630, but it was actually 1430. So I missed the first appointment and they rescheduled for the next day. Fortunately it was just Alex and me who walked down to the doctor that time. At the playground, he met a new friend from Kenya who spoke English. She was a sweetheart! They played together for a long time. And then Alex fell with his face onto the wall. But I went into the pharmacy in the same building as the doctor's office. This pharmacy is incredible! I've been very pleased with them because they help me more than what I would expect every time, and have no desire to play the game that they don't speak English.

So we went back to the dermatologist the next morning and she totally gave us the hookup for antibiotic ointment. Prescription strength, I think. Alex and I went to the cafe across from the pharmacy. Mine was an Eiskaffee (not at all what I was expecting but totally delicious!), and Alex's was an Americano. He loved it!

We've been to a church a couple of times, now. It's a lovely building that is "only" about 120 years old. This church has a ministry where they pick up people from the Lodge and bring them to church and back. What a great idea! I'm not sure if it is our long-term solution because it doesn't fit Dave's theology and it's not that close to where we'll be living. BUT, it is in English, so it might be worth the compromise. We have time to decide that! The people are certainly friendly and welcoming, same as we've been used to in our Christian and Missionary Alliance churches. That is refreshing.

And of course, we've found yet another awesome playground. Actually, I've seen this since my first day on the bus. It is the playground on Clay Kaserne. Pretty challenging for 3-year-olds, but it was right up Alex's alley! Here is a link to a short clip of Alex playing at the Clay playground: https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipM13qZl4s2fTnHuDIXTiKJUqeE6HYx4LKqEzRSg

(Hope it works.)