On my way to Tel Aviv

I don't know if you can imagine my emotions right now as I sit in this plane as it takes off for Tel Aviv. I am a mixture of melancholy and bubbly excitement. I know that this week is going to be a big burden on David, and it makes me sad. I also know that the kids will feel my absence, perhaps most of all Lilly, and that makes me sad, too. This is probably only my second time away from the kids for more than just a couple of nights, and leaving everyone this morning was hard. Add to that the expressions of concern for my safety I've heard from most everyone, and this trip is really making me quite sad.

But at the same time, there are things that I've greatly desired in my life but never thought would actually be possible. Or things that I've greatly desired but just not quite enough to spend the kind of money needed to get that which I desire. Seeing Israel, the home of my faith, was one of those things. And yet here I am, on my way to Tel Aviv for my first of what could be three times over the next six months. I may indeed get to walk in the same place or places as my Savior. I may get to see the port where Jonah left before getting swallowed by a big fish. I may look on the land of the prophecy in the books of Daniel or Revelations. And I will, at the very least (more than likely), get to enjoy the Mediterranean Sea and eat some shawerma tonight for dinner.

I can't believe it. I'm on the plane in flight and I still can't believe it. Because nothing in my life is more important to me than Jesus and my relationship with Him. When I read the Bible, sometimes I have to remind myself that this Man actually walked the Earth and lived a real life, so I tend to focus on the descriptions of the surroundings when given. What was His life really like? How were His interactions with the everyday people that He met?

I think of the Samaritan woman at the well at Sychar in the book of John (chapter 4). She says, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did." Really? We are not given very much detail about the conversation, so either she lived a very simple life and didn't get out much, or Jesus actually spent a lot of time talking with her. This is one of my favorite stories to put myself into as a fly on the wall. Imagine seeing her talking with this Rabbi. How progressive He is to be talking with her! Imagine what the disciples think as they walk up and see Him talking to her. Are they surprised? Are they angry? Or do they think, There goes that Jesus again. Always bending the rules to include somebody new.

I think of the well itself and the surrounding area. I've been in the desert before and appreciate how precious water is. In fact, after I finished my deployment to the Persian Gulf, I basically swore to myself that I would never again be in a situation where I couldn't have ice. I wonder if Jesus, who is God, felt hot and thirsty at this well and lamented not having something with which to draw the water. How familiar was He with suffering at this point? Did He already know how thirsty He would be on that day when He died for my sins?

Yes, I'm excited. Some things in life are in the realm of possible, and some are not. And sometimes, our great God moves the impossible into the realm of possible just to bless us. I feel He's done that for me today. I don't know why, nor do I need to. When I was pregnant with the twins, which I had wanted since I was about 12 years old, I struggled with why I have been so blessed in my life, pretty much my whole life, and why had God granted me what was probably my biggest desire (boy/girl twins). I really struggled. Why did He choose to bless me but not some other people in my life? I know I haven't earned those blessings, and it was actually quite a religious struggle that I was going through, mainly because I was worried those blessings were just going to be taken away from me. I finally got some peace when I got this answer: Mary, the mother of Jesus Himself, didn't ask that question. In fact, all she really said was, From now on all generations will call me blessed. So who am I to ask?

One thing about this big move to Germany is that I won't know if it was a good decision until we're safely back home. Have I said that already? I'll elaborate. This big move is not without risks. David and I think that we understand the risks and that the benefits outweigh them. But what if we're wrong? When I was pregnant with the twins and worrying so much that it was too good to be true and something bad was going to happen, I received another answer that also gave me peace, and it continues to give me peace everyday. I know, and some of my friends and relatives who have already suffered a great deal know this too, that whatever suffering I am called to do, I will not be doing alone. I know that my amazing Savior, whose footsteps I may get to retrace this week, will always be there for me and carry me through if I need Him to.

This is all because of Jesus. As I've been saying so often already, I am grateful.

I checked into the hotel. Somebody is going to have to pinch me. 

The move-in

Well, I have to say, the move-in was pretty terrible. The Baltimore movers were every bit as bad as we had feared. Correct that, every bit as bad as David had feared. I had been tentatively optimistic.

They broke our couch, for starters. Supposedly (we'll see when the time actually comes), I have full replacement value as long as I file my claim within 75 days. But the couch irks me because we have a matching loveseat. I've been told to claim that, too. We'll see.

They also lost the hardware to our crib, dining room table, and the boys' two beds. David has since gotten the table and beds together, but not without multiple trips to the hardware store. I'm sure that was an adventure. The crib had special hardware so it's still unassembled. Not sure what to do with it. Not even sure how to dispose of it if comes to that. I will claim that cost, too, if there is one.

And then there's the kitchen. They lost all of my silverware, most of my utensils, pretty much all of my Tupperware, our toaster, and a handful of other things. I'm not filing my claim yet because I'm still figuring out everything they lost.

The quality control person told me that for a time, they had lost an entire container that belonged to us, which was why we had to wait so long for our delivery. Good job, guys. And although the ship weight equaled the delivery weight, that assumes that everything made it onto the ship, which it clearly did not.

It's just stuff, right? It is just stuff. But it's useful stuff, and I feel like I'm 20 years old trying to build up my kitchen the way I need it. Or living on furniture that doesn't fit. And I was so looking forward to getting Lilly in her crib again and getting her to sleep like a normal child. Not yet, I guess. I hope and pray that the claim goes smoothly. I hope it goes quickly. We'll see.

I have a lot of work to do. That's really an understatement. I'm not sure when it will get done. David and I worked hard over the weekend, but that was just 2 days. Little bits at a time, I suppose. It doesn't help that they took my 11 days of administrative leave from me. Nor does it help that I'm supporting something for the Chief of Staff for 3 days next week and going on an overnight trip for work on Sunday! I can't even take time off to put the house in order. Please pray for David. He hates chaos and it's very chaotic in our house right now, as you can see. We'll get there, but in the meantime...!

The good news is that our van got registered without any hiccups. I don't have to mess with that again while we're here. Huzzah!

I've enjoyed taking Alex to the bus stop in the morning. He was a bit of a bear yesterday from being tired, and he slithered down the steps this morning because he was so tired, but he's a bit of a sweetie overall. He got 4 points from his teacher yesterday for following the directions, and I can already see that the bus driver likes him. Who wouldn't?! We sure do love the heck out of our kids, don't we?

Some things are getting to normal. That is quite nice. Soon normal will be taking a weekend trip every month (God willing) and seeing more of Germany. And something else is exciting. I am going to Israel for work at the end of this month. I hope I get an opportunity to see something. I hope I get to walk where Jesus walked.

And one more thing. I realized just yesterday that in my last blog, I described a sausage fest (my friends' words) in one paragraph and then thanked Jesus for my life in essentially the next paragraph. Hm. That was a bit weird of me. But I think you all know what I meant, right?

Hope you all have a nice day (or night). Keep in touch and comment if you want to. I appreciate your comments because they make me feel just a little bit closer to home.

Toy room. Still a nightmare but not quite this bad. 

And this was taken after already working for one day. The good news is that I actually am sleeping on my bed now. Progress.

So much sausage!

We returned to the apartment we were renting and got everybody to bed. It was called Ferienpark am Darss, inside the Nationalpark Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft (Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park). I thought it would be right up my alley, and in some ways, it was. It was a nice little area that had a playground for the kids. We were renting a two-bedroom townhouse for two nights. It was a good price, more than affordable considering how big it was. Only 20 minutes away from the beach.

I have to say it felt very much like camping. I don't understand this at all, but Germans don't put screens on their windows. Nor do they use air conditioning. So you have to sleep with the windows open, and let the bugs come right in. In Fuhlendorf, I'm pretty sure there were more bugs per square inch inside than there were outside. Spiders as big as tennis balls (okay, golf balls, but still). Numerous giant crane-fly like bugs. Too many creepy crawlers to make it a pleasant stay. Not to mention, the floor was plywood with 20 layers of varnish on it. The rail to the loft was loose and unsafe. (Fortunately the obedient children did not lean on it at all.) The wifi worked well, and considering we are still not set up for internet in our house, that was pleasant for us for a change. (Alex got to play slither.io a little bit.) It was okay for the price, but it is not a place to which I will return.

Regardless, the kids had fun at the playground. Alex took his time to find a lot of bugs. So far no diseases have shown up on his skin, either. And the drive to the beach was easy. So we had a nice morning, David slept in a little bit, and then we went to the beach.

So, many of you might have read the title and thought that we found an all-you-can-eat German-style restaurant. But, some of you may know Europe a little better, and you might have figured out that the beach that we took the kids to on day 2 (Zingst) was actually (yes) a nude beach.  And there was so much sausage there!  I think the average age of the people who actually chose to go nude was about 60. (This is my estimate based on how low their jingle bells hung. And oh by the way, I'm cracking myself up about this right now.) I said to David when we walked up, "Oh. It's a nude beach. I was afraid of that." He said, "Well you didn't mention it to me!"

It didn't bother me, though. I mean, whatever. It wasn't TOO difficult not to look where I shouldn't. Overall it just kind of seemed like a natural thing. I was a little trepidatious about what the children would say or do. But can you believe that we were there for HOURS, and not one of them even seemed to notice. They were just having fun at the beach. And a lot of fun they had.

All in all, it was a long trip for a short vacation. I picked that location because of the warmer weather and August is the best month to go up there. Our next trip (I'm hoping it will be to Garmisch) will be closer and easier. Maybe it will not be as enjoyable for the children as going to the beach, but Dave and I might enjoy it. I hope that next year we will go to the North Sea and spend 3 nights at the beach instead of just two. I disliked sleeping with the bugs so much that I decided we would leave at 4:00 a.m. to come home. It was going to be a rough week and I didn't want to make it worse than it needed to be. So home we went, and the drive was all right because the kids were sleeping and I drove for 6 hours without stopping. Then I only had 2 hours to go after that. The kids were tired when we got home and I ended up being glad I left the Baltic region when I did.

I'm very glad we went. But now I've been there and done that and am ready to go to another place with the family! Or without. I'm not sure which will happen first, depending on how work goes.

I'm a little bit behind on my blogs. I still have to write about the move. My Facebook friends already know how terribly it has gone. But without internet set up, it isn't quite as convenient to write. So I'm keeping track and tethering to my phone in the meantime.

Please keep us in your prayers! We certainly still need them! I am grateful for our adventure (the big one here in Germany), and even the bad stuff is part of the adventure. What I'm saying is, "Thank you, Jesus."

Enjoying the playground.

Ew. Too gross. Alex was having a blast making me take all of these pictures.

Played together almost the whole time.

Having a blast.

So content.

Baltic Sea or bust!

On Thursday we left for our first big trip, heading to the Baltic Sea. First of all, let me just tell you that I was using three different apps and searching everywhere on the internet, and I had the hardest time finding a place up north that would accommodate all six of us. I settled on a place 20 minutes away from the beach.

My plan was to leave around 10:00 and drive halfway if the kids were being good. I was going to stop at Hannover and maybe do some sightseeing while there. The kids were doing so well, though, that I actually drove much further. We made it all the way to a town called Lübeck. I hadn't made reservations for Hannover because I wanted the flexibility. I knew I was taking a risk, but I was also willing to split the family up between two rooms for just one night. We did fill up once. Gas prices were shocking! Dave took a picture for the record.

First David called a hotel to see what their price would be. We were quoted two rooms for €123 each. That was substantially more than I wanted to pay. So I told Dave we would try a gasthaus. We were blessed to stop at Hotel Herrenhof on the first try. They were able to give us two rooms on the same floor, and gave us a rate that was within my expectations. The hotel was clean and comfortable and spacious enough even for Lilly's pack'n'play. It also appears that it was located in a city that is worth a visit. I don't know, though, because we didn't take the time to do that. I think if we go to the North Sea next year as I'd like, we'll plan for two nights at the same gasthaus and visit the city of Lübeck.

Near the hotel, David found an all-you-can-eat Greek buffet called Restaurant Kreta. Why have I never seen one of those before? It was good and they didn't mind the big family at all, so we'll probably go there again next year if we end up in that area again.

Sleep went as expected with the kids, and we had a pleasant German breakfast and then left town. I hadn't successfully made contact with the owner, yet, to arrange to pick up the key, but I wasn't too concerned. We only had a two hour drive to the housing, so we drove to a town called Stralsund. Beautiful little town that we decided to visit for lunch and go shopping in. You see, I had done a typical Patty thing. I had packed the suitcase for the kids on Monday. By the time we left on Thursday, I had forgotten about it completely. Left it beside the bed. Not only did the kids have no clothes for vacation, they had no swimsuits for the beach. Honestly, it's so typical of me that I don't even get mad anymore. And neither (thank the good Lord) does David. He knows!

Of course, the town was beautiful but the parking garage was not. I had no misgivings about having Dave park the van. We exited that parking garage through a sort of tunnel into an empty lot. I said to Dave, how are we ever going to find this place again? I snapped a couple of pictures. We went shopping. Then we were going to eat lunch at a burger joint in town, but they had giant expensive hamburgers and no kids menu, so that wasn't going to work. So I thought we would choose a place to eat on our way to the van...

Which we never found.

Okay, okay. I'm telling the story from home, and eventually we found it. But we walked in circles for at least an hour. That beautiful town looked the same everywhere! Everyone was hungry and we were anxious to get going to the beach. The kids and Dave all were complainy and grumpy, so I finally deposited them at a Subway. And I'm not kidding, minutes after I relieved myself of the stress of taking care of the whole family, I found the van. Did I say that we walked for at least an hour!!!?? Probably more. I deposited the weekend's worth of brand new clothes in the van and went back to the Subway. We had to get groceries and check in before going to the beach. Which we actually did pretty smoothly. But our misadventure due to my stupidity resulted in the fact that the only thing that we did at the beach that day was watch the sunset.

That was pretty.

I told the kids we would go to the beach and watch the sunset. Alex asked, "Is that all we're doing?" He was taking it so literally it was cute. Of course, they played in the sand while I watched them and the sunset. It was certainly an enjoyable evening after we got over the disappointment of losing the van and forgetting the luggage.  Then back to the place where I had reservations, in a town called Fuhlendorf. We'll talk about that next.

Shocking gas prices!

The lovely Hotel Herrenhof

Two tired girls after a long day in the van

Stralsund 1

Stralsund 2

Stralsund