Feeling grateful

I'm sitting in the hotel room today, and I'm feeling so grateful.

As a reward for their extremely hard work the other day when we moved out, we got the kids toys at the PX today. They are playing together with them very nicely. It is fun to watch, and I'm happy to be sitting in this nicely air-conditioned room while it's 91 degrees outside, and heading for 101 degrees tomorrow.

David is going out tonight with our friend Ken. They will go to the Schlachthof and listen to some heavy metal. That is great because the Schlachthof (and Ken) will be very missed by David after we leave.

... It's Monday, now, and I just finished the van inspection and it passed. That was the last high-stress activity we had until the day we fly away. Yay for that! Now what to do with the upcoming weekend? It's hard to decide because of all the choices. Should we take the train to Luxembourg? Should we go to the schwimmbad that is within walking distance from the post? Should I take Lilly on her special day to get her the Steiff? I haven't decided, but I'm going into town on Wednesday, and I think I'll stop by the train station to ask about tickets to Luxembourg. I'm on the fence because we've been working so hard lately, and honestly, travel is kind of hard work!

... It's the Fourth of July now and we're all settled in for the night. The Army post put together a really great celebration, which I'm particularly grateful for because the Friendship Fest had been canceled because of the Berlin Airlift celebration, which I didn't get to attend because we were working on moving. (If that makes any sense.)

Anyhow, we had quite a nice day today. We got to play some games and eat some German festival food. The kids spent some time in a bounce house, and Alex was inside a ball for a while. We also got to see some Star Wars people, and they gave out pirate flags and ping pong paddles to the kids. They're putting off fireworks tonight, but not until 11:15, so I'll probably be sleeping through them.

Tomorrow marks two weeks! I'm so excited to put my arms around the necks of the people I love!

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.)

Busted up his grill

This pastry is called an Americano

I was expecting ice in some coffee and I got this. Oh my!

Playground on Clay Kaserne

Peek a boo!

Aww, sisters. I sure do miss mine!

The church we attended

Inside the church

I always love the stained glass

This is how we're doing

This is an email I received from Dave during work earlier this week:

Had an incident with pickles. Got back and as I was unloading...Lilly leaned back and tipped the stroller over breaking a big jar of pickles that Alex wanted.  Juice everywhere.  Mopped up with a towel and guys are to send house keeping up...That sort of fell into disaster quickly.

And that's about what we can expect with 6 people living in 3 rooms plus two small bathrooms. I'll tell you, it wouldn't work at all if it weren't for Dave. He is the king of no chaos and all order, and because of that, I'm not actually losing my mind living in the Wiesbaden Army Lodge.

We haven't been going out as much as I would like, but yesterday we did find a lovely restaurant called Die Hütte. It was pretty much our very first German meal since we've been here, and it was lovely on all accounts! Well, except when Alex knocked over Daddy's beverage and not only wasted the precious contents but also broke the glass. I told the waiter that we really wanted to come back! He was very gracious and said of course we should come back. Dave and I were both thinking, Tomorrow? But of course we did not go back today. Maybe Wednesday.

We have been spending a lot of time at the playground(s) and also going out bug hunting. Ever since we ran across so many snails on one walk home, we've had to satisfy the bug man's desire to bug hunt by walking around catching milkweed bugs (a relative of the boxelder bug?) and handling slugs. Well, Alex handles the slugs. I certainly do not. It's a ton of fun, let me tell you! And then there's the rock chair outside of the bowling alley that the kids have to sit in. Maybe this week we'll try a new adventure at the playground on the post where I work. All kinds of excitement!

I'm eager to get my van, but in spite of my sarcasm, I'm quite content. My colleague, who is one of my predecessors on this rotation and who is leaving next month, said that she's a little bit sad to be leaving because of the novelty of living in Europe. And yes, I confirmed, she meant novelty even after being here for 25 months. So that's pretty exciting and I'm fairly certain we have a lot to look forward to!

All in all, we're doing quite well. Lots to enjoy today and lots to look forward to tomorrow.

Wiesbaden Army Lodge is a great place to stay

Getting ready for a great meal at Die Hutte

These slugs look a lot like poop

That rock the kids have to sit on every single time