Belly Dancer's Nightcap

Jack in Germany

Erik and Jack on a sidewalk in Germany.

They made it! Michelle sent me (her sister Amy) some pictures of their new house to post. She has been there three weeks now and although it seems like everything is going slowly things are happening and they are getting settled. The flight there was an adventure (of course -- 9 hours on a plane with a baby would be!). Jack was very good, but Michelle wasn't able to get up and move around as much as she would have liked (and probably needed to since she is pregnant). They showed movies and kept her distracted though. They found a house and move in a week after Michelle and Jack arrived.

The front of their house.

Can you guess which room this is?

Here is a view from their kitchen sink. It looks out at a grassy square across the street which you can kind of see in this picture. The square is where the neighborhood children come and play. I think Michelle said there is a tetter-totter and maybe a couple swings, but mostly the children bring their own stuff to play with. In addition to hearing the children play they also frequently have planes flying over head and are close to the neighborhood train station and can hear the trains.

This is their living room/dining room which is really large according to Michelle but she hasn't taken a picture of the whole room because of boxes and such. I'm sure we will see a photo of it when it is more presentable. Also, she didn't send any pictures of the master bedroom or the basement as they are also full of boxes.

This is also the living room

I really like their stairs. The seem efficient and compact, but nice to look at too. I am really not sure what direction this picture was taken from, and I turned it around several times before finally just picking a side. I think it is taken from the basement looking up to the loft, but I forgot to ask.

The loft

Again, the loft

This is a view of the neighborhood from the loft window.

This lovely orange room is Jack's Room -- see Jack?

Here we have the guest room....I am looking forward to staying here someday and surely by the time I get there, there will be a nice comfy bed to sleep on. I noticed the metal shades and asked Michelle about them. She said that when they are closed the room is pitch black, even in the middle of the day. They help keep things cool since they don't have air conditioning.

This is their bathroom. Michelle said it is a large bathroom, there is also a shower separate from the tub -- she didn't take a picture that included it.

Do you like the big button to flush the toilet? Ezra and Asa thought it was pretty cool when they saw this picture. Michelle said it is actually one of the smaller buttons around, she has seen much larger buttons since being in Germany. Ok, this concludes the photos sent to me. They should be getting a computer in the next couple weeks and then I am sure we will being seeing a lot of Erik, Michelle and Jack and then the new baby too sometime in August. She says they are doing well, happy to be there, and love their house and neighborhood.

Leaving the Aunt Farm

I think Joseph started it a few years ago when he told his boys they were going to the Aunt Farm. At the time I pictured ants but it means of course, myself and my nine sisters out at my parent's farm for the holidays. Here pictured are the three craziest Aunts with Jack before leaving.

I know it's random but I love this butt my brother's girlfriend Rachel made for my Mom in her herb garden

Goodbye, we sure will miss you guys!

tomorrow is the day I forgot already

Alrighty folks, this will have to be slightly brief as this is my last day to repack, assess itinerary etc. so that I don't have a brain explosion from stress the next few days. Here's the story...and it if it seems confusing, ridiculous and illogical you're correct, it is.

Originally I was kind of freaking out because I didn't want to make the flight to Germany alone and pregnant with a baby (It's a lot to go into but it's better if my husband goes ahead alone and gets things ready for us). This was when we both thought we would be able to fly from Atlanta to Germany since we were spending his 2 weeks of allotted vacation time in Chattanooga before going overseas. Then a day before Kell's wedding we found out that in the paperwork it says that the last place I was supposed to be was Colorado Springs (where we previously lived) and my husband was supposed to be in Missouri where he had just graduated from school. They would only fly us from those two places and you guessed it, there was no way to change the paperwork. This meant that for weeks we looked for the cheapest tickets since it would be coming out of our pocket. My husband finally found one for me a day before he left for Germany. This was only a week ago, so I've been catapulted full force into getting ready and Jack and I into doctors for our last appointments plus getting our medical records etc. because I'm leaving much earlier than we had planned. So here's my crazy plans - My flight to Denver is out of Raleigh so I had to drive back up to NC. It works out well since I get to see everyone up here one more time and my Mom and Keith are going to sell our 2000 Volvo for us. Tomorrow I fly from Raleigh to Denver with one plane switch in Chicago. Since we get in at night I rented a car and will drive to a nearby hotel. Then I'll have to drive to Colorado Springs for my flight. Here's one that makes a whole lot of sense - when I get on that plane in Colorado Springs to go to Germany they fly me right back to Denver to switch planes and fly on to Germany. It's a 9 hour + flight Baby...yeah, since it's around 6 pm I'm hoping that this sweet baby of mine whose been sleeping through the night since 2 months won't break his excellent behavior.

Jack with a lovely snow globe. I missed the shot when he had his little nose pressed to the glass.

I just keep thinking, "We can't die of this...at least I don't think we can." God has really changed my attitude toward this whole travel business. A day after Kelly's wedding I was filled with dread and anger and saying things to my husband like, "I can't and I won't." Now I'm thinking of it more as an adventure while very aware that it will be hard. I thank you for your prayers and ask you to keep praying - at almost eight months pregnant my stomach is already large and uncomfortable and feels like I'm carrying a piece of luggage on the front of me. I'll have a nine month old that wants to walk and moves constantly like a baby ferret on speed (although I love this stage he is in it becomes increasingly difficult to hold him). Then I will have a very large diaper bag with about ten bottles packed in coolers inside, a carry-on, a car seat and stroller. Not to mention four very large, heavy bags to check that I'll have to get skycaps for. Lots of little things to think about so that I don't find myself suddenly unprepared and helpless to care for a baby and myself.

Pray for my poor brain that seems to get so muddled and useless when I'm pregnant. I'll admit that it's tempting to smile blankly at a ceiling fan with Jack while eating cookies and saying incredibly intelligent sounding things to the baby like, "Wanna go Ni Nights wif duck?" The baby of course ignores me and continues garrbling in his special language and carefully examining my earrings with his eyebrows furrowed as if he were doing surgery.

With Papa in North Carolina

Yeah, so this wasn't brief. This will probably be my last post until I arrive in Germany and get to a computer. We'll try to get internet in our home when we get that as soon as possible. If you want my address send me an email (on the sidebar where it says "Write Me"). To my friends in Colorado, it's strange to pass through and not see you. Unfortunately with the rush and details of travel plans I didn't have the time to try and organize that into everything else. I will wave as I pass through and wish that I'd had time to sit and chill and enjoy your company. For all of the friends I planned to see before time ran so short I hope to see you soon. I love you all and as my Grandparents always say, "I'll see you in the funny papers."

Some parting photos...

We were able to spend a wonderful week with Aunt Angel and cousin Christian

Jack and his cousin Eliot who is a month younger but considerably larger sort of played together. They would both grab the same toy and wouldn't get angry, just really confused.

At a Memorial day bar-b-q at the Weigers - good fellowship, tasty food and lots of water fun for the kids. Jack forgot his Snoopy bathing suit but he got a mohawk instead. It was a good way to leave town.

For Papa in Germany

Justin used to call my nephew Ezra "Little Cheeker" when we would bring him into Greyfriars as a baby. Now I have my own little cheeker.

For my husband, already in Germany - Today is the beginning of our long journey to get there. We're in good spirits. We miss you. See you soon my dear friend.

Today we drive to North Carolina since one of our flights is from Raleigh (one of our many flights) - Details soon. Thank you Amy, for helping me pack late into the night. I would be sitting on my floor today with all my stuff piled around me having a special ADD moment without you.