I love when my babies sing to me!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
And so the summer begins...
Swings, red cheeks, mosquito bites, and scraped knees...
Swimming, sunscreen, hats, snacks, and smiles...
Swimming, sunscreen, hats, snacks, and smiles...
It doesn't get any better than this!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
A strange game, but I like it!
This is the game. Someone is the mom and puts all the kids to bed. Then the mom goes to bed. The "kids" periodically call for "mom" or pretend cry. It is the calmest game ever. Once I got used to hearing the pretend crying and the calling for "mom" not actually requiring my attention it became my favorite game they play together. Hannah and Genna used to play this game together before Isaac was born. I think I even recall posting about it, but I couldn't find the old post. I am glad the game is back!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Texas
We have relocated again, if only temporarily, to Texas. We will be making our rounds to all the family here over the course of the summer. When we were in DC, we stayed with my aunt and uncle while closing on the house. This is their dog, named Texas. He's a sweetie!
Friday, June 25, 2010
My Artists
Isaac is into coloring little scribbles of all different colors now. He's showing off his masterpiece.
Here is Hannah's first profile drawing. (That's a nostril, not a wart, on the nose by the way.) I really like it! It reminds me of one of the puppets from Mr. Rogers back in the day.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Good-bye Photos
Good-bye village.
Good-bye kindergarten.
Good-bye teacher.
Good-bye school friends.
Good-bye church friends.
Good-bye Germany. We will miss you.
Good-bye Germany. We will miss you.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Living the American Dream
We closed on our house this week and are officially home owners again. The house is virtually empty, of course. Our stuff is not here yet so off we go to Texas to spend some time with family and friends while our things makes their way across the Atlantic Ocean. We are recovering nicely from jet lag. Perhaps, I should say the rest of the family is recovering since I am still exhausted, but that is not all from jet lag. Add in the pregnancy and the heat that I am not accustomed to while wearing compression stockings and you have one tired mama. Things around A Pew All Our Own may be a little slower than usual for another week, but you never know when I might get some energy or an idea or two. My current project that I was able to bring around the world with me is Isaac's Christmas stocking. I ordered the kit online and just really did not think about how detailed this one is. I am, however, very determined to finish it by Isaac's second Christmas and, hopefully, by the end of the summer because I sure do have a lot of home improvement projects piling up for the fall.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Home again, home again, jiggedy jig.
We have arrived here in DC safely! After getting through customs and everything, I started crying. It is just so hard to accept this move for some reason. Even with yesterday's post of things I am looking forward to here, even those things are difficult to accept knowing I am here permanently. So on with the things I will miss about living in Germany!
1. Friends we have made there. The friends are always the hardest to leave.
2. The girls learning German. Not that we haven't learned a little ourselves, but they have so much more potential to retain it and have perfect pronunciation. Both girls have a decent German accent when they speak the language.
3. Village life. I love being in a village where we can walk anywhere, get fresh groceries everyday, and know tons of people. Taking the girls to school in the morning is a pleasure. The last day I walked them home from school, we ran into several of their friends and teachers from school while passing by their houses. So close knit and comfortable. And then there are the church bells that go off every hour.
4. The Backerei, or bakery. Getting fresh pastries or bread is so much more fun in a tiny bakery in the village. Fitness Brot and Vollkorn Brot with some butter, Butterbrezel, Schokocroissant. Yum! Yum!
5. Other traditional foods, like Flammkuchen, Kasespatzle, Knoblauch Suppe, Spargel, Heisse Schokolade, Pommes frites. The list goes on. Hopefully, I can find ingredients (I shipped some) so that I can make some of this in the states, but it won't be quite the same.
6. The scenery. The vineyards on the hillsides are amazing. Even just going for a walk in our village is so beautiful. The mountains and rivers and green green forests are everywhere. It makes driving more peaceful too, which leads me into my next one...
7. Driving. Besides the scenery, the autobahn rules are just far superior to the states' highways. People have to drive on the right and only pass on the left lane. It makes things flow so much smoother with less traffic. And, of course, there are the higher speed limits. This is only safe because of all the other rules that go along with the autobahn. Plus they have roundabouts that I love. They eliminate so many stop lights and once again keep the traffic flowing. There are hardly any stop signs at all. It is just a yield to the right rule at any unmarked intersection. Speed limits are pretty much streamlined too, so you never find yourself not knowing what the speed limit is. DC traffic is going to hurt.
8. Safer feel. Kidnapping is almost unheard of there, and I don't worry about the kids talking to strangers like I do in the states or about locking the doors.
9. Culture of responsibility. They do not have the litigation we do in the states and so they don't have six million rules to keep people from getting sued. Kids can ride any ride the parents will let them with no height or age restrictions. There are not a bunch of fences and gates keeping you from rides or circus animals, and you can actually see all of the history up close without being forced to observe from 50 feet away behind a rope and under cover of plexiglass, since the Germans know that no one would ever damage or place graffiti on the castles, churches, artwork, etc, etc. It's more of a "at your own risk" kind of society.
10. No billboards. Need I say more?
11. Women hanging their down comforters out the windows every morning to air them out. Laundry strung all over the place on a line. Even though I am too lazy to actually do it myself, I love that they have such a slow pace of life that they take time to do those simple things.
12. Slower pace of life. Simply put they do everything slow, but drive.
13. Lack of bugs. They have flies, spiders, and bees (Isaac in fact had a run in with a bee and his foot this past week.) There are not just solid bugs and gnats flying around outside like there seem to be here in Virginia, and NO MOSQUITOS!
I am sure there is more and I certainly grouped things broadly, but I think I got the main ones. I am not quite through mourning Germany yet. I think the pregnancy hormones must be making this a more sentimental move for me. I usually look ahead much better than this. But a few tears won't hurt and just might heal. Good bye, Germany! Maybe we will meet again someday.
1. Friends we have made there. The friends are always the hardest to leave.
2. The girls learning German. Not that we haven't learned a little ourselves, but they have so much more potential to retain it and have perfect pronunciation. Both girls have a decent German accent when they speak the language.
3. Village life. I love being in a village where we can walk anywhere, get fresh groceries everyday, and know tons of people. Taking the girls to school in the morning is a pleasure. The last day I walked them home from school, we ran into several of their friends and teachers from school while passing by their houses. So close knit and comfortable. And then there are the church bells that go off every hour.
4. The Backerei, or bakery. Getting fresh pastries or bread is so much more fun in a tiny bakery in the village. Fitness Brot and Vollkorn Brot with some butter, Butterbrezel, Schokocroissant. Yum! Yum!
5. Other traditional foods, like Flammkuchen, Kasespatzle, Knoblauch Suppe, Spargel, Heisse Schokolade, Pommes frites. The list goes on. Hopefully, I can find ingredients (I shipped some) so that I can make some of this in the states, but it won't be quite the same.
6. The scenery. The vineyards on the hillsides are amazing. Even just going for a walk in our village is so beautiful. The mountains and rivers and green green forests are everywhere. It makes driving more peaceful too, which leads me into my next one...
7. Driving. Besides the scenery, the autobahn rules are just far superior to the states' highways. People have to drive on the right and only pass on the left lane. It makes things flow so much smoother with less traffic. And, of course, there are the higher speed limits. This is only safe because of all the other rules that go along with the autobahn. Plus they have roundabouts that I love. They eliminate so many stop lights and once again keep the traffic flowing. There are hardly any stop signs at all. It is just a yield to the right rule at any unmarked intersection. Speed limits are pretty much streamlined too, so you never find yourself not knowing what the speed limit is. DC traffic is going to hurt.
8. Safer feel. Kidnapping is almost unheard of there, and I don't worry about the kids talking to strangers like I do in the states or about locking the doors.
9. Culture of responsibility. They do not have the litigation we do in the states and so they don't have six million rules to keep people from getting sued. Kids can ride any ride the parents will let them with no height or age restrictions. There are not a bunch of fences and gates keeping you from rides or circus animals, and you can actually see all of the history up close without being forced to observe from 50 feet away behind a rope and under cover of plexiglass, since the Germans know that no one would ever damage or place graffiti on the castles, churches, artwork, etc, etc. It's more of a "at your own risk" kind of society.
10. No billboards. Need I say more?
11. Women hanging their down comforters out the windows every morning to air them out. Laundry strung all over the place on a line. Even though I am too lazy to actually do it myself, I love that they have such a slow pace of life that they take time to do those simple things.
12. Slower pace of life. Simply put they do everything slow, but drive.
13. Lack of bugs. They have flies, spiders, and bees (Isaac in fact had a run in with a bee and his foot this past week.) There are not just solid bugs and gnats flying around outside like there seem to be here in Virginia, and NO MOSQUITOS!
I am sure there is more and I certainly grouped things broadly, but I think I got the main ones. I am not quite through mourning Germany yet. I think the pregnancy hormones must be making this a more sentimental move for me. I usually look ahead much better than this. But a few tears won't hurt and just might heal. Good bye, Germany! Maybe we will meet again someday.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Parting is such sweet sorrow.
There are certainly many things that we are going to miss about Germany and our life here. We love it here, and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. But that is for another post. This post is a list of all the things I am looking forward to when moving back to the states, including some things that I just don't like about living here. My dear husband will not necessarily agree with all of this list since he is entirely enamored with Germany so much so that he overlooks the things that he might agree with on this list.
1. I can not wait to have good fast reliable internet service! I want my cable modem! It not only effects the use of the internet, but also our Vonage phone which goes in and out during any given conversation. Which leads me to the next thing on my list.
2. Talking to my family on the phone when I want, not just in the afternoon when they are awake. Aah, being able to wake up in the morning and call my mother without having to wait until 4pm when she is awake will be so nice.
3. Yes, another technology issue...phones. It costs you an arm and a leg to talk on the phone here. Every phone costs money by the minute. The only way you can talk for free is if you answer a call. Plus, no one answers their phones, and no Americans know how to check their messages because the directions are in German. AND the cell phones drop calls all the time. I want my Verizon back!
4. And I can't believe this is so low on the list, but I really miss big, no HUGE, fountain drinks with ICE! A large drink at McDonald's here is the same as a regular sized drink in the states, and yes, with no ice.
5. Variety! This is a very inclusive category. I am talking about variety in restaurants. Here your choices are Snitzle with seven million different sauces or a seven million different sausages with a side of fries or spatzle. There are a few more common dishes than that, but you get the gist. It just gets old, at least to me. Brian could eat it everyday forever. I am also talking about in stores, grocery and other kinds. I love American cereal aisles! German stores do not have the variety that the US stores have. I am so excited about Target and Olive Garden and On the Border.
6. Blending in! I stick out like a sore thumb here. Between the language (which I still stink at pronouncing) and the three children that I bring out in public, and all our American gear I can forget about fitting in despite the blond hair and blue eyes.
7. Familiarity. They just do this different here. Different isn't bad, but it isn't comfortable either.
8. Normal sized parking spaces. Now that we are selling the van, I look at it and see all the parking spots that I actually didn't fit into. They are written on it in the form of scratches and chipping paint like a scrapbook telling stories of how a minivan isn't actually mini and will not fit into the parking spots meant for a Smart Car.
9. Polite silence. Germans do not hold back. They say what they think and they have definite opinions on everything. I can not tell you how many people have told me that two kids are enough or that Obama is the greatest or that German health-care is better than American health-care. Smile and nod. Most Americans don't come right out and tell you that you should have only had two kids when your third child is sitting right there cute as anything God every made.
Wow, I'll have to do the antithesis post tomorrow to get out this taste I left in your mouth for Germany. Really I have many more things that I love about it. Part of it is just me mentally preparing myself to leave.
1. I can not wait to have good fast reliable internet service! I want my cable modem! It not only effects the use of the internet, but also our Vonage phone which goes in and out during any given conversation. Which leads me to the next thing on my list.
2. Talking to my family on the phone when I want, not just in the afternoon when they are awake. Aah, being able to wake up in the morning and call my mother without having to wait until 4pm when she is awake will be so nice.
3. Yes, another technology issue...phones. It costs you an arm and a leg to talk on the phone here. Every phone costs money by the minute. The only way you can talk for free is if you answer a call. Plus, no one answers their phones, and no Americans know how to check their messages because the directions are in German. AND the cell phones drop calls all the time. I want my Verizon back!
4. And I can't believe this is so low on the list, but I really miss big, no HUGE, fountain drinks with ICE! A large drink at McDonald's here is the same as a regular sized drink in the states, and yes, with no ice.
5. Variety! This is a very inclusive category. I am talking about variety in restaurants. Here your choices are Snitzle with seven million different sauces or a seven million different sausages with a side of fries or spatzle. There are a few more common dishes than that, but you get the gist. It just gets old, at least to me. Brian could eat it everyday forever. I am also talking about in stores, grocery and other kinds. I love American cereal aisles! German stores do not have the variety that the US stores have. I am so excited about Target and Olive Garden and On the Border.
6. Blending in! I stick out like a sore thumb here. Between the language (which I still stink at pronouncing) and the three children that I bring out in public, and all our American gear I can forget about fitting in despite the blond hair and blue eyes.
7. Familiarity. They just do this different here. Different isn't bad, but it isn't comfortable either.
8. Normal sized parking spaces. Now that we are selling the van, I look at it and see all the parking spots that I actually didn't fit into. They are written on it in the form of scratches and chipping paint like a scrapbook telling stories of how a minivan isn't actually mini and will not fit into the parking spots meant for a Smart Car.
9. Polite silence. Germans do not hold back. They say what they think and they have definite opinions on everything. I can not tell you how many people have told me that two kids are enough or that Obama is the greatest or that German health-care is better than American health-care. Smile and nod. Most Americans don't come right out and tell you that you should have only had two kids when your third child is sitting right there cute as anything God every made.
Wow, I'll have to do the antithesis post tomorrow to get out this taste I left in your mouth for Germany. Really I have many more things that I love about it. Part of it is just me mentally preparing myself to leave.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
He's back and better than ever!
Before: in the waiting room
He doesn't know what's coming.
He doesn't know what's coming.
After: at home
His first meal of the day was applesauce and cereal.
If this guy was any cuter, I would absolutely not be able to stand it!I am happy to report that the surgery to put tubes in was an uncomplicated success. He did better than I expected with the no eating or drinking in the morning. Like all boys and men, he is very demanding about his food and gets pretty cranky if he can't have it on time. He asked for a drink less than half a dozen times which is about four dozen times less than I had anticipated.
The anesthesiologist disappointed me a bit because he didn't even show him the mask before or let him play with it. I had talked to him about it, but I am sure I didn't do a good job of explaining it. Plus, he made me lay him down while he put the mask on him, and Isaac got very scared. So he cried himself to sleep with the anesthesiologist holding the mask on his face. That was just sad to watch!
Seriously 10 minutes later I was escorted to a room to help him wake up. He got pretty irritable and cried and pulled off the oxygen mask and the pulse monitor. When I calmed him down, the doctor came in to talk to me. So he started up again with the crying and while he was still crying they told me to go home. The German medical experience is very different. I must have looked at the nurse like she was crazy. I didn't want to drive home with a hysterical baby who just had surgery, so I sat in the waiting room until I calmed him down yet again. As we were leaving he said, "All done Mass." I corrected him by saying, "All done doctor."
When we got home, he did not want to get out of the carseat. I don't know why, but he was content to just sit there for a few minutes and then he started to cry suddenly. I got him out, and we headed upstairs with his water to cuddle and watch a Thomas movie. Then he was ready for some food. We had this funny conversation where I figured out why he kept saying "All done Mass." It was "mask," not "Mass." He pronounces "mask" like "maks." See for yourself.
The anesthesiologist disappointed me a bit because he didn't even show him the mask before or let him play with it. I had talked to him about it, but I am sure I didn't do a good job of explaining it. Plus, he made me lay him down while he put the mask on him, and Isaac got very scared. So he cried himself to sleep with the anesthesiologist holding the mask on his face. That was just sad to watch!
Seriously 10 minutes later I was escorted to a room to help him wake up. He got pretty irritable and cried and pulled off the oxygen mask and the pulse monitor. When I calmed him down, the doctor came in to talk to me. So he started up again with the crying and while he was still crying they told me to go home. The German medical experience is very different. I must have looked at the nurse like she was crazy. I didn't want to drive home with a hysterical baby who just had surgery, so I sat in the waiting room until I calmed him down yet again. As we were leaving he said, "All done Mass." I corrected him by saying, "All done doctor."
When we got home, he did not want to get out of the carseat. I don't know why, but he was content to just sit there for a few minutes and then he started to cry suddenly. I got him out, and we headed upstairs with his water to cuddle and watch a Thomas movie. Then he was ready for some food. We had this funny conversation where I figured out why he kept saying "All done Mass." It was "mask," not "Mass." He pronounces "mask" like "maks." See for yourself.
The girls stayed with a dear friend of mine overnight so Isaac and I could have some peace and quiet.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Yumm!
Last Saturday's Dinner
I am going to start incorporating more rice bowls into our regular meals. There are millions of variations and the kids like them as long as I put all the ingredients on their plate separately. This particular rice bowl, has long grain and wild rice with corn and peas, sauteed onions and mushrooms with soy sauce and rice vinegar, diced apples, pecans, and broiled chicken with sunflower seeds and Hoisin sauce (a Chinese barbecue sauce). Delicious!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
A loving act of service
The girls did this for me so nicely! I think I will save the towels, socks, and panties load just for them to fold every time now! It's amazing how different it feels to fold 5 loads instead of 6. New chore for my chore lists for the school year. I am making extensive chore lists for every room and every occasion thanks to A Mother's Rule of Life. I love lists! Who doesn't?
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Isaac's "High" for today!
I have mentioned before that we play "High's and Low's" at the dinner table frequently. Isaac was saying, "My high is watch a movie" over and over and it was cute so I grabbed the camera to get it on film. As soon as I asked him on camera he changed his "high" to "Outside!" despite his sister urging him to say "Watch a movie!" again. It was just too cute! Watch for yourself!
He is definitely more independent than Genna!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Pickles and Ice Cream
to diapers and burp rags!
Due Date: February 6th, 2011 (Brian's birthday)
We are thrilled, of course! The kids' reactions: Hannah stared at me a minute (long enough to make me nervous) and then said, "I want it to be a girl, and we can call her Charlotte." That's my controlling fast thinking girl! At least she has more normal name suggestions now. Genna agreed with Hannah and added that she wants to have a ton of babies in our family. Isaac copied the girls prayers for it to be a girl that night. I said, "No, buddy, I think YOU really need it to be a boy." And he has been parroting me ever since saying, "A boy" when the baby is mentioned.
**edited a few days later** Genna has since started praying for a boy for Isaac. She has such a gift of selflessness. Hannah is still praying for a girl.
Due Date: February 6th, 2011 (Brian's birthday)
We are thrilled, of course! The kids' reactions: Hannah stared at me a minute (long enough to make me nervous) and then said, "I want it to be a girl, and we can call her Charlotte." That's my controlling fast thinking girl! At least she has more normal name suggestions now. Genna agreed with Hannah and added that she wants to have a ton of babies in our family. Isaac copied the girls prayers for it to be a girl that night. I said, "No, buddy, I think YOU really need it to be a boy." And he has been parroting me ever since saying, "A boy" when the baby is mentioned.
**edited a few days later** Genna has since started praying for a boy for Isaac. She has such a gift of selflessness. Hannah is still praying for a girl.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
This is my life.
Well, the last week or so has been, um, interesting, I guess you could say. It has been tough, but peaceful, at least in my soul. To start off the girls are having a hard time with their daddy being gone for a little over a week (so far, but we still have about two more to go.) Genna is back to doing her "acting out" that she was doing when he was gone for a year. And Hannah is back to crying for her daddy at random times. As Sunday Mass ended, she burst into tears after thinking of how Brian sometimes does the readings at Mass. We sat for about 10 minutes after Mass ended just crying and cuddling. Sometimes you've got to get it all out, especially if you have two X chromosomes.
Then there is the fact that I have been a little bit clumsy and done some really stupid things. I can't even write about all the dumb things I have done because it just not worth reliving right now.
Possibly the most difficult thing happened yesterday when Isaac went in for a ENT check up. His ears have been doing much better, but they still have had fluid from time to time. This time his pressure was outside the normal range and they now want to do tubes before he flies. They want to do tubes next Wednesday! Next Wednesday, about a week before we leave Germany, in the midst of doing our final checklist, when Brian will still be gone. Not the best news I've had, I've got to say. Yes tubes are minor, outpatient surgery, but when it is your own little bundle of pure joy that you brought into this world after 26 hours of labor, nurtured through six million illnesses, woke up in the middle of the night for countless times, and who says, "I dove (not a typo, that's how he says love) you, Mama" in the sweetest voice you've ever heard it just seems much bigger than a "minor, outpatient surgery." I am still researching other options and talking to his pediatrician to make sure this is the best thing to do and the best time. As it stands though he is scheduled for the surgery next Wednesday, June 9th. So please pray!
The straw that broke the dam holding back all my built up tears came this morning. I used to be a regular crier before I had kids. I cried nearly every day at least a little. Tears would fill my eyes at a commercial on TV. It didn't take much, but once I became a mother (and got past the postpartum tears) I guess I toughened up. I just was too busy with Hannah's needs and tears to make any of my own. I tend to hold things in more now and just stay busy enough not to dwell on the sad things. The joyful moments still bring tears to my eyes from time to time, but they usually subside quickly without actually falling, but I digress. We have had two big moves since Hannah was born, from Texas to New York, and from New York to Germany. I don't remember crying about either really. New York took a while to adjust to because I had always lived in Texas and it was just so very different, but I don't recall being teary about what we left behind. Here we are preparing for our big move to DC which I am excited about. I told Brian I can't even imagine living on the same continent as a Target and fountain drinks with ice, much less in the same town. But at the same time, here we are leaving behind dear friends, and what's harder this time is that Hannah is old enough to mourn this loss as well. Today she found out her best German friend went on vacation for a month and she didn't get to say, "Good bye." I took one look at her face and knew how much that hurt her. Tears filled my eyes as I hugged her in the hall at Kindergarten. I sucked them in as fast as I could and extended that hug just long enough so she wouldn't see. Then I told her to not think about it for now, but to enjoy her other friends while we are still here. Then I high-tailed it out of there when I knew she was okay. The minute I stepped out of the building the flood of tears came pouring out, and I cried all the way home and then sat with Isaac outside the house to cry a little more. (He was confused, to say the least. It is probably the first time he has ever seen me cry since being aware of that sort of thing.) This move is going to be much harder. I guess it just hit me. I mean what is harder for a mom than to see her children suffer, whether physically like Isaac's surgery, or emotionally like leaving friends behind. Thanks be to God that children are so resilient and bounce back so quickly! God is teaching me so much right now about trusting Him and persevering in peace amidst trials. And I pray that He teaches the children these things too through this life He has chosen for us. May they be the stronger and more faith-filled for it!
Then there is the fact that I have been a little bit clumsy and done some really stupid things. I can't even write about all the dumb things I have done because it just not worth reliving right now.
Possibly the most difficult thing happened yesterday when Isaac went in for a ENT check up. His ears have been doing much better, but they still have had fluid from time to time. This time his pressure was outside the normal range and they now want to do tubes before he flies. They want to do tubes next Wednesday! Next Wednesday, about a week before we leave Germany, in the midst of doing our final checklist, when Brian will still be gone. Not the best news I've had, I've got to say. Yes tubes are minor, outpatient surgery, but when it is your own little bundle of pure joy that you brought into this world after 26 hours of labor, nurtured through six million illnesses, woke up in the middle of the night for countless times, and who says, "I dove (not a typo, that's how he says love) you, Mama" in the sweetest voice you've ever heard it just seems much bigger than a "minor, outpatient surgery." I am still researching other options and talking to his pediatrician to make sure this is the best thing to do and the best time. As it stands though he is scheduled for the surgery next Wednesday, June 9th. So please pray!
The straw that broke the dam holding back all my built up tears came this morning. I used to be a regular crier before I had kids. I cried nearly every day at least a little. Tears would fill my eyes at a commercial on TV. It didn't take much, but once I became a mother (and got past the postpartum tears) I guess I toughened up. I just was too busy with Hannah's needs and tears to make any of my own. I tend to hold things in more now and just stay busy enough not to dwell on the sad things. The joyful moments still bring tears to my eyes from time to time, but they usually subside quickly without actually falling, but I digress. We have had two big moves since Hannah was born, from Texas to New York, and from New York to Germany. I don't remember crying about either really. New York took a while to adjust to because I had always lived in Texas and it was just so very different, but I don't recall being teary about what we left behind. Here we are preparing for our big move to DC which I am excited about. I told Brian I can't even imagine living on the same continent as a Target and fountain drinks with ice, much less in the same town. But at the same time, here we are leaving behind dear friends, and what's harder this time is that Hannah is old enough to mourn this loss as well. Today she found out her best German friend went on vacation for a month and she didn't get to say, "Good bye." I took one look at her face and knew how much that hurt her. Tears filled my eyes as I hugged her in the hall at Kindergarten. I sucked them in as fast as I could and extended that hug just long enough so she wouldn't see. Then I told her to not think about it for now, but to enjoy her other friends while we are still here. Then I high-tailed it out of there when I knew she was okay. The minute I stepped out of the building the flood of tears came pouring out, and I cried all the way home and then sat with Isaac outside the house to cry a little more. (He was confused, to say the least. It is probably the first time he has ever seen me cry since being aware of that sort of thing.) This move is going to be much harder. I guess it just hit me. I mean what is harder for a mom than to see her children suffer, whether physically like Isaac's surgery, or emotionally like leaving friends behind. Thanks be to God that children are so resilient and bounce back so quickly! God is teaching me so much right now about trusting Him and persevering in peace amidst trials. And I pray that He teaches the children these things too through this life He has chosen for us. May they be the stronger and more faith-filled for it!
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