My knight in shinning armor..........

My last post was very long winded. I will keep this one short :)

Things are pretty much the same here.

Construction is still going on and taking longer than expected........that's no surprise!

Still no snow....we were teased yesterday for about a half hour until it just stopped. I could really use a snow day. It would be nice to just go out and play in the snow with the kids. Go sleighing, build a snowman, make some snow angels. Where is the snow?

The house is a complete wreck and I've decided to ignore it, but it's not working out as well as I planned. I will have to do something today!!!

I've made contact with Rob who is living in Stuttgart. You can check out his blog lifeinstuttgart.blogspot.com. He posts the most beautiful and inspiring pictures. Very talented.

Thanks Rob for answering some of my questions.....or should I say, addressing some of my concerns.

The more people I talk to and meet from Germany, the more confident I become.

I'm up to the challenge and I'm actually looking forward to the adventure. I'm sure it's not for everyone, but I've always wanted to go to Europe. This is my chance.

After talking to Rob, I'm thinking of trying to get by without a car for awhile. If the buses and trains are as good as he says, I should be able to pull it off. He's gone 3 yrs without one.

That will be a first for me. I've had a car since I was 16. Here in the states you have to have a car if you want to go anywhere. They have buses here but they are far from reliable.

They say life in Germany is at a much slower pace than here. It will be nice to slow down a little. I'm looking forward to long walks, going to the town markets/stores, quiet Sundays (no shopping, stores are closed), sight seeing, learning German, and spagetti ice.

So who's my Knight in shinning armor? Why it's Ethan of course!!!! I'm really enjoying the time the two of us have together every morning before he goes to school. He's growing up so fast. I need to see if kindergarden is half days or whole days in Germany.....wouldn't it be great if they were just half days!!!!!

Germany bound.......

Forgive me, its been awhile since I've blogged. It's incredible how much life changes and evolves in just a short time. It's the rollercoaster effect. I'm working on enjoying the ride instead of trying to change it all the time or focusing in on the parts that I don't enjoy. It's amazing how much more you can enjoy your life when you're not wasting your time worrying about things you have no control over. Release it. Go take a walk, read a book, do something enjoyable instead.

Well we made it through the Holidays :) Lots of LOVE, lots of time to be with the people that mean so much to us. It went by too fast. I really enjoyed having that time with the kids. They spend so much of their time in school now, I miss them terribly. They are growing up so fast. This September will be the hardest for me because all three will be in school full time. I don't even want to think about it. That's a whole other blog :)

Well for the big news........WE ARE GOING TO GERMANY!!! not just for a week or so, but for 3 to 5 years. Stuttgart, Germany to be exact. Everyone is excited. We went into this process by talking to our children, discussing the benefits and negatives, what we all would get out of this journey/experience. In other words, we went in gungo ho with our eyes wide open. It was a long tedious adventure of waiting and even a let down as we thought that we did not get the job. But then as we decided to move on and make plans for our future here, the unthinkable happened.......we actually got the job and we are to move this July.

I think I was shocked!!! Then I was scared, because it all became "real"..... I would actually have to leave behind my family and friends after all. I speak English, they speak German. That kind of thing. Then there was/is all the construction going on in our house. Yes, construction. Remember, we had decided to move forward here. Staying here in our home meant more living space. So we signed a contract to have our basement finished into a family room with a full bathroom and new Corian countertops for our kitchen. They had just torn down the old bathroom when we got our news!

I love our home here. It's in a great location, we bought it before the big boom in real estate prices and we've upgraded, remodeled and worked hard on making it just perfect for our family. So you can only imagine the torment on what we should do......sell it or rent it.
We've weighed the pro's and con's and couldn't stand to part with it and the low mortgage.
I've met with a few property managers and I'm trying to weed through all the information involved with that. I hope this all is simplier than it sounds!!!

I have a full plate and right now it just seems unreal. There are moments when I'm excited, moments when I'm terrified, moments when the tension is high around here, moments when we are all anticipating and discussing what we think our new life in Germany may be like. There are moments when I am sad to say goodbye to my family and friends, but true to my inner self I know that if I didn't take this opportunity I would live a life of regret and always wonder what could have been. Life is taking the next step forward and not looking back. Time is fleeting. Well, you get the idea.

I'm not one to go into things blinded. I don't just leap and hope I land on my feet. I try to prepare (a little too much and that is something I'm working on). No one knows what tomorrow will bring. If we try to plan too far ahead we may miss the life we're living in right now.

I'm sure my bloggs will grow and change and my experiences in Germany will be rampant throughout. The computer and modern technology will play a big part in staying in touch with those we love and care about as we move so far away from home. Email, blogs, digital photos/scrapbooks and web cams just to name a few.

If anyone out there is living in Germany and has any helpful hints....please feel free to pass on the good advice.