Germany?

We have had some exciting and stressful decisions to make lately. As many of you know, we were planning on going to Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas in the spring. I gave verbal notice at work and plan to be done working at my current job (after 6 and a half fantastic years!) We have a baby on the way and are due in July. Our time line was set.

Then Don got a call at work and sent me an e-mail that said something like "What do you think about going to Germany instead of San Antonio?"

"WHAT??????" hmm. I e-mailed him back quickly then decided that his original e-mail was too open and I needed to just call him directly and immediately.

He was told of a position as a Facility Planner in Heidelberg, Germany. We talked about it and then I stressed about it for a few days (and nights). Then we needed to make a decision. I played devil's advocate and was coming up with every negative thing I could think about. Were we crazy to even consider moving half way across the planet right before or after welcoming a new baby into this world? hmmm. I finally decided it would be much easier to just keep our plan as it was and move to San Antonio at the end of May. I went to bed on a Thursday night with that decision on my mind. Don would be receiving a call the next day to find out what our decision would be. And I woke up with a different heart. Was I dismissing a huge opportunity for our family? Hmm. What would living in Germany actually be like? I still had a zillion questions whirling around in my head.

I called Don on my way in to work that Friday morning. "Don, could you tell the Colonel that your wife is a lil hormonal and needs til Monday to decide?"

Don did and the colonel was fine with that. So, I got to work and contacted a few people I knew of that are living in Germany. A number of my questions were answered and I began to feel confident that maybe we could do this. Maybe we are just crazy enough to welcome all this change into our lives at one time. I totally changed my attitude as I researched more and more and began to get a lil excited about such an adventure the more I found out about the US Army lifestyle in Germany.

Then the part I dreaded most... I had to call my mom and break it to her. My mom has always been such a strength for me and although we have lived miles apart for almost 10 years now, we talk just about daily (sometimes more) and I knew she was excited about the idea of us moving to Texas. Germany? Germany was half way around the world. What would she think?

I made the call to my mom. Of course, she said it was a decision we would have to make on our own. A a supportive and wonderful Mom, what else could she say, right? After a brief conversation we got off the phone and I went home for lunch. We spoke again when I was driving back to work after my lunch break. I think she needed a little time to let the idea to sink in. She said Harry thought it sounded good. She agreed that they'd try to come visit us at least once if we go.

It was decided. We would go. Don spoke to the Colonel the following Monday and said we were in. We have the option to go early and deliver the baby there or wait until after the baby is born and go in August or September. So, it looks like we will spending one more summer in Ashburn, Virginia before we head out to Heidelberg.

Back in February of 1998, Don and I were dating. He spent about 6 or 7 months in Bosnia but got 2 weeks of leave to either come back to the states or to Germany. He wanted to go to Germany and invited me to join him there. We spent 11 days together exploring Germany including Heidelberg. We loved it and stayed at different U.S. military bases the entire trip. I just never thought to check them out as to see what married housing would be like for a family of 5. Who would have thought we'd end up back there?

We have e-mailed the guy Don will be replacing in Germany as well as his wife and they have been extremely helpful in answering so many questions about the area for us. After a lot of thought and prayer about our big decision, we are now getting excited about our upcoming adventure.

Grandma and Papa Come to Celebrate Samuel Turning 2

Grandma Pat and Papa Harry came to visit from Illinois! They arrived on Wednesday, February 11 and left on Monday, the 16. We had a nice and busy time with them.

Thursday...................

We spent time around the house... baked and decorated Valentine sugar cookies and my mom and Harry did some grocery shopping for me mostly in preparation for Samuel's 2nd birthday party.

Friday....................

It was Samuel's actual birthday and Don had the day off! So, we got an early start and had breakfast at IHOP before we headed down to Washington D.C. We went to the Smithsonian's Museum of American History. We hadn't been since they renovated and I don't think we had ever taken the kids there. They had a whole section on transportation. I was pleasantly surprised at how much the boys enjoyed looking at everything. They loved all the trains, old cars, motorcycles, buses, etc. and Samuel spent the entire time walking and avoiding the stroller. He did great! He slowly walked around with a very curious look on his face the entire time. The boys also enjoyed the kids hands-on part of the museum before we departed there around 12:30 p.m.

Getting home at a decent time gave me time to start working on Samuel's heart-shaped birthday cake. Then Friday night my mom, Harry and I enjoyed the movie "Martian Child" which was cute.

Saturday....................

It was Valentine's Day and the day of Samuel's birthday party! And Benjamin had reminded me several times that Samuel was not actually two until he blew out his birthday candle. hmm. Who knew? His party wasn't until 4 p.m. so we had plenty of time for some last minute preparations and naps for the kids. We had some good friends over as well as my parents here and it seemed to fill up our house! The kids had a ball just playing and getting into all the toys. We did a small craft project which was quick and easy. I made lasagna and salad and ordered a couple of heart shaped pizzas from Papa John's. Everything went well and it was nice to visit with our friends.

Samuel was pretty excited about his cake. He sat up in his chair for a few minutes just checking it out and trying to poke at it before we started singing "Happy Birthday." He hasn't figured out just how to blow out a candle yet but his big brother had no problem helping him with that task.

We enjoyed our cake and ice cream as well as those Valentine sugar cookies then Samuel opened his presents. He did a great job opening gifts and was excited about everything.

Sunday...................

It was like the day after Christmas at our house. Samuel (and Benjamin) enjoyed all the new birthday presents in our house. Samuel received a lot of really cool things that both the boys were thrilled about. We tried them all out! Then Benjamin and I were off to his friend, Brooke's 4th birthday party. It was at a paint your own pottery type of place. We had a great time then returned home to spend a little time outside enjoying some neighborhood parks and a nice long walk with the dogs.

Sunday evening we all went out to dinner at Red Robin (a restaurant chain that features fabulous hamburgers and bottomless french fries). We enjoyed our last evening with my mom and Harry in town and I mentioned to our waiter that it was my mom's birthday (which is not actually until the 24th of this month, but of course, they will be enjoying sunny Florida by then). So, they came out with balloons and an ice cream sundae and sang happy birthday to her. It was really a nice night out.

Monday...................

It was President's Day so Don had another day off! We all got up to see off my mom and Harry. They left around 8:15 a.m. and we were all a little sad to see them go. I reassured Benjamin that we will be seeing them again this summer. And when Samuel woke up from his nap later that afternoon he was looking around and calling "Papa!"

"Hello, Spring? Is that you???"

We have been enjoying some great spring-like weather! We all spent a lot of time outside last weekend and rediscovered a bunch of nearby parks. The boys loved exploring the the slides, swings, and climbing all over the jungle gyms. It was a joy to see their smiles!

Benjamin also went to a birthday party for a classmate at The Little Gym (which is an indoor play area which holds classes and birthday parties for kids). He had a blast! And I enjoyed watching him run around and exert all his energy. Besides the party and going to church Sunday morning, the majority of our weekend was spent outside.

In addition to the playgrounds we went to, we also played in the sandbox and water table, rode bikes, played with sidewalk chalk, and kept busy doing whatever we could think of until the sun went down! We really got a taste of spring and are not looking forward to the cold blast of air that is due this weekend. But for now we will just enjoy a couple of more days of 50 and 60 degree weather and dream about what spring has in store for us all!

Our News

We have yet to share some exciting news with all our blog readers... we are expecting a baby this summer!

I was fortunate enough to have an early ultrasound at 9 weeks and see our little miracle's heartbeat. It is so amazing to see such a small heart beating so early in the development. I am posting the photos from that very early ultrasound but the baby wasn't even the size of peanut at that point! So far, everything is on target for delivery in July with a July 21 due date. We are thrilled and so looking forward to this upcoming addition.

All is looking good as I am now in my second trimester and 16th week of pregnancy. I've had some moments of ickiness but overall the pregnancy is going pretty smoothly so far. My tummy is not bulging yet but I'm starting to slowly loose my middle although I haven't had to resort to the oh so lovely maternity clothes yet.

Benjamin is excited and tells Samuel that he will have a "new little buddy." Samuel is actually fascinated with babies and is really excited when we encounter them whenever we're out and about. Hopefully, this is an early indication that he too is going to make a great big brother!

Benjamin has decided that "Bamuel" will be the perfect name for this new baby. Yes, you read that correctly, "Bamuel." It appears to be a combination of both of our boys' names. He is quite creative but we're still looking at alternatives.

Dad's Night

Wednesday evening, Don had the honor of joining Benjamin at his preschool for their annual Dad's Night. Of course, Don had to miss this big event last year so both Benjamin and Don were thrilled to share this special time together.

Their class had been preparing for this night for weeks and had lots of exciting things to share with their Dad's. One highlight was Benjamin's book "All About My Dad..." in which he had to fill in some blanks about his Dad. The teacher read the books aloud to the class and their Dad's and they had to figure out which one their child wrote. Don claims he knew right away that Benjamin was describing him!

Here is how the books goes...

"All About My Dad..."

By Benjamin

My Dad's Name is DADDY-O.

My Dad is ABOUT 20 years old.

My Dad is 4 FEET tall.

My Dad weights 50 pounds.

My Dad's favorite food is CHEESEBURGERS.

My Dad's favorite drink is MILK.

My Dad's favorite color is BLUE.

My Dad's favorite thing to say is "I LOVE YOU."

My Dad's favorite thing to do is "PLAY VIDEO GAMES WITH ME."

My Dad's favorite animal is "A LION OR TIGER."

My Dad's favorite thing to watch on television is "STAR WARS."

My Dad's job is "TO GO INTO HIS OFFICE AND WORK UNTIL NIGHT TIME."

My Dad and I like to "PLAY VIDEO GAMES."

I LOVE YOU DAD!

Love,

Benjamin

Happy February

Happy February! Finally, life seems to be getting back to normal. Everyone is healthy again and we have been enjoying life!

The boys have both been on antibiotics and along with that comes the much dreaded diaper rash for Samuel. We have taken to several methods of combating this situation and trying to make him comfortable. Including putting him in big boy underwear from time to time. I snapped this photo of him during his first trial run in the underwear. He was thrilled and excited to be in big boy underwear and actually went potty on the big boy potty twice! I couldn't believe it. I'm hoping this is a sign that potty training him may be somewhat less challenging than it was for Benjamin. Time will tell. We are not ready to really work on it yet.

Last week we finally had some snow! It was nice but it didn't stick around long enough for us to make it out sledding. Although Benjamin did manage to get out and play in it a time or two. It wasn't long before it turned to ice.

This past weekend brought warmer weather and we enjoyed some time outside! Saturday after a visit to the grocery store we stopped off at a playground and the boys truly enjoyed running around and burning off some energy. On Sunday temperatures neared 60 degrees and we all enjoyed what we have coined a "family walk" which includes everyone and the dogs. And, although it is still icy in patches it was so nice to just be outside again.

Sunday evening, we went over to a some friend's house from church for their annual SuperBowl party. The boys had a great time playing and were well behaved. It was nice to finally get out of the house!