one of a M I L L I O N reasons...

...why I love my man.

Our to-do list is so long and enormous we seem to add more each day than we are able to cross off.

Seriously, who not only moves continents but adds a retirement and all that goes with it in just over a month's time.

No one that we know.

As Jim made his retirement appointment with the VA this week, they let him know that most people call six months in advance to start the process.

We don't have six months.

We don't even have six weeks.

They put him on a fast track.
Good thing there is a fast track.
Fasttrack should be our last name. We tend to be a little crazy like that.

Yesterday, I thought I was doing good staying focused working on whatever I was working on. The thought came to get the boys out of baseball since we will miss most of the season. Instead of putting it off, I emailed our youth sports immediately.

I was so proud. It wasn't even on our list and I was knocking it out!
That lasted for a minute until I received this email response:

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim and Sheila DICKEY [mailto:jsdickey7@hotmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2014 3:28 PM
To: MUTCH, JESSICA A NF-02 USAF USAFE 86 FSS/FSFY
Subject: RE: Baseball season information

We have our boys registered for baseball, but just received retirement orders. We leave April 25th-ish, so we are going to miss most of the season. Any chance we can get a refund and give someone else their slots?

Caden & Coleman Dickey (both 9-10 yo)

Thanks,
Sheila Dickey

My response from youth sports:

Your husband already came in to get his refund.

Thank you,

Jessica Mutch
Ramstein Youth Sports Assistant
480-5660
Any one that I have to try to keep up with is a keeper. I'm reminded even amongst the stress and emotion right now that there is no one in this entire universe more suited for me.

I love this man.

there's no place like H O M E

You would think having not blogged for almost two solid months things were boring around our house.

Nothing could be further from the truth.
With work and school and kids and basketball- our days have been full.

In fact, things are about to get a little more exciting.
I'm not sure even we will be able to handle it.

The bottom line: we are going home.

The Air Force {US government} is doing this whole re-shaping thing right now cutting back the military. We don't get it, we just know it's going on.

In January, an email was sent out offering an early retirement to those who qualify. We fit in the time frame that they offered with Jim hitting 19 years of service this July.

We talked about it {for about an hour} and decided to go for it.

More than anything, we are tired. We are ready to be settled. We are ready to be back in our house. We are really ready to be close to Justin and closer to family. We are ready to get Ty in college in the states.

Jim immediately submitted his packet and we have been in limbo for three months. That might not seem like long but it is when you are trying to plan your life, or even the next six months.

Last week, an article came out in the Air Force Times that all early-retirement decisions were being put on hold. More people are trying to get out than they planned on. We thought for sure that our chances were slim to none.

In fact, Wednesday night we started talking about a job in Georgia. It was actually sounding like a good plan. A path we might follow.

Thursday {March 13} around noon, Jim received his retirement orders. Not just the approval but actual orders straight from the Secretary of the Air Force. As of July 31st, his commitment to the United States Air Force is served and he is released.

He messaged me to call him immediately- we are OUT.

When he arrived home around 5:00, he let me know he had packers scheduled April 4th and 6th, taking everything on April 7th.

Just over three weeks and our lives are being packed up. Who does that?

The details will work themselves out. They always do. My non-procrastinating husband {a personality trait I actually love} reminds me daily that this is what we do.

We work well together under pressure.
We work well together.
We will be fine in spite of the stress of the next three weeks.

It will not be easy saying our goodbyes here. We have the most cherished friendships and memories that we will treasure forever.

Friendships that we would never have made had we not left Kansas. With plans of returning to Kansas, we are actually overjoyed. If I could fast forward the next three weeks, we would. I might just have to stop substitute teaching this week- I'm not sure there is time to work!

We can't wait to get back in our house with the boys' hand prints in concrete behind our shop.
We can't wait to get our business back up and running full speed- we are bursting with ideas and plans.

We can't wait to get settled and pick up where we left off.
There's no place like home- especially when Kansas is home!

wonderful, but not P E R F E C T

We are still trying to wrap our brains around all that we were fortunate enough to experience in Rome.

It was beyond incredible. That does not mean everything was perfect.
Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful.

I had that quote up in our home for a while. I forgot how much I loved it- I might have to put it back up somewhere.

For this anniversary trip, we started planning in October. Not crazy itinerary planning, but we found our tickets on RyanAir and committed to making the trip happen.

our incredible view of the Alps en route to Roma

If you are going to live in Europe, it is critical that you know about RyanAir.

RyanAir is a discount airlines. Cheap, cheap, cheap if you watch flights and have an open mind.

They fly out of Frankfurt-Hahn, a small {crummy} airport in the middle of the hills about an hour from our house.

The way they make money is in the fees. If you know this, you can easily avoid paying extra and experience really cheap travel to so many destinations in Europe.

There are also no assigned seats, so people get a little crazy rushing to board each flight. If you know this and go with the flow realizing the whole time it was so cheap- you are fine.

I'm still working on not getting worked up as these pushy Europeans cut in line- makes me CRAZY!

welcome to Roma

For us, we look at the days we want to travel, then see what destinations are cheap.

We had a few places we wanted to visit, Rome happened to be super cheap the week we could travel. Plus, it has been super high on our list.

With our tickets just 10 Euro each way {that's about $14 USD), plus airport fees and taxes we were able to both fly round trip to Rome for a grand total of $100. T O T A L.

Everyone knows if you check a bag, you pay. We pack light and carry it on.
If you want a coke, or bottle of water, you pay. We bring ours with us.

There are no warm washcloths to wash your face or hands.
Pockets in the seats in front of you do not exist.
There definitely are no movies.

For an hour and a half flight and a two-night, three day trip- RyanAir is the way to go.

As we parked in the parking lot and started to unload, we realized we had forgotten our backpack. Seriously? We have never forgotten a whole backpack.

We could live without the Italy book and itinerary I had put together and printed.
We could survive without the snacks we had packed.

our weather was perfect... this was on our return to the airport as the rain started

Our camera has video option, so it was no big deal that the camcorder was in there as well.

But, the one thing we really needed was the envelope that had all of the paperwork to go with our flight including our boarding passes. Yes, re-printing boarding passes is yet another way RyanAir makes money.
Once we realized we still had passports and could actually fly, we had to suck it up and pay for them to print boarding passes.

The grand total for two new pieces of paper to get on the flight: 30 Euro.

That's 15 Euro each, or $40.75 for them both. Boarding passes that cost more than the initial tickets.


I'm pretty sure on any flight we go on for the rest of our lives, we will never forget the backpack.

Kicking ourselves, we tried to move on and were fine until we realized everything else was in that folder including our hotel address, public transportation instructions {how to get from the airport to the bus to the metro line to walk}, and all addresses and phone numbers.

I had spent a lot of time planning this trip out and making sure everything was printed. Now, we were on our own with only our memory to rely on.

Walking a few circles around the underground Metro, we finally figured out which line to take. Fortunately, Rome's Metro is quite simple with just two lines- one red and one blue. It took me longer to recall which stop we were to get off at, but we did it!

Our first impressions of Roma... blue skies and perfect weather.

We bought our tickets and squished out way onto the crazy filthy Metro to our stop: Ottaviano- S. Pietro. How could I forget a name like that?

We got off avoiding all pick-pocketing, walked up the stairs and tried to get our GPS to work. By this point, we realized the hotel address was on Jim's leave paperwork in his wallet. Trouble was, our GPS never got past the searching for satellites screen. Ugh.

We just started walking and lucky for us- ran straight into the road. As we turned on the street, the hotel was right there. What a relief.

Not perfect, but we were ok and on our way- kinda.

Next, the hotel let us know that they did not have water {slight problem} and had rebooked us to another hotel. After several attempts at finding the USO office just around the corner from the hotel, we showed our IDs and were let in the door.

With this super small sticker on the door, I'm not sure how we missed it.

What a blessing the USO is to military members around the world. They are there to help with anything and a cold bottle of water and place to sit down was as welcomed to us as anything at that point.

With free WiFi, we tried to re-print our boarding passes to avoid the fees on our return. Hotmail noticed that we were in an unusual location and would not let us in without the code they emailed to my A Simple Impression email address.

I have not worked or used that email address in 3 1/2 years and could not even remember how to get to the site. At this point, I remember feeling that I was tired of thinking. We were on overload.

We decided to figure out the Internet thing later {Ty came to our rescue} and were on our way by foot to our new hotel. 

Only one or two wrong turns and we made it to Hotel Consoli.

Upgraded from a 3-star to a 4-star hotel at the same price, we checked in, took a deep breath and headed out for our first afternoon in Vatican City. We had sights to see and were on a mission. No rest for the weary on this trip.

Definitely not a perfect start, but a start to a wonderful trip.
Welcome to Roma.

an A B U N D A N C E of home

It has been an abundant two weeks for us.
Every part of the definition is applicable.

a·bun·dance  (-bndns)n.

1. A great or plentiful amount.

2. Fullness to overflowing

3. Affluence; wealth.

 

To have an abundance of something is to have more than you need. 

Abundance is the opposite of scarcity. 

{plenty, heap, bounty, exuberance, profusion, plethora, affluence, fullness, opulence, plentitude, fruitfulness, copiousness, ampleness, cornucopia, plenteousness, plentifulness}

An abundance of noise. 

An abundance of laundry. 

An abundance of food. 

An abundance of dishes.

An abundance of messes. 

An abundance of wrestling. 

An abundance of brotherly love.

An abundance of craziness.

An abundance of happiness. 

An abundance of home. 

Justin asked that we not plan any trips over the Christmas break.

He wanted to be home. He wanted to chill. 

It has been just that and could not have been much more perfect. 

Working out {for the boys}, eating, movies and time together.

We were reminded again {click here for my post from last Christmas} with a visit from our Oma across the street how blessed we are. She reminded me again that I have everything. 

She does not want to come in past the front door.
She won't come for a meal as I have invited her many, many times.

She does not want to be a burden. 

She also lights up seeing her boys and her dog.

We broke the news to her that this is our last German Christmas, our time overseas is winding down. She looked at us with disbelief and tears filled up in her eyes. 

I told her I will write to her. She does not know it yet, but I will keep true to my word.

Yes, we have an abundance.

RHS no. 2 S E E B E C K

Today is a special day and one that I know will be memorable.

This evening, we are retiring Josie's Ramstein High School soccer jersey and the number two- the number she wore on her back while standing out as one of the best {if not the best ever} girls soccer players in DoDDs Europe.

It's been just more than two months since a tragic car accident took her life.

This week, my friend {her mom} and the oldest of her sisters made the trip to Germany from Texas to be a part of the unveiling and presentation of her retired jersey and introduction of the Josie Seebeck Scholarship.

Her high school coach has done so much preparing to make sure everything is just right.
I know it will be beautiful.

It has been wonderful to have her mom here. To talk about life, but mostly to talk about Josie Ann- the beautiful girl who touched so many of us so deeply.

We have laughed.
We have cried.
We have talked.
We have shopped.
I have loved having her here- it has been a gift.

Not a day goes by that something big or small doesn't remind me of Josie and her zest for life.
She packed so much punch into such a short life. She continues to inspire us all.

crazy busy T I M E

I'll eventually {maybe} finish telling about Italy, Sweden, Poland and other trips we have taken in the last six months. This week, I'm going to work my hardest to document a crazy busy last two weeks.

The timing could not have been more perfect for my mom and her dear friend, Marine to come to Germany for a visit. She is now known as my Tante {aunt}- it was just easier to introduce her to people this way. She is family.

It was planned kind of last minute for them to come stay with me and help while Jim has been in Alabama for his seven-week academy.

What I did not know is how much I really needed them. I like to think that I am quite self-sufficient and independent. I can usually hold things together.
Not perfectly, but I usually do ok.

With what we have gone through this last month, our world has been rocked.

I have been shaken to the core.
The tears flow more easily than they have my entire life.

Knowing how difficult this has been on me, I can not even imagine the anguish and pain my dear friend is experiencing having lost her daughter.

I was supposed to start work two weeks ago today. Working as a sub last year in the elementary school, I was placed from February until the end of the year in one of our special-education preschool classes.

I absolutely fell in love with the little ones and was hired to work a permanent full time position this year.

I was super excited. Super excited up until the happenings of this last month caused me to re-evaluate priorities.

After planning and making it through Josie's Memorial Run, I asked to be put back on the substitute list and gave up my job.

I need the flexibility. I need to go see Justin play in Kansas. I need to be here for my family.

I really needed time to recuperate.

Grateful for an amazing staff at school, I was shown so much compassion and open arms assuring me that it was fine for me to substitute and take some time off now.

It was an immediate weight lifted from my shoulders at a time that I was quite depleted.

This time off also enabled us to travel quite a bit, laugh, play, work, cry and enjoy the time together.

Oh, what an adventure it was...

First up: Our Rustic Cabin

J O S I E ann

My heart is in Texas tonight. And, tomorrow. And, for a long time.

Justin is en route with his good friend, Jon who drove down from Chicago to pick him up.

He told me they would laugh along the way. I really hope they do. And, Jon has been told to make Justin eat.

They have lots of mamas there who are waiting to hold them and hug them and comfort them.

This brings me some peace. It's still very painful.

I know she is good and she did what she needed to do here on Earth, but it doesn't take away the pain that she is gone. As upset as I have been, I can not imagine what my dear friend is feeling. Or, her sweet sisters. Or, the rest of her family.

Gone too young.

Oh, I love her.

time with my children is P R E C I O U S

I found this magazine article years ago.

 

Slipped in the front sheet protector of my binder of go-to recipes, I usually read through it when I am planning meals.

 

8 Resolutions Every Mom Should Make

 

I am inspired by them all, but as I opened my recipe book over the weekend, my eyes were immediately drawn to resolution number eight. 

 

I will remind myself daily that time with my children is precious.

 

This last weekend, we received the devastating news that as a result of a car accident, Justin's girlfriend from high school is now gone. Last fall, as he chose to go to Kansas to play football, she went to Central Michigan University to play soccer.

 

The accident was Friday. She passed away Sunday night.

 

As I had to tell Coleman and Caden the news, I simply started by saying, "Josie was in a car accident." Caden's face dropped and he immediately asked, "Did she break her arm?" I think like most the thought would never run through his mind that she is no longer alive. 

 

Thoughts immediately ran through my head that she was a tough, strong, healthy, young gal who would make it. She's a fighter and determined. I think for me, that made it even more unbelievable to think of her not making it.

As soon as she passed, my friend Amy's words were posted on Facebook:

 

 

Josephine passed away tonight 11:30pm. We are all at peace. She is donating organs . We will know funeral arrangements in a few days. Only rule: wear bright colors!

I love you all and this has been an amazing journey with Jo. I will miss her so much but Pete and I are very much at peace. We have had some amazing insights into who our daughter was. I can't wait to share everything with you all.

 

Even having gone their separate ways almost a year ago, we have all been greatly affected and shaken- especially Justin as he is already struggling with long days of conditioning and two-a-days at football.

 

You never expect this to happen to someone you know.

 

As much as I have cried uncontrollably this weekend, I have also had some strong feelings as I have thought about her continually which have brought a tiny bit of peace.

It's hard to find a picture of Josie that she is not smiling- she was so happy.  

 

Family is everything. She was the oldest of five girls. Four girls now are really missing their big sister. Two are between Ty and Coleman, one is Coleman's age and one just older than Caden.

 

How we treat others is huge. The outpouring and comments of love on her Facebook page and in articles is beyond touching.

 

She saw and did more things in her short time here than most people do in a lifetime.

 

They are working on funeral arrangements now. Along with her soccer coach here in Germany and another friend, we are putting together a service/reception next week and a memorial run/birthday party in two weeks.

 

Usually one to like to simplify things, I had the feeling today that we need to go BIG.

 

Huge.

 

Her soccer coach had the idea to take donations and start a Josie student-athlete scholarship fund given to a Ramstein High School student who shows the character that she displayed. 

 

No doubt, t is going to be a long week. I also think it will help those of us here to focus on the positive and feel some peace.

 

The number of lives that she impacted is growing by the minute.

 

Josie is fine. She's done her work and I have no doubt passed her test of life with flying colors, just as she passed every other test here.

 

The calls, texts, messages and understanding friends, coaches {past and present}, family and especially Justin's sweet, patient, sensitive Ashten have meant the world.

 

I will remind myself daily that time with my children is precious.

 

a day in the life of a T O U G H guy

It was just another day in the life of Caden.
Without a doubt, he is our little tough guy. We are constantly reminded of this truth.

Here were some stitches and another crash and a little {major} fracture here. A few more tears and blood are here. Have I made my point?

We knew when he was two and we made our first trip to the ER {when he split open his nose} that there were many more ER trips in his future.

Yesterday was another one of those trips.

We had just arrived at the swimming pool. Mieseau- our favorite outdoor pool. Within fifteen minutes of arriving at the pool, I looked up to see Caden in Ty's arms covered in blood.

He and Ty went down the slide at the same time. Caden said he was on his knee and with a little extra push from Ty, we think he flipped over and hit his mouth on the slide.

Ty said even with the water, crowd and kids everywhere he heard the bang and knew that he was hurt.

There were little pieces of the red fiberglass from the slide on Caden's neck and towel from the crash.

Seriously, he took chunks out of the slide. What seven-year-old does that?

I jumped up off my towel and in an attempt to remain calm started wiping the blood off to see where the source was. I realized it was his mouth, but was not prepared for how gruesome it would look. This photo is with all of the blood wiped up.... much better looking.
He said he hit his tooth on the slide. As soon as he made it down the slide, he looked over at Ty and said, "Ty, my tooth."
He definitely hurt both front teeth. Both front permanent teeth.

At a glance {without looking too closely since I had to hold it together and figure out how to get to the hospital from where we were}, his right tooth looked as though he chipped about half of it at a diagonal angle.

His left tooth looked gone and the hole where the tooth was seemed huge. The amount of blood coming out was huge.

I told the other kids to gather their things and head to the car. Ty was amazing and carried Caden.

I ran to the German lifeguards to ask for some ice. Even speaking in German, they thought I was CRAZY. There is little to no ice in Germany. Not for your drink, not for an injury.

I finally got them to give me a plastic bag and luckily had ice in our cooler to make an ice pack.

After finding the address in the GPS, we were on our way- just 15 minutes to Landstuhl and the ER. En route, I had Ty texting Jim to have him meet us there.

I had our friend texting her mom to meet us there as well {she took the other kids home and Ty to work later}. I knew we would be a while.

Both Jim and Heidi were at there shortly after we arrived. Luckily, Jim was in a class and he had arrived home from work as soon as Ty called.

We are reminded once again {especially being here in Germany} how important our good friends are to us. We are so grateful.

After a while at the ER with the doctor not sure what to do, it was decided we would go to the dental clinic.

They gave him some Tylenol and Motrin and we were on our way.

I am so grateful we happen to know one of the doctors in the dental clinic. She worked on Justin and Ty's teeth. Her husband coached them both in football.

It's not often that I use the phone-a-friend card, but we wanted to make sure there would be someone in the clinic.

The ER doctor told us they couldn't get anyone to answer the phone at the dental clinic which worried us. Little did we know- we was calling the on-call phone at 3:00 in the afternoon instead of calling the clinic DIRECTLY since it was open. Ugh.

As we left the emergency room, I received a comforting call on my cell that our friend had called the dental clinic doctor and let them know we were on our way.

She also gave the general dentist a head's up that he needed to keep the oral surgeon and pediatric dentist there so they could check him out as well.

Just knowing she and her husband both took the time out to make the calls for us meant a lot and calmed my nerves.

As soon as we arrived {a 15-minute drive from the ER}, they were ready for him. The pediatric dentist was the first to open his mouth and knew immediately that his tooth was still there. Jammed and twisted, it wasn't knocked out.

The body is amazing.

The doctors agreed that this was a good injury. Caden would be alright. In time, they expect his tooth to come down and straighten itself out. His gums should close up as well. At the worst, they think he might need a little orthodontic help on that one tooth to straighten it out.

They spent a while covering up the cracked tooth to seal the nerve and reduce his pain. We will have to get that tooth fixed as well.

As if we were not amazed enough- the most amazing part of the whole experience was Caden.

He did not shed a single tear. No crying what-so-ever.

When they asked his pain level on a 1-10 scale, he said about a 3. Of course, he was clinching his fists and grimacing as the van hit each bump on the way to the hospital.

Then, he told them when he fractured his jaw the pain was about a 4. We decided his pain scale is a 1-5 instead of a 1-10.

The doctors {all 4 that he saw} were beyond AMAZED at our little tough guy.
We heard no fewer than a dozen times how shocked they were with him holding himself together.

We are excited to see how long this little tooth takes to drop back down.

B R A T W U R S T from our oma

I was taught a great lesson this week. I would like to think I knew how blessed we are.
As a family, we were reminded again of how rich we truly are.

It was Christmas eve, we had eaten dinner and were watching a movie as a family. Everyone was getting along {not always the case}.

The fire was hot. The tree was lit along with candles throughout our living room. Our bellies were full.

Everyone was content just spending time together.

Everyone was excited for Christmas morning.
The doorbell rang. It rang a few times. I assumed it had to be friends with a small child pushing the button over and over and over.

To our surprise, it was our Oma from across the street.

Her hands were full. Her heart was full as well.

She had candy for the boys, bratwurst for Jim and a flowering plant for me. She explained how to spread the bratwurst on bread or crackers. She thanked Jim and Caden over and over for shoveling her walkway after the last snow.

As she handed it to me she this Azelea {wrapped with foil on the bottom to hold the water from running out of the plastic planting pot}, said something I will never forget.

"Chai-LA {how she says Sheila} I don't know what to get you. You have everything."

Her eyes filled with tears and she started to cry.

She is a very lonley lady.
Her health is poor. She has very little.

To her, we do have everything. We are a family.
I couldn't agree more.

a S L O W E R pace

It's been busy lately.

I think I might possibly have overused this short sentence in the last couple of years. As I look back on the last couple of months, we truly have been running all over the place.

It has been too busy.
I'm tired of busyness.

Caden has had soccer- that has been two nights each week.

Coleman has had swimming lessons one night and baseball one day each week.

Ty has had football every single night with games on Saturdays.

Even being seventeen, he doesn't drive which means picking him up every single day.

Jim is plugging along on his Master's Degree with two intense classes this semester.
They have required a lot of time. Too much time.

I've been the fall coordinator for our Imbiss {German word for our high school concession stand} which has been a big job on Saturday home games.

I started working three weeks ago as a substitute teacher at the elementary school.

and...

As a captain's mom I was in charge planning and executing our huge end-of-the season football banquet.

I tried to delegate to the other moms, but for some reason, I still ended up taking on the bulk of it.

I did it for Ty and for no other reason.

The banquet was last night.

We had 214 guests.
It turned out really nice.

Twenty {20} seniors which means 20 senior gifts.
Seventeen {17} coaches and supporting staff gifts.

Decorations.

Coordinating the location/menu/time/publicity.

I'm exhausted.

One of the academic coaches who I adore came up to me and said I need to stick around next year to help. Then she joked that they could hire me as the party planner. I laughed.

NO way.
The tradition is for captains to get up, present gifts and give quick speeches.

Last year, Justin was among the shy boys who didn't want to talk. It was painful.

This year, Ty was maybe too comfortable in front of the crowd. He did a great job and had no problem talking.

He also got an academic award {which he should have} but, we're proud of him. 
Today, I'm very happy.

Soccer is over.
Football is over.
Imbiss volunteering is over.
Coleman will finish this session of swimming up in a couple weeks. We intentionally did not sign the little guys up for basketball so we could take the winter off.

One day of baseball- I can handle it.

I'm excited to cook more. I'm excited to have a hot fire in the fireplace ready when the boys come home from school and Jim comes home from work since we won't have to go anywhere.

I'm excited for a slower pace.

a kid's L I F E

While sipping his bedtime tea with warm blankets having just finished reading bedtime stories, Coleman announced just moments ago,

"Dad, just to tell you. A kid's life is much harder than an adult's."

Wow.
Did he really just say that?
This kid?
I'm thinking maybe once he gets to college, he'll think differently. Maybe.

F R E S H is fabulous

Justin's now on two-a-days practicing in the triple-digit heat of Kansas. He was prepared to work hard, but I'm not sure he was prepared for the competition. They're definitely in a pressure cooker.

Yesterday, he messaged that there are 55 spots for the game roster and 125 kids trying out. He also said, "Thanks for the support cause I really need it right now."

Our messages back have been to sleep, eat, DRINK, DRINK, DRINK and stay strong.
I'm trying to stay calm. Feels like I'm at camp too- it's been an exhausting week.

I thought today I'd switch my thinking and focus back to our trip to southern France.

Markets are popular in Europe.

France is no exception.

In our week there, we were able to catch a couple of them. 

The fresh farmer's market was amazing- perhaps our favorite. You had your pick of fresh meats, fish, fruits and vegetables all on one square.

As a port village, seafood is especially popular specifically the mussels and oysters. If we knew how to cook them, we would have bought them.

Instead, we focused on the amazing fruits and vegetables. We were not disappointed.  We first hit found the cantaloupe and artichoke guy.

 He tossed the melons to pick the best. His baby artichokes were 10 for 1 euro, or about $1.25. Delicious.

With stands all around, Jim happened upon a small corner inside with an old farmer and his produce. He bought a couple nectarines and a huge tomato.

Jim made the comment the old man knew how to garden- his stuff would be good.

We ran home, sliced open one of his white nectarines and are convinced it will likely be the best nectarine we will ever eat.

our favorite old man in France with the best fruit- hand's down

I don't think I've ever tasted a more perfect fruit. Love at first bite.

Of course, we ran back down before he closed up to grab up some more. He smiled when he saw us. Jim picked out another bag of nectarines and we tried our best to let him know how fabulous they were.

Merci, Merci, Merci is about all I know how to say.

As we paid our one or two dollars {or whatever insanely low price it was}, Jim told him {with hand-signal mixed with English, or course} to keep the change.

The change amounting to maybe 40 or 50 cents- very, very little.

The old man didn't know what to do as he tried to hand it back to Jim and Jim tried to let him know to keep it. In a little scurry, he reached over and grabbed two more peaches and handed them to us. It was very sweet. 

As we were leaving Marseillan, the market was open once again so we had to peek in and visit our favorite grower.

His eyes lit up as he saw Jim and he reached over to shake his hand, then mine.

We let him pick out a bag of peaches for us, then he showed Jim how to pick the sweetest cantaloupes.

As others had fancy registers and a little more modern technology, he had none of that.

With only his scale and a broken-off piece of chalk, he wrote out and added up the amounts of our purchase on the corner of his little plywood stand.

Shaking, his hands were huge and fingers almost as wide as two of Jim's showing a life of hard manual labor.

This time, as Jim paid- he looked around for someone to find with change. Jim let him know to keep it. Only a few dollars, he was obviously touched. Best money we spent all week.

With a complete language barrier- not understanding a word of what he said, I mostly watched the old man's eyes as he worked with Jim.

As he accepted our payment, his eyes filled up to the brim with tears.  

As Jim spoke in English and the old man in French, they seemed to understand each other. 

Sounds silly as we were just buying fruit, but for some reason- it was a little more than that.

G O O D B Y E S

Tomorrow, we will take Justin to the airport as we send him off to college.

Dear friends are picking him up on the other end, so I know he'll be in good hands. It still doesn't make it much easier as I seem to cry even at the thought of him being so far away. I'm struggling.

I know he's responsible. I know he's ready for the world. I know he'll have fun.
I also know our family just won't be the same without him here.

It's going to be an especially rough day as we are finally forced to see him off.

I'm not sure how much more I can handle right now. This month has been especially rough.

It's hit me this last couple of weeks that I don't do good-byes very well. I just can't hold back the tears. 

My face turns completely red and I have the super ugly crying face. Then, there's the headache that comes from all that crying. And the lack of motivation for a little while.

It's kind of horrible. Really horrible.

It's been difficult to see everyone leave- we have met some amazing families here. A few departures have been especially painful. Jim's boss and his family left two weeks ago as another wave of friends left.

We've had so much fun together.

The latest to leave are Justin's girlfriend Josie and her family.

With teenagers together for more than a year, Amy and I became really close as well as we've learned the ropes of parenting teenagers on a whole new level. We will miss them.
Josie is going to college in Michigan, their family is now stationed in Texas.

I'm sure we'll see them again, but it didn't make the good-bye any easier.

I've talked way too much about how rough our start in Germany was. In January, I made it a goal to let go of the negative and focus on the positive.

I'm sure I've slipped up, but I've really been making the effort.

I've complained about everything Oberstaufenbach {the village where our first house was in Germany}, but failed to focus on the one good thing to come from our move there.

My dear friend, Tricia and her three boys.

I know deep in my heart even as hard as it was dealing with German utility bills, pink walls, nasty {oops, I let out another negative} Russian landlords, living on the Hauptstrasse, no yard, our easy-bake oven, RV-size sinks and lots of mold- we were meant to make our first stop in O-town.

I'm now convinced it was in the plan for our little family.

We got into our house the first of December which made for that super rough first Christmas I vowed to try to erase from the boys' {and our} minds.

As hard as I struggled to stay positive and hold the boys close- it wasn't fun.

Once January rolled around and the boys were back in school, Justin brought Steven over.

I think they met at the bus stop. He happened to be Justin's age and played sports.

Both boys let me know I needed to meet their mom- I'd like her and they could see me becoming friends with her. Looking back, I'm sure they were as worried about me as I was about them. We were all trying to move on in spite of grieving our move from Kansas.

Shortly after, they invited Justin and Ty up to their house for a Super Bowl party. I ran up to drop some cookies up and meet the mom just to make sure things were ok.

Little did I know how close I'd get to her in just under a year and a half. I'd soon come to find out she's one of the most dynamic women I've ever met. With boys the same ages, we've gone through so much together this last year.
Football season, basketball season, homecoming, proms, a couple trips, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New's Years together, graduation and college just around the corner for our oldest.

She's also been a huge motivator in my life to get back in shape with countless hikes, walks, work-outs, and talks.

She introduced me to yoga, clean eating, and other dear friends I now treasure.She's been that friend that rarely a week goes by without seeing at least a few times.

Her departure was a rough day as we {in her words} "ripped the band-aid off" and said our "see-you-laters" as she moved to Colorado.
I knew it would be hard, but didn't realize it would be this hard.

I love her dearly and already miss her terribly.

New friends are one of the best things about being in the military.
Moving and having friends move is one of the worst parts of being in the military.

fresh out of W A F F L E S

Stuck in a traffic jam of people, we saw what we wanted to see and turned to head out of the market and back to our van.

The lights were on and there was a beautiful little band on the corner playing music.

As we first arrived, Jim saw huge waffles that looked yummy.

He even passed up a crepe for the waffle he was going to be endulging in later.

Fluffy, hot waffles- fresh fruit and a huge dollop of whipped cream on top. Delicious.

He wanted to find his brat first, so as we headed back we stopped by the waffle stand on our way out.

After Stacey {our friend} and Jim made their way to the end of the line it was waiting, waiting, waiting. I think we waited at least thirty minutes. Probably longer.

All for a waffle. As Jim was the next in line, he ordered his waffle only to be told they were fresh out of waffles.

What a shame. He was a bit upset. Jim says, "When Germans are done, they're done. Plus, they are too slow." Life lesson I took from it- eat dessert first. Always a good idea in my opinion.

feeling R E F L E C T I V E

I think the boys are {maybe} over being mad at us. Maybe. It's been a long year, but it feels like we're finally getting in a groove and finding our place here in Europe. We've tried to keep a positive outlook from day one, but it's taken a while to truly feel happy over here.

Today, I feel like we're there.

Friends have helped immensely. Friends for the boys and friends for us. As a mom, my first concern is always for the boys to meet and make good, solid friends. In high school and in elementary- I think it's huge.

I love that I'm friends with the parents of the boys our boys hang out with.

Meeting people and making friends has never been too difficult for me. I've never been tagged as a shy girl. I can usually fit in with a variety of personalities. Moving here has reminded me of the importance of good friends.

The isolation and distance from family and friends in the states has caused me to really reflect and appreciate those I'm getting to know more than I ever have. I've met and learned {already} from some really strong, wonderful women here who I already consider friends for life.

Right now, I find at this stage in my life I am relying on friends- both new friends here and those at home than I probably ever have in my life.

When we found out we were moving with just three months notice, we felt so much regret with regard to our friends. We love our KS friends and only then did we realize how often we were too busy working or caught up in other things that we didn't take the time to enjoy our friendships.

When we did get together, we had a great time. We were only sad we didn't spend more time together. What a life lesson for us.

It's all about priorities yet, enjoying and living life with meaning.

a little too F A S T

So, dinner last night was a little stressful for Justin and I. Jim got an email at work yesterday asking if KL... was a license plate on one of our vehicles. He called me and asked. I checked the van- yep, it's us.
Someone driving the van back in August, was clocked speeding somewhere here in Germany. It was highway B270 or something like that which still means nothing to me. They could have said the street name and I still wouldn't have known where it was or if it was me even if it was ten minutes from our house.

He had an appointment this morning with the security guy to see the video/photo of who it was. Last night, all we could do was speculate.

Jim figured it wasn't him. Of course not- he doesn't speed that often. Plus, it's very likely he was at work. That left Justin or I. Hmmm. I immediately said I thought it was me. I have been known to have a lead foot- right, dad? But, Justin can drive fast, too.

For me, it's been more than ten years since my last speeding ticket. Back then, I was going over 90 in something like a 65 or 70 zone, so it was legit. In my opinion, I've slowed way down. That is until I get on the Autobahn- then all rules are off. Love it.

Justin acted a little nervous. I'm sure he was just hopeful it was me. Well, it was. Jim made his appointment this morning and said I was right there on the video- sunglasses and all. Now, we get to wait to see what price I get to pay.

I think he said it was something like 10 km over the speed limit which is a violation for like 5 or 6 miles per hour too fast. They don't mess around here. Guess, I'll slow down. Or, maybe I'll tell Justin it was him so he slows down. Nah, that would be mean. But, I could probably get away with it.

rough T I M E

It's been a rough couple days for my boys. It's also Homecoming week.
Wednesday evening, a Ramstein High School senior was killed in a one-car accident.

It wasn't late {6:45}, it wasn't even on the Autobahn. He played football last year. Justin had a couple classes with him last year. Ty had Psychology with him this year and just realized he sat diagonally from him. His dad is one of the football coaches.

While neither of my boys knew him very well, both are definitely shaken up- Justin especially.

Right before we moved to Mulvane, there was a tragic car accident there as well- two football players were killed. One of them, a football coach's son. It made a huge impact on the community and also the football program- which is a family in Mulvane.

The death this week has brought back thoughts of Mulvane {Sam Keys and Kyle Adams} for Justin.

For me, it's a reminder of how important every day is. This month, a cousin of mine died as well. He was so young- just a couple years older than me. He had kids, parents, sisters, a brother. He was too young. While I didn't grow up close to him and didn't know him well- my heart is so sad. Sad.

Children aren't supposed to die before their parents. I can't imagine the grief and shock these parents, or any parents who loose a child go through. I hope I never have to experience it- I can't imagine anything more difficult.

Even with the belief of life after death and belief in God- I feel that death is never easy. Never. Not when it's close, not even when it's a distant association.

The pep assembly was cancelled at school. The homecoming football game tomorrow is going to be rough. I'm sure the tears will be flowing.

For today, I'll hold my kids a little tighter. A little closer.

not Q U I T E as planned

Slow train, super fast ICE train, bad subway, public bus, airport shuttle, nice RER city train, PLANE and taxi. We did it all this week. We had our train tickets purchased to return home this morning all together.

Jim finished up with his last plane last night, so we were set to leave this morning first thing.

Sunday evening, one of the crew members told Jim that we could all just jump back on a plane with him instead of the train.

One hour- straight to Ramstein, I jumped at the chance. Not that I didn't want to come home with my husband... but, with four kids and lots of luggage, this was much simpler. Plus, we could get home two days earlier. No one resisted.

We were supposed to leave around 12:00, but ended up having a L O N G delay, sitting in the sun and a super hot, broken-down chalet at the airport for hours and hours waiting for the plane to get loaded and ready to go. The boys did fairly well in spite of another day going not quite as planned.

I think that's kind of a theme for this whole Paris trip.
M E M O R I E S : not quite as planned

Oh, we were sooooo hot! This was on the taxi- the next-to-last leg of our trip home.