watchin' our corn pop up in rows...

It's been six months and a week that we have been back in the US.

Sure wish we would have had warning as to how tough it was going to be. I think we were so excited about getting back to our home we overlooked the fact that this would be a huge transition for us.

I have heard friends talk about how hard moving to retirement is, I just assumed we would breeze through. Boy, was I wrong!

What could be so hard about moving back? It is Kansas after all. I figured after moving to Germany- back to KS would be so simple.

Jim started a new job yesterday and though we are still struggling to get in a routine, I think we have to be through the worst of it!

The job-hiring process is brutal especially for a guy who has not ever had to go through it. This is not his dream job, but a really great offer with lots of room to move up. He is now in management at Johnson Controls in Wichita.

A few things I have learned in the last six months...

Most things in life take time. Patience.
Before we moved, our business was thriving with a demand that I could not keep up with. Even after working 10+ hours a day usually seven days a week {with Jim working weekends as well}, I was still turning away work. Putting it on hold for four years, I knew I needed time to get it up and re-launched.

It has been slow to kick in which is ok, but not when the bills are kicking in too.

Our family is incredible.
Without the support of our family, this transition would have been so much more difficult. There's no way we could have done it. Just being in the same time zone {for starters} has been really quite wonderful. We feel so blessed.

Our boys are our world.
Being able to see all four of them thrive right now is such a wonderful sight. Caden's teacher said it is as if he has always been in Mulvane- not the typical new kid trying to figure things out. Coleman has made so many friends as well. Their biggest complaint is riding the bus {which picks them up at 6:30...yikes}.

Caden just finished his football season and both started basketball this week.

We are not sure how the grades are going but Ty is having a blast at Wichita State already. He has moved into a fraternity house {with a GPA standard in order to live there}, declared engineering as his major and playing intermural volleyball.

It's only 30 minutes up the road, but he's able to do his own thing. It is nice to see him getting involved and having fun.

Along with the above mentioned positives, being able to see Justin almost every weekend has made this retirement and transition worth every fight and tear.

We have put some miles and long hours between here and Arkansas, but we have loved every single weekend.

His team is doing well {4-1 in conference} putting on some of the most exciting football you can find.

The family and friends who have supported him going to and watching games has been incredible- thank you!

A strong marriage makes it through the ups and downs.
While this has been the toughest time of our entire marriage, there is no one in this world that I would rather have by my side. I still feel so lucky every single day to not only have found the love of my life but to be so in love.

One day at a time is best.
That's what we are trying to do. Some days, it's just making it through.

Most days, it is enjoying and trying to focus on the things that really matter while letting go of the little {petty} things. Things are looking up.

our little W I L D C A T

Caden and Justin both have their games on Saturdays. Caden missed his first game since we had to hit the road for Conway to watch Justin play. He was ok with it, but super excited to be able to play his first game this last weekend.

They had the announcer, real refs, music and cheerleaders.

They lost, but he is in his element. I look at him and think he's waited his whole life for his own games. He's such a little leader. LOVES this game.

S T R E P, seriously?

Coleman just tested positive for strep. Seriously, happens every year. Taking his tonsils out a couple years ago helped but if someone is going to get strep, it's Coleman or Ty.

He's quite content chilling on the couch for a day or two. He looks thrilled above, doesn't he?

Justin's F I R S T day

What a surprise to receive a first-day-of-school picture from our big guy without even asking... I LOVE seeing how they change and grow from year to year!

I love this picture. I love this boy.

He really didn't even have a break after taking classes all summer. Fall football camp is over with his first game in less than two weeks. It is going to be an exciting fall. Especially for this family who is more than excited being back home to watch him play.

C O N W A Y via St. Louis

The timing worked out just right. Our van arrived in St. Louis on Thursday and Justin had to be back to school June 1st- Sunday.

Being that I missed out on being able to take my kid to college, I really wanted to take him back and help him get settled.

Jim's cousin was gracious enough to let us use his truck and Granny lent us her trailer to get our storage {including Whitey} back from Illinois last month. Scheduling our van to be delivered to St. Louis made it perfect for returning both the truck and trailer.

Eight {8} hours from our house to the van. One {1} hour from the van place to Granny's. Six {6} hours from Granny's to Justin's. Six {6} hours from Justin's home.

A grand total of more than twenty {20} hours of driving made for one long weekend.

To get the most out of our weekend, Jim, Justin, Caden and I hit the road shortly after midnight driving straight to get our van first. Ty and Coleman opted to stay home with Lady. Just an hour from Granny's house, we showed up as weary travelers ready for a long nap.

Time with family, a yummy dinner and the boys even got a little fishing in. Twenty-four hours later and we were on the road to Conway, Arkansas to get Justin in an apartment.

We initially thought they had a furnished apartment but found out the day before that they only had unfurnished. It all worked out between Justin and his new roommate they are good to go!

It's a simple apartment in an excellent location right next to campus. All that two guys working and going to school need. They even have a washer and dryer in the unit.

Luxury living, I'd say. After we did a little shopping, I sent Jim, Justin and Caden fishing while I set things up.

Conway is a really beautiful city. We were so impressed. It has anything and more that one would want or need.

Arkansas was a surprise to us as well- super green and lots of lakes. It made for a beautiful drive.

With too or three practices a day and summer school {stats}, Justin's summer break was way too short. However, that drive to Conway is much better than that drive to Frankfurt. I can handle this.

prague and the C Z E C H republic

March was definitely madness in our house. April started out at a fast, furious pace as well.

As I type this, there are five Bavarian men working like crazy.

Screeching rolls of tape, a dialect of German I can not understand and crumpling  packing paper are the sounds that fill the rooms of our emptying house.  

The real packing started the last Tuesday. We were allowed to ship 500 pounds ahead of our household goods shipment.

Towels, sheets, pillows, dishes, scooters and of course, Legos are all en route to KS.

The real fun started this past Friday as the majority of our household items were boxed and snugly placed onto crates headed for Haysville, Kansas.

This afternoon, we will be left with only the dust and mess from almost three years in our Mackenbach home as they plan to finish up and sign off on our shipment in the next few hours.

Great friends have welcomed us into their home for three nights until we can move into temporary housing on base.

Wednesday, we will ship our van. Thursday, we will move on base. We fly out April 22nd.

Opting not to spend the weekend in a half-filled house waiting to be cleaned, we took off Saturday for our last quick trip.

Our destination was the {huge} city of Prague in the Czech Republic. In just twenty four house, we were we able to peek at another beautiful city while checking another country off our list.

Planning to drive and come home in a day, we took the advice of friends and drove the bulk of the trip (four hours) to Grafenwohr, Germany where we stayed in Army Lodging for the night. It was great advice as we did not have to wake up at the crack of dawn and all got a good night’s sleep.

Our plan for Prague did not go quite as anticipated. We are actually just fine with that.

Prague is not a driver-friendly city.

It is also a big city. You have to be careful where you park with gangs and theft a huge problem. We saw several cars with boots attached for those parking illegally. The rules are strict, the language a barrier. We are not big-city people to start with and noted how grateful we were to be on the same track.

On top of those factors, our Coleman was on day two of an ear infection that landed us in the ER between the hours of one and four {am} the night before. On a good day, he’s not thrilled to walk. Today, we decided to not even pick that battle.

Rather than pay more than $30 for safe underground parking to fight kids in a city they did not want to be in, we did what we like to call a drive-by tour. Jim's superior big-city driving skills were put to the test with busses backing up in front of us and trams coming from every direction. 

All in all, we survived.

I think we caught a little of the beauty, but were once again happy to get out of the craziness of another big European city and back into Germany.

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.

no longer a T E E N

We are elated to have our big guy home from college for not only the Christmas break, but his birthday today!
This mama bear is so happy to have all of her cubs in the den for at least a few weeks.

He went straight from the Frankfurt airport to have lunch with Coleman at school, then to make gingerbread houses with Caden and I at the elementary school.

After school, he managed to take the littles to the pool to swim while Ty was on lifeguard duty.

While watching a movie last night, he said, "I'm going to fall asleep in two minutes."
I think he made it another thirty seconds.

You know your kid is getting older when he puts a crock pot on his Christmas list.

Today, he turned twenty.

It is steak and salmon on the grill with cheesecake for his birthday cake.

I think at this point for him, it does not matter what is on the grill.
He is just excited to grill with his dad. I can hardly believe it.

In October, when Ty and I left Justin in Kansas to fly back to Germany I held it together pretty well. The good-byes are always the hardest for this mama.

He hugged me and held me for a minute and reminded me that he would be home soon enough.

He then came over to the car {by this point, I had started crying}and reminded me that he was going to bring a scholarship home with him.

He is going to be a bear.

Last week, he gave his verbal commitment to play D1 football at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas.

Just six hours from Kansas City, the location is close to several bases. We hope to get close to him as we move the end of summer.

Two weeks ago, they flew him to Arkansas for an official visit- putting him up in a Marriott for the night as they showed him around.

Last week as he called the head coach to commit, we got to watch and listen to the excitement on both ends of the phone.

His new head coach said to Justin, "So, you want to be a bear? That is awesome. You just made my day, big guy."

Justin could not stop smiling.

He loved it.

Chick-fil-a in the cafeteria.
Cleats and even practice cleats paid are provided along with practice clothing.
Football laundry will all be done for him, with clean clothes hanging in his locker.
Full-ride scholarship.

It is pure joy as a mom to watch your kids work so hard through the highs and the lows of life to reach their goals.

It is going to be another exciting year for Justin.
We can't wait to watch it unfold.

Right now, he is already at the gym starting his new UCA workout.

É T R E T A T rocks

Happy November!

With less than a year to live in Germany, we are feeling some urgency to check things off our list.

Normandy was a big one.

We feel so blessed to have been able to go while my mom was here in September.

As with every other trip we have taken here, we were not one bit disappointed.

All we were missing was Justin.
In planning any itinerary, I like to see what is around the area we want to visit. For this trip, we decided to first drive north of the beaches of Normandy beginning our trip at a place called Etretat.

Driving from our house to this beach off France was six hours. We hit the road at 4am, arriving just after 10am.

The area between LeHavre and Cherbourg are all of the Normandy beaches.

We started a little north and made our way down the coast going through Caen and Bayeux.

It was so, so beautiful. Even in September. I think we have decided we almost prefer traveling on the off season not just for lower prices but avoiding the crowds is really, really nice.

Parking was easy and there were just a few scattered visitors- just our style.

Really, it was the best possible time to be on the coast of France with our toes in the English Channel.

According to Wikipedia,  Étretat is best known for its cliffs, including three natural arches and the pointed "needle". 

These cliffs and the associated resort beach attracted artists including Eugène Boudin, Gustave Courbet and Claude Monet. Above are a few Monet paintings I found online.

So close to Normandy, we had to go!

The cliffs were definitely impressive.
Even more exciting was the beach with tumbled rocks- each as smooth as if individually polished.

Every single rock- smooth and perfect.

Not a piece of tumbled ocean glass.

Not a single shell.

Simply rocks. Millions and millions of rocks.

As with every other body of water {large or small}, we had to keep Coleman at bay.
He is a  magnet for water- it does not matter how cold it is.

If he had a swimsuit on, he would have taken a swim with the elderly couple we watched jump in.
Crazy Europeans.

I'm not sure there anywhere in this world more peaceful and calming than on the shores of a beach. Any beach.

The smells.
The sounds.

The view.

A smile this big on the face of our little teddy bear makes a mama so happy.

eight is G R E A T for C A D E N

Caden turned eight last week.
I went to have lunch with him on his birthday and overheard this conversation {out of the blue} between Caden and his buddy.

Caden: "What's your favorite college football team, Dominic?"
Dominic: "I don't know..."
Caden: "No, really- just pick one."
Dominic: "OK, Florida."
Caden: "Do you know any players on Florida's team?"
Dominic: "No."
Caden: "You don't know any and it's your favorite team?"

He was being a little pushy... I felt the need to insert myself into the conversation.

So, I asked Caden to tell me his favorite team and name some players. I should have known his answer, but instead it caught me off guard.

Caden: "Highland Scotties is definitely my favorite team and I know Justin Dickey, {and a few other players he rattled off}..."

The boy loves his brother. His friend stood no chance. Imagine the surprise on his face when he received his birthday package from Justin. Justin bought a football and took it on the bus on his last road trip so his team could sign it for Caden.

A football signed by his very favorite football team. Wow. I think he slept with it for the first few days. The rest of his birthday was low-key but nice as well. Bowling with the family, cheesecake, Hawaiian haystacks. He also loves his new Chargers hoody from his Aunt Starr and Uncle Mac and the cards/money from Granny, G'pa & G'ma and Grandma and Grandma Dickey. So much love.

Our baby is growing up.

saw a G U M expert

I started substitute teaching again last week.
I really enjoy teaching- the kids are great, our school is the best and the flexibility is perfect.

As a sub, sometimes you know in advance when you are needed to fill in for a teacher.

From February until the end of school last year, I didn't have to wait for that call since I was a permanent sub in the same classroom.

Most of the time, that phone rings somewhere between 5:30 and 7:00am asking if I'm are available.

This morning, I did not get a call to teach.
After working the last four days, I was excited for a catch-up day.

I immediately started planning my tasks and figuring out all of the {million} things I was going to accomplish.

Blogging was where I planned to begin, just to help me wake up and get going.

Then, ten minutes after sending Coleman to the train station {with friends} for a field trip and Caden to the bus the phone rang.
It was the dental clinic and I had completely blown off an appointment that took two months to get Caden in with the pediatric dentist.

YIKES! {Not the first word that came to my mind on the phone to the tech who called...}

I told them I would be there in thirty minutes- could I please, please, please get him in. He agreed. I dressed in five minutes and raced out the door to fight the 58 school busses and 1000 kids to get to Caden before school started.

The appointment today was to fix his broken tooth and to x-ray/examine the tooth he pushed up from the slide back in July.

Instead, it was a variety of doctors pushing, tapping and poking on our sweet, brave boy.

The pediatric dentist pulled in a gum specialist {who knew there was such thing as a gum specialist?}, orthodontist and consulted with a root/endo specialist who we will see tomorrow.

Unfortunately, it is not moving down as the dentist/oral surgeon initially thought.
He might be writing a new text book for the pediatric dental profession.

The ideas of gum or bone graphs, pulling the tooth, braces, root canals and other more technical terms and procedures were mentioned from worst-case scenario to simple possibilities.
They took lots of pictures and impressions {gag} in which Caden sat like an angel not moving a muscle.

Dr. Kersey said as we left, "Caden- you're my hero. I want to be just like you when I grow up."

He is the same doctor who saw Caden straight from the pool the day he hurt it and the same doctor who consulted us when Caden fractured his jaw. He knows our little guy is tough.

For now, we'll wait to see what they want to do.
Root regeneration is a good possibility as well- before or after orthodontics, we will find out.

It's sometimes frustrating being seen on base by military doctors. I feel so grateful for this crew of doctors who have taken care and continue to take care of our little tough guy.

 As I left the clinic today {a bit rattled not knowing what is ahead}, I was more overcome with a gratitude for the competence and compassion we experienced in Dr. Kersey, Dr. Speier, the techs and others in the dental clinic here who have also given great care to our big guys.

All that after showing up late.
It was a good day to skip school, so we did.

let's go with F O R T Y

My brother is an incredible guy.

He's the one who is always on the move and constantly coming up with great ideas of what to do or see next.

Ready to go most of the time with one of the quickest-thinking minds I know, it's never dull if you get lucky enough to hang out with him.

Yep, he's a thinker.
Good looking, too.

Little did he know, dinner {and a fake birthday} made it that much more fun to hang out with him on this specific night with the fam in the big city- St. Joseph, Missouri.

With Justin dying to get out of Highland at any chance he gets and Ty dying to eat at some American restaurants, Texas Roadhouse it was.

Seth was obviously set up for a birthday singing and wasn't quite able to talk his way out of it.
The server didn't want to see his ID, or listen to his pleas that he really is a June birthday.
She just wanted him front in center sitting in the saddle.

She even wished him a happy fake birthday afterwards.
It's always a good time had by all when the funny guy gets to be the center of attention.
I think we made up for missing his June birthday.

He was a good sport.
He really had no choice.
So much fun.

Here's a little clip.

It's all about family.

R E A D Y to move, missing these P E O P L E

We have been asked a lot if we miss the United States.
Three years in Germany is kind of a long time.

Jim has been back many times and has been ready to move back for a couple years.
My answer has been the same for a while.

I really love Europe. I have not felt homesick at all. I've missed family and our close friends, but for the most part have felt fine.

The hardest part of living here now is being so far from Justin.
Putting him back on that plane after every visit is something I do not enjoy AT ALL!
We all miss him and I feel like we are missing out on a lot having an ocean between us.

I have not missed the food. German food is really, really good.
I have done fine without pay-at-the-pump gas and drive-through banking.

I've even said if Justin and Ty weren't in college, I would be fine living overseas for a few more years. I could really see living in Italy. I love that country.

Until now.

I'm ready to move back. We all are except for maybe Coleman. Jim thinks I had maybe suppressed feelings that I really was homesick to get through our time here.

I never really felt that way, but instead have just really enjoyed traveling and have been focused on experiencing all that we can while we are in Europe.

Having a dose of family and friends for a few days reminded me of how much I really do miss living close and how far we really are over here.

We got to see my parents- it's been four years since we have seen them.

Mom flew back from Germany with Ty and I while my dad met us in Kansas so we go to enjoy time with both of them.

A lot of growth has happened in four years- look at these big boys!

We got to see my little sister and her cute family including a brand new nephew that I got to hold and kiss and love on.

I love being an aunt and Germany is way too far for any aunt or sister to live.
I don't care how cool Skype is, it's not the same.

Sisters need sisters and cousins need to know their cousins. They need to play together, to get in trouble together, to know and to love each other.

We got to see my little brother- it's been somewhere around nine {9} years since we've been together. Nine years too long for any siblings to be apart especially ones that really like hanging out.

We got to see dear friends {Deb & Brian, Regan, Jayden & the Mulvane kids Jess, Tay, Chris & Jordan} who made the trip up from Mulvane to spend extra time together.

Late-night talks until we couldn't keep our eyes open along with afternoons checking out Dollar General and counting windmills were therapy for my soul.

And, we got to spend time with Justin and Ashten. To see their rooms and what this Highland gig is all about is something I should have done last year. I feel as though Highland has come to life for me now. Until now, it's all been kind of in black and white in my mind.

As small as it is, I think the days in Highland will always be a big part of Justin's life. In spite of lots of homesickness, it has been the start of his college football days.

He may never miss the town, but I reminded him that he is making friends and memories that he will eventually treasure.

While Highland won't be the small town that we settle in, we are ready and excited to get back and pick up where we left off either in our house in Haysville or another small Kansas town.

I miss it more now than ever.

missing our J U S T I N and G A M E day

It's Saturday- game day for Justin.

A big part of scheduling our trip to Highland was to catch a home football game and see Justin play.

Unfortunately, he was hurt in the previous game against Hutch and not only missed a whole week of practice, but the game last Saturday as well.

While going up for a catch {ended up being 34-yard reception} the defender from Hutch ran in to him at full speed hitting knee-on-knee.

Instead of watching him play, we ended up in the doctor's office with him and the hospital getting an MRI on his knee.

As it turns out, it was just sprained so no tears or major damage which is huge. Just hearing the news that it was not any worse was a relief.

It was still nice to hang with him and watch his team pull out a big win against Coffeyville.
It is so nice to have a quarterback who can throw well and to be winning a few games.


They are shocking people all over while pulling out big wins.

When talking about what school he will move up to, he's let it be known he's really not wanting to do this rebuilding thing again if he can help it.

He's been warming up and started back at practice this week.

Hopefully, he'll get on the field today.

Today, it is Highland (3-2, 4-3) at (2-2, 4-2) #RV Garden City.

2013 JAYHAWK CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Regular Season Standings
As of Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013   1:14 PM
	Conf			All Games
	W	L		W	L	PS	PA	OA	DA
Butler #14	4	1		5	1	257	67	42.8	11.2
Dodge City #12	4	1		5	1	193	179	32.2	29.8
Hutchinson #RV	3	1		3	2	164	139	32.8	27.8
Highland	3	2		4	3	201	197	28.7	28.1
Garden City #RV	2	2		4	2	204	123	34.0	20.5
Coffeyville	2	2		3	3	180	202	30.0	33.7
Fort Scott	1	5		1	6	223	288	31.9	41.1
Independence	0	5		1	6	58	361	8.3	51.6
#-KJCCC Champion  **-Region VI Champion
(#) Indicates Current NJCAA/JCFootball.com Ranking

It's a huge game- they need a win to keep their hopes alive for a play-off spot. Caden's game did not go as planned last week either- being cancelled due to the government shut down. He was more than upset being the intense little guy that he is.

No games this weekend due to the holiday. Hopefully, he will be on track next week...