Good Ole' USA!

We are all still alive and kicking! I've been so busy catching up with family that I haven't been on the computer much other than checking my email. The trip over here was long and exhausting, but as good as it could have been considering the circumstances. I have a few pictures, but I just realized that I haven't loaded them on the computer yet. My regular camera broke, so I had to make due until I bought me a new one. A cheap one! We'll see how it holds up. I guess me dropping it might have had something to do with it.

We've had a fun week meeting new cousins, swimming, basking in the sun, going to baseball camp and visiting with missed family. I'll try to do better at keeping this updated. I'm headed to Florida in a few days!

Matt is doing well, for those who have asked. I'm still hearing from him rather frequently. We really miss him. The kiddo's are really missing him being here with us. Jordyn has cried for him this week and I overheard Landen saying he wishes dad was here. We miss you!

The Time Has Finally Arrived!

We have looked forward to this for a long time and the time has finally come for us to pack. We are headed to Razorback Land soon!!

We are all a little emotional with the end of school activities, saying goodbye to friends who are moving, and the fact that Matt has been gone for 5 weeks. The boys are not out of school until the end of next week, but I am taking them out a few days early. Hayden's class put on their end of year program, just for me today. I got a lot of it on video, but really don't have time to upload it right now. It was sweet though, and thank goodness I had Jordyn to distract me because I almost lost it a few times. They sang a lot of patriotic songs which got me. I can't believe he is finished with his kindergarten year. It went by so quickly.

My camera broke, so I am camera-less. I do have a little video camera that I can sneak a few with, but the quality isn't all that great.   The picture above is the only one I was able to get today.  

He came in the door crying today because he doesn't want to tell his friends goodbye. Landen cried himself to sleep last night. Jordyn is downstairs still crying and it's almost 9:00. She didn't even have a nap today, so I'm not sure why. This will all be forgotten once we get to AR and stay busy with lots of fun things to do.

I hope to see many of you this summer. My calendar is really filling up quickly. Yes, I like to be organized and know what my plan is going to be, though I do roll with the punches a little better than I used to. Matt will vouch for that!

I don't know how much I'll be blogging, but I will try to some for Matt's sake. Stay tuned!  

Landen Batting

I know some of you are probably getting bored with my blog because it's been more about my kids than our travels. It will be this way for a while, as I'm trying to keep Matt entertained while he is away. We'll begin more European traveling in the fall when he returns... Berlin and Italy are on the list and hopefully a few other quick trips!

I caught the end of Landen at batting practice last night. Did I mention that the practice ended early due to a big thunderstorm coming through? Yep, pouring rain... and I can't find my keys. After getting drenched and a friend finding them after about 15 minutes of searching, they were in the middle of the field of grass on the ground. Jordyn evidently decided to play with them for a while without my knowing.

Here it is!




I'm also considering making my blog private. I'll let you know more about that soon...

13 Years and Counting.....

Happy Anniversary, Matt! Nothing like being in different countries on your anniversary. Ah well... last year we were together so we wouldn't want to be too greedy by spending it together 2 years in a row.

Look how young we look! Could my bouquet be any bigger? And, I need a little powder for the shine... too funny. I would post more, but this is the only wedding picture I have over here. I left all my photo albums back in the states....

My Little Gymnastics Star

Waiting for it to start...

Showtime!



Awards



Ok. So I don't know if she's a star, but in my book she is! It was so much fun to go watch Jordyn at her first "event." She started gymnastics in January and has just loved it. It is a mom and tot class, so we get to be out there together. She has so much fun and laughs pretty much the whole time she is there.

The hardest adjustment the first few weeks was not crying when it was over. Once she got into the routine, she knew when the end was coming. Jordyn also went through a couple of weeks of being terrified of the bars, but she soon got over it and now it seems to be her favorite thing to do. Walking across the beam is definitely not her forte. She needs some work on it :-) She's too interested in what other people are doing and not watching what she is doing. She also tries to run down it 90 to nothing!

I'm posting a few pictures from the show, though some are really blurry. Landen tried to help me out while I held the video so I could send it to Matt. He did really good, it's just that the lighting is not great in there and my camera doesn't do well. Here's the video.





As a side note, I took her to the hospital this week for her kidney tests. I won't go into details but it was horrible and I never want to do that again. The good news is that her kidneys have improved and she no longer needs a daily dose of medicine!!!

Awana

Our days are going by one by one. To my surprise, they are going by rather quickly at the moment. We are unusually busy every day it seems. My list of things to do keeps growing as we count down to our big day of flying over the ocean again. I knew when I got off that plane alone with 3 kids, it wouldn't be the last time I did it alone. I even told Matt that... I was right.

Anyway, it's rare I can post about something that all 3 kids were involved in together, but today I can. Awana. Church has been a bit of an issue for us living overseas. It's not because we have to go to some great big fancy church to worship, it's just taken some adjustments and getting used to not having the luxury of visiting several churches until you find that certain one you feel a part of and it all falls into place. Here, there are 2 churches to choose from if you want to hear the sermon in English. One on base and one off. We went back and forth a few times, and ended going on base. However, there was no child care for the longest time and it wasn't until January that we found out Jordyn was able to attend Awana. So, every since then the three kids go to Awana while Matt and I attend the 5:00pm service. It's odd not getting up on Sunday morning and heading into church. When there is only one church, they have to schedule services for every denomination and the contemporary service, which is the one we enjoy is only offered in the evenings.

Back to Awana. The kids have done great learning their bible verses each week and going to their class. Some weeks it is a struggle on top of completing homework, but they have managed. They play games and have lots of fun activities for the children as well. Tonight was awards night and it was almost 2 hours long! That can feel like an eternity when you are sitting in a pew full of 2 year olds. They managed though and we made it through. It was so funny to watch Jordyn up on stage with all the other 2 year olds. All the kids got certificates and each one was recognized in some way.

On another note, Matt is settling in and doing well. His days are long and he works 7 days a week, so I can't imagine how tired he will be after months and months of that. He's had a little bit of an upset stomach this past week but seemed to be feeling much better when I talked to him tonight.

This week we have sports physicals, kidney tests at the German hospital (Jordyn), and a gymnastics show on top of our normal activities. Stay tuned...

Thankful for Technology

Who says we can't have dinner with daddy while he's away? I'm so thankful we were born at the time we were so that our children have the advantage of "seeing" daddy on the computer and talking to him. Matt is still getting settled, but he managed to get a Skype call in tonight to the kids. It just so happened the kids were eating supper so they ate dinner while daddy watched. It's not a perfect connection, the video is slow and it's hard to hear when they are all talking, but it is much better than nothing.

I can't imagine what it was like before all the technology of today. Women told their husbands goodbye and wouldn't hear from them for weeks and weeks, months and months. I am fortunate and must remind myself of that, often! Two weeks down...... many to go, but at least we have started.