Days until...

This post is more for my own mental organization then anything. I've got so many countdowns going on in my head that I'm losing track.

10 days until my good friend Shelly moves to FL.

2.5 weeks until my mom gets here

3.5 weeks until 18 week checkup (wondering if I can talk the Dr. into peaking between baby's legs)

1 month until Brad and I's 6th wedding anniversary

4.5 weeks until we move out of this apartment and into hotel/return borrowed furniture/give keys back to landlord, etc.

5.5 weeks til we ship our car

5.5 weeks until BIG 4-D ultrasound. Will be 20 weeks and get to find out sex!

6 weeks until we board plane to Memphis, TN.

8 weeks until we board plane to San Diego, CA.

Woa! Snow!

Merry Christmas!! Hope everyone had a great day with their friends and family. We ended up getting snowed in AGAIN! It's been snowing for 2 days straight now and we have about 2 feet of snow outside. It is still coming down strong. We felt so bad we couldn't make it to our friend's house but there was no way we could get out of our house. So we're on day #2 of being stuck in the house. On a bright note- Brad got me a new camera lens for Christmas!! I've been wanting one forever. This new one has a super zoom and I couldn't wait to try it out so off on another walk we went. Here are some more pics. Hope you aren't sick of snow pictures.

The cars on our street.

Have a seat!

Brad only kept back 1 pair of pants. Why? Who knows. But, I threw them in the wash before our walk not even thinking. So, here he is wearing mine. I can't even repeat some of the comments that came out of his mouth but let's just say there was some major squishage going on. Here is is mid-adjustment.

We are walking down the middle of a "plowed" street here. The snow is no joke this season.

Snowball fight

Merry Christmas Eve! I hope everyone is enjoying the season! We took a little walk this afternoon and I brought my camera along (of course). We went out this morning and almost got into a serious wreck. The roads are SO bad. Then as we approached our house we got stuck and just spun and spun. So, unfortunately we have to skip the Christmas Eve service tonight. But, we're enjoying the snow and are happy to have a white Christmas! Here are some pics from this afternoon.

For a little update: We had all our things moved out of our house and everything is now on its way to California! We are living with the bare minimum which has been a bit of a challenge. I kept back 3 plates, cups, silverware, etc. I did not picture myself getting sick to death of hand washing dishes after every meal. I also made sure to keep back plenty of toys for Miles but nothing for myself! My class finished this weekend (got an A- wahoo!) So I'm a little bored while we wait in this limbo stage. It's a little sad when looking around the house and only seeing white walls. We've spent such a big chunk of our marriage/family life here and it will be hard to close the door to this place for the last time. Some days I'm so excited to get on that airplane and other days I fight tears. I guess this is all to be expected with such a big change! We have 6 weeks left!

Sledding

Here are some photos/video of our sledding today. It was so fun! Miles loved going down the hills by himself. The snow has been hitting hard for about a month now and shows no sign of letting up. Brad has enjoyed the many days of no work and delays. I, however, can not WAIT to be in warm Southern California. I like to my flip-flops too much I guess.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Christmas treats/updates

We may have been snowed in the past 2 weeks and boggled down with this move but never too busy to pack on the calories with some Christmas treats. Miles is my little Betty Crocker and loves to decorate and sprinkle everything.

I wish I had some lively/exciting things to blog about but our life is just so consumed with this move. I forgot how stressful it is to... ya know, move across the world.

Right now I have about 1-2 appointments a day showing our apartment to potential renters. The movers are coming to pack just about everything we own next week so I am separating the house into things they can take/can't take. We're keeping a small shipment behind to use until the very last day. Unfortunately they are quoting 70 days for our things to reach California. It's going to be very interesting entertaining Miles in a empty house during a German winter.

Our lovely cat Tom did some small damage to our walls. Shredder Tom I should call him. They are quoting us a pretty dime so we decided to fly my mom out here (the woman who used to flip houses for a living) to help us fix the walls ourselves. Hey, it's cheaper! The damage isn't too bad, we just don't want to risk not getting our deposit back. Plus, my mom can help me keep Miles busy and we have her booked on the exact same 15 hour flight back. I think it all worked out pretty nicely. Brad jokes that we'll stick Miles with my mom and pretend we're asleep every time she tries to give him back.

The weather outside is frightful!

It's a little early for snow but what the heck, I'll take it. I know it's the last time I'm going to see it for years to come. It's been crazy because the weather keeps calling for "a little snow" but it pours down and sticks to everything. The roads were horrible today and we were supposed to go to McDonalds for a playdate. So Miles and I stayed home and played outside instead.

10 weeks

There's a baby, baby. Although this little baby looks more like an insect or something. I am 10 weeks now and it's crazy to think this 1st trimester will be over in just a couple weeks. It really is true when they say your 2nd pregnancy will fly by.

I'm still pretty sick but am hoping it will end soon. Thanksgiving was interesting because Miles had a pretty gnarly accident in his pants that I had to clean up. That mixed with all the smells of food put me over the edge and we were at a friend's house. Nice...Sorry guys.

Christmas market/Snow Day

I wouldn't put it past Brad to double the coffee.

Our first BIG snowfall of the year happened last night!

Pics

Just realized it's been a while since I posted any pictures. We've been pretty busy here with our upcoming move and I've also been struck with horrible morning sickness (all day sickness really). It's been going on for 3 weeks now and it's been one of the biggest physical struggles of my life! The vomiting is usually anywhere from 3-5 times a day and food/smells seems to be my worst enemy. I am only 9 weeks now so I am hoping, PRAYING that I've only got 3 weeks to go. Poor Miles has taken a back seat to life. This is where it sucks to live thousands of miles from Grandma.

Anyway, here are just a few pics from this week.

Choo-choo trains are awesome when it's 30 degrees out!

We put up our tree this weekend. I know it's early but we figured we'll be tearing it down way before Christmas. :(
Last weekend was freaky weather-wise. It was 60 degrees. We went down to where the Christmas market is going to be set up and watced them build. Brad and Miles also helped themselves to some bratwurst. :)

It's time..

It's official. The ball is now in motion and can not be stopped. We have less than 90 days left in Germany. In case you're curious on what's involved in an overseas move...here is a small preview on the big things.

- Give our landlady a notice (who speaks no English and us no German)

-Ship the first bulk of our household goods to the US

- Get temporary furniture to live on for 6 weeks

-Ship the first car to the US

-Pick up our new XC60

-Get cats vaccinated and ready for re-entry to the States

-Ship the cats to my parents

-Ship the second bulk of household goods to the US

-Disconnect phone/cable/internet

-Turn in our refrigerator and washer/dryer to the Army

-Check out of our apartment and get deposit back

-Move into a hotel

-Ship the second car back to the US

-Find out the sex of our baby (Yay!)

-Fly back to the US!

Wish us luck!

The book of funny

When I was in MOPS last week, I learned of a great idea and thought I would share. A speaker brought in an old ratty journal and on the front it was called "The Book of Funny." This mother of 3 has been writing down everything that has made her laugh for the past 15 years. Everything from her friends, to family, to work. It's so true that the chaos of life can just totally consume you and you forget all the small and hilarious things of life. Kids say and do so many funny things. Miles has me cracking up all the time but it's crazy how many times I find myself trying to remember what it was. I forget in a matter of days! So, we started our own 'Book of Funny' and I have 2 entries so far.

The first is Miles. Whenever we change him for bed he points to his nipples and calls them "minkles." It makes me smile every time because I have no idea where he learned this. He is so excited to see his minkles and he even has to count them.

The second took place at the pool today between friends.

Me: Dawn, why don't you not wear contacts next time we come and we can do the huge slide?

Dawn: You don't understand I am legally blind without them! I'm so thankful I wasn't born in the Bible times or the 1800's because I would be a beggar on the street.

Brad: Yah, because the Bible was written in the 1800's.

Me: You mean you are like LEGALLY legally blind??

Brad: It doesn't make it any more legally if you add a second legally.

Dawn: Katy, I would need one of those canes.

Aaron (Dawn's husband): You should see her in the morning with the alarm clock. She holds it this close to see the time. (He holds it an inch from his eyeball while squinting).

Happy Veteran's Day!

Think we have a future Veteran on our hands?

Morning sickness...

is the devil!

I don't know how people have survived this, especially with toddlers.

That being said... Thanks be to God who gave us this little miracle.

change

I've been feeling so weird lately. I think I am having somewhat of an identity crises. I just hate change and I feel like a rug has been ripped out from under me and pieces are just falling everywhere where they didn't originally belong.

I know this world doesn't revolve around me and many worse things are happening out there. So feel free to just not read this because it's nothing compared to what other people have experienced. I'm just taking some time to write out my thoughts, a little blog therapy.

There are somethings in my childhood that have been constants all the way up until recently. It seems like all at once these things have disappeared and it just leaves me kind of empty. The funny thing is that none of these things have anything to do with me, but the fact that they are disappearing has me very upset, in tears actually, and sometimes I can see how silly it is and other times I can't.

The first one is my parent's cookie store. They've had this franchise since I was 10 years old. (So 16 years now). Sadly, they were victims of the economic crises and my parents lost their job as Cookies By Design owners. Every time I call my mom she is selling the store equipment and I hate it. I feel like a piece of me has died with that dumb cookie store. I have so many memories growing up and decorating cookies, pulling bows, deliveries and it's sad to see it die. I also worry about my parents and how they will make their living. I want them to be ok...

The second is my brother and sister-n-law. They've been together since I was 11 years old and have recently decided to divorce. I can't dish out too much here because I don't want to get myself in trouble but there are so many things that don't make sense to me. I don't understand why. I looked up to them as beating the odds. They were supposed to be together forever. They took vows! They may have had some bumps thrown their way but they were always so in love. I don't even know how to not picture them together. I just don't understand this at all.

Finally, my childhood cat died yesterday. This I'm sure will ease after a few weeks but it's still painful. We got him when I was in 6th grade and he had more lives than any cat out there. I also thought he was going to be around forever. I'm starting to notice a trend here...

Of course Brad and I have some big changes coming up and I'm sure that is triggering why I am a big teary mess right now. I'm sad to be leaving Germany, all the friends we've made, and move from the only house Brad and I spent more than a year at. Miles has so many firsts here and sometimes I wish we could just pick one spot and stay. I'm sad to get into deployment mode again and have to deal with the change of not having my husband for 7 months at a time.

I think God is trying to get my attention right now with all of this. I get so dependent on other things and people and I take comfort when things stay the same and everyone is happy. It's like God has turned my little cushion world upside down so I'll depend on him and not everyone else. I know all the above things sound so petty. But, each one of those things means so much to me. It's time for me to do some serious thinking.

More Fall Faves

Some friends and I took the boys to play in the leaves today. Of course I can't ever let an opportunity go by where I don't play paparazzi. Here are some more Fall faves.