Housing: Part 2

We were issued a 4 bedroom, 1.5 bathroom, 2^nd floor apartment.  It’s right about 1200 sq. ft.  We are very grateful for that 4^th bedroom.  We weren’t sure we’d get it since we have 3 boys and they are all pretty young so they can be roomed together.  But…the sizes of the bedrooms are extremely small and there is really no way you could technically fit more than one bed in a room. 

The building behind the boys is ours.  We are the 2nd balcony up on the very right.

   

This is a view from our balcony to the left, out onto post. The second picture is off our balcony to the right.

The kitchen and bathrooms are tile.  And not just on the floor.  They are pretty much floor to ceiling tile.  The rest of the house has hardwood floors.  The wood in each bedroom is different too.  We had an extra rug that fit in Blaine's room and  I was able to locate a rug for Ryan and Colin's room, but I would still like one for our bedroom and the 4th bedroom if possible.

Living Room/Dining/Kitchen:  All of these rooms are very comparable to the size in our last house.  The dining area might even be a tad bigger.  The kitchen is about the same space, but it's just the different configuration that makes it difficult to figure out where to place everything.  Our stove is like nothing we've ever seen.  It's electric, but it's not a flat top, nor coils.  We also have a dishwasher and a lazy susan!  (For those of you who have/have had a lazy susan items seemed to fit there best?)

 Notice our awesome loaner furniture in the next few pics!!

 Daddy coming home from work!!!!

Bedrooms: We decided to keep Ryan and Colin in a room together and are taking full advantage of our bunk beds so we can use that 4^th bedroom as a craft room and hopefully next semester an area for homeschooling.  Blaine is currently in a room of his own and his room also has the only dresser that we brought.  His bunk bed is set up but mattress-less, so he's still in his pack and play.  Hopefully I can get a mattress ordered through our PX before Tim gets home from the field.  That way it will give us a few months to bed train him before Tim leaves again.  A majority of the toys are in Ryan and Colin's room with a few of the more baby toys in Blaine's.  Our bedroom fits our King size bed and two nightstands with a little room to spare.  If I squeeze everything tight I could fit our standing mirror, but I think we are going to put some hangers on it and hang it from the wall for now.

 

Storage: There is one closet as you enter the house which I'm trying to keep as a coat closet.  Thankfully, in our full bathroom we have two sinks surrounded by cabinets.  From what I was told, it is not normal for there to be any type of storage in the bathroom.  We have plenty though.  The two smaller bedrooms have decent closet space in them.  The one in Blaine's room is currently holding extra diapers and wipes in part and the rest will be for excess ARMY gear, regulations, etc.  

The closet space in the 4th bedroom is a little larger than Blaine's and should hold all of our games, puzzles, our more constructive play items, craft items and any other homeschool items.  The other half is currently our cleaning closet and more of my craft stuff.  

In the two bigger bedrooms one entire wall is floor to ceiling closet/storage space.  I don't think we are lacking in closet space at all...it's just different than we are used to.  We are used to hanging everything.  There are three closets in our room and the middle one is for hanging and the other two have shelves.  I would love to find a tension rod that is sturdy enough so I could convert more of those closets to a hanging closet.

We also have a storage room in the basement of our building that is about 9 feet by 7 feet.  I was able to locate some shelves that I need to assemble that will help with vertical storage down there.

Laundry:  We have a joint laundry room downstairs in the basement.  I don't mind it so much.  I never liked doing laundry everyday of the week and I always tried my best to wash, dry, fold, and put away all my laundry in one day.  So six washers and dryers only aid me in that!  I normally do between 6 and 10 loads of laundry a week and I can get it all done before nap time.  I learned quickly though to not even attempt to do laundry on the weekends...unless there is an absolute need. ie Colin's leaked through his pullup onto his sheets.  I needed to do one load of laundry on a Saturday because of the above and I went and checked at 9:30, 11:30, and around 1 PM and all the washers were full and nothing had moved since 9:30that morning.  Thankfully, my brave husband started knocking on doors to figure out whose laundry it was. 

Overall, I'd say the space is good, it's just trying to arrange everything to make it fit the best and the most useful.  I really am just thankful that we got on post housing.  The hardest part is being patient in getting in all put together.  It's a slow process.  

Book Review {The Help}

I know this book was “all the rave” at some point last year.  I didn’t do a lot of reading last year.  I also heard great things about the movie, which I have yet to see as well, but I wanted to read the book first.  When Tim bought me the Kindle before we left it was the first book I downloaded.

 

(amazon.com)

Just as everyone else who has already read it, I loved it!  I love that it was based on real history.  It was an easy read and always left me wanting to read more.  If, for whatever reason, you haven’t read it yet, it’s worth it!

I also really enjoyed reading the author’s own story at the end of the book.  In reference to writing the book she says…

I am afraid I have told too little.  Not just that life was so much worse for many black women working in the homes in Mississippi, but also that there was so much more love between white families and black domestics than I had the ink or the time to portray.

I personally loved that part because it made me ponder all the dynamic relationships that must have been.   It must have been hard for her to choose which relationships to portray.  I think that that time in our history is not one that we are proud of and one that is sensitive.  It seems to reach deeply into some hearts.  We tend to sweep it under the rug and avoid discussing it afraid to offend anyone.  I can’t think a better way to talk about it then how Kathryn Stockett did in her book.

Now I just need to find the movie!!

I would love any other suggestions for great, clean, non-super-romantic, non-super-“dark” novels!  They don’t have to be new either.  I would love to add some classics to my reading!  I do love to read, but it seems to get put on the back burner to all the other things I love to do as well. I'm hoping to make it more of a routine.

The Basics

Quick version on what has happened and what we’ve learned so far: 

1.  Tim passed his driver’s test (Yeah!!)
2. The German’s tax is 19%.
3. They don’t sell DP on the German Economy.  We've been told that we could buy a case of DP for $4.00 walk off post, stand on the corner, and probably sell it for double. (Although I’m sure that’s not kosher.)
4. Although a lot of people walk around post, few make eye contact and say hello.  I did a little experiment one day and out of the 10 people I passed and tried making eye contact with to say hello, only two did the same.  It was mainly the younger soldiers who avoided any type of greeting/eye contact. 
5. No right turns on red.
6. Useless piece of info….the rugs in the children’s part of the library cost around $500 a piece!  We were scolded and offered this piece of information when we entered for the first time with our shoes on.  There was apparently one sign, among the fifteen, hung on the door asking you to remove your shoes.  We won’t miss that one again! 
7.  Do not trust the hours written in the phone book of any office on post.  I went to Self Help three days in a row, at different times, based upon what the phone book said only to find he was closed every time I went.
8. We received our unaccompanied goods on January 31^st!  Having real sheets/blankets on the bed make them look 10x more comfortable than they really are. 
9. Ryan started Kindergarten at the school on post on February 1^st.  It’s a few blocks away; about a 10/15 minute walk…depending on how far behind Colin chooses to lag.
10. Ordering pizza in Germany, but at an Italian restaurant, turns out nothing like you thought it would.  This is very disappointing when you thought that it was going to be the redeemer to a pretty failed attempt at a day.  
11. There are about five different bus drivers.  They all drive different.  There’s one that’s really hard on the brakes.  A few will just roll by a stop if no one is waiting, so make sure you press the button if you want to get off!  One likes to whistle, and he’s also more gentlemen-ly than the rest.  I like him.  He always helps the moms off and on the bus with their strollers that are loaded with kids/groceries and he occasionally stops to pick up a random walker in between the bus stops.
12. I passed my drivers’ test!  (YEAH!!)
13. Most stores (including on post) open up around 10 or 11 AM and close at 6 PM.  A majority of stores are closed on Sundays.
14. Our van arrived on/arround February 15th.
15. The remainder of our household goods surprised us by being here early, and they were delivered on February 24^th.  We could have gone longer without many of our other items, but it is SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO amazingly wonderful to have our bed!  It makes you want to cry when you get in it, it feels that good. 
16. Although I'm far from fluent in Spanish...there have been a few times that Spanish has naturally flowed out of my mouth instead of German. Oh...and on that note....Ryan takes Spanish twice a week in school.  Does anyone else find that odd?
17. Tim for the field on March 2^nd and is there till the last week in March.  (Sadly, he is not getting to enjoy our bed for the next few weeks.)
18. Recent discovery:  Most of the stores downtown have escalators in them.  You can take your strollers on most of them, but a friend and I did find one in particular this past weekend that does NOT.  As my friend moved her stroller forward the entire thing shut down.  The gentlemen behind us and the fifteen people behind him all starred at us as the gentlemen pointed to the sign on the side of the escalator that apparently said no strollers.  Oooops.  We successfully found an elevator and took it to the next floor up.  As we walked around the corner we felt horrible, but were still laughing, seeing an 80 year old woman walking off the top of the broken escalator.

Housing: Part 1

Hello Dear Family & Friends!

Yes, we are still alive!  We just got internet two days ago!!!!  

About a week after we got here we were eating breakfast at guest housing on a Thursday morning when Tim received a phone call informing him that they had a house for us!  It was MUCH sooner than we had expected (we had even bought a hot plate the night before so we could cook a few hot meals in the hotel).  Tim did the walk-thru inspection on the house around 1 PM on Thursday and we were supposed to be checked out of the hotel by 11 AM on Friday.  It created a huge frenzy!  

The ARMY provides some of the basic furniture which was already in the house.  We have a kitchen table with six chairs, a couch, two chairs, three single beds, and one double bed.  What they don’t provide are any of the sheets/blankets/pillows/etc…for the beds.  No towels either.  We still were about a week and a half shy from receiving our unaccomapined goods, which had these items in it, so we had to make a trip to the PX Thursday evening to purchase all of the basics.

The other problem we ran into was trying to figure out how we were going to get everything over to the house.  It was on the other side of post.  Normally, this would be where Tim’s Sponsor would come in and help take everything over, but the unit just left two days earlier to go to the field for a month.  The only people that were left were all the new guys who either had no driver’s license or no vehicle…or neither.  While the bus works for getting to and from the Commissary/PX it wouldn’t have been very helpful due to it’s route.

After we made our trip to the PX for linens, we got back to our guest room, ate dinner, then decided we would go ahead and walk over to the house and take a few suitcases with us.  (I REALLY wanted to see it and we figured the boys could use the time out of the guest room.)  We planned on dropping off the suitcases, looking at the house real quick then catching the last bus back to guest housing for the night.  Tim said he would maybe walk one or two more loads over Thursday night, and then get the rest Friday morning.  No sooner had we started walking then it started raining.  I guess we should have checked the weather first.  It was only a light mist but still enough to get everyone pretty wet.  It’s probably about three-quarters of a mile from the guest housing to our house.  The boys were troopers and we kept a good pace but by the time we got to the house the boys were pretty wet.  Tim said, “I’ve got good news and bad news.  Good news, we made it!  Bad news, you’re staying here.”  I didn’t really argue although I knew what that meant for him.  Tim made four more trips by himself to get everything out of guest housing.  Then he made one more trip, about half the distance to the Shoppette to get us food for the morning since we hadn’t planned on being there. 

On Friday I made two more trips to the Commissary/PX to try and get some more basic items to get us started.  Tim also had to make another trip to the Loan Closet to pick up a playpen for Blaine to sleep in and a few basic dishes to use.  I think over our first weekend here we made another three trips to the Commissary/PX as well.  You can only buy as much as you can carry, so it means A LOT of trips.

We got housing a lot quicker than we anticipated but we are very thankful that we even got on post housing.  We’ve been in the house about two months now and we finally got our internet hooked up, so check for updates as I will be posting something semi-regularly to try and answer the many questions I know you have.  :)

Photo Shoot: {Matt & Sarah}

Before we left Texas I was able to get one more photo shoot in for some dear friends.  This was the third time I've taken pictures for them, but I think the first time I've posted on it. 

Matt, Sarah, Connor, Cameron, and Avery (the dog).

We met Matt & Sarah right after we moved to Texas.  They were currently the leaders of our Connection Group at church and Matt was also the Minister of Discipleship.  Within a few weeks of joining the church and visiting the Connection Group (aka Sunday School) they had us and another family (also our good friends now) over for supper.  I remember telling Tim that night when we left that I already knew I was going to have a really hard time leaving Texas.  

Needless to say our friendship started that night and continued to grow.  I hate that we had to leave them behind, but I know that God has allowed us a friendship that will last a lifetime.  Among many things Sarah became my birthing coach and my fashion consultant/personal shopper (I gave her money on a few occasions and she bought clothes for me!), Colin's Sunday School teacher, and a great encouragement!  One of the best things though is that she loves the Lord and seeks his face regularly.  And right behind that she loves people deeply.

Matt was not only a good friend to Tim, but to me and the boys!  He watched the boys on multiple occasions so I could join in on the Girls Night Out while Tim was deployed.  His leadership in our class also brought many great conversations and great studies.

And then there's Connor and Cameron.  Sarah was pregnant with Cam when we first met and I was able to do some of his newborn photos.  Now he's walking and talking and he is such a cute little boy.  Connor has been one of Ryan's greatest fan's and Colin's best friends!  You can go here to Sarah's blog to see her post on their sweet friendship.  Connor has one of the sweetest hearts of a 3 year old I know and Tim says Connor gives the best hugs.

We were even blessed with some great clouds that evening which made for a perfect backdrop!

I think this has definitely got to be up there with one of my favorite shoots so far.  I love how they turned out. I had so many favorites it was hard to choose just a few to share.  Sarah did a lot of the "prep" work for the shoot.  She knew what she wanted and she brought her own props.  That made it SO much easier and that much more interesting.  She would also pin things on Pinterest and I would get to see what she liked and the style she was going for.  And since we lived the next town over she even went out driving and found a great location!! 

I can't explain how much I cherish your friendship Matt & Sarah!!!!  Thank you for being such a great example of how to love God and love others!

Good Encouragement

Over the last few months I've been thinking of how I want to use this blog.  I want to make it more consistent without it interfering with my role as a wife/mother.  I really like using it as a journal about my family and I want to continue that.  There is so much more that goes on in my heart and my head that I wish I could put down.  I love to be challenged; especially as a mom.  I love to read articles that speak to the heart of staying home and being content and joyful in that calling.  I love to read articles that will make me think, and make me consider doing something completely "crazy" against the natural movement of most.

For as long as I can remember one of my biggest desires has been to be a stay-at-home mom.  I knew it was a calling worth fulfilling.  Just because the desire is there and I know it is worth it, doesn't mean it has come easily.  I struggle daily with my own selfish desires.  I struggle with wanting more time to myself to improve upon my talents and interests.  Some say there's nothing wrong with that.  What speaks deeply to my heart are the women who speak of serving their family joyfully and wholeheartedly.  Sacrificing some of what they want for pouring their souls into the lives of their children.  For what greater calling is there?

I know there has to be a healthy balance of taking care of me so that I can take care of my family...but there is a part of me that wants to swing more on the side of taking care of me.  I seek the encouragement of women who are on that same path, maybe a little bit farther ahead.

Saying all that, there are a few blogs I check regularly that spurs me on to love my calling.  Some posts seem to stick out more to me than the others and I want to remember those for myself and to share them with you.

So for encouragement #1:

A few months ago my friend Sarah recommended this book to me:

find @ Amazon

Before we left I downloaded it to my Kindle and I only have to find a converter so I can get it charged and start reading it!  We had a few conversations about the book as she was reading it and I look forward to the challenge as we raise 3 boys!

I came across this short video today and it reminded me of the book and the conversations I had with Sarah.  I pray that Tim and I are able to instill in our boys this definition of being a man.  Although I'm sure it gets more complicated as they get older, what a simple way to start! 

Our First Week

This afternoon marks our first week since we reached Bamberg.  While the boys FINALLY seem to be adjusting to the new time, Tim and I still seem to be having difficulty.  We might go to sleep for a few hours then wake up in the middle of the night for hours, or we just stay up till an insane time (3AM).  The lack of sleep is definitely making the days harder to bear.  Prayers for peace and little brain stimulation from all that is new and yet to be learned would be much appreciated.  We want to rest in the knowledge that God is our Provider and to trust in His plans.

There has been frost in the mornings when we first go out, and on Friday some storm clouds blew in and dropped some snow.  It blew over in about 10 minutes and nothing stuck.  We are very thankful that there is no snow yet.  The 30 degree weather plus winds of 10-20 miles, at times, is enough of an adjustment to start with.  Tim was told that at this time last year they had a foot and a half of snow and it was in the negatives!  I don't know what we'd do it we just moved here under those conditions!

The guest room we are in has a mini-fridge and a microwave.  I think we were put in the "over-flow" room because most of the other guest rooms have a full oven/stove.  We are very grateful that they made space for us, otherwise we could be off post. We heard that being in a hotel off post would be even worse than what we have now.  The main complication that our room is bringing us is lack of food.  So far we've managed.  We planned on eating at the DFAC but I learned last week, the hard way, that they aren't open for dinner.  Why, I don't know.  We ate there twice this weekend though and I sympathise with the soldier that has to eat there everyday.  I almost cried during our first meal there.  Literally.  I had to hold back tears.  Probably in part that we hadn't had a real meal in about six days.  I was really hungry and crazy disappointed.  I was thinking it might be like our high school cafeteria food.  Pretty sure it was worse.  Or I have a jilted memory of what our school's cafeteria food tasted like. Oh well.  The second time around wasn't quite as bad.  Tim says that's all it takes.  One meal, and you are used to it.  I think I just had my expectations too high.

We made it to the Commissary this weekend and were able to pic up a few items, but our freezer can only hold so much (plus it doesn't really keep things frozen...just slight there of).  We've eaten lots of PB&J, hot dogs, and microwavable pizza.  I picked up some frozen dinners for tonight and some friends two buildings over offered their kitchen for use when needed.  The boys and I managed another trip to the Commissary this morning and I picked up some hamburger helper and stuff to make tacos.  Now I just need to make another trip back to the PX to buy a pan.  :) 

The boys are doing well considering the confined space and the limited amount of time we are able to get out since Blaine doesn't handle to cold so well.  We ran thru the thrift store this morning and picked up some "new" toys to help keep them entertained.  So far it's working.  Since I no longer have a phone, I figured I had better invest in a watch.  I picked up a $10 one at the PX this morning.  Paid for it.  Asked the cashier what time it was, then went to set my watch.  The battery was dead.   I proceeded to walk about 10 feet back to the jewelry area and asked the lady behind the counter if she could pop it open and tell me what kind of battery it was so I could buy another one.  Nope.  They aren't allowed to open it up.  She said I'd have to take it to a jeweler...which there isn't one on post.  Lovely.  So, I'm going to attempt opening it up on my own tonight.  Nothing's easy, right?! Now that we have the on post bus system figured out hopefully we can get out a little more.  Due to our fridge size I see a daily trip to the Commissary in our future. 

We still haven't enrolled Ryan is school yet. While everything on Post is with a 1 mile walking distance, and the Elementary School is about 1/2 mile, I don't feel excited about walking him and two other little ones at 6:45 in the morning.  If we take the bus we'd have to ride about an hour before it makes it back around to the school. It's still up for discussion, and homeschool is still on my heart.  With homeschool we'd have a late start as well, but we could continue thru the summer.  Enrolling him in public seems pointless until we get our van; which is still a few weeks out.



Blaine has become a "professional walker" the last few weeks and has also seemed to turn that 18 month corner, although he's only 15 months.  You know...the I'm getting closer to 2 and wanting to do what I want to do so I'm going to scream and throw fits.  It seemed to happen overnight.  Almost always seems that way. 

We've been watching a lot more TV/movies than normal plus the boys get time to play computer games.  I packed stuff to help keep us busy in our unaccompanied shipment of goods, but that's still about a week or so out.  Now that we have the on post bus system figured out hopefully we can get out a little more.  Due to our fridge size I see a daily trip to the Commissary in our future.   The PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) meets on Wednesday mornings and I hope to be able to attend soon.  I just have to figure out childcare for the boys first.  There is also a week long class they offer to spouses that takes you out into Bamberg to learn the city shopping/eating/bus system/etc.  The first class offered is in March.  Tim will be in the field the entire month of March so it should be a good time to go.

There is another couple from Tim's unit that we have made friends with and I think we are debating a trip to Nurnberg this weekend.  We just have to figure out the local bus or train system first.  I don't understand how it works but he came with orders saying they would have to live off post.  The only thing I can guess is that they are short on 2 bedroom apartments on Post.  He's doing his best to find something close to post so his wife can still walk to the Commissary, but the pickings are slim.  He said he called one the other day that was about 1 block outside the gate and the lady told him another guy called 10 minutes prior and said he'd take the apartment without even looking at it.  Tim went to housing last week and we are 3rd on the list for a 4 bedroom.  We haven't been given any sort of time line as to how long the wait is.  Tim goes back on Thursday to check in so hopefully we will hear something more.  We are very grateful for the on-post housing.  With moving overseas I really didn't want to have to deal with finding our own apartment and then figuring out all the utilities.  We are grateful for having that whole area of our lives taken care of; despite the wait.

Well, I think I've done enough blabbing for today.  I know I've promised pictures, but Blaine's naptime is over so doesn't look like it's happening now.  :)