snow and schnitzel

Jet lag is not all a bad thing.  You find yourself WIDE awake at hours you haven't seen since you were a teenager...whoo hoo...you feel young again, for a few hours at least!! I can't remember the last time I was up at 3:30 a.m., ready to face the day, not tired AT ALL.  The downfall..by 2:30 p.m. you can't keep your eyes open another minute and have to take a nap, promising yourself that you will only sleep for a half hour.  3 hours later you are awake and going full speed, only to find that your not tired when you should be (10 p.m.) and the cycle continues.  Your eating dinner when your body is telling you it's breakfast and breakfast when your body is telling you it's dinner time.
We were up bright and early this morning with the plan to head to the International Baptist Church in Stuttgart.  It is the closest speaking English church to us.  The drive to Stuttgart takes right about an hour.  If you read yesterdays blog post, you know that we rented a car equivalent to an American Ford Focus (ours is the station wagon version).
Just after we arrived yesterday, a light snow was falling- off and on during the afternoon and then a bit last night.  First service started at 9:30 a.m. so we were out the door just after 8.  The snow had stopped here in Schwabisch Hall and the roads were only a bit covered.
As we got closer to Stuttgart, the snow had started again, it was sticking and building on itself fairly fast.  As we pulled up to the church, I told Matt we should probably not go but instead, start heading back to Schwabisch Hall- we didn't know if they were expecting a lot of snow or if this was going to be it.  Our vehicle doesn't have studded tires or four wheel drive- the freeway was not plowed or cindered, neither were the streets.
We were all hungry and didn't want to waste an hours drive so decided to make a stop on our way back.  It was a local pup/restaurant that had a special of the 200g Schnitzel today (pounded out breaded pork) and fries.  They served it with carbonated tonic water (not the tap but other than that you are served carbonated tonic water.  not my thing but really good to some).
The snow had let up by the time we left the restaurant and we enjoyed the ride home...
Matt and I keep saying that Germany, at least the part we are staying in, looks like the set of a movie.
It really is beautiful!
P.S. Ryan will start treatment tomorrow.
P.S.S. Our luggage arrived.  Praise God!

Our waitress did not speak English so she brought out the cook- He spoke very little English but enough that we could place our order

Love these two!!

200g of Schnitzel....can you imagine eating 400g (offered on the menu).  Maybe we'll work our way up to the 400g by the time we leave :)

This was the salad bar.  Pretty much everything was pickled....

lufthansa, the autobahn, and grocery shopping

We're here!
I just have to give a shout out to Lufthansa Airlines.  Our trip from Seattle to Frankfurt was outstanding.  The food (pictured below) was a visual nightmare but tasted delicious.  I told Matt that the spinach they put on top of our breakfast omelet looked like something dumped out of your lawn mower bagger, after mowing wet grass (but was still good).
Our flight landed on time at 9:00 a.m. this morning (1/16).  Going through customs was easy- our passports were checked and quite a few questions were asked about our destination- they checked Isaiah's passport and then immediately asked for his notarized paper work from his parents stating that he could travel with our family.  In the Frankfurt airport, it seems that most of the police and attendants understand English.
After going through customs, we went down to pick up our luggage.
Lufthansa is still searching for it (AAAHHHH!!!).  It did not come up in their system so they are in the process of locating where it is.  Our hope is that our 4 checked bags did not make our connection in Seattle (as opposed to being 'lost' completely).  The blessing in our lost bags is that we did not have to rent a second car to bring it all to our destination (2 hours outside of Frankfurt).  When they find it, they will deliver it to our apartment.  Still, the negatives in not having our luggage outweigh the positives so I'll just move on to the next subject :)
THE AUTOBAHN
It's crazy fast and completely AWESOME.  I had told Matt that we were supposed to stay out of the left lane (that's for the vehicles going over 100).  We rented a car equivalent to an American Ford Focus....it's practical but not a speed demon....unless my husband is driving.  Somehow he was able to left lane it most of our way to Schwabisch Hall (our 2 hour car ride was quite a bit less).
Just before we arrived in Schwabisch Hall, we pulled into a grocery store.  Ryan grabbed the cart (which you pay a Euro to use and then get your Euro back when you return the cart) and we headed inside.  You also have to bring your own bags for your groceries (or purchase bags at the store, which we did).  You just have to wing it and think of the grocery store as a picture book.  You can't understand a word of what is on the food but you look for pictures.  we bought meat that had a picture of a cow and a pig on it, along with the German name for beef and pork.  Food is cheaper than by us, in Oregon, and taste's fresher.  The store we were at, you did not have any other option than to buy organic produce and the bread items are sold much like a specialty bakery in the states. I tried to ask questions but could not find anyone who spoke English.  We had ham and swiss sandwiches for lunch with chips (the chips are delicious- not greasy but very crisp).
We arrived at our apartment around 2 p.m. (German time so 5 a.m. PST).  Schwabisch Hall is an adorable town that is very traditional looking.  Our apartment sits right next to the town square and close to the treatment center Ryan will be receiving treatment at.
The little bit of Germany we have seen has a very homey feel.  For those reading this that live in the States, it feels a bit like Pennsylvania and a bit like Portland (OR).
Here we go!! Day 1 of 91 is in the books

Canada

Elle's coloring in the coloring book from her school (Thank you Dale)

breakfast (remember those lawn clippings I talked about above...check out the wad of them in the right corner of the omelet)

Isaiah seeing Germany for the first time

The sun rising just before we landed in Frankfurt

This was their view of the Autobahn :)

This is a small village type town just before we came into Schwabisch Hall- not sure what the name of it is but this is where we did our grocery shopping

Our kitchen (with all the groceries)

The view from our living room window.  It started snowing just after we arrived....It feels like a movie set!

a blog post from the plane

I am actually writing this post from the airplane :)
Lufthansa offers wifi on this particular flight (14 Euro for 4 hours)
Currently, we are 2334 miles from Frankfurt and have 5 hours to go.  It is 3:58 a.m. German time and 6:58 p.m. PST.
WHAT A DAY.
This is our first time flying internationally- We are on the longest passenger carrying aircraft in the world (B747-400), according to Lufthansa's information sheet.  It is a double decker plane with state of the art eco friendly services (source, Lufthansa).  Each of us have audio in the front of our seats with over 120 different selections to choose from.  I've personally been watching the 'Flight Info' page the entire time.  It's interesting to see the plane making it's way out of Seattle and into Canada.  When we crossed over the Slave Lake (Canada) area it made me think of my friend Tanaya, who, if I remember right, is from Slave Lake.  We are currently making our way into Iceland, then will drop down over into Europe 5.5 hours from now.
It was an interesting commute, earlier today, when we had to go from the Alaska/Horizon terminal to the Lufthansa terminal.  We had a bit over an hour from the time we landed into Seattle on Alaska Air until we were departing on Lufthansa- We had no time to spare, by the time we arrived in the Lufthansa terminal and made it to gate S15, they were beginning to board the plane.  We had to be ticketed at the Lufthansa desk which took only a bit (thank goodness).  To all of my nephews who will be heading over, get to SEA TAC earlier than what you would normally cause it's going to take you some time to get to your gate (and go through TSA).
We are heading away from the sun so only had light for the first hour and a half of our flight.  We were served a dinner of chicken and rice (with a dark chocolate brownie...Janelle H. and Rhonda- you would have LOVED the dark chocolate) just after it got dark and then they brought around warm wipes for us to wash our hands with.  The wipes smelled really good (like a faint citrus)- Ellie was completely grossed out by them and refused to use hers- so I used it!
Ellie has traveled like a boss today- It is the first time she has flown- Before we left, her school gave her a care package that had a coloring book in it- she alternated between coloring and looking out the window going 'WOW!' our first flight- This flight, she has been watching movies the entire time.

We just crossed into Iceland...it looks beautiful!  Just kidding- remember it's dark outside..

Isaiah and Ry have been just chilling out since we left.  Those boys have some miles behind their friendship- lived in the same state (Hawaii) from when they were 10 until they were 12 and have stayed in contact since.  such a blessing.

We didn't travel light....we have 300 pounds of luggage.  200 pounds checked and 100 pounds of carry on.  50 of those pounds is food.....macarroni & cheese, sun butter, pinto beans, flour tortillas, white eggs since I could not find one store that carried them...blah blah blah- you name it and it's probably in the bag I got from Goodwill that will only make a one way trip with us (I will leave it in Germany when we head home....the food will be gone).
We rented a car in Frankfut instead of traveling by train to our destination- I think we are going to have to rent 2 cars to fit all the luggage.  I'm not sorry though, packing light has never been in my vocabulary :)

I was also kidding about packing white eggs- it was tempting but I figured they would not do too well  in checked luggage.

Thank you to all of our friends and family for the prayers and love you have shown us- I have been in tears multiple times reading your messages.

I will talk to you all after we get to Germany.

P.S. Eli, I miss you already

the sun will come up tomorrow....

The sun will come up tomorrow and with it we will begin our travel to Germany.
I don't think excited is the right word to use to describe how any of us are feeling- it's more of a determination to pursue the best treatment (we feel) available to give Ryan the best possible chance of overcoming Lyme Disease- we also feel so thankful that there is treatment available.
God has been faithful these past 4 months, since we first learned that Lyme was still present in Ryan's system (after battling it for 6 months in 2014) and we know that He will continue to be faithful as we walk through the next 3 months in Germany.   He has allowed many blessings and has given Matt and I such peace in pursuing treatment in Germany.  But even with God's peace, it still has not been an easy road (my heart goes out to those who are walking this road of Lyme and pursuing treatment along with us...if we've spoken, know that you are in our prayers).
I have a few prayer requests as we walk through the next several days:
Of course the obvious, safe flights :)
Could you also please be praying that navigating through customs, the airport in Germany, renting our car, driving several hours on the autobahn, grocery shopping and the language barrier we will encounter while trying to find our 'usual' foods, and then finally locating the apartments we've rented in the town where Ryan will be receiving treatment will all go smooth....Thank you in advance for your prayers!
We will arrive in Germany around 9:00 Saturday morning (right around midnight tomorrow night West Coast time).  Our time difference will be 9 hours (they are ahead).  If we are up for it, Sunday morning, we will go to an English speaking Baptist Church about 45 minutes away in a town called Stuttgart.  Ryan will begin treatment at 10:00 Monday morning (1:00 a.m. West Coast time) and will continue treatment 3 days a week for 10-12 weeks.
As you start seeing pictures of our trip, you will see an 'extra' in our bunch.  Ry's friend, Isaiah, is joining us for the first 3 weeks. As our family navigates a 9 hour time change, Isaiah will be navigating a 12 hour time change (he flew in from Hawaii yesterday)...good thing he's young :) We are so glad he is able to join us!!

Talk to you all soon....

2 Timothy 1:12

those things that bring you to tears

• A zit on the inside of your nostril.  When you attempt to pop it, will make even the strongest resort to weeping like a baby.  I may or may not have had this issue on Sunday night and I may or may not have a big red scab just outside of my left nostril currently.  The tears when I went to pop it were involuntary and the pain was worse than delivering my 2 boys, both of which were at the 9# mark, without pain medication
• Running over a skunk and having their stink sack squirt up onto the vehicle your driving.  It's like cutting a really strong onion- you blink and blink and it just makes the sting and tears worse.  I finally pulled over, got out, and stood on the side of the road...it was that bad (I also dry heaved but that didn't help)
• When you look out your sliding glass door....into your back yard and see the Wal Mart swing set sitting in the weeded grass.  When you look beyond the swing set, through the chain link fence to see the grass (that will become hay this summer) that your husband and boys planted in the field starting to sprout.  When you walk to your kitchen window and see the cars driving by.....over 1800 a day by our house is what our County's traffic survey says...When you realize that, in, the 11 homes you've lived in over the last 21 years, you really feel like your home.  It totally brings me to tears :)

Happy Thursday!

until spring :)

We didn't have our usual professional family picture done this year, the one that goes on our Christmas Card- We also didn't send out our Christmas Card this year, only the second time in 21 years that this has happened....There has been so much preparation going into our Germany trip, it just didn't happen. I told our Photographer, Christine, that we were going to try for the picture in the spring (and send out a card in the spring....maybe I'll have it titled 'Merry Late Christmas'....hee hee!)
Sub Consciencely, since not getting our usual yearly professional family picture, I have attempted to take my own- it's been a super unsuccessful attempt on my part...my boys think it's a time to joke around....Matt joining with them most of the time

This is what trying to get a family picture of all 5 of us this morning looked like
no editing, your seeing every picture I took (except for one that was blurry)
I may have resorted to using my firm voice and being on the verge of yelling, trying to get my boys to 'pose'
it didn't help
I still never did nail the pic I really wanted
my boys
oh my goodness, MY BOYS
I laughed as I looked through these pictures tonight and appreciated the realness
appreciated their sense of humor
I remember doing the same things to my parents ('fill er up Phil' I would say to my step dad and then hold my cup up to him at the dinner table)
I think it's the right of passage for our kids...they do things that drive us nuts in the onset and then drive us to a fit of laughter when we think back (or look back) on the moment.
Here's as good as it get's for us, the best family picture you'll see until Spring, when Christine works her magic and my boys cooperate.

From our family to yours, Happy New Year!!

lutefisk and adoption

Christmas Eve morning, Elle's and I went out to my Nana's house to help make Lefse for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner, Lutefisk and Lefse (Lutefisk is a Norwegian word that means 'rubbish')
just kidding about Lutefisk meaning 'rubbish'- When it's cooking, it smells just like when you go to the dump on a really hot day- imagine that first whiff you get when you open your car door.  I stick with the Lefse (delicious home made tortilla's) smothered in butter and mashed potatoes and keep the distance great between the Lutefisk and I....my Nana, dad, and aunts love it- I don't know how I missed getting the 'love the Lutefisk' gene but I did (so did my sister) :)
When we were on our drive home, Ellie randomly asked me if she 'grew in my stomach'
'no sweetie, you didn't grown in my stomach.... God choose you to grow in your birth mom Heather's stomach and then join our family by way of adoption'
'oh'
as she was saying the 'oh', I could see her trying to make sense of what I was telling her.
I went on...
'God allowed mommy (me) to be at your birth when it was time for you to come out of your birth mom Heather's tummy (I was not in the delivery room but was out in the waiting room).  God also has allowed you to have two mom's, your birth mom Heather and me'
'Mommy and daddy adopted you Elle's....Adoption is a really special thing'
We talked a bit more about it and what it mean's to be adopted- I could tell she was taking it all in, processing it and tucking it away.
The whole time we were talking, I was praying for how Ellie will process her adoption story.  Praying that she will understand Heather's love, our love, and most importantly God's love.  Praying that she will understand, even in the quiet of her processing heart, that her birth story, while complicated, was chosen for her by God and filled with purpose.  

'For you created my inmost being;
 you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful,

    I know that full well.

15 

My frame was not hidden from you

    when I was made in the secret place,

    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

16 

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

    all the days ordained for me were written in your book

    before one of them came to be.'

Psalm 139:13-16

Ellie and I Christmas Eve morning

the Lefse making crew (thank you auntie anne for the picture)