Home At Last!

              So we have been together, the three of us, in our home in Minot for one month now! We are loving our new home!! It seriously is like 3-4 times bigger than our apartment in Germany! We have room here to be ourselves and not worry about people who live below us. We are connected to our next door nieghbor by the garage and by a room which is our guest bedroom/computer room. Another exciting thing about our place is, we have a tree in our front yard!! A mature tree, one that has been there a while. (Which is pretty awesome b/c not many trees here except the tiny newly planted ones.) We have our own backyard! (Which will be fenced in this Spring/Summer) And right outside of our backyard we have the nieghborhood playground! So the playground is like 50 feet from our back door! Which will be super nice this summer!
             Andrew did amazingly on the trip up here! It took us 5 days to get here from North Carolina.We were able to see so much on the way up. The first day we drove almost the whole way through TN. We would have gone all the way through that night but we saw a nice place to stop, and we wanted to check the area out when the sun was up too. It was Jackson, TN. They had an area dedicated to Casey Jones with trains and stuff, almost like an old western type theme. We ate dinner at the restuarant and walked around the gift shop. I baught some home made Lavendar Soap. They had alot of old fashioned candies and jams there too.

From Jackson TN we were able to drive up to Lawton, OK to stay with Grandma and Grandpa Blake. This was our first time being able to go and visit and stay with them. Andrew had so much fun playing with a toy train set at thier house and before we left they ended up giving the train set to him.

The picture above is of Andrew playing with toys at his Aunt Maureen's house while we were watching the Super Bowl 2012. We had a GREAT time just relaxing and hanging out with everyone.

Grandma and Grandpa Blake

Andrew and Uncle Tom

Saying Good-Byes before we hit the road again.

Grandma and Grandpa Blake

We stayed two nights with Grandma and Grandpa Blake and we got to go to church with Grandma, Grandpa said he was not feeling well enough to go. And can you believe it?! Andrew stayed in nursery the whole time all by himself in thier ward!!! This is the first... and only time that he has done this! He hasn't done it since then. I guess he was just happy to get out of the car for a change.

The picture above was taken in Iowa, where we spent the night after leaving Oklahoma. This was our first time driving through snow during the whole trip. I remember the lady working behind the desk at the hotel was laughing at us like crazy because of our Southern accents. It was pretty funny.

And of corse we couldn't leave the hotel without letting Andrew throw a few snowballs first!

While traveling we saw informantion signs along the highway for the Mormon Trail Center. So we followed them and we stopped here to take the tour.

Lots of hands on stuff to see how big the carts were. I don't really know if Andrew really got anything out of going but he really did enjoy himself!

This is how big the beds were on the ship, not much room at all

We would have gone over to the cemetary which was just across the street but it was completely covered in snow and we would not have been able to tell where we were walking.

Winters Corner. The Temple is right by the Mormon Pioneer Cemetery.

This beautiful statue is in front of the Mormon Trail Center Building

Sleeping peacefully.

We saw an information sign from the highway about a Dino Story Land... Well this is the only Dino thing we found... So maybe this is it?? This is like right in front of a busy gas station too.

FINALLY!!! We made it!!! But I must say, our journey up to North Dakota went surprisely well! We all had good attitudes, especially Andrew, and I only had like one melt down where I broke out crying for like 30 minutes... But besides that it was PERFECT!! Glad to have us all together again. I know Andrew is so glad to be back with his Daddy!

I know this is a rough picture but it was taken like at 1 AM on the night/morning that we got in our new home!! Can you believe that we got here at 1 AM then our household goods from Germany were delivered to our home like 9 hrs later that morning!! We got there in perfect timing to get our stuff and not have to re-schedule.

Okay, I have finally done it! I have updated the blog about our move up here. WooHoo! Go Me! But now, well another day, I have to update about how Andrew's second birthday went. Can you believe it?!?! Andrew is TWO now??!! I sure can't. I have been having a really hard time lately like emotionally, no I am not crying all of the time or anything like that, I have just been in a funk... down in the dumps I guess you could say. I don't know how or why but I have told Drew and he is trying to help me out the best that he can. In the mean time, the number one thing that gets me through my days are the sweet little hugs and kisses Andrew surprises me with all throughout the day! Makes my heart melt!! I love that boy so much!!

 

North Dakota Here We Come!

           Just a recap of the past two months...
           We left Germany to come to the good ole US of A! To our next station area, Minot, ND. Now with the aweful flooding that they had last year they were very limited on housing. On base housing, or so I have heard, is on higher grounds than off base housing. (Which is what got the worse of the flooding) So they have been building houses like crazy on base! Andrew and I stayed here in Georgia with my family since there was going to be quite a wait for the housing while my husband stayed in a "dorm" room.
          We were originally thinking that we'd be seperated til at least May so we had already planned for that. We originally started out as #106 on the housing (beginning of Dec.) waiting list but then made it to #84 like right before Christmas and then just the week after Chistmas we like made it to #66! We were shocked it made such a big jump over Christmas break! And then sometime in the first week of January, I think it was the 7th, Drew called and told me that the day before he checked on the housing list and we only are #53 now, so not as big of a drop as I was exapecting... but hey, it is a drop! And then I was in a doctor's office on the 10th and Drew called me and he was like really happy and said he had something to tell me... We got a house!! I was a little shocked.. A house already?! But it was true. And yesterday, January 25th, he got to get the key to the house and check it out. He took a few pictures and sent them to me. He said it was really nice though and he likes it alot! So February 1st at 8 PM I will pick him up at the Augusta AirPort!! Drew and I will get to spend the evening alone, because my parents said they would watch Andrew overnight for us!! I'm SO EXCITED!!
          
           Andrew has grown so much since the last time his Daddy has seen him! His hair has even grown alot too. He says more, doesn't talk in sentences but he uses some words. Right now he really likes the word "play" And he LOVES to play, but what toddler doesn't! (right?!) Andrew has always had a fascination with letters and has always loved watching his Leap Frog DVD called "Letter Factory" For Christmas I got him a Pre-K workbook that just had the Alphabet in it. (Just something for him to look thru during church) Well he REALLY liked it! And he kept studying the letters and within a week of having it he was identifying each letter and saying thier names all by himself! I am so proud of him!! And his favorite show on TV right now is... "Wheel Of Fortune" He says the letters as they show up on the puzzle and loves it! He even claps along with the audience! Too Cute!

January 2, 2012

           I have an amazing husband! He is so sweet and thoughtful. He was finally able to keep a secret from me, and this is a first. He very sweetly behind my back ordered me a birthday cake from Bruster's Ice Cream and got caroline to pick it up for me and even pay for it with our card. He was very slick with it. And he said he does have a gift for me that he ordered that should be here tomorrow. He hasn't broke down yet and he has not told me what he got me, this is big for him! I am sure if we were all living together that it would not have played out the same. hehe. But all in all I had a pretty good birthday. The only thing that could have made it better would have been if Drew could have been here with us.

We basically all started crying when we

saw the cake!!

           I am so proud of our son Andrew! He is basically 22 months old and can pretty much identify every letter of the alphabet and name the letter. I was in WalGreens the other day with him and he was naming letters that he saw in the store as we were passing them and this guy said that he could not believe at how well Andrew was doing. He was shocked when I told him how old he is. It really makes me feel like I am doing something right afterall. He has just become so clingy with Drew being gone and now with Spanky Dog up in Heaven. Today I was able to leave him here with his Grandma and Papa while Caroline and I ran a few errands. He did pretty good, didn't really cry thanks to his grandparents keeping him busy. We'll just have to do this more often.
       

Updates

            It has been too long since I have posted on here last. And alot has happened recently. Stuff that I feel should be remembered before forgotten.
          We have been in the States for about a month now and Drew has been in North Dakota for 3 weeks. Andrew and I are in Georgia with my family. Things have not been easy for us, pretty much since the day we landed... My heart was broke that day and this past week my heart has broke even more. But before I get to that let me explain about the housing situation. Drew got to ND and got on the housing list as soon as he could and we started off at number 106. One week later we got to number 84 then this past week Drew told me we are now number 73. So all in all it is going well. And we dropped 11 spots over Christmas week.
           Christmas was good. The weather this year has been very mild so it hasn't really felt like it was Christmas in that sort of way, if you know what I mean. Like today is December 31st and we went for a walk and I had a short sleeve shirt on. But for Christmas Santa brought Andrew a Toy Story Tent, an Auqa Doodle Mat, a Zippy Car thing (double sided wood cars). Pretty much small stuff, but something for him to play with while we are here.
           December 27, 2011 was one of the saddest days. I learned that night that Spanky got hit by a car and was dead. My parents' next door nieghbor, Gill, found him dead on the side of the road. Gill came and told my Dad, I was back in Caroline's room so didn't really know what was going on. Well Daddy and Gill went outside and burried him and I found out later that night. I do not show emotion with this in front of people, it bothers me the most at night when it is time for bed. And calling Drew and telling him what happened was one of the hardest things that I have had to do. Drew is hurt so bad and I worry about him, with being there alone in ND. We tried giving Spanky the best that we could and we were so grateful to have him as part of our family. He will truly be missed but always remember by us.
         

LAST NIGHT IN GERMANY

           Here I am at the Spangdahlem Base in Germany sitting in the temperary housing. It is our last night here in Germany. Tomorrow morning at 4:45 AM we have to catch a shuttle bus to the Ramstein Air Base. Our flight should leave around 10. We are flying in a 747, a really big plane! It does not seem like we are leaving, it does not seem real. Today at church while saying goodbye to everyone it seemed like a movie, like it wasn't us... It was really wierd. I did not cry or anything, until it was time for us to leave. I got to give my friend Tracey Oliver a hug one last time and I just bawled my eyes out! We also had dinner this evening with the Brimhalls. They live in a condo just a building down from us. Dinner was great and it was really nice to sit back and talk and have a good time.
           It is a few minutes past midnight right now and I still have to finish packing everything up for tomorrow. But I have everything in the front room here and it should be pretty easy to get done. A part of me just cannot believe that we are leaving tomorrow... I have several little toys picked out along with a few little books for Andrew and I am grouping them up in quart size zip lock bags. So I can just grab it out of the bag to let him play with it. And then put it back in the bag and get a different one, so he doesn't get too bored with the SAME TOYS the whole 10 hours or so. And another thing that might be a life savor is the Magni-Doodle Board that we got for him at the BX a few weeks ago. He just loves to draw/write so this way he can while we are on the flight and I won't have to worry about him drawing/writing all over everything.
           A hard thing about moving every couple of years is that you make good friends and then just have to move and start all over again. One person that I really am going to miss is Jessica Lymann. We have not really gotten the chance to hang out and think that we really have alot in common. We both really wish that we had more time here and could live alot closer to each other.
           One day Drew and I would like to try and come back here sometime. It will of corse be many years from now. But I am going to go right now while Andrew is still asleep and try and get all of this packing done. :D

Our Final Days In Germany

           (Just a little note) This entry is probably not going to be typed in one sitting, I barely can think things thru right now. So I will post little by little.

            Today is the 7th of November, 2011... And that means that we will be in the States in 14 days. It is a bitter-sweet moment. I mean it will be exciting to go and see our parents again and all, but we are going to miss the simplicity of life here. Ahhh, I am going to miss the friends that we have made here! It is so sad because I have made the closest friends during the end of our time here.              

So The Count Down Begins

           So we MOVE OUT of the apartment on the Bitburg Base on the 18th and move into TLF on the Spangdahlem Base. On the 21st at 10 AM we leave for the States. Tomorrow, November 2nd, some people are coming over to tell me what all NEEDS to be done for when we leave the apartment. I have been trying to get things organized so it won't look so hectic around here when they come. :D
          I found out that the church over in Minot is pretty big, like two wards split between the base!
          There has been alot weighing down on my heart and mind lately. I just do not understand how people can act in such ways. And there is nothing you can say to them because they are just going to blow up at you and turn it on you. I am just so worried about how things are going to go.