Tomorrow is my 27th birthday, and looking back I could not imagine my life would look the way it does now. I am sure at some point I thought by 27 I would have some crazy career just taking off, a few kids at home, a home in the suburbs. 27 seemed so mature, like I should really have it all together! And now I feel like we are just getting started! We are not ready for kids yet, but we dream of having them someday. We relish in the thought (terrifying as it is) of being parents, but know it is all in God’s timing. Roo bear will have to do for now! Building a career has been difficult as a military spouse, but I would not trade the crazy different work experiences I have had for the world. They have molded me into the person I am (for better or worse!) I never in a million years thought I would live in another country or be able to experience such wonderful things as part of my everyday LIFE… as in, NOT just on vacation. But here we are! We have been in Germany just over a month now and I feel like a lifetime has passed. And we still don’t have internet or our shipment of goods! But my, what friendships and memories we have made in such a short time.

Last week was a pretty standard week! Ryder and I went for walks up our trails, I helped with an analysis at the USO I volunteer at, dance/yoga classes started at my studio on Thursday so I attended the yoga class I am teaching on alternate weeks, and the weather continued to be amazing. Michael had a few flights and has completed his TI or “Theater Indoctrination”- basically a continuation of training to ensure he knows how to fly in Europe. He is now completely spun up and ready for missions. He even got a call Saturday asking if he wanted to go on a mission Monday-Thursday and so he went in to get everything settled only to find out that although he had finished his necessary TI flights, the paperwork confirming it had not gone through yet, false alarm. But, it should be processed this week and he will be well on his way! Considering Michael has basically been in school or training since he started Kindergarten, this is a really exciting step for him!

As we continue to work to get settled here in Germany, we are slowly ticking things off the to-do list. Internet should be set up soon… hopefully. Our shipment of goods has apparently landed in country and is awaiting customs clearance before it is trucked this way and delivered, and last week we started the process of getting our International Drivers Licenses. The European one we studied for and took the test for is actually only good for Germany. So we took that test, went into the office and they issue a temporary one while you wait for the hard copy to come in the mail. We finally got those last week so we had to go BACK to the office on base, show them the hard copy, fill out ANOTHER piece of paperwork with further instructions of an office in Kaiserslautern we had to go to in order to pay for and receive our international license. No further testing is required, just more time and money and hassle. It is this sort of thing that drives me crazy. So in any case I decided to head on down to K-town on Friday to get mine since Michael was pretty busy and will have to get his later. As much as I LOVE Miss Pepper (my Nissan Pathfinder), parking her downtown anywhere is a challenge. I know this is the case and have accepted it, but looking for parking while trying to follow your GPS and navigate German roads DOWNTOWN surrounded by skilled and impatient German drivers without another pair of eyes in the car to look out for potential parking has not been my favorite experience thus far. Needless to say I drove around for about half an hour before I found some street parking I could fit into. Then spend another 10 minutes arguing with the parking payment machine so I could pay my 2 Euro and get on my way. Then it was a 15-minute walk to the office I actually needed to get to. Luckily, it was a beautiful, sunny day and I had time on my side. I eventually got there, waited another 15 minutes to be seen at which point the appointment took approximately 90 seconds and I was walking out the door with my International License…… sigh. The rest of my day was spent running errands and getting a few more items for the house. I enjoyed a lovely lunch at Ikea which was WAY fancier than the Ikea’s back home. German Observation: Germans don’t “do” paper products. It doesn’t matter if it’s a wine festival or lunch at Ikea, they are eating on real plates and drinking out of real glasses. They even pour their drink from whatever bottle or can it came from into a glass. I am not sure if it is a preference thing or a reduce trash thing, but I don’t mind it! It is just still surprising to see.

After Ikea I headed to the BX to get a rug for our living room. With a house full of tile, we just needed something thick and comfy for the living space and the BX had some good generic rugs (basically carpet with a finished edge) for pretty cheap. When I went the selection was not what it was a few days ago, so I picked what I thought was the least offensive one. I lugged that 100 lb thing onto a cart, rolled it to checkout, nearly took out a few people in the process, wheeled it out of the mall and into Miss Pepper (big car #WIN!), drove it home and hauled it up the stairs to the living room, moved all the (extremely heavy) TLF furniture out of the way, and unrolled the new rug only to realize I HATED IT. I left it there for Michael to take a look at because maybe I was being dramatic and the thought of rolling it back up and hauling it BACK into the BX to exchange it was just too much to handle right then. Michael came home and agreed- it was horrible. So we rolled that bad boy up and decided to return it the next day, which was significantly easier with another set of hands. We picked out a light white and tan one that was super soft (the selection was restocked BTW) and are now extremely happy with our purchase. Yet another lesson in Patience.

That evening Michael and I were ready to RELAX and spend some time together, so we went a couple villages over and ordered a pizza. Let’s just say we are still searching for a good pizza place. There were a TON of toppings (yay!) but hardly any sauce or cheese (noooooo) and the topping selection was strange… including black olives with the pits still in. NOT a fun surprise. In any case we didn’t have to cook dinner and have ruled out our most local pizza joint for future reference. The weather was wonderful and we enjoyed said pizza outside on our cardboard coffee table and our bag chairs. But the view never gets old and the weather is still perfection right now! Later that evening we went for a walk and our neighbors, the Thomsen’s, who live diagonal from us and are another squadron family, were enjoying time on their patio with their neighbors, and called us over! We went over and met them, their 3 children, 2 dogs and friendly neighbors on the other side. We ended up staying over there talking for over an hour! They are so friendly and we cannot wait to get our furniture so we can have THEM over! Always such a blessing to have neighbors who you know will watch out for you. There will be plenty of times I am home alone or vice versa when the guys are gone on missions etc. and it will be great to have a friend so close by. Oh and get this! Michael and CJ realized that CJ was a welcoming officer at IFS (Initial Flight Screening) out in Colorado when Michael went in August of 2014. Michael remembers seeing CJ on one of his first days there- the very beginning of his flying career! And now 2 years later they are here as fellow pilots. Kind of crazy!

Saturday was pretty lazy. Rug exchange, Michael headed to base only to get told he was not in fact paperwork ready for the mission (#morepatience), some yard work, paninis and pickles for dinner and a movie night. Ryder loves the new rug.

Sunday we were off to another wine festival in Burnkastel-Kues! The festival spans the weekend, but the PARADE is on Sunday! We all piled into Miss Pepper (huge car for another #WIN) and drove the hour and a half drive there. Unfortunately, another half hour was added on as we continued to get detoured all the way around our fist to get to our thumb. I guess with the parade routes and how the streets are closed for traffic, there is only one way to get in, and it was on the opposite side of how the GPS took us. But nonetheless we got there and about 10 minutes in the skies opened up and we got POURED ON. Luckily we are always prepared for any weather that might come our way, but it was still pretty wet. Later though, the weather totally cooperated and cleared up for the parade! The floats are all brought in by the surrounding vineyards, driven by tractors! The floats feature the wine princesses from that vineyard and are covered in flowers. Then the best part- people walk alongside the floats and fill up your glass with wine from that vineyard! It was so enjoyable, the weather turned crisp and cool and fun was had by all. Little Kinsley made out like a bandit, getting fresh bread, gummy bears and other trinkets from the parade participants. After the parade we wandered around, got some yummy fest food (brots, garlic bread, pretzels etc) and then met up with some other friends of Krista & Christy. We got rained on a bit more, but the worst of it was over and the remainder of the day was pretty low key.

Monday was Labor Day and Michael had the day off! I was a bit under the weather so we took the opportunity to relax and enjoy some down time. We discovered that you can rent movies at the Library! Don’t worry mom, we still do plenty of reading, just on our Kindles! So this resource for movies is wonderful considering we have no cable or internet yet and all of our DVD’s are still waiting to arrive. Michael even took Ryder on a super long walk and ended up 3 villages over and called me to pick him up! Cheers to a movie day and a yummy pasta dinner!

This week we keep our fingers crossed for word from the movers and celebrate my birthday Thursday! I had my first official German language lesson yesterday! We learned basic greetings and some much clarifying grammar. It is a 10 week course so I am excited to be a part of it and hopefully be able to say more than “Guten Morgen” and “Entschuldigen Sie!”. I also subbed a tap class yesterday and teach my first yoga class here tomorrow! Michael is not flying this week (which he is pretty bummed about) but hopefully that will make for a calm week and then a fun weekend! This weekend is Bad Durkheim wine festival, which is apparently one of the bigger ones- so of course we have to check it out!

Final note on #Patience. As we continue to get settled into our lives here in Germany, we are still waiting waiting waiting on certain things, and I am being humbled by a lesson in patience. It is the theme of my life right now, and is not something I feel particularly good at. Wait to get out of the TLF then wait for the TMO furniture then wait some more and more for all of your goods to arrive. Wait for internet to be installed. Wait for the right rug to come in stock so you do not need to return the one you bought impatiently, wait for our next time off so we can travel to one of the many destinations so close it is tantalizing us, wait for a job offer, wait on the SLOW postal service to deliver items we have ordered online, wait for family to come visit... but in the meantime enjoy the moment. Enjoy the perfect weather and breathtaking views, the friendships that God sent SO quickly because he knew we needed them more than furniture or internet, enjoy the yummy new food we get to try and the precious time spent with my husband because before I know it I will be waiting for him to get back from a mission, missing him desperately. I pray DAILY for patience, it is my intention in each yoga practice I partake in and is a constant internal struggle between being grateful for what is right in front of me and anxiously awaiting the exciting things to come. If I can ask for one prayer request for Michael and I right now it would honestly be patience. I have never been so surrounded by and overwhelmed with one quality that I need to better embody and just an ounce more would make all the difference. Cheers to learning #Patience.

Patience

Birthday Love

Exploring Our New Home