And The Zoo Too

Our last day in Germany ..... H had a school field trip to the zoo in Stuttgart. The zoo is very nice lots of beautiful gardens and pathways to walk. I loved the ornate tile work along the Moorish Village. There are the usual zoo animals and also some unique zoo animals. Like for instance this is a Cuban rat..... if the rats in Cuba in fact look like this then wow it brings a new meaning to the " we have a rat problem" The signs were in German and English so it was a lot of fun to learn animal names..... There were also signs only in German, yet I loved that you could still understand the message.... The weather was perfect and the kids from his class were good. It was a great day at the zoo..... and a very unique goodbye to Germany.
H's favorite was the reptile and bug house..... it also had an aquarium...
We went to visit the Asian crocodile 3 times..... the stingrays were his favorite......and the frogs drew lot's of attention.......

The Venezuelan Box....

While the movers were frantically running around the house randomly selecting goods to throw into a box....... I found this move hilarious....
1. They movers labeled nothing.. so any labels are my best effort to follow the movers around and label one item I might have seen. There are things in each box from each room...
2. the movers in an effort to be trendy with the "green" movement recycled boxes.... I had boxes from all over the states and the world with all kinds of names and tape......
Now while I am one for adventure I have to say I am worried about all of my stuff arriving in one place...and not Venezuela... for example.....

this box puzzled me.. it became the topic of many phone conversations and chats amongst my friends.... it is certainly an "exotic" box..... and something different....

I often sat and thought "who moves from Venezuela to Germany?" " this person has to be crazy"... however I have moved all over the US and people probably think the same of me... and after all we moved from the US to Germany...so "why not"......

Then I have to say the anthropologist side of me came out I wanted to meet these people ask questions catch up share experiences.....

Then worry came back would my stuff go to Venezuela or make it to the states???
The dwelling in possibility Heather shined through and I thought " why not" what fun to think about where the box had come..and if it would continue it's journeys around the world.....

I may have to have a contest now that the Venezuelan box has become so famous and talked about... as to who I will mail it too....

Yes.... when our house hold goods arrive..... and if this box has made it to our house.... I will open up a post... you will have to leave a comment I will have the kids draw a number and my Venezuelan box can continue it's journey... I will even put a goodie from Texas inside.....

Who knows my famous Venezuelan box might end up with a blog of it's own.....
OH maybe I will have you make up a story about where you would take the box or use it for....
It is fun to dwell in possibility and to think a simple box could start it all.......
Inspiration can come from so many unlikely places......

Adaptation

Adaptation...... there are many definitions for this word.....right now it means trying to adapt to small living quarters, living in the states again,and the heat of Texas. I am very excited to be back in the states, but I have to admit there was some culture shock. We made the mistake of stoping in Orlando on our way back here to see T. Now it was fabulous to see T who is doing well and making wonderful healing progress. Orlando however is the "Las Vegas" of Florida and to go from quiet Germany to noisy overly flashy tourist area with rude people...... this is where the culture shock came. Now in Texas we are slowly adapting to the states and hot southern living.

Texas so far is fabulous, the people are so friendly and polite people actually use manners here! I am really loving this. The temperature here is hot of course, yesterday it was 80. It is so wonderful the sun has been shining the kids have been playing outside enjoying there outdoor freedom. I am so anxious to explore our new city and adapt to being a Texan........Summer is coming and expect more posts about the fabulous aspects of San Antonio Texas......
The polite and wonderful people have been so welcoming and I am sure we will have a great time here.

My goal this week is to get pictures up again.....I really need to attach the card reader.......
Until next time I am out to enjoy the sun........before it gets to hot.....

The storm before the calm....

I can't believe I am 10 days into May and just posting now. This week has been filled with all kinds of things. The movers came..... and after a stem ware /silverware incident things went ok.... I was shocked none of my boxes were labels and that the movers would randomly gather items from the house and throw them in a box...... So when our stuff gets to Texas eventually I should have a very interesting scavenger hunt to find things. I found it interesting that the movers can use old boxes.... I have boxes with other peoples names, I have a box from Venezuela..... yes one of the more interesting moves..... I hope all of my stuff arrives in one piece and safe.....

We have said good bye to our things, our car, and to so many things...... But this week we also started the goodbyes to our friends. Although our time here has been short we have made so many friends we will miss. They have been thoughful, kind and helpful... it is so hard to say goodbye.... I hope we'll see them soon in the States......

This weekend brings the cleaning.......and at some point I will get pictures loaded.....

Great Website....

I have to admit I am not one to purposely seek out "fair trade" eco friendly"... politically correct stuff.... I mean I care about the planet and I care about the environment but I am not going to pay 3 x's as much for an item to be part of the superiority club...... Now I do try to find environmentally friendly things and buy local I use reusable bags... I recycle..... I am always happy to do my part....

This all started..... I found these awesome rock crayons for the kids.... I lucked out the are soy based and eco friendly and within a reasonable budget.. this is win win... plus they are just plain cool. I saw them in a family magazine and got all excited to check out the web site.....

This website called ROMP has the coolest things for kids, I mean really creative things and toys clothes.. and plus it is all politically correct..... some of the items are over priced but a vast majority are reasonable and unique.. I like this.... This would be the place to go for unique kid/baby gifts.... so if you get a chance check it out.....
I may even add it to my list.....

Finding Unexpected Angels

My day started ordinary like they usually do... maybe it was different because I told myself today I was going to be productive, today I was going to smile more..... but really it was any day...

I ran my errands sat for breakfast with the kids smiled and laughed giggled and dressed the kids.... made beds, cleaned crumbs....

I made a blog post, and someone responded someone unexpected.. it reminded me that even though we think life is predictable it isn't. Sometimes simple words said at the right time by a friends or family member or a stranger can make a big difference.....

This reminded me I used to smile all the time out in public because you never know how a smile might change your day or someone else 's.... here in Germany I don't smile as often they find it strange and weird..... and once I had an old man yell at me in German and English that us American's shouldn't smile so much.....

I was reminded that when I feel alone all I have to do is look at friend's and families pictures, read my e-mails, letters and know that somewhere in this world people love me.... and I love them and think about them......

I spilled all of my change out of my coin purse at the bakery..... a group of German girls smiled and helped me pick up all of it ..even the little tiny Euro pennies ( they are so small) The talked to me and smiled one even hugged me...which is odd and unheard of.... but I thought it was wonderful.....

Several of my friends called and offered advice on buying a house ( something that is a possibility with our move) Jenny and Liz thank you for being there even though I am neurotic....

My husband wrote me a note that made me smile.. they were simple words less than 10 but I felt loved....
my children hugged and kissed me and told me they loved me....

I ran into a friend when walking home from the post office who literally ran up to me and hugged and kissed me on the cheek and showed such enthusiasm for seeing me I felt lucky to know them.... genuine friendship....This friend was having a good day and was healthy and happy.....this made me feel lucky... truly to have seen them

another friend was laid off from his job.. and I felt thankful I have a roof over my head I can be at home with my children and my husband has a secure job...... they are in my thoughts I hope a job comes to them soon.....

several other things happened today.. another friend called to tell me I was loved and thought of...

All day I kept thinking I have so many wonderful friends and family... I am blessed and thankful for this.... Spring is here and things are changing and blooming... life is slowly turning.... small details today made the world feel perfect...
why am I rambling on like a crazy lady..... Because we all get caught up in our own worlds with tunnel vision... we forget all those perfect little moments that make us feel loved and blessed... from family, friends or strangers...... today was a perfect day because of all of the loving small details that were perfectly filled with happiness and joy.....a perfect day of small and unexpected angels and blessings....the perfect day.....

The coming move....

The flurry of activity here is wonderful and irritating all at the same time. Moving time is upon us again and we have to prepare..... We are going to be overweight I can see it now.... remember the couch? not to mention some dressers and a cabinet.... I am more concerned with getting our ducks in a row than this. We have to coordinate movers, car shipments, work, plane tickets, a stop over to see T, and finding housing all in 3 weeks. I feel like a chicken with my head cut off. Our new base will be different we won't be able to live on base so the scramble has begun to find housing from overseas for us to move to. Sam will have some work related things going on when we arrive and will be off adventuring again also so this will leave us 1 week upon arrival to find a house and get settled. I feel like I am in another one of those mission impossible episodes where I have been handed a flaming challenge......

Things are being sorted and organized......special things have been packed. The kids are already planning and plotting. Research has started, day dreams have begun, the e-mail has gone out.... The move has begun. It is hard to believe we are moving again already how time flies by. I have to say that this has been our shortest stay in one place ... beating our 9 month record from Maryland. Our time has not been wasted we have traveled and explored, learned and grown. The path has not always been easy or clear, the plan often messy and complicated, but over all we have learned so much to enrich our lives. We appreciate our time here and the things we have learned, strengths we have gained, despite some new weakness uncovered we have experience to challenge us. We are all excited to be heading back to the USA.... soon we will be a part of T's progress and healing. Our family is forever changed by our experiences here. I am so glad we have been able to share these here. the good, the bad and the ugly..... I know the move will be filled with challenges, and we will be tired at the end, but enriched.

Without anymore sappy reflections .... Let the move begin...... we'll keep you posted on this new adventure as well as what our new home will have to offer..... Adventure awaits us even in the move....