Counting Down

Throughout the month of November we have been counting our blessings.  To begin, we attended a church retreat in Rothenberg this month and had such a great time.  It was a lovely city to see!  We bundled the girls up and strolled down the street of the quaint, little town.  We shopped in many Christmas stores and enjoyed a delicious cup of hot apple cider.   I felt like I had walked into a life-size Christmas village.  I think it would be a lovely place to visit when it snows.  To add to the list, we celebrated Thanksgiving by stuffing our faces with food as we sat around the table with about twenty of our friends. Being around such great friends made it not so bad that our family was so far away.  Lastly, our church took a trip to a Christmas tree farm. Although we didn't get a tree for ourselves, we enjoyed the tractor ride out there, and dined at a nearby mill afterward.  We are glad to have been able to see a bit more of Germany, and count these experiences in our blessings!

Today is Dec. 1st.  Ben is with the band in London.  They are playing in the British Military Tournament, which sounds pretty awesome!  On Saturday the queen will be present.  For anyone interested, a brief discription of the tournament can be found at: http://www.britishmilitarytournament.com/.  He sure is enjoying playing, but it has been an adjustment to us all to have him gone so much.  this morning Natalie told me, "Mom, remember dad leaves us?"  We are counting down the days until he gets back (4!).

Decorations are out, tree is up, Christmas is on it's way.  One of my favorite parts of getting ready for Christmas is advent calendars.   I have a really fun advent calendar that is the shape of a house, and when you open each door, a different carol is played.  And of course there is chocolate!  What a great start to the day!  This is how we are counting down the days until Christmas, our first Christmas as a family of four!  It ought to be twice the fun! (24)

We are flying to Texas to spend the holidays.  The girls and I will be staying for a month, and boy we can't wait!  We are so excited to see our family, and for them to meet Miss Avree.  This is the longest that we have been away.  We have a lot of family Christmas traditions and are so glad to be able to be there to be a part of them. (19)
Let the countdown begin!!!

As you and your family begin the preparations of Christmastime, don't forget the reason for the season.
Thank you, God  for the most precious gift of all! (forever)

Excited to be on a trip, cuddled up in bed at the hotel

Rothenberg, Germany

Christmas tree farm, trying to stay warm and not get muddy!

Tis the Season

 Tis the season for holidays.  I wish I could say that things are finally slowing down, but rather they are doing the opposite.  We have now resided in Heidelberg for 6 months, Avree has reached the 2-month mark, and Natalie is officially a 2 1/2 yr old.  Reflecting over the past six months I have realized I have not traveled to as many places as I would have liked, but we have made some really special memories.

Things are quite different with two children.  The only word to describe it that I can come up with is constant.  Some days I am so overwhelmed, have such a headache, suffer from sleep deprivation, and my ears ache from the nonstop talking and the whining.  I feel as though others have no idea what it's like, as if I am the only one that has ever adjusted to life with two kids, and then I look around and realize others have gotten through it; I might too!  Some of my friends have two children even younger than mine, and others have three, even four kids...and they are smiling.  And that is what keeps me going.  To know that soon, hopefully, I will be able to manage two children with a smile on my face.  For now, I am just trying to keep up with what I did with the keys, snacks, change of clothes, and  kids ;)

Ben went to Berlin for 6 days, and I am proud to say we survived.  Us wives left behind  kept busy by attending playdates and taking turns cooking each other dinner.  I have also joined Mothers of PreSchoolers, which meets twice a month, and PWOC, a bible study group for women, that meets each Tuesday.  Both of these "meetings" offers childcare, which provides the girls and I  a much-welcomed break from each other :)  Also, I am meeting and getting to know many fabulous women. 

Halloween was loads of fun.  The kids were crayons- pink and purple.  I was surprised to hear so many people, both young and old, comment on their costumes.  At least four people even had to snap a picture.  To start the day, we went to a pumpkin festival which was held in the castle gardens in Ludwigsburg.  This was a very exciting day for us because we reunited with some friends from Fort Rucker (Natalie's best friend from there) who are now stationed in Grafenwöhr.  Together, we walked through the festival, which was themed this year "Jurassic Park."  We enjoyed a fun day watching the girls play, seeing the different pumpkins on display, and tasting many foods made from pumpkin ( I especially liked the pumpkin soup).  We then headed home for some trunk-or-treating on post. 
To read more about the pumpkin festival, check out the link: 
http://www.stuttgartcitizen.com/article.php?i=17903

With thanksgiving around the corner I am reminded of all the wonderful things which I have to be thankful for.  Friends and family tops my list, and today I am adding naps :)  For Thanksgiving we plan to have a big feast and invite all of the families that will be around.  As this falls right after a PT test I know Ben is looking forward to all the food :)

Tis the season of cool weather, warm clothes, and Christmas markets.  Each city has its own market that offers a wide selection of goodies from a range of vendors and last about a month long.  We hope to hit up a few before heading home for the holidays. Hopefully we can find some goodies to bring home with us.

We have lots on our calendar for the remainder of the year, and can't wait to share with you about more of our adventures.
Until then,
Take care & God Bless!

Better Late Than Never

     Better late than never.  It seems like this was Avree's motto from the beginning, and nothing has changed there.  These days we are late for everything.  We are late to appointments, late getting birthday cards in the mail, and we even took Natalie to a movie 30 minutes late.  But hey, we made it :)

     As I suspected, things with two children are a lot different than with  one.  It takes us so long to get ready, and we have to carry around so much stuff.  Before my mom left, we attempted to go shopping in Ramstein one day.  It went like this:  change diaper, feed baby, drive, change diaper, feed baby, feed us, change diaper, feed baby, shop, change diaper, feed baby, drive home.  We were gone for nine hours, and might have shopped for two.  It was such an exhausting day!  Since then, we have ventured out as little as possible.

     Since Avree has been born, I think we have been to the doctor almost as many times as I have changes her diaper! First, we had a 5-day check-up.  Then, we went back several times to weigh her because someone was concerned that she was losing too much weight.  Next, she came down with thrush (that adds a lot of stress to an already stressful situation!).  After that, we were back because her belly button got infected.  Yesterday, we took her to get an ultrasound done on her hip (everything turned out ok).  Today, we just got back from the doctor's office to get her seen about being congested, and to check up on everything else.  Hopefully we won't go back until it's time for shots.

     While I was pregnant, Natalie went to several of my appointments with me to "check on sister."  She liked seeing her on the screen.  I think it made it more real to her that she actually was going to have a sister.  We would tell her "See sister's head?  See her foot?" etc.  She always told the doctor, "Thanks for checking on sister."  Yesterday while getting the ultrasound done on Avree's hip, Natalie grew concerned.  "Let's just keep her," she told us.  I guess she thought we were there to drop Avree back off!  As we left with everyone we brought, Natalie once again told the doctor, "Thanks for checking on sister."  She is a great big sister.  She runs to check on her when she hears the slightest peep, covers her up with blankets, and supplies her with toys, even when she is asleep.  I hope they are as close to each other as I am with my sisters.

Take care and God bless,
Staci

Meet Avree Grace

     After 41 weeks, and 3 days (yes, that is 10 days overdue), Miss Avree greeted the world.  My experience in a German hospital was good, but different.  I will share the details with you, if you want to hear.
     It all started with my doctor going on holiday.  At the end of a visit, he told me the clinic would be closed next week, and that I should report to the hospital the following week for my usual check-in.  The weekly check-ins consisted of a 30 min monitor of the baby's heartbeat and any contractions I was having (nope!).  I continued to report to the hospital, until I finally asked how long he would be gone.  He was gone for 3 weeks, right up to my due date!  I finally went back to the clinic for a visit, only to be seen by a fill-in doctor.  It was she who referred me to be induced.  I was induced with Natalie ten days before my due date because she was a big baby, so each day that passed with Avree I grew more anxious.  I finally went in for indcution Saturday, Sept. 10th.
     We arrived at the hospital, filled out the necessary paperwork, and was escorted to our room.  I went in for monitoring, and then was given a little tablet, which resembled 1/4 of a Tylenol..  I then went back every hour for more monitoring and to see that I was not having any contractions.  We settled in to our little room the best we could, and watched time pass away.  As the afternoon progressed, I was to be given another portion of tablet.  Great, I thought.  I am never going to have this baby.
     Right before it was time for the second dose, a little wave appeared on the chart.  A contraction?  Maybe.  I hadn't felt anything.  We decided to wait until the next hour to take the medicine.  Meanwhile, Ben went out to run a few errands, he decided we needed more minutes on the cellphone and was going to check in on Natalie, who was staying at home with my mom.  As soon as he left, I began to feel a little discomfort, and started texting.  "Where are you?"  "Hurry back."  The pain intensified.  "Don't grab anything."  "Get back as fast as you can."  I was hopping around the room, not feeling the greatest, and decided to go ask for my epidural.  I took a deep breath, hobbled to the end of the end of the hall, and realized I didn't know how to buzz the nurses.  I can wait, I told myself, and hobbled back to my room.  Ben arrived about ten minutes later, around 4:30, and I shouted to him as soon as soon as he opened the door, "Go tell them I want my epidural."  He came back to get me and take me for more monitoring.  I don't think they understood.
While suffering through contractions, they tried to tie the belts around my waist.  I, unable to sit still, told them to get the anesthesiologist up here now!  I am pretty sure I terrified all of the pregnant ladies in the waiting room, and they soon took me back to a delivery room.  Upon quick check, the nurse announced that I was dilated to a 7.  My worst fear has come true I thought.  I'm not going to get an epidural.
     Lucky for me, the anesthesiologist arrived just a few minutes later, and worked with me to help reduce my pain.  I thought I was going to die!  Even though I felt instant relief, they told me it would take about 20 min for the full effect to take place.  I did not have 20 min to wait. Avree was born about ten minutes later,on 9-10-11 at 6:06 p.m  She weighed 8 lbs, 12 oz and was 21 inches long.

    

      

     It all happened so fast, as far as everyone knew I wasn't even having contractions.  We spent the next hour using the minutes Ben had purchased to call our family and tell them that she was finally here!  We came home from the hospital Monday morning.  Natalie was instantly taken with her.  She, of course, has been very helpful.  My mom got to be with us for another week and a half.  She is now home, Ben has returned to work, and we are working on establishing a routine.  I could use some more sleep, but other than that, we are all doing well, and are very much in love with Avree Grace Hutto!

Check-up

I went to the doctor this week (38 weeks), and was disappointed because he didn't really check anything.  Well, they did check my weight, blood pressure, monitor the baby's heat beat, and make sure my feet weren't swollen.  But, I expected him to do some sort of exam, see if we have made any progress.  No such luck.  He didn't even feel my tummy.  I guess here they figure she will come when she is ready, but I am impatient and would like to know a little of what is going on!

And, at the end of the appointment, he told us that the clinic would be closed all next week, so I could just go in one day to the labor dept. of the hospital for my check-up.  Good, maybe they will keep me!

Anxiously Awaiting the Arrival!

Garmisch

We took a little family vacation, the last one with only 3!  We ventured down to Garmisch, in the very southern part of Germany, where the Alps start.  We stayed at a military resort, a central location to many different sights-to-see.  We actually went down last weekend, and only stayed one night due to lodging availability.  It was such a great place, we had to go back!
Last weekend, we we toured Dachau,  a German concentration camp.  Although not as interesting as I thought it would be, it was still really cool to be on the grounds of such an important part of history.  The Dachau concentration camp was the first concentration camp that opened in Germany.  There were over 200,000 prisoners on record to stay here. This is a picture of a memorial erected in the center of the courtyard in memory of those who lost their lived to barbed wire.
 We drove through Munich, which was very beautiful.  I hope to spend more time there another date.

On our second trip to  Garmisch, we took a cog wheel train up a mountain to the highest point in Germany, Zugspitze.  Again, it wasn't what I would have expected, but again I was in awe.  I have never seen a snow-capped mountain before, and did not expect it to be so rocky.  When we stepped off the train, it looked like we had stepped onto a construction site.  We walked around and took in the view.  It was truly breathtaking, the pictures do not do it justice.We were looking down a Lake Eibsee.  It was so beautiful with its blue-green waters.  It really looks like a postcard.  the temperature up there was about 40 F.  There was some snow left, and Ben and Natalie were able to go sledding down a hill.  While taking a break, a tried some kind of thick-pancake like dessert that you dip in applesauce.  The pancake part was good, but I prefer syrup to applesauce :)

On our second day, we toured two castles of King Ludwig II.  One was Hohenschwangau, a summer home, and the other was Neuschwanstein, a home he spent many year having built, but did not get to live in very long.  The castle Neuschwanstein is often called "Cinderella's Castle" because this castle provided much of the inspiration for the Disney castle.  Both tours were fascinating because the floors, walls, furniture, ect. was all original.  The long lines and many steps we had to march up were definitely worth the trip to see the home of a King.

P.S.  Natalie thinks she needs her own castle, as she IS a PRINCESS! 

Take care & God Bless!

P.S.  3 more weeks until Avree's due date!

Settling In

Things are finally starting to feel normal.  We received our household goods about 3 weeks ago, and went right to work unpacking and decorating.  Somehow with my big belly, I managed to persuade Ben to paint the girls' rooms!  Natalie's room is painted light pink, and is accented with blues and pinks and butterflies.  She now has a big girl's room!  Avree's walls are covered in yellow.  She has one large window with a pink, purple, and green curtain.  Her bedding includes all of these colors, and the overall theme is princess.  When Natalie was born, I tried to stay away from pink and princess, but I have caved in.
We have purchased some things to help make us more comfortable.  Among them are: lots of curtains, an A/C unit, an area rug, a nice glider for the sleepless nights ahead, and a new living room set.  As soon as I get the energy to get up and do something, I will post pics!!
Now that things are out of the box, put away, and hung on the walls, it actually feels like home.  Natalie has even managed to get on some sort of schedule :)  The potty training thing, however, is not progressing as we would have hoped :( Oh well, she will get there eventually!
Block leave is coming up, and we hope to sneak away for a few mini trips.  Avree is very active and growing faster than I am, and she is measuring right on time.  Natalie had always measured 1-2 weeks ahead.  Remembering how chunky Natalie was, I told Ben, "wouldn't it be weird if we had a small baby?"  The thought makes me laugh.  Just 7 more weeks until we find out!
Take care & God bless!

The Adventures of the Black Forest

Relieved to finally have our own transportation, we are finally able to go where we want to, when we want to!

June is a great month, and with it comes lots to celebrate!  Last week, we celebrated my birthday with a cookout with some friends from the neighborhood.  In just a few days, we will honor our eight wedding anniversary.  And sandwiched in between is Father's Day.  Taking a brief break from life, we took a day trip to enjoy being together.

We got up early Saturday morning and headed  to the Black Forest.  We went to a town called Triberg, which is home to the highest waterfall in Germany.   It was about a two hour drive.  The further we drove, the more the temperature dropped.  As we emptied the car, we were greeted by some pretty chilly air.  We first stopped to look at the cuckoo clocks.  There is a large clock, about the size of a small house, and we got to watch it go off at the top of the hour.  Natalie was quite fascinated with the swinging pendulums of the clocks and the "cuckoo" sounds that they made.

Click here to see the video of the cuckoo clock

Next, we stopped for a picnic lunch.  We ate pretty fast, as it was pretty cold outside. Luckily, I brought Natalie and I a change of clothes.  Ben purchased a hoodie from one of the small shops for 30 E that said "Germany."  The dogs were even shaking.   We returned the dogs to the car to cuddle, and began our hike.  The hike to the waterfall was not too long, but it was very steep.  Ben was pretty patient with me, as I took about five steps and then paused to catch my breath :)  Once at the waterfall, the view was truly breathtaking.

 After the waterfall, we walked through town, going in and out of little shops.  Feeling hungry, Ben & I decided that we couldn't leave without a piece of black forest cake!  Much to our disappointment, it looked way better than it tasted.

On the way back home, we stopped in Ortenburg to see the castle there.  This castle seems to still be in use, so we were only able to see a part it, but it was still worthwhile.

We spent the remainder of the weekend getting the house in order and ready to receive our household goods shipment.  Ben painted the girls' room-  Natalie's pink and Avree's yellow.  As I type this, I am sitting here waiting for the movers to buzz us that they are here.  Finally, it's going to feel like home!

Just Another Day

I keep getting asked how I am liking Germany so far.  So far it is not too much different than anywhere else.  We just go through the week doing normal, routine things.  We have been getting caught up on appointments.  Ben is just now starting to go to work.  A typical day for Natalie and I is to wake up at 7:30, get ready and eat breakfast, maybe take the bus somewhere (appt, library, store), play at the park, eat lunch, nap from about 2-4, play, go for a walk, play on the playground, eat dinner, then get ready for bed.  I usually catch up on cleaning while she is down for a nap.  Between picking up after her and sweeping and mopping all of these floors, it keeps me pretty busy.
Naptime has been a source of frustration for all of us.  She started wanting to nap in my bed, then wanting me to lay down with her, and then wanting to get up and "go potty."  It seemed that I would try to lay her down shortly after noon, and then we would battle for about two hours until she finally gave in after two.  A few days of this, and I decided that maybe she wasn't ready for a nap that early in the day, that perhaps her little body is somewhat off schedule.  I switched to laying her down a little later in the afternoons and that seems to be working.  We are also fighting smaller battles, such as potty-training and sleeping through the night (she is waking and wanting to come into our bed).  Perhaps the move was a little harder on her than I thought it would be.  I feel like things will be a bit easier when she has "her" things and "her" room.  Until then, we are praying for patience and guidance, and welcome any advice on "raising a 2 year old!"
We try to take advantage of the weekends and at least go downtown.  This weekend, we went to the lighting of the castle.  Three times a year they re-enact the castle burning, in memory of the three times that the castle has caught on fire.  It was followed by a 15 min. firework display over the river.  We are anxious to get out and drive about.
Praying for patience,
Take care & God bless!

 

Waiting Around

I debated about blogging again already or not, because not much has happened since the last entry.  However, a week has passed, and I know there are a few people who care about all the little, tiny things that go on.

The main thing that has happened is that we have a phone and Internet (Woohoo!).  We were beginning to get desperate to be in touch, and spent the majority of the first day on the phone.  We stayed up late catching up, and regretted it the next day.

For the most part, things are going pretty well.  This is Ben's last week of in-processing, so next week he will be with the band, which he is really excited about.  He brought a horn home and has begun practicing upstairs in the maid's quarters.  Natalie and I have taken the bus several times, to the store or library, just to give us something to do. One day I took the wrong bus, and it cost us and extra hour and a half on the bus.  As you can imagine, I was very frustrated!  Some days I get a little down about not having our belongings or much to do, but I am trying to be patient.  We are wanting to buy some curtains and area rugs, and it is discouraging that we don't have a car to go around and shop for them.  Not that there is a whole lot of places to look.  I think it will seem a little more like home once we get something in this empty apartment.  So that's where we are, just waiting...

I have met some really great people.  There is a lady in the band that lives at the bottom of out stairwell, Kailin.  We visit with them several times a week.  They have a 1 year old little boy that Natalie gets to interact with.  Kristin, a band wife, has showed me around some and given me rides.  Today, Nat and I went with her to MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers).  Natalie got to play with some kids her age, and I mingled with other moms as we learned about decorating cakes, painted a plate, and talked about how our families celebrate birthdays.  It was really nice to get out.

Tomorrow begins a 4-day weekend, which is not so exciting when you have noway to go anywhere and nothing to do.  Maybe we will catch the cable car and go downtown.  Next week will bring busier days for Ben, and I have several appointments to attend.  Another week closer to getting our stuff!!!

Take care & God bless!

Out of Touch

Even though we are now in our house, it is so hard to be without all of our belongings, without a car, without a phone, and without the Internet.  We hope to have Internet at the house by next week, and our belongings will come by the end of next month.  I am trying to be patient.
So how are we surviving?  We have loaner furniture and have checked out some necessary items, such as small appliances and kitchen gadgets.  Other than that, there is a lady, Kaylynn, who is in the band, who has tried her best to keep us as comfortable as possible.  She lives at the bottom of our stairwell, and has brought over several armfuls of things for us to borrow, such as a bathmat, a super-comfortable pillow, and even a few bath toys.  Just some little things that make a big difference.
By now we are adjusted pretty well to the time, although it is a little hard to get used to it being light outside until 10 pm.  Our next obstacle we are tacking is potty-training. I thought it would be a good time since we have no furniture, so we bought panties yesterday and she is pretty excited.  Hope it goes as well as I think it will in my mind!
A friend that Ben knew previously, Will, took us out one evening to downtown Heidelberg to eat and sight-see a little.  We ate at a place called Vetters, where I ate snitzel and Ben had a German sausage.  As expected, it was delicious.  The restraunt was located by the river and the castle, so we got to see that, although we did not take our camera, but we hope to return soon.
For now, we are still gathering essential items and trying to get settled in a bit.  Hope to have the Internet soon.
Take care and God bless!

Catching up...with time

The next few days have been a lot better.  We are now at the guesthouse- with cable, Internet, and a phone, so we feel a lot better.
We went to look at houses (apartments).  There are two housing sections here- Patrick Henry Village (PHV) and Mark Twain Village (MTV).  The apartments at PHV are quite a bit smaller, but also located at PHV is the commissary, PX,  movie theater, bowling alley, and library, so I was hoping to get into an apartment over there.  However, there were only two open, both at MTV.  There is not much else over there, just a few small parks.
So, we took a house at MTV, and I am getting a little excited about it.  It was about 400 sq. foot larger, and with the baby on the way, we need all the space we can get.  The apartment comes with a few pros and cons.  Some features I am less excited about is that fact that it is located on the top floor (3rd), the laundry facility is in the basement, and the electrical outlets are all European.  But, the size makes up for most of the negative aspects.  There are huge windows overlooking a large mountain, so it is a beautiful view.  The floors are all tile and wood.  There is adequate storage, and in addition to all of the built in closets, we have a small storage in the basement, ideal for storing bikes and things that you use frequently, a large community room about the size of our house, and each unit also has a maid's room, which is like a small guestroom located on the top floor, that we will most likely use for storage.  I guess the dogs and I will get plenty of exercise with all of the stairs!
The band will be relocating in about a year, to another post about 20 min away.  I am not sure why they are, I think something about better facilities.  So, in the meantime we will reside at Mark Twain Village on the top floor of Building 3703.

One last thing before going-
Our mailing address is:
CMR 432, Box 167
APO AE 09081
Take care & God Bless!

The first days

Well, we are finally here.  The trip was not too bad, although I started feeling kinda sick during the last hour, mainly due to the lady in front of us wearing some old lady perfume.  Natalie was wonderful, thanks to TVs installed on the back of every seat .  After arriving at the airport, we were shuffled around like herd of cattle, and eventually sorted and shipped on a bus.  I was unconscious for most of that ride.  We got on post and met with our Sponsor, Alan.  He showed us around a bit, and then dropped us off at our hotel, which was off post.
By now, it was about four in the evening, and we had been up for 24+ hours.  We went for a short walk to look around the area.  By this point, we had realized that we were one bag short, which we thought only contained some toys for Natalie, but upon further review, we realized that it also had our shower bag, which stored our toothbrush, Ben's razor, and diapers for Natalie among other things that we have missed.  We came upon a market, and purchased the bare essentials.  Then, we were off in search of food.
Next, we stumbled upon a coffee shop which boasted that they served Paninis.  Recognizing the type of food, we entered.  We soon discovered that they only had a few items left.  Ben ate salmon patties, he thinks, and I chose a turnover-looking thing stuffed with spinach, which turned out to be cold and not very tasty.  Feeling frustrated, we walked back to the hotel, to dine at the restaurant there, where we both ate angel hair pasta and shared an $8 bottle of water.  Exhausted, we returned to our room, feeling lost, out of place, and frustrated.
We got up the next morning and started the process of checking in.  We asked a lot of questions, ate Burger King, and went to the commissary before going back to the hotel.  Feeling slightly more rested, we had a much better day.  We all took a nap, then ventured across the street to the ice cream shop in celebration of Natalie’s second birthday.  She quickly announced that she wanted diet coke ice cream, not sure what that is all about, but she ate her blue bubblegum ice cream, which she thoroughly enjoyed.

Our third day, we were able to check into a hotel on post, which is much more accommodating.  Here we have a bathtub, a few American channels, and access to the internet!!!  We have two joining rooms, which are connected by the bathroom and a small kitchen.  We slept very well, and are up and dressed.  Today, we are headed to see the houses, apartment-style, and hopefully select ours.  I hear that our choices are all on the top floor.  Oh well, we are ready to trade in our suitcases for a closet!
Take care and God bless!