On Monday morning, Adam and I are up at 6am (waaay too early! =). We have to be at the house by 8am because we are expecting to have our unaccompanied baggage delivered anytime between 8 and 5. Oh, joy *sarc* I wake up and get ready. Adam makes several trips to the house before the kids are even awake. They're none too excited about getting up early, but at least they're cooperative. We head downstairs to enjoy one last delicious breakfast. I get one last croissant, some of the delicious cheeses, and a roll on which to spread some delicious jams and jellies =)
Once we finish eating, we have to get going. We're already late! Adam packs a few more things in the car. He'll come back later and get the rest of it. The kids are loaded up in the Peugoet. I get to walk Shasta over, so we get going. Adam and the kids pass us as we're walking.
This walk feels soooo good! I love my kids, but it's nice to have a break from them once in a while. It's hard to do anything when I have to take along two kiddos wherever I go. This morning it's just me and my dog. I am really missing my gym time. I bought a new pair of gym shoes several months ago, and they still look brand new! Today, I get to use them. Shasta needs the exercise just as much as I do, so we walk fast. I can feel my muscles working - it's been a while. The air is crisp; the sun is shining. Oh, I wish this walk could last forever!
Shasta and I arrive at the house about a half hour later. The kids are already playing in the house. It's pretty empty except for some bags, some luggage, and a dining set and living set Joël has left in the house for us to use. The kids and I stay at the house, exploring our new place. Adam heads back to the hotel to get the last of our stuff and check out. Then, we wait for our stuff to show up.
And we wait.... and wait.... The Telenet guy shows up and installs our Internet. Goodness! I don't know how I survived without it for 4 hours! =) Adam goes about setting up all the electrical stuff, wireless networks, transformers, and the Du@lPhone. The Du@lPhone is awesome! It works as both a landline phone and a Skype phone. For a few bucks a month, Adam was able to get a Cottonwood, Idaho, telephone number for his Skype account. Now, our parents can call us overseas by dialing a local number! Cool!
By the way, we're still waiting. We've called some of our grandparents from the Skype phone just to say "Hi." It's 4:30, and our stuff still isn't here. Now, it's 5:03. Adam calls the delivery people. Oh, guess what? Our delivery was cancelled! Really? When were they going to tell us that? We could have stayed at the hotel another night and slept in real beds, dried off with real towels, cooked dinner with real cookware, and eaten our food with real utensils! He has some choice words for them and tells them they will have our stuff at our house tomorrow morning! We go get a pizza at Tekin. I get to talking with the Tekin guy. He says this kind of thing happens all the time. Stuff usually comes two or three days later than when they plan. Time over here is different, kind of rubbery and not always set in stone (this might be hard to get used to! =). Lutgard and Joël come over and ask us how we're doing. Lutgard is kind enough to lend us some towels for the morning. They ask if we're ok sleeping for the night. We say "Yes, we have a plan." We don't want them to have to fix our problem. We take the cushions off the chairs and couch and put sheets on them to make beds for Rachael and us. Zach has his Pack 'n' Play.
Honestly, we sleep pretty well. The cushions are rather comfy. It's not too bad. Poor Rachael though. Her cushions split apart during the night, so she ended up sleeping on just a sheet over the floor between the two cushions. But, she seemed to be ok. Poor kiddo!
Adam and I ate cold cereal out of a red plastic party cup with plastic spoons this morning =)
As I'm getting her and Zach ready this morning, I hear some commotion going on downstairs. Our stuff is here! Yay! As we're opening up the boxes, it seems like Christmas. We'd forgotten some of what we'd put in this shipment, so it was nice to see a few unexpected things. The nicest part was just having our stuff! Not hotel stuff, not borrowed stuff, but our actual possessions. We're finally settling in!
Later today we get our loaner stuff from the Army. They have a program that will let us borrow a table and chairs, some beds, and a couch until our stuff gets here. They also let us have four wardrobes, a washer and dryer, and an American refrigerator for the whole duration of our time here. It is a fabulous program that saves us and others in our position the money and hassle of trying to find these things just to have to get rid of them in a few years.
Things are returning to normal. The kids and I are getting back into a schedule. I can make our meals at home now. We have a place to stay that we won't have to leave for several years. It's good. We're still missing the majority of our items, but we're making do. The neighbors are fantastic, so very friendly. The area is quaint with cute little houses and farms. And the beauty of Europe is all around us, just waiting for us to discover it all. What a fantastic opportunity we have been given. Thank you, God!
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