A much needed update

Our whole world has changed since our last post.  Life has run away with us.  My head starts to spin just thinking about what has happened in the last three months.  Here is a list of just a few things:

-Around the first week of November we received orders to Fort Leavenworth, KS with a fly out date of 4 December.  As soon as we got orders, we were able to schedule our household goods to be packed and shipped off.

-Nov. 14th and 15th our movers were packing most of our things.  We have pretty much been living out of suitcases ever since.

-Nov. 21 we shipped one car off

-We hosted Thanksgiving at our house (even though we had temporary government furniture and not many dishes) with three other families.

-Hans and I got the flu on Thanksgiving night and ended up getting everyone who came to our house sick too.  No, it was not food poisoning. :)  It was such a bad night that it is worth mentioning.

-The last week of Nov was a blur.  We were cleaning the apartment and our other vehicle.  In order to ship your car, it has to be completely spotless in order for it to pass customs.  When I say spotless, it has to pretty much look brand new right off the lot. 

Nov. 30th we shipped off our second car and had our final out appointment from our apartment.  Thankfully we passed both inspections.  Then, off to the hotel we went.

That last weekend of Nov./first of Dec. was very sad because we had to say goodbye to some amazing people.  We were so grateful for the help we received from people watching our kids so we could clean, to giving us a ride where we needed to be. 

Dec. 4th we flew to Baltimore and rented a car to drive up to Hans' parents house in Philadelphia.  We spent a few days with them and were able o have an early Christmas with them.

Dec. 9th we drove back down to Baltimore to catch a flight to Kansas.  We stayed at one of my best friends houses who also lives in KC area.  She was kind enough to offer her home to us. 

Dec. 10th we went house hunting while my friend watched the kids.  We found a house on the first day and put an offer down the next.  It was accepted and we started the process of getting an inspector out and such.

Dec. 11-12th we got cell phones since our German ones didn't work in the states.  We ran errands and spent time with our friends.

Dec. 13th we drove (with our rental car from KS) to Colorado Springs to stay with my sister for a few days.

Dec. 15th we headed out to Utah for the Christmas season. 

Between the 15th to the 1st of Jan., we were in Utah visiting family and friends and had a great time.  However, there was some stress involved.  The kids were sick and things weren't going well with the inspection of the house we wanted to buy.  We ended up paying for specialist to come out and inspect the EIFS on the outside of the house.  After much thought and prayer, we decided to back out of the deal.  However, this all took quite awhile to get all the inspections and things done.  So by they time we found out all this, it was already Jan. 4th.

Jan. 1st we drove back to Colorado Springs to spend more time with my sister's family. 

Jan. 6th, we finally arrived back in Kansas City.

Jan. 7th, we went house hunting all day with the kids and our realtor.  We saw five homes and we loved two of them.  We narrowed them down and have decided to put an offer on one in the morning.  This house had a cute little dog and my kids keep saying the want the house with the dog.  I think they think he comes with the house. :)  We keep telling them if we get the house, the dog won't be there.  Hopefully they will understand. :)  Another interesting little fact is that this house is right next door to the one we backed out of.  Kind of funny huh?  Let's hope the neighbors don't discover who we are and if they do, let's hope they find a buyer for their home soon. :)

So, what does this mean you ask?  We will be living in a small hotel room for at least another month until we can close on this home.  Please pray for my sanity and my kids lives...

here are a few pics of our trip taken from our Surface tablet.  the kids slept some of the way making it more enjoyable. 

we visited Boulder and Denver - sitting on a swinging bench on Arapahoe avenue outside the naropa university campus. 

A melting creek running down the mountain in Boulder.

I'm looking at it this way...it gives us more time together as a family.  We have missed having daddy around after his last job was so busy, so this is a good chance to spend more time with him.  We are very excited to be in Kansas City.  It looks like a great city with lots to offer.  New experiences are always good.  I will miss Germany so much and the wonderful friends we made there, but they will always be my friends, no matter where I go.  And, we will get to make new ones here.  So, here's to an exciting and new year!!!  Wish us luck!

Happy Halloween!

 Of course, Gabe was Batman.  What else would he have been? :)

 And then there's our little chicken...

 Cecily was really into it.  She loved running around like crazy.  In fact, she was sort of like a chicken with her head cut off. hee hee hee (I know, I'm so funny right?).  We finally had to just keep her in her chicken coop (aka stroller) because we couldn't keep up with her.

 Eva made up her own costume.  She wouldn't be anything I suggested.  They weren't girlie enough suggestions apparently.  So, she was a "ballerina butterfly".  You can't see her full costume because of the coat, but it turned out pretty cute.

What really made the night was the incredible moon!  It was a full moon that started out burnt orange/yellow.  It was absolutely incredible.  It was awesome since it was on Halloween.  I wish I could have gotten a better picture of it, but this will have to do.

I hope you all had a great and safe Halloween.  Ours was really nice and relaxing this year.

Murder Mystery

 My friend Christy and I decided to throw a murder mystery night.  We held it at my home.  There were enough couples to have three different games going on at once.  It was so much fun!  Christy decorated my place.  She's got such a great eye for things.  One of the games was a western theme so we decided to go with that for the party decor.

 I loved her idea of using mason jars to drink the lemonade out of.

 The first group, The Johnsons, Kruegers, Gentrys and the Holdaways (who had to leave as soon as the game was over because of the babysitter so we didn't get them in the picture).

 The second group was the Hancocks, Parkers, Jones, and Boyers.

 Our group was the Pethels, Bouknights, Foulks, and us of course.

 All the ladies (except Courtney Holdaway)

All the men

This will be my last big party at my house before we have to move.  I have lots of mixed emotions about moving, and after such a fun night, it's really going to be hard to leave.  We have such amazing friends here.  We have truly been blessed to know some incredible people.  There are many others whom I love and adore that I would have loved to have come to the party.  These are just a handful of some of the most amazing people in this Wiesbaden community.

Thank you to all the couples that could make it.  We hope you had a wonderful time.  You all did such an amazing job on your costumes too. :)

Happy 1st Birthday Cecily

 So, we didn't really do anything major for Cecily's birthday.  We only do big birthday parties every 4 years for the kids.  So, this was simple.  Eva had dance class last night so I wasn't going to really have time to make a nice dinner for Ceci's birthday.  So, we decided to have dinner at the bowling alley.  I did find time to make a cake and I brought that with us.

 We had the Bouknight family meet us there since they had dance late too and it was also Michael's birthday.  Here are the two birthday kids. :)

 As we were headed up to the bowling alley, we ran into our friends the Haurands, so we told them to come eat up at the bowling alley with us.  They are about ready to have their third baby.  In fact, Emily (the mom) is due on Eva's birthday, which is this Saturday.

 Cecily was a little stinker pretty much the entire night.  She really took advantage of the fact that it was her birthday and she could "cry if she wanted to".  She is getting her eighth tooth right now, so she's pretty miserable.  At least I'm going to blame it on her tooth coming in.  It makes me have something to blame her crying on. :)

 One thing she did like was the cake.

Cecily came into this world a very large girl.  Starting at 10 pounds 5 oz and almost 23 inches long, she just continues to grow.  She's 24 pounds now and I'm not sure how tall she is.  She just keeps growing out of all her clothes really fast.  She cries a lot and is very, very busy.  However, she is very funny too.  She likes to make people laugh.  She gets really goofy at night.  She does everything quickly.  She started walking at 9 months and hasn't stopped moving since.  She's curious.  She has to carry something in both of her hands while she walks.  She LOVES being outside and is really good about being lugged around everywhere we go.  She's a very social baby.  She loves the Krueger family!  Every single one of them, including the pets.  She has eight teeth now.  She will eat just about anything.  She's got a little too much attitude already.  She hates being told "no".  She loves going swimming.  She's really good about falling asleep on the go and being transfered into her bed when we get home.  I love that about her!  Her best buddy is Hailey Bouknight.  She gets really excited when she sees her.  We are very lucky to have this sassy little girl in our family.  I think she'll fit right in with Eva as she gets older.  I'm grateful to have the chance to raise her in this life and the life after.  I feel blessed to be her mother as well as Eva and Gabe's.  I sure love my kids.  

September Happenings

 No, I didn't just accidentally get a picture with Gabe blinking.  He is sleeping!  We have been so busy ever since school started that poor Gabe is just worn out (mommy too).  He had fallen asleep in the car and it took quite a long time to get him to get out.  He's way too heavy for me to pick him up so I kept trying to wake him up so he could come lay down inside.  I then left the car to lay the baby down.  After noticing that Gabe was still not in the house, I went out to check on his progress of getting out of the car.  This is what I found at the bottom of our stairs. :)

 The other weekend, we took advantage of the nice weather and had a BBQ at my friend's place.  This family is amazing!  We do everything with them.  They have two little girls, their oldest is in Eva's kindergarten class.  There youngest is Hailey.  She's 16 months old.  Cecily and Hailey are six months apart. It's kind of funny because Hailey is so tiny and Ceci is so huge.  There's such a contrast between the two.  These two girls are inseparable though.  I've never seen babies interact with each other as much as these two do.

 The three amigos!  They get a little crazy when they're all together, but they sure do love each other.  Jenny (the mom) and I are always saying that Michaela and Gabe are going to get married one day.  However, she always says Gabe has to convert to Catholicism, but it's really got to be the other way around. :)  Michaela will make a great Mormon. :)  

 Cecily loves Michaela!

 The small family on one side, the large on the other. :)

 Cecily and I have become buddies while Gabe is in German Kindergarten in the mornings and Eva is in full day kindergarten.  Honestly though, I think Cecily gets really bored with me.  She's kind of a nightmare at home.  If we go somewhere or are outside, she's a doll, but the second I make her come inside, this is what I get...

 The many sides of Cecily...

She's getting four teeth all at the same time right now so she has a perpetual runny nose.  Not to mention she's quite a bear too.  Can't wait for this phase to be over with.  I am enjoying her funny little personality though.

Switzerland

We're back and it looks like we missed a lot while we were gone.  We were only gone four nights and it turns out a nephew was born and another nephew got his mission call.  Congrats to all our loved ones!  We are so excited for you.

Hans and I had the chance to sneak away for a long weekend without the kids, thanks to some great friends.  Here's the link to the pictures if you want to see them.  Let me know if you can't view them.

https://plus.google.com/photos/106423386814720883019/albums/5784032284331638593

Lindsey

The 4th of July!

 

We started our morning with a pancake breakfast at the church.
 

Cecily is in LOVE with Mark Krueger.  I really can't explain it.  I think Mark and Kat are both baby whisperers.
 

After the breakfast, we headed over to base for the festivities.  First things first, face painting!  If you do get there early and do that first, you'll be standing in line for two hours.
 

Eva cowboy-upping. :)  She wasn't too bad either.  She even did one hand for most of it.
 

Then there's Gabe...with is game face on.  That boy is crazy.
 

 

Of course, mommy had to give it a try.  They didn't even buck her off.  They just stopped the bull eventually and she hopped off.
 

Then on the the gladiator station.  Brother and sister going at it.
 

Mom and dad took a whack or two at each other too. :)
 

The bumper cars were probably our favorite.  I think we rode them about 10 times.
 

These two girls who are riding with our kids are from our ward.  They were super sweet with Eva and Gabe.
 

Hans cooling off in the shade while Ceci attacks him.
 

 

 

 

Cecily enjoying her freedom from the stroller.
 

We have some really good friends we hung out with.  The Bouknight family is amazing.  They have two little girls.  Their oldest, Michaela is probably going to marry Gabe.  :)  She's got such a spunky little attitude.  Gabe always tells her she's beautiful and then she says "thanks Gabe" then kisses him on the cheek.  He gets bright red.  It's the funniest thing to watch.  Jenny (the mom) is such a sweetheart.
 

This is Michaela next to Gabe.  It's not a very good picture of the two of them, but they had a blast with Michael (the dad) on the bumper car ride.  Michaela is telling her dad to "get 'um Dad".