Vacation again!

Yes, we did go on vacation! I forgot to mention there would be a short hiatus in the blog updates. Besides our vacation we had our first visitors from the States last week, Heather and Micaela Reddy. Rick and I know Heather from UVA. It was great having visitors.

On Saturday we headed to Germany for five days. (I’ll be sure to post pictures this week.) I had very low expectations for the trip for a couple of reasons. First it is November so who knows what the weather would be like but second and most importantly was how we would handle the kids four nights sharing a hotel room and five days eating in restaurants. Let me tell you the trip far exceeded my expectations and the weather was overcast every day.

Germany is a great place to visit. It is filled with castles, cathedrals, picturesque half timbered houses, and delicious beer and soft pretzels. We even explored some Roman ruins dating back to 200 AD! Although the sight seeing was really interesting and fun it wasn’t what made the trip so good for me. It was the moments in between. Of course, the entire trip was punctuated with the same old drudgery of everyday life, “Put your shoes on.” “Put your shoes on!” “PUT YOUR SHOES ON!” But there were so many more moments of the kids running through the main market square pretending to be airplanes, collecting bouquets of fall leaves and then tossing them into the wind, clinging to us frightened and giggling at the same time as we explored dark tunnels, and “reading” stories to each other. I guess we could have been anywhere just enjoying each others company but Germany really did make a great backdrop.

At the end of the trip as we pulled into the driveway by habit I said, “We’re home” and then I stared at our “Belgium house”. (The kids call the house on Chilton St the “green house” and our house here the “Belgium house”.) It kind of caught me by surprise – our Belgium house is home. I still felt so far away. I wondered if the kids thought it strange. Then within ten seconds of them entering the house they were playing with the train set and asking when they could see this friend or that friend. They definitely felt at home. My strange feeling was washed away as I was getting the last of the things out of the car a neighbor yelled over, “You’re back!” anxious to hear how our trip was. As I walked back into our “Belgium house” my thoughts trailed back to our "green house" and our friends and family there. I do miss everyone. And then I thought, “Yeah I guess this is also home:)”