. . . pregnant and thirsty!

Today was a typical day in the NL -- drizzly and overcast for half a day, clear and cool for the other half. I am really getting accustomed to most thing Dutch nowadays, but there is one little thing that I am beginning to get pretty annoyed with living in the Netherlands . . . more on that later.

Day 15 - Patience is a virtue . . .

Today is yet another day here in Eindhoven that we are still not in our new house. Basically, our 40-foot container has been here since the first week of June, and they are just now getting around to looking at our paperwork -- goes to show that governments around the world are more similar than we think. So apparently they had issues with Keith's car that we were bringing with us, and have been going back and forth about that and who knows what else. As of today, that is looking to be resolved, but still no word on when actual movers are bringing our stuff to our house.

The Dom, the Rhine . . . and bachelor parties??

Keith and I were able to spend the weekend in Germany to celebrate our 5 year anniversary (we have no belongings in our house, so we thought we might as well get out of town!) . . . we drove a little over an hour to Cologne (or Koln) and spent a drizzly afternoon enjoying the city, stopping in cafes, and walking next to the Rhine River. What follows are some highlights from our day . . .

Driving into the city

Not the same Maggiano's we're used to!

5 years, 8 months, 11 days . . .

Today is our 5 year anniversary . . .

and time sure does fly. There's a long story behind how we met, but to make it short, Keith and my stepmom worked together and she was dying to hook us up (though Keith was hesitant at first). Once we finally met, he called to ask me out, and we've been together ever since. I'm sure I will get a call from her today (like I do every year), wishing us a happy anniversary and asking where her flowers are that we should send her. ; ) In all seriousness, I really am grateful that she saw something special in him and pushed to get us together. That was almost nine years ago, and I thank God every night for blessing me with a husband like Keith. Every relationship has ups and downs and ours is no exception. But at the end of the day, there's no one else I'd rather be with. We have fun, we laugh, we argue, we have real conversations, and no one knows me better. While this is only our 5th anniversary, and things will undoubtedly get even better and worse than we ever imagined, there is no one else I'd rather go through this life with. "He's her lobster . . ." (as Phoebe would say)

Learning to read . . .

After being in the Netherlands for a week now, I've made a wonderful connection with my students in regards to reading. Those of you who know me know that I love learning. And it is not often that as adults we find ourselves in an environment where we feel truly lost, or where we know absolutely nothing about something. Times like that are the perfect time to learn. I've said many times that my absolute favorite class in school was an astronomy class I took my junior year of college -- astronomy was something I knew practically nothing about and I LOVED learning something new. So I am kind of feeling like that lately . . .

Day 8 - the Market . . .

Lunch

So first, my delicious lunch today consisted of smoked chicken, avocado, basil dressing and pine nuts on an everything bagel. I took one bite and had to take a picture because it was THAT GOOD.

Yummmm . . .

Ok, moving on . . .

Day 7 - Mexican in the Netherlands . . .

As of right now, it would be really great if we were moved into the house by the end of this week. We're hoping for Wednesday, but still waiting on customs to release our container (a 40-foot container that has all our furniture, boxes, car, etc.). This container also happens to have all my clothes and boots that would make life here just that much easier. : )

highlights and lowlights . . .

Here are some highlights since I last posted . . .

• giving my brothers a virtual tour of our new place using Skype and my iPhone4
• seeing my niece Bailey stare at the computer screen while I was talking to her : )
• getting a phone call from my mom just to say hi
• going to dinner at the Wilsons and meeting new friends Saturday night
• finding some decent American movies to watch on the television
• randomly running into the Wilsons in the street on the way to church this morning! Small world!

Day 4 - Murphy is mad . . .

After 25 grueling hours, Murphy made it from Atlanta to The Netherlands! We were a little freaked out there for a minute because he wasn't here as early as we had anticipated, and the people we were dealing with hadn't communicated as well as we would've liked--but regardless, he finally made it.

dining al fresco . . .

After a nice outdoor breakfast this morning (thank you to Jason and Deena for introducing us to the world of Bagels & Beans!), I had the wonderful realization that we have eaten outdoors for five out of our last seven meals. How awesome is that? The weather has been great, it's breezy, no humidity, and every restaurant has a patio. And even at the places where we've eaten indoors, we've sat next to an open door or window and been able to enjoy the scenery, the people, and the city.

Day 3 - friends, music, and robotics . . .

What an awesome day it was . . . it started by our friends, Jason and Deena, calling us this morning to have breakfast with them. We were initially introduced by a mutual friend--Jason happens to work for Philips as well and they moved their family here from Cumming just four months ago. Needless to say, they've been so welcoming and helpful, and it's just been nice to talk with someone who understands what we're going through. I love our new friends!

Day 2 - lots of walking . . .

Our early morning turned into a long day filled with lots of walking. I was able to get registered at the expat center, followed by some window shopping at the Media Markt for electronics. Keith ended up ordering our washer and dryer online (at wasmachine.nl for anyone looking in the NL!), and it will be delivered to our house on Monday. We also walked a few blocks down past the Philips Stadium to go to the Philips MyStore (see pics below) where Philips employees can purchase items at a discounted rate. I picked out my flat iron and blow dryer there. : )

We're here!

It's 3 am here and Keith was right: if we go to bed too early it's going to mess us up. After a LONG day, I stayed up as long as I could, but crashed a little after 9:00 pm and now I'm wide awake. So I might as well blog about what we're doing . . .

Leaving on a jet plane...

Well, we leave next Monday for the adventure of a lifetime (not counting the adventure that will begin come August!). This week will be hard to say "see ya later" to our dear friends and family, but we  are so glad to have everyone's support and promises to come visit. Keith and I are truly excited to see what God has in store for us, and know that two years will go by in the blink of an eye.