Wednesday, August 24, 2011

It was a sunny morning this week as I drove through the rolling, green hills of South Western Virginia, marveling over how blessed I am.  I left my husband's family with promises to call as soon as I safely reached the big highway with cell phone range, also juggling calls to my first family to satisfy their eagerness with an estimated arrival time.  I wonder how many people can say they have not only one large group of people who love them, pray over them, worry over them and eagerly await their visits, but two large groups filled with just such people.  As I contemplated this while rolling over the beautiful hills of my home state, I was filled with a gratitude so full and warm, it was unlike anything I've ever felt before.

Come to think of it, gratitude seems to be a theme with me lately.  Four weeks ago I walked through each room of our empty flat in Switzerland and was filled with a similar awe.  The movers had come and gone and I followed behind with a mop and broom, bringing the wood floor to a sparkle.  The only thing remaining was to walk out the door and hand over the key.  It was a busy time and there was much to do, but as I headed for the door I felt something tugging me to stay just another minute, to walk through each room and give thanks for the time we spent there.  Every place I've lived, I've felt the tug of this five or ten minute ritual.  The sensation is overwhelming.  Five or ten minutes never feels like enough time and my words always seem inadequate.  I trust my heart makes up for whatever my words lack.

The following picture is what our furniture looked like before it was loaded into the container to be shipped across the ocean.  They wrap EVERYTHING, even the largest pieces, up like gifts in wrapping paper.



As I write this, four weeks later, these items are arriving at the port in Miami to clear customs.

Finally shutting the door, I walked across the street, dragging my two huge suitcases behind me, headed to La Cour des Augustins, our hotel, our home away from home when in Geneva.  Allowing myself, for the first time in days, to realize that I was actually bone weary, I was ever so grateful for the cool, white, relaxing room awaiting me.






Now it was time for Chris and I to rest, tend to last minute moving details and await our flight to Guam, where we would visit Chris’ brother’s family and learn to Scuba Dive.


The following photos are of our time in Guam…














 Nemo!!!










Underwater Mushroom



 
We had the time of our lives in Guam with Chris' brother's family.  But after two and a half weeks, it was time to continue our journey of moving back to the U.S.

We left Guam, returned to Switzerland to collect Bear, flew to D.C., bought a car and drove to Roanoke to spend a few days with Chris parents and to collect Tigger who has spent the last year and a half with Chris’ parents while we were in Switzerland.


So far, our return to the United States is everything we expected it to be… a comfortable sigh of relief.

As I write to you, I’m wearing beach clothes, sitting in the breeze under Grandma’s cottage in Nags Head, North Carolina. My dogs are at my feet and Chris is back in Switzerland on one of many business trips.


In two or three weeks, we’ll both head for Florida to settle in.

Friday, July 15, 2011


The Saleve is a small mountain, only a 20 min bus ride from our apartment.  It's small, but very steep, carved mainly of rock cliffs.  Hiking the Saleve is a favorite pastime for Genevans and we finally did it two weeks ago.  We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.  We thought it was going to be an hour hike at most.  It turned out to be 3 hours.  We were extremely out of shape, stopping every 10 minutes to catch our breath, hearts pounding, legs burning.


 At one such stop, only halfway up the Saleve

I collapsed in this field, flat on my back, only 10 more minutes to the top!


 We finally made it to the top, resting for an hour at the outdoor restaurant before riding the cable car back down the mountain.  My body was in a bit of shock, chilled in spite of the heat, weak and shaky.  It was quite the workout for me, but I made it to the top!  I was determined!


 We watched multiple hang gliders take off from this spot.






Walking home in the late afternoon, dreaming and scheming about what to have for dinner.  If you click on this picture, to make it bigger, you can see the dozens of hang gliders as specks in the sky.

It is with a heavy heart that I announce the end of this blog.  There will be other blogs, other stories to tell, but this one has reached it's end and it is for the best and most happy reason...  I'm headed home to the land I love, America the beautiful.

We planned to be in Europe for three years, but now find ourselves going home after a year and a half for reasons related to our desire to start a family.  We still pray for and expect to enjoy a pregnancy one day, but right now we are pursuing adoption and adoption is easier when filing from your own country.

So stay tuned for my next blog titled, "Deep Scent of Jasmine," based on my love affair with Florida, which started in 1997.  http://deepscent.blogspot.com/

The truth is, I love the whole of the United States now in a way I could never have experienced if I had not left her for this year and a half.   Eleven days ago on July 4th, I connected to the celebration of my country in a way I've never felt before.  In the past, I always enjoyed the fireworks, but that's about it.  I didn't have a strong sense of belonging anywhere, so naturally I couldn't connect to this celebration on a deeper level.  Spending a year away has granted me the gift of "belonging."  Some people leave the country of their birth and find belonging in another country.  Much like the spirit of adoption, they are grafted in and a new country becomes their true home.  On the other hand, the majority of us will always belong in the country of our birth, whether we're given the gift of appreciating it or not.

I've received the gift.  In five weeks I'll be stepping off a plane in the United States, this time to stay.  I've always thought it was super silly when people get off a plane and kiss the ground, but now I understand.  The asphalt will be hot enough to fry eggs in August, so I think I'll still pass, but I finally understand the sentiment.

I still have no idea to which state I belong.  I used to think it was Virginia, but now I'm not so sure.  What I do know is that I belong in the United States of America and it's the most wonderful feeling.

America is not better than all the other countries.  There are many other countries which deserve equal respect.  To say America is the best would be like saying "my family is better than your family."  I never want to have that attitude.  Nonetheless, America is an amazing country, one to be proud of and worth fighting to protect.  Whatever America may experience in the coming years, for better or for worse, I want to be there to experience it with her.

Enough with the sentimental... Mon Aventure is not over yet!  We still have 5 more weeks of  International adventure, which will include me overcoming my fears and learning to Scuba Dive in the South Pacific!

In two weeks our furniture will be collected to start it's journey to Florida while Chris and I head to Guam to visit his brother's family for 3 weeks.  Stay tuned!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Friday, May 20th, Dad, Mom and Kyle stepped off a plane in Geneva.  This trip had been a dream in the works since the day Chris and I found out we were moving to Europe.  Kyle was the driving force behind this dream becoming reality.  He had his heart set on seeing Europe.

There are thirty pictures here, only a small sample of the hundreds we took during their two and a half week visit.  These images will tell most of the story for me.


Kyle, jet lagged, but too excited to sleep, discovering the apartment upon first arrival.



 The next day Chris and I took them on a walking tour of Geneva.




Reformation Wall
Dad knew more about this wall and it's significance than we did.
He explained that the statues of religious leaders of the 1500's are bigger and higher on this wall than the civil leaders also on the wall.  This is intentional as it is understood in Geneva that the religious Reformation not only changed the religious landscape, but also birthed civil freedom for the western world.




A serious game of chess in Parc des Bastions





Dad, pretending to be John Calvin



Kyle, drinking from an old horse trough, now a public water fountain



Mom, just standing there



Kyle and myself, Sunday morning outside church



Walking home from church, Mom and Kyle were amused by the unusually placed statues




Monday I took Mom and Kyle to Chateau de Chillion, the most popular Castle tour in Switzerland, a 90 minute drive up the lake.




The tour is in our headsets








 Tired feet, I take a break.  I've done this tour once before with Kellie and Brady. 
Nonetheless, it's a truly amazing tour and I enjoyed it equally the second time.

Rome
 On Wednesday Chris took time off work and we all flew to Rome for three nights.

Arrival in Rome.
Waiting for the owner of the apartment to come give us our key to get in.



View from our bedroom window



After a good night's sleep, our first stop... the Colosseum of course.







Meandering around the Palatine











Rome Day 2
The Vatican

Walking across the bridge, headed for the Vatican.  Random ancient castle coming up.



The Vatican



Lunch beforehand, to get us through.



I waited with great anticipation to see Michelangelo's painting of the finger of God on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  Alas, it's so high up, you can barely see it!  Not nearly as moving as I expected it to be.  Instead, I was deeply and unexpectedly moved by this replica of Michelangelo's sculpture of Mary holding Jesus as a boy.







"Home" again to Geneva 
A day of recovery at the park.  Kyle impresses us by jumping off the high dive into Lake Geneva






Dad and Mom take a train to Strasbourg for a three night romantic getaway.
Kyle stayed with us, finally getting to exchange the couch for a real bed. 
We also took him to see the 4th Pirates of the Caribbean.  Movie Theaters are pretty much the same in Europe as they are in the U.S.


Strasbourg




Annecy, France
When they returned we took them to Annecy, France, a small mountain town 30 minutes from Geneva.



 Annecy has the most beautiful views any of us had ever seen.  It was delicious weather too.
On a whim, Mom, Kyle, Chris and I rented a motor boat for an hour while Dad was resting.  We didn't bring swimsuits, but Kyle and I couldn't resist a jump in the clear water out in the middle of the lake.  We stripped down to underwear and dried in the sun on the boat deck after!



Worn out and happy, on the ride home.




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