26.7.2011 Our new life in Weimar

As we got closer to Weimar I knew we needed a plan on how we were going to get all of our stuff off the train. Our two large hiking backpacks and stroller were in one section and the rest were all over the place. As we got closer I moved all of our bags to the section the conductor told us we couldn’t have them and Heather got the kids ready. I left the stroller where it was and was going to get that off first, and then run to the other door and start pulling off the other bags. When the train pulled into the station we jumped into action and fortunately Barbara and Susan (the school’s director and one of the school’s principals) were there to help us. We got all the bags off and then were able to breathe and give proper greetings. Barbara later told us that she had purposely positioned herself in front of the lady on the platform who gives the green light for the train to leave the station because Barbara had witnessed a train in Switzerland pull out with two children on the train and the parents standing dumbfounded on the platform. They also told us that we won the prize for the bringing the most bags. Although in our defense we were the only family of 4 and we didn’t ship anything.

This is where we live. Notice all the scaffolding. It is a remodel in process.

There is our entrance. No, not the big door to the left. The little door to the right of center.

To get us to our new home we had to take two trips to the cars. It was a strange feeling leaving Heather and the kids standing on the platform as I took some of the bags. We finally got all the bags into the cars and had to travel about 50 meters to our new home. Our place was an old hotel that is currently being converted into an apartment complex. However, we don’t need to go into detail about this because you can read about it in one of our earlier posts. http://scott-heather-overby.blogspot.com/2011/07/we-made-itand-now-have-internet.html But let me tell you a little bit more about it. Our first reaction was “Wow it’s perfect.” And it is, for a temporary place. It is too small to stay long term, but it is a place to land. It is a little hard when one of the painters needs to paint the door in the middle of the day or change the doorknob. A few times when coming or going, they are doing remodeling work, and the guys will help carry the stroller up the stairs. One of the things we don’t like is having to move the chariot stroller up or down three flights of stairs. We’d like our next place to be a little closer the the ground floor. One of the things you’ll notice in the picures is that there is no door to Stanley and Holly’s room. It is just an opening. They have a door on order, but they don’t know when the carpenter will get it in. Something that has been great here, is how helpful they’ve been. They actually hired a specialist to come out to try to figure out our internet issue. Embarrassingly enough, the problem was that password code has a period at the end and we didn’t even notice it. Fortunately, neither did the manager when he tried to help Heather with it. But they’ve been gracious in removing an extra bed and bringing in a wardrobe to the children’s room on the day after we arrived. We also had them remove the TV, and the owner thought it was funny that the Americans didn’t want a TV. She thought all Americans watch TV. The apartment managers have answered questions, and have repeatedly told us to let them know if we need anything. What we will give you now is a little tour through pictures and video. Enjoy. Keep reading to hear more about our first couple days...

The entryway into the kids room. Notice, no door.

This is the kids room. Heather took this picture standing in the back corner.

There is now a dresser where Heather is standing here and the bed closest to her is gone.

This is our room. These are two separate beds next to each other.

Apparently you can buy something that connects the two mattresses

so there isn't a chasm between them.

There's the bathroom, you can see how small our room is here.

Here's inside the bathroom. Notice the sprayer but no shower curtain. That's common in Europe. You have bathtubs or showers. Not 2 in 1.

Here is our kitchen. Pretty basic.

That evening, after we got all of our stuff up to the room, Barbara and Susan took us out to get something to eat and shop for groceries. We also got to meet one of the other new teachers, Tim. At the restaurant, the food was delicious and our kids were wired! They just wanted to run and run and run and yell and yell and yell. You can’t blame them after spending the last 18 hours traveling! Fortunately, Barbara and Susan were very understanding and would hold Holly and listen to the many things Stanley wanted to share. It was really nice to have that time and definitely essential to get some food for breakfast the next day, although for the kid’s sleep schedules we should have gotten the kids to bed earlier.

We walk a lot here. Lots of green space which is nice.

We also use our stroller a lot. Sometimes the kids fall asleep in it.

The nice thing about keeping the kids up, is that they slept in until almost 10 the next day. However, I received a phone call soon after we woke up that I needed to be at the school to start getting paperwork done. The first thing on the list was insurance. In Germany you are required to have insurance. There is the national healthcare system, but you need something else above that. The person I met with was from the insurance company that the school goes through, although if you absolutely insist you can go through whomever you want. The actual health care is great. For the national system you pay 10 Euros once every 3 calendar months and that covers all appointments during that time (doctor, dentist, optometrist, etc). The extra insurance plan that we got will also pay you for doing checkups. You collect stamps, and those stamps can be cashed in at the end of certain time period. The goal is to get people into checkups so there are less major issues later on.

A sweet moment as the kids play together in their room.

Anyways, the process for getting a visa is very specific. First insurance, then register your address with the city, then get a bank account, then you can get the visa. The school has hired a gal, Ana, whose job is to help all of us new teachers and to be our interpreter. So she is scheduling appointments, running from one place to another and getting all of this figured out. Pretty much everyone in the city office doesn’t speak English. So Wednesday was insurance, Thursday was registering our address, and Friday I was on my own for the bank account. Fortunately the gentleman I worked with there spoke English. During those first few days we were also trying to figure things out like bus schedules, the layout of the town, where to buy groceries, what else do we need for our apartment, and how to do life with no appliances (we have two hot plates and a mini fridge.. It has been a crazy week, but God has been gracious and getting us through each day. There are more stories to share, but I’ll save those for another post.

Click here for a Video Tour of our Apartment

26.7.2011 Frankfurt Airport and Train to Weimar

Once we arrived in Frankfurt we were the last ones to get off the plane (partly due to the fact that Stanley was still waking up and we hadn't yet gathered everything). After we got off, our first thought was, “Where’s our stroller?” We had checked it right before we boarded and expected them to bring it up when we landed. Unfortunately, no. Turns out there were a bunch of other parents trying to figure out the same thing. We asked someone, and they told us to go to baggage claim. So with two kids, 6 carry-ons/personal items, we traveled the maze of airport security. At the passport check, the clerk was not to happy about all of the baggage carts that made their way to his station. What do you expect when you take away a family’s stroller? He kept pointing to a sign that says no carts, but the sign just said European passports this way, all others that way.

Our life on two baggage carts and a stroller

Finally we made it to the baggage claim but still no stroller. Heather asked around and found that all strollers were at a different carousel. I made the trek to baggage claim 33 and there was our stroller still covered by the blanket. My knots were not great but they held well enough. By the time I got back Heather had managed to pull most of our bags off of the carousel and into our little spot at baggage claim. I quickly found two baggage carts and managed to get all of our bags onto the two carts plus stroller. Unfortunately, the baggage carts in Europe require you to hold down the lever to actually move them. Heather in all of her ingenuity found one of our baggage straps that was able to hold the lever down as we tried to find our train. It was quite the site and we had quite a few stares as we traveled the airport/train station with our pile of luggage. Heather ended up pushing the stroller and pulling one cart while I pushed the other.

Our spot waiting for the train

You may be wondering why I let Heather maneuver two things while I just had one. Let’s just say our spirits were not the best at the moment. Maybe we were hungry, tired, overwhelmed, or all of the above. Or maybe it was because Heather took the time to ask where we needed to go, and I didn’t listen because I thought we should follow the signs to the Bahn (Train). Turns out the signs to the Bahn that I wanted to follow were to the city train and the directions Heather received were to the long distance train that we needed to take. She had to ask a second official person again showing them our ticket before I would listen. A great example of a stubborn male that is trying to lead when he really doesn’t know where to go.The most interesting thing about our hike with all our stuff was going up the escalator. Fortunately, there was an employee who helped us up with all our stuff. That is where the hand brake on the carts come in handy.

Heather getting the information we need

We finally made it to our platform, Heather once again asked for directions and this time I listened. We were able to park everything and have a little break and snack. Heather then asked me a very good question that I hadn’t thought of, “How will they know what time we arrive in Weimar?” Barbara had been out of town the week before we left, and Allyn who I had been corresponding with, was out of town the week we arrived. I had failed to bring a phone number to call the school, and we discovered that free wi-fi was not necessarily available in a major train station like it was in Seattle. Instead you have to pay for a T-Mobile hot-spot. Yikes, we weren’t ready to set up an account and give our credit card number. As we were trying to figure that how to contact the school we also took inventory of our stuff and realized that we were going to need help getting on the train and the train was going to arrive very soon.

Stanley being goofy in Frankfurt

By this point we had cooled off from our earlier issues, and were in a better place emotionally. We prayed that God would provide us with the help we needed getting on the train. As we were praying a gentleman was walking by and looking at us. Heather asked him if he spoke English, which he did, and where he was from, Israel. She then asked him if he would help us on the train. He said yes, and just then the train began to pull up. He got on, I threw him the bags, and we got everything loaded just before the train pulled out. As the train was pulling out, the conductor signaled to us that our bags could not stay were they were. So I had to move everything again. Fortunately, some other kind people on the train helped find places for all our bags. It was quite a process but we were on our last leg to Weimar.

Scott & Holly Waiting for the Train

As I was moving bags Heather and the kids were playing musical chairs (unintentionally). Certain seats are reserved, and some that are not marked as reserved are actually reserved as well. Note to self-don't just book tickets for the train-book seats as well. Fortunately, Heather met a gentleman (or an angel) named Oliver. Oliver acted as Heather’s interpreter for both language and culture. How did she meet him? She walked right up and asked to use his smart-phone to check our email to get the phone number for the director of the school. Then she used his phone to call the director to let her know when we would arrive. Heather would not typically ask to use a stranger's smart phone but this was a total God thing. As God had it, the train was delayed from the Frankfurt Airport station to the Frankfurt main station (Oliver’s stop) and Heather had time to get to know Oliver a little better.

The view from our train (no we didn't take this one)

During the rest of the trip we met a few more Germans who helped bridge the language gap with train employees and smiled at the kids. It was God's grace and those things that got us through the last difficult leg of the journey to Weimar. One of the things they had to help us with was an issue with our ticket. Apparently when you buy a train ticket on line you must have the card with which you bought the ticket with you on the train so they can have a proof of purchase. Scott had left his card with his dad to use for our house stuff back home. Big oops! Anyway we learned our lesson. We then bought dinner on the train, received free ice-pops for the kids, looked at the 1000 German words book that Grandma Sue got for Stanley (and us), and mostly tried to keep the kids entertained and contained. Not always an easy task. We kept telling Stanley, “This is Germany, this is our new home.” It was a weird feeling as we drew closer and closer to Weimar. This IS our new home. We’re going to LIVE here! What if we don’t like it? Will people be at the train station to meet us? We just had to trust in the LORD and know that He DID bring us here, and we are walking in His will.

25.7.2011 to 26.7.2011 Seattle Airport and flight on Condor

In Seattle we were able to get our stroller reassembled, and then we had an escort to an elevator because we were not able to take the stairs. This time we were able to actually carry our carry-ons by using the stroller and rearranging a few things. It was quite the hike across Sea-tac, and we were very relieved to make it to the International Concourse. We found the Condor gate, and quickly found a place to drop our things. At the gate it already felt like we were in a foreign country. It seemed as if most of the people around us were speaking a language other than English.

Our plane to a new land and new life

Stanley and I needed food so we set off to explore our options. We settled on a burger and hot dog at the Runway Grill. As we were waiting we realized that Stanley has been consistently initiating the need to go to the bathroom. For you non-parents you won’t appreciate this as much, but this has been a huge stressor for us recently. We have been trying to teach him to let us know, but he never would it has just been us that have been potty trained. Now in the last hours of our move and the move itself, he had made that transition to being fully potty trained! Hurrah!

Heather was able to get a little bit of wi-fi on our ipod, but we soon realized that we were going to have to rearrange our bags. Condor has 6 kilo (13 pound) weight requirement on all carry-ons. The first thing we did was utilize the large carry-on bag that Steve and Sue gave us before we left. It currently had baby items in it, but we loaded it with both computers and other heavy items we didn’t think we needed on the plane. Fortunately, they didn’t weigh it (as far as we know) or charge us to check it in at the gate! Next we loaded up the stroller with a few more items that we didn’t need on the plane like Heather’s Ukulele and a satchel purse. This gave us 4 bags plus Stanley’s penguin backpack and Heather’s purse to carry on.

Craziness before we board.

As we were standing around waiting to get on the flight a condor employee was going around weighing bags to make sure they were under 6 kilos. I was pretty sure my backpack and work bag were over the maximum weight. They weighed a bag belonging to the other couple headed to Germany to teach, and the employee started to tell me how my bag was too heavy. The gal it belonged to quickly claimed the bag as hers and had to unload a few things, exposing the Lego book that was supposed to be a surprise for her son. He went crazy and I distracted him as the mom put it somewhere else. When all that was done, the employee turned to our bags. She weighed one of our backpacks which came 5.9 kilos. I knew this was not good. My other two bags were heavier than the one she weighed. She then looked at our other bags. I think I might have even asked if she wanted to weigh another but she just said no and walked off! The Lord was really watching over us there. I don’t know what we would have unloaded.

Getting Ready to Take off for Germany-Stanley is glued to the TV

Soon it was time to board and we were the first ones on the plane. I once again had to fold up the entire stroller and this time I tied a large blanket over it to protect it from any banging around. As people boarded we got the kids in their pajamas, set up the car seat and prepared our little home. One of the things Heather is really good at is making any space a home just like she did to our spot along the wall at PDX. Holly, being the greeter that she is, was in Stanley’s car seat saying “HI” to everyone who walked past her. This garnered a lot of smiles. :-) Since Holly was under two she was considered a lap child and we only had three seats in the center. Fortunately, Heather was able to reserve the baby friendly section at the bulkhead. This gave us more leg room and floor space. Our flight took off around 7:45 pm, and we had a meal soon into the flight. We were shocked at the music videos they were showing on the flight, so we busied ourselves and the kids with some coloring and other activities. Holly would not sit still on our laps so she was in Stanley’s car seat while Heather and Stanley built a “nest” on the floor. By about 10 pm the kids were getting tired. We put Stanley in his car seat, and we got a bassinet for Holly (one of the perks of being in the baby friendly section). The bassinet was intended to be only for babies under 6 months, but since Holly is so petite the flight attendant gave us the bassinet anyways. What a blessing! Both kids conked immediately. We conked soon after. About 3 or 4 hours later Stanley started to wake up, so we transitioned him to his nest. He ended up sleeping the rest of the way! At the end we actually had to move his sleeping body back to the car seat for landing, and then had to wake him up to get him off the plane! That was a huge answered prayer. Holly slept for about 5-6 hours total so we only had to keep her entertained for about 2 hours at the end of the flight, but she got to be in Stanley’s car seat because he was asleep in the nest.

Our sleeping family, and Stanley sleeping in his nest (second picture)

The kids sleeping made the flight super easy, and it gave them (especially Stanley) great attitudes. On the plane ride we both said to each other, “we’re really doing this,” or “this is not just a two week mission trip.” It is a weird feeling getting on a plane with only a one way ticket and bringing only the luggage we packed. Not knowing exactly what God has in store but just walking by faith into the unknown. One of the things we can hold onto is that He brought us here, and He will provide the strength we need no matter what we face. When we got off the plane we realized that we were not in the Northwest anymore. We had to get through customs, find our luggage, and find our train. How in the world would we manage that with just the two of us and our 8 large bags (remember we checked another at the gate).

25.7.2011 PDX and flight to Seattle

We had a great group to see us off at the airport. There was Steve & Sue, Auntie Joyce, Grandpa Dick and Grandma Bettie, Sarah Overby, Matt & Holly Smucker, Gene & Rainy Takalo with Caleb & Isaac Meyer, and Jonathan Martin. It was crazy for us with all our bags. We had seven check in bags, 2 carseats, 1 pack’n’play, our big chariot stroller, and way too many carry-ons (two computers, diaper bag, backpack, my workbag, Heather’s purse, Stanley’s backpack, ukulele, and a gift bag from the Takalos). When checking in our bags, the lady was very gracious, and the first bag was well under the 50 pound limit, so she had us put that aside to unload other bags, which we ended up doing. After checking in we prayed with our group then headed towards security. At security we said our last good-byes, and then we were off on our own. Going through security we had to unload our whole stroller, pockets, jackets, and shoes then reload and put everything back on. It was an ordeal, but we made it through.

Our little family at the airport, ready to head out on our own.

We went down to our gate which was on a lower level because we only had a little hopper flight. It was packed down below and it was hard to find a place to park ourselves. We finally found a place along the wall. We had bagels and cream cheese from Starbucks because down there the food choices were very limited. We were able to talk a little with another couple from Hillsboro who were off to teach at an International school in Berlin. We had seen them checking in after us. They had two boys and were loaded with stuff as well. Hopefully we’ll be able to connect with them sometime over the next 2 years. As for our family, it was amazing how quickly we are able to become cross with each other. As I write this I can’t even remember what it was about. Perhaps it was because we were tired, hungry, overwhelmed, or all of the above. Fortunately, we were able to pray and refocus on what we were doing and how God had brought us to this point.

Our little spot in PDX waiting for our flight.

When it was close to boarding we made our way to the waiting area. Stanley and Holly loved looking at the airplanes. Unfortunately, there was some delay and when it was time to board they did not let the families with kids board first. Instead, we waited until the end of the line. I then had to fold up the stroller in a hurry, which I got to do many more times. With a little hopper flight, you walk onto the airplane from the ground and we were able to put a couple of our carry ons along with our stroller under the plane. When we got on the plane, of course our seats were at the back, so we bumped past everyone with all of our carry-ons. A few moments later we were off to Seattle.

The actual flight was very short. Because of turbulance there were no snacks on the flight. Stanley was amazing. He looked out the window and looked at the ABC book from the Takalos. Holly was great for the first ¾ of the flight, but the last bit she was fussy. Fortunately, the flight was not long, 45 minutes from take-off to landing, so we did not have to deal with her for very long. We waited to be the last ones off the plane, and were worried about Holly for the second flight. Would she be just as fussy? And Scott was worried about all of our carry-ons and how we would consolidate everything.

Perhaps this is why Holly was fussy on the flight to Seattle.

We made it...and now have internet

Sorry about the lack of communication over this past week. Yes, we made it to Weimar and the trip went quite smoothly considering having two littles and bringing everything we own in seven checked bags. We're working on a longer post but wanted to let you know that everything is fine. Our new home is quite small. Two bedrooms and an entrance that serves as a kitchen/dining room/office, and then a small bathroom off our room. Let's just say that things are a bit cramped. But it's cheap and we have beds to sleep in. The manager even provided an old European pack'n'play for Holly. Unfortunately, it is retired hotel that is being converted into apartments, so because of the remodel, things like hot water and Internet have been a little sketchy. That is why we're a little behind in updates.

This week we've been focusing on getting the proper paperwork filled out (first insurance, then registering our address, then opening a bank account, then applying for a work visa). I wasn't quite able to get through the whole process because you need a translator for almost every part (except the bank) and Friday was the translator's day off.

We met one of the other teachers and her husband and they have two boys, ages 3 and 1. They were a huge answered prayer on Thursday when we thought we were going to go stir crazy.

Today Heather made dinner at home and we were able to sit down around a table to eat dinner at a table for the first time since we left. What a difference that made! We're still working through some time change difficulties with the kids. Children should be asleep before midnight thank you very much! Thank you to those who have been praying for us. More on our move to Weimar to follow.

Almost There

I wanted to put up a quick update. A lot going on right now as you can imagine. My passport came in Saturday morning just in time for our departure. Our house is packed, but Steve and Sue will still come in to take the boxes to the barn or goodwill. We signed a contract with a property management company so that takes care of what is happening with the house. Tonight we are packing our bags. We are very tired, but excited for our journey tomorrow. Back to packing now.

Yard Blessing

Yesterday we had 3 boys from Sandy Assembly of God come and help me with the yard. As you can probably understand, I haven't been able to touch the yard in almost 4 weeks. It was pretty out of control. They came in and now it looks incredible. Probably the best it has been since we moved here! Thank you John, Dom, and Lane for your hard work. I'll try to post pictures on the final product. I forgot to do before and after pictures. What's even better about the deal, is that the money we'll pay them is going towards their high school group summer camp, but John and Lane had already paid for camp so their money will go for someone else who can't afford it. They worked 6 hours for someone else. What a great picture of the body of Christ working together. I'm really proud of their selfless attitude.

Lasts...

We are in our last week before we leave, and this week is the week of lasts. Last High Ground for me (Scott), last growth group, last mom's in the park, and the last time we'll see different people. Heather was giving some things to a good friend on Monday, and suddenly the friend stopped and began to cry "you're leaving!" Heather didn't want to go into grieving mode at that moment, but we will be grieving the lost of friends and family over this next week at unexpected times. After growth group today, we pulled into our driveway and both of us began to cry over the loss of our amazing group. We will miss you all deeply. When talking to Jonathan Martin and Rakel Thurman today they compared moving overseas to a marriage, in that when you get married you need to leave and cleave. To the extent that you are able to do that, the chances of success increase. Which I think is hard not only for us, but also for family and friends. With modern technology, it is very easy to stay connected via Facebook, Skype, blogs, email, etc. But at the same time, many young people moving to a foreign land get so sucked into social media, that they lose sight of where they are, and get more focused on where they're not. Heather has a wonderful saying, "Comparison is the thief of joy." So as we leave for Germany we're not going to completely shut ourselves off to our wonderful family and friends, but we are going to make a conscious decision to be where God has placed us, to embrace learning the language and culture, and to discover what exciting adventures God has for us in Germany. In the meantime, we'd love to see or hear from you before we go. We will probably be having a pantry raid on Friday this week for people to take extra food and toiletry items that we have, aren't going to take with us, and shouldn't be packed up for 2 years. Watch Heather's Facebook page for more details. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and have a great day.

Getting Closer to departure

Wow, this last week flew by! I finished summer school on Thursday, Steve and Sue got home Thursday night, we had round 2 of our estate sale Friday and sort of Saturday (it rained all day). Now we are into the final homestretch and there is so much to do. We are still trying to figure out what will happen to our house. Fortunately, God is bringing things into place, we just don't know what the final product will look like yet. We still need to get rid of stuff, pack, get out, and clean our house. Plus try to spend time with family and friends. God is good, and He's giving us the strength we need. I added a countdown timer to when our plane takes off from PDX next week. Pretty crazy.

Last night, it was neat to see God provide for us. We were both stressed about everything that needed to get done. I was actually on the phone with my mom sharing the stresses and how I didn't think I could handle another thing. At the end of the call, a family that Heather had talked to earlier came over to buy one of our car seats. When we told them we just needed to get rid of stuff, they ended up buying stuff and clearing out many boxes for us. One of their daughters and her husband work at a church in Kaiser that could use the kid clothes for families in their congregation so they took probably 5+ boxes worth of kids clothes and blankets. Afterwords Heather and I looked at what was gone and we praised God for meeting us where we were at and providing what we needed (getting stuff out of our house). It was like He was saying "I've got you covered, trust Me."

Estate Sale

We just finished day 2 of our estate sale. We decided not to be open on Sunday so we can go to church and have some family time. Please be praying for our house situation in Sandy. God really needs to open the right doors for what do do with our house. Rent? Rent to own? Property management company? Family or friends manage? Sell? New homebuyer's credit? Lots of questions. So far God has provided in every area, we're pretty sure He will do the same here too. We sold both of our cars on Friday (the Volvo sold at 11:45 pm Thursday night). Huge answered prayer there, and we sold them for our asking price. Praise the LORD! Please sign up for our prayer team. So far we only have 26 people on the list. We're aiming for 100!

God shows up again- Plane Tickets

God does it again in providing what we need. On Sunday we were trying to get plane tickets. We found tickets on Friday, and by Sunday morning those tickets were $200 more per ticket. Plus all we could find at that price was a flight that had two layovers. Heather was able to contact Condor (a German company that has just starting flying to the USA), and found a flight from Portland to Seattle to Frankfurt. But we were trying to do this as we were getting ready for church. We got out the door late. Then as Scott was taking Stanley to class, they had a collision (Stanley was going straight at full steam and Scott was trying to veer Stanley left). Stanley got a bloody nose, which took awhile to clean up, then he was having post tramautic issues from the bloody nose and couldn't calm down when we tried to drop him off. By the time all was said and done we were 30 minutes late, Stanley wasn't calming down, and Heather had not eaten breakfast. We decided to go home, give Stanley a break and a new non-bloody shirt, get Heather some food, and on Scott's mind was plane tickets. At home, we were able to get the first two done, but the third one wasn't happening. We tried to order the tickets, by using our credit card (we haven't used a card in over three years) and it would not go through. Bummer. Then we tried the debit card and that was rejected for some reason we couldn't read because the error note was in German. Finally we just had to leave to get back to church in time for second service. We did get there a couple minutes late, and during the worship we were both able to refocus and be reminded that Christ needs to remain on the throne of everything we do. After church Heather had lunch with Megan Schiffner (Knoll), and Scott had the kids at home. He was able to look at the information with a better perspective, and was able to learn what we needed. We were trying to buy tickets for Tuesday that were $300 more per ticket than the flight on Monday! Plus, through Condor the price for all four of us was less than one of us on United or Delta. The flight Monday is in the afternoon to Seattle, then we leave Seattle at the kids bedtime straight to Frankfurt. Plus, by flying with Condor, we were able to get a good deal on train tickets from Frankfurt to Weimar. God was able to make things not happen in the morning, but we were also able to make it to church (we definitely felt as if there was spiritual warfare trying to keep us from going). It's amazing to see how He orchestrates things together if we'd only stop to watch.

Thank you again for taking the time to follow our story. Please sign up to receive email alerts and to be on our prayer team. We're looking for at least 100 people on the prayer team. We'd like to hit that number by this upcoming weekend. There is a link on the right side of the page. Also, our estate sale is this weekend. July 8th, 9th, and 10th and we will open at 9 am.

New Direction

Our life has suddenly taken a turn in a whole new direction and with that change, we thought we should get this blog going again. It is sad that the last time we posted Holly wasn't born yet. So here we go, welcome to our new Odyssey.

Let us begin with the news, we're moving to Germany! Scott was offered a job at an international school in Weimar (pronounced Vie-mar). We said yes, and now we are leaving in less than 3 weeks. How did we get there? Glad you asked.

It started about mid May. With the economy, we knew Scott's job at Barlow was at risk. He knew that he did not want to be called to the principal's office. May 13th became that dreaded day at Barlow, where a lot of people were called to the principal's office. As I look back and try to figure out the date, that happened on Friday May 13th. 6.67 positions were cut. Most of those cuts were a class or two from a variety of teachers. Later this process was called, "death by a thousand paper cuts." Scott lost one class which dropped him down to 0.83 FTE (full time employee). At first we were shocked but then reminded ourselves that God is in control and we could make it on that salary even though it would be a challenge. Heather might need to work a little, Scott would pick up some subbing on his off period, or something else to earn a little here and there.

A week and a half later, on May 23rd, Scott had just gotten to work in the morning and received a phone call to come down to the principal's office again. This time, the news was worse. Another teacher who had seniority by luck of the draw (Scott and this teacher were hired the same summer) bumped Scott down another 3 classes. This put him at 0.33 FTE. This was a huge blow, and then he had to turn around and teach that day. He was offered the chance to take the day off, but the routine of working helped the shock not be as strong. At this point, we started to really question what God was doing. How was He working in all this? Then we began to dream. We had always wanted to teach overseas and maybe this was God pushing us that direction. We contacted the Black Forest Academy, began looking at international schools, and started to explore other possibilities.

Then on Thursday May 26th Scott's Vice Principal interrupted the class Scott was teaching at the moment and told him that she was to cover his class while he went down to the principal's office for a third time. "Maybe they're going to cut the rest of my job" he thought. Turns out that instead of cutting the rest of his job a half-time job at Gresham became available that morning, and it was his if he wanted it. Of course he said yes, and for you non-math people that is 0.33 FTE at Barlow, 0.5 FTE at Gresham for a total of 0.83 FTE, back where he originally was cut to. So maybe this was what God was preparing us for? A new ministry at Gresham High School. At that change we slowed down our exploring the possibility of teaching abroad, but that was still in the back of our mind. Instead, Scott's focus was on finishing the year well and getting ready for the changes ahead. "At least you still have your classroom" was something we held on to. Scott had been in that room all 4 years, and it was one of the best rooms at Barlow.

As the end of the year drew near, that hope of holding onto the classroom began to slip. Another teacher was being bumped rooms by a MESD (Multnomah Education Service District) special needs class. That teacher put in for Scott's room because Scott was only going to teach 2 classes at Barlow, and why leave such a great room empty? With that uncertainty looming we decided to look at the international schools a little more. We found a math job in Switzerland and another somewhere else. We sent emails to them, but both came back, "sorry we already hired someone." In Scott's mind we would leave in 2012, but Heather thought that God might have something for us this fall instead.

The week of finals Scott found another job, this one was at the Thuringia International School (ThIS) in Weimar Germany. I was a grade 6-12 position, with IB (International Baccalaureate) experience preferred. It looked interesting, so we started to gather the necessary documents, letters of recommendation, updated resume, etc. On the last day of work Scott found out that yes he was moving rooms, and he was going to share a room with the teacher who initially bumped him down to 0.33 FTE. He was also asked to teach an AVID class for the next year, which is a great program but requires a lot of outside of school time. Another teacher who was also asked to teach it described it as a great car, but when looking at your pocket book of time you don't have enough money. The overall atmosphere at Barlow that last day of work was like a funeral. At the breakfast it was one "this person is leaving" after another. Scott was a little disappointed that they didn't recognize those in his position who will still be at Barlow, but not full time.

Scott finished up the application that weekend and sent it in with a prayer on Sunday night, June 19th. The idea was that it would be in their inbox Monday morning. However, we didn't hear anything from the school. That whole week went by, and we began to wonder if they had already filled the position. On Sunday, June 26th, Scott decided that he should call the school to ask about the position and see if they had looked at his application. He dug out some old calling cards, and at 11:30 pm, called ThIS. After some time trying to figure how to make international calls, he finally got a hold of someone. It was the assistant director, and she said he should call back in an hour because the director could answer those questions better. He called back an hour later at 12:30 am. This time he was able to talk to the director and that phone call ended up being a two hour interview. At the end of the interview she said she liked what she was hearing and they set up a Skype interview for Tuesday night. That week was also his first week teaching summer school. So on Sunday night, he didn't get to bed until 2:45 in the morning, and he didn't fall asleep until almost 3:30. He then had to get up by 6 to get things ready to teach by 7:45.

On Tuesday night, Scott was nervous. We had been praying a lot, seeking God, and getting a lot of different people's opinions about the opportunity. When the interview started, the director and the Business Manager started by explaining what the pay and benefits are and how great of a place it is to work. It didn't seem like an interview but more of a job offer and a chance for Scott to ask more questions. At the end of the "interview" they asked, "So when can you let us know?" "Was that a 'the job is yours if you want it'?" Scott asked in reply. There was the job offer. Wow! Scott asked for 48 hours to think and pray about it. Then on Thursday night June 30th, Scott sent out the formal, "yes, I will accept the job" email.

What was neat about this whole process was that we spent a lot of time on our knees. Before emailing out the initial application we were praying about it. Before Scott called to inquire about the job we were praying about it. Before the Skype interview we were praying and singing to God. Two of our theme songs for this season of our journey are Chris Tomlin's "I will follow" and Matt Redman's "Blessed be your name" Some might feel like we are rushing into this, but we feel that God has led us every step of the way. It was like He was cutting the strings to our hot air balloon that were holding us down. First part of Scott's job, then more, then part time at Gresham, then loss of his classroom. We were also able to see how God was orchestrating other details to make things work for us to make this move. But in the midst of the uncertainty at Barlow, Scott was also able to have some neat conversations. He was able to tell others that he didn't want to let bitterness take root in his heart, because that would just eat him up inside and that he trusted that God was in control.

Now we are moving to Germany in three weeks, and you know the story behind the sudden, "We're leaving" that was posted on Facebook. We will share more as we go. Heather will also be posting updates on Facebook. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and feel free to leave a comment.

Happy Valentine's Day

Everyone has different views on Valentine's day. For some, it is a commercial holiday just as an excuse to sell us something. For others, it is seen as one of the best holidays because it allows the romantic in them to come out. For Heather and I, we see it as a special day to remember why we love each other, and be thankful for what God has given us. We don't have any over the top, make it the most romantic day of the year traditions, although they wouldn't hurt. :-) Instead, we make sure we kiss a lot, tell each other "I love you," and show that love through our actions. gifts are not necessary in our "celebrations". Our only real tradition is to go out the day after Valentine's day to get our favorite candy on major clearance.

We wanted to share with you some of the things we are excited about right now. We're both excited for baby Holly's arrival. Less than 6 weeks to go now. Holly is incredibly active and moves all day long whereas Stanley did not move much at all while on the inside. So we're looking forward to seeing what kind of personality this little one has. We are also just fine waiting another six weeks for a full term baby because Heather is feeling so good with this pregnancy. She is experiencing very little pain and is constantly thankful for good health. We're hoping to work on Holly's room tomorrow as there is still so much to do in order to get it ready for her.

Heather is currently reading "Toddler Wise," and loving what she is learning. She's reading about temperament vs. personality and how temperament is what you're born with, and personality is a combination of your temperament, heredity, and the environment you are raised in. Stanley is less than two months from turning two, and we want to learn all we can and raise him the way God wants us to.

I just finished the book "Raising a Modern Day Knight," and am excited about teaching Stanley what it means to be a man. The book talks about the importance of ceremonies in marking a young man's life and teaching him core values both by word and deed. For those of you who are curious, the author points that there are 4 key values of true men need to live by.

1. Resist Passivity

2. Accept Responsibility

3. Lead Courageously

4. Expect a greater reward (live for something beyond himself)- God's reward.

I was able to go to the NW men's conference a couple weeks ago, and there they challenged each man to step up and lead, and to seek a Timothy in his life. Exciting stuff.

We are also just loving our little man so much and enjoying all the new things he is learning and doing in these sweet years.

We're also having fun with home improvement projects and now have three canister lights in our living room, a chandelier in our dining room, and a fan and heat source in our bathroom. I am learning a lot and enjoying improving our home.

That's all for now. Have a great Valentine's Day, and God bless.

Injury update: We spent all of 45 minutes at the pediatric orthopedic specialist's office and were told that yes, it is broken but it will heal on its own. Two weeks in a splint is all it should take. I'm so thankful for an easy appointment. We were expecting to have to be there for at least a couple of hours including waiting time. No re-breaking or surgery necessary, praise God! So since we were at St. Vincent's we went to the zoo afterward with my membership I got for Christmas. I can bring one friend each time I go and kids two and under are free.

The roar is back! The lions and sea lions were our favorites today.

It's broken...

But what a trooper our little man is. Stanley fell yesterday and hurt his left index finger. It swelled up pretty bad and turned red, purple, black and blue pretty quickly. After talking to a few people last night including three nurses (I love our church) we knew he needed to be seen so today we went to urgent care after church. Weekends are not the best time to get injured just so you know (we suggest you choose a weekday if you must get hurt). So after waiting for a long time, getting x-rays and a lot more waiting we told his finger was broken (perhaps at the growth plate). So tomorrow we are going in to see a pediatric orthopedic specialist. I don't know what to expect (re-breaking the finger, surgery, etc.) so I'm a little nervous. Please pray for us. Stanley has been awesome throughout the whole process. He has had such a great attitude and is happy to play and read and do everything the doctors and technicians have told him to do. We are so thankful to have such a wonderful boy and we are thankful that his pain is not enough to hinder this little one's joyful spirit. And he loves to sing if you're happy and you know it through it all.

Our Christmas...

Click picture for bigger collage...

Zoo

On Monday, we decided to take a trip to the zoo. The day was a typical Oregon day, raining. But it was wonderful! There was just a slight drizzle, and the place was empty. We didn't have to fight crowds, and there was a good number of animals out. Some of Stanley's favorites were the bobcats, the ducks, the chickens (aka bawk bawks), and the elephants. Heather's favorites were the lions, the cheetah that was really close to us, and the giraffe. Scott's favorites were the eagles, the beavers, and the tigers. It was worth it, and for Christmas Heather "might" be getting a zoo membership, and she can take one free guest with her each time. We're looking forward to using it this year!

We had to bundle up, so we didn't freeze!

Stanley's new favorite animal is the "bawk bawk" thanks to our friends Keith and

Rachel and their wonderful farm in Corvallis.

A family photo, with a Cheetah sneaking into the picture to the left. Actually, he was just taking a nap, and we got him in our picture!

Fun Google Tools

Recently, I've been playing around with some Google tools, and it's fun what is available. I'm hoping to get Google Voice, and then I can solve the dilemma of my Salem phone number when I live in Sandy. But for now, I've learned an easy way to post on our blog from my iGoogle home page. Pretty nifty. Have a great day!

Recovery

A big thank you to everyone who was praying for us, asking how we're doing, and providing different things for us. We are now fully recovered from our week of Swine Flu! Well, almost. We still have some lingering coughs, Stanley is still a little fussy still, but we're feeling so much better. Our mothers/mother-in-loves were awesome. Both Cinda and Sue would bring us Gatoraide, drugs, food, flowers, and more. It was weird waving to them through the window, and not being able to give them hugs to say thank you. When I went back to work on Friday (fortunately it was an enter in grades day) I had a lot of coworkers asking how we were. We also had a lot of people praying for us from Facebook. Thank you thank you thank you.

Now Heather is in full swing with her Dove Chocolate business, which she is enjoying. She had her first party today, and another tomorrow night. If you want more information you can see her Taste and See blog.

Last night Good Shepherd had its kickoff on a new thing happening. It's called "The North," and it's a new type of service in the North Auditorium. It's geared more towards the younger generation. The music is a little louder, and the focus is more relationship building. They provided a great place to hang out before and afterwards to meet people and to "do church." It will be great to see how God uses this new venue. Seth lead the worship and it is always fun to see his heart and what God is doing in his life.

Thank you again, and we'll keep you posted on what else happens.