Catching Up

Well, we still haven't received the things we shipped from Oklahoma, yet. I will try to remain optimistic, and say maybe next week. Until then we will continue making due with what we have, which in all honesty, is just fine. Granted, I'm not making any gourmet meals or anything, but we are not starving and our diet does include more than pizza and McDonalds. I have managed to make Mexican casserole, chocolate chip cookies, banana bread, and brownies. The ingredients for everything, but the banana bread came from a British/American food store here in Vienna called Bobby's. Now, let me say that is was a comfort to find this place it will not be a regular shopping stop. Everything is EXPENSIVE. The day we went I got six items and the total bill was about $30. It was kinda one of those culture shock things. I mean I was literally laying awake at night thinking about brown sugar and vanilla. Crazy, I know. I was pretty sure Martha Stewart or Betty Crocker was going to visit and lecture me on being a good mother and wife. What kind of mom would I be if I couldn't make chocolate chip cookies? I am getting over this now. It should be noted that neither Jake or Abby had asked for chocolate chip cookies. Oh, what we put ourselves through.
On a different note, we all had our first Austrian haircuts. Well, we all still have hair. I had been dreading this chore due to my lack of German and fearing the person with the scissors would speak no English and take out some sort of grudge against America on my hair. Thankfully, we all made it out just fine. Actually, Jake looks pretty cute with his "new" look. It isn't actually a new look, pretty much the same but with less hair. Abby did well, too, considering this was only like the third haircut she has had in her life.
This week we also got to paint and repaint Abby's room. When we moved into our apartment all the walls were stark white. Great for a hospital, but not too homey. So we immediately starting painting walls. We did our room and the living room first. We finally got around to doing Abby's room this week. I wanted her room to be yellow, so we had gone to the hardware store and picked out a color, which they mixed up for us. Remember, all tasks our done with very limited German and a prayer that the person we are speaking to has a knowledge of English. So, we got the paint home and started painting, turns out the color we ended up with was more beige than yellow. So, we went back to the hardware store and this time picked out a premixed yellow paint. Got it home and painted the walls. Well, they are for sure YELLOW, now. A bit brighter than I had anticipated, but she likes it. So we're done painting for awhile.
Today, we got to help our friends, Andrea and Peter, move into their new flat. This was pretty exciting for them and us, actually. We met Andrea and Peter during our survey trip in 2005. They are a young, Christian couple about our age. Honestly, knowing Andrea was here was a major comfort to me as we prepared to come to Vienna. Now, I hope we can begin to grow our friendship. Anyway, back to the moving. They have been preparing for this move since we met them in '05. Their building just got completed and so they were finally able to move in. Afterwards, they hosted a BBQ, Austrian style, complete with a variety of sausages and a hairdryer (see previous post).
So, I guess that gives everyone a good look at what we have been up to lately. This next week Jake and I will attempt to chose a language school and a kindergarten for Abby. Please pray that this will so smoothly. Trying to find a suitable location for my child in a foreign country is very daunting.