We're having a.......

That's right we are expanding the majority around here. Long live the estrogen!!!! Poor Jake is utterly outnumbered. He doesn't seem to mind too much, though. Now, he'll have two little princesses that adore him. We haven't totally settled on a name yet, but I think we are close, maybe. I'm planning on making everything for the nursery, as far as bedding and all that. We didn't ship any baby stuff with us, so we get to start all over with this one. Today, Abby and I made a trip to Ikea to look at furniture for the room. Let's just say I'm really missing all the hand me downs, consignment and garage sales in the US right about now. All in all, it is getting pretty exciting around here, though.

Cravings

I've managed to block out most cravings I've had this pregnancy, save one. Most of the things I would love to get my hands on are not available here in Vienna i.e Taco Bell, Fig Newtons, any number of other restaurant offerings. I tried to gorge myself as much as possible on these things when we were in the States recently. One thing I can't seem to get out of my head is breakfast sausage. Now, I wasn't a big sausage eater before, but for some reason it has become like some sort of obsession. And guess what? I can't get it here!!! Nope, no sausage. I can get any kind of wurst on the planet practically, but no breakfast sausage. I've tried making some from scratch with limited success and was about to give up on the idea of having any again until we go on furlough. But the thought would not leave my head and so after Christmas I'm going to try a couple of new recipes and use a different cut of meat. I'll have to work on asking the butcher to grind up a shoulder roast in German. Wish me luck.

US Tour '08

Well, I'm finally getting around to posting a few pics from our US trip. As many of you know the main point of the trip was for me to finally meet the half brother I recently learned about. Of course, it was great to be back home and see lots of family and eat American food, but it was so exciting to meet Andy. Here are some pics from the Kansas leg of the trip.

 

The cousins.

 

Family pic. A long time comin'.

 

Gotta love Taco Bell.

 

Funny faces with Uncle Andy.

My mom, sister, me and the kiddos.

Home again

We made it home to Vienna on Thursday morning and all fell right into bed since none of slept on any of the flights back. We are still in the midst of jetlag, but I think we will recover soon. We had such a great trip, the highlight of which was meeting my half brother for the very first time. I wasn't sure what to expect, but am so thankful for the opportunity. We got to spend about 2 half days with Andy. He was also able to meet some more of the family, which everyone really enjoyed. We all wish we could have known about him sooner. I'm looking forward to staying in touch with him and seeing him again in the future.
We also had a great time in Colorado with Jake's family. We even had snow, twice. Jake and Abby were especially excited about this since they got to go sledding. Mama stayed inside fighting a cold/cough and trying to stay warm. It really was a fantastic trip, though short. We only had two weeks in the States, but are looking forward to furlough next summer with the new baby. I'll try to post some pics tomorrow and give a few more details, for now, I'm falling asleep at the keyboard.

Last day

Today is our last day in the States for awhile. We have had such a great time visiting family, meeting new family members and eating lots of yummy food. We fly back to Vienna in the morning to return to our normal lives. I'll post pictures and details when we get home, since I didn't bring my cable to connect my camera to the computer.

Catching Up, Part 3 of 3

As I mentioned earlier, Halloween is still catching on in Vienna. However, we just happened to know about 50 college students who love it. The OC students threw a party for our kiddos. It was so fun and all the kids had a great time. Two days later the Rushers also had their annual Halloween party for the team. This has become a much anticipated event for all of us. The kids got to watch the Charlie Brown Halloween movie, do crafts and do a bit of trick or treating. The adults enjoyed some yummy fall food and a game of Yatzee. Fun times for all. I would like to go on record as saying I had no say in Abby's costume for the Rusher's party.

Catching Up Part 2 of 3

Halloween has only recently gained any popularity in Vienna, and is really not very kid friendly. However, there is a Pumpkin Festival which is really family oriented. We made the drive this year and had tons of fun. There was a parade, lots of yummy food and Abby had fun riding the rides. This will definelty become a tradition for us as a family. I think next year we will try to make it a little earlier in the day, though. Once the sun went down, it got cold pretty fast.