Six Months

It is official! We have lived here in Germany for 6 months. It is crazy to think how fast time has gone, how much life has changed in that short span of time and all the trials we have endured.

It has been a lot harder moving over here than I personally thought it would. I think it has brought us as a family closer together, even though it seems like there is also more fighting than before. Not only have we had to adjust to the culture, the language, dogs, the food and everything Germany has to offer, we have also had to adjust to having 5 kids in the family, since Ian was only 3 weeks old when we flew over here. And we have had to learn how to live as a family again, since the kids and I lived apart from Gardner for four months.

The kids don't get out and play with friends on a daily basis like they did in Wisconsin. They are kind of isolated. The weather is so terrible, like one constant rain that never ends. So they are usually inside the house. And I think those things help to bring the fighting to a higher level between them. I really hope that spring and summer are about here and they can get out more. They have all started to have play dates with friends, which helps. They all now have roller blades and they all enjoy doing that. None of their bikes made it on the boat over here, along with many other things that could not fit. But we do have a park real close and so they can always go over there to get their outside needs met.

Gardner's job is great here. He really enjoys it. The atmosphere is so different than that in Wisconsin. He is happy again and that is real important. When Gardner is happy, we are all happy.

So, six months in, I am still glad we came here. I know it has been hard on me and especially the kids. But I also know there are things we each like about being here. I told the kids to think about those things they like about being here. As soon as school gets out, I will ask them for their answers and update this entry with their responses.