Give your worries to the Lord

The Transportation office counselor...hopefully she will get this train wreck back on track.

My friends at the office...they honored me at lunch today.

Summer time grilled foods and all the fixings.

The rain that held off until late afternoon. It is now gently falling and cooling everything back down (89 yesterday, 73 today).

Having kleenex with me...lets just say a person can only take so much before the tears start to fall.

A husband that knows when I am at my limits and can patiently talk me back down of that ledge.

A well thought out plan that can handle a shift or two without completely falling apart.

See even in the midst of upheaval there are things I can be thankful for.

Give your worries to the Lord, and he will take care of you.

Past, Present and Future

Looking back on time spent with our boys and remembering:

Our commitment to be involvement with our children

Being able to work around our children’s schedules

Being a PTA Home Room Mother

Coaching them in baseball and basketball

Road trips to Six Flags

Making sure both of then were tucked in bed at night

Doing whatever it took to see that the kids were involved in school activities

Putting the kids first but not to detriment of our relationship

As parents, still making time for each after a long night at work

Summer fun around the water (White Water, back yard pool, lake, ocean)

The Ball Park

Sitting with them in church...then watching them as they ventured off to sit with the teens

Looking forward:

Spending time with our kids, and their families

Putting the grandkids schedules in the mix

Road trips to Six Flags with the Grandkids

Tucking the grandkids in when they spend the night

Taking an interest in their school activities

Sticking with Date Night but having play dates so our kids can have a date night too

Continuing to make time for each other no matter what life throws at us

Summer fun around the water.....

Attending ballgames, dance recitals, piano recitals....what ever the grandkids are active in

Worshiping with them at church every now and then

The here and now...taking each day and living it with gusto. Saying I love often, thanking my Maker for my many blessings.

Thankfulness

The love of a caring husband

No Stau on the Autobahn

Safety during our travels

News from home

Finding the perfect gifts

Seeing the Swabian Albs one final time

Watching the giant wind mills slowing turning round.

The coolness of my German home

Ice Machines

Treasures made of wood

The sights of Munich

Raindrops on our walk back to the hotel

19 days until I am back in Oklahoma

Playing what will you miss most....

A fresh grilled Weiße Bratwurst with mustard from the market

The smell of cinnamon sugared almonds in the air

Getting to watch the Munich Rathaus Glockenspiel!

Hot Tea in the morning, Iced Tea in the evenings

Psalm 121:7-8

⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Gratitude

No traffic on the roads

Safe Travels

Always having a roof over my head

Street Musicians

My bed!

Sights ad Sounds of a foreign town

People that speak more English than I speak German

Great Food (and being able to read the German Menu)

Wash Cloths (European Hotel dont normally provide them)

Great weather

Summer skies (big white puffy clouds)

Water Fountains

A Father that looks out for me

There by the grace of God go I.....as I see the homeless on the streets

Being able to share some of my abundance

With all my heart I want your blessings. Be merciful as you promised. ~ Psalm 119:58

Gratitude, Thankfulness, Gratefulness

Gratitude, thankfulness, gratefulness: is a positive emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive

1. The smell of food on the grill

2. The sound of children playing outside

3. A quiet neighborhood

4. Checking things off my To Do and Out Processing Lists

5. Being able to taking off early on a Friday afternoon

6. Encouragement from my friends

7. The coolness of the forest

8. 3 more weeks in Germany

9. Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia!

10. Everything fitting into 1 suitcase

11. Getting to bed early

12. A good nights sleep

13. Sightseeing in warmer weather

14. Talks with my husband

15. Pictures from home

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. ~ Colossians 3:17

Counting My Blessing

Blessing are where you look for them:
1. The early morning sunshine
2. The cool morning breeze
3. The birds chirping in the trees
4. The fan swaying back and forth
5. Sleeping with my windows open
6. This wonderful weather
7. My husbands great cooking
8. My job; even when I leave the office late with much frustration from the day
9. A good book to read
10. Everyone’s help in preparing for our move back to Oklahoma
11. Skype session with family
12. Long summer days
13. Evening walks with my husband
14. Planning trips
15. Mail from Oklahoma
16. A landlord that will miss us when we are gone
17. No traffic on the roads (today is a German holiday)
18. Knowing I will get to talk to my momma this evening
19. Making lists and staying organized
20. Being able to share my blessings with others

John 1:16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

Daddy - Happy Father’s Day

Thought of you with love today, but that is nothing new.
I think of you in silence, but I often speak your name.
I have a lot of treasures, and your picture in a frame.
And now our memories are keepsakes from which I'll never part.
I’ll take them out and share them as often as I can
For I want the world to know you were an awesome man.
I have you in my heart, God has you in His hands.

For the Grilling Man in Your Life!

A Propane Gauge

What a great idea....no more running out of propane just after putting the Rib-eyes on the grill. I am going to put this on my husband’s birthday list!

Flex Kabob Skewers

And how about this.... Flex Kabob Skewers! These let you put more on the grill and arrange them to fit your grill surface. And since these are stainless steel clean up is easy. Might have to add them to his birthday wish list also...

HAPPY GRILLING......Oh and I guess we will need a grill too~

Sunday Lunch - Pot Roast and Cornbread

Nothing speaks to an American Sunday lunch better than pot roast with potatoes and carrots!

The roast was put in the crock-pot early this morning after braising it in the cast iron skillet. Then a cup of water was swirled around in the skillet to get all the little bits of browned meat and drippings for adding that extra flavor to the pot. A few potatoes and a bag of carrots along with an onion were added also.

We don't eat for 3 more hours but it sure is smelling good. Really good!

To go with the roast we will be making cornbread sticks.

The cast iron pans we will be using were passed down to me from my father who got them from his mother and someday I will pass it on to my son to pass on to his daughter (generations of tradition). These pans are seasoned perfectly by now and make the best cornbread sticks this side of the Atlantic (the other side of the Atlantic too).

These cornbread sticks are perfect for soaking up the roast gravy (could also be known as sopping bread). And any sticks left after the meal are pretty good with honey or syrup.

The only thing better would be sharing this meal with family. Wish you were here to join us~

From Tin cans to Glasses

From the decorative tin cans that I collected on the Greenview:

To glasses I have collected on Thingstrasse:

At least these can be run through the dishwasher after they collect dust!

Hotel reservations made...will be in a hotel the last 10 days in Germany
Housing Final Inspection scheduled...now to engage Mr. Clean (want to get back that $6000 deposit)
Garrison Out Processing started...who knew there was so much red tape to leave
Temporary Housing arrangements stateside started....hope this one works out, still waiting to hear back from them
LQA Audit complete...seems we have been overpaid and restitution must be forthcoming
Sorting through all the stuff that we have accumulated that cannot be shipped back in HHG
Selling off the 220V appliances...thankful for Bookoo
Telecom service scheduled for termination; hardware has to be mailed back to the provider registered German mail
Change of address forms to be filled out and sent
Gas, Water and Electric meter reading scheduled
Must keep the place tidy because Housing might book a showing at anytime

The list just keeps growing......

Told some one the other day...don’t go back. Just stay here it is much simpler!

Simple or not, I AM going back~

Busy 6 Weeks!!

It is getting exciting around here...the next 6 weeks will fly by. We have so much to do and yet a lot of it is just coordinating it all and then watching other people take over. At this point I don’t think we are going to work in any additional travel dates except an overnight in Munich so that I can experience this in warm weather.

I think we have the most important things lined up already and everything else should just fall into place. July will be a busy month for us with lots of change and adjusting to do.

4 July - Celebrating America’s Independence Day from Germany

5 July - Movers come to pack up our home

6 July - Housing comes to pick up the loaner Washer and Dryer

7 July - Movers come back to load up our House Hold Goods for transport to a port somewhere for shipment back to America; and this evening we move into a hotel

8-10 July - Clean the house for turning it back over to the Landlords (they were simply the best)

11 July - Start out-processing at the base. Close out with Housing and Landlords - walk through inspection and hopefully get all of our deposit back

12 July - Wrap up with German Utility companies (this one is going to cost us since we are leaving early)

13 July - Continue out-processing

14 July - Turn the car over to the Transport Office for the slow boat ride back to the States.

15 July - board the plan for a LONG day of travel

16 July - acclimation to being in America begins......... I don’t think this will take too long!

17 July - Alan’s fathers birthday... and we will be there to celebrate

We need to work a lake trip into the July schedule and while these plans have not yet been finalized we are working on them this week also.

Countdown to Oklahoma

The date has been set, we are headed back to Oklahoma!!

AND SO it is time to start minding my P’s:

Presents: One last round of presents from Europe to be purchased

Purge: We have some things that will be donated (left behind)

Pack: Decide what to pack in the 4 suitcases and 2 carryon’s, with the rest packed for the long boat ride back

Preparing: The house must be cleaned “prepared” for turning back over to the Landlords

AND SO the count down begins~