Just waiting...

So we are here in the Ederle Inn on the Caserma Ederle (base). They have recently updated their id card process. It is supposed to be more efficient yet the process has gone from getting your id the second you step on base to 5 days later. This does not seem efficient to me. Especially since everything you do on base requires an ID card. Absolutely everything from getting mail, using the library to shopping requires you to show your military ID card. There is NOTHING that you do not need it for. So that severely restricts what we are able to do currently. I have been blessed though because I have "begged" several people and was allowed to borrow things from the ACS Lending Closet, get a temporary library card and pick up packages at the mail room. We need to go to the MP (Military Police) station and sign up for a long term pass though so that we can go off of base and NOT have issues when we return. It took about 15 minutes to get us on base on Monday because our sponser wasn't signing us on (this would have been no problem) but just wanted to take us to our hotel using official passports and military travel orders. The MPs and Italian guards wanted us to have ID cards or get them immediately. Should have just gotten them immediately but alas we did not. So we are a little stuck right now.

Fortunately tonight is the FREE Toby Keith concert and that occurs right here on the base just a block from our hotel. We plan on going if it isn't raining too hard. Hasn't rained yet today but it was sprinkling around 3:30 pm. Hope that is all there is going to be. Should be a fun time.

I spent the afternoon in a newcomers briefing mostly for new inprocessing soldiers but it was still good info. Good thing about the military that many of you may not know is that they really take care of you in many instances. All kinds of welcome classes and information so that you know exactly what is available to you should you need it. Next week there is a Ben Venuto class (welcome to Italy) for Army spouses. I will check and see if I can attend that as well. It doesn't all apply to me since we are civilians but there are still a lot of resources that we do qualify for. Tomorrow, I will also be filling out the application for volunteer work. In the military you can't just volunteer you have to sign up for it so they can track your hours. They have quarterly and yearly ceremonies honoring their volunteers. And, in order to track that, they need to have you fill out the paperwork. Oh well, it will be giving us something to do while we are waiting to find a home and living in the hotel. Then perhaps we can volunteer at least once a week like we did when we lived in Garmisch Germany.

Things here are slower and can take a lot more time. Here is an example that I heard about today. Sometimes the electric company only checks your meter once every 6 months. So instead of getting a montly bill for 200 Euros you would get nothing for 6 months or so and then one for 1200 Euros. Or in the example they gave us it was 3000 Euros. So that is something we have to be aware of and budget for. Very good thing to know ahead of time. But now that we know we can make arrangements for that in our budget. May drive me crazy though since I am so anal about bill paying and making sure it is done in a timely manner. Plus that part of me really likes to "plan" and have a set "budget". Guess I will have to get over that.

Oh and I forgot to tell you about our good fortune the other day. On Tuesday we receive a knock on our room door. There is a young woman standing there and asked if we were the Hughes family. The boys and I had just gotten back from the library (where we did the aforementioned begging and were able to obtain a library card). So we were already pretty pleased. Then Ann, the young woman, tells us that Titus and Angie sent her. (They are the missionaries that we told most of you about already). She said she didn't want to STALK us but Titus sent her so she came. She already had a note typed up to stick under the door. I think she was really nervous about coming to see us but she was so sweet. Anyway, we start talking and she offered to take us, well me really since the boys are (YEAH) old enough by military rules to be here by themselves, to the Thrift Store, ACS and Commissary. WooHoo. I was getting ready to start walking to those places to check things out. I wanted to see if there was anything I could borrow from the ACS (Army Community Services) Lending Closet. SIDE NOTE HERE: While our hotel suite comes with a tiny kitchen with a 2 burner stove top, microwave, fridge, sink and dishwasher it only came equipped with 4 plates, 4 bowls, 4 knives, forks and spoons and TWO (yep 2) TINY PANS. Like I could boil water for one cup of tea and fry one egg. Who did they think I could feed with that? Silly people. Anyway, I was able to go to ACS and borrow a laundry basket, mixing bowls, cooking utensils, can opener, potato peeler and masher and pitcher for tea. Oh and a toaster, colander and large cooking pans. So now I can cook in the room as well. Which is good because no one (except maybe kids)would want to eat every day at the Food Court. YUCK! Again I had to beg since I do NOT have an ID card but the lady there was very helpful. Ann also took me to the commissary where I had to beg again but they also let me shop. All in all it was a SUPER welcome and such a blessing. I was able to get library books, groceries and borrow items so we could cook in our room. And was welcomed by a new friend who will also be taking us to church on Sunday. Can't wait.

Finally, I want to add a little about the church. Ann and her husband attend the church with Titus and Angie (missonaries) and it is an Italian church. There is no English spoken there. Ann said it was all in Italian but she is quickly learning because of that. She also said that even though many of them speak no English they are very friendly and she loves the Italian service. James and I plan on getting very involved in this church with the kids. A great way for them to learn Italian, learn how to share their faith and be a part of mission work. How many of us to get really participate in the day to day or week to week work of Christ by being involved in a mission like this? Not many. I personally feel that this will be so wonderful for us. A great way to grow our faith and for the boys to really develop "their" faith as opposed to just riding our faith coat tails. I will keep you updated on the joy and pain of that growth as well.

Love and miss you all! Leave a comment so I know I haven't lost you yet ;-)

Angy

Sick & Tired??

Yes, I am both. Wednesday I thought all I had was the ending of a cold or flu because I had a scratchy throat and had lost my voice almost completely. I figured me losing my voice had the side benefit of making James happy - lol. Then things could just be quiet around here. Unfortunately, when I got up on Thursday morning I felt even worse. Coughed so hard while showering that I thought I might have cracked a rib. No rest for the weary though since we had to take the Escape to St. Louis for shipping. Very hard to concentrate on driving when being racked with coughing fits. Still didn't get better and ended up feeling even worse on Friday morning. James called and got me a dr. appt. I have a sinus infection, the start of double ear infections and the beginning of bronchitis. The doc loaded me up on meds - I have an antibiotic, albuterol, nasonex and mucinex dm. Oh what joy! He gave me all of these in hopes of loosening up the sinus pressure so that I would be okay to fly tomorrow. Certainly hope it works.

Today I feel different then yesterday. Not great - just different. Feels like a little less sinus pressure. Ears are still bothering me. Think I coughed up a lung this morning when showering. But now I just have the icky head that comes with allergies. The nasonex is supposed to help with that but I think I will be taking one of James' allergy pills too. Occasionally, I am still racked with a coughing fit and bouts of sneezing but all in all not quite as bad as yesterday.

Today, we are changing hotels. Staying at one close to the airport with a shuttle to the airport. I also decided that my suitcase was just too heavy. So I am taking a small duffle bag and putting the stamping supplies I just don't want to lose in it (like my Copic markers and my PTI stamp sets). Then I will add a couple of outfits - small light weight tshirts, a pair of capris, undies and one workout set of clothes. That is it. I really would like to carry on that bag but it is so stinkin heavy. Can't see lugging that onto and off of a plane 3 separate times. Plus, James would have to lift it into the overhead compartment for me. And with me being sick right now I need to make things as easy as possible.

Had a great time last night with our friends from church. We just sat around eating dinner and then talking and laughing. We covered such varied topics. A wonderful way to say good-bye.

Well, the laundry is almost done and we will be heading to lunch and moving hotels. So I guess it is time to say good-bye for now.

Angy

Suitcase Living

Well, we are officially homeless after today. In about an hour and a half we will be doing the final walk-through with our Property Manager and handing the keys to the house over. Hopefully, we will get our entire deposit back. We are also praying that we will not have to pay the 3 month rent "fee" for breaking the lease. The PM hasn't mentioned it yet. I am wondering if Indiana is like Texas and you can't charge that fee if you rent the home quickly (something about not collecting 2 rental fees for the same property at the same time.) I have given Richard, the PM, several opportunities to bring it up and tell us how he would like payment. I even started to ask him, "How do you want to handle getting the (here I was going to say the breaking the lease fee) and instead he interrupted me and said, "Getting your deposit back to you?". So, I said, yes, that. The 3 month fee is $3900, this is a big chunk of change that we could use. It will be very painful to have to write that check. But I guess we will see when we get there. I know the PM has already shown the house and seemed to have someone who may be moving in at the first of the month but I am not sure on that.

This last month or two has been very expensive for us and I can't wait until it settles down. First, we paid off the truck (ouch), then we traded in both vehicles on a Ford Escape. Then, we found out that in order to ship it overseas (with our finance company being Chase) we had to make 6 months of payments first. So we made that payment (double ouch) and then James did some research and found out that USAA would be happy to take over that loan and didn't require the 6 months of payments. (Since they have our checking accounts, saving accounts and vehicle insurance for Italy this made sense). However, we had already made the 6 months of payments so that money was just gone. It did bring our payments down quite a bit since it was refinanced for the same amount of time as the first loan. I am hoping once things settle down to put more towards the principal to pay the loan of in 1/2 to 2/3 the original time.

Those of you who are military or civilian and made a move like this before know that if we are careful we can bank a bit of money while we are living in the hotel. We will not have rent while we are living in a hotel and they will reimburse us for most if not all of our costs for eating out and all of the costs of the hotel. So that is a bit of money there we do not have to outlay. Plus, when we do start getting COLA our plans are to put all of that away into savings and just do our best to live off of James' pay without the COLA. It will be in some ways a bit cheaper to live overseas since our rent and utilities will be covered. Of course, there will be unexpected costs but overall we pray that we will be able to be good stewards of what God has granted us and be able to save quite a bit. We do have 2 boys who will be headed to college before we know it. And we are so hoping and praying that God's will is for us to have a home on some acreage when we return to the US. It is our dream to homestead and become quite self-sufficient even if we are not quite "Living off the Grid".

During the Great Pack-Out we were all sick and suffering from various cold/flu symptoms. Everyone had it a little differently and while two might overlap no two people were super sick at the same time. I think we went through about 5 or 6 boxes of kleenex with all the sneezing and nose-blowing going on. I kept telling the boys to knock it off and stop being so "snotty" but they just were listening. LOL. I think everyone is feeling better but I am still suffering a bit. Right now I have a scratchy throat with sinus drainage. I can feel my sinuses going crazy all through my head and down into my ears. I could hardly sleep last night for having to clear my throat and cough (plus when I was quiet James was snoring). So I will probably be wiped out tonight.

I made 25+ thank you cards for various people that touched our lives here. Last night I spent several hours writing personal notes to each person or family. My hand was cramped up and sore when I finished. But at least I did finish it. Most of those will be going to church with me tonight and I will hand them out. I hope to actually hand them out as people are leaving so they can read it at home. I don't know why I just don't want them reading it and then coming to talk to me. I will probably cry as this is our last service with them. We will be seeing a couple of the families on Friday night for a final dinner and that will be fun but tonight is the last time for most of them. Interesting and amazing (to us) sidenote here: This church in the middle of Indiana really welcomed us. James and I were just overwhelmed with the welcome we had. Any of you who are military or moved a lot know how hard it is to break in to a new place. Especially, when that area is not used to military coming in and out OR have hardened their hearts against those who will "just be moving on anyways". We had this happen in several places - we just weren't accepted whole-heartedly because everyone was related to everyone else is some manner and they knew we would be moving in 3 years so it wasn't worth their time to "love someone and be hurt when they moved away". Not so here at Columbus Avenue Church of Christ in Anderson, Indiana. The people in this church just opened their arms and their hearts and drew us in immediately. What a wonderful blessing these people were to us in this time of depression that we had while living here in the Midwest. Reverse culture shock and still living so far away from our families combined with a couple of other situations really caused our hearts to be so heavy. Many of these people are related to each other or known each other since high school or younger (and now they are in their 50s & 60s) and they still welcomed FOREIGNERS into their midst. Now, that is Christ's love being shown. If any of you from Columbus Ave read this blog please know that we do LOVE you and you will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Tomorrow, we will pick up the rental car and head to St. Louis to ship the Escape. It will take 2-3 months to get there in Italy, I think. Fortunately, we did ship our bikes in the unaccompanied (air) shipment and we will be staying on the base. We will be able to walk or ride our bikes any place on base. Now, venturing off base may require renting a car or borrowing a car but at least we won't need the car for every day use. Renting a car for a month at a time can get pretty expensive.

Then Sunday morning we willl be headed for the airport and ultimately Italy. First, we will have a 5 hour layover in D.C. (we do have friends whom we met while in Germany who are meeting us at the airport to visit so that will help pass the time). Then from D.C. we fly to Frankfurt, Germany and finally on to Marco Polo airport in Italy. We will arrive Monday morning. I am really hoping I will be able to sleep on the plane. Don't want to fall asleep first thing and be really off time wise. Jet lag can be really hard to get over if you sleep at the wrong time when first arriving. We will need to stay busy so that we can go to sleep at a reasonable hour that night.

Need to close this for now. James should be arriving any moment now to take us to our walk-thru. I hope to update this blog more frequently once we get to Italy and aren't so pressed with so many things to do.

Prayers for safe and UNeventful travel are really appreciated.

Angy

Day 2 - The Great Pack-Out

So, today was day 2 of the Great Pack-Out. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to sleep and so I was up at 4:30 this morning. I got out of bed and watched a tv show on the laptop, finished up my bible study and then showered - and all before 6:30 am. Crazy,huh? Of course, by 2:30 pm I was wiped out - especially when you consider the coffee maker had been packed up on Day 1. Do you know how difficult it is to try and take a nap to paper crinkling and tape ripping? Very!

Oh course, James was a sweetie and took me to Starbucks for a coffee after the packers left for the day. Thank goodness! Still, I have a horrible headache and I am not sure how long I will make it tonight. Hoping I sleep better tonight. Thought I slept okay last night but once I woke up I just couldn't get back to sleep.

Tomorrow they will finish packing up and then start the inventory list. They will also wrap up all the wood furniture - dressers, book shelves, etc. Thursday morning they will start loading the crates on the truck. They anticipate it taking until Friday. Weird though it has only taken a day the other moves for them to pack up the truck. But, then these guys are taking 3 days to pack the house so I guess it could take them 2 days to pack the truck.

I am looking forward to this being over. I think it has been the least stressful move though. I guess the months of anticipation and purging and organizing has really helped. I tried to be brutal with some things and just get rid of them. I am sure I will find things on the other side that I feel like I should have gotten rid of. But at least we did a lot of it on this side of the ocean. Definitely can't wait to move into the hotel so we can get back to some sense of normalcy. We have our school books ready, plus swim trunks, goggles and work out clothes. So we should be able to complete some school work and get PE done as well.

Tonight is the PTI (Papertreyink) new release party. I love that company and their stamps, card stock and ink. Wonderful designs, great projects and super customer service. The only problem is that the new releases are released at 12:01 am on the 15th of the month (that is apparently when the website updates for orders). Last month I placed an order early the morning of the 15th (but not midnight early) and there were several items that were already out of stock. Really want to stay up late tonight because I know that several of the items are sure to be sold out that I really want for my crafting needs. We shall see if I can make it that late. Fingers crossed....I hope, I hope, I hope.

All in all, I am blessed. Life is good and with God's grace and mercy I am working through the things that are not that good. (In all honestly though there isn't much that isn't good.)

Whoops, forgot to add that the weather for out pack-out is horrible. Yesterday, it was so cold and rainy. It rained all day - just seemed to come down in sheets. Today, it was more mistly but still cold. I hope that Thursday is not wet. Don't want mold to have an opportunity to grow on our things. About 40 here right now but in Italy it is 70. WooHoo - can't wait to get to the warmer weather.

Italia here we come!!!!

Emotions running on high...

So today had an odd start to it...I awoke at 4:17 this morning for no particular reason. Maybe I had to use the restroom? Maybe because the arch of my left foot had an itch that just wouldn't quit. Whatever the reason I just lay in bed trying to not roll around to much and awaken James. However, just when I thought I would sneak out of bed and go downstairs to read or watch tv, James rolled over and said "Whatcha doin'?" When I told him I couldn't sleep he said he couldn't either. After a few moments of discussion we turned the news on. A few minutes of watching that and we decided to get up and get started on our day. James made it to work this morning around 6:30 am. He actually did have work to do that would be made easier when fewer people were at work.

Did a little reading, caught up on a program or two I had missed. Worked on my bible study and read through a few websites I like to go to. A semi-productive start to the day. Oh and I also got a few cards stamped and colored with my new favorite toy - Copic markers. That was fun and relaxing.

The boys have great friends in Germany who are on Spring Break this week and called early this morning to play WII together. They really enjoyed that and it did enable me to do all the above undisturbed. When they took a break for some reason, dinner I think, the boys and I did our bible reading, a little discussion and then it was time to play again.

I use Sonlight curriculum for our homeschooling journey. Great company with books that really help you learn about history in a way that encourages a love of reading and learning. As a matter of fact we are a little ahead in some of our readings (we read a chapter or two (or 3) of several books each day to learn about a particular subject). This year we are on Core 6 - Eastern Hemisphere. We are currently studying India and its people and cultures. We finished reading about Gandhi yesterday (a day ahead of time) and are currently enjoying Shadow Spinner. This story follows a young girl in the harem of the Sultan in "Arabian Nights". She is trying to get stories for the Sultan's wife because it has been almost 3 years of nightly stories and the Sultan's wife is out of stories. As you might remember the stories are what is keeping the Sultan's wife alive. We are well over a week ahead in that book because the boys just can't stand it when I only read one chapter. Don't mind being ahead I enjoy the stories just as much as they do. And since we will be packing out next week we may not have much time for reading or school work until we move into the hotel. (I plan to catch up there and maybe even move ahead again - depends on how good the book is.) They are supposed to be reading Around the World in 80 Days on their own but we are using that as our family Read-Aloud. I read in the evenings and whenever we are off driving somewhere (captive audience then).

Now on to the title of my post. The boys have books they read on their own and I usually pre-read them so that I know what they have read. This enables me to ask questions and ascertain whether or not they actually read a book. Well, in the process of preparing for the move I fell behind by 4 books. Today, I read one of those 4 books. Short book but an excellent story. It is The Incredible Journey. If you have seen the movie Homeward Bound this is the book that it was based on. Excellent and involves just as many tears as the movie did. It is funny, every time I see that movie I am moved to tears. Even though I know the ending it still brings me to a huge lump in my throat and actual tears - not just moist eyes, mind you. This story does the same. I "knew" what was going to happen based on watching the movie yet I was still moved. I wonder is that due to heightened emotions because of the changes coming? Not sure but I definitely recommend anyone picking up this book and giving it a read. It is only 147 pages and I finished it in about 2 hours. Wonderful story!

Three more days and the GREAT PACK-OUT, as I have taken to calling it, begins. This weekend will be a flurry of activity making sure that everything is separated and ready for "its" shipment. Oh what joy! Two things will make tomorrow better before we start the activities of separating - First, tomorrow is the Spring Free Movie at our local theater (nice, brand new theater) and it is going to be the Tale of Despereaux. We recently listened to the audio book and enjoyed the story. We do know that the movie strays from the story but it is free and could be enjoyable. The second thing is I will be going to my LSS (local scrapbook store) to look at, touch, smell, etc. and just generally enjoy myself all the stamping and scrapbooking supplies just in case I "need" anything that should be packed up and shipped (James' words not mine). I am really going with my 30% off coupon for some black ink that works really well with my Copic markers. Maybe I will find something else that catches my eye too. At any rate I do like just walking around and looking. So that will be my "fun" before the work starts.

Off to spend some family time with the guys before I crash. My 4:30 am wake up time is starting to catch up with me!!!

Good night and sleep tight.

A

The Countdown is On....

Okay, so I have been allowing the panic and chaos of getting ready to move to keep me from blogging. So please forgive me...

In 5 days they will come to pick up our air shipment. I think we have just about everything ready for that shipment. We had suitcases packed so we would know which clothes needed to go in the air shipment. I also have my priorities straight and packed my craft suitcase for the hotel and my craft supplies for the air shipment. Funny, huh? But I know that living in a hotel I will need an outlet. Something that keeps me from going crazy. I will have the laptop also and hope to get started on some digi-scrapping. Definitely something I can work on while the guys are involved in video games or tv shows.

Anyway, back to the moving issues. On Monday the pick up the air shipment. Starting Tuesday they will be packing up the rest of the house for the sea shipment. I have already started putting electric appliances that we won't need in their boxes (most of these will be stored - i.e. griddle, crock pot, blender) (most of our electronics -tv, dvd players etc are dual voltage so we can use them both places without a transformer. The shipping company has scheduled 4 days for this pa ck out but it has never taken more than 3 days. Hopefully, this will be the case next week. Even though we aren't actually packing the boxes it is still a very tiring day. Watching the packers, trying to make sure that the notations (which are very small and hard to read) are correct (i.e. damaged, scratched, torn etc) and that everything is listed. We noticed just moments after the packers left in Garmisch that our new camera that still had photos on it was not on the list. It was too late. It was stolen and we had no recourse. Nothing! We have listed all our serial numbers etc but we need to make sure that they have everything on the list. It is difficult to do. Just so busy and usually several people in the house. Coming in, going out for smoke breaks etc. Hard to keep track of everyone and everything. Our house here is smaller than the house in Garmisch was so it will be a bit easier to keep track of everyone (Garmisch had 3 levels plus a cellar and 3 entrances - this house has only 2 levels - still 3 entrances but 2 are within sight of each other.

I am trying to take DEEP, CLEANSING breathes so as to not get too panicked. I just keep telling myself that everything will get done and it will be okay. However, after the Great Pack-Out we will be relaxing in a extended stay hotel. I found one with a king-sized bed in its own bedroom, queen size pull-out sofa in the living room with a kitchen. Yeah, we won't have to eat out every meal. PLUS, it has an indoor pool and jacuzzi, small gym, free hot breakfast (not just continental) and free appetizers and soda on Tues-Thur. The receptionist said the apps were heavy enough that they could be a meal. I figured we could also live off of those new frozen veggies that are steamed in the microwave and rotissirie chicken. (No oven but we will have a microwave, refrigerator and stove-top with all the dishes and pots we need). Oh and the wireless internet is free. Yeah! The boys and I will be able to work on our school work, workout in the gym and then go for a swim. A sandwich or something easy for lunch and we are set. Makes the day less stressful and less likely to gain weight that way. (fingers crossed)

So that is the news for now. I have still taken the time to get some stamping done and am enjoying playing with some Copic markers. I have also gotten the house pretty organized and cleaned up. So we should be ready by Monday. Just need to separate everything in the garage into air, sea or storage shipments.

Please keep us in your prayers. We just need to stay calm and focused and try not to take our stress out on each other.

Blessings....

Angy