summer visitors

We've finally reached the end of our month chock full o' visitors, and boy, was it a good time. It started with my college friends Megan and Claire visiting for a week with their significant others. We rented a "van" (I use that term loosely - it was basically a glorified hatchback that was far too small for 6.5 people) and travelled to Maastricht...

...took our second trip to Amsterdam (you can see a recap of the first one here), where we ate pancakes (a must!), visited Rembrandt's House and the Rijksmuseum, tried Indonesian food, took a canal cruise, and finally toured the Anne Frank House...

...and took a day trip to Burg Eltz - our first visit to a German castle! ...

...before they headed back to the good old U.S.A. One week simply wasn't long enough.

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Next up were our pals Jas and Jennie from the U.K. We visited them in London last summer, and they came to Aachen the first weekend of this month. We partook of wine fest, endured the scorching heat, and enjoyed some good food and even better company, before they boarded the train to spend time in Bruges.

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Last but not least was my dad's visit. This was super exciting because, a. he's my dad and 2. it was his first trip to Europe. It was so much fun showing him around. 

We also took him to Maastricht...

Then, I got brave and kept the car for a couple of days and drove on the Autobahn (my first time without following Josh). Things I learned: I have the need for speed; a highway is a highway pretty much anywhere you go; people in Germany are MUCH better drivers than in America (they actually use the left lane only for passing... WHAT A NOVEL IDEA!)

Driving through wine country en route to Koblenz.

We drove to Koblenz to meet up with my dad's friend John, from our hometown of Laurel, Mississippi, as he's currently stationed in Germany as a chaplain in the military. We enjoyed a nice leisurely lunch and a walk along the river...

The next day, we went to Monschau, where we walked about the town, partook of a delicious lunch, and picked up some more of their infamous mustard.

Josh took off from work on Thursday, and we took a trip to Bastogne, Belgium. I'll do an entire post on this one since I actually took a decent camera with me and got lots of photos. For now, I'll just say that it was an incredible experience. Hubs got this great shot of the U.S. memorial...

And on dad's last day in town, we hung out in Aachen, lingered over a delicious breakfast spread, and took Miles on his first trip to a zoo. His favorites seemed to be the goats, ducks, and the ostrich!

Aachener Cafe is one of our favorites for breakfast and a great cup of coffee.

Dad and I on his last day.

We're so thankful to have friends and family that are willing to travel far and wide to join us on our adventures! We don't have any more visitors planned until the beginning of next year, so we'll be exploring on our own over the next few weeks before we return to Nashville and High Point for Thanksgiving!

five ways to combat homesickness when living abroad

It's been about 10 months since we first began our journey living in a foreign country and boy, has it been a whirlwind. (Well, technically, I guess I've only actually lived in Germany for about six of those months since I spent a few back in the U.S. throughout the end of my pregnancy and in the first couple of months after having Miles.) Almost a year in, I finally - FINALLY - feel like I've adjusted to our new home after a roller coaster of excitement, anxiety, and feeling all the feels. I tell ya - moving to a new place - whether it be a different state or a different country - is not for the faint of heart. Now that I feel like I'm on the other side of it, here are a few things that I believe have helped ease the transition...

iPhone photo from Mother's Day weekend - Miles was obviously NOT into it.

Find your people. It's so hard moving to a new place as an adult. Up until the post-college years, you've had built in systems for developing friends, but once you're in the real world, it can prove more difficult. This difficulty is magnified when you move to a place where you don't even speak the primary language. The best way to find new friends, through my experience, is to search for expat groups online. Even our city, Aachen, which isn't huge, has several English-speaking groups that get together on a monthly basis. My favorites have been the ones I found on Facebook - the folks there have been extremely helpful in answering any questions we've had about how things work over here, and it's also a great resource for buying/selling things like bikes and furniture. We enjoy meeting new people at the monthly gatherings at different restaurants and bars around town, and we've even made a few friends through the group. You're always guaranteed to have something in common as you commiserate over the woes and small joys of living abroad :)

Get outside. Last summer, when we moved here, and if I'm honest, I was probably somewhat depressed, I wanted to do nothing but mope around our apartment all day. It was intimidating to go outside and know that I might have to interact with people whom I didn't speak their language (an utterly frustrating experience) or thinking I might get lost (at the time, my phone only worked on wifi). I came up with all kinds of excuses for staying inside - it's too rainy or I'm too tired or I just didn't get the chance today. Let me tell you, sunshine and fresh air can really make all the difference in your mood. Especially now that we have Miles, if he's feeling cranky, I load him in the stroller or Ergo, and we go for a walk. It almost always makes us both feel better!

Picnicking with the boys in Aachen's Stadspark on a beautiful, spring day.

Stretch your comfort zone. Part of this is the whole finding new people thing, but there are lots of other things about living in a foreign country that take you out of your comfort zone. For me, even going into a grocery store by myself was challenging at first. Force yourself to learn at least some of the language (greetings are a good place to start... for example, when checking out at the grocery store here in Germany, it's customary to greet the cashier with "hallo" and say "danke" (thanks) and "schuss" (bye) when you've finished the transaction and bagging your items). Explore new places. Go sit and have coffee at a local cafe. Little by little, you'll find you start to feel more comfortable in your new environment.

Develop a routine. Especially not having a job over here (while I've pretty much been working and/or in school forever), I've found that it's essential to have some sort of routine. It provides me with a sense of normalcy. It's not the exact same every day, but usually looks something like this for me - wake up around 8 or so, feed and play with baby while having breakfast and coffee, get a shower/straighten up the house/pay bills/work on the few projects I still have going while Miles takes his (typically) long morning nap, eat lunch, and then we'll usually go out for a walk and run errands in the afternoon before Josh gets home, and tag-team making dinner and taking care of baby. Recently, Miles has gotten himself into an even more predictable routine - eating dinner with us, followed by a bath, and bed between 9 and 10. Having even a little bit of consistency and knowing what to expect from my day goes a long way.

Those precious, precious nap times that I use to do ALL THE THINGS. Thank you sweet Jesus.

Take time to do the things you love. There's no reason you need to give up all the comforts of home. Continue to do the things you love while you're living abroad. For me, those include writing (like here on this blog), travel (not only is this fun and exciting, but it also gives me something to look forward to - sort of landmarks in my time abroad), taking photos (even though most of mine these days are iPhone), and cooking (which I've just recently gotten back in the swing of). Find other people who love to do the same things - it's a great way to make new friends!

If you're struggling to adjust to a new place or in the preparation stages of moving and feeling a bit anxious, just know that some days will be better than others, but eventually, hopefully someday soon, you'll feel the fog lift. I hope that you'll, like me, learn to appreciate the adventure and seize this new chapter! 

one year

One whole year. That's how long it's been since we found out you'd be joining us. But you had started growing weeks before - seven weeks to be exact. I took the test while your dad was at work, just knowing it would be another negative I could toss in the trash. I couldn't be pregnant. Not now. Not after we'd put our plans to start a family on hold while we prepared to move abroad. Not after nearly a year of trying - complete with charts and vitamins and diligently working to be in the best physical shape possible. Not after all those months that ended in disappointment. We'd put our house on the market and found an apartment in Germany. We were ready to leave the U.S. - no strings attached - for two years.

We'd just returned from Europe a few days before. I couldn't fathom the thought (or smell) of the Neuhaus chocolates we'd brought back from Belgium. I was exhausted and nauseous and an emotional basket case. Your dad joked that I was probably pregnant, but I was convinced it was just jet lag. But there I stood, on the cold tile floor in our bathroom on a Monday afternoon, staring down at a stick that revealed a dark blue vertical line. There was no doubt. My heart raced, and I looked in the mirror at someone I didn't recognize - in an instant, I had become a mother. No one can prepare you for that feeling. I went downstairs and sat on the couch for over an hour, but I couldn't even come up with some creative way to share the news. Your dad came in the door, and I just blurted it out. We were shocked, nervous, and so very excited.

One year ago, while you were growing inside of me (and wreaking havoc on my appetite), I could never have imagined what it would be like to have you here. You were worth it all: The waiting and wanting. The weeks of surviving mostly on ginger ale and clementines. The discomforts of pregnancy and the pain and chaos of bringing you into this world. The (still ongoing) sleepless nights and long days fueled by coffee. Every bit of it. Times a million.

One whole year. That's how long it's been since I discovered you existed, but I feel like I've loved you forever. It's hard to remember what life was like before your gummy smile and big blue eyes. You are one great big bundle of sunshine.

Sweet boy - you are more than I ever knew I wanted, and I am eternally grateful and beyond humbled to be your mama. 

xoxoxoxo...