Monday, December 19, 2011

Reflection

I really wanted to be gone by now, but I am kind of glad that we are still here.  We got to spend a few extra days with our family and our doggies!  I am especially excited because I have had time to make some stockings for my SIL out of Burlap and they turned out great!  Also, I have had time to reflect on this past year and try to prepare myself more for the next one!  I am in the process of making my list for next year of some of the things that I wish to accomplish! (I will post at the beginning of the year and you can all help me track my progress!)

If I had one word to describe our 2011 it would have to be INSANE!  With all of the people the two of us know there were eleven funerals, one divorce, two major moves, one job quit, two weeks with Cameron, lots of airplane rides, an engagement, four babies, a few fights, all of our stuff being packed and shipped to Germany, trying to sell our house then ending up renting our house, selling a car & a motorcycle, living in limbo for about a month, waiting 8 months to get orders and I could go on & on!  It has been a very stressful year with more loss than I hope we ever have again in one year.

I said at the beginning of 2011 that this year was going to be a year of production and progress.  I feel that this has happened though not at all how I had hoped!  I feel that through all of the loss and huge life changes I have progressed and Christopher and I have progressed together.  I have been blessed by a super supportive husband and so I have had since March to not have a job and focus on myself.  In these last few months I feel like such a different person.  I went through therapy which i highly recommend to everyone!  Through that my therapist helped to guide me to see what areas I really needed to work on and how to get through them!  I feel like a grown up!  I am embracing responsibility instead of running away from it.  I see the value in things and the life lessons more and I am learning about what I want out of life.  It is such a wonderful feeling!

Well, I have rambled enough for one post!  I will ramble more later & hopefully have more info on our big move!

Love,

Samantha

Sunday, December 11, 2011

I am not naive enough to think that nothing was going to go wrong during our transition to Germany, but I really wish this hiccup was a different one!


I mentioned in an earlier post that we were having issues with my passport. Unfortunately those issues are still being issues and sadly we will not be leaving on Monday the 12th. For many different reasons and most of them unclear I still do not have my no-fee passport. It has been lost, it was never sent in for, it is being held in suspense or it is sitting in one of the many piles of junk on the responsible parties desk! Regardless it is not in our hands & we now have to wait for a new one which we are being told will be here...TBA! We were told that the correct paperwork will be where it needs to be on Monday & once it gets approved again will then be sent to D.C. To be made again & then sent back to Fayetteville to us!

So we had to cancel all of our flights & hotel arrangements & invade Jesse & Rachel for at least another week! Maybe it is a blessing in disguise, but I just want to get there already!

In other news! I became an Auntie on Thursday December 8 when my Best Friend Jen Poeschel gave birth to a beautiful baby girl! Reese Noel Poeschel was born at 1:34am weighing in at 6lb 11oz & was a little more than 20in long! I am so excited for Jen & Kevin & wish them all the best of luck on their new journey into parenthood!

I hope everyone has a great week & I will update y'all again soon!

Love,
Samantha

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Update!

Hey Everyone!
  So by now I am sure that most of you have recieved your Christmas card and have checked out our space!  Sorry I have not updated sooner these last few weeks have been a little crazy!  I hope that you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving and have enjoyed the Christmas movies and the shopping and goodies that come with the season thus far as well!

  I am sitting here trying to think back to what all I need to update on!  Thanksgiving for us was good we had a fun weekend with my dad, Cheryl & Jacob!  Cheryl & I cooked all day & we all ate all night on Thursday and enjoyed a fun filled round of Taboo after dinner! (Words can not explain but my dad is one of the funniest people I have ever met!)  Friday night we all went bowling and Cheryl was gracious enough to give me the cold that my dad had given to her the weekend before!  So Saturday & Sunday for me were spent mostly sleeping!  Christopher raked leaves and watched football!  All in all it was a great last holiday in the States!  The only part that wasn't great was leaving Chipper at their house and Max looking so sad & confused.

  Monday we enjoyed our home for the last time!  Slept in, watch some of our last bits of American television, went over our lists of things we wanted to carry with us and made sure all of the laundry was done & dishes were clean because...Tuesday morning the movers came!  Tuesday most of our stuff got packed up into boxes and so we were kicked out into Rachel & Jesse's house!  Wednesday the rest of our stuff was packed and loaded into crates and headed on its way to Germany!  Our crew was wonderful & took great care of our stuff so hopefully it all arrives & in one piece!  Thursday was a day of rest for me while Christopher had to go into work to take care of a few of his last minute out-processing items.  I took full advantage of it!  That night we went to Christopher's cousin Hannah's sixteenth birthday celebration with the family & enjoyed one last night of fellowship with all of them.  Friday our Unaccompanied Baggage was picked up & our house was officially completely 100% empty!  :-(  I must admit that I did cry a little!  Saturday I did a little shopping with my SIL and then went to a little going-away party that Christopher's co-workers put together for us!  I had a blast, drank entirely too much & acted just a tad bit obnoxious!  But in my mind it was totally worth it!!  I gave everyone a great memory!  Sunday was a pretty low-key day helped out with some yard work & then the four of us went out to dinner together!  Carolina Ale House!  One of my fave's!  Had a Shock Top on draft & a delicious dinner!  Yesterday we had our house DEEP cleaned! (it took the girl 11hours!) I also got to enjoy a lunch date with one of my former co-workers.  It was so nice to catch up with her!  Today the carpets were cleaned, tomorrow is our move-out inspection with the property management company that will be renting out our house for us and Thursday is Christopher's going away ceremony at work which I am really looking forward to!

So far everything has gone smoothly (except for the MPF losing my Passport two weeks before we leave & no I still do not have my replacement)! I am a little stressed right now having to live out of a suitcase!  I had a minor melt-down this evening but am feeling much better!  I am so excited for the fresh start & new beginning.  However, I am scared to death at the same time!  Not knowing what or where I am going & getting myself into!  Part of not knowing is what is so exciting but at the same time it is what scares me the most!  But as most of my family & everyone who knows me knows that I love taking chances & Christopher keeps telling me that I have the gift of Blind Faith!

  We officially leave on Monday December 12...6 days from today!  I will try my best to post again before we go.  We leave Fayetteville on Saturday morning to go to my dads for the weekend & he will drive us to the airport Monday Morning!

  Keep us in your prayers that everything continues to go smoothly!  I will update y'all again in a few days!

Love,

Samantha