Things sure have been busy since I started working in August! I forgot what it was like to have a 5 day a week job! I've been busy with work, with getting the kids to soccer and boyscouts.... and working hard on the AAI HOLIDAY PROJECT! Its almost time to kick off another year of fundraising! I've been putting together an online auction to benefit the cause. We've received lots of great donations, and the site will go live on Saturday 1 OCT. Stop by and check it out!
I've also been busy working on some pendants for the Oztoberfest this weekend! I will be manning a booth, and hoping to sell a lot of OZ related pendants and art! Its supposed to be a beautiful weekend, hoping for a great turnout and lots of sales!

Whoa.... where have I been?

So its been close to year already... I can't believe that number! It seems to have flown by, and gratefully, with all the heat we've been having here in Kansas for the past two months! I'm shocked to look at the blog and see that I haven't been 'in touch' in 10 months... Lots has happened, and still more to come. After my last post, we moved to a guest house for a week, before moving to Kansas. We arrived late at night to our little rented house (where we will stay, unless we find our dream house somewhere!) It was good to have a place to come home to, straight from the airport! It was culture shock, arriving here, in the land of convenience... It was hard to know what to do, or take in first. The kids started school two days after we arrived, and were happy with their new schools. All of the kids have done pretty well in school... and are looking forward to two weeks from now, when it all starts up again.




In December, I traveled to Addis to put on the Holiday Project... it was weird to not have a team with me, and I'm definitely recruiting this year! (If you'd like to go, let me know!) It was great to see and stay with Ivy, but it was a lot of work this year! Of course the project went off without a hitch, and I even managed to talke them into a new Christmas tree for this year! It was great to see all the kids, many of which, I'm happy to say are now home with their new families! It will be weird this year, with most of the older kids gone.

Liya and Leyton played spring soccer for our local rec league.... needless to say, I was not that impressed. Very unorganized, and pathetic in comparrison to what we had in Germany. If they play again, it won't be for Crossroads! Selina decided to run track.... she wasn't ready, totally untrained.... but managed to squeeze in a few races before the end of the season... She's looking forward to trying it again next year....





It was great to have a visit from my parents in July... Even though the visit was short.... They took the 3 older kids with them back to Ohio for the summer. Ava stayed behind, because she had summer school. It was a great month-long break... lots of one-on-one time with Ava.... She needed that, and so did we! Unfortunately, she had a few seizures the last week of July, and she is now back on her anti-seizure meds. She seems to be doing well... And has grown about 4 inches since the beginning of the year! The kids returned with Jon's parents a week ago... it was nice to have their family here with us for a visit. I only wish it hadn't been so hot... Of course they came for the hottest week of the year (so far) where temps soared to 110+!

Leyton has been working on a Flat Stanley project for the summer... He made 4 Flat stanleys... the Triplets, and then a special camo-stanley to send out to our friends and family around the world... Stan has already made it to several states, and before its all over he will hit every continent (except Antarctica... do you know anyone going there who could take him??). He's a world traveler, that Stanley... and its been fun to follow along on his Facebook page as he updates us regularly with photos and highlights... Check him out!









In a week, I will finally be back in the working-world.... You mom's out there, know how hard it can be to juggle work and family... I haven't worked since we arrived in Kansas, mostly due to the fact that it was silly to work to pay for childcare... and impossible to find a job that would work around Ava's crazy school schedule. I was blessed to find a part-time position at Leyton's school, working as an Aide. It's not glamourous, and basically includes duties that I've been doing as a volunteer for the past few years... It will be nice to get paid to do them, and also only work when the kids are in school. I'm looking forward to it!

School starts in two weeks already, seems like we were just registering them for last year. We really miss our 'family' in Germany... Its been a difficult transition for me. I miss the life we had there, and our friends... And its been hard to realize that friends that I thought would always be there... are not.

I've been busy the past month, gathering and organizing items for an upcoming AAI HOLIDAY PROJECT fundraiser auction... If you have anything you'd like to donate, let me know! This will be our first attempt at an online silent auction... and I really hope that it goes well! Whatever we raise at the auction, will be less I have to beg for later!

Previews of the items available are being posted to our Facebook page swing by and check them out! The auction will go live the first week of October.... so stay tuned!

I've also been busy lately, painting, and putting together some new Oz inspired Jewelry for the Oztoberfest which will kick off on 1 October.... I mean, come on... I live in Kansas, there is bound to be some Wizard of Oz festivities! There will be a craft fair in conjunction with the fest, and my pal Holly and I are looking forward to selling some of our wares!







I think you know by now, from my very sad track record... that I may or may not be back next week or next month... I will try to do better... I know that isn't saying much! Hope you enjoy the pics from the past year.... Be sure to check out the Holiday Project Auction! Donate an item... place a bid! Help me reach our goal this year!

We have a visitor! Stanley is back!

Stanley arrived a week ago, ready for the cold weather we've been having... He's visiting from Mansfield, Ohio, and will be staying with us for awhile, and making the move with us back to the States. We've had some fun showing him around Germany...He's been bowling with the Cub Scouts, attended a traditional Nigerian Baby Naming Ceremony, and even carved some pumpkins to get ready for Halloween. Tomorrow, he'll be trick-or-treating with the rest of the kids! Wait till' you see what costume he chose!

Back to school... Soccer... Packing up...and a quick trip to Addis!

Since Jon returned home, it has been a whirlwind of reintegration and getting ready for the big move. I've been packing things and trying to tie up loose ends, and between school, work and all my little projects, I just haven't had time to sit down and upload pics, and post.... That, and my computer has been acting weird every time I log into Blogger.... not sure whats up there, but right now, I'm on Jon's!

I have some pics here for your viewing enjoyment, so enjoy!

The kids started back to school the first week of September, this pic is from day 2, since I was so busy on day 1, that I forgot to take a pic!





Its crazy having 4 kids, on 3 different buses... The girls are doing fairly well as Freshmen, and have maintained honor roll thus far! Leyton is enjoying 2nd grade, and is doing well, too... Thank God he got my spelling gene! Ava is really doing great in PSCD... she has made a bunch of friends, and continues to work on speaking! She has a great team of teachers, and we will miss them dearly, when we move.











After we finished packing up on the 22nd of September, I decided to purchase tickets, and make a quick trip to Layla House. I had been wanting to do it for a while, since so many changes are taking place down there at the moment... I really just wanted to check them out for myself, and see what I could do to help. It was a really quick trip, just one week... and you know that can't possibly be enough time, but it was worth it, and I'm so glad that I went!







I was especially glad to hang out with the kids, and visit with 'my loves'! A few shots from the trip!













It was great to catch up with my sponsorship kids, too! I always love seeing them, and can't believe how much they have grown in the past few years! They are great kids, and honestly, one of the best gifts you could give yourself for the holidays, is to sponsor one of these kids for $35-40 per month... and make a WORLD of difference in the life of a child. The money really gets to them... and it makes such a difference... I'm so glad that we do this!






I had a great time staying with my dear friend, Ivy.... She was so nice to open her house to me, and it was great to catch up with her! On my last night, we had a little going away party for another friend, Will... Will works with Mending Kids, and was there volunteering with Dr. Rick Hodes...



The kids are ALL busy with soccer! And all are doing well!























A week ago, I opened the blinds in the morning, to watch for the bus, and saw a boxer wearing a jacket, walking down the sidewalk down the street from our house. A short while later, when I went out to take Ava to German Kindergarten, the same dog was in the middle of the street in front of our house! She walked over to me, and followed me out to put the recycling away... and then sat by our door.... I was running late, so I put Ava in the car, and drove her to KG. When I returned about 20 mins later, the dog was walking in the middle of the street at the edge of town... Our road is beyond curvy and narrow, and cars fly through here. I didn't want her to get hit, and thought she belonged to an older woman in our town... so I opened the car door, and she came and climbed in. She laid down immediately and was fast asleep, before I got back in on the drivers side. I drove to the ladies house, and was assured that it wasn't her dog. I drove to a neighbors house, to see if she recognized her... but she didn't. She suggested we take her to the town mayor and let them deal with her... and also to see if she was reported missing.... We drove her down there, they took our name and called the pound, but got no answer... so I agreed to keep her at our house. I drove her home, but couldn't get her out of the car... she was dead asleep. She slept in the car, and I couldn't wake her, for almost 3 hours. When she did finally wake, I brought her inside, where she promptly found a cozy spot on Olivers bed, and went back to sleep. Later that afternoon, the lady from the pound called and came to get her. When she arrived at our house, she told Jon that she had been watching for the dog for a week.... It seems that the dog and her owner, were involved in a auto accident a week prior, in a city about 30 miles from here. The owner is still in the hospital, and the dog ran from the scene.... No wonder she was so tired... the poor thing had been walking for a week, with no food... Look at this sweet face.



A few random shots of Ava....







Selina celebrated her 15th birthday over the weekend....





We have already booked tickets for the move. We will leave our house on the first of November, and will be flying from Germany to Kansas on the 8th... We have a house lined up, and hopefully everything will work out, and we will have our stuff quickly. I can't believe how fast the time has gone, since Jon's been back. I'm not looking forward to the move... I will miss Germany so much, its our home... But hopefully something great will be waiting for us in the 'land of Ahh's!'

Home At Last!

A week ago today, the hangar doors opened, and in walked Jon. It was a long deployment, and its so good to have him home!