The End of our Greatest Adventure

Our last week in Belgium was filled with friends, and that is exactly how we hoped it would be!  Monday night, we had dinner in Brussels with the Lombardi family.  They would be heading out on holiday and would not be able to join us for our "Last night in Belgium" gathering.  So, we had our own last night.  We went out for steaks...and I mean steaks!  Jack O'Shea's in Brussels did not disappoint.

Our order!

Polished that off with no problem!

Just a stuffed cow in Brussels.  No biggie!

 All different ages, but you wouldn't know it.  They go together like peanut butter and jelly. :)

I just love them!

Thomas wanted to get a shot of all of us.  If I remember correctly, he actually laid on the ground to get this shot.  I don't know where he gets it?? Ha!

We hate goodbyes, so we'll see you later!

Our school (ISB) was one of the greatest decisions we made when we moved to Belgium. My dear friends from the ISB Family Association threw a going away party for me on Tuesday.  It was a wonderful morning spent talking with friends, eating, and drinking coffee...all my favorites!  

Delicious goodies and the perfect centerpiece!

I miss them all so much.  This is such a terrific group of women who do so much for others.  They are selfless, kind, and dedicated.  

This little lady here does not like group pictures, so she snuck out before it happened.  Little did she know she would have her own feature photo on the blog. :)

The kids' last stop at the house.  We had to get one final picture.

We met with our landlord to do our final walk through on Wednesday.  Typically, this is a nightmare for most tenants. They landlords have a tendency to nickel and dime the renters for every little bit of damage from holes in the walls to dirty ovens.  We have always had a good relationship with our landlord, so we were hoping for the best.  When I arrived at the house, Chris was there with the landlord, the inspector, and our landlords's wife.  I took one look at the landlord and his wife and burst into tears.  Let's just say, it was an emotional day for me.  I love this house.  It always felt like home, and I was not ready to leave.  Everything just seemed to hit me in that moment.   In his broken English, he said it would be okay and he understood.  In the end, we didn't even owe one euro.  There were a couple of things that were coded as wear and tear that would be covered by our company, and that was it!  Our landlord didn't want to get into everything.  He said we took great care of the house, and he preferred to leave it at that.  What a relief!  No, I don't think it was because I cried.  I think it is because they are just really good, kind people.  They really wanted to take us to dinner, but with just two nights left, we didn't have a free moment.  He promised the offer would stand for a good steak when we return to Belgium, and he would always save a house for us to move into.  I will miss them.

Goodbye sweet home!
(Our house is now occupied by another ISB family.  A friend of Thomas's has his room.  That makes us happy.)

On Thursday, the American Women's Club of Brussels hosted a going away lunch for me and my friend Eve.  She would be leaving just a few days after me.  The decision for them to return to the US was a quick one as well.

Yes, that is a man in there.  That is my friend, Dan.  He's just one of us. :)  His wife is featured later in the blog.  She was Thomas's fourth and fifth grade teacher at ISB.

Thank you to this amazing group of women.  This house, and the people in it, were my safe haven.  I loved being on the board, coordinating the Hints Class, working the front desk, helping with the Holiday Bazaar, taking French, and managing the Gift Boutique.  Although a lot of work, it was all very rewarding.  Our stay in Belgium would not have been the same without the club.  Some of our closest friendships stem from the people we met here.  Thank goodness I decided to take the Hints Class just a few short weeks after we arrived.

While I was lunching at the club, the kids were able to attend a day at ISB.  The Head of the Middle School was completely in support of them having a day of closure to see their friends and say their goodbyes.  It would have been much easier had we known we were leaving before the end of the school year, so they could have said their goodbyes then, but that wasn't meant to be. 

Rachel and Allison

The teachers in the ES will always hold a special place in our hearts because that is where we started. Third grade and fifth grade seems like a life time ago!

Both kids had Ms. Laphkas for sixth grade.  She's probably the hardest teacher they've ever had, but she is one of the best! They learned so much, and we will forever be grateful for the drive she instilled in both of them.  And, I'm sure you always hold a special place in your heart for the teacher you traveled around Florence, Italy with. :)

Thomas' artwork still hanging in the stairwell.

Here's Mrs. Mulcahy (Dan's wife as mentioned earlier.)  She loved this boy for two school years.  She watched him grow so much as a beginning fourth grader to an end of the year fifth grader.  She has the patience of a saint and encouraged him to be a better writer even when writing was so hard for this student.

And finally, we caught Ms. Cook just before leaving.  She was Allison's fifth grade teacher and was pivotal in Allison surviving her first semester at ISB.  She was her support and encouragement when it was hard to be away from home. We could not have asked for a better start for our girl at a new school on a new continent.  Thank you, Ms. Cook!

I insisted on a few pictures with the chateau in the background.  They were smiling, but their hearts were breaking.

Sporting their new ISB sweatshirts to take home.

Leaving ISB was the hardest part.  This school touched all of our hearts.  From the quality education and amazing programs to the staff that our kids worked with each day....this school changed us all for the better. 

Thursday night was our last evening in the Grand Place.

Our first time on the Grand Place, as a family, we looked like this.

January 2012

And now.....

September 2015

Pictures with Manneken Pis

January 2012

September 2015

One last look.  It hurts my heart not knowing when I will see it again.

Friday morning, I turned my car over to the Volvo dealer.  It sure was a good car.

I was so happy I could spend the rest of the day at the club while Chris finished his last day of work in Grimbergen. It was sign up day, so the club was busy!  It was so good to see so many people on my official last day.

The kids got to spend the day with all of us too.  

These are friends for a lifetime.  I miss them everyday.  I will always cherish this photo of all of us together.  Love them!

Amy could not attend the going away party at the club.  I just happened to see her walking with her husband when I was driving later in the day.  It was a God thing.  So thankful I was able to see her one more time and get that goodbye hug!

Friday night, our last night, the Kring family opened their house to our family and friends to spend one last night together.

Our favorite kiddos!

Thank you to Wendy and Sebastian for this awesome Red Devils fan kit for Thomas!  They gave Allison a really cool montage (think Andy Warhol) of photos that represent Brussels.

What will I do without my Wendy??  We'll always be #wendysquared!  Thank you, my friend, for all the laughs, travel, fun, and support.

Karin presented us with a gift from the whole group.  They gave us the gift of trees!  They knew our new yard was treeless, so they gave us money to buy some trees.  They were actually put in last week, and Thomas named them Manneken Pis and Papa Smurf. :) 

We didn't want the night to end.  I was hoping someone would kidnap us, so we would miss our flight.  Thank you for spending our last night with us.  You made it as perfect as it could be!  Thank you for being our travel buddies, sharing dinners together, watching each others kids, crying together, the long walks, brewery tours, ISB Night, and all the laughs.  We could not ask for more!  Even though we'll be miles apart, we'll be friends always.  

Saturday morning, our taxi picked us up bright and early.  With all of our bags, we wanted to be checked in early.

And, we're off.  Allison and I cried until we got to cruising altitude.  

It's official!

Yes, I know this photo is technically illegal.

The Knepps welcomed us back to Morton with a red, white, and blue celebration.  Thank you for such a wonderful homecoming!

There is nothing like a welcome back hug from your best friend when you return to your hometown!

So, I have come to the final paragraph of our Vastine Adventure.  I am so thankful for the opportunity Chris was given through Caterpillar, Inc.  Most are not given the opportunity to live abroad.  Of those who are offered, many are fearful of accepting the challenge.  It's scary to give up the comforts of home, sell your house and cars, pick up your family, and go off to live in a place where you don't know anyone...or speak the language!  With faith and a lot of prayer, we did it!  It was the most difficult decision we have ever had to make as a family.  But, it was also the most rewarding.  Even scarier than moving, would have been not going at all.  To think of what we would have missed out on!  Our kids have had the opportunity to see things and visit places most only dream of.  We had to make the most of it, and we really feel we did.  We will always cherish the friends we made in our expat experience.  You are our "framily." You were really the best part of the experience.  Now, we begin a new adventure...life back in the USA.  No more dinners at Hard Rock in the Grand Place.  No weekends in Paris or running off to London to see a show.  No squeezing a turkey into an oven smaller than a microwave.  No cheap flights on Ryan Air to spend the day in Venice.  Instead, we are back to real life.  But, that's not such a bad thing.  We are back to seeing family on a normal basis (although I think I saw them more via Skype than I do back here.) Back to Friday night football games and COSTCO!  Back to work for Mom!  I think this little blog will have to continue but not on the scale it has the last four years.  Monthly updates seem more logical at this point.  It's not like I'm running off to four different countries in one week.  Pekin, Peoria, East Peoria, and Morton are just not that exciting. Ha!  Thank you for following along with us.  I never thought this blog would have 378 posts and nearly 90,000 hits!  Your support and encouragement meant so much to us over the last four years.  Much love to you all.

Au revoir Belgium

Vaarwel België

Love,

Wendy