Jinxed??

 You know we've had quite the stroke of bad luck....my Mac crashed, camera lens broke, dishwasher wouldn't work, owl in the fireplace, Allison's iPod had to be restored and she lost everything, engine light on my new car, lightbulbs blow all the time, etc....  So, Friday night, we were sitting back on the couch.  Chris looked at me and said, "Hey, nothing broke today!"  And, then he didn't knock on wood or anything....doesn't he know you're supposed to knock on wood!?!  And, that's when our luck changed again.  Nothing really tragic happened.  Just more annoying little things that have to be fixed.  It started with the shower.  Thomas was going to take a shower before his sleepover.  When he started the shower, water went EVERYWHERE!  It was all over the bathroom and clear out into the hallway.  Needless to say, the shower head needs to be replaced.  Luckily, our bathtub has a shower hose as well, so I put that shower head in the shower until it can be replaced.  

Then on Sunday, Chris left for the US.  He was going to drive to work, leave his car for the week, and get his taxi from there.  I suggested I drive him to work just in case I needed his car during the week.  Turns out my gut instinct to leave the car at home was correct.  I noticed the rear tire on my car was low yesterday afternoon and there was a bulge in the sidewall.  Amy helped me pump it up (where would I be without Amy??), and her husband Chad did this soap and water trick to see if it was leaking air..and it was.  So, down to the local Goodyear I went today.  They are able to order me a tire that will be in tomorrow afternoon.  Let's hope they can actually put it on the car tomorrow.  Could be Wednesday.  Pray it holds the air that long.  If not..wish me luck with the bike pump! :)   I guess it doesn't matter if it is Goodyear in Moline or in Hoeilaart.  They always take good care of me!

Can you see the bulge in the bottom left?  

So, I was feeling really good after I got that accomplished.  I got the house cleaned today, and I also finished and put away all of the laundry.  It was fun being home and watching the snow fall outside.  It snowed all day and rained the whole night before.  

Isn't it pretty out the window.  Seriously, the biggest flakes I have seen in a long time!  Thankfully, it was much too wet for the snow to stick.

 I went to pick up the kids from school, and let them run and play for just a bit at the end of the day. Of course, with all the wetness, Thomas returned to me like this.....  

So much for being finished with laundry.  Like I said, nothing tragic...just a bit annoying. :)

Until next time,

Wendy

Recovery!

Oh happy day!!!  I am sitting here on my couch with my Mac on my lap.  And, this Mac has all of my pictures on it!!!  Yipppeee!!!!  They were able to recover all of them, and they look perfect.  I've lost all of my settings, favorite sites that are bookmarked, etc.  But that is nothing in comparison to losing all of my pictures.  I guess this whole crashing incident made me realize that I really have an unhealthy relationship with my computer. :) I didn't realize I was so dependent upon it.  But, in my defense, it is my way to communicate with all of you.  This transition is hard enough, and I am so thankful I am doing it at a time when there is Skype, email, Facebook, blogs, and a myriad of other ways to communicate instantly.  Thank goodness this move didn't happen twenty or even ten years ago.  Phew!

Until next time,
Wendy

Crash....

Hello my blog friends!  Unfortunately, my trusted Mac (that I purchased just four short months ago) absolutely died yesterday.  It was NOT a happy day.  I was in such a funk and couldn't even function.  How does a computer do that to someone??  The true root of my depressed state was that I haven't been backing up my pictures.  I have done a few to Shutterfly, but I am most likely going to lose a significant number of pictures.  It's not the end of the world though...my kids are healthy and well adjusted, my husband has a great job, my friend Teri finished her last round of chemo (yay!!!), and I continue to be very happy here.  What's a few pictures and a broken computer, right?  Perspective....

Until next time,

Wendy

Little Snow....Big Problems!

Today, was our first experience with a "big" snow in Belgium!  The flakes were huge and just beautiful.  It was so much fun to watch all of the kids coming out of school.  It was the same with each one...they would scream and then stick out their tongues.  It was adorable.  I must admit,  I was pretty excited about it too.  As the evening has progressed though, so has the snow.  We've only gotten a couple of inches, but the traffic is just brutal (or so I've heard!)  I've watched on FB as people are just leaving their cars and walking home.  Commutes are taking 3+ hours, and school buses took two hours to drop kids off.  I'm thanking Him tonight...we made it home in less than 25 minutes, the kids had a blast playing outside, they enjoyed hot chocolate, and now we are watching the episodes of the Brady Bunch.  Safe travels and prayers to those that are still battling the snow and traffic.

These are the 75 steps I climb to pick up the the kids after school.

Home Sweet Home

Big fluffy flakes

This was the snack I had planned for after school.  The beach scene doesn't really go with the snow.  We don't watch Belgium television, so we had no idea the snow was even coming!  But, thank you Pinterest for the cute idea!

Early dinner!  Pardon the glare.  I'm standing in the kitchen with my hot chocolate. :)

Snow angels

Any guesses on who cried first?  Because someone always ends up crying...no surprise...it was Allison!

Feeling very blessed to have this warm and cozy home on a night like this.  Did you notice?...they are still outside.

It's just about dark....

There isn't really that much snow, but they don't care.  They have the sand buckets and sand shovels out there making a snow castle.

Wishing you all an enjoyable and relaxing weekend.  Much love to you all!

Until next time,

Wendy

Reality Bites!

We are at the three-week point of our time here in Belgium, and I think it has hit Allison that we aren't going home anytime soon.  She had a rough day today at school.  She forgot she had a French test, and we'll just say it didn't go so well.  She started to cry when she saw me after school.  As we were walking to the car, she said, "I hate it here!  I hate this school!  I just want to go home!"  It absolutely broke my heart.  I know she is hurting, and I want to make it better.  But I know in time, she will like it.  I will say though...they have a tremendous amount of homework.  It is 2+ hours every night for Allison.  And, it's not "right there" answers.  They are very thought provoking with multiple answers and most are short answer.  They have very little down time in the evenings.  Combined with late bedtimes, they've just been all out of sorts.  But tonight, they were in bed by 8:45, and we are praying for a more positive day tomorrow.  

On the flip side, there have been so many positive things that have happened to Allison....

1.  She joined a writing club (and informed me it was free.)  They meet the first Thursday of every month and share stories they have written.  They critique each other's writing and offer suggestions for improvement.  They also discuss what they liked about the piece as well.  She is really excited about that.

2.  She now has a violin!  She will start private lessons next week to get caught up with the other 5th graders.  

3.  She was invited to a birthday party.  It's a Harry Potter party, and they are requesting the guests dress up.  She talked about it all night last night!

4.  She really likes the girls in her class.

5.  She ate the cafeteria food today and said it ROCKED!

6.  Tomorrow they get to dress up for school according to the first letter of their first or last name.  She chose A and is wearing her soccer uniform.  She is an "athlete".  I know if you have had Allison on your team...you just laughed.  LOL!  FYI...Thomas is wearing a camouflage shirt with a tiger snake around his neck.  That is just so Thomas!

7.  And, I received emails from both of their teachers complimenting how well they have settled in (Allison's teacher said "remarkably well"), they advocate for themselves, ask questions, and they already have many friends.  That makes this mom very proud!

So see...it isn't all bad, and they are loving riding with me to school and back.  It sure beats the stinky bus, with the driver who doesn't speak English, and the teenagers who "make out" in the back of the bus.  

Here she is composing her first story.

I had to include some pictures of the evening entertainment from last week.  The kids wanted to do shows for us.  Thomas has the moves like Jagger and Allison was channeling her inner Rihanna.  It was hilarious!

Just for the record...I would never let her leave the house like this.  How do you like Thomas' really cool hairstyle?  He did it himself.

Owl update...Chris is using his McGyver skills as we speak.  He has a mirror taped to some cardboard and is trying to look up into the flue.  I'm not sure what he's going to do when he meets that owl face to face.  We could hear the poor thing hooting last night.  It sounded really pathetic.  We even put food down in the fireplace to lure him back down, but so far, nothing has worked.  We'll keep you posted.

Until next time,

Wendy