We're not in Kansas anymore...errr, Michigan. You know what I mean...

Above the clouds in Bregenz, Austria...about

20 minutes from our house

So, here's the thing...for as beautiful of a place as we are living...there's no denying that this transition has been a tough one. We've had to learn to relax a little bit (well, ok....by "we" I actually mean "I") and just roll with things.

We can't expect to live our typical "American" life here in Germany...which is a good thing...it just takes me a while to remember that sometimes! I didn't want to have an "American" experience in Germany, if we were going to make this move I wanted to make sure it was really, really worth it for our family and we were giving ourselves the opportunity to see things from outside our little bubble. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE and MISS our little bubble deeply...but these are all amazing opportunities to grow.

I just have to remind myself that. Sometimes a lot. : )

I'm spoiled, so I'm not going to lie and say I don't miss my Starbucks runs and trips to Target....grocery stores here are pretty similar to what we're used to though, but they're always closed on Sundays. And in our small town most of the stores (including the post office) and closed for a few hours each afternoon. And the garbage/recycling thing is on a whole.new.level. here! Seriously, stay tuned for a post on that!

We're excited to head back to Michigan in a few days!! The kids are in school until tomorrow, and flights on the 24th and 25th were SUPER pricey (and SIX seats on an international flight don't come cheap!). So we fly out on 26th and will be home until January 5th. We're so excited to see as many people as we can and meet our brand new nephew, Aidan!!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours....

Alexis