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Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving with our friends the Slater family. We had ham and turkey, stuffing, corn, pototoes, green beans, and lots and lots of yummy desserts. The moms and children made cookies and the kids decorated them. It was a great day and we are so thankful for of our many blessings! Hope you all had a wonderful day!

If we live, we are living for the Lord, and if we die, we are dying for the Lord. Romans 14:8

Scott's Dad has terminal cancer.

This is by far the hardest post I've ever had to write. The past two weeks have been a blur since we heard that news. Scott is going to apply for a humanaitarian assignment to Grand Forks, ND which is only 3 hrs away from his home town and if it goes through we could be out of here in as little as 2-3 weeks. The past weeks have brought back vivid memories of my childhood, where as a 9 year old I watched my stepdad literally melt before my eyes from terminal lung cancer. This is not going to be easy.

So kleinsingermany will become...kleinsindakota? I am a southern girl (75 and up is my comfort zone)not too familiar with the frozen tundra of the northern hemisphere. From what I'm hearing it can get to temps of -80 degrees!!! I've decided that if at all possible I will set up a "tropic zone" in the basement with sun lamp and even the smell of pina colada in the air - I may even put in some sand for good measure :) It will be my "sun room" - so if anyone hears of any good deals on home tanning beds please pass them my way ;)

Photos to share

I haven't shared any photos lately so here are a few to go along with the stories...
ok it seems I have somehow deleted the really good photos I wanted to share. The above is a photo on the way to Trier...sitting at a light

Please email me at kimklein7671@yahoo.com if you'd like to chat - Mary I do see your comments but I cannot reply to you through blogger.

Saying Farewell

Today is a sad day. I just found out my cousin Pam passed away yesterday afternoon. She has been suffering for quite a while from a kidney disease but it is still so sad to have her gone. This makes the 3rd cousin (close to my age)that I've lost since we arrived here in Germany. So the feeling of getting farther away from family grows every day. Someday we will not have the ones that actually talk to us (Moms, Aunts etc) then what family will we have??? It is sad. Sad that we used to be so close and now are so far away from each other and don't do whatever it is that needs to be done to close that gap more often. I've tried to reach out through my websites and blogs but don't ever hear from anyone in return. I just don't know what else to do.

Frost is on the pumkins ;)

We woke up yesterday to a blanket of white frost. I think winter has officially arrived (Jared was soooo excited to see white) and giggled like crazy at me while I scraped the ice from the windows of my car! He thought that was the coolest thing!

I'm not sure if I am really ready for this but I do not want to be in the funk that I've been in for the past two years....so I am going to TRY to find the positives in all this...besides it being our last winter here ;)

I vow to get out in spite of the cold and do some traveling. I've always wanted to go to Italy and by golly I am going to do it!!! Don't know how or when yet but at least getting there is now my goal.

Days are short and everyone in this family is taking turns being sick so at some point there is someone to nurse at all times...including myself, I've had a terrible headache for 3 days and now my ears are starting to drain and I am getting a toothache and sore throat. Great! I really can't afford to be sick when my family needs me. I will drink lots of tea and hopefully shake it off quickly.

We finally got packages in the mail - party supplies (for the party we had two weeks ago) and Jaiden's halloween costume (a very adorable caterpillar) I did some Christmas shopping online only to find out as I was checking out that they won't deliver to an APO address UGH! I'm thinking we will have an old fashioned Christmas this year. There is just no time to go shopping after work so we will have to make the best of what we have and enjoy the time we have together.

Cody is home!!!

Cody came home yesterday!!! It is so good to have him back home again. The house just felt an eerie emptyness without him here. He is recouperating well and should maybe be able to return to school tomorrow? We'll see how he's doing after seeing the mass amount of homework he has to catch up on! ;)

Not alot going on around here. Fall has come and the leaves are changing. Not as vibrant this year as the first year we were here, this year they are more like an orangey brown and some muted yellows. Ah well, it's our last fall in Germany! :)

Jared keeps asking "Is it winter yet?" "What day is winter?" "How many more minutes till winter?" UGH! He's his father's son when he does things like that! We got him some new snow pants this weekend while in Trier so now he is ready to go!

The temps are supposed to be dropped into the 40s by the end of the week so he may get his wish soon. I hope there is lots of snow this year - We live on a hill so snow would mean no getting out or in - we could stay home, sip cocoa, build a fire and cuddle under blankets and read all day (that's how I like to spend winter)

Cody is in the hospital...

We thought he was recoving well, but yesterday morning Cody starting spitting up blood and then throwing up blood. Scott took him to ER on Fi morning, where of course they couldn't do anything so they called for an ambulance to take him to the Trier hospital. He was admitted for three days for observation. As of 8 pm last night he was doing better but I thought that same thing several days ago so no I'm not breathing any easier yet. He was able to eat some bread and butter and kept it down. I hate to see him so weak and in pain and covered in blood OMG - when I got to the hospital it was splattered all over his face and hands. Had to get him cleaned up and into some comfy jammas but it was still hard to walk away and leave him in that hospital room all alone. I hate hospitals and they give me the creeps but I didn't want to leave him there all alone either.

We are going back to visit in a little while. Please pray that he makes a speedy recovery and gets to come home soon. The house just don't seem right without him here and I have no one to fight off the computer - I miss him!

Cody's Tonselectomy

Cody had a tonselectomy on Tuesday and it went well. Scott took him to Landstuhl on Monday morning for check-in with the doctor and an appt with the anethesisiologist. Then they shopped all the rest of the day...and can you believe it that they didn't find a single thing??? Not even one! Not even a pack of gum! I can't go into a store without buying SOMETHING - I feel like I'm being watched for shoplifting or something...what's up with that? Ever since that time when I was 5 and the pack of gum somehow made it out with me and I thought it was paid for...I've had a guilty feeling when I go into a store and not purchased anything. Now they'll see me coming with a big SUCKER sticker stuck on my forehead.

Anyway, back to Cody - he is doing better but still in great pain. The percocet is making him a bit loopy and sometime nauseus so we are going to cut it back a bit. He actually went for a walk to the park with us today. It was a gorgeous afternoon and since he is out of school all week I must go pickup the littler kiddos from school each day. We really enjoyed the rare and unusual burst of warmth and sunshine.

Not much else going on around here to talk about. Anything interesting in your neck of the woods? I'd love to hear from you!

Still Breathing...

Winter has started kicking in here in Germany, it gets dark by around 6 now so survival mode is kicking in. All I want to do is sleep the next 7 months away...my mood is not letting up any at all. It still feels like we are on some lonely isolated planet far far away...even when we are in a crowd of "friends" - people we like a lot and talk to when we see them but beyond that have no relationship with.

Blogging and meeting new friends used to sorta fill that void but lately it just hasn't been enough. I miss having someone to make me laugh, someone who really knows me and connects with what I am talking about.

So we breathe and go on. One step at a time till we move past this...however long it may take.

I need some help

Lately I have been feeling like I exist on a different planet from the rest of the world and it is a very lonely feeling. I don't know what to do about it and I'm not sure where to start. What is wrong with me??? Is there anyone who understands what I am feeling?

Flashback

In honor of Birthday week I would like to do some flashback trivia. What were some of your favorite or least favorite shows of the 80s? In no particular order, please add yours to the comments section.

Facts of Life - Didn't everyone just HATE Blair and LOVE Jo? (You take the good, you take the bad...)
Little House on the Prairie – every afternoon after school
Dukes of Hazzard - I joined the Bo Duke fan club
Knight Rider – Kit was my favorite car
The A team – Mr. T was no fool
The Cosby Show – Dad always had the answer
Different Strokes – What you talkin’ bout willis?
Full house – John Stamos was my first crush
Magnum PI – loved the car! And the theme song!
Love boat – I still sing that theme song!
Fantasy Island – De Plane! De Plane!
Family Ties – Alex was a bit stuffy back then
Moonlighting – Bruce and what's her name = no chemisty (Boring)
Hart to Hart - which one was prettier?
Quincy - man that guy was smart!
Who's the Boss - Loved the redhead lady
21 Jump Street - Johnny Depp was so hot!
Charles in Charge - need I say more
Growing Pains - Kirk was a dreamboat
MacGyver- loved those cool tricks he could do with a paper clip
Miami Vice - Hot Hot Hot

It's Birthday Week!!!

Time to CELEBRATE life!!! We are having a party going on all week long here - ok it's a wee tiny party (only the 5 of us) but we are celebrating none the less and eating lots of sweets in honor of birthdays. Cody turned 15 on Tuesday and Scott turns ?? today! Can you guess his age? Ok the cake gives it away but you have to search for the cake...little trivia to see if anyone actually reads this blog :)

Another Absess?

About two months ago Cody, the one child of mine whom has only been sick a very few times in his 15 years came down with a horrible sore throat that floored him and left him bedridden for a week then Dad took him to the hospital (I pass out in any situation involving my children and injuries) where the doctor removed a huge, gross amount of puss from his throat. Yuck! Serious Yuck but as soon as the doc removed the puss the pain was gone and he was back to his normal self again.

Well he has had that nasty sore throat all weekend and now on his way back to the hospital for surgery to remove the absess. Please keep him in prayer as his pain tolerance is pretty low...gets that from his Mom.

His 15th birthday is Tuesday and it will realllly stink to not be able to taste his special dinner. I made him a cake today but he wasn't able to even taste it yet.

What do you mean there's no buffet at this hotel???

Our first week back has been quite a rough one. We wake on SOFT beds and have to make our own breakfast! The beds in China ARE as hard as concrete but I swear I slept better for those two weeks than I ever have in my life! Every day this week I wake with about a dozen aches and pains and the distinct feeling that I didn't rest very well. In China I was up with Jaiden at 6 am ready to go! Now we are both exhausted and grumpy and can't seem to get into a very good sleeping pattern.

Monday my body decided to finally catch up to me and give me a Migraine too! YUCK! Nauseus pounding in the eyes, had to go lie down in a dark room and veg - not my cup of tea when there is a baby in the house that wants to play. I think my body finally was saying "It's ok to drink the water here now drink up!" I was a bit dehydrated - you have to make a concientious effort to hydrate in China and when you are on the go all the time lugging big bottles of water around is not always efficient.

It is now Friday and I can't believe we have been home for nearly a week already! We are getting settled in very well in spite of sleep deprivation. The boys adore their sis and love to hang out with her and play...and she equally adores them too!
Things are starting to settle into a routine - and it feels just right to have pink baby socks mixed in with boy socks :) Life is good!

Home at Last!!!

It is SO GOOD TO BE HOME!!! China was awesome but we missed the boys like crazy. Next time our China adventure will involve the whole family and yes we are looking forward to going back for a visit someday.

I will post a few photos on here but our daily photo journey can be found on the link above. Thank You for visiting our site and following our journey to bring Jaiden home!!! She is adjusting very well and the boys have bonded with her like you wouldn't believe. It's just amazing to watch her grow! We are truly blessed beyond measure!

*Blogger takes forever to upload photos and I took over 800 in China so if you'd like to see more just hit the link on the title of this post. I just love reading everyones comments - they really make my day! Thanks for visiting!

Jared's First Day of School

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing

4 Days till we travel!!!!

We have TA!!! We have a Consulate Appointment of 20 Sept!!! We are leaving on MONDAY!!! We found out just today that we leave for China in 4 days!!! Amazing!

We have an Itenerary:

Leave Frankfurt on Monday at 2:40 pm
Arrive in Shanghai Tuesday Morning at 7 am

Leave Shanghai on Saturday at 11:55 pm
Arrive in Frankfurt Sunday morn at 0500

We're on our way!!!

No Fireworks, No TAs

Extreme cuteness going on here! That is Jared on the pony ride in Sept 04'

This year we (ok I) didn't feel much like going to see fireworks at the annual Burhncastle wine festival. We've been every year that we've been here and I just knew we would be taking Jaiden on the pony ride this year...but we are still waiting.

So this weekend is just one extremely LONG and lazy weekend. We should be getting TA notification and then CA soon - when? No idea. We may be traveling next month since all the appts must have been taken by now. I am really crabby about that and ready to get all this waiting over with.

So what are we doing this weekend? Sat we bought a new digital camera! I left our old one in the car on one of those really hot days in July and it fried it. ooops!

played with my movie maker (love my new Sony VAIO laptop)I am making a video for Jaiden check it out and let me know what you think of my amateur video production abilities.

September

The first day of September was GORGEOUS!!! Clear blue, sunny skies and I started out wearing a sweater and had changed into a very thin t-shirt by noon. It was a semi lazy day, took care of some errands in the morning, visited with my friend Heather and then did some shopping (found some travel supplies and two cute shirts for Jaiden) plus mittens for Jaiden and Jared. Jared was convinced he needed a snowsuit right away but I managed to talk him out of the very thin one in the store. Came home and lounged in the ZUN room in the ZUN :) (like a lazy cat) then took some steaks over to our friends house and grilled/had dinner and a movie (The Terminal) GREAT movie! Tom Hanks rocks! Is there anything that man cannot do? (Going through the airport security belt x-ray thingie had me rolling)

Today is early yet but it seems to be a nice day. This weekend is our last Buhrncastle fireworks event so we will probably go there. It has been a yearly event we've attended the past 2 years we've been here and the fireworks are beyond spectacular! I can still almost taste the grit of the fireworks in the air - the air is completely filled with smoke after they are done (after about an hour of earth shaking explosions) I will make sure I pack the Visine this time!