Our Story in 2019

We were repatriated in 2013 back to Bettendorf, IA after our few years in Germany.  It was more than a wonderful experience and we reflect on it often.  Now, 6.5 years, 2 children and 2 more moves later we have gotten the opportunity to go back to Deutschland!  It was a shock and a lot of exciting news at the same time.  We decided that our children are at a great age to experience life in Europe for a few years.  Now, we do understand it is going to be a whole different experience than how we experienced it before i.e. maybe a bit less Weiss Biers and Weinschorles consumed :)  All in all we anticipate another great experience.  

As we stated in the original story, it would have been nice to have blogged about the years in between but those 6 years FLEW by!  In 2013 once we were settled in Bettendorf, IA we underwent preparation for IVF and were pregnant with our 1st child with the 1st attempt.  God was on our side, he knew we had waited long enough and had pretty much lived a lifetime before he was ready to give us a baby.  Evelyn Louise was born on July 30, 2014 a month early and she indeed was a miracle.  She was born with Tracheoesophageal Fistula and Esophageal Atresia and needed immediate medical intervention.  I did blog about her birth and journey to recover on the Caring Bridge website as we were in the NICU for about three weeks.  You can read about it here.  We are more than blessed to report that the stressful few months stretched into a great recovery and wonderfully healthy 5 year old girl.  

We had 2 more frozen embryos to use and did so over the course of 1.5 years with unsuccessful attempts.  After some tough times and lots of prayers we decided that we were happy with our blessed little family and that it wasn't in God's plan for another child at that time.  Back in Iowa was wonderful, we made life long friends and had wonderful neighbors.  We knew new we weren't there forever.  In April 2016 we were preparing for another move to Shawnee, KS.  Once we were moved and barely settled, my Grandmother passed away.  After traveling back home to NY to say my goodbyes to her I headed back to Kansas with such a heavy heart, a cold, an upset stomach - I was sure all the chaos over the past month was catching up to me and running me down.  Getting groceries I happened to stop right at the pregnancy tests and it hit me, I wasn't run down I was pregnant.  I was. I could hardly believe it, the thought never crossed my mind.

William Michael was born January 16, 2017 a full 4 pounds more than his sister at 4 pounds herself.  Another miracle indeed.  He was a great baby and that 1st year was definitely a blur with a 2.5 year old and newborn but thankfully I took a lot of pictures and made some photobooks to capture all of the wonderful memories.  Our life was complete, our family of 4!  
We loved life in Kansas, lived in an awesome golf course neighborhood (hole #23 right in our back yard!) had great neighbors and had made great friends.  At the end of 2017 our life was about to come full circle, we were moving back to Des Moines, IA our very first move away from NY 10 years prior. 

Now here we are, in West Des Moines and loving life again.  My mom even moved to the area only 15 minuets away!  It has been great to be back in DSM, we have had the familiarity of the area but now experiencing it with the kids. (Maybe this full circle move was foreshadowing to our next move?!)  Again, we love our house, yard, and neighbors!  The kids are at a fun age, loving their schools and activities.  We are busy and completely in a routine but that wouldn't be "our dear life" if it all stayed the same now would it? 

Life is what we make of it and home is wherever we are together as a family.  Someday the moving will stop....maybe....Dave and I joke about never being able to stay in one place for more than 2 years.  Our solution to that is to have multiple houses spread out so that we can rotate to them hahaha.  See, that is the benefit to moving so much - we have seen so many places that we like and met so many great people at all of these different places.  I have been lucky to have been part of a group through our church called the Newcomers Group and we've read After the Boxes are Unpacked by Susan Miller.  The group has ladies of all different ages and from all different walks of life and we all share a common bond of newness to the area.  It has been an excellent group and book to help navigate the overwhelming process of relocation, keeping it together, meeting new people all while trying to maintain our spiritual wellbeing.  I wished that I had read this book years ago but am glad to have it, as well as these new friends in my life now.

This is just the beginning of the newest story.  Come on our journey through Europe Part II and enjoy the ride!