Fall and Winter Update

So much has happened since September!

I made it back to the states at the end of September and stayed through first week of November.  The first couple weeks, I was with my mom to help out while she continued to recover from her illness.  She is doing much better and continued to get stronger over the past few months.

 I drove back through St Louis, where I visited a few friends.  Then made my way on to my daughter’s house.  I got to see their new home for the first time.  And was there to witness the birth of my granddaughter, Hadi.  She came a couple weeks early, but that meant I got to spend extra time with her.  I enjoyed 3 weeks with her and her sister and it was so hard to leave!

A few days after getting home, we flew to the UK where we attended a dinner at Gonville and Cauis College in Cambridge.  It was a true honor to get to go.  We spent the rest of the time visiting friends. In December, we had several visitors and spent most of the time visiting German Christmas Markets, which I’ll get into in more detail with another post.

Our daughter, husband and the 2 grands came out to spend Christmas with us.  It was wonderful having them here.

    

 

   

 

In January, we made a trip back to the states to visit family and get caught up with our medical appointments.  We arrived at Beki’s right before a winter storm rolled in and ended up snowed in for 3 days.  We saw Ari and Jerret in St Louis along with friends in the area.  Our last stop was Ohio to see parents and siblings, good visits, good dinners, and a Walleye hockey game.  My cup is full!

We’d been home 5 days and John had to leave for the states, which meant I stayed in Germany by myself.  It’s really weird and a bit scary being in a foreign country by myself.  I laid awake the first night anxious and running through the what ifs.  It’s these moments that I continue to learn to lean into my faith. 

In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. Psalms 4:8

When you walk with Jesus,you are truly never alone.  I’m going to make it through this week.  I may not leave the house, but I’ll get through it!

It’s all going to be alright!

 

Your Parents Age Quietly

 

 

I wish I had seen it coming.

Agreeing to move to Germany was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make.  I fought it for several years, as John had actually wanted to apply for this job four years ago.  I dug in my heels and adamantly shook my head NO.  For many reasons, but one being our aging parents.  We all know time is short and the unexpected can happen at any time.  

So here I sit, fighting the urge to rush home.  But, I'm trying to be 'still and listen.'

 

Many of you know that my dear momma got very, very sick on June 29th.  After a church picnic, she, along with others, became sick with food poisoning.  Hers, however, turned very serious very quickly.  The first couple days, they couldn't figure out what had made her so sick and ran many tests.  One of those tests, a CT scan with contrast, caused her kidneys to shut down.  For the next 2 weeks, she fought to regain kidney function with dialysis.  She started to recover a little and it was decided she should go to a rehab facility to regain strength so she could go home safely.

 

Things didn't go as well as planned at this facility. She started having A-fib episodes causing dizziness and passing out.  One of these episodes, they had trouble getting her to respond and she was rushed back to ER. Once they got the A-fib under control, she was again sent to a new, better rehab hospital.  They were trying their best, but for some reason, we are still trying to pinpoint, she is not eating.  A feeding tube was put in and she did not respond well, so, again, she was rushed to ER a third time, where they are now running massive amounts of tests, trying to get to the bottom of what is going on.  She is very sick, very weak, and very exhausted.  But, she's a fighter and she's got lots of support and family cheering her on.  I am desperately hoping they will help her get her strength back so she can go home.  If you are reading this, please say a prayer for her and our family as they continue to navigate through this and advocate for her.  

 

Positive news: Her kidneys are recovering, not fully, but well enough to have the dialysis port removed. She is getting some nutrition through a feeding tube successfully the past couple days, and her levels are beginning to stabilize.

 

Update:  Mom made it home last week!  We are all very grateful for her progress and hopeful she will return to full health.  Thanks for your many prayers and well wishes! 

 

I truly believe our Father has us exactly where we need to be.  That He is orchestrating everything.  I believe He will bring wholeness to my mom.  It may not look the same as it did two months ago, but we are all trusting Him for the best.

 

Our first 3 months here in Germany have been a bit rough.  It took over 5 weeks to get our belongings and we lived in the house with minimal furnishings, just enough to get by on.  Then, literally, a few days after getting our household goods delivered, mom got sick.  I'm hoping that we are past the hardest part and that the rest of this tour will be easier. 

 

 John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

 

Isaiah 26:3 - You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you. 

Moving Again!

We've moved again!

This whole new adventure started last July when John came home and said there are a couple of jobs open in England and Germany.  Before he even said, "I want to apply," I was shaking my head no with tears in my eyes.  I, honestly, at that time thought there was no way I could do this again.  Leaving my home, my family, my kids, my friends, my grandbaby would be way too hard.  We talked about it and he convinced me to just let him apply and see where it went.  You know, in my mind, it was well if he doesn't get either job then God didn't want this for us.  So, he applied and we waited anxiously through the interview process.

I was convinced he wouldn't get either of these jobs as we'd already been to England for the same job.  Well, he didn't get offered the England job, but he did get offered the Germany one.  He called me, sounding like a little boy excited about Christmas, to tell me he'd been offered the job as I was on my way to the Women's retreat, thankfully driving a dear friend, Diane, to the retreat with me.  She was a great support as I just about had a meltdown in the car.  Had she not been with me, I'm sure I'd have turned around and gone home, but God had other plans. 

I had to work through a lot during those couple days.  And I believe God gave me reassurance that this was His plan and so after more discussions, John accepted the job.  I had a lot of fears about leaving.  But it seemed everything was falling into place.  The kids were being taken care of (marriage and new homes), our house sold quickly and easily in 2 days.  One thing remains that makes me regret and that is the new grandbaby on the way.  My heart breaks to be so far away.   

Ari and Jerret are settled into a condo in the St Louis area and Jerret recently got his promotion.  Beki and Canaan got married, got pregnant, and bought a home...all very exciting!

 

As I said things have fallen into place pretty nicely.  I've decided to resurrect this old blog as a way to document the next 3 years and all the adventures I'm sure we'll be taking.  One thing has not changed and that's John.  His love for travel and his energy have not changed!

 

Christmas Letter 2017

Dear Friends and Family,

We're approaching Thanksgiving and I find it hard to believe another year is ticking away.  John and I have had an amazing year.  We've traveled to some awesome places including Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Poland, Greece, Italy, France, and Belgium.  The UK is treating us well, with great friends and all the travel opportunities.  We have less than a year remaining on our three year tour, however, we are waiting to hear if John will be approved an additional year.  He is very happy in his job and the work he is doing here.  He works with a great group of people and has had the opportunity to meet some pretty important people including the Prime Minister and Queen Elizabeth's husband, The Duke of Edinburgh.

Expiatory Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Barcelona, Spain

Porto Portugal

Krakow Castle, Poland

Crete, Greece

Notre Dame, Paris

Venice, Italy

Dolomites, Sesto-Sexten, Italy

We also, as many of you know, celebrated with family and friends at, our daughter, Beki's wedding.  Her and Corey both graduated this year and have settled into new full-time jobs.

I continue to fill time photographing and editing lots and lots of pictures from the many trips.  Many of my photos are listed on www.Etsy/AimeesShoppe, stop by for a peek!  In my spare time, I continue drawing and crocheting.  And after over two years, I finally got a full size electric piano so I can once again get my fingers playing.  I sure do miss the "baby."

We are very excited to be spending our first Christmas back in the states in three years!  So we look forward to seeing our Ohio family soon!

We thank God for all our wonderful friends here in the UK.  He has placed some amazing people in our life.  And we count our blessings for all the opportunities we've had so far.  We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

RAF Summer Ball

Brugge, Belgium

Love,
John and Aimee

When They Ask For Advice

There's been a nasty virus going around here in the UK... and I got it!  Sorry, it's been a couple of weeks since I've felt well enough to do anything.  Here's a little post to finish up our Porto, Portugal, trip.

We spent an awesome weekend in Porto with friends where we went on a couple wine tours.  During the last one, we met a sweet, young, French couple.  Well, actually, she was from France, he was from the states, but they are living in Paris.  Wow...living in Paris!  They were about 25, had been married a year, and were celebrating her birthday that weekend.  In the course of talking to them, he asked us "old" married folk how we did it...how did we stay married so long.

You know, in a world of throw-away everything, I'm very proud that we've "made it" over 30 years together and I suppose we have a lot to offer a young couple looking to stay married forever.

We threw out a few ideas like...

          Be each other's best friend

          Never be willing to give up

          Forgive always

          Take time for yourself.

But I got to thinking about this conversation later and wondered if we could have said more.  I met John when I was 16...a long time ago!  We practically grew up together.  There were things we learned the hard way along the way.

          Make faith a priority

          Be honest...always

          Put each other first

          Compromise...there's always a solution if you take the time to pursue it

          Spend quality time together away from kids

          Never threaten the "D" word...divorce

          Be a team, work together

          Listen with your heart...what are they really saying underneath the anger and hurt

          Choose to LOVE even when you don't always LIKE them

Choose to love, it's a hard concept for some.  But it is possible and, I think, it's one of the most important aspects of marriage.  Marriage is not always a piece of cake with a cherry on top, sometimes it looks more like a squished donut!  Sometimes it's just really hard work.  It may start out all rosy, but life happens, feelings get hurt, we hurt them, they hurt us.  It's these moments, you must choose to love them.  Put it in God's hands, forgive, talk it through, and then put it behind you. 

Well, Porto turned out to be just beautiful our last two days.  Sunshine and a little surf to make the soul feel well!