Belgian Residents!

If you've talked to me at all about this journey to Belgium, you already know that one of the most frustrating things for us to deal with has been trying to become Belgian residents...bureaucracy, paperwork, bureaucracy, police visits, and more bureaucracy!! Because Cole has a work visa, he was able to obtain residency status quickly, but the boys and I have had such a difficult time for some reason. As a disclaimer, I'm sure it's difficult to do something similar in the U.S...ever been to the DMV?! But this process has been such a mess for us! I don't really care that much about being considered a Belgian resident, although I love it here...more important to me is the fact that we are now allowed to travel! We were not supposed to travel outside of the country until we received our national numbers and the residency cards that go with them. We were able to get around the travel issue a few times to go to France because we did not have to have our passports checked anywhere, but it was going to be nearly impossible for the boys and me to go to the U.S. and come back to Belgium without these cards! We had planned to go home for a visit back in July, but July came and went without any luck getting our cards. So, after 8 1/2 months, 8 visits to the immigration office, at least 10 hours of waiting at the immigration office, and an immigration lawyer, we all finally have our cards!!!!!! That means, in a little over one week, we will be going home to visit! I am so excited to see all our friends and family and to catch up on all the exciting things that have happened since we've been gone. New babies, houses, jobs...you name it, I can't wait to hear all about it! I am also looking forward to our small group couples retreat as well as attending services at our home church! I am so thankful that this process is over and we are now free to travel wherever we want to go, including the U.S. Can't wait to see everyone!

First Solo Bike Ride = FAIL!

One of the things I was really looking forward to when we moved was being able to get around so easily by foot, bike, tram, etc. We have definitely done a lot of walking and taken a couple tram rides, but not much biking. Our bikes needed a little TLC after the move, so they were in the shop for quite a while. We finally got them back two weeks ago and have enjoyed a couple rides as a family since then.  Gent is a very bike friendly city and transportation by bike is far more common and preferable than driving, so I was excited to start taking part in this too. Let me just say that, back home, we went on rides from time to time as a family and Cole like to do more serious biking, but we did not come from a super bike friendly area. There were trails to ride on, but riding around to run errands or get from point A to point B was not our reality. So fast forward to yesterday. I decided that I needed to start getting out more with the bike during the day...explore more parks, shops, other adventures further away, etc. I'm usually nervous doing new things on my own, but I was especially nervous to take my first solo ride because one, I didn't know where I was going, and two, this would only be my second time pulling the boys in the trailer behind me! So the night before, Cole helped me map out a course so I could avoid really busy roads (trams, buses, etc.) and so I could feel a little more familiar with the route.

Yesterday morning.... I made a plan to ride my bike to the park with the boys, play for a while, then eat a picnic lunch before riding back home for nap time. It was supposed to be in the 80's and really nice, so I was excited to get out. I got up early to get myself ready and pack lunches only to find out that the connecting piece for the bike trailer was on Cole's bike...at his office. He was kind enough to come home to switch it over to my bike and help me get the boys packed up. We left around 9:40 and headed to the park. The trip should have taken 15-20 minutes, so when I had been riding for 30 minutes and did not see the park anywhere in sight, I started to get a bit worried. I called Cole and he told me I had followed the canal the wrong way and was going in the wrong direction! He was willing and able to help me find another way to get back to the park. 25 minutes later, I was at the park, tired, but okay! :) So the boys and I headed to the park to play for a while before lunch. We had a good 10 minutes of fun before Cameron peed in his pants (he is potty trained!!!!) and I didn't have any other clothes for him. So I didn't have any choice but to get back on the bike and head home. I was frustrated and might have been a little short with the boys...maybe that's why Cameron was belting out the chorus of Taylor Swift's "Mean" most of the ride home?! Anyways, off we went to head home. I thought I knew where I was going this time, but once again, after biking for waaaayyyy too long and not getting anywhere that I recognized, I called Cole for more help. He confirmed that I was going the wrong way and needed to turn around. So I gave the boys some water bottles to keep them entertained and turned around to go home. My legs felt like jelly and I was beyond annoyed at this point, so I tried to use my annoyance as fuel to get us home. Between Harrison screaming for the last 10 minutes of the ride because he was tired and hungry and Cameron belting out "Mean," I was ready to loose it. Oh, but that's not all! When I got the boys out of the trailer, I discovered that Cameron had chewed off the top of Cole's nice biking water bottle (I guess in between songs). I got everything put away and brought the boys up to the loft only to have Cameron pee all over the floor!!!!!!!!!!! Did I mention that he IS potty trained?! Anyways, Cole ended up coming home and bringing me lunch. I didn't know this at the time, but he had also left work and rode his bike all the way to the park and back to try to find us and help us get home. He's a keeper! :)

The trip was a complete mess and I felt silly for not being able to get to the park and back by myself, but I'm thankful that I at least tried. I'm also extremely grateful for a husband who, despite being busy at work, took most of the day to help me figure things out. I'm pretty certain that he didn't get much done. He even took us on a ride last night back to the park so I now know exactly how to there. So, despite being embarrassed that I couldn't do it and also being very sore this morning, we will try again! 

Six Months Seizure Free!

As of June 7th, I have officially been seizure free for six months!! If we were still living in the states, I would be able to start driving again after the mandatory six months seizure free period. Looking back over the past six months, it seems crazy that I even went through that whole ordeal because my life has not changed that much in terms of my health. Of course we now live in a new country, but it seems like that month was taken from someone else's life. Maybe it's because I don't remember that time very well? I thought I would recount that time for those who don't know what happened. I am writing very little of this from my memory and most of it from what Cole and others have told me about that time. I especially don't remember any of my time during the first two seizures.

The Monday before Thanksgiving last year, I woke up early in the morning and sat up in bed. Cole thought I had gotten a cramp in my calf and that had woken me up. However, after a short time sitting there, Cole said I slumped over in the bed and started having, what we now know was, a seizure. Thankfully, we were staying with Cole's family and his dad, who happens to be a doctor, was sleeping in the next room. Cole ran over to get his mom and dad to help. Cole's mom quickly took Cameron out of the room while his dad calmed Cole down and told him I was having a seizure. They called 911 and my parents and watched me to make sure I was ok. The ambulance came and took me to the hospital to have an evaluation. Seeing as I had never had a seizure before, Cole was terrified that I had a tumor or some other serious condition that was causing the problem because I had been complaining of headaches for the previous two weeks. I can't remember the exact series of events once I was at the hospital, but I know that they did several tests on me and that I also had another seizure while I was there. I only remember being coherent two times while I was there. The first thing I remember was being wheeled to a room to have a test done. I can't even remember what it was, but I remember the guy who was getting me ready. I had no idea why I was there or what was going on. He told me I had had a seizure and that they were going to start a test. Needless to say, I was very confused. But he was very kind and reassuring. I fell back asleep, or out of consciousness at that point and don't remember anything else about the testing. The other time I was awake and coherent was when the neurologist came in to talk to us. He told us that they had not found anything wrong and that they could not see any reason why I had had the seizures. He also told me that, because of all the medication they had given me, I could not nurse Harrison for at least a week. I was crushed, confused, and happy all at the same time. I was crushed that I couldn't nurse my baby, still confused by what was going on, but happy that nothing seemed to be seriously wrong. I don't remember anything else about that day. The only other thing I remember about that week is that I woke up the next morning feeling like I had been hit by a truck. I had open sores all over the inside of my mouth and I had a hard time moving. But still, nothing was seriously wrong, and for that, I was grateful! 

Once we returned home, we had to seriously discuss what was going on and whether or not we wanted to continue moving forward with our plans to move to Belgium. Even though the doctors had told us that there was no major reason why I had had the seizures, we were still a bit rattled by the events that had taken place. What would we do in Belgium if I had another seizure? We had help and support at home. In the end, we decided that God was leading us and that we would continue with our original plan...as long as doors continued to open, we would continue to walk through them and follow God's leading. Although I was not allowed to drive, life calmed down a bit and returned to a pretty normal state. 

Fast forward to the morning of December 7th. I woke up early in the morning and didn't feel very well. I had an upset stomach and my head really hurt. Cole offered to stay home and help me, but I told him I thought I would be ok and that I would call if I felt any worse. Once he left, I started feeling worse, so I called my sister (who doesn't work on Fridays) and asked if she would come help me. By the time she arrived, I was throwing up and my head hurt terribly. I can't remember if I called Cole or she did, but he was home before I knew it. He told me later that he knew I was going to have another seizure and was on the phone with 911 before it even started. So once again, I took a trip in the ambulance to the hospital to be evaluated. I don't remember any of this and only have a few concrete memories from being there. They, again, did tests on me to see if there was something going on with my brain that was causing the seizures, and again, came up with nothing. The only thing I really remember is that the neurologist came in to tell me that I would have to be put on anti-seizure medication. I was crushed because I assumed that meant I would not be able to nurse Harrison anymore. The neurologist told me that I would again have to wait for the drugs to wear off from the hospital before I could begin nursing again and that he didn't know if I would be able to once I was on my new medicine. I know it doesn't seem like a big thing, but nursing my babies has always been very special and important to me. If I'm being honest, I was a bit frustrated with God because I didn't know what was going on or why. Cole and I both started to wonder if this was a sign that we were not supposed to take this opportunity in Belgium. We were confused...one one hand, we felt like doors were still opening to move, but on the other hand, these unexplained seizures. After a lot of discussions and prayer, we decided that we would still continue to move forward with plans to move. 

I met with a neurologist the week after my last seizure. He was a gift from God. Not only was he very kind, but he explained things well and worked with me to find a medicine that I could take while continuing to nurse. He prescribed the medicine and ordered one final EEG to see if they could induce a seizure and find out what was causing them. He calmed our fears and answered our questions the best he could. We met with him one final time after my EEG and he told us that it was not likely that I would have any more seizures. They were not able to induce another seizure during the EEG, so they still have no idea why they happened, but he told us that he would not worry about it and that he would not change our plans to go to Belgium because of this. He said I would need to take the medicine for at least three years, but that I would probably take it for the rest of my life. I don't like to take medicine, so I was annoyed that I would have to take medicine for the rest of my life for something that they couldn't even tell me more about! At first, the medicine really messed with my mood. It made me much more irritable and tired. I would freak out about completely unimportant things all day long. Once I would get to the end of the day and think back over it, I was so amazed at how many times I had lost it over something so insignificant. But I was determined to make this medicine work because it was the only medicine I could take and continue to nurse. Thankfully, for everyone involved, I have mellowed out and don't notice any effects from the medicine anymore. And, I haven't had anymore seizures since I started taking the medicine!

When I think over the events, I am completely amazed that nothing more serious was going on. I could have had major issues causing the seizures, but instead, they can't find any reason for them. Of course we would love to know why they happened, but it's much better being in the dark than finding a major reason why they happened. Also, I could have had more issues with medication or continued seizures, but I haven't. The two things that affected me the most were the loss of my short term memory and the driving restrictions. Thankfully, my short term memory has finally come back to almost as good as before, and I can walk or bike almost anywhere here. 

Of course we can't know why this happened the way it did, but after reflecting on these past six months, here is my take on this whole seizure thing. I have always struggled with control and needing to be in control of my life. I'm not good at asking for help and feel bad, needy, or weak when I have to. I realize that these are feelings I put on myself and that I need to work them out. With all that was going on with the decision to move to Belgium and the approaching holidays/travel, I was in some sort of "need to control" overload. Instead of just letting God lead us and following, I was stressing out about this or that and trying to take the reigns. I was stressed. Looking back, I really feel like God allowed this to happen right when it did to take away the control that I had in my life. My ability to drive places and do things on my own, my ability to remember and process things on my own, making plans on my own...these things were all taken from me in that moment. I had to rely very heavily on others and, most importantly, on God. I couldn't remember things, I couldn't go places, I couldn't make plans. It was very difficult to try to get things ready for our move to Belgium because I simply couldn't remember what I had already done and what needed to be done. I had moments of complete frustration because I couldn't do these things, but during those times, I was also drawn to God. Even though those months between my seizures and our move were very stressful and trying, we don't for a second question our decision to move to Gent. God has blessed us and provided for us so much, both before we moved and now, that we can't deny His presence in all of this. I still struggle with my need for control and wanting to know why this happened, but I am thankful for the growth that I have experienced in the last six months. I'm not sure I would have chosen the seizures the teach me this lesson, but God has such a wonderful plan and we are so thankful for his protection and guidance. Praise God for six months seizure free!!!

Grocery Shopping!

It may seem absurd to dedicate an entire post to grocery shopping. However, this has probably been one of the most stressful things for me since we have been here.  It's something that can't be ignored and I had to figure out how to be successful at it pretty quickly. This was one of my "jobs" in South Carolina. I had a system and a plan for meals, snacks, etc. during the week. It was a pretty well oiled machine. For probably the first three weeks here, every trip to the store resulted in tears, frustration, and the same five or ten ingredients (milk, bread, cereal, peanut butter, jelly, cheese, eggs, and tomato soup). That doesn't make for very nutritious meals or much variety.

We ate a lot of randomness during that time. I should not complain at all because we did have food to eat. We were not hungry during any of that time. But it was certainly not what we are used to. So why was it so stressful? Well, if you have ever been to the store with children, you know that trips to the store already have the potential to be stressful without adding anything else. Add in completely different products, a completely different language, no carts, and a huge double stroller and you have a recipe for stress! Oh, and I haven't even commented on the fact that you have to bring your own bags or pay for some at the store (while people are staring at you wondering where your bags are), and you have to bag your own groceries...STRESS! Thankfully, I have found that almost everyone here speaks English (at least a little) and no one has refused to help me when I have needed it.  Side note: I have only met one person who did not know any English and would not help me.

Anyway, let me comment on some things that are different about grocery stores and food products here. 

Milk: Most people buy milk that has been ultra, ultra pasteurized and sits out in the middle of the store...meaning, not in the refrigerated section. I know most people do drink that milk here, but it FREAKS ME OUT!! So far, I have not been able to jump on that train. Thankfully, they do have the option to buy milk in the refrigerated section, so that's what I do! The milk comes in small containers (1 liter), so we usually buy 4 of those a week.

Eggs: Also sit in the middle of the store...not refrigerated. Again, obviously it is fine, but again, it freaks me out. Also, sometimes the egg shells have feathers or remnants of poo on them. 

Bread: Bread is very different here. It doesn't seem to me that people buy regular loaves of bread from a store. They have a small selection of bread like you would see in America, but I don't ever see the locals buying that bread. More often, I see people buying bread in the local bakeries, or bakery like bread in groceries stores that they then cut up on their own. Not a bad thing, just different. I do a combination of both.  

Peanut Butter: Pretty much non-exsistent! If you can find it, it comes in these tiny little jars that last our family maybe a week! If you know me well, you know that I like to eat peanut butter by the spoonful, so we have gone through many jars since we have been here.

Trash bags: Trash, for the most part, is a government controlled thing. They have specific bags for specific trash items and the government controls how much the bags are. No matter where you go, they are the same price. In many stores, you can't just pick them up on a shelf in the store. You have to go to the service counter to request and pay for the bags. Again, not bad, just strange! 

Cheese: There is not much cheese here that I used to eat on a regular basis. I have learned to like gouda, which is readily available almost everywhere, but I am still searching for a go-to cheese like cheddar to keep in the fridge. 

Fruit and vegetables: Fruit and vegetables here are awesome! They taste so good, and since I'm so close to the store, I go several times a week to get them meaning they are always very fresh! While I do get some produce at the grocery store, I do more of my produce shopping at the local fruit and vegetable stands or markets. I have been pleasantly surprised at how much more fresh fruits and veggies we have been consuming since being here. Good and good for you! :)

Meat: Well, I now know what the words for chicken (kip) and beef (rundvlees) are in dutch. It has taken a while, but I can find my way around a meat section. 100% ground beef is hard to find...they like to mix beef and pork together, but I recently found a butcher close to our house where I can confidently purchase the exact meat I am looking for! I'm sure we've accidentally eaten some weird meat since we've been here (not muskrat or otters, just meat that we don't normally eat...not super adventurous with meat in our home). 

After the third week or so, things started to calm down as we were feeling more settled in the loft, so I was able to be more meticulous about shopping...making meal and shopping lists, having a route, spending a bit more time at the store, etc. By that time, I was also learning what I could and could not realistically expect to get at the store. I had to come to terms with the fact that I am not going to find all my beloved mexican food ingredients in the store no matter how hard I look! :) So I was able to start making healthy and nutritious meal plans with the knowledge that I would actually be able to follow through with them! As a side note, there are at least two grocery stores within walking distance (three minutes) of our loft. Neither of them really have carts and they are pretty small. This is a problem with my two little ones. What I now do is walk to the store with the double stroller, then when we get to the store, I push the stroller, and Cameron walks behind me pulling a little shopping basket. Sometimes he's a little rambunctious, but for the most part, he is very helpful. He pulls the groceries and then puts them on the conveyer belt while I bag the scanned groceries. We then stack them on the stroller and walk back to the loft. It's a good little partnership!        

So over the past two months, I have refined my grocery shopping and now visit the grocery store, bakery, butcher, and fruit and vegetable markets several times a week. I know it seems strange coming from America where we like to knock everything out in one trip, but I have found this to be the best way to get the best ingredients. I am thankful for all the options and for the ability to walk to all these places. 

One other nice surprise I discovered was the existence of a store called The American Food Store in Antwerp. Antwerp is about 40 minutes north east of Gent, so it's not too far! We decided to make a trip there not too long ago to see what was there. It's a little hole in the wall store, but we were very excited to be there. I know we haven't been gone that long, but it was soooo nice to walk in and know what everything in the store was!! It is mostly packaged, processed junk food, but it's nice to know that if we need a taste of home, we can get it there. The only downside to the store is that the prices are outrageous. (I think we paid $8.00 for a box of Oreos...don't judge us, we really needed some Oreos! :) We also got quite a few cans of black beans (a staple for me back home), chips and salsa, enchilada sauce, and some crackers. We ate almost a whole bag of chips and salsa on the 40 minute drive home!

So here is a rundown of my favorite (so far) places to shop around Gent:

Grocery store: There are several where I shop, but Delhaize is my favorite. I walk to this city Delhaize weekly, but there is another larger branch that I occasionally drive to when I need something more specific. 

Bakery: There are MANY bakeries that I visit, but the locals told me that Himschoot Bakery is the best. It definitely did not disappoint! This is one of the oldest bakeries in Gent and you can definitely tell they know what they are doing. It's always busy and yummy. It's not the closest bakery to our apartment, but it's worth the walk!

Butcher: I first visited Slagerij Aula on the recommendation of a neighbor. I haven't really investigated butchers other than this one, but I am very happy with it so far. There is a ton of variety and, in addition, there is a nice selection of cheeses, produce, bread, pastas, snacks, etc. There is also a nice little restaurant in the middle. 

                                                   Market: Again, I haven't investigated too many other markets because I found this little organic market that I walk to every Friday. I get all kinds of fresh, wonderful fruits and vegetables there. I also usually stop at another fruit and vegetable stand to fill in what I can't find at the organic market.

I am starting to feel more confident going out and about and just exploring to see what is out there to enjoy. I am very thankful that this area is starting to come together. My trips are not always smooth, but they are getting better each time. I hope to continue adding places to find yummy food! 

Looking back...Our First Day in Belgium

I
I'm sure we looked a little strange, standing there on the sidewalk with a mountain of luggage.  Thankfully, we were able to snag a luggage cart and move the mountain into the lobby, check in, and finally make it up to our temporary apartment.  We had heard that the best way to beat the jet lag is to force yourself to be on the schedule of wherever you are. Whoever came up with that idea did not have small children. That result of that strategy is likely one less family member by the end of the day. Needless to say, we all crashed and slept for several hours to try to catch up on some of the lost sleep. After three hours, we made ourselves get up, cleaned up a little, and then walked over to meet our relocation agent (Dina) at the loft where we would be living. It was very exciting and nerve racking to see the loft. We already signed the rental papers, so we were hoping we would like it and that it would suit our family.



We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived! We thought the loft was beautiful and very spacious for our extremely rambunctious children. Once again, we felt very blessed to have found such a beautiful loft without having even seen it. The loft was partially furnished and the landlady agreed to leave the items until our things arrived, another blessing.  We spent some time looking around the loft and let the boys explore before we went to the City Center to walk through a grocery store and get something to eat.

Zuid City Center 

The City Center refers to a building (not the middle of the city) which has a mall (very small compared to what we're used to), and a grocery store inside. Thank goodness Dina came with us because everything was SO overwhelming. On top of being tired, we didn't know exactly how to communicate with people, or what to buy at the grocery store. Dina took us to the sandwich shop in the mall and helped us order some food. After we ate, we went to the grocery store so she could show us around. As I was walking in the door to the store, a lady came behind me and pushed me out of the way! I started crying...not sure why except that I was so overwhelmed and, at that moment, I felt like I would never feel comfortable or confident in our new home. I felt like we stood out like a

Match Grocery Store

sore thumb and everyone was looking at us. Dina walked through the store with us and showed us some staples that we would probably need like milk, bread, etc. and explained the way grocery stores work. I know that sounds silly, but it's different here! I'll post more on food and grocery stores at another time. We didn't buy anything, but it was helpful to walk through with someone who knew what was going on. I should mention that the shopping center is about a 3 minute walk from our loft!

After our trip to the City Center, we went back to the Aparthotel to let the boys rest. We also ate dinner at the hotel. We had made plans prior to leaving for Belgium to meet another American expat with the company and his wife to walk through the grocery store. They thought it would be helpful to have some help to get a few things to get us through a couple days. They were right. Even though we were all exhausted, it was good to once again walk through the store. So, back to Match we went. Cole's co-worker, Adam, and his wife, Annelies walked through the store with me while Cole entertained the boys. Adam, an American, and Annelies, a Belgian, gave me tips from different perspectives. Adam was able to show me what was very different from what I was used to, and Annelies was able to give me recommendations about what specific brands were good to buy. In the end, I think I purchased bread, milk, cereal, turkey, cheese, baby food, and some fruit...enough to get us by in our temporary apartment for a few days.  By the end of that trip, my head was ready to explode! We parted ways with Adam and Annelies, grateful for their kindness, went back to the Aparthotel and crashed!

It's difficult to describe how I was feeling at the end of the first day. Before we left for Gent, I went back and forth between calm, cool, and collected, and completely freaked out. I was hardly ever anywhere in between. I think that's the best way to describe how I felt during our first day. Our emotions were all over the place during the day, but when we finally laid down that first night, Cole and I both felt like things were good and that we would be fine. God was and is in Belgium. He had brought us safely to our new home. He allowed us to be uncomfortable, perhaps as a way to point us back to the constant grace He had been and continues to pour out on us.

Decisions, Decisions! Before the Big Move.

It has been a whirlwind of activity since we moved to Belgium. From trying to find our way around, to cleaning and furnishing our apartment, to grocery shopping, to meeting new people, it has definitely been a unique experience! I am thankful that things are starting to calm down and we are beginning to get into a bit of a routine. I wanted to write down what these last 4 months have been like so I can look back and remember how crazy they were and how good God has been to us through this entire process so far.

Let me start back in November - when we were trying to decide whether or not to take this opportunity. Cole's company had offered him an expat contract in Gent, Belgium. The package was designed as a 3-5 year assignment. Cole and I were not on the same page for quite a while. Cole, being the adventurous one that he is, thought that this would be an amazing opportunity with lots of fun and adventure. He also thought it would be a good challenge and a chance for growth within the company. I was never completely against moving, but I took a more realistic and cautious approach to thinking through the opportunity. I thought it could be fun, but we have two small children, I was going through some medical issues, and we had finally found a wonderful church family home and had started getting involved with music and an amazing small group.

It was confusing to my small mind as to why God would lead us to such a wonderful place in our lives only to ask us to move on. After a lot of discussion and prayer, we decided together that we would move forward with the opportunity. As long as doors continued to open, we would continue to walk through them and follow where we felt like God was leading us. As you can see, the doors did in fact continue to open because we are now in Belgium! Once we decided to accept the opportunity, we had to move fast as the potential leave date was sometime in the beginning of 2013. That only gave us a few months to go Gent to find housing, as well as pack, sell our house, and enjoy the holidays. Oh, and we also had to take care of the kiddos! :)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

 

In December, just before Christmas, Cole, the boys, 

my sister (our wonderful nanny for the trip) and I went to visit Gent. I don't remember a lot from the trip, partly because it was a fast trip packed with a lot of business, and partly because the seizures affect on my short term memory. What I do remember of the trip was positive. With the old buildings and architecture and decorations for Christmas, it was beautiful. It also seemed like a safe, friendly place. Cameron loved seeing all the trains and buses. We even took a tram ride around the city so he could have that experience. Oh, and the food was amazing!! This was important to me because Cole and I lived in England for a short time and the food was terrible! Those of you who know me well know that I like to eat...a lot! Anyway, back to the trip. We met with a potential school for the boys (they start school at 3 here) and found an apartment that we liked. We interviewed with the landlady, but she ended up choosing other tenants who promised to stay for 9 years! I can't say that I blame her. Unfortunately, we did not find this out until we had already left Belgium, so we had to find another apartment without actually seeing it! Yikes! We left there and headed to Florida for Christmas vacation with my family and tried to relax.

Quick side note from Cole: although we had done some traveling with the boys previously, Harrison had never been on a plane before and Cameron can't sit still for 10 minutes, soooooo you can imagine we were a little nervous about traveling for 20 straight hours, through multiple time zones and living out of a hotel.  Add 6 days of constantly going from one thing to the next, to getting on a plane and traveling for 24 hours straight before checking into another hotel (albeit one in Florida) and you very likely will do this to one of your children:

All things considered, the boys handled traveling better than we did.  Harrison was lucky enough to even get his own personal bassinet on the flight to Brussels. (side note over)






It was so nice to be with my entire family for last time in what will probably be a long time. I did some research to find another apartment that would work for us and ended up finding one online. We asked our relocation agent to check it out for us and take some pictures. She went to see it and told us that it was nicest apartment she had seen for us. We told her we wanted the apartment and to move forward as soon as possible to secure it for us. She was able to get it and sign all the paperwork before anyone else could come in and get it. So, we then had one major task to check off the list! That was a big relief!

Once we were back in South Carolina, we immediately got to work planning and preparing, sorting, packing, and throwing out, donating, and selling things we would not be taking. This process was especially tedious because we had to inventory every single item in our house and then find a replacement value in case anything happened during the move or in storage. I think it's safe to say this was a trying time for Cole and me. There were a lot of late nights and panic attacks (mostly by me...ok, all by me) during this process. We also connected with the relocation company who would assist with the moving and storage of our things as well as the sale of our house. We decided to wait to try to sell our house until closer to our leave date, so we focused on the packing. The movers came for the first round of packing on January 28th and 29th, taking the majority of our items for sea shipment and storage. This included all of our beds and furniture, as well as most of our clothes, toys for the boys, and kitchen items. Thankfully, our incredible small group helped us out by offering beds, toys, kitchen utensils, etc. so that we wouldn't be completely helpless in our house. What a gift each and every one of our small group members are to us!!  We sent our sea freight early so that it could arrive in Belgium closer to when we would arrive, but waited to send our essentials until closer to our leave date which was scheduled for February 18th. The movers then came on February 12th to get the rest of our things except for what we would take in our suitcases...it was really bare bones in our house after that!

Our stress level really went down after our air shipment was packed and taken away. We could look forward to spending time with family and enjoying our going away party thrown by our small group. My parents came Wednesday and Cole's came Friday. Everyone was a big help getting the house ready to put on the market and helping with last minute errands, etc. On Friday, we had a Belgian themed going away party with waffles, cheese and chocolates! It was such a wonderful time to spend with our great friends and family before leaving. I wish I had pictures from the party, but sadly, I did not remember to bring a camera. Believe me when I say that it was a good time! We woke up Saturday morning to find Cameron covered from head to toe in red spots that looked a lot like chicken pox.

We were shocked and didn't know what to do. Our plan was to leave on Monday, but we didn't think a plane full of people would like to be exposed to chicken pox! We took him to the doctor to see what was going on and found out that he was having an allergic reaction to some medicine he was taking for an ear infection. We felt like we could handle that, so we moved forward with plans to leave on Monday. Sunday, the day before we left, we had the honor of having Harrison dedicated at church. I know the people we've connected with in South Carolina have been and will continue to pray for us and our children while we are gone, so I was very happy to be able to take part in this before we left.

We woke up Monday morning ready for the last few tasks before heading to Charlotte to board our plane to Belgium. The last thing that happened before we pulled out of the driveway was the "For Sale" sign was placed in our yard. It was a very bittersweet feeling for me. I loved our little house. It was the first house we ever owned and the place where I brought both my babies home. But, we were called to move on, so move on we will!