Our "new" home...

We are moving this weekend.  I have mixed emotions...I am happy to be freeing ourselves from the landlord situation we have going on at our current house, and we are blessed to have found a house that suits our needs AND keeps A in the same school zone.  But we are finally feeling settled in THIS house, and to pack up and move somewhere different is always a challenge.

I still feel it was the right decision, even while we are in the trenches of moving our entire household!  I am anxious to get settled in our "new" house, and make it feel like home.  So, I may be absent from the blog for a while...we won't have internet for a couple of weeks at the new house...and I'll be working frantically to get everything situated.  In the meantime, I will leave you with a pic of where we are moving to...with a promise of more to come once we are moved in!

We are still here...just busy!

I got on the laptop today that has the blog as the homepage...and noticed I haven't posted since Jan. 1st!!  OOPS!!  It's just been a busy time, and we haven't been on any trips lately, so I just get bogged down in "normal" life and forget to update the blog...sorry...will try to do better!

Update on us...January has been pretty busy, but pretty uneventful.  We survived R's first TDY back to the States, leaving us here alone in Germany for a week.  No major issues while he was gone, so that was great!

We have been househunting, and found a new home to move into.  We continue to have issues with our current landlord.  We move to our "new" home in February...so we have a lot of work in our future.  But I think it will be a better home for us, and definitely a better landlord situation.

The girls got semester report cards this week, and they both have all A's & B's.  Yay girls!

Little R continues to attend German kindergarten, and continues to refuse to speak any German!! : )

And that's about it..."normal" life for us!  But I will leave you with one little tidbit of how my day went today....

Germans like "see thru" stairs in their homes.  In ALL their homes!  I despise the "see thru" stairs for a number of reasons:  the cat fell through them her first day here (still have no idea how she wasn't injured); fear that 4-yr old boy will fall through them at least 20 times a day; dirt and dust collects underneath the stairs in the basement, because it all falls through from the upper floors; and there are others, but that is all I can think of right now.  But today an event occurred that caused me to despise the see-thru stairs EVEN MORE!!

Imagine an active 4-yr old boy, who is always busy.  Usually too busy to go to the bathroom until the VERY last second!  Imagine this 4-yr old boy, pulling down his pants & underwear to his ankles and running for the 1st floor bathroom.  Now imagine that 14-yr old sister is in that bathroom with door locked!  4-yr old boy then realizes his only hope is to get to the 2nd floor bathroom in like 10 SECONDS!!  Imagine 4-yr old boy walking upstairs (with his pants & underwear still at his ankles, hindering his progress).  About halfway up the stairs to the 2nd floor...TOO LATE...peeing EVERYWHERE!!  Imagine this would be bad enough if it was normal stairs...it would be puddling and running down the stairs.  But NO...in the world of "see thru" stairs it is puddling...then running down between the stairs to next stairway below, all the way down to the basement.  As the pee runs through the stairs, it is hitting the basement floor with such force (remember it is coming from almost the 2nd floor) that it is splattering everywhere downstairs!!  Have I mentioned we use the space under the stairs for storage???  PEE  EVERYWHERE...on the stairs, running through the stairs, and hitting the basement floor and splattering ALL OVER everything!!!!  Ummm....yeah....that was fun to clean up...

And there you have it...you are updated!  : )  Never a dull moment in the Willis household! : )

Little R's got moves!

We went bowling for A's birthday. It was our first time EVER bowling as a family! We weren't sure how little R would like it, but he LOVED it! He loved the bowling, he loved looking at the scoreboard, and he LOVED the music! Several times he just started dancing...busting out moves we have never seen before! It was quite entertaining!!

I didn't get video of some of the best moves...but here is a small sample of his skills! Hope you enjoy them half as much we did!!

Happy Birthday A!!!!

I think everyone remembers what they were doing on Sept. 11, 2001.  It is a day we will probably never forget.  After watching the news all morning, hearing and seeing terrible things, we went to a doctor's appointment, and learned that we were expecting a baby GIRL in just a few months.  Seeing that baby on the ultrasound screen gave us hope and determination.  We weren't sure what kind of world she was going to be born into, but we knew we were going to do our best to love and protect her!

Three months later, A was born after only 3 hours of (virtually painless) labor and delivery.  She weighed a whopping 9 lbs 5 oz!!  She came out screaming, and didn't stop!!  There was no doubt her lungs were great!!

We took this big 'ol baby home, thinking we were experienced parents.  After a few days we were frazzled, wondering what in the world we were doing!  She was fussy ALL the time!!  She wouldn't go to anyone but me!  And she had a 4-yr old big sister who had been so excited to have a baby sister...and she was sorely disappointed!!  We had several diagnoses...colic, reflux, milk allergy...but overall we just had one unhappy baby! 

As the months went on, we figured her out a bit more.  She loved structure and routine.  She thrived with a schedule.  She still only wanted Mommy most of the time, but she was happy when I was around.  She still stayed sick a lot, and we still didn't know why...

She LOVED her big sister!!  I had a hard time finding pictures of A alone...she always had T in the picture with her!!

She is our fashion diva!  She LOVES to dress up!  Most of the pictures I found of her, she was playing in "dress up" clothes, or in perfectly accessorized outfits!





OH, those curls!!  When they first started showing up, we were intrigued!  As her hair got curlier and curlier, they became a challenge!!  But I wouldn't change them...she's just not A without her curls!!

A was the baby of our family for almost 6 years!  But when baby R came along, she stepped up into her role as big sister in a BIG way!  She never showed any jealousy toward him, and just loved him from the first time she saw him! 

A has always been a "princess".  It started out with dress up clothes, a love of Disney princesses, and has evolved into a love of all things girly!!  (Much to the dismay of her "not so girly" big sister).

A tried several sports through the years, and enjoyed most of them.  But when she started cheer and dance, she found her true talent!!  She just glows when she puts that uniform on!!  She can learn a dance routine in no time!!  And she is willing to work hard to get it right!! She is great at it, and loves doing it!

She has been our little high-maintenace diva from day one!  Fast forward 10 years...and while she has changed a lot, she is still very much the same!!

She still loves structure and routine.  She wants to know what to expect in her life. 

She loves music, and reading, and dancing!!

She is NOT shy!  She can go in a room of strangers, and come out with a new friend in no time!  She willingly went into the little cafe here in our town ALONE and ordered pizza...in GERMAN!!

She loves keeping her things organized and neat.  (I LOVE this trait in her!)

She loves to go shopping!!  (I LOVE this trait, also!)

She is a perfectionist in pretty much everything she does.  If she is going to do something, she wants to be able to do it right.

She is very good with her little brother.  I think she will definitely be a Mommy someday...she has a love for kids that we see everyday in her interaction with little R.

Mommy is still probably number one on her "favorite people" list!

She is still a vegetarian.  Doctors told me repeatedly from about the age of 2 on that she would grow out of it...ummm...nope, never grew out of it! : )

She is all DRAMA!!  If she is happy, she is REALLY happy!  If she is sad, she is REALLY sad!  If she is mad, she is REALLY mad...and this one can happen in a flash!  It doesn't take much!!

All in all, she is a very special dynamic in our family!  There is definitely no one on earth just like our A!  We are so grateful to have her in our family, and we can't wait to see the impact she makes in this world!


For her birthday A wanted a cake from the German bakery, and she wanted to spend the day at Sensapolis.  When we went to pick up the cake we had ordered from the German bakery, they didn't have it! (STRIKE 1)  We went to the commissary and picked up a last minute cake, then drove over to Sensapolis.  It was WAY crowded, so we decided to leave and come back another time.  (STRIKE 2)  We decided we would go bowling on post...drove over there and they were closed for another hour (STRIKE 3).  We decided to wait the hour, and finally we were able to go bowling and have pizza.  Then we went home and had birthday cake.  A likes things to be planned...but she rolled with it this time, and we had a great time celebrating her birthday!

Looke at that form! : )

The "last minute" birthday cake!

A reading her certificate stating that she could order the American Girl doll of her dreams!  She was SO excited!!

We had a great time celebrating your birthday, A!!  We love you, and we love watching you take on this big 'ol world!  We can't wait to see what your future holds...pretty sure you have some amazing things in store!!

Candy Cane Jane

We have been attending services at the Chapel on post.  They were having auditions for a Christmas play, and A auditioned...and got the LEAD!!  It took a lot of commitment...she worked very hard!  And she did great! She had several solos during the musical, and some lengthy lines...and she didn't miss a single one!  Good job, A!!

Our Candy Cane Jane!!

Decorating for Christmas

It was lots of fun dragging out Christmas decorations this year.  I have said before that our house here tends to feel modern and cold to me....but the Christmas decorations definitely gave it a "homey" feel!

Just like our Christmas tree, this is a collection of little items that the kids have either made for me, or given me as gifts over the years,or items we have picked up along the way.  One of the little angel figures still has a 50 cent price tag on it!  During the time it was out the last few weeks, both girls started to take the price tag off...I told them "NO, that's part of it's charm!"

We actually got several Christmas cards this year!  I wasn't sure we would get any...so I was very excited when they started arriving!  Receiving Christmas cards is one of my favorite parts of the Christmas season!!

Silly kids!

Attack of the little brother!!  No one in this house can have their picture taken alone!!  Not when he's around!!

Merry Christmas from the Willis Family!!

Wishing all of our friends and family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!  Whether you are near or far, please know you are in our thoughts this holiday season! 

Someone Sampled the Christmas Tree....

I walked downstairs the other day, and little R was standing in the living room spitting.  I asked him what he had in his mouth, and he said, "Ooohh...it's yucky."  I asked him again what was in his mouth, and he spit out something brown.  I asked him again what it was...he went to the Christmas tree, and took off an ornament that was hanging on the tree.  And this is what I saw.

We have had this ornament for YEARS!!  It's a gingerbread ornament that one of the girls got so long ago that I don't remember exactly where it came from.  It hasn't been broken in the many moves, and has hung proudly on our tree for years.  But this year...a curious little boy thought it looked enough like a cookie, that he needed to give it a taste.  He took one perfect bite from the corner...and he was sorely disappointed!  I wanted to be mad...but all I could do was laugh...and get him something to drink to wash that horrible taste out of his mouth!!  And I have to admit, I was even a little bit proud...we have been working on getting him to try new foods lately...and he did TRY it!!

Decorating the Tree

I LOVE decorating the Christmas tree!!  It is literally a walk down memory lane for us each time.  Some people have beautiful Christmas trees, all in one theme or color.  Ours is a hodgepodge of crafty ornaments made by the kids, ornaments for each of their first Christmases, some sent by friends, and even some that we have had since before R and I were even married!  I am thankful for each ornament...and the memories that go along with them!!

This year the kids did most of the ornament hanging themselves!  And they loved it!  I didn't do much, except some rearranging once they were all finished.  Their ornament placement wasn't quite perfect, especially little R...so I had to make a few adjustments! : )

And as usual, R put the angel on top of the tree!  That is his only job in the decoration of the tree.  And he was made for it...no stools required! : )  This year little R decided the angel needs a name, so he gave her the name Oatmeal...not sure why, but that's now her name!

Little R loved hanging the ornaments on the tree...it took lots of concentration!

The girls did a great job...and T can even reach all the high branches this year!

R putting the angel on the tree...she barely fits!  We live in a multi-level home now, so our downstairs ceilings are lower than we are used to!

Let the Baking Begin!!!!

For several years now, I have done some MAJOR Christmas baking.  I usually make goodie bags for all the people that Rai works with, and then to our friends.  Last year was my biggest year yet...I made TONS of goodie bags, full of TONS of different goodies!!  And I had an amazing kitchen to do it in!

Fast forward to this year...fewer people to bake for (because we don't know very many people), and a MUCH smaller kitchen to work in....and limited resources at the commissary!!  It definitely made the process more challenging, and for some reason nothing turned out quite as well...but after about 2 1/2 full days in the kitchen we ended up with lots of goodies! 

We even delivered goodie bags to our German neighbors.  It was very cute to see their reactions...they were shocked, amazed, and didn't know what to say to almost strangers bringing them a bag full of baked goods for Christmas!!  We did discover that a few of them speak VERY good English...so that is good to know!!  We know who to go to for translation help now!! : )

Christmas definitely feels different this year.  We are missing our families, missing our friends, missing "home", missing Chick-Fil-A (oops, did I put that in writing?). 

But one thing remains the same, and just as good as ever...we are celebrating the birth of our savior...whose birth changed our eternity...and we will be forever grateful for that...no matter what our circumstances happen to be!!