The First Few Days

The first few days here have been a roller coaster ride! We feel like we go from the highs to the lows in just a few minutes sometimes. There are just so many things that are different than we're used to, of course. K and I both worried a lot about finding a place to live that would have everything on our "must have" list. We think we've already got that taken care of.....more on that another time. Just figuring all the logistics of life (ex: transferring money between American and Luxembourgish banks, finding food that's recognizable and restaurants that are open, etc.) has been a little more difficult than we imagined.

All that aside though, we're already having lots of fun! We already feel like we're coming closer together as a family because each other is all we've got. Plus, it's such a testimony builder to see how Heavenly Father is so involved in the small details of our lives, no matter where we are or what we need.

On our first day here we found " Pirate Ship Park". It's called that because it has an enormous ship as part of the playground. I have to laugh every time I see a park here because they are so different. Most of the equipment would be totally outlawed in the U.S. Here is Miss A on a tire swing.


All the swings are arranged in a circle so that the kids all swing towards each other into the center. I've seen a few come pretty close to taking each other out.



Here's the giant pirate ship- totally made of wood. I don't think there are many wooden playgrounds left in the U.S.



Check out this slide- it is seriously like three stories tall at least. And totally made of metal. The kids LOVE it! Mr. L flies out of the end so fast it scared me the first time. But he jumped up and flashed a big smile!







We all were kind of hungry the first couple days. We hadn't figured out how to eat yet- or even where to find the food. The kids were ecstatic when we stumbled upon McDonald's on Tuesday night. And I have to admit that K and I didn't exactly argue when they wanted to eat there.


Miss H is the pickiest eater we've had yet. She didn't eat much of anything the first two days. She loves peanut butter and pretty much survived on it before we left. Peanut butter is not so easy to find here (I did have a bunch shipped here in our sea shipment, but we won't get all that stuff for another week or two). Needless to say, she's discovered Nutella and thinks its a perfectly fine substitute.



While we were enjoying our McDonald's feast in an outside courtyard, there was this street performer that the kids were mesmerized by. He would hold really still, like a statue, then start making bird calls and moving around, startling everyone walking by.



After we finished eating, we went over to put some money in his cup and he plopped his hat on Miss A's head and pulled the kids in for a picture. Can you see the cigarette in his hand? I don't think clean air laws exist here either........



When we read the description of our hotel before we got here we were excited because it said there was an outdoor garden attached to one of the rooms. We were thrilled because the kids love being outside. Turns out the "garden" is in fact a bed of rocks surrounded by trees. I love how creative and adaptable kids are though because they've spent hours playing outside in that rock pile. They even have pet rocks now. We just keep telling ourself this is a temporary situation :)




Miss H is always on the phone these days because, to her, just about anything is a phone!


Miss A just being silly while playing outside. She's gotten used to the glasses and wears them like a champ! She asks for them every morning and puts them away every evening. No nagging or reminding!



There's not a day that goes by that this little boy's big brown eyes don't melt my heart. He's a handful right now, but he sure is cute!



Bottom line- despite the highs and lows so far, we already love being here! We know you would too! We found a house with plenty of space for visitors, so anyone who comes to visit can have free lodging for their European vacation! Who wants to be first???


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Location:Luxembourg, Luxembourg