meine erste Woche !

Well, i've now been married for two whole weeks and officially living in Germany for one, so i'm pretty much a pro at this point. Ha. But seriously, I feel far more comfortable here than I expected. I am thankful to have spent plenty of time in Bingen with Simeon over the past couple of years and because of this, it does not feel like an unfamiliar place. We arrived last Saturday after an eventful day of travels from the Bahamas, including a short plane ride with a cuffed prisoner sitting directly behind me, not having security at the first airport, almost missing every flight, and no sleep. However, this did not deter us from getting the furniture we had been dreaming about the since March.. which I might add was much needed as I had a year's worth of clothing collected at our apartment with no where to store it. So, some of our sweet friends Miriam and Simeon were nice enough to pick us up at the airport with all of our luggage (at last minute's notice), journey with us through Ikea, and bring us (and our stuff) all the way home to Bingen. I have some darn sweet friends in America but I was shocked that Simeon & Miriam so eagerly offered up their entire Saturday. Our lifestyles are so fast paced at home that we often get caught up in "how does this benefit me?" rather than "how can I serve someone else?".

Since then we have mostly been organizing the apartment and hanging low. Other than purchasing a car within the first few days of being back :) This is such a blessing in so many ways. Simeon has been without a car his entire two years in Bingen and uses his bike as his only form of transportation. No biggie you may think.. however.. you have to consider the negative degrees, rain, snow, and vigorous wind that he endures to get to class and get groceries. Not carrying loads of weight in a backpack anymore and having the liberty to buy whatever fits in our car is going to be beyond lovely. PLUS it is automatic.. hallelujah!! This is such a relief since I will be learning the German road rules and acclimating to the area. I am so incredibly thankful for a husband who cherishes me and does not overlook my needs!

Our everyday life is fairly mundane with moments of glittery european fantasy- like our beautiful day today down by the Rhein on the luscious grass, with surrounding views of mountains covered in vineyards, castles, children's laughter, blue skys and puffy white clouds.  Contrarily, every other day has been overcast or rainy and I have spent my time cleaning, cooking, and going for walks. I would say I am overwhelming satisfied with the simple life right now and appreciate each little blessing to a much higher degree.  For example, eating a cheese danish for breakfast rather than cereal one morning, seeing a glimpse of blue sky, having a comfortable bike seat, watching a movie with Simeon after a long day of him studying, finding my favorite yogurt in the grocery store, and most of all -finally finding cheddar cheese!! I also still feel decently connected to home because of skype and facebook.. oh what a blessing and curse technology is. So, here is praying that I can be used in some small way this week and that everything could go half as smoothly as last week!