Surprises...they keep coming

It seems like just yesterday that I wrote this phrase on my first blog post ever - "Alex got the call!"

The call, just over two years ago, began an incredible journey of ours in lovely Luxembourg.  Two years of traveling all over Europe, making friends from all over the world and doing life in a place we didn't know existed until we got "the call."

Last week it happened again - Alex got the call.  We'd been expecting a move back sometime this year with no idea of the timing or the location.  I thought we could even end up back in Nashville, which is still home to me, but God (and Caterpillar) had different plans.

This April, Alex and I will find ourself on the West Coast.  We'll still be a long way away from the South but at least we'll be on the same continent (and I won't have to worry about bad Skype connections :)  Our new adventure will begin in San Francisco.

My one and only memory of San Francisco took place several years ago with my dear friend, Mary.  We were single and twenty-something on a grand adventure.  Mary and I drove down the California Coast on Highway 1 from the Golden Gate Bridge down to San Diego, making lots of pitstops along the way.  The one and a half days in San Francisco completes my history there.  Alex has never been.

Because our Luxembourg visas expire on April 1, our transition is going to be fast!  The checklist of to-do's is enormous and overwhelming.  The San Francisco / Bay Area real estate market is the exact opposite of to our advantage with homes selling for OVER list price in the desireable areas.   I'll be 7 months pregnant when we arrive with no doctor to deliver this baby girl.  Let's hope she doesn't arrive early!  Since she's half Alex, I'd say early is very doubtful :)

The good news is that I do have a friend or two who will be nearby.  A high school friend, a few years older, who I always greatly admired was a part of a church plant with her husband in the very Bay Area neighborhood we're interested in living in.  Katie has already been a tremendous amount of help to me and most of all, given me the comfort that I will be known in a big, new and unfamiliar place.  For this, I am thankful!

With all the excitement of this relocation news, my heart hasn't had a chance to grieve what we're leaving behind in Luxembourg.  I've met friends here who are like sisters and will be in my life forever.  I can't fathom not seeing them regularly and watching their families grow.  This is the part they don't tell you when you agree to be an expat.  This is the 'bitter' in the bittersweet part of heading home.

The next few weeks will be full of ups and downs - the bitter and the sweet.  Soaking up friends who I will soon have to say goodbye to, checking off a massive to-do list, visiting special places in Luxembourg for what could be the last time.  The sweet will follow the bitter in this case.  There will be so much joy in hearing the words "welcome home" as we are cleared through customs when we land on US soil.  There will also be joy in starting another chapter of my live with the one I love, buying our first home together and becoming parents for the first time.  Life is full of sweet surprises...and they keep on coming.

Love from Luxembourg...
Melanie

Its a...

At just 16 weeks, our sweet doctor here in Luxembourg could already decipher the sex of our baby.  Technology these days is absolutely amazing.

Alex and I both knew that since I don't have the virtue of patience, I wouldn't be able to wait until our delivery to find out if I was going to have a son or daughter so that option was out.  I also didn't think that I wanted to find out - boy or girl - sitting in the doctor's chair with that cold gel on my growing stomach.  So...

Sarah to the rescue!

Sarah told me to get our doctor to write the sex of our baby on a piece of paper and to put it an envelope that I brought to the appointment.  Because of the cultural differences and potential language confusion, I didn't explain anything else to him beyond this one thing.  I figured I'd keep it simple and even write the French names for "boy" and "girl" on the card so all he had to do was circle the correct word - in his own language to avoid any mishap :)

Once I had the closed envelope in my possession, Sarah came and picked it up.  She baked a gorgeous cake for me and Alex, coloring the inside either pink or blue.  Here's the beautiful turquoise cake...

After dinner with Sarah and Chris on Friday night, Alex and I cut the cake...

And much to Alex's surprise, the inside was...

We're having a little girl :)

What a memory Sarah and Chris gave us.  We'll always remember "the night we cut the cake" and can tell our little girl all about it one day - complete with photos and a video.

Thank you, Sarah, for a perfect cake and a precious memory!

Love from Luxembourg...
Melanie

Thankful

With 2013 upon us, it seems like a good idea to join others around me in choosing a "Word for the Year."  I think mine will be thankful.  Along with that word of the year, my one little New Years Resolution is to stop complaining about the Luxembourg weather :)  Alex encouraged me in that decision as he got tired of hearing me say I was freezing every time we walked outside in the overcast, misty weather that we've been enjoying / enduring for about 6 months now.  The vitamin D jokes probably also got old.  There's gotta be a big industry for the sales of Vitamin D suppliments here with the absence of sun.  Just saying.

So, I'm actually enjoying my non-complaining self this crisp (snowy) Luxembourg Monday as I sit here writing another over-due post about some news that I'm overly thankful for.

And the news is...Alex and I are going to have a little one in June!

Yep, I couldn't be more excited.  It has been so much fun sharing the news with family and friends these last few weeks.  My favorite part of sharing the news has been seeing friends share genuine excitement for and with me...

Friends who long (and continue to wait) for a child of their own.  Their sincere excitement blesses me beyond words. 

Friends who are still single and long to be married. Their joy for our good news humbles me in such a deep way. 

The sweet words and squeels from all my friends and family has been so special to this first time mom-to-be.  Yet I must say the reactions of friends who are still waiting for their prayer to be answered has made a lasting impact on me.  It has amazed me and completely blessed my socks off. 

In the process of seeing a selfless happiness in others...for me...I can learn a lot about how to better love and how to be content.  It has also given a lot of meaning to my 2013 word of the year.

I have so much to be thankful for.

Love from Luxembourg...
Melanie

The most special visit

Alex and I have been fortunate to have so many family and friends visit us in Luxembourg this last year and a half. (I can't believe we will have been year 2 years in April!!)  We had wonderful, unique times with each and every person and made memories to last us our entire lives. 

The most special visit for me was from my sweet parents who left their comfort zone, applied for passports and embarked on their first International flight...all for me.  The news of their coming was just so exciting!

Because they only had 10 days in Europe, I wanted to make sure that we chose the absolute perfect city for the time they wouldn't spend in Luxembourg.  Since Rome is one of my favorite places in the world for reasons mom and dad would love also, we booked their flights from Atlanta directly to the magical city of Rome, Italy.

Rome ended up being the perfect choice for my parent's first glimpse of Europe. The warm people, delicious food and amazing history drew them in, as it does me each and every time I'm there. Mom and dad thrived and I loved watching them take everything in.

Though jet-lagged and running on no sleep, mom and dad powered through the Coliseum and Roman Forum the first day of their visit!

 

The Pantheon, which was just around the corner from our little apartment

 

And this photo with the "Pantheon Romans" was worth every bit of the 5 Euros these gentlemen made on us :)

 

This visit, Alex and I finally made it to the Mouth of Truth from the film, "Roman Holiday" (a must see!!)

 

After our Roman Holiday, Alex and I brought mom and dad back with us to Luxembourg for them to spend the remaining days of their stay.  We walked all over the city, through the Grund to Claussen and got some great photos along the way...

 

 

The Grund bridge

 

Our last little adventure, so that mom and dad could add another country to their list, was Trier, Germany.  Only 45 minutes from Luxembourg, Trier is a great day trip option for our guests.  There are ancient Roman ruins (Porta Nigra), beautiful churches and a charming, cobblestoned pedestrian zone full of shopping and sausages, of course...

 

The Porta Nigra (Trier's ancient "black gate" into the city)

 

After a busy and delightful 10 days, it was hard to see mom and dad go.  We'd seen a new part of the world together and spent an entire week in a half in each other's company.  It was just perfect.  I know I will remember that trip all my life - I think my parents will, as well.

 

Love from Luxembourg,

Melanie