Photos as promised!   Two Huge Trucks...
 
One little pile of belongings.....

Three men to move it all...they look a little scary but they were super...

They even lined our entry with cardboard to protect it...

Guest room before...

Guest room after...

Living room before...

Living room after... it is fuller now after we added things from the storage space...

Homeland security opened the container, looked in three boxes, put some green tape on them and a new seal on the container and charged us $1300 for the priviledge.  

Now all our things are at our house and we have our work cut out for us to unpack and organize it all. I have done loads already because I dislike chaos... we are as poor as church mice but God has provided my husband a part time job as associate pastor at our home church and we trust He will continue to provide for our needs.....

Just a brief report...not on our computer so can not put up photos yet....all our things arrived...such a little pile for such a huge cost!!! So far as well can tell nothing is missing. Since we packed it a year ago and the other boxes from the storage space were packed four years ago and since I totally released all those things to the Lord...I don't remember most of it... that makes it fun....the phrase of the weekend was.."Oh. remember this?"
Photos coming soon!

I really enjoy gardening after living in an apartment for three years. Since the garden was neglected for four years, it is taking alot of work to knock it into shape. I do a little at a time. Wish I had taken more "before"photos to see the progress but here is one set of the front walk "before" and "now"... "after" will have to wait until the summer when we get it planted..I am thinking roses and lavender..that is one lonely little climbing rose we rescued and planted there so far....have to build a trellis for it..

There is so much going on...where to start....I had an emotional weekend from which I have not yet recovered. First..DH is being considered for a part time position and there has to be a vote...long process, many things to read and papers to fill out and some interviews...so waiting to hear about that.... our container just arrived from Bulgaria and the very worst cast scenario...the one I specifically prayed would not happen did..(admittedly, the worst case would have been if the boat sunk)customs decided to inspect the thing and charged us another $1300. for the privilege.....stinks....anyway I will have all my belongings in one place this weekend which is novel....then we went to a surprise 60th birthday party for a friend and I can not even explain how emotional it was due to several strange conversations we had there with people we had not seen for a very long time..... added to all that I had another chapter of my very long design project due today...and it is my mother's birthday so I spent most of it with her...a delight since I have not got to do that in many years.....but the project was weighing in all the while....I just keep pressing on with it even when I wonder why I am even bothering.....hopefully and prayerfully I will feel lots more settled once things are here and unpacked and I will feel free by Christmas because either the project will be completed or I will give up!!!!
Meanwhile...here is a photo from our graduation party in Germany with our red shirts. I like to wear mine when I am working on the project cause it gets me in the mind set...also the lady who is my grader for the project...an excellent teacher and also shares my name.

Batty Update: Sunday....So we went out and bought some wood and screen and waited until after 7PM when the bats usually went out for dinner and went up...so far, so good...until DH began tearing away old screen and patches and realized they were not all out and those who were left were very small and sleepy.....we worried for awhile that they were babies but eventually they did rouse themselves and flew out and he was able to tear out the old and put up a new screen. Maybe next summer we will put up a batbox for them.

It seems we live in a wildlife kingdom at the edge of town. It has been interesting experiencing it all in the six weeks we have been back here. We have been working outside a bunch because nothing has been touched for four years and it needs help. There are birds of all sorts, deer who regularly pass by, a groundhog who has taken up residence, a large red fox, squirrels galore, snakes, toads and myriads of insects.....we have heard (and smelled) that there is a skunk in the vicinity and some racoons but we have not seen these yet. While we were in our attic (loft?) investigating boxes and small furniture we put up there four years ago and forgot about, we suddenly noticed these critters.
 
I asked my husband if I was seeing what I thought I was seeing because from where we were they looked like tiny blobs. Yes, they are bats and there were nine of them and they had not been resident long because we were up there less than a week ago and they were not there!

Aren't they too funny? We did not want them moving about the attic but they are useful for eating all the numerous mosquitoes and other insects around the place so we formulated a plan for how to get rid of them without hurting them. We waited till dusk and until we saw them flying around outside. We went up to the loft to inspect and discovered the screen around the vents was torn.We had a window screen and a few nails and some tape so we put it over the old screen as a stop gap measure. Next morning we had a look and they were back!!!! But only five of them. We crept as close as we dared and realized they were in between the screens. We decided that was OK for now. That evening we stood watch one on the inside and one on the outside because we were so curious to see how they woke up and went out. Sure enough about seven pm they began to stir and slipped between the slats of the vent and went out flying. They were really fast. We don't have telly or internet at our house so entertainment is scarce but this was so interesting. For some reason I just wasn't scared or grossed out by them. God's creatures are so many, so varied and so fascinating! What an imaginative mind God has!

A butterfly took a liking to my bright blue sandals.......

Arrived home to find a huge oak tree fallen on our driveway...

An early morning visitor...

Hope you all have a good week...

  It's Friday, it's sunny, God loves me, my husband loves me, I don't have much furniture but I am not homeless...it is all good...... Hope that you all have a great weekend! Here are two photos my friend Betsy took for me in Germany. One is a sign I missed last year...one is our favorite green house....

For some reason I could not get this to upload on Friday so here it is.....
 

I see that before Sunday I had not updated since June! Our summers are usually busy and this one was no different. I thought it a good idea to publish a pictorial update on the whole summer and then I can go back and fill in the blanks a little. God has been working in our lives as usual. He has brought about some big changes for us as you will see.
First...back in June we took a little vacation on the way to our son's graduation...We went to Spain for a few days...it was lovely and warm and interesting...downside was that I picked up a bug of some sort during this time and I am still feeling the effects...after many nasty tests and treatments..no diagnosis...
 

While we were so close we visited Gibraltar for a day. We could see Africa across the Mediterranean and it was just about killing my husband that we didn't also go there! It was possible to get a ferry over but I was not feeling well enough to chance it.

Next we flew up to Zurich and drove to Germany to see our son graduate from Black Forest Academy. It was a very special time for all of us.

 On the way home we stopped over in Iceland for an interesting three day adventure. It was cooler there as you can see by my lovely Icelandic wool sweater.I loved the wild blue lupins scattered everywhere in the bleak landscape.

During the flight home Greg was invited to go into the cockpit to take a few photos of Greenland.

Not long after we arrived back in the USA our church had a baptismal service and our son was baptized. It was very special and we had a family party afterward. I gave him a challenge and his father performed the baptism.

July 3 I left for Germany where I completed the last two classes towards my masters degree in International Education. There were eight of us who completed the courses and all of us are working on our final projects now.

On the weekend inbetween classes we visited Strasborg, France.

Only a few days after returning to the USA we drove to Indiana to our nephews wedding. It was lovely driving through the heartland of the USA.

The newlyweds...Maggie and Nate....

The first of August we began redecorating, repairing and moving back into our house. By then we knew we would not be returning to Bulgaria and our renters had moved out. This photo is from Autumn 2003.

Towards the end of August, we deposited our youngest at university. Here is the bookstore where we spent a small fortune on books.

That pretty much brings you up to date. We don't know what the future holds so we walk by faith. I am working hard to finish my final project by November. We have a lot of redecorating to do and no one has touched the garden in four years. We both need paid employment and medical insurance. So the story continues......... Meanwhile I am glad to be back on xanga!

Miracles come in all shapes and sizes. Today I witnessed one. It is a beautiful sunny early autumn day and our church had a baptism service outside. Several people were baptized and each had a unique and wonderful story to tell. The last to share his story was a man in his 50's who has been plagued with fear,  meaninglessness and alcohol addiction for most of his adult life. A few short months ago that all changed for him when he met Jesus face to face. His chains fell off that day...his heart is free...he has no fear...he knows he has a purpose for being on this earth... he is a new creature.... it is a beautiful thing to witness......and all during this touching event a butterfly was flying round and round....a symbol of new life....a miracle.....................

I arrived in Kandern Friday morning after an overnight flight out of Philly. I start classes tomorrow so while you are all enjoying your July Fourth barbecues and such....I will be sitting in a classroom having my brain strained...LOL Have fun! See you in two weeks!