Home Sweet (Unsettled) Home

Ah - we're home. Very unsettled, but it feel like home. It's a disaster zone here, but our disaster zone. Toys are all over the place, but they're our toys that we're stepping on. There is something so comforting about the familiar. For the last two months, we've been living in the unfamiliar. Not being able to understand signs, cooking instructions, Worthy's school work, riding trams (instead of driving), listening to voicemail messages in Deutsch, washing our clothes with instructions I don't understand, adapting to different customs of not wearing shoes inside, having a phobia of floors, and being "corrected" (in German) by not-so-well meaning old ladies on what to do with children.

In the midst of this transition, being home seems familiar and normal (notice the Hot Wheels cars in the corner...)

Some of the reasons we're SO thankful for our new apartment:

• The windows - we get tons of sunlight (when there is sunlight to be gotten...)
• Our first floor neighbor is a grocery store! Yes, we live above a grocery store! This is a HUGE deal because we generally go to the store every other day. Last night, fifteen minutes before dinner, I realized I had forgotten to get salad. I was able to quickly zip down and pick up some lettuce.
• Quiet (kind of). Our apartment building use to be an old factory building before they converted it into apartments. We have these super high ceilings and really think walls and floors. So we don't hear our neighbors - above, below or beside us. We can't hear the cars or sirens. The only thing we hear (when everyone is sleeping) is peace & quiet. It feels very un-city like. It's very much an oasis.
• Location, location, location! We're just around the corner from our teammates. We're most grateful for this. Our lives have been interwoven with theirs and I can't imagine being any further away than we are now. We're also very close to our church too!
• The elevator - it's large enough to get our stroller onto and the boys are always eager to "Press K" (Keller - our exit floor... cellar in English).
• Easy Access - We live just around the corner from our S-bahn (Tram) stop. This gives us quick access to anywhere in the city and equally makes our home easily accessible for others to visit.

We're so grateful & thankful to be home.