A Little Change in Plans...

We didn't go back to Germany...

Here's a short explanation for those who think I write too much. :D. For those who have questions, I've given a long explanation, and hopefully I've answered them all. I've gotten a lot of emails asking what's happening so I hope you don't mind that I'm answering you all via this blog post. :D

SHORT EXPLANATION: My brother and sister are both getting married within a 6 week time-frame. And jetlag 3 times instead of 1 really bites the big one!

LONG EXPLANATION: ***Warning, lots of writing...***

1. Who's getting married?

Sam is getting married this weekend, which I was going to miss it. I was also helping to plan a lot of it and it was starting to get really exciting. Plus, we wouldn't be in any of the family pictures.

On New Year's, my younger sister Heather got engaged to her return missionary. While trying to work around a bunch of different date conflicts, they decided to get married February 27. This meant that I would be flying back to Germany, getting through jetlag with all the kids, then pretty much turning around a couple weeks later and doing it all over again 2 more times.

For those of you who know my health issues, sleep is a huge issue, if not a major part of what makes me somewhat functional. Thinking about doing the jetlag that many more times gave me such huge anxiety.

2. What's happening with taking the dog over to Germany?

We found that trying to get paperwork settled for the dog within the short timeframe we had was not going to happen. The girls were heartbroken when we told them it might not happen. Ya...I could have forced the issue to sell the dog or make them deal with waiting til February to have it come home with us...but if it was an option to possibly stay, why make them any sadder than they need to be and we would just add this to the list of reasons why I should stay.

3. What about the girls' schooling?

We've gone back and forth about what to do about school. I'm working with the Germany school to see if we can keep them enrolled there and just take part in their independent study program, which is more for highschoolers, but they might let us be a part of it too. There was an option to do public school, and I had amazing friends who worked in the front office helping to make it happen. But we think it's best for them to keep up with their current classes, just from a distance.

And being on independent study, they can now go back up to Utah to visit their dad for a few more weeks. If we would have gone back to Germany, then turned around to come in February, there wouldn't have been enough time for them to travel up there, so they wouldn't have seen him til summertime.

Let's see...what else?

4. Where are you staying?

For now, we're staying at my parent's house off and on. They have a quasi-motorhome that we have all our stuff in and the girls sleep I'll try and make the rounds visiting friends in different states that I haven't really done the past few years. I'll maybe make a trip to Utah again, and maybe up to San Jose (hint hint Johanna).

I think that's it. Those are the main questions I get from everyone. Anything else? Let's party!