After a short night (WHAT was going on in the hall outside my hospital room?!), I found myself lying awake at 5am unable to get back to sleep. Having spent the past 36+ hours in the same hospital gown, I found myself longing for a shower. I knew it would be an ordeal, but I finally gave up trying to get back to sleep and made preparations...
1. Of course I still had to deal with my IV. I decided to take off my hospital gown as best as I could and loop it over the rack, so that I didn't have to thread the whole unit through the sleeve somehow; also, that would make it easier to put back on when I was done.
2. Italian showers are TINY! I barely could squeeze my preggo belly through the doors.
3. When I turned on the water, it shot EVERYWHERE! I twisted it a bit to get the odd random streams to stop shooting over the top of the shower walls, but then the shower stream itself was out of control--crazy hard pressure. By that point I was committed, though!
4. I discovered that Ted had managed to pack me two bottles of conditioner...and no shampoo.
5. The IV is in my right arm...which is a bit tender, of course, so being right-handed, getting through the whole process was harder.
6. When I finished, I discovered that not only was the floor right outside the shower door a giant puddle, but there was water ALLLLL over the door and walls from the random streams! I had to use one of the towels just to mop up all the mess! My non-Old-Navy flip flops were also soaked.
7. However, I feel much cleaner!!
July 08, 2013
July 07, 2013
A Day in an Italian Hospital
(Read about the start of this adventure here!)
Our day didn't begin until after 8am or so, when my body wouldn't let me sleep any longer due to the stiffness of trying to lie semi-comfortably in a hospital bed with a needle stuck in my right arm. In fact, Ted slept (or dozed) off and on even after 8:00. A lady whom I will ever bless brought me breakfast, and even though it was not as plentiful as I would have hoped, having skipped dinner last night, there was the saving grace of Italian coffee. Mmm!
The nurses kindly waited for me to finish breakfast, and then one of them wheeled me down to radiology for an ultrasound of my cervix, which was dilated to 3cm. The docs on base had estimated only 1-2cm last night, so at first I wasn't sure this was a good thing. But the Italian doc seemed pleased, saying that the medicine they were using for treatment was not good to use for 1-2cm dilation, but only for 3+. And knowing that I have been dilated to 3 for weeks before delivering previous babies, I decided it wasn't worth being concerned about either!
We came back to my room, where they hooked up monitors again to check Baby's heart rate and my contractions, which were entirely un-noteworthy in my opinion. They didn't disturb me at all during the night, and even after fully waking, I had hardly noticed any during the various activities. We felt this was a good sign! As before, the monitors were only on me 20-30 minutes--and when the nurse came in to remove them, she turned the air conditioning on for me! Woohoo! We hadn't even realized A/C was an option here! A member of the kitchen staff came in to take my lunch and dinner orders, and then we were left alone. Ted and I decided he would head home to take over kid duty (Carla had texted that things were going well, praise God!) and return later in the day, hopefully with the children for a visit.
Gina, the hospital liaison, called right after Ted left. She had spoken with the Italian doctor and confirmed what we thought we had understood from him earlier--he is pleased with how the treatment is working, and assuming my contractions don't return, they would likely release me tomorrow morning. Hooray! I asked Gina about visiting hours and whether the children were allowed to come...she called me back after checking on that to let me know that as long as we kept the door closed, it was fine for them to come anytime. Technically, children under 12 aren't allowed here, BUT...that is obviously not adhered to, based on the sounds that came from the hallway throughout the day!
I had a wonderful, peaceful quiet time, starting off with listening to The Job Suite by Michael Card. A friend had posted it on Facebook, and I thought it was a beautiful and thought-provoking way to begin some worship time. Renewing my mind and spirit with the water of God's Word was so refreshing...and I realized that the fear and even terror I had felt last night was absolutely, completely gone. I renewed my hope, my trust, and my joy in my Lord!
Lunch arrived at noon--and what an amazing lunch it was! It totally made up for my not having dinner the night before! A bowl of pasta bolognese, rosemary-seasoned potato wedges, grilled pork, a mini-loaf of bread, and a fresh peach. I had to save the bread and peach for a snack, there was so much food! (Maybe that's why they give such tiny breakfasts, LOL!) So, hands down the BEST hospital meal I have ever had, and that includes the "Proud Parent" dinners they serve in the military hospitals after a baby is born! Score 2 for the Italian hospital care!!
Score 1 for the Italian hospital care--did I not mention specifically? The LACK OF HOVERING!! I LOVE that they do vitals, monitor a short while, and then leave me in peace! I never would have slept at a military hospital last night with all the stuff they would have been doing to me! The only unavoidable thing here is the IV drip, but that's kind of the point of being here--doing something to stop labor!
After my yummy lunch was consumed (and extra food stashed away for later!), I was free, blissfully free, to lie down for a two-hour nap! Thankfully the little Italian visitor in the hall stopped running up and down the corridor and banging on my door by the time I was finished eating so that it was actually pretty quiet.
So my hospital room. I suppose it isn't terribly different from what I might expect anywhere else...but here are a few random observations...
Our day didn't begin until after 8am or so, when my body wouldn't let me sleep any longer due to the stiffness of trying to lie semi-comfortably in a hospital bed with a needle stuck in my right arm. In fact, Ted slept (or dozed) off and on even after 8:00. A lady whom I will ever bless brought me breakfast, and even though it was not as plentiful as I would have hoped, having skipped dinner last night, there was the saving grace of Italian coffee. Mmm!
The nurses kindly waited for me to finish breakfast, and then one of them wheeled me down to radiology for an ultrasound of my cervix, which was dilated to 3cm. The docs on base had estimated only 1-2cm last night, so at first I wasn't sure this was a good thing. But the Italian doc seemed pleased, saying that the medicine they were using for treatment was not good to use for 1-2cm dilation, but only for 3+. And knowing that I have been dilated to 3 for weeks before delivering previous babies, I decided it wasn't worth being concerned about either!
We came back to my room, where they hooked up monitors again to check Baby's heart rate and my contractions, which were entirely un-noteworthy in my opinion. They didn't disturb me at all during the night, and even after fully waking, I had hardly noticed any during the various activities. We felt this was a good sign! As before, the monitors were only on me 20-30 minutes--and when the nurse came in to remove them, she turned the air conditioning on for me! Woohoo! We hadn't even realized A/C was an option here! A member of the kitchen staff came in to take my lunch and dinner orders, and then we were left alone. Ted and I decided he would head home to take over kid duty (Carla had texted that things were going well, praise God!) and return later in the day, hopefully with the children for a visit.
Gina, the hospital liaison, called right after Ted left. She had spoken with the Italian doctor and confirmed what we thought we had understood from him earlier--he is pleased with how the treatment is working, and assuming my contractions don't return, they would likely release me tomorrow morning. Hooray! I asked Gina about visiting hours and whether the children were allowed to come...she called me back after checking on that to let me know that as long as we kept the door closed, it was fine for them to come anytime. Technically, children under 12 aren't allowed here, BUT...that is obviously not adhered to, based on the sounds that came from the hallway throughout the day!
I had a wonderful, peaceful quiet time, starting off with listening to The Job Suite by Michael Card. A friend had posted it on Facebook, and I thought it was a beautiful and thought-provoking way to begin some worship time. Renewing my mind and spirit with the water of God's Word was so refreshing...and I realized that the fear and even terror I had felt last night was absolutely, completely gone. I renewed my hope, my trust, and my joy in my Lord!
Lunch arrived at noon--and what an amazing lunch it was! It totally made up for my not having dinner the night before! A bowl of pasta bolognese, rosemary-seasoned potato wedges, grilled pork, a mini-loaf of bread, and a fresh peach. I had to save the bread and peach for a snack, there was so much food! (Maybe that's why they give such tiny breakfasts, LOL!) So, hands down the BEST hospital meal I have ever had, and that includes the "Proud Parent" dinners they serve in the military hospitals after a baby is born! Score 2 for the Italian hospital care!!
Score 1 for the Italian hospital care--did I not mention specifically? The LACK OF HOVERING!! I LOVE that they do vitals, monitor a short while, and then leave me in peace! I never would have slept at a military hospital last night with all the stuff they would have been doing to me! The only unavoidable thing here is the IV drip, but that's kind of the point of being here--doing something to stop labor!
After my yummy lunch was consumed (and extra food stashed away for later!), I was free, blissfully free, to lie down for a two-hour nap! Thankfully the little Italian visitor in the hall stopped running up and down the corridor and banging on my door by the time I was finished eating so that it was actually pretty quiet.
So my hospital room. I suppose it isn't terribly different from what I might expect anywhere else...but here are a few random observations...
- Hospital beds in Italy = just as uncomfortable as hospital beds in the States. They are nearly identical.
- So are the pull-out couches.
- Bathrooms in Italy have a bidet!
- I have a mini-fridge in my room...I don't think I've ever had one in a military hospital!
- There is a rolling tray to hold meals, etc. So glad--at first we didn't see it, and it made for difficulty twisting around to reach my water bottle, phone, etc. But then we located it tucked into place, cleverly fitted into a cabinet unit.
- There is a TV, which I haven't even turned on for obvious reasons.
- There is a crucifix on the wall. Lucan noticed it right away when he was here visiting, saying, "There's Jesus dying on the cross!"
- My room has a little entryway of sorts...not sure why, but there is a second door and a wall, about the size of an elevator--I suppose it's for privacy? The other rooms we've seen as we've been up and down the hallway are more open, but I also think those rooms have more than one bed.
After my nap, I enjoyed some reading time before Ted and the kids arrived for a visit. Hooray! I was starting to get a bit lonely! It's so weird not having ANY responsibilities...just me and my IV rolling cart, ha!
The kids were happy to see me, too, which made me feel great. :-) I was a bit concerned that Zaden would want to yank on my IV line, but thankfully that did not capture his interest, and I was still able to hug and snuggle him a bit before he was ready to explore the new surroundings. The nurse came in to do another round of monitoring, so the kids got to see and hear all of that excitement. We enjoyed hanging out together for awhile, and then the kids were too hungry and getting a bit too rambunctious for the space we were in, so Ted took them home to make tacos while I enjoyed some surprises myself: my dinner was delivered by my Italian friend Emilia, the mother of Salvatore who comes to play with our boys a couple of days each week! I didn't realize she worked in the kitchen here, so it was a fun surprise for both of us! She was of course surprised to see me here--she and Salvatore had hosted us for a morning of swimming in their pool followed by lunch last Wednesday, and I hadn't seen or talked to her since then.
Anyway, I was just about to dig into my equally delicious dinner (more pasta--I chose that over soup--plus a ball of mozzarella di buffalo and a tomato salad, more yummy bread, and an apple) when another friend dropped by for a visit! I just met Jacki last week at Carla's house when the Ks hosted a 4th of July party. Jacki and her family have been in Naples as missionaries for about 15 years! Carla had called her last night during our flurry of "what do we do now" activity to see if she would be available and willing to translate for us if needed. Well, since we have a base liaison assigned to us, we haven't needed translation services, but since Jacki lives so close to this hospital, she decided to pop in and check up on me. So sweet! I enjoyed visiting with her while I ate my dinner, and then she took her leave and I have been enjoying a quiet evening ever since.
So, as things stand now, I can still feel our little guy movin' and groovin' in my belly; contractions are barely happening at all; and I anticipate perhaps one more round of monitoring before I can turn in for the night. With the thought of being released in the morning, I'm feeling very optimistic!
All in all, I am extremely pleased with this whole experience, given the considerable shock I underwent at the beginning of it all. The staff at this hospital has been nothing but kind and professional, and I can't complain at all about the quality of care. I'm very thankful that the medication worked--even though meds/intervention would not have been my preferred approach, given the time frame we were dealing with and the circumstances, I'm thankful that God has allowed the scientific knowledge for us to have dealt with the contractions to slow things down. I'm not ready physically OR mentally for a baby yet!!
As far as our little bambino, well, he's apparently not so little, LOL. I do wonder about the due date--originally at my first check-up, when they did an 11-week ultrasound, the due date matched up perfectly with the date of my LMP. However, at the halfway point ultrasound, he was measuring about a week and a half bigger than where I supposedly was. And that's about the same size difference now--measuring about a week and a half beyond where I am. So, if his current size puts him in line with a 35-week baby, even though I'm 33.5 weeks based on a due date calculated from LMP...well, do I need to be that concerned about delivering him early? I'd like to think not. And frankly, the thought of carrying him full term or even late is rather terrifying, LOL! I thought Zaden was big at 8 pounds, 3 ounces! (I don't know how my friend Claire has delivered 9 babies, all without drugs, and all weighing around 9 or more pounds, I believe?! One was over 10!)
So that's where we are at! And if you are not related to us and are still reading this far, thanks for following our journey and for your prayers! (Thanks to our relatives for that too, ha!!) God has once again reminded me that He is sovereign, and no matter what happens tomorrow...or the next day...or the next week...or the next month, I trust His purposes and pray for His glory to be made known in and through us.
What to Expect When You're...Not Expecting THAT to Happen!
Yesterday was quite an ordinary Saturday...for awhile. Charis and I went to Support Site for a little vendor fair that is starting up once a month, she with some crocheted and knitted items and I with some cards for sale. We also manned a table for our friend Hannah who just left for a trip to the States but had hair accessories to sell for her and Tuba's adoption fundraising. It was a slooooow morning. I did sell $20 worth of cards, and Charis DID get some leads for future babysitting jobs, but other than that...well, we enjoyed the conversation with the women who stopped by and who were at the other tables!
We packed up our stuff, got lunch at the food court, and did our grocery shopping. I tried to sip water throughout the morning; we were sitting in the shade, but it WAS a hot day. It was exactly 1pm when we got into the Suburban to head home. I noted a contraction at the moment I was getting settled in the driver's seat, thought nothing of it, and went on my merry way. Since I generally have Braxton-Hicks contractions starting at 5 months or so (at least with my later babies), I don't usually notice them. But another one came at 1:05. And another at 1:10. I thought that was a bit odd and mentioned it to Charis. I continued to sip water and figured I'd get extra water in my system once we were at home and lie down for a nap.
The contractions continued every five minutes. I left Ted and the boys in charge of unloading the car and went up to my bedroom to lie down. I couldn't sleep...every time I would nearly drift off, a contraction would wake me up...and I would look up to see the clock and realize that yup, it had been 5-7 minutes.
By now I was getting slightly concerned. I had reached 33 weeks on Wednesday, so regular contractions were not anything to be happy about. I went downstairs for another water bottle and set myself on my bed with books and my laptop, figuring I could at least keep my feet up even if I wasn't able to get to sleep.
By 4pm, with no change in the frequency or intensity of the contractions, I was on the phone with a Tricare nurse to get some advice. Even though I had no dire symptoms (bleeding, fluid leakage, pain, etc.), of course they advised me to go get checked out.
Groan.
I was JUST at the Support Site all morning!! Now I have to go back?! I called my friend Carla, who lives just around the corner from us, and as she had been following my FB status updates, she was aware of the situation and willing to drive me to the hospital so that Ted could stay home with the kids and get them supped and bathed, etc.
We left around 5pm. I grabbed a water bottle, a couple of snack bars, my WORLD magazine, and my Kindle. I fully expected that they would tell me to go home, keep drinking water, go to bed, and come back if anything changed.
The evening began to drag on as various personnel came in and out of the room to do this, check that, ask me questions, start an IV to make sure dehydration wasn't the issue causing the contractions, etc. Various tests were run and the on-call OB doc was contacted. So we continued to wait for lab results and for the OB doc to arrive.
I was so thankful Carla and I had the opportunity to chat! We joked about at least having the excuse to catch up--we haven't seen each other much this summer!
Finally the OB doc arrived (wearing flip-flops, ha!), and she did some ultrasound checking. The baby was looking fine--a more-than-adequate 6lbs, 12oz or so, give or take given the small machine they were using. Still! Charis was 6lbs, 13 oz at birth, and she came at almost 40 weeks!
After the ultrasound, the doctors left the room to discuss their findings, and Carla and I began making plans for packing up and heading home.
And then the doctors came back in the room.
The test results, the ultrasounds, everything pointed to the fact that my body was, indeed, heading toward pre-term labor. They had ruled out all other causes for the contractions--which STILL had not subsided, despite extra hydration.
Bottom line? There was a good chance our baby would attempt to make his appearance early, and the Naval Support Site hospital is not equipped to deal with early labor and delivery. I was to be transferred immediately to an Italian hospital, where they would do what they could to prevent labor from happening...but in the event that the baby did arrive early, they would be capable of caring for both me and the little one.
The news pretty much rocked my world. I had been feeling slightly foolish for running to the hospital when I figured I was just a bit dehydrated. And this is baby #7...contractions like the ones I had been feeling were pretty much normal. (Granted, the consistency is not something that I had experienced before, but still!) And now here I was, hearing words like "ambulance," "steroids," "liaison," and more. It felt like a surreal nightmare.
The staff immediately got busy readying things while Carla and I took a few minutes to pray together, try to clear our heads, contact Ted, and come up with a plan. I think I went into a bit of a shock mode; my body began trembling head to toe, like when you're in transition during labor and you just. can't. stop. shaking. That made me feel panicked--what if I WAS laboring?! More prayer. More casting out fear in the name of Jesus. A bit of calm. Deep breaths. I didn't expect this--but God knew it would happen before I was even born.
OK. We can do this!
Ted set about in a flurry at home, packing some items up for me, updating the older kids on the situation, and putting Charis in charge until Carla could come and be there for the night.
Carla shifted into practical caregiver mode, asking all kinds of wonderful questions--will she need sheets and towels? (You do in many Italian hospitals.) What if she delivers--what happens next? What if she DOESN'T deliver? Then what? I was so thankful someone who could think clearly was there with me! God knew Carla was just the person I needed with me yesterday evening!
Ted arrived just as they were ready to put me on the stretcher. During that time of waiting, I got a shot in my bum (still hurts--ouch!) of some steroids to help Baby's lungs just in case he did come early. I left the hospital wearing a military hospital gown--good thing, because they don't have any of those available here in the Italian hospital! I got strapped down into a stretcher--a first experience, one I do not care to repeat. (Can you say claustrophobia?!)
The ride to the hospital was borderline tortuous--but mostly mentally so. I began trembling all over again, and my contractions were coming harder and closer together. I can't say for sure whether it was the bumpy road or the fact that my stress level probably shot through the roof, but the last 10 minutes or so of the ride, my abdomen was one hard lump the entire time.
Ted and Carla followed in their cars and then joined me inside the hospital. Gina, the hospital liaison, had ridden in the ambulance from SS and was with us the whole time, as were the Navy ambulance staff, who were all wonderful.
More examinations. Another ultrasound. (By the way, this baby IS, in fact, a boy, if there was any doubt, LOL!) Drawn blood. Paperwork. Translations. Questions.
It was nearing midnight when we said goodbye to Carla, Gina, and the Navy guys and came to my hospital room. Now we had no translator available, and the nurse, kind as she was, spoke about 3 practical words of English: pain? You OK?
I was instructed to lie down, and she brought out what looked like some medieval torture devices. I had absolutely no idea what might be happening next. I had to lift up my gown, and she put a series of about 5-6 suction cups with little bulb-syringe-type tops around my chest area, so I assume it was a heart monitor of some sort. Then clamps went on each wrist and ankle. I was alarmed. What the heck was all this?! Talk about feeling vulnerable! I whispered to Ted to grab a sheet for me to at least cover my middle--good gracious! The nurse left the room, Ted got acquainted with our facilities, and I lay there, spread-eagled, on the verge of tears, thinking that I was NEVER going to be able to sleep with all these contraptions on me.
Thank God. She returned within 10 minutes and removed all the devices. Oh, yay!! I had been so worried that they were there for the long haul, since I'm used to round-the-clock monitoring at military hospitals! Then she hooked up monitors for the baby's heartbeat and to measure my contractions. Sigh. Well, THAT at least I could understand. Meanwhile, another nurse put the medicine in my IV that was to help slow down the contractions.
After about 20-30 minutes at the most, the heart rate and contraction monitors were removed! Oh, joy! The nurses were done with me for the night, and we were blissfully uninterrupted the rest of the night hours! Praise God! We didn't sleep all that great--I was so hungry, having never eaten dinner, but I was unable to choke down the carrots and crackers Ted had grabbed for snacking. Ted was on a pullout couch (and yes, he did need those sheets he brought from home!), and the room was stifling. I opened the windows during one of the times I woke up, but it didn't help a whole lot.
I'll end here and start a new post covering today's happenings!
We packed up our stuff, got lunch at the food court, and did our grocery shopping. I tried to sip water throughout the morning; we were sitting in the shade, but it WAS a hot day. It was exactly 1pm when we got into the Suburban to head home. I noted a contraction at the moment I was getting settled in the driver's seat, thought nothing of it, and went on my merry way. Since I generally have Braxton-Hicks contractions starting at 5 months or so (at least with my later babies), I don't usually notice them. But another one came at 1:05. And another at 1:10. I thought that was a bit odd and mentioned it to Charis. I continued to sip water and figured I'd get extra water in my system once we were at home and lie down for a nap.
The contractions continued every five minutes. I left Ted and the boys in charge of unloading the car and went up to my bedroom to lie down. I couldn't sleep...every time I would nearly drift off, a contraction would wake me up...and I would look up to see the clock and realize that yup, it had been 5-7 minutes.
By now I was getting slightly concerned. I had reached 33 weeks on Wednesday, so regular contractions were not anything to be happy about. I went downstairs for another water bottle and set myself on my bed with books and my laptop, figuring I could at least keep my feet up even if I wasn't able to get to sleep.
By 4pm, with no change in the frequency or intensity of the contractions, I was on the phone with a Tricare nurse to get some advice. Even though I had no dire symptoms (bleeding, fluid leakage, pain, etc.), of course they advised me to go get checked out.
Groan.
I was JUST at the Support Site all morning!! Now I have to go back?! I called my friend Carla, who lives just around the corner from us, and as she had been following my FB status updates, she was aware of the situation and willing to drive me to the hospital so that Ted could stay home with the kids and get them supped and bathed, etc.
We left around 5pm. I grabbed a water bottle, a couple of snack bars, my WORLD magazine, and my Kindle. I fully expected that they would tell me to go home, keep drinking water, go to bed, and come back if anything changed.
The evening began to drag on as various personnel came in and out of the room to do this, check that, ask me questions, start an IV to make sure dehydration wasn't the issue causing the contractions, etc. Various tests were run and the on-call OB doc was contacted. So we continued to wait for lab results and for the OB doc to arrive.
I was so thankful Carla and I had the opportunity to chat! We joked about at least having the excuse to catch up--we haven't seen each other much this summer!
Finally the OB doc arrived (wearing flip-flops, ha!), and she did some ultrasound checking. The baby was looking fine--a more-than-adequate 6lbs, 12oz or so, give or take given the small machine they were using. Still! Charis was 6lbs, 13 oz at birth, and she came at almost 40 weeks!
After the ultrasound, the doctors left the room to discuss their findings, and Carla and I began making plans for packing up and heading home.
And then the doctors came back in the room.
The test results, the ultrasounds, everything pointed to the fact that my body was, indeed, heading toward pre-term labor. They had ruled out all other causes for the contractions--which STILL had not subsided, despite extra hydration.
Bottom line? There was a good chance our baby would attempt to make his appearance early, and the Naval Support Site hospital is not equipped to deal with early labor and delivery. I was to be transferred immediately to an Italian hospital, where they would do what they could to prevent labor from happening...but in the event that the baby did arrive early, they would be capable of caring for both me and the little one.
The news pretty much rocked my world. I had been feeling slightly foolish for running to the hospital when I figured I was just a bit dehydrated. And this is baby #7...contractions like the ones I had been feeling were pretty much normal. (Granted, the consistency is not something that I had experienced before, but still!) And now here I was, hearing words like "ambulance," "steroids," "liaison," and more. It felt like a surreal nightmare.
The staff immediately got busy readying things while Carla and I took a few minutes to pray together, try to clear our heads, contact Ted, and come up with a plan. I think I went into a bit of a shock mode; my body began trembling head to toe, like when you're in transition during labor and you just. can't. stop. shaking. That made me feel panicked--what if I WAS laboring?! More prayer. More casting out fear in the name of Jesus. A bit of calm. Deep breaths. I didn't expect this--but God knew it would happen before I was even born.
OK. We can do this!
Ted set about in a flurry at home, packing some items up for me, updating the older kids on the situation, and putting Charis in charge until Carla could come and be there for the night.
Carla shifted into practical caregiver mode, asking all kinds of wonderful questions--will she need sheets and towels? (You do in many Italian hospitals.) What if she delivers--what happens next? What if she DOESN'T deliver? Then what? I was so thankful someone who could think clearly was there with me! God knew Carla was just the person I needed with me yesterday evening!
Ted arrived just as they were ready to put me on the stretcher. During that time of waiting, I got a shot in my bum (still hurts--ouch!) of some steroids to help Baby's lungs just in case he did come early. I left the hospital wearing a military hospital gown--good thing, because they don't have any of those available here in the Italian hospital! I got strapped down into a stretcher--a first experience, one I do not care to repeat. (Can you say claustrophobia?!)
The ride to the hospital was borderline tortuous--but mostly mentally so. I began trembling all over again, and my contractions were coming harder and closer together. I can't say for sure whether it was the bumpy road or the fact that my stress level probably shot through the roof, but the last 10 minutes or so of the ride, my abdomen was one hard lump the entire time.
Ted and Carla followed in their cars and then joined me inside the hospital. Gina, the hospital liaison, had ridden in the ambulance from SS and was with us the whole time, as were the Navy ambulance staff, who were all wonderful.
More examinations. Another ultrasound. (By the way, this baby IS, in fact, a boy, if there was any doubt, LOL!) Drawn blood. Paperwork. Translations. Questions.
It was nearing midnight when we said goodbye to Carla, Gina, and the Navy guys and came to my hospital room. Now we had no translator available, and the nurse, kind as she was, spoke about 3 practical words of English: pain? You OK?
I was instructed to lie down, and she brought out what looked like some medieval torture devices. I had absolutely no idea what might be happening next. I had to lift up my gown, and she put a series of about 5-6 suction cups with little bulb-syringe-type tops around my chest area, so I assume it was a heart monitor of some sort. Then clamps went on each wrist and ankle. I was alarmed. What the heck was all this?! Talk about feeling vulnerable! I whispered to Ted to grab a sheet for me to at least cover my middle--good gracious! The nurse left the room, Ted got acquainted with our facilities, and I lay there, spread-eagled, on the verge of tears, thinking that I was NEVER going to be able to sleep with all these contraptions on me.
Thank God. She returned within 10 minutes and removed all the devices. Oh, yay!! I had been so worried that they were there for the long haul, since I'm used to round-the-clock monitoring at military hospitals! Then she hooked up monitors for the baby's heartbeat and to measure my contractions. Sigh. Well, THAT at least I could understand. Meanwhile, another nurse put the medicine in my IV that was to help slow down the contractions.
After about 20-30 minutes at the most, the heart rate and contraction monitors were removed! Oh, joy! The nurses were done with me for the night, and we were blissfully uninterrupted the rest of the night hours! Praise God! We didn't sleep all that great--I was so hungry, having never eaten dinner, but I was unable to choke down the carrots and crackers Ted had grabbed for snacking. Ted was on a pullout couch (and yes, he did need those sheets he brought from home!), and the room was stifling. I opened the windows during one of the times I woke up, but it didn't help a whole lot.
I'll end here and start a new post covering today's happenings!
July 01, 2013
Road Trip, Part 6
Day 13:
Today was our Florence day. Thankfully Ted had done enough research ahead of time to realize that we were NOT allowed to drive into the downtown area--it is a very restricted zone, and we could see firsthand exactly why. Traffic is nuts there! We did locate a parking garage under the train station JUST inside the zone, but we figured that people coming in to take the train would surely be allowed to park there, right?! Well, we didn't have any troubles, and thankfully despite the awful traffic, we made it to the parking garage, where there was plenty of space for our GWB (Great White Behemoth, as the Suburban is affectionately known in our family).
Off we went on foot to find the Galileo Museum, which was our one and only scheduled stop for the day. It was a considerable but not unbearable walk. We spent a couple of hours or so puttering around this very cool, very educational museum, where there was something to capture just about everyone's interest. Having been in some amazing children's museums with many interactive features, we were a bit disappointed at the interactive offerings--there were two small rooms that allowed kids to check out some of the science behind some of the tools, instruments, and inventions we had seen on display during our meanderings, but really, given the kind of museum this was, there could have been SOOOO much more! In fact, hands-on, interactive displays in every room would have been extremely helpful for people like us...families with small children who can't read and older children who desperately want to touch all the cool-looking things!
Ah, well. We had fun. Here are a few pics...you can see the whole album here.
After the museum we were more than ready for lunch, so we hit up a little cafe right across the street for some pizza and panini. Then we walked back toward the parking garage by way of the Duomo (pictured just above this paragraph), which I had been told was worth walking by even if we didn't have time to go inside. Wow, was that an understatement! Our photos can't really do it justice...it is absolutely enormous and soooo beautiful on the outside. We had to save the inside for another day, but I'm glad we were able to walk past it at least.
We rewarded the kids for their perseverance in walking through the throngs of tourists in stifling heat by getting some yummy gelato...well, everyone except Lucan got gelato. Poor little guy conked out in the stroller and missed out! We were more than ready to get into our air-conditioned vehicle and head out of the city. It was about an hour and a half (maybe less) back to our hotel in Pisa. We enjoyed a wonderful sit-down dinner at the hotel restaurant and then crashed for a decent night of sleep before heading home the next day.
Day 14:
Original plan--touring in Florence during the morning, driving home after lunch. Well. After battling the traffic and the crowds the day before, we ALL agreed that Florence can WAIT!! We will return when the weather is cooler and hopefully there are fewer crowds! It was nice to simply pack up and head back toward Naples. We stopped at the Support Site to pick up Ted's car, which he had loaned to a new AF guy he had sponsored in shortly before we left for our vacation. Ted drove the kids home in the Suburban to begin unloading while I took the Alfa to the commissary to get enough food to last us a couple of days--we had wiped out our fridge, freezer, and pantry before our trip!
Home again, home again, jiggity jig.
We've had enough of this traveling gig...for now! What a blessing to be able to see and experience these things together, even if we DID have our fair share of bickering and complaining and difficulty sleeping! We thank the Lord for His many, many blessings, including keeping us safe during our 3,000+ miles on the road!
Today was our Florence day. Thankfully Ted had done enough research ahead of time to realize that we were NOT allowed to drive into the downtown area--it is a very restricted zone, and we could see firsthand exactly why. Traffic is nuts there! We did locate a parking garage under the train station JUST inside the zone, but we figured that people coming in to take the train would surely be allowed to park there, right?! Well, we didn't have any troubles, and thankfully despite the awful traffic, we made it to the parking garage, where there was plenty of space for our GWB (Great White Behemoth, as the Suburban is affectionately known in our family).
Off we went on foot to find the Galileo Museum, which was our one and only scheduled stop for the day. It was a considerable but not unbearable walk. We spent a couple of hours or so puttering around this very cool, very educational museum, where there was something to capture just about everyone's interest. Having been in some amazing children's museums with many interactive features, we were a bit disappointed at the interactive offerings--there were two small rooms that allowed kids to check out some of the science behind some of the tools, instruments, and inventions we had seen on display during our meanderings, but really, given the kind of museum this was, there could have been SOOOO much more! In fact, hands-on, interactive displays in every room would have been extremely helpful for people like us...families with small children who can't read and older children who desperately want to touch all the cool-looking things!
Ah, well. We had fun. Here are a few pics...you can see the whole album here.
After the museum we were more than ready for lunch, so we hit up a little cafe right across the street for some pizza and panini. Then we walked back toward the parking garage by way of the Duomo (pictured just above this paragraph), which I had been told was worth walking by even if we didn't have time to go inside. Wow, was that an understatement! Our photos can't really do it justice...it is absolutely enormous and soooo beautiful on the outside. We had to save the inside for another day, but I'm glad we were able to walk past it at least.
We rewarded the kids for their perseverance in walking through the throngs of tourists in stifling heat by getting some yummy gelato...well, everyone except Lucan got gelato. Poor little guy conked out in the stroller and missed out! We were more than ready to get into our air-conditioned vehicle and head out of the city. It was about an hour and a half (maybe less) back to our hotel in Pisa. We enjoyed a wonderful sit-down dinner at the hotel restaurant and then crashed for a decent night of sleep before heading home the next day.
Day 14:
Original plan--touring in Florence during the morning, driving home after lunch. Well. After battling the traffic and the crowds the day before, we ALL agreed that Florence can WAIT!! We will return when the weather is cooler and hopefully there are fewer crowds! It was nice to simply pack up and head back toward Naples. We stopped at the Support Site to pick up Ted's car, which he had loaned to a new AF guy he had sponsored in shortly before we left for our vacation. Ted drove the kids home in the Suburban to begin unloading while I took the Alfa to the commissary to get enough food to last us a couple of days--we had wiped out our fridge, freezer, and pantry before our trip!
Home again, home again, jiggity jig.
We've had enough of this traveling gig...for now! What a blessing to be able to see and experience these things together, even if we DID have our fair share of bickering and complaining and difficulty sleeping! We thank the Lord for His many, many blessings, including keeping us safe during our 3,000+ miles on the road!
June 27, 2013
Road Trip, Part 5
Day 10:
I wish we had been able to plan ahead to really celebrate Ted on this day, but I confess my trip plans did not take into consideration the fact we would be away for Father's Day. :-/ But we did enjoy a wonderful day with the L family, attending Sunday school and church with them and then going out to eat for a long, leisurely dinner in the beautiful sunny weather that finally appeared! We gave Brian and Joy an Italian remembrance in appreciation for their gracious hospitality during our week in Germany. We so enjoyed being able to fellowship with them and see how Ian and Ellie have grown in the several years it has been since our families were together.
Since we were hitting the road the next day, we didn't plan anything beyond enjoying schnitzel at a restaurant! I finished up some laundry (so thankful Joy shared her little washer and dryer with us--we kind of took it over, LOL!) and we did our best to get as much packed as possible before bed. We enjoyed one last evening of visiting together and probably got to bed much later than we should have. Our kids are certainly going to miss each other, especially Ellie and Kenna, who were inseparable!
Day 11:
Road trip! It was an estimated 9-hour drive from the L's house to Pisa, where we had booked a hotel for the next 3 nights. It was a beautiful day for driving, which helped alleviate the stress of the loooong, two-lane roads between Germany and finally reaching the autostrade in France. (How many hay trucks can there be, anyway?!) We made a desperate stop for gas and potty runs, at which the only available toilet was in the back of a greasy mechanic shop--oh, joy! Adventures in Europe!
Crossing into Switzerland was pretty exciting, even if we did have to pay 40 Swiss francs for the sticker (which is good for a year--guess we need to make a point of going back in the next 364 days or so!). I've always wanted to drive through the Swiss Alps, and I was not disappointed. Even though we didn't have time to stop in country, we all enjoyed the drive, and the infamous tunnels didn't slow us down at all--we had been warned that sometimes you have to wait for a green light to get through the tunnels, but we were able to keep trucking along.
By the time we reached Pisa, though, we were more than ready to stop traveling! We were a bit alarmed at the time the GPS was telling us it was going to take to arrive at our hotel; however, we figured out that the GPS thought we had to walk a considerable distance, as the road leading back to the hotel building wasn't on the map! It's in a nature preserve area, with horse stables (complete with loudly braying donkeys who sing not-so-sweetly even before the break of dawn) and was a beautiful, peaceful place for our family to "land" for a few days. We unloaded the Suburban as quickly as possible into our two rooms (separated by a couple of other rooms and a stairwell; unfortunately, they were unable to get us adjoining rooms) and then headed back into town in search of food. As we drove to the city center, it was easy to spot the famous leaning tower--so exciting!
We found a parking spot on the street right beside a diner that served cheeseburgers, to the boys' everlasting delight. Ted and I enjoyed kebab panini while the girls chose pizza and the little boys ate remnants of everything. We went back to the hotel and worked on settling everyone down...the rooms had no A/C, and with daylight hours stretching far past bedtime, it took awhile before Zaden at least was sound asleep enough for me to crawl into bed. It was a fairly short night...between the stifling heat and humidity and sleeping in an unfamiliar place...and then the lovely "ass-inine" wake-up call from the donkeys, LOL!
Day 12:
Today we got to be tourists! It was so fun...but oh, it was HOT! The sun was merciless, but we decided the chances of us coming back to Pisa are fairly slim...the town is small (though we really did enjoy it), and when we come back to Tuscany, it will be to explore Florence more. So, by golly, we were going to get all of the Pisa sight-seeing done in one day! We found a nearby parking center and walked into the cathedral and tower area.
Ted got tickets for us and the older 3 kids to climb up the tower--children under 8 are not allowed, much to Kenna's chagrin. But she was pacified when I told her she could get TWO treats! Ted and the boys went up first; the wait really wasn't too bad, about a half-hour from the time he purchased tickets. The girls, Lucan, and Zaden and I got ice cream and slushies and went back to the tower to wait for the hand-off. Then Ted, Tobin, Arden, and the littles did the same thing while Charis and I went up.
The whole tower tour was only about 30 minutes long, but it seemed just the right amount of time. I forget how many stairs there were--Ted and the kids counted, but everyone came up with different numbers! I seem to remember 252 being one of the numbers, so I'll go with that! It was so interesting to actually FEEL the lean as you wind your way up the the staircase. There were two areas where you can walk around at the top, with the top being right up with the bells.
We joined the rest of the family on the ground and grabbed a simple lunch from a street vendor, then toured inside the cathedral, which was gorgeous. From there we went to the baptistery--I've been in my share of cathedrals in Europe over the years, but I haven't ever seen a separate building for a baptistery before. Unique! Ted and the kids all went upstairs so they could look down...I decided I had had enough stairs for one day and stayed on the main level with the stroller and backpacks.
(For more Pisa pictures, see our album here.)
By the time we had our fill of religious buildings, we were more than ready to get out of the heat. We plodded back to the Suburban (completely omitting the standard forced perspective shots of people holding up the tower) and went back to the hotel for naps/rest time. Zaden and I napped...Lucan may have napped, too. Tobin and Ted relaxed in the boys' room, and the others played outside in the woods building forts. The original plan was to rest and then head to the private beach owned by the hotel, but we learned--the the kids' dismay--that for whatever reason the clerk was unable to communicate to us in English, the beach was not accessible at that time, even though the web site had said it was open June through August. Sigh.
So we simply...relaxed. It was a beautiful thing to have time on our hands! Unfortunately, the wireless access we were supposed to have worked in Ted's room but not mine, so I was unable to keep up with our blogging when I had the time and inclination to journal about our trip, ha! But a forced internet break wasn't really a bad thing! We ended up having dinner at the same place we had eaten the night before, but the boys were sad that they were out of cheeseburgers. (Yeah, that never happens at fast food places in the States! "Fast food" is VERY different over here!)
I wish we had been able to plan ahead to really celebrate Ted on this day, but I confess my trip plans did not take into consideration the fact we would be away for Father's Day. :-/ But we did enjoy a wonderful day with the L family, attending Sunday school and church with them and then going out to eat for a long, leisurely dinner in the beautiful sunny weather that finally appeared! We gave Brian and Joy an Italian remembrance in appreciation for their gracious hospitality during our week in Germany. We so enjoyed being able to fellowship with them and see how Ian and Ellie have grown in the several years it has been since our families were together.
Since we were hitting the road the next day, we didn't plan anything beyond enjoying schnitzel at a restaurant! I finished up some laundry (so thankful Joy shared her little washer and dryer with us--we kind of took it over, LOL!) and we did our best to get as much packed as possible before bed. We enjoyed one last evening of visiting together and probably got to bed much later than we should have. Our kids are certainly going to miss each other, especially Ellie and Kenna, who were inseparable!
Day 11:
Road trip! It was an estimated 9-hour drive from the L's house to Pisa, where we had booked a hotel for the next 3 nights. It was a beautiful day for driving, which helped alleviate the stress of the loooong, two-lane roads between Germany and finally reaching the autostrade in France. (How many hay trucks can there be, anyway?!) We made a desperate stop for gas and potty runs, at which the only available toilet was in the back of a greasy mechanic shop--oh, joy! Adventures in Europe!
Crossing into Switzerland was pretty exciting, even if we did have to pay 40 Swiss francs for the sticker (which is good for a year--guess we need to make a point of going back in the next 364 days or so!). I've always wanted to drive through the Swiss Alps, and I was not disappointed. Even though we didn't have time to stop in country, we all enjoyed the drive, and the infamous tunnels didn't slow us down at all--we had been warned that sometimes you have to wait for a green light to get through the tunnels, but we were able to keep trucking along.
By the time we reached Pisa, though, we were more than ready to stop traveling! We were a bit alarmed at the time the GPS was telling us it was going to take to arrive at our hotel; however, we figured out that the GPS thought we had to walk a considerable distance, as the road leading back to the hotel building wasn't on the map! It's in a nature preserve area, with horse stables (complete with loudly braying donkeys who sing not-so-sweetly even before the break of dawn) and was a beautiful, peaceful place for our family to "land" for a few days. We unloaded the Suburban as quickly as possible into our two rooms (separated by a couple of other rooms and a stairwell; unfortunately, they were unable to get us adjoining rooms) and then headed back into town in search of food. As we drove to the city center, it was easy to spot the famous leaning tower--so exciting!
We found a parking spot on the street right beside a diner that served cheeseburgers, to the boys' everlasting delight. Ted and I enjoyed kebab panini while the girls chose pizza and the little boys ate remnants of everything. We went back to the hotel and worked on settling everyone down...the rooms had no A/C, and with daylight hours stretching far past bedtime, it took awhile before Zaden at least was sound asleep enough for me to crawl into bed. It was a fairly short night...between the stifling heat and humidity and sleeping in an unfamiliar place...and then the lovely "ass-inine" wake-up call from the donkeys, LOL!
Day 12:
Today we got to be tourists! It was so fun...but oh, it was HOT! The sun was merciless, but we decided the chances of us coming back to Pisa are fairly slim...the town is small (though we really did enjoy it), and when we come back to Tuscany, it will be to explore Florence more. So, by golly, we were going to get all of the Pisa sight-seeing done in one day! We found a nearby parking center and walked into the cathedral and tower area.
Ted got tickets for us and the older 3 kids to climb up the tower--children under 8 are not allowed, much to Kenna's chagrin. But she was pacified when I told her she could get TWO treats! Ted and the boys went up first; the wait really wasn't too bad, about a half-hour from the time he purchased tickets. The girls, Lucan, and Zaden and I got ice cream and slushies and went back to the tower to wait for the hand-off. Then Ted, Tobin, Arden, and the littles did the same thing while Charis and I went up.
The whole tower tour was only about 30 minutes long, but it seemed just the right amount of time. I forget how many stairs there were--Ted and the kids counted, but everyone came up with different numbers! I seem to remember 252 being one of the numbers, so I'll go with that! It was so interesting to actually FEEL the lean as you wind your way up the the staircase. There were two areas where you can walk around at the top, with the top being right up with the bells.
We joined the rest of the family on the ground and grabbed a simple lunch from a street vendor, then toured inside the cathedral, which was gorgeous. From there we went to the baptistery--I've been in my share of cathedrals in Europe over the years, but I haven't ever seen a separate building for a baptistery before. Unique! Ted and the kids all went upstairs so they could look down...I decided I had had enough stairs for one day and stayed on the main level with the stroller and backpacks.
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| Ted and the kids with the baptistery in the background |
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| See the itty bitty person in the bright blue shirt by the third column?! That's me with the stroller! |
By the time we had our fill of religious buildings, we were more than ready to get out of the heat. We plodded back to the Suburban (completely omitting the standard forced perspective shots of people holding up the tower) and went back to the hotel for naps/rest time. Zaden and I napped...Lucan may have napped, too. Tobin and Ted relaxed in the boys' room, and the others played outside in the woods building forts. The original plan was to rest and then head to the private beach owned by the hotel, but we learned--the the kids' dismay--that for whatever reason the clerk was unable to communicate to us in English, the beach was not accessible at that time, even though the web site had said it was open June through August. Sigh.
So we simply...relaxed. It was a beautiful thing to have time on our hands! Unfortunately, the wireless access we were supposed to have worked in Ted's room but not mine, so I was unable to keep up with our blogging when I had the time and inclination to journal about our trip, ha! But a forced internet break wasn't really a bad thing! We ended up having dinner at the same place we had eaten the night before, but the boys were sad that they were out of cheeseburgers. (Yeah, that never happens at fast food places in the States! "Fast food" is VERY different over here!)
June 16, 2013
Road Trip, Part 4
Day 8:
Today we drove into France! Just over the border, it was a much shorter distance than we drove the previous day to get to Burg Eltz. We toured the citadel at Bitche, a magnificently built fortification that has probably been around for centuries, though the history we learned focused on the Franco-Prussian war in the late 1800s. (Full album of pictures is here.) We had headphones with English instruction, so as we passed certain points along the tour we could learn about the fortress, its design and construction, and events that happened there.
Shortly after we entered we came to the first of a series of video screens--we would watch a portion of a movie reenactment (with some explanation/narration interwoven within), then move on to the next part of the citadel, where the movie would continue. It was dark, damp, and chilly, and unfortunately I would have to say that our younger members were not as impressed with the tour--they didn't have headphones, but even so, they probably would not have been able to follow what was happening with the movie! This was just as well, as portions of the drama were quite disconcerting. We shielded young eyes more than once! Aside from the fact that some of the screen shots were definitely not for innocent eyes, the movie was well done and gave a thorough picture of what people were experiencing during a time of war and the role the fortress played in the surrounding area.
This portion of the tour was much longer than any of us had anticipated--at least an hour, which is quite a long time to be in what felt like a cave! We went through all the snacks I had brought in our effort to appease the younger ones' discomfort; Zaden rode in the Ergo on Ted's chest (where he has HAPPILY spent much of our touring time, I might add), and I pushed Lucan in the stroller. When we finally emerged into daylight, we were more than ready for lunch--and there was only one option at that point! The gift shop/cafe offered two choices: pizza or flamkuchen. Ted, Charis, and I decided to try to flamkuchen, which is like a pizza but has a white sauce with ham and onions on it, and the rest of the kids got pizza. It was all fantastic! The weather was beautiful, and we enjoyed eating outside while the kids ran up and down the hill leading to the French flag with a nice view of the town/valley below.
After enjoying the panoramic views and puttering around some of the places on top of the fortress, we hiked back down to the parking lot and headed out for our next stop: the Simserhof fortress, part of the Maginot line, a defensive, underground structure France put in place in anticipation of German advances. (Pictures of this can be found here.) This was so fascinating! We watched an introductory movie and then got on a cable car type thing to ride through the tunnel system where men lived for months--it was the last English tour of the day, whew! It was an ingenious idea, well designed...but unfortunately, it wasn't as successful as it could have been since the Germans simply went north and overran France through territory everyone thought was either off limits or a natural line of defense (neutral Belgium and the Ardennes forest).
We came home after a long but fun and educational day of tours and had an easy dinner of leftovers. Evenings have been fairly routine as we bathe little ones, begin the "shower brigade," and have some down time to visit before turning in for the night.
Day 9:
Today's country--Luxembourg! (Full picture album here.) We drove about an hour and a half to get to this little country. Only one little hitch...we found ourselves in a complete traffic jam...at a rest stop!! What in the world?! We just wanted to find a bathroom, and instead we found ourselves in an utter mess of vehicles! The guys ended up turning our cars around while Joy and I walked the kids through the maze of traffic and into a huge truck stop kind of building so we could take care of business. We hiked back to the van and Suburban, where we loaded up again, went the wrong way on a one-way entrance, and snaked back around to the freeway. (We weren't the only ones to end up doing this, ha!) The traffic on the freeway didn't last too long, so finally we were able to arrive at one of our stops, the American military cemetery where Gen. Patton is buried along with approximately 4,000 soldiers. It is a beautiful place and a sobering reminder of the cost of war.
After that we went 1.5 kilometers to the German military cemetery--which stands in complete contrast to what we had seen at the American site. Just a few observations:
Then it was on to Luxembourg City, where we enjoyed walking around the beautiful downtown area. We had lunch at Chi-Chi's (only because we knew everyone could find something they liked to eat), saw the Duke's Palace, visited the extremely busy chocolate factory store, wandered around the path overlooking the steep ravine below, took more pictures, and finally made our way home to the L's house.
Today we drove into France! Just over the border, it was a much shorter distance than we drove the previous day to get to Burg Eltz. We toured the citadel at Bitche, a magnificently built fortification that has probably been around for centuries, though the history we learned focused on the Franco-Prussian war in the late 1800s. (Full album of pictures is here.) We had headphones with English instruction, so as we passed certain points along the tour we could learn about the fortress, its design and construction, and events that happened there.
Shortly after we entered we came to the first of a series of video screens--we would watch a portion of a movie reenactment (with some explanation/narration interwoven within), then move on to the next part of the citadel, where the movie would continue. It was dark, damp, and chilly, and unfortunately I would have to say that our younger members were not as impressed with the tour--they didn't have headphones, but even so, they probably would not have been able to follow what was happening with the movie! This was just as well, as portions of the drama were quite disconcerting. We shielded young eyes more than once! Aside from the fact that some of the screen shots were definitely not for innocent eyes, the movie was well done and gave a thorough picture of what people were experiencing during a time of war and the role the fortress played in the surrounding area.
This portion of the tour was much longer than any of us had anticipated--at least an hour, which is quite a long time to be in what felt like a cave! We went through all the snacks I had brought in our effort to appease the younger ones' discomfort; Zaden rode in the Ergo on Ted's chest (where he has HAPPILY spent much of our touring time, I might add), and I pushed Lucan in the stroller. When we finally emerged into daylight, we were more than ready for lunch--and there was only one option at that point! The gift shop/cafe offered two choices: pizza or flamkuchen. Ted, Charis, and I decided to try to flamkuchen, which is like a pizza but has a white sauce with ham and onions on it, and the rest of the kids got pizza. It was all fantastic! The weather was beautiful, and we enjoyed eating outside while the kids ran up and down the hill leading to the French flag with a nice view of the town/valley below.
After enjoying the panoramic views and puttering around some of the places on top of the fortress, we hiked back down to the parking lot and headed out for our next stop: the Simserhof fortress, part of the Maginot line, a defensive, underground structure France put in place in anticipation of German advances. (Pictures of this can be found here.) This was so fascinating! We watched an introductory movie and then got on a cable car type thing to ride through the tunnel system where men lived for months--it was the last English tour of the day, whew! It was an ingenious idea, well designed...but unfortunately, it wasn't as successful as it could have been since the Germans simply went north and overran France through territory everyone thought was either off limits or a natural line of defense (neutral Belgium and the Ardennes forest).
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| About to enter the tunnel via an automated train car that used the old supply tracks. |
We came home after a long but fun and educational day of tours and had an easy dinner of leftovers. Evenings have been fairly routine as we bathe little ones, begin the "shower brigade," and have some down time to visit before turning in for the night.
Day 9:
Today's country--Luxembourg! (Full picture album here.) We drove about an hour and a half to get to this little country. Only one little hitch...we found ourselves in a complete traffic jam...at a rest stop!! What in the world?! We just wanted to find a bathroom, and instead we found ourselves in an utter mess of vehicles! The guys ended up turning our cars around while Joy and I walked the kids through the maze of traffic and into a huge truck stop kind of building so we could take care of business. We hiked back to the van and Suburban, where we loaded up again, went the wrong way on a one-way entrance, and snaked back around to the freeway. (We weren't the only ones to end up doing this, ha!) The traffic on the freeway didn't last too long, so finally we were able to arrive at one of our stops, the American military cemetery where Gen. Patton is buried along with approximately 4,000 soldiers. It is a beautiful place and a sobering reminder of the cost of war.
After that we went 1.5 kilometers to the German military cemetery--which stands in complete contrast to what we had seen at the American site. Just a few observations:
- American cemetery = bright, open area; German cemetery = back in more of a forested area, making it seem darker
- American cemetery = well maintained, beautifully manicured grounds; German cemetery = overgrown grass and randomly growing weeds
- American cemetery = every soldier has an individual place/cross marker, including unknown soldiers; German cemetery = each cross marked a spot for 4 bodies
- American cemetery = respectful recognition of the unknown soldiers ("Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God"); German cemetery = stark statement ("One German soldier" or "Two German soldiers")
- American cemetery = memorial areas with inspiring quotations, maps, descriptions of history, a separate chapel building; German cemetery = one larger central cross, no inscriptions, no chapel
Then it was on to Luxembourg City, where we enjoyed walking around the beautiful downtown area. We had lunch at Chi-Chi's (only because we knew everyone could find something they liked to eat), saw the Duke's Palace, visited the extremely busy chocolate factory store, wandered around the path overlooking the steep ravine below, took more pictures, and finally made our way home to the L's house.
Whew! Three countries in two days! It has been SO fun, but we are also thankful today is Sunday, a day of rest and church! And happy Father's Day to the wonderful dads in my life!
June 15, 2013
Road Trip, Part 3
Day 6:
Today was Eliana's birthday, so Joy had planned for us to celebrate by going to a fun place called Yabadoo starting around 10:00. There were a number of homeschool families from their Classical Conversations group, so lots of kids running around at a place similar to Pump It Up or something like that--an indoor mega play place that would never pass U.S. OSHA standards, LOL! It was so nice to have the place to ourselves; it opened to the public at 2:00, and we stayed the entire time. The lunch food was quite good, and we were amazed at how the kids just kept going...and going...and going! We had naps in the afternoon and a special birthday dinner for Eliana (with more cake!).
The pictures from Yabadoo didn't turn out great because of all the action and the not-so-perfect lighting, but if you want an idea of what the place was like, you can check out this album.
Day 7:
Today we hit the road--for a little while--for some more sight-seeing adventures! Brian picked out a great place for us to visit, Rick Steves' favorite castle in all of Europe: Burg Eltz. It was about a two-hour drive, which wasn't bad since we did a kid shuffle and let the little girls ride together while watching Ellie's princess movie that she got for her birthday and the big kids watch Cars 2 in our Suburban.
This amazing castle is extremely well-preserved and nestled in a beautiful yet secluded location, which helped it survive intact over 800 years despite being in an often war-torn region. It has been in the same family for 33 generations, and they still own and use parts of it today while obviously allowing tourists to enjoy it as well. It looks like a fairy tale castle! We began the tour in the entryway decorated with arms and armor. I WISH we had been allowed to take pictures inside! Just incredible what all has been preserved! Paintings dating back hundreds of years; original woodwork; toilets that flushed using rainwater drainage systems; original stained glass; these things and more allowed us a realistic glimpse of what life was like for the occupants who lived there over the centuries. You can putter around on the link above (assuming your browser will translate for you if you don't speak German!) for more information, and for our complete picture album, you can go here.
We had a good lunch of brats, fries, potato salad, and pea soup at one of the castle cafes before our tour, then did the guided part of the tour minus Brian when the tour guide noticed he was wearing a backpack with their dog Bella inside...the guide was not impressed with that! So Brian waited outside with Bella while we toured, and then the kids enjoyed climbing around the castle with Bella while Brian did the tour. There was a self-guided walk through the treasury--again, centuries of history and art beautifully preserved! We finished off with a round of ice cream before heading home, opting to order pizza and have a movie night since the weather wasn't cooperating when we got to the town where Brian and Joy had wanted us to have dinner. We had some tuckered out kiddos, though, so it was best we went home anyway...had to rest up for more adventures the next day!
Today was Eliana's birthday, so Joy had planned for us to celebrate by going to a fun place called Yabadoo starting around 10:00. There were a number of homeschool families from their Classical Conversations group, so lots of kids running around at a place similar to Pump It Up or something like that--an indoor mega play place that would never pass U.S. OSHA standards, LOL! It was so nice to have the place to ourselves; it opened to the public at 2:00, and we stayed the entire time. The lunch food was quite good, and we were amazed at how the kids just kept going...and going...and going! We had naps in the afternoon and a special birthday dinner for Eliana (with more cake!).
The pictures from Yabadoo didn't turn out great because of all the action and the not-so-perfect lighting, but if you want an idea of what the place was like, you can check out this album.
Day 7:
Today we hit the road--for a little while--for some more sight-seeing adventures! Brian picked out a great place for us to visit, Rick Steves' favorite castle in all of Europe: Burg Eltz. It was about a two-hour drive, which wasn't bad since we did a kid shuffle and let the little girls ride together while watching Ellie's princess movie that she got for her birthday and the big kids watch Cars 2 in our Suburban.
This amazing castle is extremely well-preserved and nestled in a beautiful yet secluded location, which helped it survive intact over 800 years despite being in an often war-torn region. It has been in the same family for 33 generations, and they still own and use parts of it today while obviously allowing tourists to enjoy it as well. It looks like a fairy tale castle! We began the tour in the entryway decorated with arms and armor. I WISH we had been allowed to take pictures inside! Just incredible what all has been preserved! Paintings dating back hundreds of years; original woodwork; toilets that flushed using rainwater drainage systems; original stained glass; these things and more allowed us a realistic glimpse of what life was like for the occupants who lived there over the centuries. You can putter around on the link above (assuming your browser will translate for you if you don't speak German!) for more information, and for our complete picture album, you can go here.
We had a good lunch of brats, fries, potato salad, and pea soup at one of the castle cafes before our tour, then did the guided part of the tour minus Brian when the tour guide noticed he was wearing a backpack with their dog Bella inside...the guide was not impressed with that! So Brian waited outside with Bella while we toured, and then the kids enjoyed climbing around the castle with Bella while Brian did the tour. There was a self-guided walk through the treasury--again, centuries of history and art beautifully preserved! We finished off with a round of ice cream before heading home, opting to order pizza and have a movie night since the weather wasn't cooperating when we got to the town where Brian and Joy had wanted us to have dinner. We had some tuckered out kiddos, though, so it was best we went home anyway...had to rest up for more adventures the next day!
 |
| View of the castle from the pathway leading down from the parking lot. |
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| Tobin, Ian (holding Bella), Kenna, and Joy |
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| Arden, Tobin, and Lucan, demonstrating how short some of the doorways were! |
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| Tobin, Lucan, Kenna, and Eliana |
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| And the gratuitous forced perspective shot! |
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| Eager to go exploring! |
June 14, 2013
Road Trip, Part 2
Day 3:
I had been looking forward to this day for a long time! Ever since Ted and I got a 3D puzzle of Neuschwanstein Castle to put together our first year of married life, I've wanted to see this intriguing place. When we learned we were moving to Italy, one of the places we immediately decided to plan to visit was this castle. And then, bonus, it was featured in a recent season of The Amazing Race, which we have been watching with the older kids for a couple of years now, so they were familiar with it as well.
Our tour didn't begin until 11am, which was helpful, since we didn't have a wonderful night of sleep and weren't able to get a terribly early start. It was only about a 45-minute drive from our apartment (a very scenic drive, I might add!), but we did have to pick up our tickets by 9:55 and then hike almost 2 km up the mountain to the castle. We had Zaden in the stroller (which gave me something to lean on as we went up the steep hill), and everyone else walked. Of course there were many comments from the kids expressing longing to ride the horse carriages that passed us every so often, but overall, they marched without a whole lot of complaining. It helped that we weren't in a huge hurry, and their pregnant mama couldn't go that fast, either! Along the way we met up with some Chinese tourists who were first captivated by Zaden's big, bright eyes...and then amazed when they realized that he was one of SIX children in our family. And then to see my pregnant belly, well, that about sent them over the edge, LOL. We posed for pictures several times, the bonus being that we were able to hand our camera over and get a family picture of all of us!
We arrived at the tour waiting area in plenty of time, so we treated ourselves to some Bavarian cookies with red currants (yum!) while we waited. Lucan was very distressed that we couldn't go IMMEDIATELY into the castle! But the cookie distracted him for awhile, LOL. Finally it was our turn. We checked the stroller in and herded in with the other English-speaking tourists for our tour, which lasted approximately 35 minutes.
If you aren't familiar with Neuschwanstein Castle, I'll give you a few interesting highlights, and you can check out the link for more info.
I had been looking forward to this day for a long time! Ever since Ted and I got a 3D puzzle of Neuschwanstein Castle to put together our first year of married life, I've wanted to see this intriguing place. When we learned we were moving to Italy, one of the places we immediately decided to plan to visit was this castle. And then, bonus, it was featured in a recent season of The Amazing Race, which we have been watching with the older kids for a couple of years now, so they were familiar with it as well.
Our tour didn't begin until 11am, which was helpful, since we didn't have a wonderful night of sleep and weren't able to get a terribly early start. It was only about a 45-minute drive from our apartment (a very scenic drive, I might add!), but we did have to pick up our tickets by 9:55 and then hike almost 2 km up the mountain to the castle. We had Zaden in the stroller (which gave me something to lean on as we went up the steep hill), and everyone else walked. Of course there were many comments from the kids expressing longing to ride the horse carriages that passed us every so often, but overall, they marched without a whole lot of complaining. It helped that we weren't in a huge hurry, and their pregnant mama couldn't go that fast, either! Along the way we met up with some Chinese tourists who were first captivated by Zaden's big, bright eyes...and then amazed when they realized that he was one of SIX children in our family. And then to see my pregnant belly, well, that about sent them over the edge, LOL. We posed for pictures several times, the bonus being that we were able to hand our camera over and get a family picture of all of us!
We arrived at the tour waiting area in plenty of time, so we treated ourselves to some Bavarian cookies with red currants (yum!) while we waited. Lucan was very distressed that we couldn't go IMMEDIATELY into the castle! But the cookie distracted him for awhile, LOL. Finally it was our turn. We checked the stroller in and herded in with the other English-speaking tourists for our tour, which lasted approximately 35 minutes.
If you aren't familiar with Neuschwanstein Castle, I'll give you a few interesting highlights, and you can check out the link for more info.
- It opened to the public only 7 weeks after the death of King Ludwig II in 1886.
- Work on the castle began in 1868; it wasn't even completed when the king died.
- Though the style was a romanticized version of the medieval period, the castle was equipped with very modern technology, to include automatically flushing toilets, running water, and central air heating.
- The king only lived in the castle 172 days before his death, which happened under "mysterious circumstances" since he died at the same time as the psychiatrist who had certified him as insane...
We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the castle, but it was definitely well worth the time and effort to tour it! So amazing! (For more pictures, see this album.) It even includes an artificial cave--why, I don't know, but there it was, one of the passageways on the tour! The kids really enjoyed the experience, but when all was said and done, we were more than ready for lunch, so we made our way back down to the village and enjoyed some brats, pretzels and fries before heading out to our next adventure--riding the Alpine Slide not too far away from the castle!
Zaden fell asleep during the short ride to the slide, so Ted and I took turns with the kids. Kenna and Lucan had to go down with someone bigger, so Mom, Dad, Charis, and Arden took turns with the younger ones. Ted and I only went down once each, I think, but I'm so glad I at least did that--I almost declined because of my big belly in favor of letting Ted go again, but it looked so fun! And it was!
There was a pretty nice playground, too, so the kids ran around and enjoyed that for awhile before we decided to head out. After a brief scare during which we frantically ran around yelling for Kenna, we found that she was waiting by the Suburban, since she had looked up while on the swings, didn't see either of us, and immediately headed to the car. (Ted had gone to the bathroom, and I had walked to tell the older kids we were leaving--I had told her the same thing, and I thought she had looked at me as I was calling to her, but somehow she missed that!) As soon as we got in and buckled up, it began raining. We had prayed for God to favor us with good weather, and He certainly did! It rained all the way back to our apartment, where we enjoyed relaxing and napping and playing until polishing off leftovers for dinner and calling it a day.
All in all, a very, very memorable day for all of us!
Day 4:
Not nearly as exciting as Day 3, LOL. We cleaned up and left our apartment at a fairly reasonable hour, feeling thankful for a much better night of sleep. Our drive was much less stressful for Ted than going TO the apartment for the first time, since we gradually left the Alps behind. It did rain during the first part of our drive, but it started to clear up as we approached our friends Brian and Joy's house near Ramstein AB in Germany.
Our timing wasn't the best, since Joy had to take their son Ian to an appointment right about the time we were getting close, but we just headed onto the air base so I could get a few things from the BX--holy cow, it's like the Mecca of shopping! After being in Naples, well, let's just say this is the high end of the overseas military facilities, LOL! Charis and I wandered around quite awhile looking for the things we needed, and then we went to the McDonald's in town where Joy had said to meet her. We never really got lunch--we thought we'd stop along the way, but there really weren't any places to stop around the lunch hour, so we just kept munching snacks. So we had a late lunch while we waited for Joy and the kids to finish up, and then we headed to the L's house to unload and relax!
It was so wonderful to catch up! Brian returned from work and we had a yummy enchilada dinner. Ian is almost 13 now, just a couple of months older than Charis, and our older kids immediately found things to occupy themselves while Kenna and Eliana (who turned 6 just a couple of days after we arrived) immersed themselves in a pink fluffy cloud of Barbies, stuffed animals, and other little girl bits of happiness.
Day 5:
Kind of a down day for us, but a very welcome one! Joy and I chatted the whole day away--such a blessing to have friends that you can just pick up from where you left off! Ted went with Brian to work...the two of them donated blood before coming home for lunch, and then they went off again, Ted in hopes of meeting with his NATO counterpart here in Germany and Brian to attend a retirement ceremony. The kids played the day away, and we just enjoyed hanging out.
We attended Ian's baseball game in the evening, taking along a picnic dinner and watching Ian's last game of the season (unfortunately, they lost in this single-elimination tournament).
June 13, 2013
Road Trip, Part 1
So we left on Friday, June 7, for our first European travel adventure! For all the pictures from our first couple of days, see this album.
Day 1:
Travel. About 6.5 hours of driving to Verona, where we stayed in a pretty nice hotel (two rooms--Ted, Tobin, and Arden in a triple, all with twin beds, and the rest of us in a quad with Zaden in a "crib"). All we really had time or energy for that evening was walking to a pizzeria for dinner. We should have just gone out on the town, since Zaden had NO intention of settling down for quite some time...sigh...
Day 2:
We drove about 100 miles to the beautiful city of Bolzano, Italy, home to the South Tyrol Archaeological Museum, where Otzi the Iceman's mummified remains are kept. Otzi is quite a fascinating story! We got to see the mummy himself as well as the carefully preserved pieces of clothing, backpack, and tools found with him. The dude is over 5,000 years old! It's amazing what scientists have been able to piece together about him, and some of the theories have even changed a bit as technology improves. (He was found in 1991, and teams of researchers from around the world have done a lot of study on him, as you can imagine.) The town of Bolzano is gorgeous, and it was a nice, sunny day, so we enjoyed walking around and eating gelato before getting back into the Suburban to hit the road.
The next part of the drive took us into Austria and the Alps--oh! A dream come true! I've always wanted to drive through the Alps, but not necessarily in winter, LOL! The scenery was incredible, as expected, though the drive was a bit harrowing for Ted in our Suburban. Of course he did great, and we arrived at our apartment location a little after 5pm. The apartment was part of a ranch/stable area that offers riding lessons and various options for horseback riding, which we weren't able to take advantage of, much to the girls' chagrin. But it was a beautiful location, and we got a good deal on it, plus had the opportunity to make our own meals, which helped us save some money.
We spent two nights there--the first night was kind of a nightmare start, with Zaden absolutely WIRED. We had requested a crib, but there wasn't any...we attempted to put Zaden in a lower bunk bed (there were 3 bunk beds in the room adjoining Ted's and my room), but Zaden was obviously not ready for that. We ended up putting the little cushion from the love seat on the floor beside my side of the bed, and he fell asleep with me rubbing his back and holding his head down so he couldn't pop up! Whew! FINALLY everyone got to sleep!
Day 1:
Travel. About 6.5 hours of driving to Verona, where we stayed in a pretty nice hotel (two rooms--Ted, Tobin, and Arden in a triple, all with twin beds, and the rest of us in a quad with Zaden in a "crib"). All we really had time or energy for that evening was walking to a pizzeria for dinner. We should have just gone out on the town, since Zaden had NO intention of settling down for quite some time...sigh...
Day 2:
We drove about 100 miles to the beautiful city of Bolzano, Italy, home to the South Tyrol Archaeological Museum, where Otzi the Iceman's mummified remains are kept. Otzi is quite a fascinating story! We got to see the mummy himself as well as the carefully preserved pieces of clothing, backpack, and tools found with him. The dude is over 5,000 years old! It's amazing what scientists have been able to piece together about him, and some of the theories have even changed a bit as technology improves. (He was found in 1991, and teams of researchers from around the world have done a lot of study on him, as you can imagine.) The town of Bolzano is gorgeous, and it was a nice, sunny day, so we enjoyed walking around and eating gelato before getting back into the Suburban to hit the road.
The next part of the drive took us into Austria and the Alps--oh! A dream come true! I've always wanted to drive through the Alps, but not necessarily in winter, LOL! The scenery was incredible, as expected, though the drive was a bit harrowing for Ted in our Suburban. Of course he did great, and we arrived at our apartment location a little after 5pm. The apartment was part of a ranch/stable area that offers riding lessons and various options for horseback riding, which we weren't able to take advantage of, much to the girls' chagrin. But it was a beautiful location, and we got a good deal on it, plus had the opportunity to make our own meals, which helped us save some money.
We spent two nights there--the first night was kind of a nightmare start, with Zaden absolutely WIRED. We had requested a crib, but there wasn't any...we attempted to put Zaden in a lower bunk bed (there were 3 bunk beds in the room adjoining Ted's and my room), but Zaden was obviously not ready for that. We ended up putting the little cushion from the love seat on the floor beside my side of the bed, and he fell asleep with me rubbing his back and holding his head down so he couldn't pop up! Whew! FINALLY everyone got to sleep!
June 12, 2013
R&B Month Wrap-Up
Confession time: We finished Rice & Beans month meals two days early so that we could leave on our much-anticipated family vacation, our first road trip since moving to Europe! Nevertheless, I feel we accomplished a good thing as a family, and before I begin recording our family adventures on the road, I wanted to take time to process a few of the lessons we've learned...or at least, a few things that have been on my mind personally throughout this experience.
FOOD
Two years ago our family began a 9-10 month period following the GAPS diet. It was something Ted and I both felt that God wanted us to do--even though physically speaking, we didn't have any particular need (though we were initially trying it to see if it would help with the boys' allergy/asthma symptoms). We read and read and read some more, trying to make sense of various conflicting theories about what foods are and aren't healthy for us. (Wheat? No wheat? Soaked and sprouted wheat?) Our GAPS journey is a "whole 'nother story," as some might say, but I feel our experience with GAPS eating is an important backdrop to the whole food issue of Rice & Beans month.
Rice, especially white rice, has not received great press in the health food world lately. But it's cheap--at least where we are. (Did you know some folks in parts of the world can't afford rice and it is actually a luxury?) I confess I struggled quite a bit with how much rice we would be consuming during our 4-week R&B diet. We've resumed eating rice, pasta, and other grains following our GAPS stint, but it has been pretty sparing. So I wasn't sure what to think about all this.
But you know what? I did what I could with what I had. I soaked and rinsed our rice, then cooked it (usually in bulk a couple of times a week), ate it, and thanked God for it. I set aside the prejudices I had against this particular food in favor of pursuing something more far-reaching.
So my thought on the FOOD part of Rice & Beans month is this: we over think this issue waaaaaaay too much. We have SO much variety and access to SO many good, healthy options (yes, and many unhealthy options too!) that we often become paralyzed by and obsessed with our choices. Do I believe we need to practice good nutrition habits? Of course. And sure, it helps to read and stay informed. But the food people of the world change their recommendations every decade, if not more frequently. So I'm not going to get too spun up about what the latest health craze is. I will feed my family, making the best decisions I can depending on our location at the time, and we will thank God for whatever it is we eat, trusting that we can glorify Him whether we are consuming a mound of white rice or a hill of vegetables.
TIME VS. MONEY
One thing about our meal plan over the past month...it didn't involve any pre-packaged food options! I confess I've fallen into the habit of having some frozen meals on hand and prepared sauces for "those" days when we are running around and/or I'm just too spent to cook from scratch. Those weren't an option for us, because I know they are budget-busters. I bought dried beans (mostly--I did have to use some canned black beans, but only because the commissary doesn't carry plain dried black beans), soaked and cooked them in bulk, and then put them in containers in the fridge or freezer. I made sure we had homemade bread for lunch sandwiches. I made soup. I made flatbread. I made hummus. I made pita pockets. I washed, peeled, and chopped veggies.
I spent a LOT of time in the kitchen.
And while I was mixing, peeling, or chopping, I had a lot of time to think. Using prepared foods CAN be a great time-saver. But...what do I do with the time I save? Do I invest that into God's kingdom purposes? One of our goals for R&B month was to see a savings in our grocery budget, which we will then share with our friends at Lahash to use to help care for God's children who are in need. Saving money to give away is a pretty tangible result of R&B month. Saving time to give away...well, it's harder to measure, for one thing, but I had to realize that on the days I have "easy" meals...let's be honest. That extra time is usually spent on ME! It's been a long day; I'm too tired to cook; so obviously I'll pop in this frozen dinner so I can sit down and put my feet up and spend some "quality time" online!
I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with that. I think busy wives and moms need some quick and easy meal options in our hectic world. But I was convicted about being more purposeful in the way I spend my time...just as I was being purposeful about choosing the least expensive meal options so that we could cut back on our grocery spending.
TRUE SACRIFICE
I have to be honest...there weren't too many times I felt THAT deprived during R&B month! We found some great recipes (a couple of duds, too, but we managed), and there was always plenty to eat. We did cut way back on the times we allowed ourselves snacks, and post-dinner eating was pretty much non-existent. So...ok, I did miss cookies and desserts! And there were some afternoons that I really, REALLY wanted a snack...but since I had to start cooking earlier than usual, I often found that keeping busy (while drinking incredible amounts of water) helped keep my mind off my tummy rumblings.
Having some celebration meals probably helped with not feeling deprived, but I also thought a lot about how much we DO have. I have an indoor stove! I have an oven! I have a refrigerator! (Two, actually.) I have lots of freezer space! I have a microwave! I have running water! I have plenty of kitchen utensils! I have lots of table space for my family to sit around!
Where's the sacrifice in THAT?! If I REALLY want to identify with the way folks in other parts of the world live, well, I think a lot more would have to change than simply our food choices.
As I mentioned in a previous post, despite all our blessings, we, like the children of Israel, did some grumbling.
And so the final lesson I'll share here is an ongoing one. We are learning to offer a true sacrifice of praise, learning to be living sacrifices. Praising God when we feel like complaining...giving Him glory when we're grumpy...choosing to love the ones around us even when they are driving us up the wall...these things may seem little, but really, such actions are indeed sacrifices! In order to fully pursue Christ, we sacrifice our earthly, fleshly desires and tendencies, nailing them to the cross, begging for God's mercy to make us more like Jesus. The exposure of ugly attitudes beneath a veneer of self-righteousness is a painful one, but it, too, is a sacrifice...one that leads to repentance and transformation when we are willing to humble ourselves before a God who gave the Ultimate Sacrifice for us.
CONCLUSION
So. R&B month for us is officially over for 2013. Will we do it again in 2014? Our current plan is YES! When all was said and done, the kids agreed that it wasn't so bad after all, and there were parts they actually kind of liked! Lord willing, we will join with the larger Rice & Beans community during the month of March and enjoy sharing the experience with folks across the world who are doing this together.
Now for the exciting part. This to me was pretty unbelievable...although our numbers may be a bit skewed since we didn't actually purchase R&B groceries for a FULL month. Plus, leaving for vacation at the end of our experience meant that I also made an effort to simply use up what we had in the fridge, meaning I spent much less on groceries our final week than I may have otherwise.
But still.
Our total savings on groceries and eating out (or not) for the month...
...Our total savings that we get to share with our friends at Lahash...
...Drum roll, please...
$620.21!!!
How exciting is that?! One final lesson, I guess I should add here, is that obviously I can be more diligent about cutting back a bit more regularly on the grocery/restaurant part of our budget!
To God be the glory!
FOOD
Two years ago our family began a 9-10 month period following the GAPS diet. It was something Ted and I both felt that God wanted us to do--even though physically speaking, we didn't have any particular need (though we were initially trying it to see if it would help with the boys' allergy/asthma symptoms). We read and read and read some more, trying to make sense of various conflicting theories about what foods are and aren't healthy for us. (Wheat? No wheat? Soaked and sprouted wheat?) Our GAPS journey is a "whole 'nother story," as some might say, but I feel our experience with GAPS eating is an important backdrop to the whole food issue of Rice & Beans month.
Rice, especially white rice, has not received great press in the health food world lately. But it's cheap--at least where we are. (Did you know some folks in parts of the world can't afford rice and it is actually a luxury?) I confess I struggled quite a bit with how much rice we would be consuming during our 4-week R&B diet. We've resumed eating rice, pasta, and other grains following our GAPS stint, but it has been pretty sparing. So I wasn't sure what to think about all this.
But you know what? I did what I could with what I had. I soaked and rinsed our rice, then cooked it (usually in bulk a couple of times a week), ate it, and thanked God for it. I set aside the prejudices I had against this particular food in favor of pursuing something more far-reaching.
So my thought on the FOOD part of Rice & Beans month is this: we over think this issue waaaaaaay too much. We have SO much variety and access to SO many good, healthy options (yes, and many unhealthy options too!) that we often become paralyzed by and obsessed with our choices. Do I believe we need to practice good nutrition habits? Of course. And sure, it helps to read and stay informed. But the food people of the world change their recommendations every decade, if not more frequently. So I'm not going to get too spun up about what the latest health craze is. I will feed my family, making the best decisions I can depending on our location at the time, and we will thank God for whatever it is we eat, trusting that we can glorify Him whether we are consuming a mound of white rice or a hill of vegetables.
TIME VS. MONEY
One thing about our meal plan over the past month...it didn't involve any pre-packaged food options! I confess I've fallen into the habit of having some frozen meals on hand and prepared sauces for "those" days when we are running around and/or I'm just too spent to cook from scratch. Those weren't an option for us, because I know they are budget-busters. I bought dried beans (mostly--I did have to use some canned black beans, but only because the commissary doesn't carry plain dried black beans), soaked and cooked them in bulk, and then put them in containers in the fridge or freezer. I made sure we had homemade bread for lunch sandwiches. I made soup. I made flatbread. I made hummus. I made pita pockets. I washed, peeled, and chopped veggies.
I spent a LOT of time in the kitchen.
And while I was mixing, peeling, or chopping, I had a lot of time to think. Using prepared foods CAN be a great time-saver. But...what do I do with the time I save? Do I invest that into God's kingdom purposes? One of our goals for R&B month was to see a savings in our grocery budget, which we will then share with our friends at Lahash to use to help care for God's children who are in need. Saving money to give away is a pretty tangible result of R&B month. Saving time to give away...well, it's harder to measure, for one thing, but I had to realize that on the days I have "easy" meals...let's be honest. That extra time is usually spent on ME! It's been a long day; I'm too tired to cook; so obviously I'll pop in this frozen dinner so I can sit down and put my feet up and spend some "quality time" online!
I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with that. I think busy wives and moms need some quick and easy meal options in our hectic world. But I was convicted about being more purposeful in the way I spend my time...just as I was being purposeful about choosing the least expensive meal options so that we could cut back on our grocery spending.
TRUE SACRIFICE
I have to be honest...there weren't too many times I felt THAT deprived during R&B month! We found some great recipes (a couple of duds, too, but we managed), and there was always plenty to eat. We did cut way back on the times we allowed ourselves snacks, and post-dinner eating was pretty much non-existent. So...ok, I did miss cookies and desserts! And there were some afternoons that I really, REALLY wanted a snack...but since I had to start cooking earlier than usual, I often found that keeping busy (while drinking incredible amounts of water) helped keep my mind off my tummy rumblings.
Having some celebration meals probably helped with not feeling deprived, but I also thought a lot about how much we DO have. I have an indoor stove! I have an oven! I have a refrigerator! (Two, actually.) I have lots of freezer space! I have a microwave! I have running water! I have plenty of kitchen utensils! I have lots of table space for my family to sit around!
Where's the sacrifice in THAT?! If I REALLY want to identify with the way folks in other parts of the world live, well, I think a lot more would have to change than simply our food choices.
As I mentioned in a previous post, despite all our blessings, we, like the children of Israel, did some grumbling.
And so the final lesson I'll share here is an ongoing one. We are learning to offer a true sacrifice of praise, learning to be living sacrifices. Praising God when we feel like complaining...giving Him glory when we're grumpy...choosing to love the ones around us even when they are driving us up the wall...these things may seem little, but really, such actions are indeed sacrifices! In order to fully pursue Christ, we sacrifice our earthly, fleshly desires and tendencies, nailing them to the cross, begging for God's mercy to make us more like Jesus. The exposure of ugly attitudes beneath a veneer of self-righteousness is a painful one, but it, too, is a sacrifice...one that leads to repentance and transformation when we are willing to humble ourselves before a God who gave the Ultimate Sacrifice for us.
CONCLUSION
So. R&B month for us is officially over for 2013. Will we do it again in 2014? Our current plan is YES! When all was said and done, the kids agreed that it wasn't so bad after all, and there were parts they actually kind of liked! Lord willing, we will join with the larger Rice & Beans community during the month of March and enjoy sharing the experience with folks across the world who are doing this together.
Now for the exciting part. This to me was pretty unbelievable...although our numbers may be a bit skewed since we didn't actually purchase R&B groceries for a FULL month. Plus, leaving for vacation at the end of our experience meant that I also made an effort to simply use up what we had in the fridge, meaning I spent much less on groceries our final week than I may have otherwise.
But still.
Our total savings on groceries and eating out (or not) for the month...
...Our total savings that we get to share with our friends at Lahash...
...Drum roll, please...
$620.21!!!
How exciting is that?! One final lesson, I guess I should add here, is that obviously I can be more diligent about cutting back a bit more regularly on the grocery/restaurant part of our budget!
To God be the glory!
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