Constant Beginnings

We went on our first, big European holiday to Zermatt, Switzerland. Despite half of our family being sick, it was amazing! Amazing and expensive, but we'll focus on the amazing part. Zermatt is a little village tucked in the valley under the shadows of the Matterhorn. The Matterhorn is still one of the most deadly mountain climbs to this day. It has quite the presence. Zermatt is a electric powered vehicle village, which means no personal cars/trucks. Taxis, busses, and shuttles are electric and bikes are the primary mode of transportation. It is a small, quaint little ski village where walking is a way of life. It takes about 15 minutes to walk from one end of the village to the other. You can only get to Zermatt by train, which costs about 5 Swiss Franc per round trip. Chris and I. Chris and I with the Matterhorn right behind us. Mya called the Mountain "Cloud Mountain" as it was often engulfed. Mya with Chris. Claire and Mya. They were so c...

Dear old Pedro Jones finally arrived at our house. Santa has been sending elves to our house every year for the past 3 years. They come and watch our children, then report back to Santa whether they have been "naughty" or "nice." The elves of years past have been pretty calm and boring. They hide in crazy places, but have behaved themselves in our company. This one, Pedro Jones, is another story. He is already trouble. This is what we awoke to this morning.... The little bugger broke out of the box by himself, found my sugar, apparently thinking it was snow and began having some snow angel fun! The girls were aghast! They couldn't believe his behavior, yet repeatedly tried to convince me that he wasn't a naughty elf. This could be a long 30 days....

Poor Mya has been battling a groggy throat for the past few weeks. Dr. Mom has examined her throat and determined she has some mega huge tonsils. She doesn't seem to have any other symptoms aside from an occasional cough and her gasping for air, which we think is due to those 2 golf balls in her throat. She doesn't complain of anything. I asked her if her throat hurt and she said no.  After weeks of hemming and hawing, I called the doctor on Monday with the intent to beg and plead for an ENT referral. I don't hold much faith in the military medical profession. Sadly, the pediatrician in Korea was less than stellar and my own experiences here, have left major holes in my faith. We went to the appointment and were graced with Dr. Flake who is my new love. He is AMAZZIINNGG! I would love to have him be our kids' Primary Care Manager, but he is a Developmental Pediatrician, so it is likely that will not happen. He was fabulous though. He has a great bedside manner, gets ...

I had always heard about the gray German skies. How sometimes the sun doesn't shine for weeks. How sometimes depression is a bit catchy because of the yucky, dreary weather. Hmmm. Perhaps this post is a bit metaphorical. Our life has been a bit dreary for the past two months, but you know what??--sometimes the sunshine does come out. Things finally start like they are picking up again. We are moving closer to our home buying purchase. We met with a bank last night that finally made us feel like we were getting a good deal vs. handing over our lives. If all continues to go well, we will own a home before the ball drops for 2013. A house, which I might add, will be paid in full within 10 years. Crazy! The kicker is that it cost more than our house in Massachusetts cost and that sucker was no bargain. So exciting! Our big plan is to purchase, pay like crazy for the 3 years we live in it, then depending on how it all plays out, rent it out. The next few years are critical in Chris'...

Goodness, I am not a planner, but a bit avante garde as my mom frequently reminds me. While that is not always true, I am finding myself having to plan things that I typically wouldn't and I hate it! Dave Ramsey has encompassed our life, remember? He is a firm believer in not using credit, which means the Boynton's pay cash! Always--well, we aren't quite there yet, but I actually paid cash for groceries yesterday AND for gas. Who does that??! Christmas is also coming and that means alot is in store for us. We'll likely be moving to a different house--OUR home as in owned by us. We won't be paying cash for that ;) We'll also be travelling ALOT! Christmas markets are gearing up and we are off of school. So, where to go, what to do, and how to fit it all in our budget? I've been scouring the internet, reading blogs, looking for deals. This is the agenda thus far. It looks as though we will be heading to a few different markets-- Rothendam, Nuerenburg, Ruedeshe...

I hate Pumpkin Pie. I really don't like any pie for that matter, but Chris loves them. I typically do the good wife thing and bake some for him. He had an office Thanksgiving Feast, so I had to come up with something to make. Sadly, I couldn't partake myself because of work, so I had to find something I could prepare the night before. Voila! Pumpkin Crunch Cake. Remember I dislike pumpkin pie? I do love me some pumpkin crunch cake. It is DELISH! and easy! Did you hear me? EASY, PEASY! Pumpkin Crunch Cake Ingredients: 1 box yellow cake mix 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk 3 large eggs 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. salt 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (the original recipe called for 1/2 cup) 1 cup butter, melted Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease bottom of 9 x 13″ pan.  Mix pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.  Pour mixture into greased pan.  Sprinkle dry cake mix over pumpkin mixture and top with pecans....

Living in Germany we are forced to become a bit more "green." Recycling is mandatory and non compliance comes with HEAVY fines. The same was true in Korea; however, we frequently discarded trash at the base dumpsters (shhhh, don't tell). Again, not an option here. Base residents must also recycle. At first, it was very hard. We have 3 bins--paper, bio and residual, as well as gelb (which means "yellow" in German) bags for plastics/aluminum, etc. There are pictures on the yellow bags for us, stupid Americans who aren't quite sure, but the rest of the bins leave us dumbfounded. We have finally figured it out, although there are certain items that may fit in the category of "bio," they cannot go in that container, for example, cooked meats. Anyway, it is now routine and part of our life. Our kids are slowly figuring out where their snack wrappers go and where to dump their excess food. It is rather eye opening how much packaging and excess we have eac...

Here we are. 2 months have passed since my miscarriage. It has been a rollercoaster ride. One that I've desperately wanted to get off since being forced to ride. I've had happy days and some very sad days. It is odd. The days I am happy, I also have a guilt that surrounds that happiness. My psyche somehow works very hard to convince the rest of me that I shouldn't feel this way--that it is wrong. Additionally, our children didn't know we were due to have a baby, so it is for them that my smile is pasted on my face each morning and we push through our crazy, normal, busy lives. Although time doesn't make me forget the heartache and sadness, it does help me to realize that I must pick myself up and begin to find me again. I was doing so well with running prior to this pregnancy. I stopped when I began to miscarry. It was a long, brutal month. I tried to get back into gear, but again, my emotional hell took over. The fact is that I am a much happier person when I hav...

Home is where you make it, but home is also where your heart is. I am a North Dakota girl. There isn't much there and for many, they'd rather live anywhere but there. Growing up in ND, I couldn't wait to leave. It was a popular phrase uttered by many and maybe most. Having left and seen the world, I've quickly realized the  amazingness of my home. Now it is with great anticipation that I go home each summer. My girls, although not born and raised in ND, possess that same anticipation. They love ND almost as much as I do. During our 30 day visit, I am able to show them the simple pleasures. The fun in walking to parks, growing a garden, seeing blue skies, long days, bright nights, people who know everyone, fields and fields of grains, lots and lots of family time, playing at the lake, riding bikes on the street, driving a tractor with Papa (which both think should justify the  opportunity to drive my car) and smelling blooming flowers everywhere we go. Simple, simple, ...