So much to do.

I am going to catch up so I am current. This will be a long one with lots of photos. The law in Germany was supposed to change in April 2020 that Jeff would need to get is Visa prior to going to Berlin. The kids and I could wait and get ours once we arrived...... more on this later.  Jeff flew to the German consulate in LA and stayed with the Hixon's (thank you) To say this trip was not stressful for Jeff would be an understatement.  The process in and of itself is hard, lots of paperwork and not really sure if it will work. On the way to the consulate Jeff was rear ended, arrived on time, needed cash, had no cash, left to get cash, now 3rd in line instead of 1st, waited 2 hours in a silent room, getting closer to plane departure time, gets to a person who has no idea why he would get his visa before leaving. Insert eye roll, they had no idea law was changing. All paperwork was in order and he ended up receiving his passport back with his visa in it. YAY!

We began working on all the half done projects on our house.

No more carpet in hallway, laminate floor, way better

Stairs to basement painted

We needed to get our house down to what we are taking with us and what will go in our 10x18 storage shed. Garage sale it is!! Could not have done with without all of my friends. I am truly blessed. I will continue to say this over and over. I am humbled by all the help.

Got rid of so much stuff. Amazing how much we accumulate over time. I find that if you have a house that is big enough to store things you might use, you do.  It was hard to go through everything and get rid of. The emotions attached to things is fascinating. My friends took over the sale, which I appreciated as I thought it was hard to watch certain things go. Purging is freeing.

Lexa has so many good friends too. Thankful for this! Lexa and her friends have written all over her walls. It was hard to have to cover them up. Her friends came over and painted her room with her.

Again, my friends step in to help with all the paint prep work. Then our neighbors came over to help do the actual painting. Blessings abound.

We had gotten bids to paint the house from $5500-$9000 so decided to buy a sprayer and do it ourselves. Thanks to all the help of friends we were able to get it done in a few days.

Our bathroom is PINK..... that needed to change. Why do we do things right when we are leaving. Because it needs to be done. We will enjoy it when we return.

and the pink is gone! Course the shower door is not done.... but hope it will be soon. It will be done after we leave.

Leaking in the lower bathroom, led to the following.

Front porch complete.

Jeff is a work horse. He is amazing. I am continually impressed by all he can do. He has worked so hard getting everything ready.

This is getting real. The family calendar has our leave date visible, the lock box is on.  Thanks to our property manager we rented our place right away and the tenants will move in between July 17 and August 1. Thankful that this is set up. I hope they take care of our home and flowers! The flowers are my favorite.

I could go on and on with the flowers. I love God's creation and attention to detail. One of my happy places at our home.  Praying it will be there when we return. 

Rent storage or build storage?

The plan was to rent a 10x10 storage unit so we could store out stuff for the 2 years we were gone. Then COVID 19 hit, Jeff and kids were doing distance learning and not going into school. The plan was hatched to build a 10x18 storage unit in our back yard. The first of MANY projects to prepare for the the move. We added a bit of construction to the distance learning. 

To Germany we go!

Oh my goodness how crazy the story begins.  I am going backwards for a bit. There has been an opportunity to do a 2 year teaching job at JFK School of Berlin through Poudre School District. Jeff had a heard about it, but had not really looked into it, until now......So the story begins. Nov 2019 there becomes a 5th grade teaching position available, Jeff mentions he wants to put in for it. I thought it sounded like it would be fun to move to Germany and explore another county.  I start watching International House Hunters, not really thinking we would do this, but fun to think of the possibilities. I decide to look at the school website and look under employment. There was no 5th grade job listed. I told Jeff, he was frustrated as it was there the last time he looked, but he hadn't yet applied. He decided to reach out to see what happened. They indicated there were too many applicants and they closed the position. The encouraged him to go ahead and apply for a different position, so he could get into the system for the application process and would later be able to indicate what position he really was applying for. They also advised him of all the documents they would need if he made it through the next part of process. Jeff immediately sent in all of the documents and within a couple of days they called him for an interview. Some of the staff from JFKS came to CO and interviewed Jeff in person. They were then headed to Atlanta for an international hiring fair to continue their interview process.  I went to meet my friend Tina in Nashville December 2019 for the weekend and Jeff was to find out if he was hired after I got back.

I woke up in my hotel and there were several text messages from Jeff, asking me to call him. He couldn't wait as after 45 minutes I get another text that said "We are going to Berlin!!!!"   I must say I I was excited, in disbelief and also felt like vomiting.  It was news I would have liked to have been with my family when I found out, just to be together and see reactions of kids and excitement from Jeff. I was thankful I was with Tina as she is just like family.  We saw God's hand on this each step of the way, so we felt led that this is what we are going to be doing. So the adventure begins....