This past week we joined the rest of our family from across Europe in Bellaria, Italy. This was our all Europe retreat (AER). I will NEVER complain about going to Italy :). The food is incredible, the sun is always out and in this case we stayed right on the beach. Since living in Belgium we have learned to NEVER take the sun for granted.
So we spent some time at the beach, and the boys LOVED it!!
The house has not been this quiet in 3 years! Today was Colton’s first day of school, Maternelle (pre-k). This is a milestone that has overwhelmed me for the past year. I felt so lost in the beginning trying to figure out the Belgian system, how to find a school and where to place him. In the beginning it overwhelmed me so much that I just procrastinated and kept on procrastinating. I shouldn’t be surprised that God knew what I needed without me even having to ask. One day something in me just motivated me to look on a certain website and I discovered all the Maternelle’s he could attend. It’s like the Lord just gave me a nudge knowing I didn’t have much time left to find a place. The schools here fill extremely fast. Some say you should already sign up during their first year of life. The next day I brought a friend with me to visit the ones closest to our place. The school directly across the street from our apartment had only 7 places left and if I had waited one more week they would of been filled. We were able to meet the director and take a tour of the school and I had an overwhelming sense of peace that this was where Colton needed to be.
During my pregnancy with Ryland I had some major fear and anxiety over my delivery. I can't really explain why, as I had a great experience with Colton's delivery, except that it was just a spiritual battle I needed to work through. I spent a lot of time preparing myself mentally and in the bible to tear down my fear and build up my faith so that when the time came to deliver Ryland I could do it with a peaceful mind and heart, knowing that would make the whole process a lot more enjoyable and easier on my body. So much of the experience to me is mental.
While we were in California we took a day trip down to San Diego to see Nolan's cousins who also have a little boy just a few months younger than Colton. Together we all went to the San Diego Zoo…
When I was pregnant with Colton I decided to look into cloth diapering. I'm not really sure why… I have a friend or two that do it and so it intrigued me I guess. Once I started looking into it…