Time for some pictures!

From the last post, I mentioned the amazing cows of Belgium, and now I have the photos to prove it!





Here is a new Mama. See her fresh incision? The babies are so big here they must be delivered by c-section!



Saw some cows near the Northern coast of Belgium that share their pasture with WWII-era pillboxes for artillery storage.


See, I told you. ;-)

Random Belgium Observations...August 8, 2011

There are so many little things I see here daily that intrigue me. I am fascinated by the qualities that I feel make Belgium...well, Belgium. Sometimes these things are not enough for a whole post in their own right, but they deserve mention nonetheless. So, in what is most likely the first in many, here is a collection of some of my random Belgium observations.

1. Ventured into a store a few days ago that looked like it could be the "Sam's Club" of Belgium, but on a small scale. Lots of industrial looking racks stacked high with "bargains"...although very little is cheap here. Loved that the first section you went through was beer and wine. These people have their priorities clear. The aisle then led me past the butcher (a real person!) with a beautifully presented and diverse group of offerings, including lots of variations of lapin (=rabbit). The aisle then continued to the chocolate and waffle section, aka heaven on earth. Here I grabbed some waffles (I have grown fond of the plain sugar variety) and some chocolate bars. I had good intentions to mail some back to the US, but the family decided to test this first purchase of Belgian chocolate out on themselves. Loved that every aisle had unmanned sample stations, including wine! Most of the milk in Belgium is "shelf milk" which is stable at room temperature. It is strange for me to see the milk in a central aisle of the store. In this store I found the milk, right under the feminine protection section. Really? I will be venturing back to this fun store.

2. The cows are everywhere. So are the sheep. A suburban-type street can have a small field of sheep right in between two houses. Whole different zoning system.

3. Fields are mostly corn and wheat, at least from what I can identify and what is us close to where we are staying. This last week or so has been wheat harvest. My oh my, has it been smelly around here!

4. I love living in the land of French. It is a fun challenge.

5. I have to remember to convert the Euros to dollars in my head. They are close enough that when I see a price it is easy to think dollars without even realizing it. "Oh look, this jacket is 60 Euro. Hang on a sec, that is 85 Dollars!"

6. The bread really is THAT GOOD.

7. We headed up to the beach a couple weekends ago. On our way, we happened upon a McDonalds. There are not many here. It was about lunch time, so we decided to stop rather than look for something else. First funny: the Quarter Ponder with Cheese really is called a Royal with Cheese (funny if you have seen Pulp Fiction). Second "funny": Jay tried to get a refill on our drink so we could take it in the car. When he came back to me, he said, "Here. We better drink every drop. That refill just cost 2.23 Euro (3.16 Dollars)!" Third "funny": Our bill was equivalent to 28 Dollars, for four of us, and only two of us ordered drinks. Ouch. I was a little happy though, because this will encourage us to always try to find a better alternative than McDonalds!
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So we finally start our move-in to the chateau apartment in two days. I will be so glad to get out of a hotel, but we still won't have our own bed for another 1-2 weeks. It will be nice to be able to stay in our place before the bulk of our things arrive, however, so as to get a better feel for how to arrange our furniture, etc. Took our dog for a visit a couple days ago to begin to acclimate him to the "smells of the chateau!"

Au revoir for now! Jennifer

Moving to a new country is like being a newlywed...

This thought struck me while driving through the Belgian countryside recently: Moving to a new country is like being a newlywed.

There is a LOT of planning that comes before the big event. A LOT. A lot of discussion of seeming minutiae, calendars, to-do lists. Then comes the big event, in this case travel day. Wow we just landed on a one-way ticket from America, and this is our new country. It all goes by fast and you try to listen to the advice to stop and enjoy it. "It's your big day, enjoy all the moments."

Then the event is over. Now it is just you and the husband (and now the kiddos too), all looking at each other like, "What did we just do? Where are we? Is it over already? All the planning is over?"

Next comes the funk. Having been in Belgium for a whole 19 days already, I can admit in my retrospect 20/20 vision that I had a funk. A mini-funk mind you, but a funk nonetheless. Mine was only a couple days- a little time where I just wondered if we had done the right thing. Of course, jet lag was no help to my clarity or optimism. But just as newlyweds sometimes look at each other like, "Oh my. We just got married.", I had a bit of, "Oh my. I just moved to Belgium."

Happily and gratefully the funk quickly passed. I got my feet under me, got all the right IDs and a drivers license, could stretch my legs a bit on the open road, found enough from stores that I could survive, and learned that my high school French was coming back to me and proving to be very helpful.

Now, the fun stage... I am an annoyingly, gratingly-in-love newlywed. I love this place. I am enchanted with all of its quirks and cute charms. I smile a lot, and tell anyone that will listen (and some that won't?) how, for me, Belgium=Bliss.

So, if the pattern holds, soon Belgium and I will settle into a comfortable, yet deep and meaningful, long-term relationship. I always love Dr. Laura's marriage advice: Choose Wisely. Treat Kindly. I believe we have chosen wisely, and I believe Belgium and I will treat each other very kindly.

Can't wait til our first anniversary so we can buy each other paper.

I am living in the land of carbs!!

How is a girl supposed to retain her girlish figure (or try to reaccquire what was lost at our last duty station) when living in CARB WORLD? We visited a small agricultural fair today, and had a great time checking out the Belgian cows (the biggest, most muscled creatures I have ever seen), horses, and tractors. But also, the fair was filled with CARBS!! Waffles, chocolate, breads, fries, and beer. Oh geez, this is going to be tough...

We are starting to get adjusted, but it will be a long 2-3 weeks in this lodge. It is hard to cook in the small space, and with the small pans. It is hard to go out, because we are not sure where to try, and prices can get expensive.

Weather has been very Belgian...if you don't like it, just wait a minute and it will change!

Jay picked up some pizzas from outside the gate here, and just got back...so gotta go! My carbs await!

Bye bye USA...Things I am going to miss...

A quick, off-the-top-of-my-head list of things I will miss:

1. Many, many "sappy" things that make America great.... hearing the National Anthem, seeing military families being reunited, capitalism, many people from many geographies yet all being American...

2. On to more serious things.... TARGET.

3. Target again. Yes I will miss it that much.

4. Big Brother- the TV show...a summer staple. On the TV note... Real Housewives. Been watching the few episodes they post on Hulu, and will miss that little distraction.

5. So, Hulu too. I'll miss Hulu too.

6. A good mushroom onion swiss burger.

7. Of course my friends and family. These aren't in order. Should be obvious I will miss them but better write it down so I don't get in trouble (Mom).

8. People speaking English, although sometimes that is not always true.

9. Black Friday.

10. Tacky Christmas decorations.

I am sure there will be more, and I am sure I will find replacements for a few in Belgium as well. Updates to come for sure.

Leaving on a Jet Plane!

Today is the day....barring any unforseen delays or hiccups, we fly to Belgium today! Can't wait to be reunited with Jay, and begin our Belgian adventure... land of chocolate, waffles, beer, fries, mussels, diamonds....and hopefully many beautiful family memories of fun and travel. We will update as soon as we can. Au revoir!

Almost time to go!

SO...welcome to the new blog! No promises here...I'm not what you would call the most consistent blogger or journaler, but somehow it is a perpetual resolution for me. I just can't imagine embarking on this Belgian adventure and watching it evolve without at least trying to document it....things we love, things we miss, things we laugh about, things we experience, things we just scratch our heads about...I am sure there will be many. We are really really excited to get this new chapter in our family's story started. We are a military family, and expect to be in country most likely for three years. This will be the longest we have lived in one place since 2004, and certainly will seem like forever (hopefully in a good way) for the kiddos. They have been to a different school every year, so a little continuity in that department will be a blessing. Speaking of blessings, we certainly regard this opportunity as a blessing for us. We are continually reminded that God gives us what we need EXACTLY when we need it. I am so excited to see the lessons He has waiting for us next.

The kids and I head out in a little less than a week. Daddy has been there about 5 days getting a jump on all that boring check-in and new job junk. We should have a couple weeks in the military lodge, before moving into our new apartment. It will be so great to receive our shipment of household goods, and settle in. Our apartment is out in the country, but surrounded by five other military families, lots of kids, dogs, farm animals, and beautiful countryside. Details on all that certainly to follow.

Tomorrow we take our dog for his last "pre-Belgian inspections." He needs a couple more forms so that he may (legally? I mean who really checks all this stuff?) join us in Belgium. Lord help me at the airport on departure day...two kids, a carry-on dog, kids carry-on bags, all our luggage, and an overnight flight. But a what a sweet ending....my husband and BELGIUM await us on the other end!