Almost There!

Well, I have had lots of thoughts and events in the last few weeks but haven't been able to write about them since the computer is on a boat at the moment.  Let's just say no matter people try to prepare you for an oversea's move, it is still quite overwhelming.  Organizing 2 moves (one to the Netherlands and then one to storage) was both cleansing and stressful at the same time.  While I somewhat enjoyed going through every closet and every drawer, by the time the mover's showed up I still felt unprepared. As the storage mover's showed up a week later I still felt like I was scrambling at the last minute. I was a little taken back with what was not packed and like every other move thought I would just through it in the back of the car...but wait...we are traveling on an airplane. Needless to say, the post office guy was not too thrilled when I showed up with 9 boxes about 15 minutes before it closed.  I think we still have about 2 more boxes to ship on Saturday before we leave but I think it will all be ok.  After a little hiccup with painters for our VA house, a delayed flight to Omaha for a week right before we leave (not sure what I was thinking cutting it so close to the end), and a few other hiccups, we are enjoying a few days of down time finally before we take off for good.  A good Peterson wedding (Congrats to Kathy and Ben) was a great reason to take this trip!

A quick not for those who plan to take animals oversea's, it is quite expensive! Make sure that you ask the airline if there is a country entry fee on top of the plane ticket (found that out the hard way now the cat's trip doubled in price).  And that does not include all the shots, microchip and international pet certificates that you have to get in order to travel.

Another challenge of this move has been Bella.  I did not realize the toll this would take on her being almost 5 and knowing exactly what is going on.  She has been acting out, not listening, being a little aggressive and quite unpleasant the last few weeks.  I think I should have prepared her a little more for what moving really means.  She has been saying the last few days that she is sad to leave her blue house and is concerned that her bed and stripped sheets will not make it to the new house.  As much as
I sympathize with her, it has still be difficult to deal with her on a day to day basis.  I hope that we can
get settled quickly to bring back some normal into her life.

Sunday (6/2) we say farewell to good ole USA for a few years. I have some mixed emotions about this but am really excited for this next chapter in our lives. I can't wait to step on that plane and realize I have done everything that I can do and now everything will now just have to work itself out. Farewell for now and I will try to get back on the blog as soon as I can and let you all know how our trip went!!!