Home from our Retreat

Jacob


Jackson



Jack outside in the back of the resort




Jacob, Emma, and Jack





Jack, Emma, and Jacob




Jack,Emma, and Jacob




Outside of the main building (there was a toddler playground there)



The countryside (the white there is the roof of the waterpark)




The slide inside the water park

The lake at the resort

We got home from the retreat and just had a wonderful time! Anyone who had more than 1 child got a bungalow! It was great, of course I kept thinking "I need to take pictures" and did I no! I know, I know!! So let me describe it! Lots of stairs! Lots of stairs from the road down to the front door! The entry way floor there was a bedroom with bunkbeds (the boys picked that room immediately!) and there was a half bath on that floor too. Upstairs a full bathroom, a bedroom with 2 twin beds, and the masterbedroom with a Kingsize bed, and balcony! Emma and I took the master bedroom! LOL Down stairs, all the way down, there's a great room: Living room, dining, and kitchen! The kitchen had everything except an oven (it did have a stove top), and a fireplace! From the bottom floor you could go outside to a patio and there was table and chairs, and a large yard area that the boys enjoyed completely!

At the main building was conference rooms, resturant, play area's, childcare, and the water park and I do mean a water park!!! I did not end up getting a massage, because on Saturday I decided it was in Emma's best intrest (and every one elses! LOL) for her to get a nap. So after lunch we all went back to the bungalow and Emma took a 3 hour nap, the boys played outside, and I read my book! It was WONDERFUL, enjoyable, and oh so relaxing! Once she was up we walked to the main building and went swimming. (Oh we had went swimming Friday night too). We swam for about 2 hours, then went to dinner, after dinner we walked right back to the water park and swam for 2 1/2 more hours. The kids and Momma had a great time on the slide (all of us!). Oh on Friday night I decided to get into the hot tub (which wasn't HOT, but wonderfully warm!), as I'm carrying Emma and getting in, I slipped on one of the steps and fell....HARD. My tush hurt so badly. Well let me tell you, it's bruised, and 2 days later it's aching!

Now let me share something else. Getting to this resort we had to drive through a town called Idar Oberstein. We used to live very close to there, the post we were stationed at is about 17 K's from there, but where Chad's battalion was located and our housing was, it was closer to Idar Oberstein, we're talking 1 mile or less. We walked those streets with Jordyn so many times. The memories came rushing back and I found myself having an anxiety attack. I was able to get it under control fairly quickly, but the tears were streaming and it was so hard to breath for a few minutes. I was not expecting the emotions to come over me so strongly. I told it to Chad and told him he might want to be prepared when we go there as a family once he's home. We've put off going to that area of Germany. There has been a bit of avoidance, but the cold hard facts are that we're in Germany and we lived here with Jordyn and she's tied to this country in our hearts so deeply. She was dx at Landstuhl (yes the Army hospital you hear/read about on the news and in the papers). She was treated for 6 weeks at Homburg Universtity Hospital (Homburg not Hamburg). I'm not sure if I'll ever be strong enough to visit that hospital again. I'd like to think so, but I'm just not sure I am. We'll see if we decide to go before we leave Germany. It depends on if her dr is still there or not.

Well I'm ending on that note, but before I go I want to share pictures from this weekend.

Oh I just wanted to mention something else! When we got home, the boys and Emma came upstairs to our apartment and both boys had a bag...I on the otherhand took the suitcase to the basement and immediately got our dirty clothes washed! Now this may not be that big of a deal to many of you, but to my fellow procrastinators and bigger yet, fellow "I HATE LAUNDRY more than ANY other chore there is" this is HUGE!!!!!! It's all done and clean now! Wahoo!