So excited

I keep watching the clock today, and of course as with any watched clock, it's dragging by so slowly. Why am I watching it? Tonight when Chad gets home for work, we're going to see my best friend for a few days and then to see Chad's family! (If you're concerned that I'm posting about us leaving our house, no worries we have someone who will be watching our house and neighbors who are watching out for our house as well!).
I just can not wait to see Tami and her family, hug her and spend time with her. We always spend a lot of time laughing, talking, cooking, and just enjoying each others company!! Her kids are out of school Mon-Wed and her husband is taking Thursday and Friday off and she's keeping her boys home the other two days as well, so it'll be a fun week for all. Chad's not seen his family in over 10 years, so I'm so excited that he's going to get to see them!!!
Neither Chad's family nor Tami and her family have met Noah and Olivia, and Emma was only a year old the last time we saw all of them, so I'm really excited about that as well!

God has blessed us so much. My parents very happily agreed to keep Lucky and Alley for us and another friend agreed to keep Whiskers, so the pets are taken care of. When we come home, we'll be staying the night at my parents and then finishing off our trip, thankfully  my parents aren't too far so that when we do have to get back in the van, the drive won't be too bad, just a couple hours!

Today has been a day of doing laundry, backing suitcases, and just cleaning up around the house (steam cleaning the family room, vacuuming the living room and hall) and just making sure everything is picked up before heading out.) Just a few more hours!!!!!

Doner Kebab

Our favorite "fast food" while in Germany was a Turkish-German treat, the Doner Kebab.
There is nothing in America that truly is like it, you can find things that are similar, like a Greek Gyro, but I've yet to find anything just like it.
A friend of mine that was stationed in Germany with me, shared this recipe and I am planning on trying it. We're getting a pretty good tax return, so we'll be purchasing some lamb meet (which is fairly pricey) so that we can attempt to make our own! When we do, I'll report back and let you know how they turned out. In the meantime if any of you want to try making them, let me know if you do and how they turned out!!

For all my Friends who miss food from Germany. Here's the recipe!!!

Doner Kebab's
  Serves: 4 Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds lean veal Salt Freshly ground pepper 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (or a prepared doner-kebab seasoning) 2 small onions 5 tablespoons olive oil 4 cloves garlic 3/4 cup sheep-milk yogurt 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley 4 flatbreads (the size of your hand) Garnishes: 2 tomatoes 1 cup red cabbage 1 cup cucumber (grated) 1 onion Other: 4 grill skewers Preparation: Preheat the oven to 430 degrees (grill setting). Cut the veal into thin slices and season with salt, pepper, and cumin. Place the seasoned meat on the four skewers Peel the onions and grate finely. Stir half of the resulting onion paste with the olive oil and brush onto the skewered meat, coating all sides. Place the skewers on a grid on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Grill for about 20 minutes, turning several times. In the meantime, peel and press the garlic into the yogurt, using a garlic press. Stir in the parsley, and season with salt and pepper. Set sauce aside. Slice the flatbreads in half, but not all the way through, to form pockets. Drizzle a little olive oil into the pockets. Wash and dice the tomatoes. Wash the red cabbage and cut into thin strips. Wash the cucumber and grate finely. Peel and halve the onion, and cut into very thin strips. Arrange the prepared ingredients on a serving platter. During the meat's last 5 to 8 minutes under the grill, warm the flatbread on the oven floor. Remove the skewers and the flatbread from the oven. Remove the meat from each skewer and place in a bread pocket. Add all of the remaining ingredients or just some, according to taste, and dribble the garlic sauce over the top.