Hey all, sorry to be so lax in returning mail and pushing comments through.  I have been using my cell phone primarily and its unreliable with web app's at times.   Cell phone and internet reception is dicey in the village and even in certain parts of the house.  Even the GPS blinks out mid trip.  Nothing like the little pit in your stomach hearing the words "Lost satellite reception…" when you are out without a map!

Yes, we are in Germany.  The trip went well despite lots of things stacked against it – not the least of which was a lifelong phobia on my part.  Though I have been traveling since I was a teenager (here in fact, as an exchange student) it has not been easy.  For many years it wasn't even possible anymore.  In fact I have turned down speaking speaking engagements in different parts of the country which were  too far to drive. I just couldn't do it otherwise. 

I have been working through a rigorous program since last fall to finally make major changes in my life.  I guess you could say we have that!  ; )  It has been a very intense time for us.  There are still big steps to take but there is progress every day and life looks different all the time. Indeed it does. 

The children are doing very well since our family has been reunited.  Tess struggled mightily beforehand.  She missed her Daddy so badly she was unable to sleep and potty training went back out the window.  She is happily  adjusted now with no problems in either area.  In fact she said yesterday she did not want to go back to the 'nited States but she did want her brother to drive his red car here. : )  We do miss those boys already. 

The past several years have been nothing short of exhausting for us.  What began as a marvelous adventure on the ranch became an unrelenting burden in many ways as the remodeling took on a life of its own (we had underestimated the need there) and my husband's career amp'd up.  Ranching is a full time venture requiring more than one adult and we did not have that to give it.  Allen and I both responded to that stress in different ways and our lives began to move in different directions as I worked to keep the ranch afloat and functioning and his life became more urban and travel composed an ever increasing part of it.  Both of us feeling very stuck.  We each had our own wake up calls and are now spending time regrouping, decompressing, and seeing where the future is taking us.  

I would say I have been busy but it isn't true.  In fact for the first time in recent history there is very little that must be done each day.  We straighten things up, we cook, we eat together, we talk, and we walk.  We walk and walk and walk, miles each day pushing a pair of pink strollers.  When the coffee and Toblerone stash drops to dangerously low levels we shop.  We talk about what has happened and what is to come.  This is life today.  It is a slow life and a face to face life.  We needed that. 

I haven't had my blogging mojo for a few weeks now.  Can't say where that is heading.   This space records parts of a life, but is not a life itself.  A virtual life is not worth living after all.  So I am feeding the real one.  I do miss my friends here though.  Your letters and calls and prayers over the past weeks and months are treasured in my heart.  They have kept me going, kept me trying, got me here.  You cannot know what they have meant to me.  So I didn't want to just leave you hanging.   It has been all that.  One chapter closed, another is beginning.