HERE I AM!!!!!!!

HELLO! I'm sure it was commonly believed that the Barnhart Family fell off the edge of the Earth when they moved to Germany. Believe me, sometimes it has felt like it! But I'm here to tell you that we're alive and well, and very happy to be here. We lived in the American Arms Hotel in Wiesbaden for about three weeks, which wasn't terribly fun, and sometime I'll tell you about Noah trying to burn the hotel down. LOL Anyway, we are now living in Gross-Gerau, a lovely little town further out in the country (about 30 minutes from schools, Church, Vince's work). We are renting a four-story home in a little circle, and our boys are THRILLED to have their own rooms! Sophia has her own, too, but Noah and Ephraim share one. I HAVE MY OWN STUDIO ROOM!!! It's got a little balcony, too. Can't wait for my quilting and jewelry stuff to get here... We have four full bathrooms and two powder-rooms! Lots of stairs, but not as steep as in our Alaska home. We won't be getting our household goods for several more weeks, so we have some ugly (and uncomfortable!) borrowed Army furniture. I have shopped endlessly for new livingroom furniture, and was getting totally frustrated. IKEA (ee-kay-ah) has lots of options, and I've been to other huge stores, but anything leather or good quality takes months to order! We eventually went to Landstul to a wonderful shop called European Country Living, and bought some leather furniture (that they have in stock, and it's actually made in California!) and an antique German wedding chest (cir. 1890's) for a coffee table. It's being delivered on the 20th. Our car should be here the same time. Our internet and phone is still not connected, so I'm using our wonderful neighbors connection in their house. Stephanie and Rich Tanner and their kids Herb (8), Mary (6) and Sally (4) live about ten steps away from us. Ephraim, Sophia and Noah now have best friends. Mary and Sophia are in the same kindergarten class! When we registered Ephraim for school at Heinerberg Elementary, they told us to enroll Sophia, even though she missed the deadline (by one day) in Alaska. She loves it! Noah is not in a German kindergarten yet, but hopefully we can get him into Sally's. There is a lovely park, a great Korean restaurant, and the preschool within walking distance of our house. The kids walk about a quarter of a mile to the schoolbus stop. There was snow a few days after we arrived in Germany, but now it's gone, and everything is so lovely, even when it's rainy and cold. Since we live so far from the commissary, we shop in the German grocery stores a lot, especially Real and Rewe. They are so interesting! About three aisles of pork products, three aisles of chocolate (and some other candy), and a couple of aisles of cheese! Man, I can't believe everyone doesn't weigh 500 lbs! Also, there are bakeries EVERYWHERE, even inside just about every non-grocery store. Crazy. But it's been fun trying lots of different things. I think we all need more fiber in our diets now, though! People have been very generous and kind, and so helpful. I end up feeling foolish often, when I can't understand the language, so it's keeping me humble. LOL With our American discount at the ESSO stations, we pay about $2 a gallon for gas, much cheaper than in Alaska. Vince bought two old BMW's for us to drive, and we have gotten to be great friends with the owner of the Beamer Zone and his family. Ray is from India, and Nora from Hungary. They have a son Rayhaun (11) and a daughter Sophia (3). We went out for dinner together once, and at their house another time. They speak English well, and are so fun! When we met our bishop the first time, he gave me a roster for our new Ward, and guess who was on it??? Our wonderful friends from Arizona, Sarah and Brady Busby!!! Their girls Ashley and Emma are so darling, and Sarah has been a blast to hang out with! Brady got home from Afghanistan a couple of days ago, and we are all going to Koln (Colonge) this weekend. There is a huge chocolate factory there, and the best Cathedral in Germany, supposedly. We will take the train and stay overnight. Vince has been away this week for meetings in Garmisch. It's a lovely resort town about six hours south. He has made reservations for us all to go there in March. Sabra (one of my beautiful sisters) has been there a few times and loved it. Vince's birthday was this week, and he's now 42, unbelievably. Still looks about 25. Anyway, though we've had some challenges, all is well with us. We love it here, even (especially, I believe) the teenage boys!!! For that I am most grateful. Life is good. I miss you all terribly, and can't wait to hear from you! E-mail me at andreafbarnhart@gmail.com ANDREA