To the Raspberry!

We finally did it.  We bought a car.  When moving to the US, we made the conscious decision to not purchase a car.  We thought we wouldn't need one for daily activities, Rexburg is small enough to walk, and for the weekend we could rent.  Plus we would save a bunch of money this way.  And we were right.  We did just fine.  But now, after seven months, we've realized that having a car would be advantageous for weekend activities.  Eastern Idaho has lots to offer for people who like the outdoors, but unfortunately not within walking distance.  Kristina recognized that we are travel people.  In Germany, we enjoyed heading out somewhere for the weekend, even if it was just a day trip.  She recognized that is something that we've been missing here, and owning a car would greatly facilitate that kind of activity.  She still wanted to put it off for a couple months, but with semester break coming up, I thought now was the perfect time.

I went to work searching online, and made a trip to a local dealer.  After a lengthy search of two weeks, I finally found the Raspberry.  I had gone with our friend Gary to Idaho Falls, and it was the fourth car we test-drove that day.  The others had been nice, but not very exciting.  Then the saleswoman suggested this little Scion xA.  I opened it up, and the first thing I noticed was the manual transmission.  It would be an understatement to say that that excited me just a little.  We took her out for a drive, and from the first moment, she was just fun to drive.  We came back and bantered for a bit, but I admitted to Gary that I was going to buy that car.  When another salesman came by with some customers, I decided that it was enough with the games, and we moved on to getting it done.  It was such a long process, but interesting.  Gary had never before purchased a car, and I think he found it interesting what all went into it.  I was really pleased with the choice, and got done in time to make it back to Rexburg to attend the temple with Kristina (she was working there that afternoon).

I was pretty confident that Kristina would like the car, and had talked to her about it on the phone, but was still kind of nervous about how she'd react.  But she liked it and that made me feel better.  Then came the issue of naming her.  Kristina started with "strawberry", but I countered that the color was more like a cranberry.  Kristina was okay with that, but wasn't excited about it, because there's no German word for cranberry.  Then we came to raspberry, and we both got excited.  In our favorite TV show, Psych, the main characters, Shawn & Gus, drive around in this little blue car they call "The Blueberry", so it's kind of fun to now call our car "The Raspberry".

As you can tell from the lapse between this post and our last one, we've been pretty busy lately, but then again, so is everyone.  We had a great first half year here.  I kept busy as a new professor, preparing lectures and homework and everything else.  Kristina has been busy working with the Relief Society, singing in a community choir (they gave a Christmas concert, pictured right), applying to finish her studies at BYU-I (she was accepted last month!), making friends, and completing the home study for an adoption.

We've enjoyed our first seven months here.  We've made good friends and had good experiences.  We've been blessed to set up a beautiful, comfortable apartment where we feel at home.  We enjoy having friends over for dinner, and organized our first Thanksgiving at home.  We had a great time visiting my family for Christmas, and look forward to some great trip in the months ahead.

Exploring New Options

Anyone who knows me, knows I love kids.  Kristina gives me a hard time sometimes when we go visit friends because I often ignore all the adults and go play with the kids.  I especially love my nieces and nephews.  Before moving to Germany, there was nothing I enjoyed more than visiting my brothers so that I could play with their kids.  After marrying Kristina, I was so excited to instantly gain 3 (now 5) new nieces and nephews.  I love this picture from last Christmas with our then newest niece.  When Kristina posted this on her Facebook page, she got a lot of response asking if she was our baby.


Kristina also loves, and is loved by, our nieces and nephews.  They want to play with her and spend time with her.  I have long thought that Kristina would make a great mother one day.

Unfortunately, that day for us has not yet come.  Nor does it appear that it will come any time soon.  Although our wait has not been as long as for some, the past joyous two and a half years of marriage have been sprinkled with the disappointment of repeated unsuccessful attempts at pregnancy.

At some point as a teenager, I considered the issue of adoption, and decided that was something I would be willing to consider.  I wouldn't say that I decided I wanted to adopt, but rather that I was open to the option.  In our first year of marriage, after already making several attempts at pregnancy, I mentioned the possibility of adoption to Kristina.  I believe she was somewhat surprised by the idea, and didn't want to consider it; she didn't want to feel like we were "giving up" on having a biological child.  As LDS Family Services won't work with a couple that has been married for less than two years, we didn't discuss it further and continued fertility treatments.

In preparing to move to Rexburg, we realized we would now be living in the vicinity of an LDS Family Services office and again considered the option of adoption.  This time, Kristina agreed it was time to consider this option.  She called and scheduled an appointment, and last week, we met with our case worker to start down the road to adoption.  As expressed before by others, our desire to become parents has become stronger than our desire to become pregnant.

We realize this is typically not a quick process, but are confident, that at the right time, the Lord will bless us with children, and we want to give Him as many options as possible to fulfill that desire.  We will continue to explore all our options, to do all we can to achieve this goal.

Although we are just getting started, one thing we've heard over and over is how pro-active we have to be.  And that is where you can help.  We ask you to mention our desire to adopt to everyone you know.  As we get our online profile setup and other outreach means established, we will share those with you as well.  But for now, please let people know that you know a loving couple seeking adoption.  And ask them to pass it on.  Who knows whether that birth mother that finally picks us is a friend of your friend's friend.  We thank you in advance for your help.  We look forward to the day when we can share our love with one of God's children as He has shared it with us, and would be forever grateful for whatever part you might play in that miracle.

An Unexpected Result

Among all of the new things we've bought this month, one was a set of metal serving/mixing bowls.  Just some basic, nice, cheap bowls.  One day shortly after buying them, Kristina had grated cheese into one to eat with our noodles that evening.  I noticed that the bowl was not sitting level on the table.  This disturbed me because it was brand new, and I didn't think it was that cheap.  So I examined the bowl and realized that the bottom was just bent in the wrong direction a bit.  I figured if I pushed on it a bit, I could get it to flip around and then sit flat on the table.  I proceeded to push on the bottom, and it did indeed pop into place as I had expected.  Well, perhaps a bit more forcefully than I had expected.  Plus, I hadn't accounted for the effect this sudden change would have on the little bits of shredded cheese which still filled the bottom quarter of the bowl.  Not only was my "repair" of this bowl accompanied by a loud pop, it also rained cheese down on the both of us.  After recovering from her surprise, Kristina simply responded with, "I know who's cleaning up after dinner."

Sofa und Sessel

Hier seht ihr einen glücklichen Aaron, direkt nachdem er den Sessel zusammengesetzt hatte. Letzten Freitag hatte ich das große Glück, dass Larry und Barbara (Gerratt) mich nach Salt Lake mitgenommen haben. Sie wollten zu einem Hochzeitsempfang, ich nochmal zu Ikea, um Sofa- und Sesselrahmen zu holen. Larry und Barbara kamen extra für uns mit ihrem Pickup-Truck. Ich fuhr mit dem Salt Lake Express bis nach Pocatello, wo sie mich erwarteten. Es war total schön, sie wiederzusehen. Wir haben die ganze Fahrt geredet. Ich durfte mit ihnen bei ihrer Tochter in Sandy übernachten. In Sandy liegen die Berge fast vor der Haustür. Es war ein bisschen komisch für mich, bei einer mir völlig fremden Familie zu übernachten, aber sie waren so lieb, dass es doch wieder gut war. Am Samstagmorgen ging´s zum Ikea, wo ich wirklich alles bekommen habe, was wir noch brauchten und wollten! Es war so toll! Und die Gerratts waren die reinsten Engel. Larry half mir mit den Paketen, und Barbara kaufte selber noch ein bisschen Kleinkram ein. Bei Ikea findet man ja immer was Nettes. Alles hat so super geklappt; ich bekam sogar die 60 Dollar wieder, die wir beim letzten Einkauf zuviel bezahlt hatten. Ich war froh, wieder nach Hause zu meinem lieben Aaron zu kommen. Ich vermisse ihn immer sehr, wenn wir getrennt sind (für mehr als acht Stunden). Und dann war es so lustig. Er nahm sich nur wenig Zeit zum Hallo-Sagen mit den Gerratts und gar keine Zeit für Smalltalk und schlitzte sofort ein Paket auf und begann mit dem Aufbau des Sofas. Er wünschte sich schon so lange, mal wieder bequem zu sitzen... Larry, der ja ein richtiges Arbeitstier ist, machte sofort mit, und so zeigte ich Barbara unsere Wohnung und wir quatschten schön. Die Männer bauten tatsächlich das Sofa und den Sessel in nur 30 Minuten auf. Wie gefällt euch das Grün? Wir lieben es! Im Hintergrund ist auch der Küchentisch mit Stühlen zu sehen. Den lieben wir auch. ;) Jedenfalls kann ich den Gerratts gar nicht genug danken. Sie haben uns einen echten Bärendienst erwiesen, uns geholfen, uns beschenkt usw. Am kommenden Wochenende fahren wir sie in Burley besuchen. Wir bleiben übers Wochenende da. Larry wird uns die Farm zeigen. Ihr müsst uns unbedingt nächsten Sommer besuchen kommen; dann fahren wir zu ihnen und helfen ein bisschen auf der Farm mit. Das wäre prima!
Ansonsten bringe ich meine Uni-Bewerbung voran. Es gibt noch einiges zu tun. Eigentlich kann ich diesen ganzen organisatorischen Kram gar nicht leiden. Und ich bin schon seit April am Organisieren! Aber ich weiß ja, wofür es ist und wie wichtig es ist; das hilft ein bisschen. Übrigens habe ich meine Green Card schon bekommen, nach nur einem Monat! Das soll normalerweise drei Monate dauern. Es läuft also alles sehr gut. Aaron wird an der Uni als neuer Professor drei Wochen lang geschult, es gefällt ihm sehr gut und er mag seine Kollegen. Es ist weiterhin ein sehr sonniger und heißer Sommer hier.
Ich bin zur Zeit mental ein bisschen neben der Spur. Ich vergesse Sachen, kann manchmal einfachen Zusammenhängen nicht folgen und bin allgemein nicht ganz konzentriert. Es liegt wahrscheinlich an zu viel Input. So viel Neues zu sehen, zu verstehen und zu lernen; da hat mein Gehirn in anderen Bereichen den Strom ein bisschen abgedreht. Aber ich bin zuversichtlich, dass sich das wieder geben wird, wenn ich mich eingelebt habe und nicht mehr alles so neu ist.

The big journey

This is a picture of us at the Idaho Falls Temple with our friends, Melinda and Gary. We are very glad to have found them. It´s one of those rare combinations where not only the women are friends but where the men also get along very well. Afterwards, we had them over for lunch and we had a good time sitting on the floor and eating off the coffee table. And just last night, Aaron and I were invited to meet Melinda´s family for Melinda´s birthday party! Her brothers are really fun-loving people and we laughed for most of the evening. It was great! They reminded me of the Johnson brothers by their openness, their friendliness and - this may seem strange, but I had a strong impression - their virtue. They emanated a goodness which I have rarely seen in young men.
Two days later, we rented yet another car and took off on our big trip through the West. Our first destination was Manteca, California, to meet with the grandparents Johnson. It took us about 15 hours to get there. The way through northern Nevada was interesting because it was unlike anything I had ever seen. Brown mountains and very few vegetation for hours and hours; and sometimes a little town along the way. I wondered how it must feel to live in the desert of Nevada. Do people miss the green? Or do they just get used to it?
We visited Aaron´s grandparents at their new apartment and spent the whole day together. It felt good to see each other, to talk and to see the place. It´s a beautiful house and the staff was very friendly. Mostly we talked. Grandpa also showed us a slide show (he was a professional photographer). Grandma was doing well. She participated in our conversations. She needs to sit and cannot stand. It isn´t easy to grow old and to know that you can´t do everything yourself anymore. When we watched the slide show, grandma said she would like to see these places again. I understand. We enjoyed our time with them very much and I am glad Aaron had the idea to do it.
On the next day, we left for Bountiful, Utah. Another long drive out of California, through northern Nevada again and into Utah. I drove for two and a half hours and was completely spent afterwards. Aaron had to drive all the rest. I was still exhausted from the past two days. Luckily, Aaron was in great shape. We arrived in Salt Lake City and Bountiful just as the was setting. I got a glimpse at the Salt Lake Temple and then we went up the mountain to stay with our friends, Richard and Mary Cahoon. They live in the most beautiful house I have ever seen and have a gorgeous view over the valley. Several well-known general authorities live in the neighborhood. This is a picture of the view. Anyway, we had a good time with them. They took us out to see a big copper mine. It was very hot, so I wore a hat. I was glad to have it. We had bought it in Manteca. Sister Cahoon inquired after every single one of the former young single adults crowd in Wiesbaden. She really cares about them. We also went to the Temple Square in Salt Lake City. It was very beautiful, of course, and it meant a lot to me that I could visit for the second time. Time passed quickly and then it was 4.30 pm and I was very tired. We went home and I laid down to rest. Three hours later I woke up! It had been wise of Aaron and me not to plan anything big for the night, just to play a game at home and relax. And here I was, waking up at 8 pm. The Cahoons took us for frozen custard (eine Art Eiskrem) and when we returned home, Mary looked through her kitchen cabinets and gave us kitchen utensils that we needed and were planning to buy at Ikea. We got bowls, plates and more from them. On the next day, we said goodbye and headed to Ikea in Draper. We had a plan, we were prepared and we thought it would take three hours at the most. It took us about five and a half hours, even though we were focused on what we needed. We found great furniture that we wanted. We did not find a bed for us. The bed we had chosen turned out to have a grey color and we decided against it. But we found a loveseat and an armchair that we loved! We bought the covers but not the frames because they wouldn´t have fitted in the car. I have a chance to go down to Draper again this weekend, with the Gerratts, and hopefully we will get the frames and bring them home. It might be worth another blog entry. Anyway, we stacked everything in the car and were mightily glad that it fit. The way home was only four hours, we were surprised. It was about 8 pm and Aaron immediately put together the kitchen table and chairs. It is so wonderful to have a table and chairs! Aaron worked hard and had everything assembled by Saturday noon, which was the day after our return. He is really gifted! And he used the screw-driver of his Swiss army knife.