the way I figure it, we have 2 choices:

1. Stay indoors and hibernate until the grey, chilly weather has passed.. OR
2. Hit the ground running, since our time here is limited and if we wait around for blue skies, we may never see anything!?

Guess which one I will choose?
#2 all the time ;)

SO, we celebrated being {mostly} settled in the house, by going on a road trip with my favorite Brussels family, who are soon to be my favorite Prague family :( Yay for visiting them in Prague... boo for no more soup lunch dates and weekend adventure trips.

They've lived here for 18 months and have done a lot of the local fun day trips: Ghent, Brugge, Amsterdam, Antwerp.. so we decided to go somewhere they haven't been and headed for Luxembourg! I'd been briefly YEARS ago, and remembered absolutely nada, so it was like my first time too. It's a lovely little country, with a medieval wall and old village by the river that is actually on the Unesco Wolrd Heritage List. It would have been lovely to have gone in the summer when everything is lush and green, and perhaps we'll be able to return on our way to other regions in the future. But we certainly enjoyed our day, especially with friends.. so here's some of my faves from our adventure TODAY. Yes, folks, my sweet friend Jenn already has her pics on Facebook and I've been working furiously since we got home an hour ago to get these up as my little gift to her. A warm smile and conversatation is  food for the soul, and I've so appreciated her Texas warmth in my life. She will sorely be missed!! And thanks so much, Jenn, for allowing ME to be behind the camera with my own family!

So without further ado... Luxembourg!

La Porte Bleue: the princess in the attic

La Porte Bleue: The Blue Door, is what we've decided to call our little Boitsfort abode. And as promised, I have house pictures to share!





First up is Miss C's room. All the way up in the attic! She had the option of the balcony room, but that room:
1. had a wall light fixture (so no chandelier) and
2. is attached to her brother's room.

No bueno.

So she opted for privacy and has a dainty (cute word for small!?), white washed wooden floored room 34 steps above the entrance. How's that for privacy? She loves her little space and it's perfect for her. It happens that the dressing room is also on her level, so really she has a little extra room to spread out and get all dressed up, as you know she's very good at doing!

that last glance

I could have biked the kids to school in Texas. It would have been too far of a walk really, but we could have biked easily. But I was always in a rush. Shoots to get to, shoots to edit, work to do before I could meet friends for lunch, house to clean, etc.. For the last 8-9 years, my life has been about maximum efficiency. Taking the time to ride the bikes to school was not the most efficient way, so we didn't do it. And if I could carpool.. even better! I don't have regrets about our former life. We have many great memories and relationships from living life with others. The carpools were lively and fun, my work was extremely rewarding, the activities were enriching... but...

What a difference the move across the pond has made! We've certainly slowed down.. for now ;) And it's nice. There's no carpool to and from dance and swim.  I get lots more kisses and great conversation when it's just us. We now are just a 7 minute walk to school and most days I wish it were longer.

We observe.
We listen.
We share stories.
We laugh.

One of my favorite days are Monday and Wednesday mornings when K is at swim and Miss C and I have the walk alone. She's such a little sponge and enjoys the time alone with me. She asks questions, squeezes my hand tightly, and at the top of the steps at the final ascent to school, she has this sweet habit of looking back until the last possible second where it's no longer possible. I make sure and stay and savor that glance. Because I can.

And some days I fight back the tears. Happy tears of gratefulness that I've been able
to observe.
to listen.
to share stories.
to laugh.
to savor and soak up this sweet time in our lives.