Lukas wants out!

Hello!
So i thought I would just write one update for everyone who reads this, so I'm not explaining it a million bazillion times.  As most of you know I was in the hospital for the last 3 nights.  On weds I had a dr's appointment and he put me on bed rest for contractions, which I started to monitor because I was getting some sharp pains in the back as well the night before and that morning.  So for about two hours i timed them, and they were about 5 minutes apart, so Mike immediately said, I'm taking you to the hospital.  He didn't like that I wasn't taking it very seriously, but I also didn't want to be one of those girls that ends up in labor and delivery a million times because of braxton hicks contractions haha.  Anyways, I packed a bag, not thinking i'd need it at all, but just trying to appease Mike haha.  So by the time we got to the hospital they put me on the non stress test to measure my contractions and they were 3 minutes apart, which is when you're actually in labor.  They then did an ultrasound, and said the baby is fine, they checked to see if i'm dilated and I'm not, which is why they think that with rest and the medicine they can stop Lukas from coming too early.  He is in position and dropping but that's toootally natural at 32 weeks.  In fact, most of it is, just not the contractions being so close together.  Rule of thumb i guess is if you get more than 7 in an hour you should go to the hospital if you are before 37 weeks.  After 37 weeks you wait until you're in active labor.  The good thing is we got there in time and they hooked me up to an IV which gave me a medicine that realllllly helped, it stopped the contractions entirely.  But the medicine SUCKED, i'm not going to lie, i never want to go back for that haha.  It makes your heart race SO bad, they do EKG's on your heart twice a day just to make sure your heart is still ok.  The first night they had to give me medicine to slow down my heart rate, and even then it was going super fast.  yikes.  The odd part, and good part, is it didn't effect Lukas' heart at all!  They also gave me two shots while I was there, of some medicine that helps Lukas' lungs develop in case he does come early, because other than weight gain, lung development is the most important thing left in the next two months.  So the second day they reduced the amount of medicine, and since I started getting a few contractions, they wanted to keep me another day without the medicine to see if the contractions came back. And they did, but what can they do, keep me there for 4 weeks hooked to an iv?? nooo thanks.  So, I'm still getting them, but not 3-5 minutes apart, in fact its back to my normal couple an hour.  I'm going to just relax at home, they want me to go to my OB on mon or tues, aaaand i'm going to do what I can to keep this little man inside me for at LEAST 4 weeks.  They say the prognosis is good though because i'm not dilated. sooo thats good news!  I realllly wish I knew what was causing this though! He's healthy and nothing is wrong with him at all, so that's the good thing!!  Anyyyways, my boss at work has been awesome about it all too, she told me that I don't need to worry, my job is not at stake and that I can just focus on me and the baby and then we can work on deciding what I'm going to do later.  She said i can go for half days, or i dunno.  At this point I may as well not work anymore, although the money has been nice :) probably not worth it!  sooo i think that's all for now, I asked the dr at what point I should go back, and he said if i get contractions, i was like ummm im getting them now, lol.  I think part of it is just natural for me, some women get a lot more!  i'm sure everything will turn out fine and he will end up being LATE lol.
Anyways, Mike has been great and has been able to come visit me in the hospital most of the time I was there, we played games and watched movies!  and I learned and made a list of all the important numbers for him to call if something happens again so that family knows what is going on.  So that's good.  Mike is now at hockey, which has been keeping him busy! He's playing for two teams now, the Rangers (which he played for last year) and is the soldiers only team, and then he's also playing for the Knights, which is mostly German adult league, but it's more intense and there's hitting, which he loves.  So that's fun :)  He also got promoted last week!!  He's now a specialist, which is the step prior to sergeant.  So we're proud of that :)  He deserved it too!  annnyways, i think it's bed time!  Hope everyone is doing well!!!

Updates!

Hi! 
Have some down time and I thought I would update everyone!  Life is good here.  Mike is still gone, he is coming home anywhere between tomorrow and Weds...ya, thats the Army for you, can't stick to any date :) haha.  He's paintballing right now, which I'm super jealous about, I've always wanted to go, so hopefully he's having fun!!  Last week we had a little scare with the baby, which most of you know by now, I went in for a normal appointment, and they gave me a routine non stress test.  The doctor got concerned because I had too many contractions during the test, and he said it was too soon to be getting that many contractions, so he became concerned about preterm labor.  He put me on bed rest for a few days.  I had A LOT of contractions that Tuesday and they wouldn't stop, and 15-20 the day after, and ever since then I only get a couple a day now, which is totally within normal range.  So the magnesium they gave me, and the rest must've helped a lot because now I'm totally back to being within normal range of contractions at this point.  So that's a relief. I'm still trying to take it easy of course, and it gave me a big wake up call.  I have a hard time relaxing, as most of you know, and I realized how important it was for me to!  I had another appointment Weds, had the diabetes test and stuff and everything is great.  The baby is in position now, which has definitely changed the pressure on my cervix and the shape of my belly haha.  His little feet are under my ribs haha.  The dr says he's in a perfect position to be in right now, so that's good!  We're still debating on the middle name.  Either way mike is SET on Lukas lol.  I still look at other names, but no, lol.  and i don't mind because it's a good strong name that we both agree on :)

I'm doing pretty well, the third trimester hit, and it hit hard lol.  I can't sleep that well anymore, either because i'm going to the bathroom all of the time, or Luke wakes me up, or i'm just stressing over things needlessly lol.  I woke up at 530 this morning worrying about getting a carseat in time, because we have to ship it.  Just sooo many things to do, and with the contractions it's possible that he will come earlier, but who knows!  annyyways.  Work is good, they're really good to me and make sure i'm resting :) haha.  It looks like we will most likely come visit CA in March ish, sooo that's exciting!  Anyways,  i think that's all for now.  I need to go!! hope all is well in the states!!!

Because I'm Bored!

Hello Everyone!
I'm posting at work, because I'm bored.  Ya, I probably shouldn't be, but I keep asking the counselors and supervisor to give me more work, apparently I'm over-productive, but that's just ME!  It's definitely nice to be working again, because I have something to do with my days, but it's not my FAVORITE job ever.  I feel a little over qualified for the position, which is odd because I'm making more money here and doing less than anywhere else I've worked.  So, I guess I should just enjoy the down time considering I'm about to enter the third trimester and will need the relaxation!  Anyways, life is good here in Graf.  Mike and I have been spending lots of time together, playing games and enjoying eachother. He leaves again next week for 3 weeks, but hopefully this will be the last time this year because then the baby comes, Mike has leave, and then Christmas!  I think this time will be easier when he leaves because I'm working and I'm starting to get used to it, although I always miss him. 

I've been semi stressing (needlessly i know) because we are NOT physically prepared for the baby at all. We haven't been able to tour the hospital I'm delivering at yet because Mike has been gone each time we have a chance, but hopefully we can next month!  And we just bought a crib, and wallpaper for the nursery which we will put up when Mike gets home from Ramstein.  We're not painting the room, because no colors really work with our theme! We bought wallpaper border with fire trucks and little dalmations running around on it.  so that should be cute!  We finally just cleaned out the nursery (it was full of stuff from when we moved)  and put it all into storage.  So, i suppose we are slooowly progressing.  I'm starting to get excited, which isn't good because the last 5 1/2 months went so fast, and now its going slow because of the excitement.  I just want to meet him already!!  The dr says he is doing well, starting at my next appointment they will be doing the fetal monitoring and I will start going in every two weeks.  He is a very active little boy, and seems to have a body part lodged underneath my rib cage.  It doesn't hurt, it's just sorta funny.  Whenever I have candy or something he will start moving around lots and Mike will do the "mommy got me chocolate" dance (kicking and punching the air excitedly).  It's cute :)  And when he kicks parts of my body that are painful (bladder, cervix, ovary)Mike will say "Bad Boy Luke, you're a bad boy, be nice to mommy" in a super cute non agressive tone at all, and it's hilarious, but he stops right after!!  Anyways, everything is going VERY well with the pregnancy (aside from my desire for sushi that wont subside) and I'm hoping it stays that way!

We're starting to discuss when we're going to visit home, i'm trying to push for April ish so everyone who is not planning on coming after the birth can meet Luke sooner, but we might wait until block leave in July, so it may be another year.  We miss everyone soooo much!!  Hope everyone is doing well!!!! xoxox

Mikes Birthday, 4th of July and more!

Hello Everyone...
Life is going well here in Graf!  Mike got home from Ramstein 2 weeks ago, and the good news is he won't be leaving again for awhile! yay :)  We celebrated his birthday in Ramstein, he had to work but we went out to dinner the night before, and the day of we cooked dinner together and I brought him cake and stuff to the fire house.

Mike Making a wish :)

When he got home we had a whole week together where he and I didn't work, it was nice to spend lots of time together!  The fourth of July was really low key for us, the weather was pretty crappy.  But we did go to the bbq/fireworks they had here on post.  So that was fun!  I started work the 5th and was SO nervous, it felt like the first day of school all over again haha.  I was only nervous about my coworker and bosses' reaction to my pregnancy, which is not easy to hide anymore.  I told my boss right away and she reacted so great.  She said it was no problem and that it was exciting if anything at all.  She told me it was up to me if I wanted to tell me coworkers, some of them have asked and seem happy for me.  So, I'm happy that it's not a problem :)  It's SO nice to be working again, I needed something to keep my mind occupied (especially when Mike is gone!) and it's nice to be working in my field.  I'm also learning a lot about the Army through this job, because I only work with soldiers, so it's nice to understand a little more about what Mike is involved in!  I'm definitely spacier and more tired than at previous jobs, but that is to be expected.  I am SUPER spacey all of the time lately, like leaving keys in the ignition and trying to put dirty dishes in the fridge haha, but Mike and i find it amusing because it's like the opposite of how I normally am.  So the past week and a half I have just been taking tests etc to gain authorization and computer access, and today I kind of started some real work.  I still haven't decided if I'm going to work when the baby is born, I'm VERY torn and leaning towards not working, but either way it's nice to be working now even if it's for a short period of time.  

Our baby is doing well!  My belly is starting to get rather large, or at least feel that way, and strangers know that I'm pregnant now.  He is moving a TON, and Mike has been able to feel a few of the kicks :)  During our dr appointment last week he punched my tummy with his little fists and Mike was proud of him (he's going to be a good hockey player lol)  The dr FINALLY said it's a boy, as if we didn't already know haha.  But he confirmed it officially.  So his name is Lukas, and the debate over the middle name continues and probably will continue until the birth, but we're considering Fagan (mike's choice), James, Michael, or Daniel.  We really like Lukas James but it may be a little TOO biblical for us.  I may just let Mike get his way this time with Fagan...who knows!  I can't believe he's already going to be here in 4 months!! the past 5 have gone sooo fast! We definitely need to start getting ready for him.  

This is his face and his hands in fists at 21 weeks, isn't he the cutest? :)

Anyways, I think that is really all the updates we have over here.  Hope all is well, we miss EVERYONE and especially California :)

Baby News!

hello!!
Just wanted to update everyone that the baby is STILL a boy haha.  I had an ultra sound last week and the dr, again, said that looks like a penis.  It's kind of annoying that he won't just flat out say it's a boy, but I think because we get so many ultrasounds here he doesnt have the pressure to say it for sure.  But, it's definitely a boy, we got a better front look of it this time, there's really no doubt about it.  I got Mike a tshirt for Father's Day that says Luke I am your Father...haha because he always says that's the first thing he's going to say when the baby comes out, I think it will make for great pics when he is born :)  We are still debating over Lukas James and Lukas Fagan....I told Mike he needs to give me a reallllly good reason for using Fagan, because I'd rather my child didn't get teased for his name haha.  But Mike seems to really want to use it, so, we'll see!  He is getting sooo big!  The dr said he was very active and he's growing normally, he was 9 ounces last week, which is a little bigger than average, but I expect him to be as big as I was when I was born, so that's about right haha.  The past few weeks I've been thinking I felt him, but could never really tell the difference enough to say for sure that was him, but on Sunday I was on the phone with Mike staring at my belly and i saw a little bump come out of my belly and felt it and freaked haha.  It happened twice after that, and then i saw a big bulge like he was doing a sommersault or something.  Which makes since haha i saw him do it in the ultrasound!  Sooo I'm super excited, it made me happy that Mike was on the phone too and it was father's day :)  I'm happy the baby is growing well, none of my regular clothes fit anymore, so I'm going to need to go out and get maternity clothes now, big time haha.

I miss Mike a ton, I went and visited him last week and it was sooo nice to spend time with him.  I'm going again Friday or Saturday for a few days to celebrate his birthday with him, and then he comes home! Finally! He has gotten a few medical calls, no fires yet! lots of false alarms. I start work right after  he comes home haha.  I'm finally starting on July 5th, which is good, I have mixed feelings.  I feel bad for kinda screwing them over because I'm pregnant, and I'm not going to be able to attend the childbirth classes here because they are during the day, but there's a really good lamaze type dvd that Mike and I can watch at home, so we'll be fine!  We just think it'll be good to have as much money as possible for the baby!  So I will keep you updated on how it goes, hopefully I am able to work up until I'm due!

Aaand that's all folks!! We miss everyone TONS!

It's been SO long!!

It's been a long time since I've posted anything!  I feel like I'm usually posting when Mike's gone, mostly because when he's home I try to soak up what time I have with him.  So many updates!  Umm, Mike was in the field for two weeks at the beginning of May, he got home 3 weeks ago.  Basically being out in the field is training for what deployment is like.  They played war for 2 weeks and were working nonstop and slept in tents.  Mike had no service at all so we talked on facebook when we could, but it was no fun not being able to talk to him.  I spent a lot of my time with the army wives and all of the husbands being gone definitely brought us all together a lot more, but I was very happy when Mike came home.  Although he was VERY smelly from not showering for two weeks.

Two weeks ago I had an interview with the Army Substance Abuse Program on post.  It's basically a counseling program for anyone with substance abuse issues, but its primarily those that are forced to attend due to a drug or alcohol related incident on post.  I will be doing a lot of case management and counseling.  I was hesitant to take the job because I hate knowing that I'm going to be putting them in a bind in a few months because I'm pregnant, but I'm a hard worker, and miss working, AND it will be nice to have some extra money because we have LOTS to buy for the baby.  I'm currently doing all of the background investigation and stuff, so who knows when I will start, but I'm hoping soon.  I still haven't decided if I am going to keep working when the baby is born, I'm leaning towards not working, mostly because I think it's best for an infant to be with their mom and or dad BUT on the other hand it would be nice to not even have to worry about money at all.  Who knows, I don't even know if I will know until the baby is born.  We will see!

The baby is doing well!  I had a dr appt last week and during the ultra sound the dr said that looks like a penis...He didn't say for sure, he wanted to wait until my next appt, but Mike and I are positive it's a boy.  We saw it and there's not really much else you could mistake it for haha. It def was not the umbilical cord!  So, we've decided on Lukas James Hamilton for sure and are already talking about what age he should be put on the ice :) haha.  and I'm starting to work on a registry (on Amazon and Babies R us) which is fun, and slightly overwhelming! The apt we had was SO fun though, the baby is now normally proportioned (before the legs were stumps) It's moving a TON (I can't feel it still) and it's bones are growing!  I can't wait to feel it, or show, or something lol.  Sometimes I think I'm starting to show, buuut not really to the outside world.  But I should start feeling him move within the next few weeks.  But it's just good to know everything is going well!  I've been reading a lot about labor, I try not to before bed, because it's traumatizing haha but I figure the more I read the less overwhelming it will be?

This last weekend Mike and I went to Berlin, it was SO pretty.  Definitely my favorite place in Europe so far, but considering I've only been to Germany and Czech, that's not saying much!  We got to see my cousin Alex, which was awesome, I almost cried when she gave me a hug from Michelle! It was nice being with a family member in Germany, felt like home for a second!!  Then Mike and I went and explored, we walked EVERYWHERE and were SO beat by the end of the day, but it was fun.  I enjoyed looking at all of the buildings and saw a lot of monuments on the war.  Mike enjoyed the food haha and I taught him a little history.  He said " you travel to see the history, I travel for the food".  SO true :) The Germans in Berlin know way more English than in Bavaria, and it seems a lot more westernized except watch out because they will run you over without even thinking twice haha. It was nice to see all of the history, it's what i've been waiting to see!  Now that I have a job we're going to try to travel more, at least to Rome and Venice by the time the baby is born.

AAND now Mike is gone again.  He and all of the firefighters are in Ramstein again, but this time it's for a whole month!  He has to work on his birthday poor guy, but luckily I can visit him as much as I want to and talk to him a lot.  Ramstein is 4 hours away, basically on the border of France, so I'm thinking of taking a day trip to Alsace while Mike is working (he doesnt want to go to France, and still doesn't have his passport!)  He left yesterday and gets back the 30th.  I miss him SO much already, there was a huge storm last night and I'm a scaredy cat without him!  It's hard being hormonal and having your husband gone :) BUT I will see him next week in Ramstein! SO I will survive :) AND our Household goods are being delivered on Fruday!!! YAY i finally can decorate our house and cook with real cooking stuff and sleep in our comfy bed!  Ok, well I should update more so it's not always a long essay!  Hope everyone is doing well, we miss you all!! xoxox

Mike is home! :)

Hello!
Mike is home!! yay.  Two and half weeks is soooo long without him.  He never got a call for any fires, but at least he got the idea of working 24 hour shifts and being on a truck and being ready for calls. He did have a lot of calls, but most of them were for small things.  Nothing that excited Mike very much.  The sad part is he leaves in 3 weeks for two weeks in the field (a huge battalion camping trip where they throw tear gas at you and stuff like that, and then leaves two weeks after that for another two weeks working in Ramstein.  But then after that he is home until August. So that will be good, AND he will be home for my birthday next week, which is good enough for me :). I must admit life is boring without him, he makes me laugh and I miss him tons when he is gone.  But, this is part of being in the Army and you just gotta go with it!  But, because he will be gone so much while I'm pregnant we have been strongly considering selling Molly.  A lot of people tried to talk us out of buying her telling us we were crazy.  We did a lot of research on puppies and pregnancy, and puppies with babies, and decided we would get her anyways because we picked her out.  But this is the first dog i've ever had, and she's quite a handful, which is fine when Mike is home, but when he's not it's really hard.  And because they say having a puppy is like having a baby I feel like there is no way I will be able to handle both if Mike leaves.  And while we know for sure Mike won't be deploying this year, he still could next year, and him leaving for two weeks at a time is enough to make me feel like having a puppy AND a baby might be a little too much for me.  Mike understands of course, and we would probably still get a dog, just not until the baby is way older.  I just feel like I'm way in over my head with her.  I know more about raising babies than puppies lol.  And I cannot deny that right now my priority is making sure my baby is healthy, and that my relationship with my husband is strong, so I feel like Molly would be happier in another family right now.  It's hard though. She IS a cutie, and we have gotten through the waking up a million times in the middle of the night thing.  Ever since Mike got home though she has regressed a TON. She has accidents in the house probably like 5 times a day, which is crazy, because she had gotten past that.  So i will definitely update on what we decide and if we find a good enough family for her.  If not we will be keeping her.

Anyways, as far as baby news goes we had another doctor appt this morning and he says the baby is healthy and has a strong heart, but that it's younger than we thought base on its length.  We don't know for sure how old it is yet, he's guessing it's 8 weeks, I'm thinking it must be 9.  He said at my next appt in 3 weeks we will solidify the due date because he will know for sure how old it is.  He was guessing by the length.  So i'm somewhere between 8-10 weeks.  Which to me is a huge difference haha because that means it may not be another month until i'm out of the first trimester.  Either way the baby will be coming somewhere between Nov 3rd-24th.  The last two weeks have been harder physically.  I'm exhausted, mainly due to pregnancy but partly due to Molly.  And have been feeling nauseous, which if anyone knows me well, knows I HATE feeling nauseous.  Because of this I've lost some weight, but I hear that it's common in the first trimester, and the dr didn't seem worried by it.  I just recently discovered that my nausea is largely related to hunger, but nothing sounds good to me at all, so I force myself to eat. and i'm loving sprite haha.  Mike has been super supportive and helps any way he can, and him being home is amazing!  But i definitely cannot wait until my first trimester is over because I hear the exhaustion gets better. I honestly don't know how women work full time jobs and have lots of kids when theyre pregnant lol more power to you ladies.

In other news I've finished my application for an online Masters in leadership, public policy, and social change.  I feel like it will be the best thing for me to do right now in my life, and i'm determined to have this complete and hopefully most of my phd by the time Mike is out of the army so that I will be able to do what I want occupationally when he gets out.  Plus I need something for me, that makes me happy, and learning has always been one of those things :)  So i'm excited!  hope all is well!

Updates!

Hello All,

Things are good here in Germany, although I do miss Mike VERY much, it has been lonely without him. He has been in Ramstein for the last week training and actually working as a firefighter.  Because the fire department here isn't complete they aren't able to actually work on the job as fire fighters, so they get sent to Ramstein, the air force base about 4 hours away that has a fire department.  Mike is working 24 hour shifts, and while he hasn't had many exciting calls, he still has a lot of calls throughout the day and he gets excited to slide down the pole and get ready for the call. I missed him a lot the last week, and one of my girlfriends decided to drive to Ramstein to visit one of her best friends (mike's coworker) and I joined!  It was SO nice to see him, even if it was only for a day.  We just spent the day looking around the area, it's really close to the border of France, and it's getting really pretty in Germany now that the snow is gone.  Very green!  It's still cold at night, but it's nice that its spring!!

I've had a fairly easy pregnancy thus far, but a few days ago I started to get nauseous out of nowhere.  Nothing beyond that, I'm just not hungry at all and just the thought of food makes me feel sick.  But i went to the store today and got saltines, noodley soups, and sprite.  So i'm starting to feel better!  Last week I had another appointment.  The dr here goes SO fast.  He was performing the ultrasound and almost missed the baby he was going so fast. BUT i got to see it!  He/She looks like an alien with a big heart beat.  but it was comforting to see that it's there and its heart is beating!  I almost cried, but then again, lately i'm ALWAYS on the verge of tears.  Every movie, funny or sad, just little things.  I find it amusing though and laugh at how ridiculous i'm being.

Anyways, Molly has been difficult but this weekend she stayed with some friends of ours and i feel like she is a lot easier to handle now.  She is still having accidents, but you can tell she's getting older already.  I've been nervous about having a baby and a puppy, Molly seems good with kids though, I just hope that Molly gets the attention she needs with a baby in the house.  We will see!!

Good news! Our household goods are finally being picked up on April 1 and will be there in May. FINALLY.  so we're working on selling the civic (if anyone wants it!!) It's too small for a baby and a dog.  AAAND i think thats about it for now. Mike comes home in 9 days...ahhh.  Hope all is well in the states!

Molly comes home! and other big news!

Hi All!!

For those of you that don't know, Mike and I found out that I'm pregnant 2 weeks ago.  I'm now 7 weeks pregnant and due on November 3rd.  We're excited!!  When I first found out I was in complete shock.  But now we are really excited!!  There are all sorts of changes going on in my body, most of which make me exhausted and dizzy. But other than that I've had it pretty easy and I have one month left in the first trimester, so lets hope it continues this way!!  I havent had morning sickness (knock on wood) just occasional nausea, the dizziness is the worst of it.  Mike is extremely excited to be a daddy!  We have picked out (tentative I'm sure) names for the baby.  We're thinking Charlotte Michelle for a girl, and Lukas (havent decided on the middle name, but have a few ideas) for a boy.  We had our first dr appt yesterday, which went SO fast, German drs deliver here (and yes, it will be born on german soil) and they are SO straight forward and dont really do small talk.  He just took blood work and checked that the baby was there, and it is, but I only saw the uterus and the sac, I'm going in for another appointment next week to actually SEE the baby and hear the heart beat.

Yesterday our 2 month old puppy named Molly came home too!! She's adorable, and a hand full.

 She was so scared in the car ride home she threw up everywhere poor girl.  But then she had fun exploring her new home and loves Mike and I already.  Mike was SOO excited to bring her home, he was like a little kid, he couldn't wait to pick her up.  He's a good daddy too, he woke up in the middle of the night to clean up Molly's pee :)  She actually hasn't been as difficult as we expected, she (other than in the middle of the night) basically tells us when she needs to go out to the potty and we take her out. which is odd for a puppy.  She does chew on some things she shouldnt, but we replace the item with a chew toy.  The biggest issue I had is she woke up at 5am with SOOO much energy.  So now i'm exhausted and she's napping. haha.  She's so cute and follows mike and i around everywhere we go.  she cried when mike went to work, but realized i was still here and stopped. Mike leaves Sunday for Ramstein, he will be gone 2.5 weeks, sad.  But he will be doing his job which is awesome, he will actually be working 24 hour shifts and stuff and will be firefighting if necessary.  I'm sure he will enjoy it, but Molly and I will miss him!!  Hope all is well back in the states!!

Puppy News!

Hello Again!

SO BIG NEWS...Our little baby puppy will be coming home on March 18th!  We went yesterday, thinking that we were going to get the 12 week old puppy.  It was quite an interesting experience.  We've been working with an American lady who helps military members find puppies in Germany.  She set us up with a meeting with a breeder and we went.  The breeder literally spoke NO english, which is uncommon, but we were in the rural area of Germany, so I guess that makes sense.  So we drive out there (about an hour and a half) and find out that they want us to pick one from his newest litter (they were born two weeks ago).  There were 5 boys and 5 girls.  The mommy is absolutely beautiful.  Mike and I had already decided beforehand that we wanted a girl, as we've heard girl temperments are easier for German Shepherds.  So after calling the lady and making her translate for us, we finally picked our puppy!  She is the smallest of the litter, we're thinking that maybe that means she won't end up being HUGE.  She will be big of course, she's a german shepherd, but maybe not the biggest.  She's a cutie, and I failed and didn't take pictures! but when we get her there will be plenty of photos!! she will only be a month and a half! ahhh. we're sooo excited.  In a way it's good we have to wait a month for her, because now we can get our furniture and rug and stuff so she doesnt ruin the furniture the army provided! haha.  Now the debate over names begins...We're thinking if its this hard for us to pick a DOG name then how hard will it be for us to name a child haha.  so, Mike wants to name the puppy Fergie (we were listening to black eyed peas and he said it lol), I want to name her Phoebe...then Jim, Mike's dad calls it Phoerbe and now Mike is all about naming her that lol.  BUT last night we were continuing to look at names and I think we have actually come to a decision!  We're thinking Lilly!! Since we BOTH agree on that, i think it seems like the right name :)  So, unless it changes Lilly will be coming home March 18th! yay!  Mike has been continuing to work on cleaning up the fire house and getting it ready to open, but this week he helped with a black history month think, so his hours were a little weird.  Last night we went to a restaurant called steak on a stone (well, thats what americans call it) it's CRAZY, you order the meat you want (mike got crocodile, i ordered kangaroo) and they bring it out RAW on a hot stone and you cook it on the stone! soooo crazy.  But yummy :)  we enjoyed it!  And then it started to snow.  I'm not exactly a fan of the autobahn yet...i'm already anxious in the car, the autobahn adds a whole other level of anxiety haha.  anyways...i think that's it for now!!! hope all is well :)

New house!!

YAY! We have our FIRST place and it's soooo much fun!  We moved in on Valentine's Day and it was super exciting.  We are on post, which is pretty convenient for me, seeing as though I don't have a drivers license yet.  It's a 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath apartment like place.  It has a tooon of closet space which i love, a kitchen, dining room, living area, and laundry room (which is amaazing).  Since I've lived out of my parent's house I've never had my own laundry area, makes life a lot easier!  They gave us furniture, which we can keep through our stay here, or get rid of and replace.  We are definitely replacing the couches and the end tables, they remind us of like drs waiting room furniture, not comfy at all. I love the dining room table though!  We are starting to decorate (well, i am, but mike helps!)  It's sooo fun.  I've never had my own place to decorate and I love it.  It's nice to feel at home!  And unpacking my clothes felt amaaazing, because I've been living out of suitcases for months now.  So nice.  Decorating will be a slow process, but SO FUN!  I will put pictures up eventually, especially once our household goods come in two months and then i can REALLY decorate.  Mike is so cute, whenever he gets home from work he yells, HONEY I'M HOME!! haha, i think he likes having our own place too :)

In even MORE awesome news, Mike and I have been searching for a puppy and we think we finally found one!!!!!  We are probably going to get it tomorrow, if possible.  It's a ten week old German Shepherd. SOOO excited.  Hopefully it all works out.  But there will def be pics to come and lots of info.  Any suggestions on how to train a puppy are VERY welcome, as this will be our first and books can only help so much :)  We're excited though!  So fun.  Hope all is well back in the states!

love,
the hamiltons!

Command Sponsorship!

Soooo I haven't updated in awhile, mostly because not much has been going on. But this week was pretty eventful!  Last weekend Mike and I went shopping with one of the fire fighters and his wife in Wieden.  That was fun!  We got to look around and see some more of Bavaria.  Sunday we stayed up until 4 am watching the super bowl (well, I stayed up, Mike fell asleep in the 3rd quarter) it was a good game!  So happy for Aaron Rogers (a fellow Cal Bear!)  Mike and I bought a car this week! I'm verrrry excited about that.  When he was telling me about it I was worried that it would break down in a day, BUT it's such a GREAT car.  It's a 1988 bmw, but has a brand new engine and is in such great condition.  Bmw's are great cars, never realized it until I saw the condition of a car that is the same age as my hubby.  So now we can get around, and I plan on going to Nurenburg this weekend (although Mike is scared we will get lost, but hey, thats half the adventure)  It's sooo much better having a car, not because it's hard to walk around, but because it's SO FREAKIN COLD, it's not fun walking for long periods of time.  Last week I did a lot of walking around getting us cell phones and trying to find the best cell phone carrier.  So BEST news of all came yesterday and today.  We FINALLY got command sponsorship yesterday...apparently it's been done since January 18th, but MPD is slow, and our friend (that we're now actually living with) works at the office and found it on the database.  So, we got it! yay.  Mike has been the best husband ever, especially the last 2 days.  He knows how frustrated i've been living out of suitcases for months, so all day yesterday and today he pretty much got everything done so we're moving into OUR house on MONDAY yayyyyyy.  Sooooo happy.  We're moving into stairwell, which is actually on post.  I didn't want to live there, because I thought it'd be nice to live away from post a bit, BUT from what I've heard it's prob the best thing for a couple with no kids.  and they're new, Mike walked through our place today and said it's nice, 2 bedrooms 2.5 bath, kitchen, living and family room ish. AND we can get a puppy, it's across the street from a good park. I will post pics!  Now that command sponsorship is done we can get our house hold goods sent! YAY! can't wait to unpack and decorate our place.  I loooove being married :) And i can't wait to settle down even more into Germany!  I'll update next week with pics of our new place :)

Stephanie Arrives in Germany!

Hello All!!  So, I have created this blog mainly because Mike and I will be living in Germany for the next 3 years, maybe 4, and I thought it would be a good way for all of our friends and family to stay updated on our adventures and stuff that is going on in our lives as newlyweds!  So, for those of you who don't know, Mike and I got married on December 17th.  It was a great wedding and we are so grateful for all of the friends and family who came to support us :)  I got to Germany on Saturday the 15th and was extremely exhausted and jet lagged.  Mike and I relaxed a few days and got me settled, and while it's not fun sharing a twin bed (Mike's having a hard time sleeping...) or only having one room for the two of us, it has been GREAT living with my husband finally.  We went to Garmisch, which is a resort town in the very southern tip of Germany in the bavarian alps, on Wednesday for Mike's hockey tournament.  It was so much fun!! Garmisch is a cute little town but SO COLD.  It was snowing the entire time we were there and I was wearing many many layers to get remotely warm.  But it's gorgeous and I was happy we had to drive 3 hours because I was able to see a lot of the German countryside and Munich!  We met so many great people on his team and just had a blast on our first vacation!  The Bayern Rangers played and won two games the first day which basically immediately qualified them for a medal game.  The second game Mike received a five min penalty for hitting a player (it's a no hitting league), when a player gets a five min penalty he has to sit out the next game, which sucked because the game he had to sit out for was the most important game.  The Rangers got killed by the team who ended up winning the championship...but i say it's because they were lacking a KEY defenseman :)  That night we went to a German restaurant for the team dinner and had SO much fun, good german food, had a few too many shots together, and got to see a boy slap dance in liederhosen! so fun.Friday Mike didn't play hockey at all and was VERY bummed, but we went out to dinner with a couple and spent some time together.  Saturday Mike's team tied in their final game, but still made it to the medal round because the team they tied was out.  The medal game was SO fun to watch, much more fast paced and intense than the others.  It ended tied 1-1...then the Rangers WON in a shootout! we were sooo excited.  Mike received a bronze medal AND an MVP award for best overall defensive player for the entire championship, how awesome is that?  Now we're back in Graf and I'm getting settled with my wifey duties, and looking for a job, and the opportunities seem plentiful!  I'm excited for us to get a house, which could be in a week or two i hope!  I'm loving it here, the people are so nice, and the army is like a big extended family.  Annyyways this is a long post, hope everyone is doing well!