Many Answered Prayers!

Many Answered Prayers

Today was AMAZING!!!  It was finally a day that I felt "normal"... if you can call ANYTHING that in a new country.  It was a typical summer day for us...well except for our wardrobe! LOL!

This week we decided that I would keep the car and start going at least one place a day to practice driving and get less nervous about it.  I had butterflies in my stomach all night just thinking about getting in the car.  It is such a leap of faith for me....but here it goes!!!

So Rusty took a taxi and then left the keys on the table.  I signed the kids up for a mini sport activity this week that would be every day from 9:30 - 10:30 for two reasons.  It was to first get me driving and out of the house. Then second to help them learn to make new friends their age.  So it was for sure a BIG day for all of us. 

We talked as we got ready about meeting new people and what it would be like.  I could tell Denman was pumped, but Natalie was VERY nervous.  She was moving very slow and even cried twice about what she was wearing and her hair.    I was right there with her because the fear in my stomach was exactly the same, only about driving. 

We get in the car and I can't even explain how nervous I was. It was like I was 15 again and getting into the car for the first time to take my driving test.  But, I swallowed my fear and started it up.  Natalie kept saying, "You can do it, Mom!  It's just the other side of the road."  LOL!  I have the best cheerleaders EVER!!  So I gave them the DO NOT say a word speech until we get there, and off we went. 

We followed the Tom Tom and it took us right to the gym which was so nice.  It was not near as bad as I thought it would be.  The traffic was very light, and I conquered six roundabouts and only got one honk.  Now that is a successful trip. :)  I'm sure they just wanted to say HI to us... or that is what I told Denman when he asked why they honked at us.

When we found out where to go, I took Denman to his class first.  I was soo proud of him.  He ran over to the coach of that class, sat down, and was ready to go.  I was in TOTAL shock.  I really thought we would have tears from him after the separation anxiety he had with the last move!  But, he had a grin on his face and kept looking up at me like GO AWAY!  So we did. :)

Then I took Natalie to her class and I felt the tightest grip ever in my right hand.  I thought to myself...Oh NO!!  So we got there and they were playing crab soccer which looked like tons of fun, but scared Natalie to DEATH!  She started crying, wanted me to pick her up, and would NOT let go of me.  Ok now that took all I had to do the tough love you can do this and NOT cry.  She has been sooo strong through all of this but loud noises, strangers, and chaos are her biggest fears, and here we are facing them ALL AT ONCE!  

I began to pray... Dear Lord please keep my emotions under control so I can teach Natalie that new things are exciting!  I asked Him to please please give me the words to encourage her without downsizing the fact that it is OK to be afraid.  Then out of NOWHERE, this boy in a purple shirt comes in the door.  His name is Jack.  He is the leader of the class today and was coming in to take over.  He was my ANGEL of the day.  He talked to both of us for a few minutes and then sat down with Natalie and let her know that if she just wanted to watch today then that would be fine.  Natalie grinned at me and said, "I can do that."    My heart fell to my feet and I hugged that poor Jack.  He smiled and said, "I promise she will be fine."  I have NEVER been so grateful!

So I left that room and course LOST IT!  I found a locker room and then closed the door so I could get it together.  I am so not used to being the one who needs help.  I like being the one helping others.  My passion is making the day better for someone else.  I am on the other side now.  I need people to help me.   I need some guidance on what to do.  I need directions when I am lost.  I need at least one person a day to be nice to me!  So when that sweet young man  made my DAUGHTERS day better, now THAT meant the world to me!!! 

After a few tears and many Kleenexes, I was ready for some Body Pump.  I was so excited that they have it here.  So I get there and the class is half full.  I grab the equipment that I usually do for BP and headed to a spot.  I got a step, bar, and my weights.  It took me a few tries to figure out how they go on the bar because that part was NOT like the US.  After a few minutes of trial and error... I had it down.  So all through BP I kept thinking... I am soo out of shape.  I was putting the same weight that I did in the US and I WAS DYING!!!!  I could barley get the bar over my head at the end, which is not unusual, but this time it brought me to my knees.  I kept thinking I MUST get back into a workout routine.  This was ridiculous!!  Later that day I told Rusty about the workout and he laughed and said the measuring system here is completely different here.  They measure in Kilograms while we measure in Pounds.  THANK GOODNESS!  I thought I was a WEAK LINK!!  But now I kept thinking...OH MY... I am going to HURT tomorrow!!!

So after that PITIFUL workout, I go back to get the kiddos.  I LOVE the hugs I get from Denman when you pick him up.  He had the biggest grin and had a blast.  Now we went to see how Natalie's morning was going.  When I got to her class, she had three girls around her and they were chatting away.  The tears were gone and she was wondering if she could come back tomorrow.  Now THAT was an ANSWERED PRAYER!  She didn't play any of the games, but she made a friend, Bella.  Natalie talked about Bella the whole way home and I was sooo thankful for that sweet new friend.  

We were headed home now for lunch then meeting Sofia at a place called Storybook Glen this afternoon.  It was a place that had a ton of fairy tale characters and playgrounds.  It was just cloudy today and no rain so we were ready to take it on! 

We met Sofia at a hotel so that we could follow each other out there.  We were BOTH really good at getting lost so we thought taking it on together might help us find it faster. :)  I LOVE having another "NEW DRIVER" as a friend.  In the time that we were following her, she went through a no entry road, passed on the wrong side, and totally ran through a round about.  I LOVE THIS GIRL!  She makes ME look like a good driver. LOL!!! 

When we pulled up we both just laughed as we walked to the entrance.  Sofia said that she was meeting another friend of hers that lived with her in Labia and is now living here.  We were looking around for her and Natalie says, "Hey, I see my friend!"  I said oh good and told Sofia that Natalie saw her friend.  Then I thought about it....DUH!!! How would Natalie know what her friend looked like.  She said NO I see MY friend.  I looked around and saw a little girl inside the gift shop.  Natalie ran over to see her and it was Bella, her friend from this morning.  How AWESOME is that!!!  So they talked for a while and then Sofia introduced me to her friend and her name was Cynthia.  We talked for a minute and then decided to go in even though it had started to sprinkle.  All this time we were talking the kiddos were walking around playing in the gift shop.  As we pay and head in, Cynthia said oh and this is my daughter, Bella!  I took a deep breath and just said, THANK YOU for yet ANOTHER ANSWERED PRAYER!  God is soo Good!

The girls got to play all afternoon together and it was soo much fun to watch!  I took a ton of pictures here so get ready.  It was just soo much fun to remember all of the stories and watch their excitement as they ran from one character to another.  This is BY FAR my favorite place here! 

This is a castle they could run around and play in.

Check out this pig.  He couldn't even get out of his house!

This is a Highland Cow.  Denman still says it is a buffalo. LOL

This is Storybook Glen from the top of the castle.

This one is for PePaw!  Check out SHREK!!!

Hansel and Gretal... Denman was not so sure about he witch.

The little old woman who lived  in a shoe.  Poor woman!

These are our new friends... Bella, Gabby, and Collin

Denman loves the slides.  They are really fast with NO rails!!!

Denman is playing The Three Little Pigs.

They all wanted to get on this one.  Gotta love Cinderella!

Denman wanted to check out the inside of the house. 

He looked in every window!

Follow the Yellow Brick Road!  My FAV!!!

We HAD to stop for a pic here!

This slide was bumpy and fast!  Natalie LOVED it!

Denman is getting tired as he checks out Sleeping Beauty!

The Three Bears cottage!  We looked around for Goldilocks!

This DUDE wanted to say HI! 

They had a ball on the merry go round!

So today, only tears of JOY!!!  So grateful for our ANSWERED PRAYERS!

God places us where we are to prepare us for what HE wants us to become.

1 Peter 4:8-10  Above all, show sincere love to each other, because love brings about the forgiveness of many sins.  Open your homes to each other without complaining.  And serve each other according to the gift each person has received, as good managers of God's diverse gifts.

Philippians 4:8-9  From now on, brothers and sisters, if anything is excellent and if anything is admirable, focus your thougts on these things: all that is true, all that is holy, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is lovely, and all that is worthy of praise.  Practice these things: whatever you learned, received, heard, or saw in us.  The God of peace will be with you.

Thank you God for our PEACE today!  :)