Life as we know it...is MUCH different....

It's been 7 days, and it's been crazy. Mayla has not yet decided if she likes the USA. Overall I think she is going through Switzerland withdrawal. A few things she misses and why it's different (from the eyes of her mother of course).

-Daily stroller walks. Why can't you go for stroller walks in Michigan? Good question, normally you can, but since we have been home the temperature has ranged from 0 degrees to 10 degrees fahrenheit (-17 to -12 degrees celsius). In fear of her nose freezing and falling off, we have been inside....a lot. I walked by the window today and she started to reach out and she just stared, poor thing.

-being in her stroller in general. In her stroller, mom and dad are directly in her eyesight, and any time she needs anything, we are right there. Riding in the car poses a little bit of a problem when Mayla is in the back seat facing backwards. She can't see outside (one thing she is obsessed with) and only has the same toys that rattle back and forth to keep her attention. And when she cries and spits out her Nuggi (which she does quite frequently), it takes us a bit longer to get it back in again! 

-time change. Overall we are very pleased with how she is doing, but we have had some rough moments along the way. The first morning she decided sleeping till 4:30 am was just right (thankfully daddy got up with her), she then had a hard time making it in between naps during the day, but thankfully we were with family and she was continually entertained or held, so that made the adjustment a little more helpful. The first night she went to bed by 8:30pm and decided sleeping till 3:30 am was the perfect amount of sleep, yes we were making progress at night, but I was a bit worried about that morning wake time. The next night she gave me some encouragement and made it till 5, then the following till 6. Still waiting to get back on the 7pm-7am, but it will come! She has been through a lot and she's been moving around a lot in different beds and different places too, it's got to be hard and she has tried to tell us that with some serious tears over the last few days. 

-Train rides/tram rides where she can see and take in the world around her.

-Heated hard wood floors and tropical like living with a super heated flat (cuz we didn't pay extra no matter how warm we made it). Mayla has been bundled up and has worn all her tights, lined pants and sweatshirts over the past 7 days. We are all missing the warmth under our feet and walking around in shorts and tank tops cuz our flat was so warm. I thought my dad was going to kick us out our first morning living at my parents as even though he had the heat 'turned up', we still complained and insisted on building a fire in our room! Thanks Dad!!!

-Her Friends. She would have 'play dates' with some other boys/girls that ranged from 4 weeks older to 6 months older. She misses slobbering all over toys with the young ones and being attacked by the older ones:)  

-a change of laundry detergent. The new stuff (also Sensitive for babies) doesn't smell as nice as the stuff we had back 'home' (more of a 'problem' for her picky mom than for M&M) and has left Mayla with a nice rash. 

Some things Mayla is enjoying (and her parents): attention of cousins/aunts/uncles/ grandmas and grandpas. She has had her fair share of hugs, kisses and entertainment. The first 3 days we were here I think I changed all of 3 diapers, it was like a holiday! I only saw Mayla when she needed to feed it seemed like:) 

-Mommy's attention. Because it has been so cold, and a serious lack of desire to go out and run errands or go anywhere, I've been inside with Mayla for 4 days now. We have shared a lot of moments together during that time. Some times it's hard but i wouldn't trade these uninterrupted moments for anything. I sometimes have to remind myself that the to-do list is important, but the most important thing on that to-do list is to love my husband and daughter. My 'house' may not be organized or clean or decorated professionally and I may not serve exquisite meals, or always  have the laundry folded, but that doesn't matter!

Will and I started our time here at my sister Kelli's house and we were flooded with love and spoiled greatly! We then transitioned over to my parents basement and have been working on trying to make this a 'temporary' home for ourselves. 

Some observations we have noticed in the last week:

-Tea selection in the grocery stores makes me want to cry (VERY limited)

-The selection of everything else in the grocery store makes grocery shopping take triple the time it took in Switzerland. Some times the extra selection is good, some times bad!

-Everyone speaks English!!! So far anyway...

-Thinks the restaurants are still using air conditioning, even during the winter months.

-It's very easy to go baby shopping here, and MUCH cheaper! And the 2nd hand shops are great.

-Having family around is fantastic and having an onsite babysitter has many perks. 

-being around family for all the hand me downs has already come in very very handy. 

-is missing walking to bus stops, tram stops, train stations, etc.

-People say hi to you, make eye contact with you and are very friendly

On the job front, Will had a telephone interview this past Tuesday with a company located in South Carolina. It went well (from our perspective), his resume will be passed to the hiring manager and we are praying the Lord's guidance! 

Looking forward to see what each new day has in store.....tomorrow it's joining the gym day before we add to the obesity rankings of America! 

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THANK YOU AUNTIE KELLI, This entertainer has been a life saver!

2nd day in the USA, our little polar bear ready to go outside! 

We made it!!!

The greatest thing about being sick my first day in the USA, I actually have time to get out an update...HA....that's what I thought when I BEGAN to write this on Saturday, needless to say it's Tuesday and i'm finally getting this out. 

If you are up to speed on facebook, you saw we had a bit of an interesting flying day on Friday, if you are not up to facebook speed (which I'm not so don't worry), we had an interesting day.

Since Will and I got married, well actually before that, my flying adventures have always been, well adventures. And Friday unfortunately followed that path. 

Mayla woke up early around 6:20, and I knew instantly it was going to be an interesting morning. We packed the cars (thank you Piotr and Pam) and made our way to the airport, United counter (at check in one) was wide open and we made our way instantly to the counter. Due to a new system it took them forever to get us going, but before we knew it we were handed our boarding passes and on our way. We found some seats at Starbucks for a last hang out time with some dear friends (Pam, Kathryn, Piotr, Ewa, Noemi, and Martin thank you). The time went by way too fast and before we knew it, we had to head off to our gate. Good byes were hard, but in my head I just kept thinking, 'I'm just leaving for Christmas, what's the big deal'. I wonder when it will hit me that i'm not just 'home for the holidays?' 

Good bye tears dried as we made our way to airport security. That is a bit trickier with a 'baby on board' than when it was just the two of us, but thankfully we had some nice airport security staff who let me keep my shoes on (not the case in America) and we managed to get through without too many setbacks. Mayla just kept taking in the sights around her and was a champ. 

We made our way to the very familiar E gate and on the tram ride I was trying to tell myself this was it, we were leaving, but my brain just kept telling me, 'yeah for home for Christmas time'.  Mayla fell asleep in the stroller and I was glad as it had already been a long morning for her and she was going on being awake for over 3 hours, which in Mayla hours is a LONG time! We boarded the plane and thankfully she stayed sleeping in my arms as I sat in my seat, (bulk head seating praise The Lord).  We got our things organized and as I was trying to get buckled in, she woke up, I knew this was NOT going to be a good thing. We had planned her feedings in the morning so that she would be hungry about the time we took off, and as the pilot announced early that boarding was almost complete and he thought we could be on our way early, I was getting excited that our 'planned' morning was going to work out. 

Well that Pilot man is NOT my friend. It was our 'original' time to take off and we were still sitting at our gate. I quick asked the flight attendant if i had time to change my daughter and she said yes, well thankfully we went fast cuz as i was changing her they announced we were leaving, and then I hear a bang on the bathroom door and within seconds a flight attendant was opening the door on us, I'm just glad I was not in the middle of anything. Shortly after that, we backed out and then sat, and sat, and sat and sat. We were trying to see if we were de-icing, or what the deal was, but could see nothing.  We were also focused on holding off a fussy girl who was starting to get hungry and who was also realizing she didn't take a long enough nap and a girl who had just dirtied her pants more than her pampers could handle. Attempting to hold her off ended when the pilot came on and announced that something was wrong with the air-conditioner and we needed to go back to the gate. So much for leaving early and so much for feeding during take off. The bonus of going back to the gate? Getting up and changing our poopy pants Mayla who by now had it coming up her back and through the clothes. We were off to a great start; let the adventures begin.

'What daddy, plane is boken?'

The mechanics came on the plane and we were informed they might not be able to fix the problem, but that was okay as it was 'not necessary' but it would require us to take a longer route. Another 15 minutes passed and we were informed the mechanics fixed the plane and after paper work was complete we could get on our way. We pushed back from the gate, taxied out to the runway and there we sat again. Mayla had only had half a feed earlier and was starving. After minutes of screaming, we realized we could not hold her off until we were taking off and once again missed the opportunity to feed her during take off and I was nervous. She thankfully fell asleep while eating and I was able to get the nuggi in and she started to suck, thank you Jesus for the answered prayer. Total sitting time on the airplane before we departed was 3 hours, add that to a 9 hour flight and it makes for a VERY bad start. We were just starting the day and Will and I were already exhausted, and baby Mayla too! 

Unfortunately I had to move Mayla because of the position she was in and it resulted in her waking up, bad move that I regretted. She just cried and cried. I tried getting her back to sleep but she was NOT happy and not enjoying the many ways I was trying. Thankfully the fasten seat belt sign came off and I was able to stand which finally calmed her....she was just asleep and to my great luck, a little turbulence forced the pilot to turn back on the fasten seat belt sign. Mayla noticed the change in 'height' and was not happy to be sitting and once again the crying came as she awoke. I felt so bad for her as she was overly tired and nothing was working in her favor. After a short feed, she FINALLY fell back to sleep and I didn't move a muscle in fear of waking her up. I took a deep breathe and looked forward to a nice 2 to 3 hour nap with my daughter on my lap....NOPE...Mayla had other plans, and after 25 minutes she decided that was long enough and wanted to once again send us to the bathroom to change her whole outfit. I think she just liked the lights in the bathroom, outfit number 1, and 2 now gone and we were onto the third. The third one only made it 15 minutes before she spit up all over it. By now we had the seat next to us looking like a closet and just pulled out whatever was needed! 

Finally relaxed on the floor of the plane..

We were sitting in the bassinet seats, and I did try putting her in it, but she was not digging it and we ended up using it as a 'storage' center for the flight. Mayla was once again getting super fussy so I laid her on some blankets on the floor in front of us, and after 20 minutes, she finally fell asleep, a sigh of relief came over me that was abruptly put to an end when the flight attendant came by and told us our girl could not be on the floor. I wanted to cry as I knew moving her would wake her up, and sure enough, tears and screams followed as I picked her up from her comfy vibrating floor spot.  I had only one option left at this time and it was the Moby wrap. I put her in it, and started my laps through the plane, and thankfully within minutes she was back asleep and resting close to me. We were both in need of a good nap! Two hours of deep sleep was what our little girl needed and that was the end of the crying and fussing for the remainder of the travel day. It was a super challenge for all 3 of us, and some times I wonder why those moments have to come, as if we hadn't been through enough stress and trauma with packing, leaving, and sitting on the airplane for 3 extra hours. But it was those moments that brought me to my knees to surrender to The Lord. He was once again showing me that I can plan all I want to, but in the end His plan will prevail. He was also teaching us about selfishness, a common theme that continues to come up in our family. To put away our needs/wants/desires and do what Mayla needs at the moment. Some times it's hard and requires extra energy on our end, but it also helps us see how we should be in life. When others are in need around us, what is our priority? Will we take the time to help, will we even notice the needs of others or are we too focused on ourselves to see the world around us. 

Our plane went super fast, but not fast enough to get us to Newark, New Jersey in time to make our connection. We went through security, got Mayla's passport stamped (her second one, YIPEE) collected our luggage, got new luggage tags, and new boarding passes for a later flight (I'm so thankful they had room on the later flight, cuz by this time we just wanted to be home). After all that we grabbed some food, found our gate and discovered our flight was delayed 45 minutes, Will and I were just laughing at this point. Nothing could be done but to just endure, so all three of us took turns taking a little nap and dreamed of landing in Grand Rapids. 

After boarding the plane around 7:00 pm, Mayla shared some smiles with her new friends around her and discovered the airport lights out the window, we finally took off. And it actually worked for one flight to feed her while taking off, and within minutes she was asleep, and shortly behind her were mom and dad. We landed in Grand Rapids, saw our family waving franticly through the  airport windows (yes it's a small airport), looked at each other and said, 'are we ready for this?' We grabbed our luggage, and made our way out of the gate. When we rounded the corner they saw us and the yelling and cheering began. I had perma-grin as we were welcomed with such love and open arms by all. The embraces felt great, and I was so overwhelmed (and exhausted) that even when I look back on pictures my sister took (thanks sissy, they are great) I don't remember some of those moments. Mayla's expression at first was awesome. She had NO idea what to think and was overstimulated within minutes, she was such a trooper though and just went from hands to hands and took it. I wonder at what point she thought, 'guys this is nuts, it's 3:00 in the morning on my clock, can we just stop already and go to bed?'

Mayla did get to go to bed, at 11:30pm, and slept till 4:30am. Oh the joys of jet lag...with an infant. The good news is daddy was wide awake too (wonder where Mayla gets it from) and took her so her sick mommy could sleep a bit more. Auntie Kelli came to join the morning fun and when Mayla went back for a nap, we all went back for a nap.

Our first day in the USA was already different than any other time we have come to visit, we didn't go anywhere or do anything and even stayed in our pj's most of the day. It was needed and so enjoyed! 

Another update is in the works and coming soon, so get ready!!

Where has the time gone?

Six more days and we will be leaving Switzerland. It became more real when we went to de-register from the country and they kept our Swiss permits. I all of a sudden felt powerless and in a strange in between of worlds. The prominent Swiss ID that struck my eye when I opened my wallet was replaced with a foreign looking Michigan drivers license.

I'm currently on my way to the second 'farewell' hang out. I keep getting so excited to see and hang with these people, but then in the same breath, tears well up inside my eyes when I realize there will be last hugs and 'see you laterz' exchanged.

While I'm hanging with some ladies who have been very instrumental and great mentors in my life, Will is holding down the fort, or more like selling the fort. Today is a big pick up day and part of me thinks it's better I'm not there watching all our items walk out the door. It will be strange to walk in the door tonight to an almost empty flat. With the sadness of these items leaving though I rejoice in the Lord for providing buyers. We were getting nervous a week and a half ago because of how many big items we had left, started praying more (as well as others, thank you) and within the last week the Lord sent people. What a blessing. The thing we are struggling with now is the little things we have left. Trying to weigh the benefits of packing them, paying for them and bringing them back or just getting rid of them. Some little things I would like to put on the sidewalk in our neighborhood for free, but we tried that already and got in trouble for trying to be 'giving'.

In between all the hours of sending emails and SMS's to buyers or potential buyers (this has been an extremely draining project) and packing boxes, and sending letters to inform insurance companies of our planned exit and meeting the buyers in the city, and letting strangers in our flat who have bought things...we had Mayla's last cardio appointment at the children's hospital.

On the way to the appointment we walked by the 'milk room'. If you kept up with our updates, you remember the milk room was where all the mothers brought their 'goods'. I jokingly said to Will,' I wonder if my milk is still there.' We both chuckled and kept walking. Later I had to use the bathroom and walked back by the milk room and my curiosity was getting the best of me, I just had to enter and check. I opened the big stainless steel door and sure enough taking up the entire top shelf of the freezer was 'milk for Mayla Ellis'. Four months they had kept that Gold for me. I had to take a picture, I was in shock. 

After Mayla made friends in the waiting room we were called back for them to check our little miracle  baby out. They first checked pulse, blood pressure and her heart rhythms. As they were putting the sensors on her, she was smiling and giggling, it brought joy to my heart and reminded me about 'child like faith''. Our daughter was laying there just 3.5 short (but long) months after having open heart surgery and she had a deep peace about her. Each day I see Jesus in my daughter, but for some reason I see Him more when she lays on the big medical table. He shines right through her and the look of peace that flows out her eyes is absorbed, and I experience that 'faith like a child.' I can only look at her and believe,  and can only look at her and have hope.

After each of those tests, the nurse uttered, 'wonderful'. And my heart leapt with joy. On the outside Mayla looks fantastic, but you really never know what's happening deep within, and I'm always so eager to hear the report. We were then off to the ultrasound room where we were greeted by the ever so friendly doctor. She has been with us and Mayla from the beginning (in fact she met with Will the day Mayla was born and explained everything that was wrong and everything that had to happen, even gave him a picture to color...) and is so nice and good with Mayla. The whole time she was examining her it was hard not to keep thinking how much I'm going to miss that doctor lady. Mayla was fascinated with the ultrasound screen and when a bit of fussyness crept in, the doctor would play the sound of her heartbeat outloud, it was beautiful to hear it and so cute to see it soothing our daughter. And then she confirmed everything looks perfect. All Glory to God, continuous thanks abounding to the Lord Almighty!

We discussed with the doctor what further steps would be taken if we would be living here and it broke my heart to be having this conversation. Part of me just wanted to get up, walk out and say see you next time and pretend this was not happening. Up till this point I was doing okay with the move, but at that moment I was really struggling with leaving the children's hospital and the decision to leave Switzerland. We walked out of that building where we had spent countless hours, tears, prayers, good moments, sad moments and big moments and I lost it. My continual prayer is that Jesus molds and makes me more like Him and its in these weak moments I see there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. Will asked me a simple question as the tears were streaming down my face and that was, 'do you trust man or do you trust God?' I was walking away from the people that worked on Mayla but God is the one who saved her. It will be hard to leave the people and place behind, and that's okay, but I have to go forward with confidence that Mayla continues to be held in the palm of the Lords hands and that no matter where we live, He will provide what's needed for her, all of us. So next up is for her to a have another check up in three months, and then see from there what the interval needs to be and then when she is one year old go through an extensive developmental check. They say it's a good idea to do with babies that have had a rough start to life like our little bundle. So we were mailed part of her file (in German), and got a little update letter in English to take with us.

Packing....and organizing and more of those two things has been consuming us, but the majority of the main packing is over. We shipped 17 boxes back to the states so far and have 3 more to follow that we have been adding to daily. It's cheaper for us to ship boxes as opposed to taking them on the plane, so we are trying to figure out what 'needs' to be with us on the plane for when we arrive and ship the rest.

As of today Will has 28 applications out that he has not heard back from. Our words for the year, well a word taken from last year and a new one for this year are TRUST and HOPE. We are stepping out and taking a leap of faith and putting our trust and hope in the Lord, HE will provide! And we submit to HIS timing!

And due to time restraints, meaning we still have too many things to list in the short time that remains, i'm going to list a few So Sads, So Glads.

So Sad: Leaving my gyno office, I know, most ladies are thinking WHY is that sad and it's because of the relationship I have with my doctor there and the receptionist. We have been through a lot together and she has been a wonderful person offering me her cell phone number whenever I needed to call her and her going out of the way to help us. She really was a wonderful person and I will miss her dearly. The other sad thing to leave behind is my general doctor and his office. I'm not ready to go to a place where you are 'just a patient number'. Things work differently here and the receptionists are usually also the nurses. They know me when I call, and they know me when I walk in. It's a very welcoming feeling that I will miss dearly.  Another big one is calling big companies and the wait time being very limited. Will and I had a lot of phone calls to make at the beginning of the week and I was amazed at how little I had to be placed on hold until I spoke to an agent. I know it's NOT that way in the USA. I even called my insurance company and got to someone in just a matter of a minute, that will be greatly missed, and the last one for today, I'm sad to be leaving the super efficient swiss flushing toilets!!!!!

So glad: for a garbage disposal, washer and dryer that i'm not sharing with ten strangers, and one that I won't have to sign up to use and go up and down 3 flights of stairs to get to. And so glad I won't have to make sure I have a coin with me to get a shopping cart (they are locked together and you only get one by inserting a coin or a 'fake' coin that you get back once you return the cart) and remember to bring my own bags or pay for them at the store (unless we shop at Aldi in America as well).

So that's it for now. Just six days from now we'll be seeing our families and introducing them all to Mayla, most of them for the first time, we are super excited about that! We will be sure to share all our fun as we move back and readjust to life 'abroad' or 'home' or whatever it is now. You can now sign up to receive email notifications of our updates, so take a minute and check that out, it's on the right of the screen.


Until next time, viel spass!

PS: We are seriously praising God because Mayla's Passport and International Birth Record have arrived. She still does not have a social security number but we are good with that because we figure then she doesn't have to pay taxes...

This is what happens when Daddy babysits...

And Mayla's first concert.