This was before our nine hour flight to Frankfurt, Germany.   Did you know that the Atlanta International Terminal has a Varisty.  Oh yes they do!  Oh yes we did!

Our plane.

Nothing too exciting happened on our flights.  There was a lot of turbulence going over.  That meant that the middle-of-the-night flight was not full of peaceful sleep for me.  Mark slept great though.  I was dragging by the time we got to Germany and then got to deal with a lovely selection of a pat down.  I felt mighty sorry for the security officer as she pulled off my boots that had been on for nine hours.

Flying in to Germany.  Beautiful ya’ll!  Just beautiful! The Ukrainian airport had two cute little play areas for children.  Genius people.

Germany.
After our nine hour flight.  I got a short nap in Frankfurt and  short nap to Ukraine.

I love flying above the clouds.  The formations one can see are just breathtaking.

We were in Ukraine for about a week.  Since my birthday fell during our trip Mark figured out a way for us to sight see in another place as well.  He gave me a choice.  I chose Venice.  Really and truly, if you have to pick a city anywhere on mainland Europe to visit for one day.  Choose Venice.

Then Mark had a great idea.  Let’s go to Venice by train!  Oh my ya’ll.  We went through Germany, Austria, and Italy.  The hills were definitely alive with the sound of music.

This was our first long train ride.  We enjoyed every minute of the eight hour trip but were definitely ready to find a bed and crash by the time we go to Venice.

Our first train to make the connection to the longer one.  This was like a metro station and we’re still not sure how we got to it and on it without a single person checking for our tickets.

Mark is the photographer, but I got one of him!

I give you the Austrian Alps!
And vineyards.  Oh my…as soon as we entered Italy every single hilltop, mountain, and valley was covered with vineyards.  It was gorgeous. And Germany had castles.  It blew our minds to just look out a window and see a castle. Gorgeous little towns were everywhere.
And more castles. And Alps.

Hey look!  Another castle!

Mark got to take a nap.  He really was napping not digging for gold.  I promise.  Our cabin mates can attest to it.  If they spoke English.   I read and stared out the window.

Waiting on food in the dining car and enjoying the scenery.  This is my relaxation face.  We may have only been in Venice for one full day but we enjoyed every second of it.

And now your food posts for the train.

An apple and vanilla cream dessert.  Yummy. Mushroom Goulash and Potato Pancakes.

Chicken Salad

In everything give thanks for this is the will of Christ Jesus in you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

How do I start a blog about thankfulness.  No, not because I’m not thankful but because we have so much to be thankful for.  This year, even in the extremely rough and stressful times, we were able to give thanks.  So many things.  So many people.  So much of God.  This year has been full and overflowing.

The obvious givens are our home, neighbors, friends and family.  They have cried with us, prayed with us, and dropped everything to be with us through all of our struggles.  They have written references, watched children, made meals, and cleaned our house.  The Lord knew we would need these people in our lives from the get go.  We are so blessed that He has given them to us when needed.

Our children have made us laugh, cry, and want to pull our hair out too.  Their laughter and hug tackles remind us that it is all worth it in the end.  I could not imagine doing life with out these amazing strong children.

And our Super Ems.  All of the kids do not argue with me when I say that she is the current family favorite.  Yep.  They all love her and would do anything to protect and care for her.

I am so grateful for her laughter.  Honesty, genuine laughter and giggles.  They have been slow to come.  As a baby, she squealed with glee and smiled a lot.  But never really laughed.  Never giggled.  Until this month.  I had forgotten how much those sweet toddler/baby giggles melt my heart.

Her fierce independence and strength has been quite evident this past month as we were away and she had to rely on others to help her and guide her.  Oh, she still wants mama and daddy close but she is now more apt to wander in to the playroom without us by her side.  Her strength.  Oh, her strength is a great inspiration to us all.

And this little man, our Y the Brave who bravely told a room full of adults that he wanted to be with his family.  Us.  He enthusiastically showed us off to his classmates and ran to us with arms wide open screaming, “Mama! Papa!” at the top of his lungs.  My heart yearns to have him home safe and with his brothers and sisters and we anxiously await the phone call that all is well and our court date is coming up.

I am thankful for the ten days Mark and I had to spend together.  There was a lot of time of “just us” time.  And even more so when we were the only ones who could speak English.  We laughed and talked and just enjoyed being together.  Mark said it was like a second honeymoon and I totally agreed.

Side note-we are really, really bad at selfies but we both refuse to purchase a selfie stick. If you give us one for Christmas, it will not be used. We refuse ya’ll.

I can not wait to share more about our trip in the next couple of posts, so stay tuned.  For now, I’m going to snuggle up to Mark and get a nap so I can enjoy a Black Friday tradition of going out with friends to brave the cold and crowds.