Twas the night before Switzerland...

Here's Stephen posing with our 20 suitcases... the hours are few before we step on our plane in the morning!

This evening we did father's blessings - my dad did one for me and Daron, and Daron gave the kids' their blessings. I took some notes on the highlights - they were all so thoughtful and gave me a great feeling of peace as we embark on this momentous adventure ~

Kassie ~ that you'll retain your wonderful personality; find things to laugh about; enjoy new friends; reach across the language barrier; relax; seek out opportunities for you to grow and develop your skills; pray often

Kenny ~ Heavenly Father loves you so much; continue to be happy; develop the gift to find happiness in many things; be a help to your family; be a great friend; learn and understand French with your smart mind; find wonderful friends and make a quick transition

Stephen ~ Heavenly Father cares about you and is interested in your challenges and accomplishments; you have the privilege of being the oldest, and to demonstrate great leadership skills and help your brother and sister; be a great friend and find new ones you'll enjoy; you have an incredible mind; have the patience you'll need to understand differences in language and culture; have the ability to control emotions - with no anxiety and nervousness; reach out to your Heavenly Father; continue to enjoy physical activities

Mel ~ to be calm for this adventure; to be able to anticipate difficulties and problems and see their solutions; that your mind will be clear and active in this new experience; that you will have good health and strength and be able to do the things you want to do; to be a wonderful servant in the hands of our Heavenly Father; to quickly be able to understand the language and converse with friends you will make as you have throughout your life; to feel at ease as you are guiding your children.

Daron ~ blessed with health, strength, and guidance; to feel comfortable working with coworkers and have a positive experience in your career; lead your family in righteousness; seek out things to bring joy to your fellowman; be a positive influence on people who will feel your love for them; quickly get accustomed to the language

It's hard to describe my feelings on the eve of our departure. I KNOW this is the right time in our lives to take this amazing adventure - I am excited and yet when I get the lump in my throat -- it's because I'll miss everyone here. But we'll be back and we'll enjoy every moment of this fun new chapter in our lives!

Countdown to Crassier!

Now that the plane tickets are purchased, the excitement is building... the kids can't wait to see their new 'downtown Crassier' - only 1100 people in the cute little village ~ http://www.crassier.ch/.

Here's a view from the balcony of our new apartment...

Stephen and Kas are looking forward to their last week of school here before we head over on January 29th.  Dad said his heart would break when Kenny left him ~ this is their nightly snuggling routine...

14th Anniversary, House closing, and Happy New Year!

December 27 marked our 14 years of great marriage! Time has flown - and we both agree that life is good. As we went to McDonald's breakfast with the kids, we tried to remember how we celebrated our early anniversaries, on those first 4 years of being married without children... it must have been so quiet! But we can't imagine life now without our 3 little friends. We took Mom and Dad out with us all to enjoy Banana's Foster dessert... the least we could do to thank them for letting us stay with them now that we're officially homeless!! We finally closed on our home - the kids enjoyed helping us do that last big cleaning. 8-)

We're thankful for all that we have... Kenny and I were driving and saw a woman walking her dog - she has only one arm. He said he wanted to say a prayer for her, which he did: "Heavenly Father, we're thankful for our blessings, and that that lady will have her arm back soon." I appreciate his simple faith - when I woke up this morning and came out to the living room, Kenny was playing with a train - no one else was awake yet. I said - Kenny, you're out here playing all alone? He said - "No, Jesus is here too." Just his immediate response, didn't skip a beat. What a great reminder for us to remember to stay close to Heavenly Father.

Happy New Year! We banged pots and pans and ate too much... here's Kassie shoveling fruit dip in her mouth... wow.