Nancy

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we get to attend a regional gathering of our people every six months. In Utah, we would have driven six blocks for the meetings on Saturday afternoon and evening and again on Sunday morning.

In Luxembourg, our ward (single congregation) is part of the Nancy, France stake (an intermediate level in the organizational hierarchy of the LDS Church). This means stake conference is held an hour and a half away in Nancy. 

As is common here among the Saints in Luxembourg and surrounding areas, we got a hotel room at Ariane Hôtel with every other Mormon we know in Luxembourg and made the most of the six-hours of church meetings in a foreign language.

We drove to Nancy first thing on Saturday morning and met the Packer family at the entrance of Place Stanislas. Known colloquially as the place Stan', this UNESCO World Heritage Site is a large, beautiful and impressive pedestrianized square complete with arcs, fountains, and gold plating. 

The boys loved to run around the square, chasing one another and pigeons. We shepherded them through the gilded wrought iron gates and lanterns and past the ornate fountains to Parc de la Pépinière.

A typically French park, Parc de la Pépinière, was complete with lakes, carousels, a miniature zoo, and a playground. We ate our picnic lunches, happily watched all six children play and run themselves ragged, shared our easter candy with a little French girl who only wanted pink eggs, and met up with our friends, Star and Russ Andrews. 

As nap time and melt downs became imminent, we regretted not bringing the stroller, and carried our three-year-old, two-year-old and one-year-old back to the car. 

We checked into our room, set up a pack-n-play in the bathroom, plugged in the fan we brought from home and put Ingrid to sleep. Ben went to the Priesthood leadership meeting, Ingrid slept, and Otto and Aksel unplugged phones, jumped on beds, and wrestled.

Then Ben and I switched places so I could attend the adult session with Becky, while Ben and Nate took the kids to the Museum Aquarium de Nancy and barely survived.

We ate at McDonalds for dinner and the children were elated. I secretly was too until the French people put dijon mustard on my hamburger.

After coaxing all three children to sleep, we joined the Packers and the Andrews (and a few others) in the lobby to eat macarons and talk. At 10:30 pm, I excused myself, brushed my teeth in the lobby bathroom (Ingrid was still sleeping in our bathroom), and returned to our room just in time to helplessly watch Otto roll off the bed and cry so loudly everyone woke up again. 

We made a bed for Otto on the floor and he slept soundly until morning. Aksel, however, woke up 17 times, got on and off the bed, played with the telephone, and wandered around the room until 6 am. 

I took the boys down for breakfast (they didn't eat anything) and then we got ready for a two-hour church meeting with a two-year-old who hadn't slept all night. 

Showing your kids that your family goes to Church every Sunday regardless of the distance, time, smell, language, convenience or lack of sleep isn't for the faint of heart. Flying on airplanes with small children and sitting through church with small children are eerily similar. It strips you down to the core and makes you think you can't go on. And then it's over. And then you eat a pack of Oreos on the drive home as a consolation prize. 

Until September, Nancy. 

8 Months

Ben told me the other day he hasn't felt a hunger pang in weeks. I laughed out loud and then realized I could say the same thing. At first I was appalled. Then I suggested we split a chocolate bar. We eat a lot of food in Luxembourg. Especially cheese and chocolate. 

Ben is a bit braver than I am. He'll try anything and thinks all cheese (however smelly and runny) is delicious. Nothing can prepare you for opening your fridge and having everything in it and shortly thereafter, the entire kitchen, smell like the state fairgrounds. Nothing. 

During our first few days in Luxembourg, we discovered a half-eaten bag of Belgian chocolate chips in the freezer in the basement (bless you Elise Smith). Then we finished the bag and promptly texted Elise to find out where she bought them. The bag is twice the size of the yellow Nestlé Tollhouse bag of chocolate chips you can buy at Costco. And they're twice as good. This particular bag of chocolate chips is also more than 20 euros. Quality comes at a price. 

Recently, Ben started brainstorming ways to get a large quantity of these bags of Callebaut Belgian Chocolate chips back to America. I snorted in derision. Why would we do that? 

Then Ben said more seriously than he's ever said anything else: clearly you've forgotten what crap tastes like.

Because we will return to the states in the summer months (of 2016), it won't be possible to ship a stash of chocolate chips. Thus, the brainstorming and the lack of hunger pangs. 

Time is speeding up and days are passing more quickly. There's less time spent missing and more time spent planning. Otto's getting more and more fluent in Luxembourgish and Ben sounds less African and more French every time I hear him speak. I can successfully order éclairs in French from our favorite bakery and announce that me and my three children would like to swim for an hour and a half at the Syrdall Schwemm center. 

Spring has come to Luxembourg and with it, the happiness of bike rides, mornings at the park, lunch in the backyard, and tantrums in the front yard. I've been promised a beautiful Spring by Luxembourgers every where and I hope mother nature keeps their promise. 

Things I want to remember about the past month in Luxembourg:

Going to dinner at Vapianos followed by a movie at Utopolis. 

Buying Kinder eggs everytime we go to the grocery. 

Finishing the last bag of goldfish from Utah. 

Feeding the missionaries and their Iranian investigator, Aresh. Saying goodbye to Elder Bigler. 

Going to Delhaize for treats one afternoon and playing at the park afterward. 

Askel waking up before 6 am every day. 

Going to the Musée national d'histoire naturelle du Luxembourg and walking around the Grund afterward. 

Otto saying, the days are getting longer!

Watching 101 Dalmatians.

Otto wearing the same pair of Spider-Man socks all week. 

Aksel eating an entire container of baby puffs while I showered (he gave some to Ingrid).

Eating dinner at Mike and Serene's with Claire and Emmanuel (Manu). 

Getting released from YW.

Going to the Kirchberg Plateau and Fort Thüngen with the Packers one Sunday afternoon. 

Norwegians waffles for Sunday dinners.

Otto asking if Ben came out of my tummy, too. 

Aksel not wanting to share anything. 

Otto measuring his growth and height on the wall with a marker. 

Taking the kids swimming by myself once a week. 

Starting a play group for women and their children. 

Watching Eliza Packer and getting her to stop crying by feeding her an obscene amount of Swedish Fish (sorry Becky). 

Going to Bambesch Woods with Becky Packer and her kids. 

Going to dinner at Bel Canto with Madi and Lori White.

Fasting for Aksel to adjust better and be happier. 

Russ and Star coming over to talk about their trip to Belgium and to swap chocolate. 

Having the Kyle's over for dinner. 

Reading Heaven is Here.

Ingrid carting around and sleeping with a plastic ball. 

Elisabeth Hussler coming over with her dog, Magnus one afternoon. 

Otto finally riding his strider bike (18 months after we purchased it).

Trading bikes with Packers. 

Going to Au Pain du Mary bakery with Star and every Friday afternoon for éclairs.

Watching White Collar. 

Ben going to the yearly second-hand bike sale at La Belle Etoile. 

Madi White and Ryan Gilstrap babysitting the Packer kids and our kids at our house one Saturday evening. Going to dinner at Mousel's Cantine with the Packers and the Andrews. And then walking through Clausen and the Grund and getting dessert.

Ben being called as Sunday School president at church.

Reading with Otto. 

Ingrid sleeping through the night. 

A Sunday bike ride and walk along the Alzette River.

Taking Aksel and Ingrid to play with the Andrew's cats one morning. 

Otto telling me Malick punches him and Raphael a lot and then asking, why is Malick a puncher?

Riding bikes the length of our street and around the block and Aksel thinking he's allowed to ride his bike around the block by himself. Multiple times.

Going to the park every morning with Aksel and Ingrid.

The Luxembourgish neighbor really warming up and always talking to Otto in Luxembourgish and shaking his hand. 

Going to the Castle Park. 

Going to Bonn, Germany to the Schloss Drachenburg castle. 

Otto teaching Aksel Luxembourgish words. 

Going to Zig Zag. 

Dinner with Scott and Tracey at Stones Steakhouse for Tracey's birthday. 

Riding bikes around the school grounds each Sunday afternoon. 

Ben coming home for lunch. 

Meeting the Packers at the Farm Park and eating dinner together. 

Celebrating our eight month anniversary in Luxembourg with Indian food, a tart and éclairs with the Andrews.