14 Months

Our 14th month in Luxembourg has included some pretty big events -- our return from our three-week trip to the states, grand theft auto, a burgled home, overcoming jet lag, a trip to the dentist and the start of a new school year with both Otto and Aksel attending school. 

Our trip to Utah ended with really happy and peaceful sentiments about our choice to make our home in another place.

Our trip home to Luxembourg ended with really unfortunate news that still hasn't been resolved. 

Back to School

The school year started in Luxembourg on September 15. 

Otto, age 4, began his official first year of Luxembourg school, called Cycle 1. Luxembourg law requires all children who are four years old prior to September 1 of each year to begin Cycle 1. 

Aksel, age 3, began his first year of Luxembourgish preschool, called Précoce. 

From the time school ended on July 15 until now, Otto has been asking when school would begin again. I overhead him telling Aksel on several occasions that it would be okay to cry. 

The night before school started, I asked Otto to tell Aksel what it would be like to go to school and Otto said: 

Aksel, it's going to be awesome. You're going to color and play and bake stuff and go to parks and ride buses and go on lots of fun field trips. 

There's so much to love about school in Luxembourg! 

Burgled

Flying from Salt Lake City to Luxembourg is a feat. 

We begin days before. We rest. We hydrate. We pack. We bring two backpacks full of spare clothes, snacks, headphones, iPads, toys, games, chapstick, gum, diapers and wipes. We know we won't sleep for 24 hours and our children will sleep for three or four hours, if we're lucky, or if we sacrifice a seat for them so they can sprawl out comfortably. 

So by the time we land in Paris, get our circus (family) off of the plane, onto a bus, through customs, onto another bus, hang out in a terminal for an hour and then walk to a gate, and climb aboard another airplane, it's about all we (I) can do to not sob for the 45-minute flight from Paris to Luxembourg. 

Trip to Utah

For months we had been anticipating a trip home. As summer approached, school ended and Ben's workload waned, we started to finalize plans to fly to Utah. In May, we submitted our paperwork to have our 1-year visas renewed (we would need a new one-year visa and accompanying Luxembourg residency cards to get back into Luxembourg on our return from Utah).

After weeks of nothing, Ben paid several visits and spent several afternoons on the phone navigating government employees in an attempt to get information our visa status. 

Finally, we received word: 

Your visas won't be ready until September, they said. 

That doesn't make sense, Ben said. 

I'm trapped here, I said. 

13 Months

We've flipped! We're no longer counting months by how long we've been in Luxembourg, but by how many we have left. 

Occasionally, I start to panic and make and re-make a big list of all the things we need to see and do in the next 11 months and then I look at my kids and realize if we do nothing else but eat european chocolate chips and play at the park next door, we've done and seen and conquered and experienced more than I ever dreamed.