One crazy week.

The last week has been, well... insane. Moving to a new continent with a three and half week old (now four week old) is not an easy task. Not that I thought it would be, but I just kept telling myself I just had to get here. Well, it certainly didn't end there. In fact, I could probably say my work here is even greater than at home. For one, I don't have "grandma" helping. Unpacking everything and attempting to get the apartment cleaned all while tending to a newborn on limited energy thanks to jet lag has been a bit much. BUT, I am thankful that I am surviving and that God is giving my strength (or sleep!) just when I need it the most.

People have asked if it was hard to leave with a newborn. The short answer? YES. The night before we left I sat in our picture perfect bathtub and that is when it all hit. John came in to find me crying and he leaned over, tenderly touched my shoulder and said, "It is okay to cry."

I couldn't help but to remember when I would sit in the bathtub pregnant and huge, and suddenly there I was with Kaleb already sleeping in his own room and us getting ready to leave the country the next day. I had a hard time when I realized how fast time had already gone, how I wished I wasn't having to pack up and clean... how I felt as if I missed out on moments to cuddle because I was preoccupied with the move and saying good-byes.

Saying good-byes was more difficult than usual. Every time I said "bye" I couldn't help but feel as if everyone would miss out on the growth of our sweet little boy. To imagine that our loved ones may not see him until he was on the verge of walking made me a little misty eyed almost every time I thought about it.



Kaleb's cousins will certainly look bigger the next time we see them. Skype will be even more meaningful this year.



Somewhere in there, we did squeeze in our first date night since Kaleb arrived! Grandma was anxious to watch Kaleb and we didn't have to worry about a thing, knowing he was in very good hands. Thanks grandma. :) We were exhausted, so the date didn't last long... but it was still nice to get out just the two of us.



Kaleb's newest (and tiniest!) friend came over for a visit the night before we left.







Isn't she just an absolute doll? Such perfect and defined features. I tried hard to imagine how Kaleb would have looked that tiny!







That same night we got a text message from my sister that she had gotten engaged!!! I just about killed her for sending me such exciting news via text, but forgave her when she was afraid that we would be sleeping. I called her immediately and told her that the sleep could wait, she better get over and show me her ring! Congrats Matt and Jenna, we are so excited for you and are glad to welcome Matt to our family. (And we had just happened to celebrate his birthday earlier in the evening.)



We arrived here in Groningen on Sunday and John had his first practice on Monday. It was open to the fans and we had a dinner in the business club afterward. I just love the look on Kaleb's face here. It is like he is saying, "Mom, what are we doing?"



Kaleb's first time watching daddy play basketball!



At Martiniplaza, the arena where John will play all his games in this year.





Yesterday we had a full day, starting off with a journey to Ikea in hopes of getting our one euro breakfast. Unfortunately it ended ten minutes prior to our arrival, so we ended up with chocolate muffins and coffee.





Yes, I will be spending a lot of time here this year. (Thankfully everything is inexpensive!)



We had dinner at some friends' house whom we haven't seen in a couple years. The best of friends pick up right where they left off, and that is just how it felt last night. Sure, their little girl is already two and a half and we now have Kaleb, but other than that it almost seemed as if time hadn't elapsed. When we arrived home we looked at the car seat and saw this. Priceless.