Laurel Elisabeth Stevens

There was a bit of worry about the cold weather here in The Woodlands.  Talk of freezing rain that dissipated into nothing.  Friday is Park Day for our homeschooling group, and thankfully, this group is a "whatever the weather" kind of group.  If they can do 95 degrees at noon in July, they can do drizzle and 40 degrees in January.  Because, you know, 40 degrees and drizzle in Texas is, um, very cold.    There was hot chocolate, there were blankets, and hats, but I think my children, lately come from Michigan and before that, Germany, were the best dressed.  Layers, hats, an extra pair of gloves.  Henry even had extra warm knee high socks that John brought him from Hannover. I'm tickled about two things: Henry found that the person he most wanted to play with an 11 year-old boy.  And Elisabeth and a few other kids are planning a club to raise money for a water well through World Vision.  I'm trying really hard, really hard to just sit ...

This Sunday in The Woodlands The weather got a little cooler here in the Houston area . . .for a couple of days.  It was already warming back to the 80s today.  But on Sunday we got to wear sweaters and realize that no, we won’t be able to wear sandals all year long. At church I spoke with a friend who was asking how our transition was going, saying that he felt for us, having to leave Germany after just two years.  It nearly made me cry, but at the same time I was grateful for his understanding.  He knows from personal experience the work it takes to move and adjust overseas.   I’ve been looking over my notes and writings from the last two Octobers and Novembers.  Wow--the seasons are really different!  It does feel like continual summer here and, well, I’m not minding it.  Not right now, at least! The entry below was mostly written on a Sunday in November, 2011, when John was in the U.S. for about two weeks.  It was ...

Before we left Hannover she said, “And you really must keep up your blog.  I want to read about your readjustment.  If you don’t write it down right away, you will get used to things, and then forget how it felt to arrive.” Hauling the load from the grocery store She was right.  There were always excuses to not write things down.  First, we didn’t have a computer.  Then we were busy, flying to California, and then New York.  Then when I did try to write, I got so sad, thinking about our last week in Hannover, full of visits to friends’ homes, the kids romping outside with their buddies, parents eating, drinking and laughing together.  I didn’t know it would be this sweet. I remember thinking, as we were preparing to go to Germany, “What am I going to do there?  I don’t ‘love’ Germany.”  I loved the idea of castles and peasants and medieval times, travel, green countryside and snowy mountains, Bach, Beethoven and Mozart.  Ap...

Elisabeth has been excited about playing piano in the school talent show but I just found out that the auditions are the day we are flying back to the U.S.  I wonder if this news will bring her first tears regarding our move. So far I think the kids are taking it easier than we are.  They don’t think all these big thoughts like, “We thought we’d be here longer” or “What will the transition be like?” or “Will Henry keep his German?  Will any of us keep our German?”  They don’t yet know or anticipate the ache that is left after saying good-bye to dear friends who have not only helped us through a difficult transition, but have brought a dimension to our stay that we never could’ve imagined.  The kids are thinking about the new house, returning to Elisabeth’s piano teacher, homeschooling, VBS at Grace, new gymnastics classes, friends, friends, friends.  I asked Elisabeth what she will be most sad about leaving here, and she said, “Friends!”...