Home Safe and Sound!

I made it home to NC safe and sound! Flights were uneventful and Zoe survived! She was quite vocal through customs but I would expect nothing less! Oh my sweet girl! My parents picked me up at the DC airport and we drove home. Long drive but so happy to not have to take another flight to get to RDU. It was so good to hug my parents! I am enjoying taking it easy and spending time with them! Thanks for all your prayers! Love to you all!

 First dinner in the states at Cracker Barrel- comfort foods of chicken and dumplings, mac n cheese, and fried okra

Oh how I love thee and miss thee!

First Goodberry's! No matter the weather, love this frozen custard!

Christmas Markets!!

I have an obsession with Christmas Markets! I have been blessed to go to different Christmas Markets throughout Germany three different years! Aunt Jeanne and I were going to meet up this year in Germany to visit some Christmas Markets but due to my surgery that didn't happen! But when I found out that I had to layover in Germany overnight, I was so excited because I got to see a Christmas market after all!

After checking into my airport hotel, I jumped on a train and went straight to the Christmas markets in Frankfurt! It was amazing and a breath of fresh air! I loved walking around, shopping, and eating!

My view as soon as I stepped off the train

Christmas tree in the square

Got to ride the carousel! I love them so!

Then I got my first mug of Gluwhein

For dinner I had a sausage dog! So yummy!

Stalls of many sausages

Nativity Scene

 

Love these fig nut dolls

This hot chocolate is for Liam!

Chocolate tools

Dessert before going back to the hotel... gluwhein and nutella elephant ear!

Thanksgiving with Friends!

Tonight, my dear friends, Laura and Jeff, had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner complete with a real turkey and awesome fixings! While we had it on Wednesday night, it felt like Thanksgiving day because I was with dear friends and had all the needed foods (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and pie)! It was an amazing time eating and chatting! We spent most of the night talking and it was just what I needed for my last night in Tunisia! Thank you God for blessing me with amazing friends!

Jeff carving the turkey

Our beautifully decorated table

Katie with all of the fixings

My yummy Thanksgiving meal (I think this photo is upside down... oops)

Katie and David

YUMMY desserts!

Laura and Cheryl

Jeff and Lou

The crew during dessert

"How are you feeling?"

As the time for me to come home and have surgery, gets closer, I get the question I love so (which always comes from the people who love me dearly so I know it is genuine)... "How are you feeling?". And honestly, at this moment, I am feeling great! My sub who is taking over my class is amazing and overly anal just like me, my TAs are awesome, I have all my plans set up, my kids are being sweet, my parents in my class are supportive... things are coming together and I feel I can breathe again.  I am spending a lot of time with my friends and making fun memories. I am making the most of my time here.

But to be honest, I am only thinking about what is going on here, in Tunisia. I am not thinking past here. And I don't want to go home. Now listen before you start to take things personally. It is not that I don't want to squeeze and laugh with my family or babysit my loves or spend time with my friends or go to TARGET. I want to do all of those things! But on Friday, I am not flying home to see my family, babysitting kids, friends, or to even go to Target. I am coming home to have my 3rd open heart surgery and I don't want it. I don't want to have my breast bone cracked open. I don't want to decide whether to have a mechanical valve or animal valve. I don't want to do this!

But please know I am holding on to the fun things I will get to do while I am home. I get to spend lots of time with my family. I get to babysit my sweets who are growing up right before my eyes. I get to go to the WLE Christmas party. I get to spend time with my friends. I get to go to Target, Goodberry's, Mellow Mushroom, Sheetz and eat Mexican food.  I get to go to the Outer Banks with my mom and paint our monograms with my mom and best friend. I get to feel unconditional love from my parents as they deal with me as I recover from a huge blow to my body. I get embraces (not just hugs, embraces) as much as I want. And I am looking forward to that so much! But I am scared... scared to leave my friends and family in Tunis, scared to leave my students and their parents, scared to have my heart stopped during surgery.

But I have to trust more than anything that God is in control. Always. Forever. No matter what.

So that in a nutshell is how I am feeling. ;)

Cookie Decorating Party!

Today I had a Christmas cookie decorating party to thank all of my wonderful and supportive friends! It was a lot of fun spending time with all of them! We had a wonderful time and I love them all dearly!

Friends chatting

Rym (PreK teacher I work closely with and love dearly) and me

Karen, Catherine (she got engaged last night! and she will be my sub while I am gone), and Michele

Katie with her beautiful cookie (She's alive, Lauren! oh and there are no more pictures of her because she kept eating her cookies so she took home an empty plate and David had to have a matching one too!)

Rym decorating away!

Soukenia got real creative and made a gorgeous tree!

Karen and Cheryl decorating... love these too!

Soukenia, Sonya, and Naima (my fabulous TA)

Kelli and Soukenia

My friends with their final products! They got really creative and created beautiful cookies!
Soukenia

Naima and Sonya 

Tifin

Michele, Kelli, Karen

Karen and Cheryl

What a fun time with fabulous friends!

Italian Circus in Tunis!

Last night, I went to the circus with the Basu family (who I babysit for) and it was so much fun! The circus is in town and we had to go! This was the first circus experience for the boys and it was a memorable one! We were all quite impressed by this circus and loved it all! They had many acts and it was fun to watch! A great Tunisian experience!