It’s the morning of Christmas Eve, and I am listening to the wind rush from the canyon and swirl around my childhood home as I cuddle with my baby boy in the glow of my mother’s harp-themed Christmas tree. Just a few days ago we said goodbye to the lights of Stuttgart’s Christmas markets, eating fried pastries as we walked along cobbled streets.
The week of Thanksgiving, we were notified that we were moving back to the States. It was a move we were expecting, but we didn’t know the timing. So that we could be with our children—and grandchild–for Christmas, we expedited everything. Fortunately, few moves this time of year meant that our household was packed and on its way across the ocean less than two weeks later.
It’s been a whirlwind, and Germany will always have our hearts, but this was the right move for our family, as it will mean more time together–in Utah, with our adult daughters and our extended families, as well as in our new home in Williamsburg, Virginia! We visited this area when we lived in North Carolina, and fell in love with our British Colonial roots, so we are thrilled with the chance to dive deep into these, as well as the vindication at Yorktown and the origin story of Jamestown. We want to pour the beauty of our American roots and our European heritage into our new home.
But in the meantime, it’s Christmas time and we don’t have a home of our own. We’ve done this before–16 times. We’ll likely do this again. It’s never been easy, but we’ve learned a few things that have helped us build stability and focus on growth, even in a time of transition. We thought this would be the perfect opportunity to share how educational principles and life lessons help ease the chaos–in real time.
We’d like to invite you to join us Thursday mornings as we share our journey to creating our new home in Williamsburg. We might be a little quiet through the New Year as we plan to focus on our Utah family, but my goal starting mid-January is to post a new article every Thursday morning. Feel free to check out our About page to find out more about this website.
Thank you for being part of our story, whether we’re family by birth or by adoption–in Alaska or Florida or Stuttgart! We love you and are grateful to have gained strength from our friendship. If you sent us a Christmas card, thank you! We plant to send out belated New Year’s cards when we have our new address.
Wishing you a season of light and joy through our Savior Jesus Christ,
Matt, Amanda, and family
P.S. If you’d like to see more of what our family’s been up to during our Stuttgart time you are welcome to check out our Life Snapshot.
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