A New Family & a New Home

I made it! I'm actually here. To me, it still seems unreal that I'm now in the home of the family I've been emailing for six months. But I couldn't be happier to be here.....soooo, let me tell you about them and my first days and impressions!

My train ride was only a few hours and with a "layover" and beautifully scenic route, it felt much shorter. When the announcement came on over the loudspeaker that the train was approaching the Stuttgart train station I felt my heart jump into my throat and between my overwhelming excitement and nervousness, all I wanted to do was get off that train!

Once off, I realized that I'd been riding an extremely long train and as I scanned up and down the platform, I saw no family with four little children (I would soon come to learn that when looking for a family with four little children, ears are more helpful than eyes). After a minute or two I saw my host father (Papa) walking towards me, followed by my oldest brother, Christian (10). The next few minutes were a blur as I exchanged hugs with my new siblings and parents...and as they realized my German wasn't as good as in the emails they'd been receiving from me. (In my defense, I gave them fair warning)

In the last week, I've come to know them a little bit better, and come to love them even more. I've enjoyed even talks with Mama...as well as early morning swims! I've played approximately 73 games of Uno with Samuel. With pronunciation help from my 7 year old brother, Jonathon, I read a book to Samuel (4). The family is amazing. They are warm, caring, understanding, and just plain fun. I will admit that I was a bit nervous about having four little siblings but so far I'm enjoying it far more than I'd anticipated.

The Weihing family has welcomed me with open arms and made me feel quite at home in the hustle and bustle of a family of six and went above and beyond in preparing my room. I first walked in to find flowers on my table, a notebook, scissors, and other supplies on my desk, a colorful pack of pens that I'll no doubt put to good use,and a bulletin board with thumbtacks (in the shape of a heart, of course) Christian even informed me that he and Papa had just built a new desk for me. So, all I can say is that I love my room, love my family, and love all the little things that make life so wonderful.

 I'm very excited to see what the next ten months have in store and will be posting more soon to give you an idea of just what I've been up to in the last few days:-)