January 19, 2016: Listening to the heart.

The kids were exploring stethoscope. Eric got it from the army a few years ago and gave it to the kids to use. We like to use stuff to help them explore science. They had fun listening to heartbeats. 

When she is tired, she has been just laying down on a soft blanket and sucking her thumb. So I had to pick her up and put her on the couch. She is just so sweet! 

Playing with Hyrum's Buzz Lightyear space ship. Seriously, Fisher-Price Little People toys are the best! 

January 18: Play day

The kids were playing in Anna's room. I try to separate the toys and oftentimes gave Anna Hyrum's old toys (like the megablok now that he has Legos). Well, every day, they will go to one of their rooms and play. I guess they BOTH own the toys! For the most part, they get along well. Here was in Anna's room. 

Proud of his train! And see the toothpaste mark on his chin? Haha!

Anna and her babies. Anna likes to put ALL of her babies in the stroller and put ALL the baby blankets there, 

Today was okay! I'm thankful for that. Anna was a bit of a drama queen today. But not so bad. Hyrum has been quite a little helper. He helped me clean Anna's poopy diaper and he was trying to help me comfort Anna when she was crying uncontrollably. I'm still not sure what's wrong with her, but sometimes Anna will just randomly cry. I think she sensed that Eric is not here and doesn't know how to express it. Lately, Anna would get so mad when we come and get her up. So I have been sending Hyrum to go get her because she is NEVER grumpy to see him first thing in the morning. 

Sweet Anna before her naptime.

Some things about this sweet girl during naptime:

She needs soft blankets to snuggle. Sometimes two. 

Maybe a stuffed animal. She found this snowman Beanie Baby and said, "Ohhh-lahhhh" for "Olaf." 

She still sucks her thumb and twirls her ears. 

MOST of the time she doesn't fight naptime. YAY! 

And lots of pillows to keep her from falling over. :)

Having fun with the kids

So we finally got to say goodbyes. We have been dreading this day for weeks and it's finally here. It hasn't hit me yet that Eric is really not here anymore. It'll be a long 6 months, but thankfully we have some things to look forward to.
On our last night with Eric, we played hide and seek in the dark. Since we had FHE last Monday talking about  being the light of the world briefly, our activity was hide and seek in the dark. The kids loved it SO much they asked for it every day. Hyrum is terrible at it. If the serial killer ever comes to our house, we will lose quickly because he has no problem squealing with delight and then telling the seeker, "No, Mommy (or daddy) is over there!!!!" Thanks, Hyrum!
So we played hide and seek in the dark. Hyrum couldn't wait too long for us to find him. And he gives Eric or me away a lot. Eric missed me and kept walking and Hyrum followed him, saying, "Daddy, not there! Mommy is right there." One of us would take Anna since she cries when she is left by herself in the dark. But they still have so much fun. I bet the next door neighbor was wondering what's going on with all the commotion in our house, but we don't care. :)

Hyrum....and his dad.

All about Anna....and with her daddy too.

 She is a little tease!

Here she is saying "Pony..." as if telling me all about it. 

January 11

Sibling love!

Our Christmas Letter

Dear Friends and Families.

     Greetings from Germany! We have been living here for almost a year now. We arrived Germany when it was full of winter wonderland and it was the most beautiful place to see in the winter. We drove to Dallas, Texas after saying goodbyes and flew straightway to Frankfurt, Germany. From departing Dallas to getting to our hotel, it was about 36 hours long.
      The only thing that went absolutely wrong (we had a lot, but this one is the top one) is somehow we couldn't take Tigger with us on the plane. We had called and they told us we could. About 9 hours away from Kansas down in Dallas, we were told we couldn't. We spent two hours scrambling to look for what to do, and when it all fails, we were thinking I should stay behind with Tigger and the kids while Eric flies to Germany when my dad called and saved the day. We will forever for indebted to my dad and his friend. We were heartbroken (I was literally bawling the whole day), but we're grateful he's safe back in KS and we will get him back when we return home. It was honestly the worst day I ever had to deal with and it STILL ended with good news. The Lord was watching over us in the midst of this mess.
      We stayed at the hotel for 2 months before we got a house off post, private rental. It has pink exterior. How often do you get a pink house? It's 3 story, 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom duplex. We are located in the very small village of Kaltenbrunn. It's so small, but very quiet. We love it here. We do wish it has a grocery store. The nearest one is about 6 miles away. 

      Since then, our family has been experiencing the German culture and way of life. We had to learn life without A/C as most European countries don't have A/C. It was a miserable summer. I am not one to complain about the lack of stuff very much, but we have tried everything to keep the house cool and it was very hard, but we managed. We had to learn dual voltage, watt number, and transformer. We had to learn Euros vs dollars and metric system. We had to learn how to shop before 8 pm because EVERYTHING closes on Sundays and in the evening except for restaurants. We had to learn how to pay just to use the restroom or we could go in the woods. . No thanks, but paying 0.75 euro just to use the restroom was hard for me to swallow. We had to learn about still water vs carbonated water. They look at you like crazy if you ask for tap water, and sometimes you still have to pay for tap water. We had to learn how to deal with slow internet, a dishwasher without a drying part in it so we still have to dry up our dishes, and a very small fridge and washer and dryer. It's not bad, but it's a huge adjustment. The only thing I'm not a fan of is the traffic light right where you are so you have to crane your neck to see the lights and the lack of A/C. Everything else was fun adventures. 

     But we love their bread. We love the small town feel. The mountains 3 hours away. The people are grumpy, but wonderful people. They are very loyal to you and won't put you down. And Christmastime here.The area here is just gorgeous! And green. We are still trying to learn German. I am having a hard time because sadly they understand my English more than my broken German half the time. 

      So...since we arrived Germany in January, we have been to 6 countries, excluding Germany. In May, we drove to Italy to see the Shroud of Turin. We passed through Austria and Switzerland to get to Germany. In June, we went to Berchtesgaden and drove to Salzburg for the Sound of Music tour. In August, we went to the Black Forest and even drove to Colmar, France for 1 day.. Then we headed to Garmisch for a few days. In September, we went to Prague, Czech Republic. In November, we flew to London. So it's Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Czech Republic, and England. So far, our favorite is Garmisch and London. We do love to drive through Austria and Switzerland. We also had my mom coming to visit in October for about 3 weeks. The kids loved and missed her dearly.

      Now for our family. :)

      Eric and I are still doing well. We celebrated our 4th anniversary this past April. Eric is busy being a squad leader and went to a few college classes this year. He and I teach a wonderful 9-11 year olds in our class. We love them! They are so smart and so fun, and we learn a LOT from them. Eric went to Baumholder for training for 1 month, and experienced the first snow (in early October!). Other than that, not much is going on. I'm staying at home with two very active kids who are like night and day different from each other and life at home is never dull! We befriended a great family here and we hang out with them all the time. 

      Our busy Hyrum turned 3 in March! He is always so busy and so handful! He definitely keeps us hopping. He'll be in the Sunbeams in January. I can't believe he's no longer a toddler! He is into Power Ranger ( he was the red dinosaur Power Ranger for Halloween), Star Wars and Doctor Who. Heck, he likes anything! He's probably the least pickiest child when it comes to movies or toys. He's smart and stubborn. I wonder where he gets his stubborness from? ;) He is always wanting to stay up and get up early. I have to make him stay in his room until 8 or 9. He often tells me, “The sun is awake, Mommy! And so am I!” Ha!

       And our sweetheart, AnnaSophia. She turned 1 in February, but unfortunately, she was sick on her birthday. So we didn't get to celebrate. She is so sweet....with temper. When I'm sick or tired, she puts blankets on me and pats me. She is very motherly! She loves to cuddle, but she's definitely a little tease. She likes to close her eyes and pretend to be asleep when we arrive home and then go, “HA!” She is the most gentle little one I have ever met. Everytime there are babies, there is Anna. She LOVES the babies and would stare at them, point at them and say, “Bebe! Bebe! BABY!!!” She's also incredibly smart and knows a LOT of words. Her thing right now is...”I want milk...now.” We are trying to replace now with please and so far it's working. ;)
   We hope you will have a wonderful 2016! We hope this year means lots of traveling! We are hoping to go to Great Britain and Ireland this summer and sometime to Italy and Greece...maybe Paris. This year's theme is "CARPE DIEM!"
   May the Lord bless you and your wonderful family,
                             Love the Parrilla family
                            Eric, Katherine,
              Hyrum and Anna plus Tigger

Our family picture in 2015

January 

Snow in Germany. Winter wonderland!

February

Sweet Anna turned 1!

March

Our tornado Hyrum turned 3!

April

Enjoying pretzel in Hobrahaus in Munich

May

We went to Turin, Italy to see the Shroud of Turin 

June

Sound of Music tour in Salzburg, Austria 

July

Our home in Germany!

August

Enjoying the view in the Black Forest. 

On top of Zugspitze! 

Colmar, France!

September

Enjoying Prague, Czech Republic!!!

October

Our family in Rothenburg!

November

In London, England!

December 

Christmas Party with the unit. 

Part 1: Driving to Texas.

(January 4th, 2015) Well..our adventure to Germany started today. This morning, after a restless night, we got up, loaded the car, got the kids up and hung out with my parents.  By 7 am, we tearfully said goodbye. I had no idea it would be this hard. My kids deserve to grow up with their grandparents. :( but we said good bye and my mom and I cried.  I hope nothing serious happens while I am gone. So we left and headed for Texas.
  My last day in Kansas started with a gorgeous pink and purple sunrise.  Then we stopped just south of Wichita to eat at McDonald's for breakfast. Hyrum saw a man coming in with a hooded sweatshirt. Hyrum said "Granpa! Granpa!" and waved. Then when he realized it wasn't his grandfather he slowly stopped waving and his smiley was replaced by a sad and disappointed face. It was so sad! The McDonald's took forever to get our food ready. Blah. Then we left and went to a drive thru to order ice cream for Hyrum and found out they were still cleaning the ice cream machine.  Understandable. Who orders some ice cream close to 10 am??
 We arrived the toll. Then got to Oklahoma. This is my first time in Oklahoma.  I gave lived in KS for 16 years and have never been to Oklahoma. Pretty soon,  Hyrum reminded us that we promised him some ice cream. We made a wrong turn in Oklahoma and finally after 15 mins, found some. We ate ice cream while driving through Oklahoma City. Then in Normal we ate at Chick-fil-A.

(Continued writing to today April 16, 2015) The people in Oklahoma were so friendly! A lady opened the door for me while I was hauling all the kids inside. Then a boy did too. It was so nice to see a young boy opening doors for people without asking! Folks, everywhere you go on a road trip, always stop at Chick-Fil-A. They ALWAYS have a playground for kids and they are the most kid friendly fast food place I have ever been to. I miss it already.

Then we continued on our drive to Texas. For starters, we've noticed LOTS of trucks in Texas. And crazy drivers. And the confusing way you drive around. We took a lot of wrong turns in Texas because it just wasn't easy to maneuver. Like the U-Turn. It's not a left turn. It's REALLY a U-Turn. So make sure you're on the right side on the left side to make sure you're not too far left in case it's a U-turn. There are streets that run along the freeway. It was so different and weird. And there was a crazy traffic!

We got to our hotel by the time the kids were screaming and just done for the day. We decided to try double beds and see what happened. It was a very small hotel room, and with Tigger, we were tight. But at least we had a TV, the beds and the place to stay. Double beds are like full beds, but two of them. So two people can sleep in one bed and the other two people on another bed. Hyrum had his own bed and Eric and I slept on another. It saves you a lot of money to book double beds instead of queens, but I don't know if the rooms run smaller with doubles or not since it was our only experience.

That's it for Part 1.

Welcome to Germany!!!!

Hallo! I am going to start taking pictures of Germany, our traveling and such here. I am so excited to share my experiences with Germany! I hope this blog will help anyone who will live or travel to Germany someday. It's definitely a different world!

Dec 25, 2014

Hyrum was sick. :( he didn't do much except lay around. He played some and was able to enjoy his toys, but he mostly rested. Poor guy.

Dec 26, 2014

Hyrum has a wild hair. It is SO him! But they are getting awfully wild so we'll have to trim or cut his hair. I hope his hair stays wavy/curly. I LOVE them!

Day 27: November 26, 2014

Today is Eric's birthday. 6 years ago today, Eric and I were new friends. Since he was away from home and so far from AZ, I took him out for his birthday. I told him we're going past BK, so he thought we were going to BK. I only gave him clues and eventually took him to our small town's Mexican restaurant. Eric said he missed Mexican food. But there's nothing in KS that's as good as real Mexican food. But I took him there. We communicated a lot through text, but we were still trying to figure out how to talk verbally. Eric was still trying to learn how I talk and how to move his lips.  We went to the Tuttle Creek dam, but it was so cold we decided to go to the mall and the library.  I gave Eric Harry Potter 1 book for his birthday because he never read it and I was a Harry Potter geek. I still am. We started to date about a week later. We have had Thanksgiving every single year (some of them late, but never more than a week late) since the year we met. Eric has been to my house for Thanksgiving haha. Then in 2009, I went to Arizona when he came home for R&R. Then in 2010, we had Thanksgiving together and made our first Turkey and made them for the missionaries. Then in 2011,  Thanksgiving in Colorado. Then in 2012, Thanksgiving a few days after,  about two days after he came home, in CO. In 2013 and this year in CO as well.


Anyways you get my point! In a way, Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday.

Today we celebrated Eric's birthday by going to Hubachi and then to the movies. Hyrum enjoyed it so much. I think he thinks it's his birthday.

Oh yeah and Hyrum climbed onto my lap and fell asleep on me. It RARELY happens! And after 3 long days, Eric finally turned in all his equipment. On Monday we will be officially done with Fort Carson and be able to PCS to Germany. We still have a few last minutes stuff to do like ship our unaccompanied luggage, buy Tigger traveling luggage, ship our car, and get him health inspection.  But other than that, we are ready. We are going home to KS. This is my first Christmas at home since I got married. My parents have never spent their Christmas with their grandkids so it's an exciting time. Until then,  adieu!

Day 25: New recipe

Alton Brown's Crepes

Ingredients
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour  (I do half whole wheat and half white flour)
3 tablespoons melted butter
Butter, for coating the pan
Directions
In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.

Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all batter is gone. After they have cooled you can stack them and store in sealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for up to two months. When using frozen crepes, thaw on a rack before gently peeling apart.

*Savory Variation Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, spinach or sun-dried tomatoes to the egg mixture.

*Sweet Variation Add 21/2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of your favorite liqueur to the egg mixture.

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/crepes-recipe.html?oc=linkback


**** Note: Sometimes I added a little cinnamon and sometimes orange extract/peel. 

Oh my what a busy and a little horrible 5 months since we found out we were moving to Germany. Not only did the Army messed up Eric's plan to go to Ranger school, we had a horrible, bossy, pushy landlord and then we had no place to live. It's a very long story.

 We are back in Colorado, trying to out process. We quickly learned Fort Carson has a lot of rules and things have to be done in a certain way. Then we have workers who don't know what they are doing. No offense to on post civilian workers, but I'm so tired of dealing with them.

On side note, we have also become a Doctor Who fan. :)

Third time's a charm

Okay....it's going to be a long story and then I will TRY to start daily blog posts and pictures.

Last summer, well, Spring of 2013, we went home to Kansas and there spent time with my parents. Somehow we got into conversation into overseas moving. Eric and I want to move overseas. My dad was strongly encouraging us to ask for Germany and to basically carpe diem. As far as we know, a lot of bases are closing down in Germany. It seemed like a hopeless situation to be able to move to Germany, but we would try.

Then October 2013 finally came. We requested Germany and immediately was told there wasn't anything for us. After much thinking, we felt impressed to try to get out of the Army. We had a whole year to get ready.

Then....we tried to get ready to get out. I wasn't ready for it. Neither was Eric. There was so much to do! The worst part is Eric tried to get education the last 4 years, but training and deployment took a lot of time. And the Army isn't that supportive about him getting an education as they like to say haha. We are realizing more and more that a lot of places require a college degree. So we got to thinking about staying in the Army and focusing on getting education...somehow.

Then April rolled around. We visited a friend and talked to them. We found out they were stationed at Germany. After hearing their stories, my heart yearned for Germany.

I grew up hearing my mom and dad talk fondly of Germany. To them, it was the greatest adventure (probably after parenting, though). They LOVED living in Germany. It was truly their best 4 years. My family has a very strong German tie. After all, my mom's original maiden name is Koerber. So I have always wanted to go to Germany.

Then in 2009, I had to stay behind since I had school and absolutely no money when I watched my sister go to Germany and she took my parents with them. Then they came back with even more German stories. Just seeing them recall Germany with fondness is enough to make my heart explode.Not in a jealous way, just a deep yearning.

So when we left the friend's house, I told Eric, "Let's ask one more time." He agreed and said he wanted Germany badly too. Then there was silence as we looked ahead sadly, thinking we will never get Germany. But we had to try....just in case. So that's what we did.

After a while, he told me he put in request for Germany. I nodded and said, "Okay." I didn't think we would get it, but I was still hopeful. That was in late April.

After two long weeks, Eric came home, gave Hyrum a hug and then looked at me. He said, "Well....we got slots for Germany!" I was about to say, "Really??? But...." because he didn't say "We GOT Germany." He said that my EFMP has to go through first. I got really worried. I know a lot of people with deafness didn't get to go to Germany.

A week later, I got the answer from Eric.

We didn't get Germany.

I was so heartbroken. I really was. I'll admit I cried a little. I was hating myself, my deafness, and was just so heartbroken. Then Eric came home and said it wasn't all hopeless like he thought. He had explained that the EFMP looked at my expiration date and said it needed to be updated. Mine expires in April 2015. So we can give up and try for Fort Benning, Georgia or we can go ahead and try to update my EFMP.

Here's the problem: the slots are only available until someone snatches it. So we had to hurry. And here's another problem. Fort Carson Evans Hospital is the WORST Army hospital I have ever been to. I HATE it there!!!! It's a disaster.

We tried booking same day appointment. We tried talking to many different people. I booked an appointment three weeks later just in case. During this 3 weeks, we fought to get an appointment sooner. By the time my appointment was coming up, we had no choice but wait a few days. I am working on it, but I'm still so mad they are incompetent, so uneducated, and don't know how to do their job! We received 10 different information and we demanded to be seen sooner. We tried calling through the phone and we tried booking appointment online. I have to say getting up at 6 am, waiting for a LONG time for someone to answer, only to be told to call another line at 9, and then calling that line, only to be told they can't do anything was the worst. Ahh that was the most frustrating month! It just made me hate Evans even more. I  miss my Fort Riley where they were amazing.

So I saw my PCM. He worked with me and then he said he'll have it ready on Tuesday. It was Memorial Day weekend. On Tuesday, he had it ready and then Eric submitted it to EFMP. He told them he was in a hurry and this time, someone FINALLY listened. This person put a note that we are trying to get Germany.

A week later, we were told my EFMP was updated. So we waited.

After we submitted my EFMP on May 26, a week later we submitted the request again (since the other one was no longer available), it wasn't until June 18 we got the news....by then Eric and I were ready to give up and just ask for Georgia haha. We waited for THREE weeks to hear the news! And we started it in April. It had been almost 2 months of nightmare.

Eric surprised me and came home about an hour before lunchtime started. Hyrum ran to him so he went ahead and picked him up. While holding Hyrum, he handed me a small piece of paper.

I looked at him confused and looked at it.

Nothing was making sense.

Until I read "Camp Vilseck."

I knew it was a place in Germany. I looked at him and said, "We got Germany?????"

He smiled and said yes.

I screamed, then said, "Are you sure? Absolutely sure? Nothing else we have to do????" He kept saying yes, yes, yes I'm sure, etc.

I don't think anyone was more surprised than I was. Partly because I'm deaf and I thought they wouldn't allow it. And how many people get to move to Germany????

I'm so thrilled. So thankful. So excited!!!!!!!

Two weeks later and I'm still in shock. We will get to move to Germany for SIX years! YES!


We report to Vilseck, Germany in early 2015. We are so thrilled and grateful for this opportunities, and for prayers.

We went to Arizona and it was a very very very busy week after we got back from AZ. I took pics with the phone, so I will try to catch up......and see if I can remember day to day events haha! I'll try catching up sometime tomorrow if we have time. Or tonight...

Day 24: June 8, 2014

Today was a good Sabbath day. 

We woke up around 7-8, and today was Stake Conference. But we never checked the time and we still had to get the kids ready and get ready for church. But since we have been going to church at 1, we are not used to it. :/ We have a lot to work on on Sundays. 

I  made some blueberry muffins and then we had a late brunch. Then naptime. Then I woke up and started to pack for our trip to Arizona. Then made some yummy Chicken and Gnocchi soup. I have started to collect great recipes of soup. :) We have been having some rain on and off all day, so it was a good day to have some soup. There was a moment of severe Tornado warning, but it didn't last long. The whole people of Colorado is worried about the storm, but to me this is so normal. I would take a good rain over snow any day!

After dinner, we went for a walk/bike riding. Eric rode his bike with Hyrum in the back and I walked with Anna in the jogging stroller. When we started, it was cool and nice. But towards the end, it got REALLY windy. Anna was trying to breathe and smile at the same time. She didn't cry and was such a trooper. So we ended up trying to get home.

After, we had some ice cream. Every Sunday we have some dessert. Today we had some chocolate ice cream with Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and nuts. Yum!!!!

After dinner, we try to do family prayer and scripture study. I also give Hyrum some milk, in hope that he would drink his milk and stay calm....tonight he was pretty calm. But when he has his milk, and when we're about to pray, oftentimes he folds his arms over the milk, like in the picture below haha. :) Enjoy the pictures!!!!

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