It hit me today that we moved to Portland six months ago today! Wow! What a ride! It has happened so quickly!

What have been surprising things?

-The cost of living! Everything is almost double of what we were paying in Berlin. I didn’t expect such inflation when we arrived and still we are shocked when costs are so much more!

-Both how connected and isolated we feel. I feel like we have reconnected with family in really amazing and important ways but also the US culture of hustle means that everyone is so busy that we sometimes feel extremely isolated here. I think we anticipated being with our people a lot more than we are but also we realize people have busy lives. On the other end, we spend much more time with our family here and that is truly wonderful.

What do you miss? I often say that I miss people and pastries. Ana says she misses labor rights and healthcare. All are true. But mainly we miss our people in Berlin. We built a community there as well and we miss it. I miss travel as well and currently I am really missing Christmas markets. But also…

What are you loving here? Nature! We just continously love seeing such nature and beauty everywhere. Ana’s parents came to visit for three weeks and we felt like we only showed them a snippet of the beauty here and we were busy going all over Oregon!

I am also loving my job! I am pleasantly surprised to be having such fun returning to church ministry in this way. I love every step so far.

We love being involved in family holidays and drop ins. This weekend we are hosting four of our niblings to have lunch and some Christmas fun. 🙂 While many might not find this appealing, I can’t wait!

Our life continues to unfold here and change and we are so grateful for every step especially with the kiddo. He started a major life change this week in that he started going to Nuestra Escuela childcare three days a week this week! He is so ready to be playing with other kiddos and we are all ready to have space to be each individual person. He is being cared for by an amazing caretaking team and all in Spanish, Montessori style and just a walk away from our house. So far, Tadej has really loved his two days playing even though I miss him the moment I drop him off until I pick him up! What a shift!

But in between times, we are getting into the holiday spirit. We put up a tree and have been slowly decorating it. My sister and I made wreaths last weekend and it adorns our red door. And we are listening to more and more holiday tunes together. What a sweet time!