Photo fun with decorated driftwood we found on the beach in St. Simons

* A southern serenade while you read :) *

After a degree of separation for TWO YEARS (yikes!), suffice it to say that it was good to be home for the holidays. I had been counting down the days since the moment I clicked "purchase" for our airline tickets back in August when December 22 seemed like an eternity away. At the time we were faced with life-changing events, namely Jeff's long awaited return to school, and grappling with thoughts of "how are we going to survive?" Survive we did when suddenly we're given a moment to reflect and BOOM, it's time to pack!!

Touching down in Atlanta I suddenly had this feeling of certainty. I was again in a place where I know exactly how things work, where to go for this or that, how to communicate exactly what I want to say. There's a sense of comfort that comes with being surrounded by what's familiar and I welcomed it with open arms. I couldn't wait for my first Cinnabon, sweet tea, Publix sub sandwich, BBQ, Chik-fil-A and a trip to TARGET!! These were just a few "musts" on our list of American must-haves, but we'd get to them eventually. Our first priority, of course, was to hit the road on our whirlwind tour to see family and friends.

There's no denying that Christmas was BIG this year. My mom hosted Christmas at her house which meant a house full of family. Everything was en masse...the food, the people, the decorations, the gifts...there was nothing that fell short. It was the first time in as long as anyone could remember that we were all together for Christmas, and it was something truly special. Our next stop brought us to the Leslie side of the family in Alabama. Though the crowd was smaller, there was certainly no shortage of laughter. The proof set in the next morning when I realized my cheek and stomach muscles were sore. Jolly Ole Saint Nick would have been proud! Our third and final stop brought us to St. Simons Island on the coast of Georgia where we would have Christmas with the Kohlhoffs. Something about the giant Oak trees laced with Spanish moss swaying in the breeze gave us a sense that we were now on "island time". Morning walks to the marshes, beach strolls, and island adventures by bike all made for a relaxing coastal getaway. But like all things, this too came to an end and we were once again headed for Atlanta.

We rang in the New Year in the city with our dear friends Chris and Kristin and their friends. A night on the town with our old friends was the perfect way to close out 2011, but it is nothing like a night out in Barcelona. How so? Simply put - waking up at 10 the next morning and walking to Waffle House for breakfast would never happen. Period. It was a welcome change. :)

Our final days were spent making our list and checking it twice to make sure we accomplished as much as possible. We shopped, ran errands, ate, and ate some more. A funny thing happened, though, as we indulged ourselves in the things we missed - the things we didn't miss started getting in the way. I grew tired...tired of getting in a car to go anywhere, tired of parking lots, tired of out of control portion sizes, and tired of the extreme waste. We found ourselves looking forward to our return to Barcelona.

Returning home brought with it a rush of emotions. Hugging my sister for the first time in as long as I could remember brought on an unexpected wave of tears and laughter. Family reunions are always something special, but this felt different. The stories, the laughter, even the moments of solitude were moments to cherish. Splitting our time between Atlanta, Alabama, and the Georgia coast was perfect and allowed us to see family from far and wide. Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, cousins, longtime friends and new ones too...all made Christmas 2011 truly special. When would we have this again?

Christmas at my Mom's house

Christmas dinner with the Leslie's

An island Christmas with the Kohlhoff's

As you well know by now, moving abroad has brought about many "firsts" and new experiences over the last three years. Though time has brought comfort and familiarity, at no other time is it more evident that "we're not in Kansas anymore" than during the holiday season. When a holiday like Thanksgiving simply doesn't exist, there's great deal of planning and improvising that has to happen. The one thing that doesn't change, however, is the anticipation of great food and great company to share these experiences with.

At some point during my carefully coordinated dance in the kitchen yesterday, I realized that it was, well, easy! The turkey had been brining all night, the cornbread was made, the side dishes and hors d'oeuvres were prepped, skype was my kitchen companion along with Michael Buble's Christmas serenade in the background. This was a turning point. Relatively speaking, preparing a Thanksgiving feast abroad had finally become a no-brainer! I stopped to reflect on our various turkey feasts over the years and I came to one conclusion...this year wasn't just seemingly easy. It WAS easy!

2008: Our first Thanksgiving was celebrated only about 6 weeks after moving to Spain. Being away from family for our first major holiday was yanking on our heart strings, so we planned to spend the holiday in Munich with Nathan, Shonda, and little Brianna-to-be. The universe had a special surprise for all of us, though, when baby Brianna decided to make her grand entrance a few weeks early! While Mommy and Daddy spent their first hours with their baby girl in the hospital, Uncle Jeff and Aunt Lauren prepared a Thanksgiving feast at the house. Reading labels in Spanish was challenging enough, but German?? Seriously?? In the end we pulled it off, packed everything to go, and brought Thanksgiving to the hospital. This takes the cake for the most chaotic yet memorable Turkey Day experience!

2009: This year we had just moved into our new apartment and we had only just begun to unpack. No big deal! Not even a partially furnished apartment could keep us from sharing one of our favorite holidays with friends. This would be our first Spanish Thanksgiving, so there was a lot of kitchen and cooking vocabulary building while searching the city far and wide for the right ingredients.This holiday was spent with Raúl and Marta, our Scottish friends Rob and Cat, their newborn Aurora, and even their parents who were in town to help with the wee one. I was stressed this time around, not being familiar with my kitchen and lacking essential gadgets, but in the end it was another success.

Thanksgiving 2010 and what's left of the turkey

2010: This year Thanksgiving was BIG. Enormous turkey (I couldn't lift it by myself), side dishes in massive quantities, and a crowd of 16...whoa! Prep started early in the morning, but luckily we had our dear friends Alex and Kelly in town to help us get organized for the impending feast. Our friends came from all over: Spain, Italy, Scotland, Venezuela, France, and the US. We asked our guests to contribute something to the dinner, and the dishes that were brought were very interesting! Even a typical Spanish tortilla found its place on the table. There was still a lot to be learned over the course of preparing this meal, but with the company of great friends and delicious food, the clean-up could wait until morning.

2011: A very successful Turkey Day! We had a much more manageable guest list this year which I think helped in easing my anxiety of entertaining a bit. In fact, not a single doubt crossed my mind this year that everything would turn out perfectly...not even when the water was turned off in our neighborhood for most of the day! We spent this year's Thanksgiving with our good friends Deby and Armando, Dawn and Francesc with their little boy Zach, and our new friend Dave. But the best part of this year's feast? Everyone helped with the clean-up and we woke up to a spotless apartment this morning. We've finally figured this thing out!

Our Thanksgiving family 2011

*A special thank-you to my Mom and Kirk. Thanksgiving wouldn't have been the same without your enormous care packages!

First off, apologies are in order. Here we are only a month and a half into this blog and already we are falling behind. There are so many stories to share with all of you...it doesn't seem that there is any shortage of excitement! Many things have happened since our last post, but our most recent adventure is one that takes the cake. I have to warn you that this post is lengthy. I recommend grabbing a snack and kicking your feet up for this one!

As most of you know, I am working at an American school here in Barcelona. It has it's many perks...English is the primary language, its view of the sea is breathtaking, and of course holidays! This not only means Spanish holidays (there are 22 Catalonian holidays in the calendar year) but also American holidays...not to mention summer vacation...WOO! Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday to celebrate in Europe because no one is traveling, airfare is cheap, and the roadways aren't crowded. The dreaded, or much anticipated, Black Friday isn't even a glimpse in the European mind! We decided to take advantage of this low-key long weekend and travel to Munich to see Nathan and Shonda. It was perfect...Jeff had only started informal training at Rucker and I already had Thursday and Friday off. We left for the airport Wednesday evening and were in flight by 7:30. The brief flight was full of anticipation to see family, especially since Shonda was carrying our niece. 2 hours later we had arrived...was Germany ready for 2 more Kohlhoffs??

Nathan and Shonda met us in the airport after retrieving our bags, and we were soon on our way to the car. Little did we know our ride would be a brand new 7 series BMW that has not yet been released...you can imagine Jeff's reaction. It's amazing to watch him transform as his giddiness takes over and he is suddenly spouting off specs that only car-savvy individuals like himself would understand. I think we've all witnessed it at least once! Nonetheless, after posing for a few pics and looking over the car once, then twice, then a third time we were finally on our way to Hallbergmoos...otherwise known as Home Sweet Home.

Hallbergmoos is a charming little town. Being that Christmas is just around the corner, the streets were illuminated with sparkling white lights and buildings were adorned with wreaths and greenery. Snow blanketed the fields and the distant snow capped Alps made the perfect background for a true winter wonderland scene. Nathan and Shonda's home somehow fit the landscape more than perfectly...a butter-yellow house complete with a tree swing and a glistening white field. Baby Kohlhoff couldn't be luckier.

Wednesday night didn't last long. After a guided tour and introductions with the cats, it wasn't long before we said goodnight. We knew we needed rest as the next few days were going to be busy. Thursday greeted us with bright sunshine, although it was quite frigid outside. Nathan and Jeff decided to take the BMW for a joy ride on the Autobahn (they managed to reach 150 mph) while Shonda and I culled through Christmas decorations, made a very pitiful cornbread, and simply gabbed as girls often do. Once the Brothers Kohlhoff returned from their adrenaline high, we loaded the car and headed south on winding country roads. Our destination was a small town about an hour south of Munich where we would be joining some friends for Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant called Niba.



The restaurant owner tried his hand at preparing a traditional Thanksgiving meal...keep in mind he's German. Dinner started with a pumpkin soup that was quite delicious. The main course was appetizing to the eyes and tongue...turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes, spiced chestnut stuffing, and green beans to boot...yum! Dessert was interesting, however. We were served a variation of pumpkin pie and we all had our guesses as to how it was prepared. Raw grated pumpkin mixed with ricotta cheese and powdered sugar filled a sugar cookie crust...also raw. I'm not one to spring for the traditional pumpkin pie myself, but at least it smells appetizing. This pie was downright gross. The looks on our faces were classic, all looking confused yet curious yet disgusted. The look spoke of "Are we supposed to eat this?" One small bite was enough for me, but leave it to Jeff and Nathan to eat the whole thing. They were the only 2 out of 20 guests who could stomach the "pie". Maybe introduce it to the oven next time?


That night we spent the night at Sebastian and Carol's house. Thank you for your generosity! The Kohlhoffs can really put away the bread. ;o) Friday morning we continued south, driving along the Alps as we made our way to one of the most famous castles in the world. But first, Nathan's determination to stop at an alm (farm) landed us in the middle of nowhere on a farm where fresh cheeses are made. The smell certainly hit us in the face as soon as we got out of the car, but the panoramic views made it easy to ignore. We dined on fresh cheeses, sparkling apple juice, fresh milk, fresh baked bread, and cured ham. Delicious! We set forth to our final destination, but once again we managed to get distracted. This time our travels brought us to a Baroque cathedral in Bavaria. First impressions of the interior were of pure awe. There were simply no words to describe the vision of the most ornate and intricately detailed marble, wood carvings, and plaster encrusted with gold and jewel-toned painted images. The white-washed walls made the bursts of color even more impressive. It's moments like these that make you realize jut how old this part of the world is.


Onward! We finally reach Schwangua, home of Neuschwanstein Castle. Neuschwanstein served as one of 4 homes built by King Ludwig II. Ludwig was a peculiar man who led a very private and secretive life. He wasn't considered to be very social, and he was not well liked by his kingdom. Why? His spending habits were out of control. An extraordinary amount of money was spent on his incredibly extravagant lifestyle. Neuschwanstein is the most famous example of his notoriously lavish life, but you may recognize it for another reason. Does the architecture look familiar? Walt Disney, after visiting the castle, decided it was the perfect fairy tale castle. Thus, Cinderella's Castle is modeled after this Bavarian masterpiece. I would agree with Walt Disney. The setting was truly that of a fairy tale...a quaint little town, snow capped mountains, a horse and carriage ride, panoramic views...certainly the things dreams are made of. Too bad King Ludwig only spent about 170 days in the castle. He died "mysteriously" and was found in the lake just beyond the castle. The strangest thing of all was that this castle was built in the 19th century! It was built to replicate the medieval Romanesque period...a testament to King Ludwig's egocentrism.


Our journey back to Munich was interrupted by a visit to a traditional Christmas Market. The market was a whimsical event complete with a Bavarian Oompa band, traditional food, homemade goods, and gluvine! Gluvine is a deliciously warm drink made from sweetened red wine that is spiced. It's the perfect drink to warm you to the core. You can probably guess my ultimate satisfaction after several cups of the heavenly drink...mmm. After a few hours of roaming the different stands, we had finally had enough of the cold weather and returned home. Somehow we still had enough energy to watch "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles", a Thanksgiving classic.

Think the surprises are over? Don't be fooled...the ultimate surprise came early Saturday morning. Our peaceful slumber was disturbed at around 3am by a very excited Nathan informing us that Shonda's water had broken. What?!? This wasn't supposed to happen for at least 2 more weeks! We were out of bed in a flash, but despite the frantic excitement, the process of getting ready for the hospital was calm and orderly. Thank goodness for all those lists! Soon Nathan and Shonda were on their way to the hospital...ready or not, a fifth Kohlhoff was on the way. Look out Germany! Jeff and I stayed behind, and somehow we managed to go back to sleep. Nathan called a few hours later to say that Baby Kohlhoff had made her grand entrance. Jeff and I made our way to the hospital, anxious to meet our newborn niece. When we arrived, our hearts were filled with happiness and pride...she was so beautiful. We stayed at the hospital for a few hours, then decided to head back to the house. Jeff and I proceeded to make a disaster of the kitchen as we fumbled our way through making a Thanksgiving dinner (this was our original plan for Saturday). We used every dish, fork, knife, and spoon you could imagine...thank goodness they had a dishwasher! We packaged the meal in several containers and returned to the hospital where the 5 of us found new meaning in the holiday celebration. Welcome Brianna Lynn!



In looking back on the weekend, I couldn't help but think that all of this was somehow meant to be. There were too many signs to be passed off as coincidence...that nagging feeling that this was the right decision was clearly confirmed. Being there with Nathan and Shonda for the birth of their first child was indescribable, overwhelming, truly a blessing. If I've been taught anything, it's that there's no better time than now to seize the moment. Listen to tht voice in your head. You have no idea what you could be missing.