PCS

PCS: Permanent Change of Station

I wanted to share something with you that I heard on AFN (Armed Forces Network) the other day.  Acronyms are a huge thing in the military, but I had never heard PCS put this way......Positive Change of Station.  It made me smile.  Most people who experience a PCS move have different reactions and experiences.  I've heard horror stories.  I am so grateful that ours has gone quite smoothly.

Don't get me wrong, I have had my shares of stress through all this.  I'm a planner.  Not knowing what's going to meet me on the other side is driving me crazy.  I set up plans on how the move day should go, and then they fall apart or change.  That throws me all off.  Michael will look at me, smile, and tell me to breathe.  He just kind of rolls with it.  I, on the other hand, can't just roll with it.

I'm trying to have positive thoughts about this move.  I'm excited for what awaits me, but not having a home is a bit nerve-wracking.  I already have a job, but I don't even know where the school is located on post.  We live on a very small post.  We're moving to a post that takes up 2 counties!

Last night I said good-bye to my closest friend here, Tammy.  Most of you have heard me talk about her.  She came into my life when I needed someone the most, and I know that was God's working.  She was, and is, my first Army friend and confidante.  She got me through my Army transition and even let me work with her when I needed something to do.  I didn't realize how hard it would be to say to her "We'll see each other soon", because I know we will.  She's gone to California for a conference so I won't see her before we leave, which is why we sad good-bye so early.  The minute and a half that we "talked" on the phone was mostly crying.  I'm so blessed to have her in my life.  I've got a friend forever and we will meet up again.

So friends, this PCS is going to be a rough one in some aspects, but it's also going to be one where I will learn new things.  I know that God knows what we're going to face.  He'll have it all worked out for us.  I just need to get that into my thick head.  

Until next time....

Just to fill you in....

I wanted to fill everyone in on what's going on over the pond.  At the moment I am sitting in The Arena near the bowling lanes updating since we don't have internet where we're staying.  We had a great Thanksgiving yesterday with some friends.  The last of our things left on Monday and then we moved into the hotel where we are staying for 10 days.  Our flight to Fayetteville, NC, is on Thursday so we have about 5 days left in Italy.  I can tell you that we're both, Michael and I, a but nervous and excited for this move.  Michael doesn't want to leave Europe yet and I am going to miss my friends like crazy but we knew this day would eventually come.  I have made some great friends, but I know that we will meet again.  The Airborne community is a small community with few posts around the world.

There are many things that we will miss, but we know the next adventure is going to be exciting.  I've never been to North Carolina so that makes me a bit apprehensive, but we are already planning on going to the corps the first Sunday we are there.  Our car hopefully gets there before us, which will make the transition a bit easier.  Stud on the other hand, may not adjust as quickly as we will, but he'll be ok.  The most nerve-wracking part for me is the wait for our new house.  At the moment we are #105 of 146.  We're hoping that the list will go down fast, but one never knows.  I just don't want to live in the hotel for long than a week or two if necessary.  One room for 2 people and a cat can be kind of crowded.  But we'll make do.

We thank each of you for your prayers and support these past 2 1/2 years that we have lived here (sort of off an on).  We're very excited to be closer to family and friends.  Know that you are welcome at any time to visit us in NC, especially if you want to help unpack boxes!!!! :)  

Until next time.....

Andrew & Manuela Bramsch Wedding

One of Michael's closest friends here got married a few weeks ago to an Italian girl. So Bramsch asked Michael to be his best man. Here they are standing outside the municipal building waiting for Manuela to arrive.



In Italy, and I'm not sure if it's because Bramsch is an American, they do a court room ceremony with the mayor and then a church ceremony. Bramsch has to become catholic before they can get married in the catholic church. Here we are in the mayor's office.




Here's the wedding party outside the restaurant where we had lunch. There we about 15 of us there.

Let me explain this whole restaurant fiasco. So we had an apertif time, or horsdouvers, while they did some pictures outside. Afterward we went into the restaurant where they had menu cards out. We Americans thought that we had to choose what we wanted, but that's not how it worked. We were given each item under each course. So here's appetizer #1 - proscuitto and a type of whipped cheese.


Appetizer #2 was my favorite. It was a pancake with puree pumpkin and ham, and a cheese sauce on top. It was divine!


First Course #1 was risotto with radicchio, which is a type of lettuce. First Course #2 was ravioli with a cheese sauce and walnuts - I didn't really like it so I didn't take a picture of it.



Second Course #1 was filet with rosemary oil and roasted potatoes.


Second Course #2 was chicken with mushrooms, pepper, zucchini, and roasted eggplant. It was different but by the time we got to this course I was completely done.

Dessert #1 was ice cream with blackberries and I think pommegrantae, but I'm not too sure on that. It was good though.

And here's the wedding cake!



Now we didn't get the food all at once. We were there for about 4 hours. There was a break for about 20 minutes in between the first courses.

We had a great time and are sad that we'll miss the church ceremony. We were certainly full when we got home. I jokingly asked Michael if he wanted a snack. We kinda looked at each other and laughed because we knew we wouldn't get anything in our mouthes.

Hope all's well with each of you. Will keep you up to date on the goings-on in the Honsberger house as our time in Italy comes to a close. I guess I'll have to change the title of my blog. If anyone has any good titles, pass them on!!

Until next time.....

3 weeks to go

Well my friends, Michael and I have 3 weeks left in Italy. By this time in 3 weeks we'll be in North Carolina....hard to believe. I just sent off my application and resume to the school where I'll be working at Ft. Bragg. I can't believe that I've already gotten a job before we even move there. That is a HUGE answer to prayer. I'm also thinking of taking some classes at the community college in Fayetteville. Not sure what in. I've been tossing around Accounting or Secondary Education. They have a branch at Ft. Bragg so maybe they'll be able to help me out a bit.

We went to a wedding this past weekend - I need to post pics from it. The reception was a 10-course meal and boy was I overstuffed. Of course I took pics of each meal as it came. One of Michael's closest battle buddies married an Italian. Here you have a civil ceremony and then the church ceremony. Andrew, the battle buddy, is not catholic so they can't get married in the catholic church until he becomes catholic. He wanted Michael to be his best man so he had the civil ceremony before we move. I'm sad we're going to miss the big church service though. It would've been nice to experience that.

Not much else going on. We're looking forward to Christmas in the states. It will definitely be a big change but we'll be 8 hours from my parents doorstep so we can go up for long weekends.

Until next time.....

Weekend in Paris

This past weekend Michael and I went to Paris. We really needed a break away and I've always wanted to go to Paris. I wanted to post a few pictures from our trip.

Here's the Eiffel Tower from the top of Notre Dame Cathedral. It had just stopped raining so the sky looked amazing.

We went to the Louvre. It was absolutely amazing inside, but we only wanted to see 3 things in it. Here's the Mona Lisa. Not as big as I thought but still breathtaking.

Here's the Louvre...I wanted to point it out for you in case you didn't notice it.

We only have 3 weeks left in our apartment and 4 weeks left in Italy. We're looking forward to what's next. Hope all's well with each of you.

Until next time...