Living in Another Language

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Finding the Perfect Christmas Gift

Written by: Amanda // Category: Holidays, Review, Sp

Christmas is quickly approaching. I don’t know how we got here so fast this year, but I suppose I have to face reality and launch myself full-steam into the festivities: hello cheery music, Starbucks red cups, cute boots and scarves, and lots of homemade cookies! One of my absolute favorite things to do is buy Christmas presents. I know for some it can be a stressful time with so many personalities, tastes, and budgets to consider, but the mere challenge of it all gets me excited. Derik is obviously my choice person to shop for (duh), and I spend the entire year watching, listening, and waiting to find 'the perfect gift' for him. I’m usually a last-minute shopper even though I have the gift in my head months in advance, but this time ... Read More

Holiday Gift Guide for the Traveler and Expat

Written by: Amanda // Category: Expat Living, Holidays, travel tips

Well hello friends, and Merry Christmas! I hope you're enjoying the chaotic, joyous, holiday-filled weeks as we move on toward 2016 as I am! Derik and I been galavanting around in the good ol' US of A this holiday season, and have enjoyed reuniting with family and friends along the way. I don't know if you're like me, but I make a New Year's resolution every year to be good at buying gifts early…and it never happens. So here I sit, two weeks from Christmas, with a whole list of people to shop for. I actually enjoy getting creative gifts for others, so that's not my problem…If I'm honest with myself, I'm just a gigantic procrastinator. You know that girl in college who didn't have the 10-page paper started the night before it was ... Read More

Christmas

Written by: Amanda // Category: Holidays

My favorite time of the year. I (for one) love the snow, bundling up all cozy like in front of the fire drinking hot chocolate, going out and chopping down a tree (thank you Korea for ruining that one, I had to go out and buy a plastic fake tree), making a bazillion Christmas cookies, and enjoying all the holiday parties. Yes, Christmas is good. My love for Christmas hasn't dwindled since we moved to a country that doesn't really celebrate it too much. It's more like: "Oh hey! It's Christmas, <smooooochhh> I love you." The end. I kind of feel like it's my mission to spread the holiday cheer. My students have been crafting snowmen, cutting out snowflakes, writing Santa letters, and singing 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' since Dec. ... Read More

Not Home for the Holidays

Written by: Amanda // Category: Holidays

It’s been a while since I’ve actually been with my whole family for the holidays. The last time my immediate family got together in one place for Christmas was in 2008. Yes, 2008. That would have made me a fresh 20-year-old and barely a junior in college. You’ll understand a bit more of my story and about why that is if you read this post about home. Being honest with you, I have to tell you that it’s hard. When a person thinks about Thanksgiving or Christmas, they think: family, laughter, cuddles, warmth, and love. Not seeing my family at all in two years, let alone celebrate the holidays with them is a huge burden/let down/ depressant.  I spend a lot of time  moping around wishing that maybe just once life could be normal for the ... Read More

Thanksgiving: Through the Eyes of an Expat

Written by: Amanda // Category: Holidays, Sponsors

I've always loved Thanksgiving. It's a time to get together with loved ones and reflect on all the blessings the year has given. Last Thanksgiving I wrote this post about the things I DIDN'T like about the holiday (the gluttony, selfishness, and inconsideration), and although I still firmly stand by what I wrote, I can't help but feel a little more homesick/sentimental about Thanksgiving this year. I only wish I could hand out with my family and friends; forget the turkey, shopping, and football. Derik and I spend another year as an expat couple abroad, learning to live independently, leaning on each other and God to get us through the silly (and more serious) struggles we face each day. Although we won't be participating in a ... Read More

This holiday we call the 4th of july

Written by: Amanda // Category: Holidays

Happy July 4th to all my fellow American citizens! I'm spending my second 4th away from the good ol' US of A...and trying to communicate the significance of the holiday to my students. I have to admit my heart is heavy as I'll be going to bed tonight without stuffing my face with BBQ, fruit salads, and pies. Oh...and let's not forget the fireworks. I'm pretty much a pyro. I love fire so much...I've already mentioned once or twice about the burn scar on my hand  left from melting plastic while playing in a fire when I was ten. I don't regret that scar. I also have a twin scar on my knee. Although I've been out of touch with the States for quite some time, I've done everything in my power to squeak in a little bit of fire-love every now ... Read More

Thanks for having a birthday buddha

Written by: Amanda // Category: Holidays, Photography, South Korea

It's been a few weeks, but you may remember our short road trip we took up north to visit Seoraksan National Park for buddha's birthday. I posted my favorite photos from the whole three day weekend trip here. I'm finally getting around to posting the rest of the photos. I've decided to work backwards from the end of our trip towards the beginning. Don't ask me why...89% of the things I do don't have a specific logic or reason (perfect example is why I am still up at 2:33am writing a blog post). I'm starting with the destination spot of our road trip (Seoraksan National Park). Seoraksan is probably one of the most breathtaking pieces of scenery I've seen in all of Korea. We barely tapped into the beauty of the park, due to being rained ... Read More

Be mine

Written by: Amanda // Category: Baking, Food, Holidays, Recipes

I used to dislike Valentine's Day. I won't use the word hate, because it would take a lot to get me to actually hate something. I never celebrated Valentines Day in high school or college, I actually celebrated quite the opposite. I celebrated being single with some of my closest girl friends. We would get all dressed up and go out on the town, having a grand ol' time. I was the girl that would be randomly sitting in my dorm lounge when the flower guy would come in on the 14th of Feb. and ask me to deliver the flowers to room ___. I politely would accept, but it was not with a willing or happy heart. This didn't just happen once or twice either. I never celebrated Valentine's Day while dating either. I considered it to be a day in which ... Read More

5D

Written by: Amanda // Category: Holidays, Photography

What goes down in the books as the most monumental Christmas present ever? The title would go to my husband, and that would be giving me a 5D Mark ii, complete with a 50mm (f 1.4) lens AND a 28-105mm lens. I've been drooling over this camera ever since my love affair with photography began in 2008. I'm definitely not claiming im a good photographer or skilled in any way, but I love it. It's my hobby. It's a challenge that always presents itself in new, refreshing ways. I hit the limit of what I could do with my trusty Canon Rebel (xsi) that I bought in 2009 and used for my first college photography class. That camera and I had seen a lot of things, traveled many countries, and definitely logged our time taking pictures. I hit the limit of ... Read More

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Currently on Instagram

Our adventures may be few and far between nowadays Our adventures may be few and far between nowadays, but the ones we get to take are oh so sweet. 

My daughters are now 2.5 years and 6 months old. Life never slows down, but only gets faster with each day we’re blessed to live. Social media may not be a part of my life how it used to be, and instead I’m working on living life intentionally each day as we raise our girls during these crazy times. 💕
2020 has been a year has it not? As much as I love 2020 has been a year has it not? As much as I love social media, I found myself taking a break as the things we were all going through made social media so insignificant to me. 

In January/February I had a miscarriage. It was a horrible way to start the year, and little did I know it was just the beginning of it all. 

Even with the loss, hardship of moving back to the US in the middle of a global pandemic, and navigating our new lives here, we were given many blessings. The greatest of those was finding out I was pregnant again in March.

It’s a scary time to be pregnant right now, especially after a miscarriage, because doctors visits are very minimal. Also, Derik was never able to come to a single visit. I was terrified something would happen and I would be told bad news and have to face that alone. But God was gracious to us. 

We kept our special little secret to ourselves, and it wasn’t until our third trimester before we told immediate family and close friends. My pregnancy was very private for me, and a special time to bond closely with the babe growing inside me.

Our sweet little girl arrived November 30, and yes I had to deliver with a mask on, but she is perfect and I truly feel our family is complete. 💕🌈
 
“When a rainbow appears, it doesn’t mean the storm never happened or that we are not still dealing with its aftermath. It means something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover but the rainbow provides a counterbalance of color, energy, and hope.”
I am in love. As I’m sure every other plant/mons I am in love. As I’m sure every other plant/monstera collector is when you get to behold such a beauty in real life. If there were ever #plantgoals, this is it. 

Since moving from Germany, it has been a long and slow process getting our life back to normal. All of our belongings have yet to arrive so we’ve literally been camping in our house on an air bed and camping chairs for two months. 😂 All that to say, having to start my plant collection over again here stateside has been so much fun! I will miss the plant prices if Germany, but the selection here blows my mind. Anyone else obsessed? We’ve lived here for almost 8 weeks now and I already have 11 plants 😂😬😬😬. I don’t have a bed or a couch, but by golly I have greenery. 😂🤦🏼‍♀️🌱
Oh my heart. I’ve been trying to figure out the Oh my heart.

I’ve been trying to figure out the words to say about our time in Germany, but my fingers can’t seem to type out how to express my love, gratefulness, thankfulness, sadness, and heartbreak I feel about leaving. Every country we’ve lived in has taught us something and has given us so many beautiful memories, as well as opened our eyes a little more to different cultures and ways of living.

But Germany was special. The first time we stepped foot into Germany was in 2015, and we loved it so much we stayed the extent of our travel visa (3 months). I was able to visit again in 2016, and then we officially packed everything and moved in 2017. Germany has always had my heart: the people, the festivals, the food, wine and beer, the immaculate home landscaping, and even all the rules that every resident is just expected to follow to a tee (like recycling every tiny scrap of trash). Our family grew from two to three while in Germany. Bringing our daughter into the world, and raising her for a year and a half in a different culture, will be one of the most beautiful memories of my life.

Our move was impacted by the COVID pandemic, and it took three long months of delays, red tape, and countless phone calls to get everything together so we could actually get on a plane and have our stuff packed and shipped to our new home. 
I am breathing a sigh of relief to know all the stress of everything is over and our new adventure can begin. I am mourning the loss of leaving Germany. I am in a weird transition right now trying to grasp it all, but here we are jumping into new things head first! We are back in the US for a while, in the beautiful state of Tennessee, and look forward to many new memories, travels, friends, and being able to spend time with family! 
Photos from my sweet and talented friend @juliejayphotos
I feel like I failed hard this year at Christmas m I feel like I failed hard this year at Christmas markets. We went to a total of ONE market, which is exactly 19 less than I told myself I would go to this year to make up for not going to any the year before 🤦🏼‍♀️(I was 40 weeks pregnant and not feeling crowds). I will say, it was a great one and the weather was so nice, we stayed out until the market shut down.

If there’s one thing I will miss most about Germany when it is our time to move, will be the sheer enthusiasm this country has for Christmas, and I’m not talking about consumerism. Food, laughter, friends, family, music, dancing: celebration. Also, Germany shuts down for not only one day, but THREE. Stores are closed, mail is not delivered, people aren’t out and about. Everyone is home enjoying time with family, and I love it. However, I may have gone into full blown panic mode Christmas Eve when I realized I had a total of 8 diapers to get us through until the 27th. 👀
We spent Thanksgiving back in North America: Whist We spent Thanksgiving back in North America: Whistler, Canada! A 10 hour flight from Germany , and I can’t say this one was better than the one we took over the summer on our trip to Alaska, but we survived! Entertaining a 11 month old for that long is much harder than a 6 month old, especially when they aren’t into sleeping on the plane AT ALL. 🤪

Whistler was beautiful despite the lack of snow, and we enjoyed our time with family, the delicious food, and as much sightseeing as one could do with a jet-lagged baby. 
This was actually my first trip to Canada ever, (unless you want to count the move my parents took up to Alaska from Arkansas when I was two. 😂🤷‍♀️ ) and I loved it! We would really like to take a big Canadian road trip someday and explore more of the country! 😍😍🇨🇦
Being a mama may mean I don’t always have time t Being a mama may mean I don’t always have time to put myself together, but I would rather spend the extra moments making special memories with our daughter that she can cherish forever. I doubt that she will look at this picture and see a tired, messy haired mama that’s barely had time to wash her face nevermind carefully apply makeup, but am hoping she will see a mama that never tires of carrying and cuddling her, or sharing new experiences with her. 💕
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