It has been a while since we have done a Foreign Service update. So here’s our status currently. We will be here in Bern until July of next year. This August we will be given another bid list. At that point we will narrow it down and make lots of big decisions. Seth and I are able to see a tentative list now and have already begun the process of talking through it. Nothing is jumping out at us at this point. Some are definitely NOT going to make the short list.

Our tentative plan since leaving Bogota has been to return to the DC area post-Bern and to settle down for a couple of tours. We have a variety of reasons for this being our plan. In reviewing the bid list we are beginning to hash out other possibilities and how they may impact our family. This round of bidding will be quite different in that Seth will be lobbying for jobs. They will no longer be directed assignments like Bogota and Bern have been. The other difference is that from here on out most of our assignments will be for 3 years. This is good because it will give us more time to settle in and make a place home but it also brings challenges if you don’t love a place.

This update is basically to say we have no idea where we are headed. We have ideas of how we would like it to play out and we are opening up more options but still don’t have much clarity yet. We are even beginning to talk about what it would look like if we stepped back from the FS all together. GASP. Seth loves his job and at this point we aren’t calling it quits but we are asking the hard questions and really thinking about what our family looks like today and where we are headed. There is a lot of pressure in this job to advance and work the right tours with the right people. We want to make wise decisions for our own family. Thus, we are praying for clarity.

What we have decided is that we will be spending Christmas in Texas with our family this year! By then we will know where we are headed!

Yesterday we went to the petting zoo across the river with some new Swiss friends. I may have mentioned them here before. They are a Swiss couple that have lived abroad…in Houston! They have 2 little ones about the age of ours and Jackson goes to an English speaking playgroup with the little girl. They are very friendly and gravitate towards us because they desperately miss the US and now that they have returned they find Switzerland’s social scene to be somewhat cold. Yes, that’s right folks. From the mouths of Swiss natives, it’s cold. Gorgeous, mountainous, beautiful, picturesque, but sometimes rather uninviting. Now we have met some lovely people but for the most part it feels very tough to crack the code and cozy up to the culture. Try as we may. (post coming soon on attempting to be myself, a chronic people-pleaser, in a place that doesn’t want my pleasing

Anyhow, as most of you know, or probably would assume, I do not speak Swiss German. So when I am out and about I do my best to follow all of the rules but often fail miserably. Miserably but not unknowingly. You see, it is not uncommon for people here to “speak into your life”, as in, offer correction and guidance. Back to the petting zoo. After a fun time of letting the kids run through and enjoying being outside we decided to go into the small cafe for a hot drink and snack for the kids. As Jackson and his friend rushed the ice cream chest, the other mom and I headed to get something hot to drink. As we headed that way an elderly woman began to rant because we had brought strollers into the cafe. My friend spoke kindly to her in Swiss German and she huffed and headed on her way. I am pretty sure we ruined her day or at least rattled her good for her whole walk home. That’s what a stroller can do. I was so thankful to have a Swiss friend to help guard me from my ignorance in the situation. It takes no genius to translate being lectured whether you speak the language or not. But it takes skill to talk graciously back in the complainers native language.

… Now back to Jackson and his friend raiding the ice cream chest. Both kids quietly and politely selected their ice cream and put it up on the counter to pay. Cafeteria-type cafe’s aren’t always Jackson’s place to shine.  But yesterday I was impressed with his success. In the midst of the social tiff though I didn’t check Jackson’s selection. An ice cream cone is an ice cream cone, right? So we made our way to a table and Jackson tore open his cone. My friend sat down and vented about how rude people can be. I looked over as Jackson finished his first few bites and noticed his ice cream was a light brown color. Not chocolate brown, more like khaki. I reached over and took a bite. Sure enough, a big heaping cone of coffee ice cream. He loved it. And it loved him. They loved each other into the afternoon with zero nap and energy plus. It occurred to me that Jackson has NEVER had caffeine. Besides the caffeine in chocolate, he has had none. For obvious reasons. He doesn’t need it.  We have never been on a deserted island with only a coke in sight. There has always been an alternative available.

So there you go, 2 rookie mistakes on a sunny Wednesday morning. A stroller run wild out of the petting zoo and into the cafe  breaking all sorts of laws and a small child experiencing his first, and likely last for a long while, COFFEE ice cream cone. Jackson enjoyed my mistake!

Ella insists upon holding Jackson’s hand. He normally bucks any system but for some reason he complies with her!

We have joked about someday having a guest home or B&B. Since being in Switzerland we have had lots of practice! Last weekend we had the calendar booked for Bo and Leigh and Katy Jo to come spend the weekend to kick off their Spring break. A couple of days before, Leigh called and asked if their friends the Higg’s could come along! Why of course! The more the merrier. The Higg’s family also work at Black Forest Academy and have 2 little boys.  And more importantly, they are also from Texas!

The gang arrived Friday night and we all had a fun evening grilling and making homemade ice cream. The kids played until they all crashed.  The next morning when we were all up and ready we headed to Neuchatel. It is a beautiful town in the French part of Switzerland. We originally went because we had heard there was a big brocante/antique sale. When we got there and realized you had to pay to even get in we decided to just enjoy the gorgeous city. We browsed the Saturday market and let the kids have some run time in and around the daffodils. Our other motive for going to Neuchatel was that they have Domino’s. We can’t get an American pizza here so it was a big treat. We picnicked by the lake and had a hard time leaving because it was so beautiful.  We came back home for another evening of grilling and chilling. We had dinner after the kids went to bed which was a big treat.

Owen teasing KJ with flowers

Seth, excited for Domino’s!

Sunday morning, Stefanie and Alex made us a delicious omelet breakfast. After breakfast we went down for some river time. The little boys young and old enjoyed skipping rocks. After some fun play time Bo and Leigh had prepared a big picnic spread.  I don’t know if any of us could even fit a picnic after all of our eating throughout the weekend but who could resist?!

Owen, learning to skip rocks

after skipping a few rocks Jackson decided he needed to rest….I guess he missed that nap from the day before.

Jackson’s friend Ella from school and her family ended up picnicking next to us!

The weather for the weekend and the views of the mountains could not have been more beautiful.  With 11 people in the house, including 5 kiddos, you would expect chaos. But the kids played really well and Jackson loved having a live-in buddy.   And I think all of the adults really enjoyed themselves too! It was a nice break from normal routine. We all enjoyed watching each others children and knowing that we are all in the same boat…the same crazy, rocking, kid boat.

Someone please check on me in August after Leigh has moved back to the US. We are savoring every minute!!! Switzerland is much more beautiful with my best friend close by! We have met lots of great people but you all know how it is, there is something so nice and comforting about having someone from home.

I am playing a bit of catch up today. We have been enjoying Spring so much that we are using most waking moments on the weekends to be outside.  A couple of weekends ago we decided to head to Emmental for their hot air balloon festival. We asked our friends Nick and Kima (South African friends…we met in Bogota..living in Zug, Switzerland now) if they wanted to join us. The weather was amazing.  After arriving to the location where we saw signs for the festival we learned that the balloons had landed early in the morning and that there would in fact be no balloons to see. OOOOKKKAAAy. Now that our little boy has been deflated. We decided to take a walk down to the cheese factory. We of course hit up a bakery on our way and stopped for a little snack. Followed by a nice picnic in the grass. Basically we were together for a couple of hours and ate most of the time! It was so fun to see the kids playing together and to catch up a bit. Thanks Nick and Kima for being good sports about the non-festival of balloons. Most friends would have been pretty annoyed to have driven so far.

pretending there is a big, beautiful balloon attached to the basket

sweet Erin

the boys were rewarded after being good travelers with popsicles on the porch.

The next day, Sunday, we were invited to a picnic to celebrate one of Jackson’s buddies birthdays. The picnic was at the Bern Rosengarten that overlooks Old Town. It was another beautiful day. The kids enjoyed running freely while the adults enjoyed picnicking and chatting. A highlight for Jackson was that the big fountain had a bunch of frogs swimming in it.