Surprises and a question for you

The last two weeks have been the most stressful for us in terms of getting the house ready to sell and packing for the plane and all the things we are finding at the last minute that "must go" but that "absolutely will not fit, I'm sorry Lina but that's the 6th dolly...it stays." An so on and so forth.

But, the silver lining to all of this, sort of a"side-theme," if you will, has been the amount of things we have managed to accomplish in such a short amount of time and the amount of people we have managed to see. So, here's a quick "run-down," not to be mistaken for "the whole story."

Two surprise going away parties. 2!! Instigated by Martin, and carried out by family and friends... so wonderful! To see so many people all in one place and to be able to say good-bye in style...

Not even half the people that showed up. Almost my entire family...that's right, both sides, almost everybody, including Martin's parents and two of his siblings and their families. It was amazing.

Freddie. My brother. He made me a mix-C.D. of Texas songs. Because he loves me and because he wants me to cry.
 A lot.

Hat and dress from my mom. Boots from my siblings.

Not pictured, because we didn't get one taken :( ,  wind chimes from Martin's family. They sound beautiful. Martin can't stand wind chimes, but I most definitely can. They remind me of the Texas hill country and these are particularly beautiful sounding. I love them. They will be hanging right outside my kitchen door in Poland so I can hear them while I cook. And since I got them after we had already packed, they are going on the plane and will be the first thing I hang up. (picture to follow during this event, 2 weeks!!!!!!!)

The second surprise party was just last Thursday. It's seems a while ago but it was just last week. Friends. and my sister and her husband. I don't have truckloads of friends. I'm a fairly private person and a bit of a homebody but it was so wonderful for those who did come to make the effort. It really makes you feel special. I don't have any pictures from the night unfortunately, but then again, they probably wouldn't want their faces plastered all over the internet so I will just leave you with this lovely picture of my toes... a gift from my sister the next day, as a special treat.

Red. 

Gratuitous shot of baby Kacio wearing the hat. 

Yesterday was Martin;s and mine 7th wedding anniversary. Over the weekend we celebrated a little early by traveling to Dallas to visit friends from college and have lunch with my aunt. We stayed a hotel and ordered room service. Definitely one of my top ten favorite things in the whole world, room service. Happens about once  every other year. live it up!

 I had thoughts all day yesterday about anniversary posts but I spent the day running around town, buying suitcases, gathering boxes, and taking all 4 kids to the doctor's office for 2 check-ups (the other two were just along for the ride, they were angels, God love 'em) to pack stuff up to give away. It was over  100 degrees and I had no motivation to get on the computer.

All in all we have been cramming as much as possible into these last few weeks. This week is packing week, a successish time so far. This weekend is the big MOVE OUT. Everything must go. Fun, fun. 

I will end this post with one last musing and a question. What do we think is going to be the hardest part about Poland? I guess I'm really the only one who has been asking. Sometimes I wonder if Martin is not worried about anything or concerned at all that it we will fall apart or completely flop over there. But that's not true, of course. He has worries too. His own. And I have mine. Mine is the culture. His? I don't quite know. Maybe that he's making the wrong decision for his family. That's a big one. 

My question. If you have moved to a new country what has been the hardest thing for you? Was it what you thought it was going to be or something completely surprising? I wonder what it will end up being for us, and what we will do to deal with it. It's going to be here so soon. So very soon.

P.S. You are going to have forgive all bad writing and general lack coherence over the next couple weeks. Martin managed to throw 2 surprise parties for me in the span of one week. Two! I had no clue. My mind is not here anymore. It is wandering between the Texas hill country and somewhere across the Pacific...