Miller Times: Leaving Germany-Tschüss Deutschland

After 3 years of living in Germany the time came for us to leave. It was a very bittersweet feeling! I can not believe we had that opportunity and I'm glad we took it. It was a big eventful time in our lives that was very stressful sometimes but at other times we had so much fun and saw amazing things and it was going to be over. We were also very excited to be back in the states and see family more often.

The way things panned out I ended up traveling with the kids back to the States on my own about 2 months ahead of Bret. School in Germany didn't end until the end of July and Bret had to stay and work until September sometime. I really wanted the kids to start school in the States when school started and not start late. The first day of school for them here in the states was August 6. I wasn't sure where they would be at on a school level and they were not used to American schools. We decided to take the kids out of school at the end of June and fly back to the States July 6. That way we could see family we hadn't seen in a long time and the kids would get at least a month break off of school. We tried to get someone to fly with me but it was not working out. Carmen was one person that was going to come with me but the ticket was so expensive and then I was going to have to take a day to drive her back to the airport and that was just going to be a day we didn't get to spend with family. Then my mom was going to come fly with me but my grandma (her mom) passed away and the funeral was the day before we flew out. So that wasn't going to work. So I put on my big girl panties and just prepped to go on my own with the 4 kids. I was extremely nervous but I knew my kids would be pretty good. They have traveled a lot and I have traveled with kids on my own before just not across the ocean and going through customs and having all the bags and carseats. I kept things very simple. The 3 older kids each had a little backpack that they carried with a couple books and games and a small toy. I had a diaper bag for Piper and my purse. Then we had 4 carry on size suitcases and 4 carseats and that was all. I always made sure in all of our traveling that I had 4 kids, 4 suitcases, and 4 carseats.

I am going to write a lot of details because this experience was a big testimony builder for me. Before we left we did a lot of praying that things would go well. Then the night before the kids and I left, Bret gave us all a blessing. We then hung out with our friends and talked and cried and laughed. I hate hate hate goodbyes, they are so hard and I cry easy. The next morning Bret took us to the airport but before we left I gave Jill a quick hug teared up some and then just made it quick like a bandaid and we left. There were more tears as we said goodbye to Bret (for the next 2 months) at security and then the kids and I were off to America! As we approached our gate I saw an 18 year old boy from our ward, Gabe, that was flying out to college with his girlfriend. He and I said hi and that was about it. We were not very close with his family but we knew who each other were. He has 3 younger sisters and is good with them. Anyway, we got on the plane and our seats were the 3 seats across the middle of the plane. Cooper, Lynndon, and McCoy sat in the 3 seats in front of me. Piper and I had 2 seats behind them. Piper had her own seat but was 3 months old so she wasn't going to really use it. As I was sitting down, the 3rd seat in the middle row was taken by Gabe's girlfriend! Gabe was sitting a few rows ahead of us. She asked if it was ok if Gabe took Pipers seat. I was going to offer it anyways when I saw who was sitting in our row. I felt relieved that we were spending our 10 hour flight by someone we knew. The flight went really well and I ended up not really needing help but it was still so comforting to know I had someone that I could ask for help if I needed it. The 3 older kids had a blast watching movies, playing games and reading books. I made them wait an hour and do something else in between each movie. When I had to go to the bathroom I would just hand Piper off to Cooper. Traveling with a 3 month old is not too bad. She would just eat, sleep and charm people around her.

Going through customs in Atlanta and getting to my next flight was my biggest worry. I only had an hour and a half to get everybody through customs, grab our bags and carseats, take them to a drop off place, and then find our next gate. Getting through customs really isn't hard it was just a REALLY long line of people. I wish I would have taken a picture of the line. So after waiting in line for a long time we finally got up to the desk. You can't bring fruits and veggies into the states from another country. I knew that but forgot to throw away the apples I had brought with us on the plane. Usually they say something on the plane before you land but they didn't say it or I just didn't hear it. I asked if I should go throw them away and he said no we don't want you to do that, that is how things can get spread. He was nice and let me keep them and told me to just finish eating them so I wouldn't have to go through more steps to take care of them. We then went through and as we left the customs desk a lady saw me and asked if she could help us get our bags. I gladly accepted and she sent her 11 ish year old son (I'm not sure how old he was) to go get a cart to put our things on. He ran off to find a cart and she and I started finding our bags and carseats around the carousel. We were both in a hurry a bit but had some small talk. She said she had been in Germany visiting her brother who was stationed there. We got the bags and carseats gathered but one bag was missing. I didn't have time to figure out where it was so the lady helping me ran off to her next flight and I just thought I'd deal with the missing bag when we got to Milwaukee. As the lady ran off and we ran to drop our things off Cooper says "mom that was Ivy's cousin" Ivy is a daughter of a family, the Middents, that was in our ward in Germany. So after dropping off the bags we ran and caught up with the lady and her son. I talked to her more and her brother she was visiting was Mike Middents. I think they had been at church so thats why my kids recognised her son. She and I had not seen each other at church though. It was crazy and I was so grateful for her help. The kids and I then made it to our next flight with 10 mins to spare!

We then had one more flight to go that was about 2 hours long. We boarded that flight and as I was about to sit down in my row a lady says to me how brave I was to be traveling with 4 kids on my own and how she had 6 six but never traveled on her own with them. She then offered sincerely to help me if I needed any thing. Again just her saying that was an answer to prayers. She and I sat in the same row but there was a man and and isle between us. I knew though that if I needed something I felt comfortable asking her. The flight went well and all the kids fell asleep for most of the flight. It was quiet and I hadn't read my scriptures yet that day so I decided to pull them out and read a bit. I was so grateful for how things had gone so far. We landed and as we were getting ready to get off the plane the same lady said to me "I bet your kids behave well in sacrament meeting". Not many people know what sacrament meeting is so I ask her if she was LDS and she said yes. She said me pulling out my scriptures and the way we acted I guess she just assumed we were also. I then told her thanks for saying something when we got on the plane and that it was an answer to prayers. She then waited for the guy that was in between us to go and then held Piper so I could put the front carrier on to carry Piper. We talked some. She lived in Wisconsin but had been visiting her daughter who had just had a baby.

We parted ways as we got of the plane and again I was so happy with how the flights went. We then made our way to baggage where a family friend of Bret's parents, Jaimie, was picking us up. She had already found our bags and carseats by the time we got there by looking at the tags on them. Our missing bag that wasn't in Atlanta on our layover was there! I was so happy to see her, even though we had never met. It was also really nice of her to drive from Appleton to Milwaukee to pick us up. The kids slept some on the way to Appleton in the car but I was on a second wind and so excited to be in the states that I just talked Jaimie's ear off. She was so kind!

We then made it to Appleton at about 9:00 pm. We had been traveling for a long time and I was so so so so excited to be there and see everyone!!! There was a Miller family reunion going on so I got to see some of Bret's aunts, uncles, and cousins. Bret's grandma was there also. It was like a big welcome party. I was already on the verge of tears from exhaustion and excitement that when I hugged my sister in-law she teared up and I lost it. It was so so good to be there! I don't have pictures from the night we got there but we had made it and I was happy!

Getting some daddy cuddle time in before we left.

This is Carmen. We love her! She was one that was going to travel with me. She lived across the street from Christmans and ended up joining us on our Wednesday night dinners. She would come take any kids that wanted to go for a walk while Jill and I finished putting dinner together.