The Schlatt Family

We've landed in Albania! And only one bag was delayed. :) (The team still declared it a miracle that ALL of our 28 bags were 50.0 lbs or under at the airport and 27 out of 28 bags arrived on time.)  Things we discovered while traveling: there is a Lego vending machine at the Cincinnati airport.  A few days before leaving, some of our supporters, who had raised their kids on the field so they get it, handed us some cash and said, "Do something extravagantly fun for your kids with it." Unfortunately, we didn't have time to ride roller coasters or visit the aquarium or anything like that. But there was a Lego Vending machine by our gate at the Cincinnati Airport! And that felt plenty extravagant. :) When we told our kids that a supporter had given money just for something fun for them, they gasped and ran to the Vending machine. They had the best time choosing their Legos and watching the machine click, clack and deliver the box. It also kept the entertained when they wo...

 I was standing in Drinklings, one of our local coffee shops the other day... a shop where I don't have to say "Oat milk, please" because they know me well enough to know about my food allergy... a shop where they ask me if everything is okay if I order tea instead of coffee because they know my normal preferences... a shop where they ask if I want a "real cup" when I'm by myself but they don't even bother when I've got the kids with me because they know I need a to-go cup with a lid just in case somebody hits my drink with a stray elbow. I was standing there, waiting for my Lavender Oat milk Latte, when I looked down at the "frequent customer punch card." And I realized, in the very near future, I will have a half-filled punch card that doesn't get redeemed. When we leave Wilmore in a few months (prayerfully and Lord willing), I will probably have a half-full card still in my wallet that I won't be able to use since I don't kno...

Today is the last day of school for our kids.  A at her Kindergarten promotion ceremony.  D with his awesome 3rd-grade teacher. B (in the red shorts) with his group of friends at OOVOTO (Our Own Version Of The Olympics)... Wilmore Elementary's Field Day.  Normally, this day is met with much excitement and dreams of sleeping in, PJs all day, and getting to stay up later than 8:00 every night.  This year, it's a day being met with lots of big emotions. Dreams of sleeping in and hot enough to set-up the pool, yes... but also, it's the first big loss for our kids. (and us grown-ups, too.) Next year, to ease the transition overseas, we have decided to homeschool. That way, whatever we start, we can take with us. (Or wait to start until we get there, depending on when we can buy plane tickets.) So our children are not only saying goodbye to Kindergarten, 2nd-grade and 3rd-grade teachers, they are also saying goodbye to school buildings and principals and friends that they ...

New blog, new community, new country.  Same faithful God.  Hello and welcome to the first post on the brand new blog!  Husband and I are sitting in our local coffee shop, where we sit almost every Friday morning, wrapping up all the things for our vision trip to Albania tomorrow  THIS afternoon. The lists are getting checked off, the gifts are getting wrapped, the bags are being packed. And all the big, BIG feelings are happening in the family. Oldest has been counting down the days every morning... "Mom, it's almost the weekend... only 3 more days... only 2 more days..." Youngest has been finding us in the middle of the nights or asking for extra snuggles at bedtime. Middle has quit accepting bedtime hugs from us... "Hug, buddy?" "No, thank you." And I cried... when I finished buying the groceries to leave for the baby sitters... when I checked off the "clothes for kids"... when I finished the laundry for the trip. It's hard for our fami...