Happy New Year to everyone!!!  Hope 2019 is off to a great start.  We spent the holidays at home in Bama this year.  It was great to be home as always.  We loved catching up with friends, hanging out with the BEST neighbors, & having our family visit from TX.   Our dog Rex made the trip across the pond with us coming back after Christmas.  Our Savage crew is officially European.  It feels good to have everyone back to together.   Life continues much like in the states keeping us busy with various activities.  The girls are in swim season while Cole is buisy with basketball.  Luke continues to stay busy with work while I hold down the fort at home.  Winter has shown it's face with ice, snow, freezing cold temps, & then the glorious sun will show it's face & brighten warm us up bit.  For winter break in February we are headed to Charmonix, France for skiing, sledding, winter fun!!!  

This has been a year to settle in.  Focus on relationships - put down roots.  When this move was proposed to me 1 to 2 years tops was my commitment.  I was all in.  A  year & a half later,  I see us here longer.   Life is good.  School is good.  Work is growing with new MPT employees starting this month from the states.  It feels good to have other familiar faces around town.  I have had to adjust what I thought our life would look like over the next several years.  We love Birmingham & the Oak Mountain community.  I was determined to get back to prepare Gracie for College over the next 2 years.  I was looking forward to sharing her last 2 years of high school with  precious friends & families in OM making memories together.   But I can now look back & see that was my plan - not God's.  While that would be lovely, God has also shown us how big his world is.  We have all been blessed with beautiful friendships that would honestly be hard to leave here.  God has opened our eyes to culture & the beauty of His people.  You listen deeper to each other when you come from different places.  There is a mutal respect & understanding in that we don't all have to look alike or be from the same place to be friends.   Diversity is a priceless gift that has enriched our lives.  I wish everyone could have this experince to see the world through different eyes.  Our goal is to stay in Lux for Gracie to finish high school - 2.5 more years.  When we first arrived we hit the ground running with sightseeing.  So much to see & do.  Now, while our list is growing it feels good to not feel rushed.  We can take a breath.     

Always fun to wake up to the 16th inning of the World Series game - Holy Cow!!!! It's a treat when we get to catch a game in real time, not recorded.  Fall was beautiful in Lux.  The leaves changed into rich vibrant colors & the temps have been glorious... until this week.  Old man winter has shown his face.  Thankfully he's easing us in.  It's chilly & gloomy but the rain has held off so far.  I can handle cold or rain but not both - Yuck!!!!  Next week is Fall Break for the kids. We are heading to Austria to twirl in the hills and sing like Julie Andrews as we tour Salzburg.  I can't wait!!!  My guys are thrilled!!! 

  Luke has been busy traveling with work since we got back.  School activities keep the kids busy.  Fall/Halloween festivities are in full swing.  Cole is finishing up Cross Country & looking forward to basketball starting soon.  Gracie does swim conditioning in the off season & has stayed focused on learning her Les Mes role.  Ellis is wrapping up volleyball season.  She has loved playing with sweet friends & trying something new.  ISL allows the 5th graders to play school sports.  Ellis has enjoyed getting to stay at school with friends & be involved in school activities like Gracie & Cole.  My sweet Aunt Betty passed away this month after battling Alzheimers for the past 6 years.  She was a fun, creative, energetic Christian who loved to cook, & enjoyed serving others anyway she could.  She was taken too early from this life but has gained the ultimate reward in Heaven.  It's hard to be away from family when you so badly want to reach across & hug them tight.  But there is comfort knowing she is healed & at peace.  Aunt Betty is cooking in God's kitchen, catching up with my grandparents, & living once again.   

  Fall means Oktoberfest for us.  So fun to dance, sing, & drink with a few of your closest American & German friends.  We enjoyed family visiting this past week.  Granna & Papa spent a week with us after their travel adventures in France.  Luke's cousin Mark & his wife Stephanie also made it to Lux for a quick visit on their European vacation.  Always fun to have visitors.  It gives us a little piece of home.  

  We experienced our first election season in Lux.  We were not able to vote since we are not citizens but found the process very interesting.  It was actually fairly calm & bearable.  You get one month to publicly campaign - hang up posters, pass out flyers, be out in public to shake hands. There are 6 main parties typicaly represented in Parliament.  My personal favorite - the Pirate Party.  Yes,  I will vote for the Pirate Party anyday.  Love it!!!!  When voting you can vote a straight ticket or pick & choose as you wish.  My take away from this system was how many different points of view are represented in Parliament from the Green party to the Pirate Party & it works.  There is no need to campaign for 2 years.  The country is much happier if you don't.  Obviously, not one system out there is perfect but I'm going to continue to enjoy this new point of view & peaceful transition while I can.   

  As November approaches we are getting ready for the International Bazaar & Thanksgiving festivites.  Christmas we will be back in Birmingham for the holidays.  Looking forward to being home again to celebrate the holidays.  Until then we can't wait for the Christmas markets to start poping up.  It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!!   

Lux to Italy

Italy to Bama

Bama to TX

TX to OK

OK to TX

TX to Lux

Summer for us kicked off with a beautiful trip to Lake Como, Italy.  If this is not on your list of places to visit you MUST add it.  Lake Como offered the perfect balance of sight seeing, exploring, and relaxation that we needed before kicking off a busy summer in the states.  Once back in the states we covered a lot of territory visiting family, catching up with friends, & being home in Bama.  Home!!!  Home was GREAT!!!  Walking in our house for the first time in a year felt like putting on your favorite comfy PJ's, an overwhelming feeling of comfort & warmth.  It felt like Christmas morning.  My bed.  My couch.  My kitchen.  My Rex.  Rex has been the missing family member this past year in Lux.  While he's taken care of & has his best bud Lou at home, we miss him - BIG!!!  So, our goal is to get Rex here this year.  He has to experience Lux with us.  Dogs are everywhere in Europe - stores, cafes, the mall, parks, restarants,  most places allow dogs in Lux.  It's rare to find a place that doesn't.  Not that we will be taking our dogs to any of these places anytime soon.  Pretty sure they would clear any table of food in record time.  YIKES!!!  We would be the Americans that changed the rule for Lux.  But the parks will be fun.   So, after an eventful summer we are back, settled in Lux.  I learned a few valuable lessons while home.  While catching up with everyone was FABULOUS.  Getting 5 people to different appointments all within the month of July was not fabulous.  I had put off making yearly appointments like the optomotrist, dentist, doctors check ups, etc. till we got home thinking we were good, still within the year.   BIG MISTAKE.  HUGE!!!  This took away from the fun.  Thankfully all is well but oh my stars!!!!  The time spent waiting and running kids back & forth was brutal.  The honeymoon is over!  Time to set up appointments in Lux.  So, one of the first items on my todo list was to establish these doctors ASAP.  Hoping this will help free up sometime on our future visits home.  The other shocker for me was driving.  I'm not use to driving daily.  Most of my errands around Lux can be done within walking distance of our house.  I do not drive everyday & LOVE it!!!!  So going back to that crazy felt a little overwhelming.  On top of that Gracie got her drivers permit while home but is also terrified to drive.  Bless her.  Driving starts at age 18 in Lux.  While she has time here to learn, we wanted to keep her on track in the states too.  To be honest 18 is looking pretty goood. 

  While the transition back & forth is harder on some of us than others it does feel good to be back.  We were ready for a routine, cooler temps, for our European lifestyle.  Ready to lace up our kicks & head to the market.  Truth, I never was one to own multiple pairs of sneakers.  I've always perfered cute sandels, wedges, LOVE my flip flops.  Would NEVER of worn anyting but cute shoes with dresses, skirts, cute outfits.  BUT lets face it, my 40 year old body does not like me to wear those perfered shoes walking 5-7 miles daily.   So, to Luke's horror I have discoverd this past year how fun it is to buy new kicks of all colors & styles.  I may be sporting the "Mom walker look" but I'm owning it in comfort & style. Converse make any outfit look cute.  Most importantly my back thanks me at the end of the day.  School officialy started back this week.  All three kids were ready.  They all felt comfortable & confident about school this year.  It's good to not be the newbies.  This time last year I prayed them through the day worried about each moment.  Today, they walked out with friends happy to start a new year.  I didn't cry just smiled thinking what a difference a year makes.  Gracie met a new girl - Grace from Georgia (the state not country), Cole met a new kid in his grade that is also a 6 footer, & Ellis Faith says 5th grade is the BEST!  BOOM, I'll take it.  So, life carries on as we gear up for school sports & activities. 

  In Lux, time for us is marked by events.  This time of year the Schueberfouer, a carnival that comes each year, with food, rides, games, is in town through September.  This marks the 677th year for the Schueberfourer.  CRAZY!!!!   I still can't get over how old things are here.  October is of course OKTOBERFEST!!!!   WOOHOO!!!!  November starts Christmas Markets - my favorite.   The guys are headed to Milan this weekend for a car racing event with MPT.  To say Cole is excited is an understatement. 

   I want to close with a plug for a book I just finished - Girl, wash your face by Rachel Hollis.  Read it & read it again.  Underline, highlight, turn the corner pages down -  mark ALL that she shares that speaks to you.  My book is so marked up.  I can't wait to share it with my girls one day.   

      "Doing life with people who are different from us is beautiful.  Our different styles are beautiful to behold.  Every day you get to choose the way your world looks.  You get to decide where your story goes from here.  Become who you were meant to be!"  ~ Rachel Hollis 

 Time truly flies by.  It's been a year.  A year living the European lifestyle, eating deliciouis food, traveling, making new friends, learning a new language, learning the bus & train system, learning to drive, adjusting to cultural differences, but most of all enjoying time together as a family.   Europe is a different way of life.  You keep your todo list small.  Spend as much time as possible outside in the garden,  parks,  or on the terrace.  This is a beautiful time of year in Europe with temps in the 70's & 80's during the day & cooler at night.  The World Cup craze has sucked us all  in.  Soccer is on all over town in pubs, restaurants, & parks.  It's fun seeing fans decked out in there gear from all over.  This is the closest to what college football season feels like in the states.  Last weekend we celebrated the Grand Duke's birthday also the country's national holiday  (like July 4th at home) with fireworks, parades, & cookouts.  

   Cole & Ellis had there school trips.  Cole went to the south of France for hiking,  kayaking, mountain bike riding, a week of outdoor adventures & fun.  Ellis went to Space Camp in Beligium.  Both came home tired but had a great time.  We finished school this week.  To say I'm proud of these kids is an understatement.  They have learned the definition of preseverance.   Tackeled a new language,  made new friends, tried new acitivities.  It hasn't always been easy but they have kept going.  Kept pushing through.    ISL has been a blessing in helping us adjust this school year.  As we wrap up this year in Lux we celebrate with friends & say goodbye to some.  Unfortunately, that's the Expat life.  Families come & go quit a bit.  While we are returning  to visit, other families we have come to love are heading back home or on to new adventures.   While it's hard saying goodbye, we realize it truly is a small world.  Connections are made & our paths will cross again.   

   We decided to take a little trip to Lake Como, Italy on our journey home.  We will stop in Milan & drive over for a few days.  This is a bucket list place for me.  To say I'm EXCITED is an understatement!!!!!  So,  as we begin packing up today Country music is blaring from our house.  A little Sweet Home Alabama & Dixie Land Delight.   The neighbors may look at us weird but Home is calling our hearts.  Can't wait to see everyone & catch up.  See you soon Bama

  Lux is in full bloom with the sun shining most days.  Spring is a beautiful time of year in Lux.  The weather stays in the 60's - 70's most days with the mornings & evenings bringing a light chill in the air.  Just like home with everything in bloom your allergies go crazy too.  Not fun, but we came prepared with a years supply of Claritin & Zyrtec.  We have gorgeous Peonies blooms in the graden producing new blooms each day.  They smell heavenly.  The tulips around town are my favorite by far.  

  May has got us all thinking about home.  We are ready to see home.  To see Rex, catch up with friends, relax on the back porch with neighbors, to just be home.  I can't wait!!!!   It's funny the things that hit you at odd times & make you miss home.  An Alabama size thunderstorm moved through Lux recently complete with lightning, thunder, & hail.  I walked into the grocery store the other day & heard Eric Church playing while I was shopping.  I've been singing "Round here Buzz"  for a week.  We housed a couple of girls from Germany one weekend for a softball tournament.  When you are housing or being housed you take a small "Thank you gift"  to the host family.  One sweet girl brought us my favorite Girl Scout cookies ~ Thin Mints.  It was like finding gold!!!!  You find yourself asking at these moments, "Where am I"?  While we are ready to go home God has provided pieces of home for us all year through friends, gifts, music, weather, I could go on & on ~ to get you through a homesick patch.  Lux has changed us.  It has grown on us in ways I could never of imagined.  

  We spent spring break in Rome & London.  Rome was like walking through a history book & reliving the gladiator days ~ fascinating.  Everywhere you look you see Roman Ruins from centuries ago.  The Romans were brutal.  How did man come up with such barbarck ideas for entertainment & sport.  The Colosseum, Gelato, pizza, & more gelato where by far the favorites!!!!  London was a work trip for Luke so we do the touristy things during the day like seeing the sights & hitting musicals at night.  We took the kids last November to London over Thanksgiving break.  This trip we all agreed that being in London felt like home.  Everyone spoke the same language.  StarBucks was right around the corner from our hotel.  WE FOUND CHIPOTLE!!!!  Definetly a highlight.  Probably Cole's favoite part of the trip.  Unfortunately, there was no Prince Harry & Meghan sighting or a Royal baby that week.  The girls & I were prepared to be there for Will & Kate when the time came. Hamilton was the highlight in London for us all.  

  We are traveling to Bruges & Ghent ~ Belgium next weekend for Mother's Day.  Bruges is about 3 hours from us in Lux.  Both beautiful little towns on the canal.  There are so many day/weekend trips to take within driving just a few hours or less.  Hoping to see Champagne, France before we head home in July.  The vineyards are gorgeous in the spring & fall.   

  The most exciting thing we are looking forward to is a visit from our neighbors at home the Bueche's.  Once school is out in Birmingham they are headed on their European adventure.  We can't wait to see them!!!   

 Luxembourg children celebrated Liichtmessdag on Friday night February 2.  This is comparable to Halloween in the states.  Children make & decorate laterns to carry around from house to house singing the 'Leiwer Herrgottsblienschen' song wishing everyone good luck & good health in the coming year.   In return you give candy as a "thank you" to these adorable little faces.   It made for a fun Friday night getting to meet new neighbors & waiting to see who would ring the doorbell next.  Will definetly need to stock up on candy next year.  

  We celebrated Gracie's 15th birthday to kick off Carnival Break.  Can't believe we have a 15 year old.   Doesn't seem possible.  I look at the amazing young lady she has become & see how far she has come.  She was our strong willed, I'm doing it my way child.  I can now look back & say the struggles of parenting those younger days are now what I admire about her the most.  She has a confidence in who she is & whose she is that I will always envy.  Her determination & passion for lifes adventures is contagious.  She is always up for the challenge.   Gracie has been our biggest cheerleader this past year always researching where we should go & what we should do.  She's gone from the new kid at school to the kid that makes others feel welcome.  She lights up a room with her smile & loves the chance to help with any charity event at school or around town.  We had fun celebrating Gracie with her precious friends from around the globe.  I believe Norway, France, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Austria, Canada, Scottland, England, Australia & the good ole USA where represented.  We could of held our own Olympics.  God has BIG plans for Gracie.  We look forward to seeing where God takes her over the years.  For now, I would like to hit pause and tell her to slow down.   

  So Carnival Break is comparable to Mardi Gras in the states.  There are parades & festivities leading up to Lent.  It is so odd to us to see Halloween/Canival costumes out in February along with the Easter decor.   We decided as a family to chase the sun for Carnival Break to Barcelona ~ Spain.  This trip was a breath of fresh air for us.  We NEEDED to see the sun.  Winter is long.  The snow is pretty but the sun doesn't show it's beautiful rays everyday during the winter.  In fact there can been days/week without sunshine.  So, when the sun does come out everyone bundles up & literally stands in the sun.  Young & old are out & about in the parks & around town.  Finding the sun in Barcelona was AMAZING!!!!  It was still chilly, but with the sun out life was good.   The Mediterranean Sea is beautiful.  Las Ramblas is a lively area with street vendors, flowers, music, &  a FABULOUS  open food market.   We discovered the creative, colorful, & unique art of Gaudi.  This guy was amazing.   All of his work incorporated nature, religion, & architecture.  His passions in life.  This was one busy guy.  You see his work spreadout throughout the City & Parks.   We spent one day at Park Guell & another at the famous Sagrada Familia both designed & created by Gaudi.  Both are gorgeous & worth seeing.  The Sagrada Familia church was started by Gaudi in  1882 & is due to be completed in 2026.   CRAZY!!!!!  With the beautiful weather we all could of stayed at the park or sat on the beach for a few more days.  

  We are wrapping up swim & basketball season in Lux with ISL.  The kids have games & tournaments through March.   The first of April is Spring Break.  The kids are EXCITED to have 2 weeks off.  Did I mention they get a lot of time off here!?  I'm not complaining just still trying to wrap my head around it.   We love the opportunities it gives us to travel.  I feel the kids are more rested and able to tackle school work with clear head.  In March I get to tag along with Luke to the south of France, Nice.  When the hubs asks you to tag along on a work trip, you go!!!!  April looks like a GREAT time to see part of Italy.  I spent 6 weeks exploring this beautiful country in college.  From the majestic mountians, to the rolling countryside vineyards in Tuscany Italy offers it all.  The breath taking ocean, art, the people, the food, all wrapped around fascinating history.  Rome looks like a good place to start.  Can't wait to go back & experience this with the family.   It's my FAVORITE!!!   

  Our first family ski trip was a success!!!  We kicked off the Christmas Holiday snow skiing & sledding in Feldburg, Germany.  This is about 3 hours (depending on traffic) from our house in Lux.  Cole took snow boarding lessons while the girls took skiing lessons for the first couple of days.  Luke & I enjoyed scouting out the slopes & restaurants while they were in school.  By day 3 we were all on the mountain together.  The slopes close by 4 & the sleds come out.  This will have to be a yearly trip from now on.   We made it back to Lux for Christmas Eve service with our ANCL friends.  The tradition in Lux for Christmas Eve is to have a huge family dinner (like our thanksgiving meal) around 8:00pm then head to midnight mass.  Christmas morning is also spent with family and another meal in the afternoon.  St.  Nicolas comes on December 6th bringing treats & gifts.  New Year's Eve we spent with sweet friends the Forster's ringing in the new year!!!  We celebrated Bama's big win but had to actually watch the game later that night.  It came on here at 2:00 in the morning.  We woke up early for school to watch the highlights & realized the game had just ended at home in overtime.  CRAZY!!!!  Cole's buddies were all telling him congratulations at school.  He was shocked they knew.  Apparently for American football the College championship game & the Super Bowl are worthy of watching in Europe.  Who knew???

 Luke headed to the states the first week of January.  We called it his "world tour".   He started in San Fran for a conference then headed to Birmingham to check on things at home & work in the Birmingham office.  From Birmingham he headed to Dallas to visit with his family for a few days.   This was the longest he has been away & it was HARD.   Not hard for us here in Lux with daily life keeping us busy but hard in that he was Home.   None of us have been home since we left in June.  We had been advised/encouraged from others who had lived the expat life before to not go home the first year.   The time difference, traveling, & having to pull away from home again can be a struggle.  Made sense to us.  Besides when we do have a break we want to go explore & see somewhere new.   So, for Luke to facetime us from home was tough.  I wasn't expecting to be so sad.   He would Facetime us with Rex (our Lab) & I'd lose it.  While I loved that he was getting to see our neighbors in B'Ham & go out with friends to catch up, it tore me up inside.  Ugly cry!!!!  I'm so thankful for new friendships that reached out while Luke was gone to say, "Lets go grab dinner or a coffee or go for a walk in the park."  What I realized is that I'm not unhappy.  None of us are unhappy.  I can make home anywhere as long as we are together.  I think like missing home in B'Ham, one day I'll miss home here in Lux too.  It's the connection through friendship that makes home ~ home.   So, Luke's back - happy dance.  Life carries on with basketball & swimming practice, birthday parties & church activities.  Ellis is now trying out the flute in band &  has joined the cooking club.  New families are moving into Lux from the states.  It's weird to not be the newbie.  It's weird being the one asked where to go for certain things or directions.   

  We have decided to stay another year in Lux.  There is just to much to see & do while we are here.  The kids & I will be home in B'Ham for the month of July.   Will then head to Dallas in August to spend a couple of weeks with family.  We are looking forward to seeing everyone & catching up.  For now we are getting ready for Carnival Break coming up in February.   We decided to check out Barcelona,  Spain.   We are all craving warmer temps & the sunshine.   If you've been please pass along any must see adventures or things to do.  

Hope 2018 has started off good for everyone.  

Stay healthy & warm this crazy winter season.

Love & hugs to all.

The Savages