One Year...

It's hard to believe, but today is the anniversary of our arrival in Switzerland.

What a year it has been! It has been full of challenges, but also many wonderful experiences. We love living in Basel, but definitely miss Raleigh more than ever. We've made many new friends, but miss all of our friends and family back home. We've tried lots of new foods, but still miss some good BBQ, an ice-filled sweet tea, a thick, juicy steak, a Chik-fil-a sandwich, a thick, juicy hamburger, and plenty of other foods. We've experienced many new cultures (Maria has already visited 15 countries...Switzerland, Germany, France, Austria, Czech Republic, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Italy, Monaco, Vatican City, England, Ireland, Scotland, and the good old US of A. She'll also visit Romania, Netherlands, and Portugal before 2009 is over!), but we miss the friendly waves of random neighbors on the street.

It has definitely been an adventure and we're looking forward to what another year will hold. We're thankful for this amazing opportunity and we're thankful for all those that have kept in touch, whether it be through visiting, calling, or following our blog.

We're a little behind on our blogging because we've been fairly busy as of late. Last Saturday, my parents left us after a week and a half visit. Then Maria's friend, Beth, arrived for a Swiss whirlwind tour on Monday. She left us on Thursday, but then Maria's sister and her family arrived for a two week visit on Saturday. Maria has been in the Alps for the past few days with the Denneys and will return tomorrow. So, the next blog still may not be posted for a while, but keep checking back for updates.