Adventures in Ikea... I don't think I ever want to go back. :)

As far as furniture goes, there's not a whole lot around Cáceres.  We knew we would have to go to Madrid or Sevilla to purchase the majority of our furniture.  Since both cities are 3 hours away, we also knew that we would need to purchase everything at one time, as it's hard to make several trips that far away... not to mention we would have to have them deliver, so we only wanted to incur one delivery fee.  SOOOO I planned and dreamed and shopped Ikea by catalog and through the web.  I had our entire list made out on the internet, every room diagrammed as to what was to go where and what we needed to buy.

We decided to go to Sevilla, because we have some co-workers there that we love to spend time with.  They live at the same exit as Ikea, so we thought we'd do to Ikea first and then go spend some time with them.  As many times as we have mentioned never having been to Ikea before, not a single person thought about mentioning HOW Ikea worked.  I never thought to ask, because I really had no idea... :) Maybe it's good none of y'all warned me...

I'm not sure if ALL Ikeas, all over the world are like this, or if it's just in Spain?... or if it was just this one particular weekend?  I don't know, but maybe it was good I wasn't forewarned... I might not have gone.  For those of you who don't know me too well, I am NOT a shopper.  When I have to do it, I go in, get what I want and get out.  So, now that you've learned that about me, some of you are just laughing... because that's SOOOO not possible with Ikea.

We arrived very close to the time that Ikea opened, and thought we'd get a good start before the "crowds."  Spaniards don't like to get up early, so we thought it wouldn't be TOO crazy.  Yeah, we were wrong.  There was a line to park, that should have been our first indication.  We had no idea what we were doing; so once we got in, we kinda just looked around a little, trying to get our bearings.  We knew there was a kids' place, so we thought we'd be able to get a bunch done pretty quick.  Once we got up to the front of the line, they had each of the kids stand up against a measuring stick.  Weston was too tall to go in, and Carolina was too short.  So, Nathan and Jonathan got to go in, but only for an hour.  Well, Weston wouldn't be difficult to handle, but Carolina is a whole different story.  She, quite opposite from her Momma, LOVES to shop.  She loves to look at everything and TOUCH everything and sit on everything and open everything... need I go on? :)  Well, 2 was still a little better than 4, so we started on our way.

We had our list, but it was all picked out from a catalog and the internet.  I wanted to SEE some of these things.  So, those of you who know how Ikea works, know that it's a maze.  You can't just get from one place to another, even if you know exactly what you want.  In addition to that, there were so many people there that we just had to stay on the path and follow the mob.   It was wall to wall people, and there was no getting around ANYONE.  I think we spent that first hour, just being overwhelmed by all the people and all the "stuff."  I wished I could look and then go home and think about it... but, we didn't have that luxury.  We HAD to be out of the apartment by Feb. 1st, which meant we HAD to buy furniture on this particular day, so that we at least had a bed to sleep on! :)   I got a good idea of about half of the things on my list during that first hour... I wanted to see them and decide what I actually did want and what looked much different in person.

So we weren't even ready to start shopping yet, and the kids' time was up in the kids' place.  We had a buzzer and it was going off like crazy.  We'd only gotten halfway through the displays, though, so either we had to go all the way back the way we came or all the way through the REST of the displays, in order to get the kids!!!  It was nuts! Carolina was pretty crazy at this point; definitely tired of being in a cart.  So, we decided to split up, rather than trying to drag the cart all the way through all those people.  Wes went to get the boys, and we were going to meet at the restaurant.  I thought maybe if we could get the kids a snack, we could finish what we needed to do.

Once Wes returned with Jonathan and Nathan, Carolina was even antsier.  I was flustered by trying to occupy her for the 1/2 hour it took for Wes to go get the other boys... Wes was flustered by HALF HOUR it took to get the other boys... :) haha... if you could have seen us!  We sat down in the restaurant part (which wasn't really even open yet), and tried to put a plan together.  Wes and I just looked at each other... how in the world were we going to do this?  We had a whole HOUSE full of furniture to buy... not just a room, not just a few items.  After getting some churros for the kids and coffee for Wes and I, we decided it was crazy to try to keep going.  The kids were just ready to be done... already.  I do think that part of that was because they were all anxious to get to our friends' house; they have a trampoline, and my boys just LOVE it.

We had planned to do lunch with our friends, so we called them and just decided to head their way.  We'd have to come back.  We were both so overwhelmed at the task... and the thought of doing it with all the kids!  But, after we'd had lunch with our friends, and the kids got on the trampoline, our friends told us to GO.  They kept the kids, and Wes and I tackled the task, kid-free! :)  You'd have thought that would've made the whole thing easy!... yeah, nope.

I AM so thankful that they had the kids, though.  I can't imagine what we would have done if we DID have the kids while trying to do this crazy thing. :)  With just Wes and I, we were able to navigate the crowds a little easier (although, it was STILL wall to wall people, with a very slow, flowing mass walking the aisle.)  We finished looking at what we needed and I had narrowed down my list... now, we just needed to GET it all.

So,  we made it through the 2nd floor with a very full basket... I had things slung over my shoulder and we had two bags (full) hooked to the cart, but at least it was only one cart.  Wes was determined to just use one; b/c otherwise, how else would we pick up the REST of the stuff?  It was wishful thinking.  We actually realized that it was just down-right dumb.  There was NO good way for us to do this.  We had already waited in all the lines to get the "papers" to pick up the big, bulky items after we paid, but it was all those other "medium" items we still had to get. 

We started off with me pushing the cart full of the little stuff.  Wes got a flat cart and began stacking boxes and crates on it.  It filled up really quickly.  So he went back and got another one... which filled up very quickly.  Once we figured out how things worked, we began going row by row and getting everything we needed in each row.   It got to be almost comical... Wes would head to the row with his cart, and I would make several trips back and forth trying to keep ALL our carts together, while he loaded yet another cart.  It was nuts!  You'd think, with spending SO much money in one store, someone would come help ... but, no.  My guess is, it's just how Ikea functions, so that they can keep their prices down?  I'm not sure... maybe it's just Spain.  By the end, (before we had gone to pick up the bulky items) we had 6 carts.  Yes, SIX.

This was one particular day that I was very thankful for a BIG, STRONG husband!  I can't imagine what I would've done by myself!?  Finally, as we got toward the end of our list,  I just stood in the middle of the aisle with ALL of our carts, while Wes finished.  I got tired of pushing and pushing.  As I was waiting there, I saw two guys with shirts that advertised for "transportation."  They were picking things off shelves and they took their cart through the check-out counter over to one side of the store.  It made me think that maybe, once we paid for delivery, they might come help us get it through the check out.  We didn't even know where to go to ask about delivery, so I found a guy who worked there (which, in and of itself was quite a feat!) and tried, in my limited Spanish, to ask for directions.  I didn't know the word for "deliver", so I took the long route and used all my other words: "lots of stuff," "no room in my car," "carry to my house," etc, etc.  You get the picture. :)  I obviously didn't do a good job, because the guy just kept telling me that he wasn't allowed to help me.  I think he thought I was asking for help to get it to my car?  I have no idea.  I finally made myself clear and got the directions I needed.

Then, for what felt like an hour (in reality, I have no idea how long it was... :) it could've been an hour!)... I waited in the middle of the aisle with six carts all around me and everyone staring, while Wes went to ask about delivery.  He came back and told me that the guys couldn't help us push the carts, but they WOULD deliver (praise the Lord!... we probably should've checked that out first! haha...)  So, Wes and I started the process of trying to check out... with SIX carts.  I'm telling you, everyone thought we were crazy!  By this time, it was well past dinner time and BED time for the kids, so we called and let them know we were just checking out and we'd be home soon.  (Right...)

It was a little frustrating, because people kept pushing in front of us, b/c we had to leave the carts and go and push other ones.  Wes finally got fed up and stood his ground.  The guy argued with him and argued until someone from the line next to us (who had watched everything) said something to him in Spanish (which I didn't understand at all...).  Apparently, he was on our side, though; b/c the other guy walked away.  Wes ended up carrying on a conversation with this guy for the whole rest of the time.  As we talked, I think it became apparent (or maybe obvious is a better word) that we were foreigners who were still a bit clueless.  Wes is good at making friends; so by the time we were done, we had others around helping us push our carts up and making sure no one cut in front of us.  It was actually kinda sweet.  It took us about two hours to get through the check out line.  They take out everything of your cart to scan it, and then put it right back in... so, we did that for SIX carts. 

Once we got through check out, we had to go pick up our "bulky" items.  We had to have EVERY item before we could drop our carts off at the "delivery" station.  So, we pushed all six carts ... one by one, by one, to one station and waited for our mattresses and things.  THEN we had to  wait in another line to drop our stuff off to be delivered.  Are you tired just from reading about it???? :)

After a total of THREE HOURS,  we finally finished getting the stuff over to where they would deliver it.  My feet were aching; and although he never once complained, I'm sure Wes was exhausted from picking up all those huge boxes!!  All in all, we spent SIX hours in Ikea (just the second trip... without the kids...)  We got back to our friends and picked up the kids and started our three our drive back home at midnight... and then, the fog was so thick Wes could hardly see on the way home. Talk about a CRAZY day!?!?  We were just thankful to finally get home!

I know we got a TON of furniture for the amount that we spent; but man, we WORKED for it!  It certainly didn't come cheap! :)  At least we didn't have to load it and unload it ourselves!!  And... after all that, my amazing man put each and every item TOGETHER, once it got delivered!!!...we are grateful for Ikea; I just don't think I ever want to go back! haha....

A Town-house!

We have known for a while that we wanted to move from our apartment located in "downtown" Cáceres, but we weren't entirely sure where.  We loved living downtown because we could see the school from our balcony, and EVERYTHING was close by... not to mention we loved our neighbors!  The downside was that there was no place for the kids to play.  We lived on a hill (not just a little one...), so it was difficult to get bikes out or even for one of us to walk all the kids to the park.  There were always cars and tons of people.  We decided the pros of moving farther out of the "center," where we would have more space, would outweigh the cons.  We had been encouraged by some of our leaders to look for a "town-house" this time, as it would allow us to have a small yard AND a garage.  Both of which give options for places for the kids to play! :)

This is a picture of our little yard (before it was actually ours...) This is now the view from my bedroom window. :)

This is our "back yard"... haha... our patio out back.  All these pics are from before we moved in, when we were looking at it.

One thing to realize about Cáceres ( I don't really know about the rest of Spain...) is that there are no "houses"... like what we would consider a "house" in a neighborhood, free-standing and alone. :)  That sounds funny.  Ok, I guess I have to revise that a bit.  There are none of these really available for the "normal" person.  There is one neighborhood on the very outskirts, but they are "mansions" much more for the wealthy, AND they are ON TOP of each other... not literally, but nothing like we would think of as a typical American neighborhood. :)  In addition to this, there are only really a couple areas of our city that even have "town-houses."  It's the newer parts of towns, and very much on the outskirts. 

We were really praying for direction and wisdom in making the decision as to where to move.  We wanted to be where GOD wanted us, and not just where it was convenient for us.  We were praying for direction and discernment... and many of you were praying with us!  Thank you!  God completely answered our prayers.  There were two areas of town that had town-houses (each on complete opposite sides of town), but only one of those areas actually had something available.  Yes, talk about clear.  That kinda settled that!  And then, out of that one area, there were only TWO town-houses available!   The first one we walked into was amazing.  I loved it, but our realtor kept telling us the other one was bigger, so we needed to look.  It was bigger, but there was a lot of damage in it... as well as a lot of mold. Yuck.  Again, a very clear answer.

SOOOO... we quickly decided on the one and only option that was healthy for our family! :)  Thank you, Lord, for your CLEAR direction! :) haha... love it!  The amazing thing is that this one and only option was absolutely perfect for what we needed.  What a gracious God we serve!

The owners have been wonderful.  They installed railings (we have TWO sets of stairs in this house!!) for Nathan, so he could easily (and safely) walk up and down.  They also volunteered to put in a dishwasher for us!  I feel like I'm in heaven!!!!... WOW, the blessing of a dishwasher!  I think I save hours out of my day by having that beautiful thing! haha...

They also gave us the keys to the house a couple weeks before the time we were to actually start our contract.  It was perfect, because we didn't really have a moving truck, so we began to move our stuff little by little over those few weeks.  I didn't have too many boxes, either, so I kept packing and unpacking.  It was actually nice, in some aspects.  When we finally did our big move, I had a lot of things already settled.  The one catch was that we were moving out of a furnished apartment into a technically "unfurnished" place.  (I say technically, b/c we do have a couple of pieces of furniture from them, but not much.)  We've known ever since we started this process that this time would be coming.  We sold much of what owned in the States, knowing we would have to buy everything again here. 

As we began to "pack and unpack" each room, we realized we needed to buy our furniture quickly, b/c I had no place to "unpack" my things.  Read my next blog for our crazy adventure of trying to furnish our new home in Spain... talk about craziness!

This is out front of our townhouse.  Our row of town houses is on the left, so you can't really see the houses themselves.  BUT you can see the huge common area in between.  It's totally a pedestrian zone, so the boys LOVE to play soccer here, drive their remote-control cars and ride bikes.

This is our living room/dining room... again, before we moved in.

And my ktichen!!!  It was really what sold me on the house, because kitchens like this are about un-heard of here!  It's huge.  I just love it!  You can see the washing machine next to the sink.  They moved it outside and installed a dishwasher!  The little white thing behind me (yes, it's shorter than me!) is our fridge...

Our First Mission Team

Nathan, Hunter, and Amy came from CA to prayer walk and share the love of Christ here in Extremadura.  All three were from our youth group in CA, and it was such a blessing to be with them again.  Amy's mom, Michelle, came as a chaperon.   They were such an encouragement to us!... just to see familiar faces and to laugh, talk, and pray together in English! :)

After a full day of prayer walking (in the rain!), they had the chance to build some relationships at one of the youth groups about an hour away.

They each shared their testimony, which was translated by our team-mate, Timon.

And then Wes got to share a little bit, too... mostly in English, but also a bit of Spanish! 

It was amazing to see these kids build relationships, despite the fact that they didn't even share the same language. 

This was a bible study held in another part of Extremadura.  All the youth (none of whom normally come) showed up that night to hang out some more with Nathan, Hunter and Amy. 

It was amazing to see how quickly relationships were built.  Even still, whenever we visit the youth group in Mérida, they ask about Nathan, Hunter and Amy.

We had a great time with this group. They taught us some of their games and the youth from California taught some of their youth group games.  All I can say, "Laugh out Loud!"  It was very funny language learning experience.

I think the most amazing thing that happened during this trip was the privilege of prayer walking through some of the small towns where, as far as we know, there are no believers.  To think that we may have been the first ones in these towns to pray over them was an incredible experience.  Can't wait to go back and see how our God is answering our prayers...AND to pray some more! ~ Wes

Three Kings' Day- January 6th

This year, we had the pleasure of joining in with our culture and celebrating the way Spaniards do!  They celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas and they spend time together as a family.  Sometimes a family will open one gift on this day, but gifts are not the focus of Dec. 25th.  Throughout all of Cáceres, there are nativity scenes set up... usually in every household as well as in many public places.  Each day, the move the "three kings" closer to the stable... you actually watch their progression.  The night before "Kings' Day" each city has a parade to celebrate the "coming" of the three kings.

 

As is the tradition, they threw candy to the kids.  Many of the kids bring umbrellas, which they hold upside down, to catch the candy as it rains down over top of them. :)   The very last float carries the three kings (which I didn't get a picture of!), as they supposedly "arrive" in Cáceres.   It was a very fun experience for our kids.  

It was also interesting because they don't "do" Santa Clause here... they have the three kings.  The kids usually write letters to the three kings, explaining what they want for "Kings' Day."  They go and sit on one of the three kings' laps, like we would with Santa Clause; and tell them what they want.  They share gifts on Kings' Day in honor of the gifts that the three kings brought for Jesus.  It is quite refreshing, because it's actually much more Biblically based than much of what we do in the States!  We are enjoying integrating new cultural "traditions" into our lives.  We enjoyed focusing on Christ this year... explaining the tradition of Santa Clause and the Three Kings, but focusing on the birth of our Savior!