What we miss...

Ok, Jared and I both realize how fortunate we are to have the opportunity to live over here. God has blessed us beyond what we deserve and we thank him for our experiences every day. However, being here in Europe has also made us realize the MANY blessings we take for granted back home. Besides the most obvious things that we miss such as: our wonderful families and friends, church, and having more than one room, here are few things you may not think of that we REALLY miss!

• American Food: Only on RARE occasions do we get vegetables here other than potatoes. Every meal has a meat, pasta, potatoes, and bread! We never imagined that we would be so anxious to get back to the states to eat veggies! I am really looking forward to going to the grocery store and cooking my own food. Jared bringing me a tupperware filled with food for every meal has gotten really old. When we get bored, Jared and I will start listing all the food and drinks we crave. I think sweet tea is on the top of Jared's list quite often.
• No Smoking: It will be very refreshing to be able to enjoy a meal at a restaurant, walk through the mall, and watch a sporting event without being surrounded by a cloud of smoke. You can pretty much smoke anywhere you want here, and everyone does! We were very thankful that smoking is not allowed in the movie theatre, however, they stop the movie half way through for a 15 minute smoke break.
• No More Waiting: Jared said he is really tired of waiting for the elevator. If you think about it, he probably rides the elevator 12-16 times a day to and from meetings and meals. The whole riding trains concept was exciting at first, but after all the times I've missed the train and had to wait 30 minutes, gotten on the wrong train, been delayed, and been detoured due to construction, I'm pretty much ready to be able to drive a car again.
• Laundry: Today I packed our large suitcase full of dirty clothes and began my trek of dragging it from the hotel to the train station, through the train station, through the mall, across 4 lanes of traffic, and through town along the cobble stone streets to the laundry mat while it was raining. It takes approximately 25 minutes to get there and costs about 11 euros ($14) to wash and dry 2 loads of laundry. After I finished folding all the clothes and dragging the suitcase back to the hotel, the whole process had taken 2 1/2 hours. It really makes me appreciate having a washer and dryer in my garage at home, even when it's freezing outside.
• Television: Now we have no right to complain about the shows we have that are in English here. In Germany CNN is the ONLY channel in English(and you know Jared is not too fond of CNN), so after next week we'll really be sick of having nothing to watch. However, I'm a little concerned with the fact that Jared and I have really grown to enjoy watching Murder She Wrote. Jared might not turn Fox News off for months when we get home.
• SUNSHINE!!: The sun has only been shining about 10-12 days since we arrived in early March. The overcast weather can be pretty gloomy.