HaIrCuT!!!

I finally got a hair cut that wasn't just a trim....pretty sure it had been about 2 or 3 years since my last non-trim haircut.  It was SOOO nice.  I used a Groupon coupon, so it only cost 19 for the wash, cut, and style -- plus a head massage!  De-light-ful!  :-) 

American Treats

Yum-Yum!  This past month Khalid and I ate at both Subway and Pizza Hut!  The Subway is downtown (a little too close for my budget -- hee hee) and I got the sub of the day which is also my favorite, the Roasted Chicken Breast.  Khalid tried a Turkey Bacon Melt....and I am sad to announce that he isn't really a fan of Subway.  He tried mine too and just wasn't impressed.  :(  But he is a HUGE fan of Doritos (which we can't buy here), so he said he is willing to go with me to eat the Doritos while I eat my sandwich.  Thanks Hubs! (no Subway pictures -- but I did get a napkin for Bob!)

Pizza Hut on the other hand was a huge hit for both of us!  Khalid defintely agrees with my niece, Brianna, that Pizza Hut pizza is way better than Austrian pizza.  :-)  We got a super deal too -- two drinks, an appetizer, a medium pizza, and a dessert pizza for 10 Euros....I had to look like 3x before I believed it.  We choose a stuffed crust, pepperoni (also not common here) and I devoured mine.  Ha!  And lucky Khalid got all of the dessert pizza since I am sugar fasting for Lent.  The downside to Pizza Hut is that it isn't in Vienna...actually it isn't even in Austria.  We had to go to Bratislava, Slovakia (about 45 minutes drive) to get it.  Worth it in my book for the occasional treat.  :-)   (pictures below)

Update

I realized I hadn't blogged anything in over a month and was feeling a little guilty since I read some peoples daily posts.  :-)  Things are good here in the Hamidi home.  I had surgery (to prepare for baby Hamidi's) and am recovering very well.  I know it was going to be a painful surgery, but I can truthfully say it was even worse than I thought.  But on the up side, I am feeling better sooner than I thought, so all is well.  I have a check up this week and again in one month.  Then we just have to wait until May or June (up to us) to start trying again.  Husband did a job training recently and now has his forklift drivers license.  He is pretty happy about that and is job hunting everyday.  I had a wonderful birthday and got several wonderful packages with goodies inside....wish I had some self-control not to eat most of the Reesee's in one sitting, but that's life, right?  :-)   We also had a good Valentine's Day -- we celebrated the day before with flowers, a walk in the park (1st time out for me in two weeks! yea!) and made homemade cards for each other.  The pictures are of us at the park.  Blessings!

Thinking of You with Love

We thought of you with love today,

but that is nothing new.

We thought about you yesterday,

and days before that too.

We think of you in silence,

we often speak your name.

All we have are memories,

and your picture in a frame.

Your memory is our keepsake,

with which we will never part.

God has you in His keeping,

we have you in our hearts.

A million times we`ve wanted you.

A million times we cried.

If love could only have saved you,

you never would have died.

It broke our hearts to lose you.

But you didn`t go alone.

For a part of us went with you...

the day God called you Home.

~Author Unknown

Nicoda's Second Birthday

Two years have gone by now since I got see and hold my precious baby.  Two years of longings, wishes, and so many tears...    I wish I could say that I am okay now but so many days I'm not.  There are still days when I wake up and go to sleep so angry that I don't have my little boy to hold, to rock, to teach his ABC's.  Somedays I see my friends and their kids and the joy they have watching them grow and it hurts to know I don't have that chance.  I look at Mr. Nicoda's pictures all around the house and I love seeing his face, but I get so upset knowing that there will never be any 'new' pictures -- that I only have memories.  So I wish today was different -- I wish that we were throwing a birthday party instead of just releasing balloons -- I wish I could hear Nicoda's sweet voice talking and see him take his toddling around-- I wish, I wish, I wish....

But through it all I still know that I am blessed....I have pictures of my little boy, I got to feel him kick inside me, I got to touch his soft little cheeks and kiss his little toys, I have an overwhelming love for God for taking care of our little boy.  So although my grief has changed me, I am blessed to have had Nicoda for the 7 months I did. 

 Mr. Nicoda, you are so loved and so missed! 

Can't wait to see you and hold you someday. Until then, Mommy

 

Christmas 2010

Khalid and I have had a GREAT Christmas!  Our second Christmas together and it is hard to believe that it has already been a year since I moved here -- it seemed like decades that we were apart and now the time is flying by. 

On Christmas Eve we hang up our 2010 ornament that we brought and watched the Navitity Story (which as a side note, is a wonderful movie).   Christmas Day we opened our stockings from Santa to find a watch for Khalid and a new hat/scarf set for me.  Yea!  :-)  Then we are watched Christmas movies cuddled up on the couch til our Christmas dinner of ribs and apple pie....then back to the movies and talked to the family in the States.

 What could it be?  A watch and candy -- Yea!

 Thanks Santa!

 Ornament from Lori Miller

 Our 2009 ornament

 Ornament made by me

Our S'Mores Texas ornament

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  BLESSINGS!

Videos From Trip :)

Lynda was so excited to go and dance with Chuck E Cheese....Chuck E Cheese threw free tickets everywhere after he finished dancing and Lynda didn't even care -- just kept dancing. :-)

Not sure where Zack saw beatboxing, but he thought it would be funny to make a video of himself beatboxing and dancing. :-) ha

Morning at the Zoo

We went to zoo to go and see the new polar bear exhibt and so I could meet Zack's friend - 'Spaz' the monkey. I was reading the signs about the polar bears, while Zack and Melissa went into the polar bear building. Zack flew back out and very excitedly asked me if I knew who was inside, before I could answer he squeaked out "SANTA!" and flew back inside. Then he had to dance around a little bit while he remembered what he wanted to ask for and my sister got to fret a little bit because he normally sees a more real looking Santa.....it was great fun! After talking to Santa for awhile and getting his picture taken, we did make it to the monkey exhibt as well. :)

Timothy and Family

My brother, Timothy, moved when I was gone and now he lives on the KS side of Kansas City. I got to go with him and Laura to dinner and to take Lynda's picture at Target -- they turned out super cute (but I forgot my copies in America - ugh!). :-) My niece's vocabulary has just totally blown up -- it was so great to understand her when I played with her. When I saw her at Chuck E Cheese's, she looked up at me and said "Come on, let's play" Cute! She also loves to dance -- when Chuck E Cheese started to dance, she went right up and danced with him. She also got to dance with my mom and Don when we were over visiting. She is one of the happiest kids I know! And my brother -- always trying to tell a joke -- wrote to the "Austrian family" from the "American family" on Khalid and I's Christmas present.

Melissa and Fam

Me and Missy

Zack with his new pug puppy, Ruby

Brianna and me (she hates photos)

Monopoly with Zack

(he is really good with money! impressed me!)

I got to stay with sister most of my visit and this allowed me lots of time to chat with Missy, have lunch with Bre, and play games with Zack. Sadly Ashley has already moved out of the house, so I didn't get to spend as much time with her. I also got to go and visit with pug puppies when they were trying to pick a puppy for Zack. :-) I really enjoyed spending time with my sister -- when she isn't working (she has to work alot between juggling kids, Zack's school, and actual work). We went to the zoo one morning and had Don Chilto's for lunch (my favorite Mexican resturants and Zack's favorite for french fries) Zack has been going to a speical school that he is thriving in and he is one of the funniest and most honest kids you'll very meet. One day Bre was attending a funeral for a local solider and I got to drive her back and forth and have lunch at Culvers with her. And I got to go to my niece Ashley's apartment -- it was odd to see her living out on her own, working and going to school. Bre, Zack, and I played Mario Bros. on Wii quite a bit and Zack even brought me penquin pj pants for Christmas 'so I could remember Mario' (his words) when I went back home. Zack and I played several board games as well -- but failed at Guess Who? because he kept trying to cheat...which always works on my dad, but didn't with me. :-) And one of my favorite parts of visiting that cute boy is how each night I would have to bribe him to get a hug -- another thing he learned from my dad. But I learned that a great 'deal' would be to tell him either a hug or a kiss....and being a true little boy the hug won hands down. HA!