Happenings and habits...

Our daily lives are getting more settled, and we are developing some habits. We normally walk in the afternoon or evening, as the weather has been very nice most of the time since our arrival. The first stage of our walk usually takes us near what we assume is some sort of cat rescue facility. It is in the back yard of an antiques store/private residence and is a large fenced enclosure containing about 20-30 cats. The cats all seem to get along well, and they roam freely in the enclosure. There is a house (yes, a real cat house!) they can enter. We think the van we have seen parked there says something related to the SPCA, but we aren't sure. We have picked a few favorite cats we like to see, either for their funny appearance (curled tail, no tail, really furry, etc.) or their attitude.


Our walk then usually takes us to one of the MANY playgrounds in the area, where Sidney spends time enjoying the activities. She likes slides, swings, some climbing things and those funny little horses mounted on springs. We like to put her on the spinning things and watch her try to walk afterward. Very entertaining!


This brings us to one recent happening. Sidney was riding on a bouncy ride that is sort of a cross between a merry-go-round and a teeter-totter and took a header off into the gravel underneath. I promise we did not get her dizzy and make her fall. She apparently leaned forward too far and lost her balance. As you can see by her picture, her wounds are a badge of honor for her.

Another recent event was Kimber's first bike ride with Sidney. They went over the bridges on the east side of town to the islands. Kimber did well on the ride and only had to get off and push the bike once, despite some significant hills on the course. The views were very nice, as you can see in the last picture. Kirk could not go, as the bike he sent over in the air shipment was damaged and is not repairable. He will have to wait for the rest of the household goods to be unpacked before he has access to a bike.

We have begun the process of moving into our apartment. Our movers got permission to unload our shipment at the apartment, but not to unpack any of the boxes. We will hopefully get that permission tomorrow. We hope our first night there will be Wednesday night, but having experienced the speed of the mighty paperwork here, aren't putting out the home fire in our "temporary" apartment.

Finally, we are trying to buy a car here this week. We found a 2007 Hyundai Getz Cross (look for it on Wikipedia to get an idea of what it looks like) that is a dealer demo model. It only has 11,500 km on it and still has the warranty. It also has many nice options because it was a dealer demo. It is a diesel, so we will save on fuel cost and have a better resale value for it when we sell it when leaving. We looked for a comparable European car, but could find nothing in the price range (cars are VERY expensive here, and we are not here to spend a huge amount of money on a nice car we will have to sell in 1 1/2 - 3 years). Importing a vehicle is also very expensive, as the taxes that must be paid are equivalent to about the price of the car itself. That doesn't include registration. Hopefully an upcoming post will have a picture of the new car. And hopefully the next post will be from our new apartment!

Something you just don't see everyday...

So this is the "Binky Tree" at Mosvanet Lake in Stavanger. It is apparently tradition here to take your child and their pacifier here when the child is ready to give up the pacifier. The pacifier is then added to the collection of all the others on the tree. It is a bit of a strange sight, and the little notes and ribbons attached to them all with the date and age of the child are also interesting. We were surprised to see how many of them were three years old when giving up the pacifier. But then, diapers here are sold to handle kids up to 32 kg (70.5 lbs)!

We're here!

We have arrived in Stavanger after a week in Germany with family. We enjoyed the Easter with true German tradition, and Sidney especially enjoyed the visits she received from the Easter Bunny. She did a good job finding all her eggs.


The flight over to Germany was long but uneventful, other than Sidney sliding down the seat all night and ending up on the footrest to sleep. While the seats lay almost all the way back, they still have a slight angle to them, and they didn't quite fit her little body (or ours, for that matter!) It took a few days to get adjusted to the time difference for us all, and sleep schedules are still slightly off.

While in Germany, we visited several places. One was Felsemeer, the sight of an ancient Roman quarry. Natural forces created an area where huge granite boulders rose to the surface, and the Romans used these to carve blocks and columns for buildings. It is now a great place to hike and climb over the boulders.

We also visited a "real" castle (as opposed to the Disney castle of a couple of months ago). It was built in the late 18th century, and was modeled after Versailles, but on a larger scale. It was amazing! I just wonder how the landscapers felt during the time of no lawn mowers.

We are in our temporary apartment, and will be here for a couple of weeks. Among the things to do today are getting a cell phone, picking up our air shipment (our bikes!) and getting a week's worth of laundry done. We picked up some groceries last night, so at least we have food. Two bags of basic groceries (milk, cereal, bread, cheese, lunch meat, etc. = $115).

We will post some additional pictures and info as we settle. Please remember that the old email address (kirkhamilton@woh.rr.com) is no longer effective. Please use the emails listed on the left side of this page.

Saying goodbye :(

The time has come for us to say goodbye to all our friends who have been part of our lives for the past four years. While we are excited about our future and the adventures to come, it is very sad to leave our friends in Findlay.

Sidney's last day of preschool was Friday. The teachers, many of whom have known her since she was six months old, started the tears flowing. Her friends, who have been her classmates since the Infant-One Level all gave her hugs and told her they loved her. The class made her a shirt with all their names and fingerprints to remember them by. Her school has been such an important part of her life, and we deeply appreciate all that the teachers, staff and her friends have done for all of us. The experience has certainly been integral in making Sidney who she is, and we have been more than pleased and surprised with her progress.

Our last day at church was this morning, Palm Sunday. Pastor Dan lifted us all up in prayer, and Matt had the choir sing "Gaelic Benediction" at the end of the service for us, the words of which are as follows:

"May the road rise up to meet you, the wind be at your back,
may the sun shine warmly on your face, the rain fall softly on your fields,
Till we meet again my friend, till we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand, may God hold you in the palm of His hand."

It was probably one of the more touching moments we have had. As we stood there listening with tears in our eyes, I thought of how many times I stood in the choir myself and sang that as both a regular benediction and for special occasions when others left for journeys such as ours. I also thought of how much this church has meant to us with all the love and support we've received, especially with Sidney's premature birth. I also know that everyone there has been part of Sidney's growth spiritually, as one of the first songs she could sing by heart was "Jesus Loves Me."

Lots more hugs, tears and well-wishes came from everyone, and Sidney shared lots of love with her "girls" at church. We cannot express how much we will miss you all.

Kimber's last day of work in Findlay is tomorrow. I know she will leave and feel like she could have done more. And I don't doubt she will continue to contribute, even if only through email exchanges with the group here. I am very proud of the professional growth I have seen her go through with this job, and I am sure it will continue in her new position.

Our last goodbye will be tomorrow night with Gerry and Mary Kay Mohr. They, more than anyone, have been what made our neighborhood so good for us. Since our first house-hunting trip to Findlay just over four years ago, they have been a part of our lives and tremendously important to us. They have been friends, surrogate parents, baby sitters, counselors, dinner partners, party planners, sounding boards, life savers, and so much more to us. We will have dinner one last time tomorrow night, and I am sure the tears will flow freely. The dinner will probably be BYOK (Bring Your Own Kleenex.)

The thing we continue to stress with them and all others is that we hope you will all visit in Norway! We will have room in our apartment, and can rent the bedroom downstairs for much cheaper than a hotel room. It sleeps four and has a private bath. As I will not be working for the time being, I am happy to serve as host and tour guide to Stavanger (once I get to know it myself!)

Pastor Dan talked this morning about the men that came to Jesus during his trip to Jerusalem. He said Jesus told one man to come with Him, to which the man responded "Yes, Lord, after I say goodbye to my family." Jesus said to him "No man can plow a straight furrow while looking backward." Jesus' point was that you can't look toward the future and live in the past. We will try to live for our future, not regret our decisions to leave this part of our life, and hope to meet all of you that have meant so much again. And until then, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Moving out

Our movers arrived yesterday to pack us out for our move overseas. We were pretty well organized upon their arrival, with furniture and belongings marked "Store", "Ship", "Air" and "Stay". All our luggage that we will have for the next three weeks before our arrival in Stavanger was also separated out.

It took only one day to pack everything in boxes. Then today the movers were back and loaded the truck with everything that will stay in storage for the next however-long-we-are-there. Tomorrow our shipping container arrives and the "Ship" stuff will be loaded. Finally, the "Air" stuff will go on the truck to be taken for final prep and sending. It will hopefully arrive in Stavanger about the same time we do.

We moved into the hotel last night. Sidney went to school today and promptly notified everyone we slept at the hotel (very nonchalantly - this kid is travel-wise!)

We took Alex to his new home this evening. We will take the fish over tomorrow evening and see how Alex did his first night there. It is very sad to us to leave this member of our family behind after 14 years of companionship and loyalty. He will be with a friend, so at least we can get updates. Had timing been different and allowed for the time to get his rabies titers, etc., we may have taken him, but there is the consideration of his age and ability to handle the long flight.

On a happier note, we will be flying down to Houston next week for our ex-pat orientation. We look forward to seeing a few friends in the area one last time during our very short visit, but unfortunately will only have one night to do so. We wish we could see you all!

So where is Stavanger?

View Larger Map

So many people have asked about where the city is, I added this map. Stavanger lies on the interior portion of a peninsula in Southwest Norway. It is the fourth largest city in Norway. The population is around 285,000 and is made up of many ex-pats (due to the oil industry) and native Norwegians.

Also located on the peninsula are Sandnes (to the south of Stavanger) and Sola (on the exterior portion of the peninsula along the North Sea. Hinna (the place where our apartment is located) lies between Stavanger and Sandnes. The Google Earth view shows the soccer stadium as a "work in progress", but pictures imbedded in the Google Earth view of the area show what things look like now, including our building.

We found a place!

After looking for a few days in Stavanger, then placing an offer (you actually can "negotiate" rent there), our offer was accepted for the apartment in these pictures.
As you can see, the view is SPECTACULAR. We are on the 7th floor, overlooking the fjord and mountains to the front and the Stavanger Vikings Soccer Stadium and practice field to the back. It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath with a living room/dining room, family room, kitchen and two fireplaces. The complex also has additional bedrooms for rent if we need them for guests (nicer and cheaper than a hotel in town.) The train stop is right beside the stadium and takes 7 minutes to go directly to Stavanger city center. It is 10 minutes from Sidney's school, and has lots of playgrounds around it. It is also about a 5 minute walk to Vaulen Beach, a popular public beach, which is also visible from our front balcony. As you can tell, we are pretty excited!

Our visit to Sidney's new school was also good. She will start preschool probably in May, then go into the Reception class (roughly equivalent to Kindergarten) in August. The kids in the reception class are actually writing sentences currently, and they are only 6 months into the school year! I am sure Sidney is going to soak all this up like a sponge.

There is so much I could tell about our week there, but more will follow. We are getting things ready on this end to pack, travel, etc. We plan on leaving Findlay on April 8th, visit with the family in Germany over the Easter holiday, then arrive in Stavanger on April 14th. We will be in a furnished temporary apartment until our belongings arrive, which we hope will be around May 1st.

More updates and info to come!