Pro. Creation.

Procreate - Verb: 1.) To beget or generate (offspring) 2.) To produce; bring into being.

While I've been napping at the blog-desk, the locals have been quite busy. In fact, I might say that our little circle of friends have become professional grade creators!  Along with this wave of new babies, there have been a raft of news that I am remiss in reporting. Going all the way back to our awkward Christmas in Seattle to this weeks terror attacks in Brussels, my silence is not a sign of stagnation. On the contrary, we've been occupied with some of life's inevitable hurdles.

Like Springtime in Luxembourg!

First, let me introduce you to our new bestie, Làrus Thor. With a name like that, of course he's 1/2 Italian. Our dear friend's Michele and Tamara are the responsible parties, and this only makes things that much better!

He really waited until the last minute. Tam was coaxing him out by any means possible…that's non-alcoholic beer btw

Mr. Man arrived on February 24th shortly after Jeni's colleague Sean wife, Karrie, gave birth to another happy, healthy baby boy. We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of our next newbie (and Luxembourg's youngest Yogi) when Joe and Laura beget (name to be determined) later this spring. It's not only our friends having babies. There are now two infants in our  small apartment building of eight units. Plus you can't hop on a city bus without wading through a myriad of prams, strollers and carriages.


Yes, births exceeded deaths in the Grand Duchy last year by 2,000 which makes the government happy, but what I find most intriguing is the tiny melting-pot I'm witnessing here in the Heart of Europe. Italians meet Icelanders, Canadians mingle with Poles, French canoodle with Portuguese, Americans cavort with Luxembourgers, and so on, and so on…any thought of abandoning The Schengen Agreement will   surely be forgotten when these kids with 2, 3 or even 4 nationalities come online.

It was worth the wait...He is a cutie, no?

During the past few months, we've also been gearing up for Jeni's latest deployment. I really can't / don't want to go into details, but suffice it to say Things went about as expected. SNAFU. She did get off, and thankfully she's no longer working at Ice Station Zebra. Now she's in a place a bit closer and not as hectic…let's call it, "East Umbria." Before she left, Jeni was thrilled with a face-to-face with Luxembourg National Hero, Tour de France Victor and all around nice guy, Andy Schleck!

So cool! I think she might have peed a bit ;)

I've found work as an English Instructor. This has been interesting and a bit of a challenge. It's nice to be productive again, and a few euros extra each month is nice. Navigating the different Ministries has also been challenging to say the least, but it's worth it. I can say that I am now a card carrying member of the Luxembourg work-force…still trying to figure out how, exactly, I'm to pay taxes :-/

And finally I'll leave you with a few photos of our boy. Vann made an unscheduled stop back In January. He stayed for a couple of weeks. It was great to see him, and I think he enjoyed his visit. It was like old times having him and Jeni under one roof, albeit far too brief. We made sure to fatten him up a bit, ply him with his favorite Luxembourg beverage of Picon-Beer and give him loads of love and attention.

Ode to the Picon-Biere…looks happy here!

Oh yeah…Toby is aging nicely. Like a fine wine. He even has his own buggy to ride around town.