What is this thing???
To the uninitiated, this, my friends and family is a blog. In case you are wondering, what the heck is a blog, I will fill you in. A blog is short for the word weblog. In a sense it is just like a journal. But because it’s on the web, it is public and open for everyone’s comments.
What we want this website to be is a place for us to record our what’s been going on with our family. You can leave comments and ask questions on anything you’d like. Eventually we will get a photo gallery up for everyone to see.
Because we move around so often, it is hard to remember to email everyone in our family as well as everyone that we’ve grown close with. So now the pressure is on you. If we keep this updated as I hope we will, you will have no reason to NOT know what’s going on. If you want to know how we are, just check the website!
This better not replace phone calls, but being that there will be quite a large pond between us, it can get kind of expensive and I hope this will help!
-Sara
July 22nd, 2006 at 12:28 pm
I just wanted everyone state side to know that the cheapest long distance rates I’ve found to Belgium (and they even have access numbers FROM Belgium, too) is from www.onesuite.com. Their rates today are 3.5 cents a minute to a land line (30 cents a minute to a mobile phone)… so there is no excuse about not calling!
They are like any calling card but you can set it so you don’t have to dial a pin from certain numbers. You buy time in $10 increments and you have to recharge in 6 mo or it goes inactive - but you don’t lose your minutes, you just have to add to them and call more often!!
We’ve used them for years now and find it very convenient. My parents loathe spending even a penny for long distance so I just gave them the local number and set their phone in so they don’t have to use a pin and they can call on “my dime”.
They have toll free numbers that can be used from a pay phone too, with a connection charge.
They’re the best phone card I’ve found.
Look forward to coming to Belgium to visit! Miss you guys –
Pam
July 23rd, 2006 at 11:28 am
Thanks for that Pam! We are hoping to get Vonage that i can just take over there and then I will have a 703 area code and people can call us as they do now; it will simply be a long distance call!
Can’t wait to see you guys too! When is the trip?
July 24th, 2006 at 9:53 am
Oh I wish we planned that far ahead.
It won’t be before December, that is for certain. We’ll get something firmed up here soon. Our anniversary is in November, but we’d like to go in late spring or early summer. How long will you be there? Do you know for certain? We’re not sure if we will go before or after the anniversary -i.e. 2007 or 2008. My mom is not doing well and it is likely we will have to make an emergency trip home - so that may muddle the puddle as far as planning. But we can hope for the best… 
You don’t have long now! Did you decide if you will sell your house? Or rent it? Budd says I should just get a job in Belgium. Maybe I’ll follow you there, too! You have a tendency to drag me around!!
July 31st, 2006 at 2:51 pm
I’m rooting for you guys to live in the converted barn. That would be a fun place for your wayward American friends to come visit. AND, I think it would be cool if Ian might one day take one of those graceful zoo creatures home to hang out with him in said “barn.”