A lot has changed since we last wrote in this blog.
We’ve had another baby.
We became full-time parent(s) to Kim’s daughter, Billie – who is almost 15 now!
And…we immigrated from Belgium to the USA.
So, we thought thought it was ABOUT TIME we updated our blog!
First things first – Nakoa Knight was born, like his brother before him at home, on April 30, 2023! After suffering a miscarriage in October 2021, he truly has been a our miracle, rainbow baby. Ever since Cheyanne first told Kim that Nakoa was on the way in an EPIC WAY, he has been a magical prescense in our life.
Instead of waiting until birth like we did with Mason to find out his gender, we had big sis Billie look at the blood test results and plan a surprise gender reveal for us in front of the Eiffel Tower…on Christmas Day! Hey, when in Europe, why not do these things, right?!
He is now an incredible almost 6 month old, who’s already crawling and beginning his baby-led weaning journey, and is crazy-loved by everyone around him – especially his amazing big brother, Mason!
NEXT UP – our move to the States! What was actually a process we began in June 2020, came to a completion in July 2023. After 3 long years of many ups and downs, we made it as a family of 5 to the States.
And now, as we moved in with Cheyanne’s parents, we are starting our American dream as a family of 7 inside a small, but cozy 2-bedroom home in Venice, FL. It’s a sleepy, yet gorgeous beach town on the West Coast of Florida.
Today marks our THREE MONTHS of living in Florida and we wanted to take the moment to get on here and share some of the biggest lessons we’ve learned since immigrating to Florida:
Florida is HOT and yet PERFECT for us
Everyone talks about how HOT Florida is – but you don’t really know until you’ve been here and LIVED in it! Cheyanne lived here before during high school and college (2003-2011), however, for Kim and the kids, this was a huge first. Actually, for Kim and Billie, they’ve never lived outside their state in Belgium, let alone another country! We are now easing into the “Florida Fall” season and we are absolutely love the gorgeous, cool and yet still tropical weather.
Living with your parents/in-laws is a blessing, but not always easy
We have SO been looking forward to moving in with Cheyanne’s parents – as we all have great relationships with each other – but also so that we would have some more time as a couple. In Belgium, we really didn’t have any help or village, so we just included our kids in everything we did. Where the extra set of hands have been nice, we were quite shocked, and at times, overwhelmed, with how different our lifestyle and values in parenting were different than Cheyanne’s parents. Anyone who’s moved back in with their parents as an adult has probably gone through the same thing, so we know we are just experiencing some “growing pains.”
Immigrating is full of beauty and pain
Every single one of us – from us as the adults and the kiddos – have experienced big shifts and changes in our lives by moving here. This was a choice we made as family. This is absolutely where we want to raise our family and pursue a future together. However, even though it’s what we want, it doesn’t mean it has been absent of pain and challenges.
Bille courageously started high school in Florida. A totally new system, with totally new expectations and not to mention, ALL in a completely different language than is her normal.
Mason went from being in PRE-K, having friends, going to school by bike, being close to his cousins – to BOOM! All of that vanishing in an instant.
And us? We’ve had our share of change as well! We moved from Belgium, where we had our own home, our car, established jobs, solid friends – to all of that needing to be rebuilt here. In fact, we moved to the USA with just 5 suitcases.
Cheyanne has been most shocked by how difficult it’s been for her to adjust back to her own culture. When she left the USA, she was a newly married 30 year-old, and now, she’s returned as a 35 year old mom/step mom to a teen, toddler and newborn. Even if her norms aren’t different, SHE is different. And so now, she is finding her way and adjusting to try and find her new normal.
Kim is very comfortable and at ease in the States, but he is often surprised by how much he misses home…or the familiarity of it. All his norms are completely gone. No more speaking in Dutch. No more recognisible buildings, people or structure. No more…Belgian fries! Ah!
All in all, we are so blessed and thankful to be here and to have weathered some BIG STORMS since arriving. God is growing us and making us stronger in the process. We are more solid and united than ever and patiently awaiting what is coming around the corner. That’s perhaps our BIGGEST takeaway in these past 3 months…is that God is always up to something. He wants to teach you and LOVE you even as you fervently wait for things.
We know He is faithful and we look forward to sharing with you what He does next in and through our family! Talk soon!
Tot ziens,
Kim + Cheyanne
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