Conjuctivits

Ewww. I hate this stuff! Nathaniel has it now. I first noticed it on Monday after school, and then yesterday he woke up with it pretty pink in one eye. Then this morning it was in the other eye too. I've washed almost everything it seems, and the trick is to get him to stop touching his face. And I'll be washing everything tonight again. I cannot wait til this goes away! I've been trying to prevent Ariel from touching him or any of his things too, and that's a hard thing to do!

Oogity, Boogity, badda bing badda bam.

A conversation with Nathaniel

It goes something like this:

"Nathaniel," Mommy said, " how many shirts do you have on?" And he replies, "Ummmm, tree." "Oh really. Are you sure about that Nathaniel?" Mommy asks. Ariel chimes in, "I see four!" A smirk from the little boy. "No, just tree Mommy." he says again.

"Let's see, buddy. Uh, one, two, three, four, five, six, s e v e n! Nathaniel! Good grief! Why are you wearing seven shirts?" Mommy inquires.

"'Cause I like it." A simple, childs' answer, eh? He is so funny.

Red Fest Day

Today was the Rot Fest at Kindergarten. They painted, ate and made everything red. Ariel came home looking very festive and adorable. Nathaniel was excited about everything they did at school.

Later in the afternoon we went shopping for some houseshoes (slippers that don't fall off or make you sweat), and stopped at the bakery on the way home. Nathaniel requested a croissant, his current favorite, and Daddy got him a big one. He was petting it and rubbing it on his cheeks, snuggling it like a kitten or something and saying, "I love croissants..." So, I had to get photo of him with this thing. It was so funny. As soon as I whipped out the camera, he got this goofy cheesy grin on his face. It is his new pose for the camera, and he looks so distressed and even constipated. Funny stuff.

Thanksgiving Celebrations

Our celebrations today included making all the fixin's and having over the Plumleys, Antje, and Luca. Dinner was served a little bit late, but it turned out good. Of course, the 4 littlest ones didn't think it was anything special, and so only ate a couple bites of turkey, jello, carrot cake and some eggnog.

We surprised Antje with the carrot cake for her birthday, which made her completely happy. It was homemade by Stacey, and it turned out great. Afterwards, the kids went crazy again, playing and having fun.

We then finished the evening off with a viewing of Curious George, bedtime for the kids, and football for the daddy. Now we've just finished our 2nd helpings of desserts, and are satisfied. It has been a good, busy day, and we're ready to relax and sleep well tonight.

Today is a special day of giving thanks. We are thankful for so many things, and above all is the saving of our souls by our Lord and Christ, Jesus. We are blessed in so many ways; with a comfortable home to rest in and a job that my dear husband enjoys. A hard working man that provides well for his family is a blessing too. To enjoy good health, and family is fantastic, and many friends surround us, making our days much more interesting. ; )

We are truly blessed, and we are truly grateful to the One who has made us so. The Lord God of all creation. Blessed be His holy name!

Countdown to Turkey Day

I spent the day getting ready for the big turkey day tomorrow. I have yet to do the dusting and vacuuming, showers and cooking. We're having the Plumleys over as well as Antje and her son, Luca. Luca started coming to the Kindergarten about a month ago. Antje is orginally from Nussloch, but they'd been living in New Zealand for the last couple of years. It will be their first Thanksgiving, and so we will get to teach them all about it.

The kids have been so excited about Thanksgiving coming. I had purchased a few books on the topic almost 2 months ago, and have been teaching them all about it. I think by next year Ariel will be a pro at describing the first Thanksgiving and the reason why we celebrate. Nathaniel is just happy to have a party at his house.

Thanksgiving also marks the entryway for Christmas, and we all know how the children anticipate that! The town workers here hoisted the Christmas decor over the streets today and also set in place the 3 Christmas trees- one in the park, one in the market place and one at the library. It is very festive already. The poinsettas are out, and the shops have put decor in their windows. But for us, it is not yet Christmas. As grand and important as it is, it must wait for Thanksgiving Day to pass, and with it we celebrate a day of gratefulness and counting blessings, with our hearts overflowing with joy.

Eventful week in the neighborhood

To bring the blog up to speed on the week here, I saw Laura (one of our neighbor girls) with her friends in town on the way to school yesterday. I saw Laura's dad out on the balcony, smoking, whilst I was walking home from dropping the kids off at school. I smiled and nodded, he did too. This was like 8:30am. Then like 10ish I was out washing the front door, and I saw that there was a Gemeinde Nussloch car in front of my house, a Polizei in front of the house immediately next to ours, and an ambulance behind that. No lights. No sirens. The workers were just standing on the sidewalk chatting like they'd been there awhile. I couldn't figure out which house they were dealing with since no one was moving.

Since then there has been lots of people visiting. I figured either it was a false alarm, or someone died since there was no rush to do anything. Well, this morning I saw the mom holding the baby on the balcony and talking to someone while crying. Hmmmm... Then later this morning I saw a van with the word Bestattungen on it. Well.... someone did die, and I'm assuming it was Laura's dad. But just my reason of deduction- the only other alternative would be that one of their parents were visiting and died. Inquiring minds want to know! But they speak no English, and my German is virtually non-existant, so perhaps I will never know what happened. But I will hopefully find out one way or another WHO it happened to.

Today I also finally met our American neighbors 2 doors down. They are moving. Yup. Today is their last day in the house, and then they fly out on December 1st. She is super nice and from Alabama, with a sweetheart accent. They apparently moved here the same time as us. Kinda strange that we should actually meet now.

Evening

This is when the house settles down, and only the hum of the fridge and the computers can be heard. Of course, that's assuming that the children have actually nodded off, the kitchen has already been cleaned, and Mommy & Daddy aren't watching a movie. But I like quiet evenings at home, relaxing after a busy day. It gives me time to think. Sometimes thinking upon certain things too much, and others to hash out answers to daily dilemas, whilst still others contemplate things surreal and heavenly.

Tonight's subject on the mind: How many s'mores are too many? Is it when your belly feels as though it will reject the last one you just swallowed? Or after just one, when the melting chocolate combines with the honey graham with the gooey marshmallow in your mouth? You can savor that warm, crunchy, sweet, satisfying treat for months. Sometimes. It is indeed my most favorite summertime/autumn treat, and tonight I have to admit that I indulged in 3 of them. Yikes! So much for working on my waistline. Working on widening it, I guess! lol

I'm listening to the wild wind throw rain around outside and bash it against the house. It is kind of strange, because you can't hear it on the windows, as they are under roofing from the balconies, and the house does not shake because it is made of cement. Now, in the good ole States, you could feel the house swaying in a storm, and the beating of the rain against the windowpane not only makes a good rhyme, but is rhythmic enough to put you to sleep. Goodnight!

This is the result after following one of those moments of "Mommy, take my picture!" Love to, sweetie! She thought it was great that she could fit into her little brother's hunting hat, and that it was corduroy like her dress.

Hurray! We finally received our buffet that we had ordered more than 2 months ago. We had driven 3 hours to Belgium to furniture shop, as that is where good furniture most often comes from around here. We were anticipating purchasing some hardwood furniture, as we wanted something to last a long while, not break down in 5 years. Well, we did find a lot of hardwood furniture, but the styles were always too much- too much decor, too big of a piece, too much money. Then we found this piece that I really love. It has that rustic feel, and is stained a darker shade, but since it is pine, it has wonderful contrast and interest to the piece, topped off with already rusted doorhandles. Yup, just the thing I love. Despite the drawback of Pine furniture (easily nicked, and heat sensitive), I fell in love with this piece and it more suitably fit our pocketbook. So, this is now the newest addition to our household and I love it!

Our Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to me and my sweetie! Today we celebrate 8 years already. I can hardly believe it. It has been an exciting journey, and one that I love to be on. Though some days are exhausting, the covenant we have made has been a blessing each and every day. I look forward to many more years with my loving husband.

An Autumn Hike

Today we took a hike in nearby Neckarsteinach. The road winds thru many tiny villages and then starts to follow the Neckar. Here you will find a parkplatz with lots of trails into the mountainside. Although they cut down a chunk of trees that makes a portion of its' face bare, it still is beautifully painted with autumn shades of orange, gold, amber, and browns, with the deep forest green of the pines lined haphazardly.

There are several castles protruding from the rock and we decided to hike up to the highest one. It is called Schadeck, and the year on the castle said 1230. It wasn't very big on the inside; room enough for a family of 8 I should expect, and formal dining room and small garden. But that was about it. The stairs to the towers were daunting once again, and I suspect several people lost their lives building the thing.

The hike up wasn't all that far, although it looked like it might be. But be cautioned: don't fall off the edge! There was a sign there with a picture of a guy falling off head first. It was funny. Almost as funny as the sign in Canada showing a sheep under the wheel of a car with X's for eyes. Creativity is amusing!

It was a very comfortable day, and the colors were mesmorizing. It was very relaxing to sit and enjoy the view with the best company of all- my family.