Just Like That

So here we were, exploring castles, taking magical walks through misty forests, buying melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon rolls from the local Backerei, minding our own business. We tried. Honest! We did! We managed to hold back, succeeded at suppressing the ever-growing passion to jump in and get messy. "Play it cool," we told one another.


Then BAM! Just like that! We noticed something scheduled on nearly everyday of the week! Could we just not help ourselves? No stress. But, still... Allow me to share this season.


So Mondays (Montag) the children and I have Tae Kwon Do. Ezekiel has his blue belt, Eli just earned his yellow belt, and the rest of us are sporting white belts. (The children started in September. I start on Monday. I was sitting there visiting with another mom and watching the children during class last week when all of a sudden it occurred to me that for the first time in 12 years I don't have a legitimate excuse not to participate with my children. No baby or toddler to chase after while the older ones are in class! Wow! Funny how we get so used to a certain way of living that we don't see opportunities right in front of our eyes! Montag...)


On Tuesday (Dienstag) Israel begins cheerleading lessons. She is sooooo excited as she has been wanting to be a cheerleader for a long, long time. (That's all I'm saying.)


Wednesday (Mittwoch) is officially called Crazy Day. First it's Tae Kwon Do again, then scarf down pre-made PBJ's or turkey sandwiches while literally running to AWANA. We've maintained this schedule since September and though it's undergone significant tweaking along the way until we finally figured out how to make it run smoothly, the children thoroughly enjoy AWANA and look forward to it every week. LeRoy and I look forward to it, too, as this has become our "date night." (I have to say, we haven't discovered any great makeout points like the ones in Spokane! But we're not giving up on our search. For all you MCNO'ers who read this blog, there's a fabulous scenic overlook about 6 minutes just west of Life Center.)


Thursday (Donnerstag)! Ah! All four children start Hip-Hop dance lessons this week! How fun is that!


I have to add a note here. The Tae Kwon Do teacher and the cheerleading/dance teacher are volunteers. Passionate volunteers, I might add. Their devotion and enthusiasm is both inspiring and contagious! So fun!


Let's see, that brings us to Friday (Freitag) -- Family Fun Night! (As if we don't have fun the other nights of the week! smile.) This is the night we kick back and play games, watch movies, visit friends, or all of the above.


...Except for last night. The women at our church get together once a month to eat (duh!), laugh, talk, pray... I had so much fun last night as I was asked to share some encouragement with the group; Fran -- she's the Pastor's wife who I wish all of you could meet -- says in her sweet Michigan accent, "...the ministry time." I said a quick prayer thanking God that when we "show up" He shows up bigger! Anyway, I talked about Vision. ...getting messy! Love it! I have to say, it was so fun to write. Ezekiel sat next to me the entire time I spoke and even helped me with the little "visual aid" at the end. Having one of my teammates with me helped me feel braver. God is so good! Do I hear an Amen?!


Saturdays (Samstag) are very, very full with... nothing but relaxing! The children and I anticipate the enormous, yummy, (Redneck?), breakfast that LeRoy cooks for us. (Remember Paris? Yep, all petite pastries are banned at our house -- at least on Saturday mornings!) Then about late, (sometimes late, late) morning we head out for a drive somewhere, or go for a stroll in the Walkplatz and visit the Bakerei in Bitburg, perhaps pick up a few household items at the Hela store (the local version of Home Depot). Twice a month LeRoy -- and sometimes the boys -- go to the men's breakfast at church, leaving me to fix the usual pot of oatmeal.


**Warning: some possibly offensive material... (I think this next part is why Rush Limbaugh receives hate mail.)


Ah commerce! It's not that I'm anti-entrepreneurial. In fact, I have great admiration and respect for entrepreneurs! But is there no end to Pampered Chef, Tupperware, Party Lite, and Creative Memories? I may be developing a permanent twitch at the back of my eye sockets from the strain of refraining from rolling my eyes every time I hear, "It's really just an excuse to get together." Since when did we start commercializing our friendships? Get a grip, People!


Somehow, somewhere along the way I started receiving invitations to participate in parties that take checks. Relationships where conversations commence over crop devices.


I would like to take this moment to say a word of deepest gratitude to all those people who declined to become millionaires with us by joining Excel Telecommunications, (ah, those were the days...), but did switch their long-distance telephone service over for us. And thank you to all our friends who graciously waited until we came to our senses. Fortunately, it didn't take too long. Phew!


But anyway, where was I? Oh, right, Free Enterprise! So I love it, I really do! It's one of the perks that makes our nation so great. I don't take it for granted. I just happen to really, really enjoy relationships without the aspect of consumerism. I'm so not above it -- the book section in any store -- this is crazy, but even the German bookstores! And I can't even understand German! Hello! -- pulls me to it like the magnet at the wrecking yard hoisting a hunk of metal over to the smasher machine. I become a wreck. Like an addict, I find myself losing track of time, sitting cross-legged in the aisle, nothing but the smooth feel of pages under my fingertips, absorbing delicious words from off the page... Oh, yeah, I'm so not above it. I asked my grandma one time if she ever drank alcohol in her life. She said, "Maybe I would have, but we could never afford it." So continues my love affair with the library. And I wonder... if someone started a home-based business selling books... Nah! Must. Re. Sist.


Okay, so there's my bratty little vent session. I've come up with some solutions to my complaints. 1) Start my own "parties." 2) Just say, "No." 3)Use Saturday nights as our night to have families over who we've been wanting to get to know. ...I'll keep you posted. Every opportunity has an obstacle and every obstacle has an opportunity! By the way, none of the Germans I've spoken with know about these commercial parties. In fact, Germans shop out of necessity, not for the fun of spending money and accumulating things. They keep life simple.


Now, where was I? Sunday! (Sonntag!) Well, we try really, really hard to make it to church on time! And this last Sunday we would have -- if it hadn't been for the fact that while driving out of our village we saw our friend, Stephan, who we stopped to visit with for 20 minutes! I know, excuses, excuses. After bidding goodbye, "Tschuss!" (pronounced like "shoes"), LeRoy commented that he was glad we had a chance to catch up with Stephan, that it seemed more important than being on time to church. I smiled. "Why, that's very European of you! Very Nepali! And Indian! Not too American, though." So we were late. Again.


Church is going well. We love the people we've met there. Though, I have to say, we're homesick for Life Center. Spoiled. That's what we are. Simply spoiled. All Life Center's nurturing, excellence, spirit of adventure, the constant changes which kept things interesting, spontaneous, and fun... I catch myself pouting from time to time. Really, though, we've learned so much while at Life Center; I'm excited about all the opportunities to pass on what has been poured into us.


On that note, like I said earlier, we held back for awhile. Now it seems that God is blessing us with opportunities to passionately jump in... and get messy! Wa-hoo! Bring it on! Two weeks ago LeRoy and I had an opportunity to speak on the topic of finances to the MOPS group on Base. It was so fun doing this as a team! Then in February we're teaming up with another couple at church to teach a parenting class. This is something I'm really looking forward to because you know what they say -- no better way to learn something than to TEACH it! Yahoo!


Sunday afternoons we take a family nap, (ein Familie Nickerchen machen -- pronounced ayn fu-mil-ee-uh ni-kershun ma-khun), hang out, read, go on a walk, and get ready for Monday morning. Just like that.


Hope this gives you a little snapshot of our week -- at least for a season. We're negotiating adding in a German Bible study on Thursday nights and possibly a German Language Night Class that Eli, Isaiah, and I would take. But I think we'll hold off until another season...


We love you and miss you terribly! I cannot describe to you how much it means to receive your emails! Even when it's a short sentence or two! It helps us feel connected in spite of an ocean and a few miles between us.

Blessings to you!
Sharon

New Year's Day, 2008

NEW YEAR'S DAY!

2008

Family Walk near the Abtei Himmerod

(Himmerod Abbey)

Just inside the gates of the Abbey.

There was no end to the search for hobbits, elves, orks, and other "Lord of The Rings" characters as we walked single file on a path between a forest that sloped upward and the steep drop to the creek below that burbled it's cheery greetings to us.

LeRoy & Eli no doubt discussing some mysterious feature in the creek below.
Valiant Warriors!

This walk was so magical! So romantic! With the mist in the forest, the briskness of the air kissing our faces, the occasional rustle of birds high in the treetops, the melody of the creek's song, and the high adventure of the story the children made up as we walked along... Like I said, perfectly magical!
Crossing a plank bridge someone threw down over the washout.

If I didn't know how incredibly sweet these "fierce" warriors really are...

There's a short path (it took us 2 hours to walk it round-trip) that runs along the creek between the Abbey and this Hotel & Restaurant called Molitor's Muhle. But we found out there's a much longer path that goes through the forest... We'll be back.
Like I said, as we walked along, the children ran, jumped, ducked behind trees, shot their "bows and arrows," rolled into burrows, and made a hundred different sound effects as they acted out their version of "Lord of the Rings." At one point, we came around the bend and found Eli "unconsious" (did I spell that right?) on the ground.

"Quick! We've got to get him outta' here!" yelled a brother.

"Eli! Eli! Oh! C'mon Eli! Get up!" But to no avail. Eli was quite "out." Before they could revive him, one of the boys yelled, "Oh no! There they are! Cover me while I circle back for help!"

"Okay!" There was much shouting and sound effects as weapons were discharged.

I am telling you, the air bristled with suspense!

Then Israel, the Princess Warrior, the Fair Maiden, bent down and kissed her warrior on the cheek. At this, Eli smiled and opened his eyes. Then he jumped up shouting, "Israel! Quick! You can't stay here, Princess! It's not safe! Run! I'll stay here and fight them off while you get away! Now run!"

Where were LeRoy and I you might be wondering? Just strolling along, holding hands, enjoying our children's grand adventure.

At one point I was walking behind Israel who was walking behind Ezekiel. So I got to hear this little conversation:

"Excuse me, Soldier! But I'm the queen and I'm the boss of you!" said Israel.

Ezekiel stopped abruptly, turned around, and leaning in close while looking straight into her eyes, he said, "Yes, you are the queen! But I'm the soldier! And I'm here to protect you!" Then he turned around and they continued to march single file down the path. Israel didn't say anymore about it.

And, me? Oh, I just couldn't stop smiling the whole time. So cute! I could just eat them up!

The adventursome foursome...

They survived the orks and many other fearsome creatures lurking in the forest.

LeRoy and the children in a huddle. The Abbey is in the background.

Ezekiel giggling about something!
Isaiah cracking up, too!

Peregrin Falcon taking flight after we stopped to watch it on our way home.

When we got home we got cozy, warmed up with hot chocolate, and played UNO as a family!

I know I say this all the time, but do you ever feel as though you've just received a hug bigger than life from the Creator Himself?! God is so good! All the time!

New Year's Day was a beautiful beginning to 2008!

I trust your's was every bit as wonderful! All our love to you. Sharon

November und Dezember in Pfalz-Reinland

Okay, here's a few pictures for all you picture-book fans!

The first weekend in November we took a drive to the north of our village toward a town called Daun (pronounced like 'down'). We read in a brochure that there is a wild-life park in Daun so we thought we'd check it out. However, just as we pulled up to the gate, the employees were locking up. When we inquired as to why they were closing so early in the afternoon, they told us it was because of the drizzly weather. We looked at each other, checked our map, and decided that hey, there's a wolf and eagle park just south of here back toward our village -- with a slight detour to the west. Another 20 minutes and as we wound our way up a steep hillside, we came to the top and stopped as... just barely... we could make out through the mist... the outline of a castle. Then, as we got our camera out we looked up just in time to see the wind blow the cloud of mist across the front of the castle giving us this mysterious and romantic view. All in all, the afternoon turned out to be a beautiful drive. When we pulled up to the entrance of the Wolf & Eagle Park -- and an empty parking lot -- it turned out that we arrived there, too, just as they were locking up for the weekend! This just happened to be the last weekend both of these places were open for the winter. Guess where we look forward to visiting come spring time?

Then came a BIG going away party for Jess, a gal that LeRoy works with. Her husband's next assignment is in Oahu, Hawaii!! So, we gathered at a German restaurant, (so she could enjoy authentic German food), and celebrated her upcoming adventures with a Hawaiian theme. The food was mmmmmm!! The asparagus-looking vegetable in the picture above? That's white asparagus -- famous in this area. Of course, this is a major meat and potatoes culture -- and bread -- and... (Colista, I now understand where you got all your culinary finesse!) Everyone in our family is loving the adventure of trying new foods! (Okay, I'm lying. Not everyone. The oldest person in our family -- I'm not the oldest -- and my second-to-youngest are trying new foods with much trepidation and apprehension. But we're proud of them for every effort!)

Israel and LeRoy!

Our family with our friend, Jess! She's one of those people who you meet and you feel like you've known them your whole life. She's one of the most optimistic people I know. See that smile? That's pretty much who she is! So fun. She will definitely be missed!

Then after Thanksgiving the many, many Weihnacht Markts (Christmas Markets) began! In our area, the most talked-about markt is in Dudeldorf -- about 8 minutes from our house. We got a different markt in every weekend up until Christmas.
The picture above was actually taken in September on one of our "family drives" where we just follow the road to see where it will take us. As we came across the crest of a hill, we came upon this castle -- the Schloss Malberg. (Yes, Laura, I'm still trying to figure out the difference between a burg and a schloss...) But I put it in this group of pictures as it is the only "big" picture I have of this particular castle.
The Schloss Malberg is currently under renovation. It was so cool to see huge sections of the wall exposed -- walls made out of mud, sticks, hay, pebbles...! Hm. The vendors were packed into the few rooms open to the public. Eli and Isaiah, Smile!
Entering the courtyard from inside the entryway of the castle.
Isaiah, Israel, Eli, and Ezekiel in front of the castle, or Schloss(?), with the Malberg valley behind them.



On our way home from the Malberg Markt. This is the sky looking west toward Kyllburg.
And this was the sky looking east toward our village of Seinsfeld.

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CHRISTMAS DAY

In the morning we opened our presents as a family and then we, (Ha! How I'd love to take credit! Okay, really it was 99.9% LeRoy...), made a huge brunch. Our friends, the Ranger Family, came over to help us eat it all. Then we layered our sweatshirts and scarves and headed to Biersdorf (pronounced Beers-doorf) to do the European thing -- go on a walk! This particular village is -- so we hear -- the hot-spot holiday/vacation spot for people who live in Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany. And it's only 20 minutes from our house! But then, when we arrived, we could easily see why so many would make this their place to relax and get away from it all. The 2-mile path around the lake had many, many families, (German family = one mom, one dad, one child), adorable grandma-grandpa couples, and a handful of runners (who passed us 4 or 5 times during our 2 and 1/2 hour walk).

Of course that's Isaiah!

If you want to walk on water, you've got to get out on the ice!

I didn't include the picture, but there was actually a guy riding his bicycle back and forth on the ice from one side of the lake to the other.

Everything was iced over in a layer of frost! And the lake was one massive block of ice. We asked the children what inferences they had of the scene and they replied that they felt like they were in Narnia while everything was frozen.

The scenery was so incredible, so beautiful, that we hardly noticed the cold... much. And the company we had with one another and friends was so fun, so memorable, that the time flew by and when we finally arrived back at our vehicles exhilarated and invigorated, we were surprised that it had actually been 2 and a half hours!

Why go back the way you came when you can forge a trail?!

Frost.

The Ranger and the Olson children: Ayla (2), Josiah (10), Noah (8), Israel (6), Isaiah (10), Arriana (5), Ezekiel (8), and Eli (12). Believe me, families with more than 2 children are quite a spectacle in these here parts!

Waiting for the others to catch up...

Once we finished our walk we went to the Ranger's house to have a German dinner! Dani fixed Schnitzel and German potato salad. Since I had promised Isaiah that I would make Duck, we made that, too. And that wasn't even counting all the other yummies on the table!

That night we drove home happy, satisfied, and feeling oh-so-rich! Truly, this was the most peaceful and wonderful Christmas we've ever had!!

(Okay, I'll own up. We didn't have any Christmas decorations -- not even a Christmas tree! This is because when we were packing to come here, I took all 3 buckets of Christmas stuff and put them in the back of my mother's truck and told her to feel free to use them and enjoy them... I made a spur of the moment decision duing a moment when I was feeling overwhelmed by stuff and thought Christmas? You can't be serious! Christmas represents the epitomy of stuff! No way! We're simplifying! ...oops.)

This was rather awkward when my children asked when we were going to decorate for Christmas. It went something like this, "Mom, when are we going to decorate?"

We were riding in the van and I just turned around in my seat and gave them the blank stare.

"Mom?"

"Uh... I have a little confession to make." I paused, wanting to give the news as gently as I could. "I'm going to tell you and then I want you to know that I understand perfectly if you want to lecture me."

Isaiah spoke up from the back seat, "Mom, we're not going to lecture you or be mad because in this family we have grace on one another. So it's okay whatever you're going to tell us."

I wasn't sure if this made it better or not. "Um, I didn't bring any of our Christmas stuff with us."

"What?!" Israel yelled. 6-year-olds are still learning about that whole grace thing. "We're not going to decorate?!" She was not using a gentle, gracious tone of voice. And the boys weren't saying anything. I felt rather desperate. And foolish.

Then, my 3 knights spoke up in unison saying things like, "It's okay, Mom. Remember, we wanted to do things differently here anyway?" And, "Well, now we can really learn how the Germans celebrate and we'll just do it their way!" So, we decided to "start from scratch," (my words). And what we learned, besides about Sankt Nikolaus (Saint Nicholas), and the Tannenbaum (the decorated tree that originated here in Germany), is that the Nativity is precious and sacred and still very, very important to them.

In the end, we had a tiny ceramic Christmas tree given to us from a friend who sells Party Lite. And we had each other. The first thing we did on Christmas morning is read the Christmas Story and the account of the wise men. Then the children searched for their few presents. (This was a little idea I had last year; I figured I would use their presents as an object lesson. You know, looking for their gifts... then I told them that we need to look for the greatest Gift of all every day during the whole year. We talked about how the wise men didn't just bring Jesus gifts, but they searched for Him first. Now and then throughout this past year, I've brought this up at the dinner table in the form of, "Did you look for Jesus today? Where did you 'find' Him at work in your life and around you?" Honestly, I thought they would find it cheesy. So I was pretty surprised when they all requested that we do this 'tradition' every single year.)

That night as I tucked them in their beds, I asked them what they thought of the day. They all told me they loved the day and that it was the best Christmas ever.

I agree.

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Sunset in the Pfalz-Reinland.

******

Israel playing with the Playmobil.

Some of you want to know what the inside of our house looks like. So I'll try to give you a little "tour" little by little as we get moved in.

This is our KITCHEN!! For those of you who experienced our kitchen in our house in Spokane... Well, you'll understand why this is my favorite room in the house!

More Kitchen...

And more...

This one shows the window that looks out on our backyard as well as the village playground. I guess I didn't get a picture, but I feel so completely spoiled by the huge American refrigerator with side by side doors and an ice and water dispenser in the freezer door! (I'm pretty sure we're the only ones in all of Europe with this little luxury!)

Okay, we've been here at the Resource Room on Base for hours now! Time to go have dinner!

We love you! Next time, I'll try to get pictures posted of our New Year's Day walk!