Schooling, work and travel

Life has been busy, as always. We've begun to homeschool, Z in kindergarten and H in preschool. It's going much better than I ever imagined and I'm really enjoying it. We still need to figure out some kinks, but it's not bad. I'm making sure I hit the main subjects, and still want to touch on the 'extra' stuff more. My favorite comment recently is "Z, what sound does an 'e' make?" .... "Umm, the same sound as yesterday." Ok, thanks kiddo lol! He's got lots of answers like that.

We haven't been doing much bike riding, because almost immediately after we got back from our trip, Jon had to work 14 days in a row, for 14-15 hrs a day. It was exhausting, and we're so glad that time is over! However, while the girls and I went to a birthday party yesterday, hubby and Z went on a TWENTY MILE bike ride!!!

Aside from that, the other thing keeping me busy lately is I finally called and made all of our 'annual' appointments for the first time since we got here, and some others I needed. We've all got our annual physicals, are about to have dentists appointments for all, endocrinologist for my diabetes, ENT for H (She may get her tonsils removed), etc. So, yeah, those have kept me very busy and hard to have extra time. Plus, MOPS and Bible study have started back up.

Tomorrow is October in Germany. What does that mean? Octoberfest! What's it mean for us? well, ok, nothing ;-) We actually have a lot of plans, but none actually include a festival full of beer (Not saying we won't be drinking at any festivals though haha). I will be heading to a Catholic women's conference, ALONE, for 4 days. I absolutely cannot wait for some alone time, focusing on God and hearing what He has for me. This is something I have definitely need for oh... 6 years or so?? LONG overdue.

Jon will be going back to the states for several days to be the best man in his best friends' wedding. We're really excited for P and his new bride. I wish I could be there as well. P is one of the ones that introduced my husband and I, so he's very special to us. And, the other incredible part of Oct is my parents are coming!!! I cannot wait. When they come to town, we have plans for Paris and Europa Park, and hopefully several day trips.

Any way, that's a quick update. Life has been flying since we got back from our trip, but overall it's been good. Oh, and please continue to keep our family in your prayers, as we're trying to discern several things in our life right now. Thanks! And God bless all of you! :)

One Year Anniversary

It's hard to believe, but today marks our One Year Anniversary in Germany! The first six months were a struggle, but we have loved the past six months. We are amazed by the friendships God has given us. Friendships that are real, and challenge us, especially in our walk with God. We are still trying to be content in our current house, but are seriously praying about moving off base to a village in January or February. We have two more years here, but are hoping and praying we can extend for another 3 or 4 years. Not much time to blog today, but attached are a few pictures that would have been great to post with yesterday's post.

Zach and Hannah at a restplatz eating PBJs for dinner.

 Abby and daddy eating as well.

 I forgot to mention that we climbed to the top of the tower in the Stephansdom Cathedral. This was one view we had.

 Stephansdom

 In front of Stephansdom

 Inside Stephansdom ...

kids walking with Fr. Nathan

 Kids in the park with Father

 Family photo in the park

 Kids, hubby and Father playing in the park.

 The palace we saw

 Hubby and me, taken by Zach

 Being silly

 Hannah doing a flip in the middle of the street lol

 Abby getting a backride- sorry for the sideways pic.

Zach proud of the fish he helped cook.

 Zach with Brother Stephen, who taught him how to say "rod". :)

Austrian Vacation Part 1

Our big trip finally arrived. We were heading to Austria to visit my husband’s brother, Fr. Nathan. The trip was suppose to begin “early” Saturday morning, but Friday night, we found out Fr. Nathan would need us to pick him up from the train station late Saturday.  This meant that we weren’t suppose to leave until closer to 1pm. This allowed me to spend the morning doing a quick housecleaning, and I was so thankful knowing I was coming home to a clean house!

We picked Fr. Nathan up from the train, arriving just 10 minutes before he got in. This meant we made perfect time! We headed to the house that a lady owns, but allows the Legionaries of Christ to use. It’s a large farm house with it’s own small chapel, and it was beautiful. It was very interesting thinking about how we were sleeping in a house where Jesus was physically present. We got in very late, put the kids to bed, and Jon and I joined Father for a late evening mass.

The house is used as a retreat center for that area of Austria, and had a room with 4 beds that we used, two rooms for priests only, 2 rooms for others to stay in, a youth recreation room, a small conference type room, 2 kitchens, 2 bathrooms, a spare water closet (just the toilet), and a large room with extra mattresses for the youth to sleep on during camps over the summer. They are also doing other large renovations to the house.

The next morning, Sunday, we attended mass again in the chapel with Fr. Nathan, and then headed to Wein (Vienna), which was 2 hours away. In Vienna, we got to see St. Stephen’s Dom (said in German, not like our Steven) and it was beautiful. We also went to a large, nice park where we ate lunch, and then headed to the Legionarie’s house that is in Vienna, where we used the bathroom, enjoyed a nice cup of coffee, and played Hide and Go Seek with the kids for a few minutes. Afterwards, we went to the palace, where there were tons of horse-drawn carriages. The palace was huge and beautiful, and is the spot where Hitler gave a speech when he took over Austria. Then we headed back to “The White House”- the house where we were staying that was white. This is what Hannah called it. When we got home, we made brats and mac’n’cheese for a quick dinner.

One of the other brothers was there, Brother Steven, had (illegally) gone fishing that day and came home to clean and cook the fish. When Zach saw the fish, he got really excited and started following the Brother around and helping him clean the fish. Br. Steven is from Australia, with a great Australian accent. He decided to teach Zach about some things regarding fishing, such as what a rod and reel was. We all got a great laugh when Zach told us what the thing you use to fish with is a ‘rod’ with a very thick Australian accent. We couldn’t stop laughing, and he had no clue why we were laughing at him. It became a laughing point for the rest of the week.

The next day, we had mass at 8am again and set out for Salzburg. First we went to Hohenwerfen Castle, about 30 minutes from Salzburg. We ate lunch, and hiked up to the castle. We got a tour of the whole castle (with English audio guides), and got to watch an incredible falcon show on the castle lawn. Then we went in to Salzburg. Here, we went to Mirabel Gardens, where one of the scenes from The Sound of Music was filmed. We then went to look for some other sound of music scenes, but were in desperate need of dinner.

We were going to eat at a restaurant, but a lot of the places were expensive, or did not look at all child-friendly. I spotted an Imbiss type place (Imbiss is a German word for like a roadside stand) selling grilled cheese (Or “Cheese toast”), and brats and pommes mit ketchup (French fries with ketchup), so we bought food there, and ate on a staircase behind it. It was pretty good. When we were almost done with dinner, Father Nathan decided to do something for the first time ever, something he’d never done before. He caught a flying rat! AKA a pigeon! Gross!!! Then he was forbidden from touching the kids or anything else again until he could find a place to wash his hands.

Then, I needed more Euro, and there was a bank behind the Imbiss. In Europe, many banks have ATMs available inside the bank, but you have to use a debit card, any bank’s, to get in to the building. So, I went in and got some more Euro. We then walked around a bit more of the city. We were not able to go in, because it was so late, but we saw and took pictures of the gate where the VonTrapp’s were hiding in the cemetery of the convent. I hope to go back again one day and see it when it’s open.

I had taken pajamas with us, knowing we would leave Salzburg late, and we changed the kids in the parking garage, gave them a snack, and set out for the hour drive home. During the drive, they all fell asleep and stayed asleep into the house and bed. We were praising God.

Much more to come about the trip, but I don't want to make the posts too long, so I will add more in the coming days.