2012 in Review

2012 was quite a traveling year for us! In January and February I took the boys on a road trip from Utah to Houston, Texas, Kentucky, Alabama, Albuquerque and back stopping many places in between and seeing good friend along the way. It was quite the adventure driving most of it by myself, the boys were such troopers.

We took several trips to Zion's National Park and the St George area, San Diego, Disneyland, Idaho, Yellowstone National Park, and explored many places in the Salt Lake Valley.

Our Christmas celebration

This was our house Christmas morning...

Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours! We wish you joy in celebrating the birth of our Savior and creating memories with loved ones.

Christmas Morning Breakfast

Yes, another food post! I'm very pregnant and am back in baking mode. I've been testing recipes for a special Christmas morning breakfast and have found two PERFECT recipes. The only problem, I can't decide which to make because they are both soooo yummy! The cranberry cake is definitely a bit more healthy, especially with whole wheat flour, but the raspberry rolls are so tempting...maybe we'll have to make both... What are your Christmas morning traditions?

Christmas Baking {cookies and such}

I am in full swing Christmas baking mode, neglecting all other responsibilities (such as unpacking and cleaning) and eating myself into a sugar coma. Here are some of my favorite Christmas cookies and other treats I've been making.

Ginger Crinkle Snowflake Cookies

German Christmas Markets!

Decorating for Christmas (without a mantle)

6 weeks to go!

A {somewhat nerdy} gift list for homeschooled boys...and their parents...

We tend to be very practical when it comes to gift giving. I think a big part of it has to do with the fact that I am the one ultimately responsible for cleaning up any new purchases that come into our home... Thus, unless it offers some practical or educational value or will be entertaining for longer than 15 minutes, it just isn't going to make it on our shopping list.

Here is what did make the list:

For the little guys:

Architecto:

For the little builder and future engineer who is only four but already has several different kinds of building sets...hopefully this will offer a new challenge for him.

Sweet innocence (the appearance of...)

I love this little stinker! He is the sweetest little guy when he's not causing mischief. It's hard to believe this seemingly innocent little boy could be responsible for smashing an entire banana onto the floor mat in our reading area, coloring on the walls, or dumping an entire box of cereal on the floor (and all before noon)!



Homeschool update

While things have been hectic the last few months, we have still tried to make time each day for school. It's definitely not as organized as before, but hopefully we can get settled in the next week or two.

Ethan has been learning to write cursive and has quite neat penmanship. German cursive is a bit different, but he's picking that up quickly too. The spelling book I got him is more on Joshua's level, so I need to find a replacement curriculum. He is speeding through Beta math and just started the Apologia Zoology book (which he LOVES). Since he now attends German school, we don't have as much time to study all the things I had planned, but we still read from our history books, just more spread out. I found a few free German and European history kindle books that we are reading in addition to our other history curricula. We finished reading the Railway Children, which they loved, and are now on the second book of Dr. Dolittle which they also can't get enough of.

Let it snow

We have had snow the last two days and the boys couldn't be happier. Ethan went out back and built a snowman all by himself. Grant and Joshua trudged around outside for hours catching snowflakes on their tongues and throwing snowballs. Snow was made for little boys!

 



Trier

Last week we visited the city of Trier, the oldest city in Germany (founded around 16 BC). I had visited there several years ago and it is such a beautiful city full of old Roman structures. It was a rather chilly day but the boys were troopers walking all around. We ate soft warm bretzels and doner's and had some kinderpunsch. They were just getting the Christmas markets set up and it was such a magical atmosphere to see everything all lit up and festive.

Paris with Kids

Although Paris might not be at the top of the list of child-friendly destinations, there are a few things you can do to make it more enjoyable for yourself and them. Before we left on our trip we studied some of the things we would be seeing in Paris so that it would be more meaningful when we got there. That is one of the primary reasons I enjoy homeschooling, the freedom to take my kids to see historical sights rather than just read about them. Here are some resources we used in planning our trip to Paris. 

The Louvre: We downloaded the Louvre Kids iPhone app which is a great way to learn about some of the works found in the Louvre. It's perfect for kids because they are learning about the works of while they find specific parts in the painting or work puzzles. Ethan was so excited when he saw a work of art that was featured in the app and all the boys did extremely well in the museum (we lasted 4 full hours!) 

A week of first's...

Last week was an exciting week for Ethan. He lost his first tooth and started public school for the first time!

While we were at his school talking to the principal about enrolling him in German school, his tooth fell out. He was so excited and could not wait for the tooth fairy to come. I was a bit surprised at the going rate of teeth in Germany though, he got a $5 bill under his pillow! I think the tooth fairy is going to go broke by the time all those other teeth fall out...

Paris, Day 3

Our last day in Paris was spent at the Palace of Versailles. The palace is quite spectacular, ornate decor, paintings and grounds. I can just imagine how beautiful the gardens would be in the Spring. The boys tolerated the palace but loved running wild through the gardens. We rented a little boat and paddled around the lake, cold as it was, and yes, fed more birds.

Happy Thanksgiving {best dinner rolls ever}

I have so many things to be thankful for, a wonderful family, the opportunity to live in another country and travel, good health, financial stability, and faith in Jesus Christ which makes all things possible.

It can be easy to get caught up in the frustrations of the present, seeing boxes piled to the ceiling of our new house wondering if they will ever get unpacked, the kitchen scattered with dirty dishes and playroom scattered with toys, changing another dirty diaper (from a child old enough to be potty trained), doing the fourth load of laundry for the day, you know the drill... It's good to take a few moments to think about those things that are really important and try to realign my life with the true purpose of life.

I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by those you love! Your family and friends will love you even more if you bring a plate {or two} of these Lion House dinner rolls to your Thanksgiving celebration (yes, I think I finally figured out how to use my German oven, and no they're not organic- but they're dang good!)

Paris, Day 2

The second morning we planned to visit Notre Dame Cathedral first. We plugged in the GPS and I searched for the cathedral, found it and compared the street address from my travel book, then we headed out. After about 15-20 minutes we realized we were still really out in the country (our hotel was near Disneyland Paris) with no city in sight. I checked the gps map and realized that it was routing us to another Notre Dame cathedral with the same street name, but in a different city, well not really a city at all, a small country town the opposite direction of Paris. Since we were already almost there we decided to go ahead and see it, and I'm glad we did. It was so beautiful, and the little cobblestone streets and century old houses were enchanting.

Paris, Day 1

Last weekend we visited Paris! (I'm a little behind since we just got the Internet hooked up). It was a different experience from the last time I visited there. Being 7 months pregnant with 3 small children makes everything more difficult and takes longer than expected. We still had a wonderful time exploring the city and I have lots of photos to prove it! Here is day 1:

New Home

We finally "closed" on our new house! House hunting was quite discouraging because all the ones we were really excited about were already rented by the time we called on them. We found two other houses we loved, one was way out in the country with amazing views, but would require quite a drive to work each day. The other, a tad closer with a fabulous yard, had no practical way to get from the garage to the house. The front of the house was turned into a separate apartment and was not connected to the interior of the house, so to get in the house you have to enter in at the basement and walk up a flight and a half of stairs. Less than ideal.

The house we chose is an older home but very large for a German home (5bd, 4ba) and has an even larger yard (no.1 requirement for a houseful of boys). It doesn't look like much from the front (most German houses are well shrouded by trees and bushes) but the backyard is amazing. It's located in a little village on the border of Kaiserslautern city limits completely surrounded by forest. There are trails everywhere, so although we're only a few minutes out of the city it feels much further. There's a nice forest path that leads from our street to the woods where there is a Spielplatz for the kids to play.

Worms (the city, not the invertebrate)

This weekend we visited a bazaar on post which had vendor products from all over. We settled on some delicious homemade jellies and jams and amazing melt-in-your-mouth truffles.

Then we took a trip to IKEA to purchase some lights and things for our new house (lights and kitchens are often separate in German homes- fortunately we have a kitchen, even if it does have the world's smallest sink, but the lights were insufficient). I don't think I've ever seen IKEA quite this crowded before, it was a madhouse and we waited in line a good half an hour to checkout.

Although we were pretty exhausted by this point, were were so close to Worms, the place where Martin Luther made his famous declarations at the Diet of Worms. So we decided to head up for a visit of the beautiful town. It rained off and on the entire time, but fortunately it wasn't very cold.

Burg Nanstein

This weekend we went to visit another local castle, Burg Nanstein. It started lightly snowing as we began the long walk up to the fortress. Although it was chilly, it was nice because we were the only people on the trail.

Burg Nanstein was built in 1162 and was defeated during the Knight's Revolt in 1523. It is quite an impressive fortress and is built on the highest hill in the valley, it's hard to imagine attacking it and succeeding. There are several underground tunnels and winding staircases and beautiful views of the villages below.

Grant is three!

My little boy is three today! Grant has brought so much joy to our family. He is constantly smiling and laughing and being silly. He is a smart and often devious little guy, but his cuteness makes up for it.

What is your favorite color?

Blue

What do you like to play with?

A race car, steamroller, and a truck

What is your favorite food?

Carrots

What's your favorite song?

Child of God

What makes you happy?

God, Jesus and treats

Unstructured play, fostering creativity

The past 6 weeks have taught me the value of unstructured play time.  I tend to be a major multi-tasker and like to have things scheduled and planned out. However, living in a house with no furniture, no television, no computer (at least for the first few weeks) and virtually no toys, has helped me learn to relax a bit and be more flexible.

Not having a TV frees up hours and hours of time available to live life rather than escape from it. Rather than resorting to that in the evening to relax, we cuddle up with books. The boys don't really have any toys and it's been very interesting to see their little imaginations kick into gear.

Joshua has totally thrived on this unstructured time. He is very creative and loves to "invent" things and this free time has really give him the freedom to use his imagination. He takes every cardboard box he can find and creates new inventions with them. He is constantly finding things around the house to balance and build with. The boys go on adventures in the backyard and spend more time exploring outside. Ethan typically spends half the day reading or working on the few school books we have and Grant plays with his stuffed doggie or roams around in the yard. We take more time to go to the park, the zoo, the bookstore and library and just have fun together. Amazingly, I haven't heard the phrase "I'm bored" a single time.

I for one am ready to get back to a schedule and routine, but it has been nice to take a break and just enjoy being together without any pressures or demands. I hope when we get settled in our new home and new schedule I can remember the value of letting their little imaginations run free and allow more unstructured play time.

First week in Germany, Burg Hohenecken

We have been in Germany almost a full week, it sure seems like longer. Jetlag sure takes a toll when you're pregnant, the other three time I came here I adjusted within a day or two, yet I'm still waking up in the middle of the night and needing naps in the day. Hoping my body will adjust soon.

Our car finally arrived however we can't pick it up until tomorrow so we rented a sweet Mercedes (has an on/off feature anytime you put on the brakes it shuts off and restarts when you hit the gas) to go house hunting. We've found some absolutely beautiful homes, only problem is they require a commute which we're not too excited about. We have found one house in the city with a massive back yard, and are hoping to get a deposit put down before anyone else snatches it up. All the houses within city limits are taken a day or two after they're listed so it's been a bit discouraging.

The house that we are hoping to rent is just a few miles away from this Burg Hohenecken so of course we had to stop and see it. There are 3 or 4 old castle ruins right around us but I think this is one of the biggest, believed to be built around 1200. There's a beautiful old church near the castle and it's quite the hike to the top. I was not prepared for how steep it was, but the view from the top was spectacular. The leaves are just changing and we've had unseasonably warm weather, it's just been perfect so far, just can't wait to get settled.

Baby Girl Essentials

Having a girl after three boys will be quite a change for our family and I've been trying to plan all the things I'll need for her. I love to sew and used to sew all the time but frankly boys aren't all that fun to sew for and life just got too busy. The first thing I did when I found out this baby would "possibly" be a girl was to go out to Etsy and order a boatload of fabric (LOVE Riley Blake fabrics!) and I even got myself a new sewing machine since it is going to get a lot of use over the next few years.

Over the next few months I will share some of the fun girly projects I'm making, but first I wanted to share some of my favorite baby girl products sold on Etsy. There are some stinking cute things out there for girls!

Adorable handmade shoes: have you ever seen anything so darling? As soon as these come back in stock they are mine.

Six

My oldest son is six today! I can't believe how time has flown since I held him as a tiny little baby in New Hampshire. He is growing up into such a handsome, intelligent and kind young man and we couldn't be more pleased with the person he is becoming.

What is your favorite thing to do?

Play stack the countries, read, swim and make new friends

What is your favorite scripture?

John 14:15

If you could travel anywhere where would you go?

Germany, because I want to see all the fun places

Who are your closest friends?

Akili, Zuri, Bailey, Ellie, Sophia, Mckenna, Savannah, Chelsey, Bill, Ethan & Aaron

What do you want to do for work when you grow up?

Be a doctor and surgeon

Let the shopping begin!

It's official! After waiting 6 long months we finally found out for sure...
we are having a girl!

I was so happy she cooperated better this time and since the ultrasound tech was 100% sure this time (rather than only 80% sure) she said it was definitely a girl. Phew! I was beginning to have dreams of alien babies ;)

Immediately following our appointment we headed up to the outlet mall in Indiana for our last shopping spree in the United States.








Here is the damage done, although it wasn't all for baby girl, some of it was for her brothers and yes, some of it was for me (I can still fit into regular clothes for a few more weeks...)




And here are the pink results! It's first time I've ever bought girly things and it wasn't for someone else's baby.

the Boys

I took the boys downtown for their last pictures in Kentucky, love these handsome guys!