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.

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.

Daddy's homecoming

We survived our drive across the country! The boys did remarkably well especially considering how long they sat in the car each day. We are enjoying being back in Kentucky, it's so nice to be back where it is green and rains for more than 5 minutes.

My husband surprised us Friday with a call to pick him up at the airport! It is a full two weeks earlier than we originally anticipated and such a wonderful surprise. The boys were so excited to see him again (although Grant fell asleep on the way to the airport). A year is just too long, it's so nice to know we'll be together for at least the next three years.

 

 

 

Now it's non-stop wrestling and rough housing. I'm just glad they have someone else to pick on now ;)  We are getting really excited for Germany! We've got all our appointments taken care of, now we're just waiting for our government passports and for our household goods to be shipped. In the meantime I'm trying to brush up on my German and take the boys to visit all the fun places we used to go when we lived here. 

Our 2012-2013 Homeschool Curriculum

Well I planned out this year's curriculum but since I knew potential orders for Germany were inbound, I held off on sharing until I knew for sure...

I really want my children to learn to speak German fluently. The first time I visited Europe I wish I had studied German more and knew I wanted my children to learn German fluently and at least one other language. I am hoping beyond hope there will be space in the preschool in the town we settle in so that Grant and Joshua can attend. I also hope to enroll Ethan in the German elementary school (non-German's are allowed in on a space-available basis and since we're moving after school has started we might not get in). The thing I love about German elementary schools is they are only half day, so the boys can learn German in the morning and homeschool in the afternoon.

Ethan is now officially kindergarten age, but academically he is more like 2nd grade level (much higher in reading). Here is the curriculum I originally planned for the boys', however if they are able to attend the German school I will have to either scale back or spread this curriculum out over two years. We shall see...

Ethan, almost 6:

Math
Math U See: Alpha

English
Modern Curriculum Press Spelling Workout Level A
First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind
Zaner Bloser Cursive Handwriting

History
Story of the World
50 Famous Stories Retold
Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans

Science
Apologia Zoology 1
Zoobooks Magazine

Geography
Which Way USA Magazine
*Will study European geography by traveling to surrounding countries

Art/Music
Artistic Pursuits
Stories of the Great Composers
Character
Child's Book of Character Building
We Choose Virtues Character Cards
The Bible
The Book of Mormon

Physical Education
Tae Kwon Do (I hope we can find a class there!)
Swim Lessons
Running

Other
Kids Discover Magazine
Dance Mat Typing (would love other suggestions, this one's kind of annoying...)

Literature Read-Aloud's
Boxcar children series, Gertrude Chandler Warner
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare, Edith Nesbitt
The Railway Children, Edith Nesbit
Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers
Tanglewood Tales, Nathaniel Hawthorne
Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan
The Door in the Wall, Marguerite De Angeli
Poetry: Walter De La Mare, Eugene Field, James Whitcomb Riley and Christina Rosetti


Joshua, age 4:

Reading/Writing
The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading
More Starfall.com
Kindergarten Scholar Workbook

Math
Math U See: Primer

Geography
Learn to identify states on the map
Magnetic puzzle map

Science
Zootles

Art
Artistic Pursuits

Character
Child's Book of Character Building
We Choose Virtues Character Cards
The Bible
The Book of Mormon

Physical Education
Tae Kwon Do
Swim Lessons
Running


Grant, almost 3:

Identify all ABCs and learn sounds
Starfall.com
Recognize all shapes

Party of six...European Adventure

I have some news I've been dying to share, but haven't been able to...until now...we FINALLY know where we're moving...

To Germany!!!

We are SO excited. I LOVE Germany and have been dying to get back there. The bad news is I have to leave town NOW to get my car shipped and do all the fun processing and shipping.

In other news, we are expecting another baby in February! This pregnancy has been much harder on me than the others (I couldn't possibly have forgotten?). I felt pretty miserable until week 14 and lived off beans, quesadillas, and quacamole. I had zero desire to cook and the thought of anything sweet made me feel ill. Like magic, once I hit week 14 I started to get my energy and appetite back and actually cooked my first non-mexican meal, now I feel pretty much back to normal. And though I've only gained 5 pounds, unless I wear loose shirts, it's pretty obvious that I'm pregnant. I just hope I can find that maternity box I buried in the storage unit and hoped I'd never need again...

Anyhow, posts will be intermittent until the end of October while we get all moved, but I'll try to at least post a few updates on facebook...

Also, Congratulations to the Piper Reed book winners!

Joann T

Shirley D

Brooke W