Please push the play button to enjoy our photos from the hotel and farm we stayed at in Austria. We certainly enjoyed God's creation and our time to relax a little out there.
Monday, October 19, 2009
What We've Been Up To...
Well, we've been out of town for over a week and now we're home. We enjoyed time in Bavaria at a hotel and conference center while Tom was taking classes, and then we all traveled to Austria. We stayed on a farm in the mountains in Austria and enjoyed it so much. I will put up a bunch of pictures about that soon. I am still trying to catch up on mounds of dirty laundry and grocery shopping.
The weather has become quite chilly and frosty here, so I took some time on Saturday to sew the boys each a fleece "foot sack" to keep them bundled while walking with our stroller. So we have been drinking coffee and tea, doing more indoor activities like painting and taking long fun baths.
Josiah has begun walking (upright) now - all the time. Just 2 days ago, October 17, he realized he could do it so well, and he hasn't stooped down to do his bear-walk since then. I'll miss the little bear-crawl, but he sure likes looking his brother face to face and thinks he's a big boy now! Josiah likes to make animals sounds and announce his activities - such as "sit, sit, sit" and "walk, walk, walk." He certainly acts likes a big boy these days - and he says "no!" quite often, too. Sometimes so sweet and coy and subtle that his rebellion is hardly noticeable, and then other times (especially those involving food) he screams good and loud! He also popped out a few new eye-teeth just this week.
Nathaniel's imagination is too funny. It is as though he can really see what he is talking about and describing to me. Today he is telling me that he is babysitting Blue while Steve is out of town (Blue - the dog character from Blues Clues). He set out bowls for Blue to eat and drink from and held the leash while we walked downstairs. And he has been calling me Ms. Frizzle (the teacher from the Magic School bus books - if only I could take all those cool field trips). He asked me how I got here and if I came in through the pipes to our faucet.
Tom and I are pondering and praying for the future. Please pray for us as we will soon request and decide whether to remain in the army or to be finished. And if we are done in the army, where should we live? How will we know where God wants us to go if the army doesn't just up and plant us somewhere!? Also, Tom is up for a promotion, which may influence a move to a different neighborhood in the next few months. So much to wonder about, and so little control over any of it. We really want to do great things for Jesus Christ's kingdom and are hesitant to "settle down" anywhere until we feel more certain of our role in His kingdom.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Thomas the Tank Engine
Nathaniel received a bunch of trains and tracks from Grandma & Papa for his birthday. He loves them. We've gone to the library and borrowed many train books in the last couple months to help him understand trains and create scenarios in which the trains can work. But I had no idea how much Josiah would love the trains, too! He hums and dances to the "Thomas the Tank Engine" theme song all the time, whenever he sees any train. I think his little songs are hilarious!
What I like about Germany...
...is that Germans celebrate the excitement of common things in life.
There are farm festivals to celebrate farms. There is a festival to celebrate a local small town's fire department. Another to celebrate the local vineyard's harvest. Another to celebrate hot air balloons. Another to celebrate the cattle coming down from their summer pastures in the hills to the barns for the winter months. And almost every town has a Christmas market and festival!
In Germany, it seems, there is a festival celebrating something somewhere every weekend. Often we take weekend walks though various towns, and it is not uncommon to come upon a schnitzel and/or beer selling tent or truck, tables lined up in the lawn somewhere, bands playing and realize we are at a festival! Of course, we are all curious how the firetrucks, the barns, the hot air balloons look on the inside and this is a great opportunity to really check it out and get the inside perspective. We like to join in this kind of family fun. Here are a couple photos from our most recent festivals.
We've been blogged!
Awhile back we had our family photos done by Sarah Mayer. She is my highschool friend and a professional photographer now. If y'all live anywhere near Minneapolis, I'd highly recommend her! Check out her blog!
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