Christmas come and gone...

Hello Again. Time has quickly passed in the last 6 weeks, though it was calm and uneventful in our home most of Christmastime. It has been snowing a lot. Ever since Thanksgiving we've had a steady trickle of snow every few days. It is pretty and cold. We went sledding 1 time and Nathaniel has also enjoyed the backyard and his toy tractors anew with a slippery layer of snow. Josiah has decided he doesn't like snow pants and most of the time he refuses to go outside unless forced into his cold-weather-wear.

We enjoyed church on Christmas Eve and had a friend over to our home after the service. Esther is from Malaysia and has never celebrated Christmas before! She is a new Christian and she is studying at the university near our church. We enjoyed introducing her to our customs of Christmas. We were checking our Christmas tree and ornaments and enjoying the candle-lit atmosphere in our evening Church service. It was really special to think again and review why we celebrate the way we do, and to share it with someone who has only begun to see and know Christ Jesus. This year I have been doing a lot of pondering about the ways and the reasons we celebrate Christmas. We (our small family unit) are only just beginning to make traditions and we want all that we do to point to Christ, and not to ourselves - the gifts, the food, the pretty tree and ornaments - all are meant to shine the light of His glory!

We spent Christmas day with other doctors and providers from the clinic where Tom works. It was wonderful food, good conversation (a few moments to discuss the peace that only God can bring in uncertain times), Tom lead us in prayer, and the kids were pretty well-behaved all day!

Nathaniel had 1 1/2 weeks off from Kindergarten and Tom had to work every-other-day for the last couple weeks. We enjoyed having Daddy around a lot. I REALLY enjoyed his help with the kids and with the house. Most of you may have heard by now that I am pregnant - due in July again - and I am totally wiped out all the time! Tom is quite a good cook when he has the time to invest in it! We read lots of stories, built lots of vehicles with Duplos and other materials, watched a few family movies, and played games (as best we could with youngsters), and had a few crazy dancing evenings (you should see those boys Polka - very funny!) . The movie Mary Poppins seemed to make a big impact on little Josiah - he has been talking about "Chimedy Sweepers" for the last 5 days. We received quite a few books this year for Christmas - all of us! So we'll just keep on reading!

So, that is the month of December in a nut-shell.

Below is our family's Christmas letter (the first letters spell FROHE WEIHNACHTEN):

France—Tom and Sara celebrated their 10th anniversary in August with a weekend in Paris! F is also for fiercely independent. That is our Nathaniel. He has to figure out the world on his own terms. He has a brilliant memory, but he's so stubborn sometimes!
Relatives – We enjoyed having visitors in our home. It was a wonderful time to explore, talk, pray, and enjoy each other's company. Katzenberger Parents, kids, & spouses in January, Scholtens Parents in March, Tom's cousin Nick in June!
Overseas – Our time in overseas in Germany and on Active Duty will be done this summer, and we plan to move to Minnesota! A job and a place to live are still unknown...
House – We moved out of our apartment into a duplex house in February because Tom was promotable to Major! =) He “pinned on” his new rank in June. We're proud of him!
Extra – We have an extra bed and bedroom and we'd love your company as long as we still live here!
Winter weather – It has been very snowy this winter so far! It is more than usual for this area, but the main roads and Autobahn are well cared for. It is beautiful, but Sara's rides to bring Nathaniel to his German Kindergarten in the bike trailer quickly ceased!
Excited – Sara's brother Mark and his lovely Krystal were married in July. Our boys were very excited to be ring bearers and Tom and Sara were glad to sing! It was a joyful wedding that proclaimed the love of the Savior to all who were there!
International Baptist Church – Grace IBC is our church family here in Germany. We love to learn, fellowship, and sing praises with them. We both lead and plan the music for each Sunday. Sara teaches the teen Sunday school class. We love this group of students, military, and international families who meet each week to lift up the name of the Lord!
Health – Besides a few bouts with a 24 hour stomach bug and the common cold, we've been quite healthy this year, and we are very thankful.
Nathaniel - Our boy who loves to create with Legos, Duplos, Baufix, mud and shovels, anything...he just loves to design and build!
Ages – This summer Nathaniel turned 4 and Josiah turned 2. They celebrated their birthdays while at the Katzenberger's house, and Papa Gene had a big surprise 60th birthday party!
Capetown, South Africa – Our whole family spent 2 weeks in May helping with soup kitchens, teaching Bible school, leading Christian conferences, serving and being blessed by people from this lovely country. (We can't wait to go back!)
Huggy - Our Josiah loves to be held, loved, rubbed, and cuddled. He gives awesome hugs!
Talk – Both of our boys are very verbal. Both boys could speak in full sentences and make loud proclamations by 15 months! There is never a quiet waking moment in our household. They sing, chatter, giggle, tell stories, make up rhymes, squabble, sass, and talk, talk, talk.
Eat – We love German food! Mmm—we'll miss the bread, the cheese, the sausage and the Schnitzel. Now we'll have to learn to make our favorite German meals at home!
New Addition – we're expecting another baby in July!

Advent Calendar

I have been looking for a couple years for a simple way to count down the days to Christmas and look forward to the joyful day of celebrating Christ's birth. Most everything I saw in the stores involved candy as a part of the count-down. Not a good idea if this calendar is to be used a bedtime! Then I found this cute magnetic Advent Calendar. I ordered it and it came to us in about a week - perfect timing!

Here is our daily reading to go with it (adapted from Noel Piper's advent calendar readings, since her calendar is no longer available for purchase). I hope it will be a wonderful way for our family, this year and for many years to come, to count down and look forward the day we celebrate our Savior's birthday!

The item in bold each day is what will be put on the calendar.

Jesus is the greatest Treasure of all. This is the story of how He came to us. Long ago, God made a promise about a little town named Bethlehem. He said, “O Bethlehem…from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel.” Jesus is the King that God promised to send.
1) One time, a long time ago, in Bethlehem there was a place called a stable.
2) In the stable there was a manger
3) filled with hay for the animals to eat.
4) Animals like a sheep…
5) and perhaps a cow.
6) There was also a donkey who lived in the stable.
7) One day the animals had a big surprise. A woman came to stay in the stable. Her name was Mary, and she was glad to rest in the stable with the animals, because she was going to have a baby, very soon!
8) Her husband, Joseph, was with her. Before they traveled to Bethlehem, an angel of God told him in a dream that the baby was God’s son. The angel said, “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” The baby was the King God had promised.
9) Mary and Joseph could not find a cozy inn or a warm house to stay in because the emperor had commanded all the men, women, girls, and boys to go to their hometowns and sign up for paying taxes.
10) Little Bethlehem was filled with people (lady with basket), so there was no room for Mary and Joseph. Their baby would be born in the stable with the animals.
11) It was a very busy time in this little town, many people were hustling and bustling around with their luggage, running to get water or food for their families while they were staying in Bethlehem.
12) Out in the fields near Bethlehem, there was a shepherd.
13) …taking care of his sheep…
14) …under the trees, outside in the hills near Bethlehem.
15) Maybe there were other shepherds with him….
16) …to help him take care of the sheep.
17) Since many shepherds cared for their flocks in the hills surrounding that area.
18) That night God also sent a very special star.
19) Far away, a wise man saw the star and said “This is the sign that a special king has been born. I must find him and worship him. I’ll bring him a royal gift of gold.” So he got his camel ready to travel.
20) …and he brought along another wise man who had a gift of rich perfume, called frankincense, for the King.
21) He brought with him a third wise man who prepared a gift of precious oil, called myrrh for the king. When they had packed their baggage on their camels, all the wise men set out on the long, long journey to find the king that God had promised.
22) One night, an angel, of the Lord appeared to the shepherd. And the glory of the Lord shone around them. They were filled with fear. But the angel said, “Fear not. I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly, there was a multitude of angels, praising God and saying “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
23) Then the angels went away from the shepherds back into heaven. And they said to one another, “Let us go into Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
24) And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
25) And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby Jesus lying in the manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
When Jesus grew up, he died and rose from the dead to save us from our sins. He is our greatest Treasure!

Halloween & St. Martin's Day

We celebrated Halloween again this year with the chapel "Hallelujah Festival". We enjoy the non-scary atmosphere and free supper, and the boys adore the big jump-house! Josiah dressed up as a mouse and Nathaniel was a horse. Fun was had by all!

On Nov. 11, Americans celebrate Veterans' Day. Tom gets a day off from work and we love an opportunity to relax together with no destination to rush off to. Germans celebrate that day, too; it is St. Martin's Day. St. Martin was a Roman soldier in Germany (long ago) who was kind to the poor and gave away his own belongings. The children celebrate by making lanterns and singing songs together to commemorate St. Martin's good deeds for the poor. Nathaniel's kindergarten held an evening gathering and processed around our town with their little lanterns. Nat, Jo, and Mom made paper lanterns for this event (a monster truck and an owl)- they were cute and glowed quite well in the dark night! Nathaniel did a great job learning German songs and his class even sang songs the next day at a nearby nursing home.

Easter Preparations

I have been reading and praying and teaching Nathaniel about Easter and why we celebrate. There is so much other "stuff" - such as eggs, baskets, and bunnies - and it is fun and cute, too. I really want him to see and know the wondrous gift of God's son Jesus. Then we can do fun stuff, once the foundational parts of this awesome holiday are set in place. I continue to pray that the Lord will use my efforts and that his "head knowledge" will someday grow into "heart knowledge."

Anyhow, this is what we are doing. I have gathered some verses, little symbols, and plastic Easter eggs. For the 2 weeks prior to Easter, we are reading these verses and discussing the symbols that I have put in each egg. It is a lot like an advent calendar, but with eggs instead. It is still kind of work in progress - I am trying to find the right symbols and good verses to explain God's redeeming work on Easter. So far, we have been opening 1 egg each day and then I plan to hide them all on Easter (along with some candy-filled ones) and have the boys search to find them all. Hopefully the kids will be able to recount the story of God's work by looking through all the symbols again. I'd like to use these eggs year after year. If any other families want to share this idea or modify, please do so!

Egg #1:
Message -- Help your child understand why Jesus was called "the Lamb of God" (his role as the unblemished sacrifice)
Passages -- Ex. 12:21-24; John 1:29; 1 Cor. 5:7-8
Item-- a cotton ball or piece of wool

Egg #2:
Message -- Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The people waved palm branches. Act out the "parade" of Palm Sunday as a family. Have family members take turns putting themselves in the place of Jesus, receiving a royal welcome but knowing that the crowd's intentions would change in less than a week. Note: the word hosanna translates "save us, we beseech thee."
Passage -- Matthew 21:1-11
Item -- Piece of palm or other variety of leafy branch

Egg #3:
Message -- Mary poured expensive perfume on Jesus' feet.
Passage -- John 12:2-8
Item -- Small perfume sample or cloth with perfume or a piece of cotton with cologne on it

Egg #4:
Message -- Jesus shared the Last Supper with His disciples.
Passage -- Matthew 26:17-19
Item – a piece of Chex cereal or cracker

Egg #5:
Message -- Jesus gave the disciples at the Last Supper a new commandment, that they should love and serve one another. he showed them by washing their feet.
Passage: Look up John 13:34-35 to discover the "new commandment" Jesus gives.
Item – small piece of soap to represent the washing of His disciples' feet

Egg #6:
Message -- Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Talk about your child's experiences of betrayal or disappointment in friendships. Imagine Jesus' personal hurt at Judas's treachery and the subsequent desertion of Christ's closest allies.
Passage -- Matthew 26:1-16, 47-56, 27:3
Item -- 3 coins or plastic “silver” money


Egg #7:
Message -- Jesus carried His own cross.
Passage -- John 19:17
Item – small sticks in a cross form; or, a small plastic cross from a Christmas ornament or necklace.

Egg #8:
Message -- Soldiers placed a crown of thorns on Jesus' head.
Passage -- John 19:2
Item -- Small thorny branch, or a large thorn all by itself.

Egg #9:
Message -- Soldiers parted Jesus' garments and cast lots for His coat.
Passage -- John 19:23
Item -- Swatch of burlap and a nail. I’ve also seen miniature dice used for this one.

Egg #10:
Message -- Jesus was nailed to a cross and pierced in His side.
Passage -- John 19:18,37 & John 20:25-29
Item -- A nail

Egg #11:
Message -- They gave Jesus vinegar mixed with gall on a sponge to drink.
Passage -- Matthew 27:34
Item -- A small sponge

Egg #12:
Message -- Spices to prepare Jesus for burial. The name Good Friday probably evolved from the phrase "God's Friday." Talk about why the day Christ died is ultimately very good the best because we all need a Savior.

Passage -- John 19:40
Item -- 7 or 8 whole cloves, or other whole spices


Egg #13:
Message -- The stone covering Jesus' tomb was rolled away. Get a clearer idea of the miracle of the tomb rock rolling away by finding a large rock and trying to roll it yourselves. Note that only an act of God could put the guards to sleep and move such a big stone.

Passage -- John 20:1
Item -- A small rock

Egg #14:
Message -- The napkin around Jesus' head was lying separately from His linen clothes. He was not there. He has risen!
Passage -- John 20:6-7
Item -- A scrap of linen-type fabric

Egg #15:
Message -- In Christ's death and resurrection we also become new creatures.
Passage: 2 Corinthians 5:17.
Item – small plastic butterflies or home-made with tissue paper