Dubbo-Bees and other fine German Automobiles

The other morning at breakfast Nathaniel exclaimed, "Dadddy cup, dubbo-bee!" about Tom's Volkswagen coffee mug. When we went outside to play later that afternoon he noticed Daddy's "Dubbo-bee" car in the parking lot. He knows his automobiles, that little guy. Next thing ya know he'll be naming makes and models of various German cars on the Autobahn. He'll teach his mom a thing or two then!

On a Side Note...

I (Sara) am feeling much better now in my second trimester or pregnancy. Also, we got permission to move to a larger apartment (right across the hall) before the baby is born. We have been very busy this week painting the new apartment, moving stuff little by little, and cleaning up the one we are living in. That is why blog pictures have not been a top priority. But, today I just wanted a little break from that kind of work and I really wanted to share these Austria pictures, too.

The House of God...a.k.a. The Alps

The Alps are indeed a most beautiful place to wander. It reminds me of this song by Rich Mullins "The Color Green." Here's an excerpt from that song to make your mind wonder and consider how great it is to see His creation and be able to walk in the very house of GOD!

.....And the moon is a sliver of silver
Like a shaving that fell on the floor of a Carpenter's shop
And every house must have it's builder
And I awoke in the house of God
Where the windows are mornings and evenings
Stretched from the sun
Across the sky north to south
And on my way to early meeting
I heard the rocks crying out
I heard the rocks crying out
Be praised for all Your tenderness by these works of Your hands
Suns that rise and rains that fall to bless and bring to life Your land...

And so, here are more photos from our trip to Austria about 3 weeks ago. On our trip we enjoyed the mountains and the snow immensely.

We took a horse drawn carriage ride, went sledding multiple times, and enjoyed local food and fun. Nathaniel thought the Austrian snow was particularly yummy, but he had mixed feelings about sledding. He liked it for about 5 minutes at a time, then he wanted to get off the sled and do his own thing. That's just not possible when you are on a 14 kilometer sled run, you've "got to keep on keepin' on"! So he cried on the ride, but the views were spectacular and I'm sure he's forgotten all about his tears by now...It was just so beautiful I cannot say it enough. God is an awesome creator!!

Enjoy Austria!

"Gahbjj!!"

Yay--Christmas in January! A great, big box finally arrived from our family in Lincoln Park! Nat loves his new "gahbjj" truck! We don't think he's used the word garbage so many times in one day before (although he is particularly interested in "gahbjj"). We're so glad it was not lost in the mail; Nat played with it all afternoon. Thanks ABCD!! Love ya!

FYI: Parcel Post takes a very loooong time to get here. :)

Austrian Excitement

Last week, we spent four wonderful days in Austria. We went with our small Christian group that meets for prayer and bible study weekly. Our days were mainly spent adventuring the snowy Alps and enjoying time playing games and chatting with friends. We stayed in Schloss Mittersill (Schloss means castle). The castle was built in the 1500s! Schloss Mittersill is a Christian ministry which provides long or short term lodging, breakfast, dinner, mentoring and fellowship, all in the refreshing mountains in a beautiful old castle. Here's the link should YOU ever want to visit this awesome place, too! I will add more pictures of our Austrian adventure as I get the time, but below is a slide show of the castle to whet your appetite for more photos to come!

Our Castle Accommodations

Funny Moments

Nathaniel is constantly coming up with new words and ideas. My favorite last week was when he thought Daddy was home and I was just "fooling" about his being gone. He went into the bedroom and said "DADDY!" in a loud voice and looked under the covers to see if he was still there, sleeping in. Bummer, he was not. I explained to him that Daddy had to go to work. He was disappointed, but in true toddler style he got over his disappointment in about 30 seconds.

Another funny favorite moment is when he put his bears and various stuffed animals to bed. He said to me "shhhh" and put his finger to his lips. Then he whispered a sequence of bedtime instructions: "bed....cobbers (covers)....bahs (bears)....shhhh." He put all his stuffed animals (there are many) onto the twin bed in his room and pulled the blankets up over them.

He always likes to sleep with at least 1 or more of his animals (see picture). We try to keep this simple so we don't have to search the world wide for any particular animal. He is so sweet and affectionate to these little stuffed animals! He kisses and hugs them every time he gets up from sleeping and says "bye" or "ciao" or "tschüss." I think his bears are trilingual.

11 Weeks Now

We have begun telling our joyful news - we are expecting another baby! This little one will be due in early August, which means I am currently 11 weeks pregnant.

Yesterday I had my first OB appointment. We were able to hear the our baby's rapid little heart beating! I was so excited, relieved, joyful....happy! It was so awesome to have Tom (and even Nathaniel) right by my side as we heard these first sounds of new life. Tom missed all of these steps along the way during my pregnancy with Nat, so we are both excited to experience all of this together. At my appointment yesterday I also learned that the nearby military hospital is beginning the closing down process, therefore I will now see a German doctor and midwife. I am excited to experience a little different approach to pregnancy care, labor, and delivery. I have heard there are several reputable OB practices in the area, and they speak English, too, so I have no concerns about that.

Alongside this Blog post I have included a couple ultrasounds taken of 11 week old babies. This pictures are not actually of our baby, but I included them to show you all what an awesome creation of life God has already begun. Babies of this age already have a heart, brain, spinal cord, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, tongue, arms, legs, fingers, toes, finger and toe nails, and even taste buds! Babies are a one of the most precious examples to me of God's great care to the details of our lives....starting from the very beginning.

Please pray for our new baby, my health and nausea, and our family as we begin to prepare ourselves for this big change.

Nathaniel's Christmas Slide Show

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

It has been quite some time since our last post. We have been quite busy seeing Christmas markets and going to concerts and parties.

Nathaniel is learning new words pretty much every day now. His favorite, by far, is "kruk" (truck/car/vehicle), which is also usually followed by "vroom!" He is engaging in imaginative play a lot and really loves blocks/stacking/lego-type toys. His newest imaginative activity is his plush dog licking his face, complete with slurping noises. It is pretty hilarious!

Nat is so excited to give his gift to Daddy that he tries to unwrap it several times a day. Mom is usually successful at stopping this before it's too late! :) We got a real tree from a local home improvement store called Bauhaus. It is a very lush, soft, short-needled tree called a Nordmann Fir. Every morning, the first word out of Nat's mouth is "chee" (tree) and he must see it before going on with the day.


The past 2-3 days have brought cold weather in the 20s and freezing fog. This makes for some beautiful trees! See for yourself. Our God is an awesome God!

Accomplishments...

Everyday we have little adventures, new words, new signs, and new accomplishments. Nathaniel has an ever expanding vocabulary is quickly learning to use language and signs and to combine them into phrases. We (his parents) are slowly expanding our German vocabulary, too! We feel a lot like toddlers sometimes. As for accomplishments, Sara finally got her drivers license and Tom bought an old Mercedes wagon for our family-vacation-mobile. Nat is growing enough hair to comb (up into a mohawk). Also he painted his first picture recently. We have it proudly displayed on the fridge! Nathaniel's daily adventures include trying on different shoes, scarves, hats, building towers with blocks, rearranging the chairs and other movable items in the house, and also spinning around until he gets dizzy and falls over.

Cologne

After we enjoyed a great Thanksgiving meal gathered with some new friends in our dining room, we set out northward for another traveling adventure. This time we visited Cologne. We enjoyed seeing a few of the cathedrals, old markets, and housing areas. Cologne dates back to the 3rd century and has ruins from many different eras. It was fascinating! We also went to a chocolate museum and factory. Nathaniel enjoyed the free samples from the chocolate fountain. He asked and signed for "more snacks" for the rest of the trip throughout the museum. A free chocolate fountain was clearly his idea of a good trip to a museum!

Dinner with Nathaniel

Some days are just messier than others! This dinner was particularly slimy and yummy. Nathaniel enjoyed it quite a bit, as you can see from this little video!

Nat's Christmas List

Some of you have been asking what Nathaniel wants for Christmas this year, so I thought I would generate a few ideas for those who are asking! It probably takes about 3 weeks for packages to arrive here during the holiday rush (remember you can use U.S. Priority Mail, no need for international postage expenses). Feel free to get creative, too, this is just an "ideas list."

So here's the list...
stacking/nesting cups
Nalgene Grip n Gulp Bottle (link)
board books (especially bible stories or those about vehicles)
DVDs (Baby Signing Time, PraiseBaby, Baby Einstein)
thick slipper/gripper socks
magnets (for play on the fridge)
wooden blocks (yes, like we all played with)
small chair (either a wood rocking chair (link), or mini IKEA Poang (link) as seen in the "Nat Playing" entry of our Blog)
Kelty back pack (for Dad to carry him on his back)

Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart

The Mercedes factory and museum are in Stuttgart (and nearby Porsche and Audi are also made)! Of course, Tom was eager to see this place. The museum was fascinating for Tom (and Nat said vroom-vroom a lot). There were hundreds vehicles, including the very first Mercedes and designs for future automobiles.

A Little History Lesson

While in southern Germany, we were able to see some beautiful pieces of history. We toured a cathedral in Ulm. This is the highest church steeple in the world! It is Gothic style (13th and 14th century architecture). We hiked up to and toured two famous castles - Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. These 2 castles were built in the 19th century, and are filled with furniture and gifts from people in the kingdom of that period. King Ludwig II certainly had a vivid imagination and extravagant spending habits as seen in these castles.

Hiking in the Alps

During the last week of October and early November we took a trip to the Alps. It is only 5 hours from here - so when you come to visit we'd love to enjoy the mountains with you! Tom was attending an optometry continuing education program, and Nat and I went on little walks and hikes. When the weekend came, we all went adventuring. We took a bergbahn (cable car) up to the Alpspitz (one of the peaks) and hiked around at the top and back down again. The little farm towns are quaint and lovely. The cows and sheep roam the hills and wear bells around their necks. The hills are certainly alive with the sound of music! It was snowy and chilly up there, but the views were fantastic. Our God is an awesome creator!

Nat Playing

Our little Nat is growing so much these days! He enjoys playing around the house with things that are not toys, such as brooms, rubber tubs, and car keys. He recently enjoyed his first lollipop and tried to eat his own ice cream cone, both were very messy, but yummy adventures! Just this week (beginning of November) he's starting to talk. He has been signing for many months now, but now he's trying to copy our words. He also loves to make animal sounds - his favorites are lions roaring and dogs barking. He occasionally says German greetings. He wants to be independent and do everything by himself. It is a very exciting time for us to watch his developments into a toddler!