ice skating

Happy Mia - trying on her new skates....

Fun!

These two stuck together...

so cute!!

The adorable little town...

Taking a break...

Mia really wanted ice skates for Christmas. Last year, the temperatures were below freezing and we had the opportunity to skate outside, but this year we have had a warm winter so far (with the exception of a week in early December). There is a cute little town about 20 minutes from us that has a city run indoor ice skating rink, so we went to test out her new skates. A fun afternoon!!!

Tiergarten Nuremburg (Zoo)

The Dolphins a re so fun to watch!

The goats were hungry...

Check out the enormous paws!!!

A little rain, but not for long...

How do I get down?

Fox - A little creepy looking

Love Birds - I joked that it was Bryan and I

Hungry for lunch!!!!

The gorilla sitting nicely...

The gorilla makes a sudden move, and scares Mia to death (she fell on the ground) So funny!

All is better now in her sisters' arms...

The kangaroos

I mentioned that we don't have too many "free days" with the school schedule and activities. I absolutely adore getting out and enjoying places together. These two weeks, I am trying to take full advantage of the time. The day after our Christmas is yet still a German Holiday (everything closes December 24 -27th). The zoo was open though, and we enjoyed a day out. There is something so fun about the Zoo...

Merry Christmas!!!!

Mia's cute handmade ornaments...

One last Christmas Market in Schweinfurt

Bailey all snuggled up and ready to go

2 happy faces!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas Day! We walked to "our Church" for Christmas Eve service. I laugh that it is "our church", but: we only go on Christmas Eve, it is Catholic, and we don't understand everything, yet there is something about it  that makes it feel so special. When we came home, our friend invited us over for Christmas Dinner. Our Christmas Eve is "Christmas Day" to the Germans, so we felt especially grateful for the invitation to share. After opening 1 gift (our family Christmas eve tradition), we nodded off to bed - I was the first to nod off :-). We were happily awakened by our 3 anxious kids at 5:00am. I know these early Christmas mornings won't last forever, so I am happy to oblige :-). While Christmas came and went went way too fast, I am cherishing these 2 weeks off with the kids. With 2 completely different school schedules, it is not very often that we have this time, and I am trying to enjoy every minute!!!!

You can almost smell the gluhwein and roasted chestnuts...

The following link perfectly explains the sights, sounds, and feeling of the German Christmas Markets... (you may have to copy and paste it)

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/50262377/#50262377

Funny and happy things to remember...

*Bailey was in the kitchen the other day asking what we had for dessert. We only had a few types of "junk food", and Mia replied, "you could have a banana or an apple." Bailey said, "Who in the world eats a Banana for dessert?", and Mia replied, "I do". It is great because that might be a typical dessert in her after school class, and all of the kids are happy to eat it - these Germans are so healthy!  Not so sure I would want a banana for dessert :-)

*Camden woke up yesterday morning with a sore throat. He explained it to me by saying, "My throat feels like Egypt." Both visits to Egypt, WE ALL experienced the same throat problems for days - it is a combination of poor air quality and desert sand that sticks in your throat. I think it is funny that Camden remembers that, and will probably always associate a sore throat with the feeling that he had in Egypt :-)

*Mia came home yesterday telling me that school will get out an hour early today. No note or e-mail, but just a heads up from Mia - so amazing that they can still do this here! Gotta love it!!

*Lastly, just a proud Mommy moment to share...Bailey was awarded the "Student of the 1st quarter" at the Middle school. We are so proud of you B! It is confirming also (for me) to see that a year of homeschooling and a year of German school didn't put you behind :-)

Something has to change....

I think I have mentioned before that I take a weekly German class. The class is EXTREMELY international. This Semester, it includes people from Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Portugal, China, Vietnam, Bulgaria, Poland, and the list goes on. I absolutely love the diversity. Today we had an informal class with a small Weihnachten (Christmas) Party, and we just sat around and talked (in German of course) about our own Christmas traditions and the world etc. At the very end of the class, one of the girls from China brought up the horrible American school shooting that occurred last week. It is absolutely saddening to see something like this on television from so far away and feel absolutely helpless. The New England school connection really hit home, as well did the fact that I have 3 innocent children whom I adore more than life itself.  It was also sad for me to see this very international group that I was with, wondering what the heck could be going on in my country, where this kind of thing can happen again and again. I hadn't ever really thought of it this way, but this comment was presented by one of the other students: "During 9/11, 3 thousand people were killed by terrorists, yet every year in the U.S. over 12000 people are killed by guns (that doesn't even include the people that are injured by guns). It seems you are your own worst enemy." When you think of it, it is kind of sad that we are so passionate about things when an outsider comes in to harm us, but yet when we hurt ourselves, life just goes on. As I write this, I certainly do not know what the answer is, but something has to change. You obviously can't get all of the guns off of the streets, but what about requiring a rigid course in order to have a firearm, and home gun safe checks to be sure they are being stored appropriately, what about more help and shelter for the mentally disabled, what about "real life education" in schools where morals are taught and life skills? It really saddens me. Something has to change.

Life

Decorating the tree....

St. Nikolaus came on Dec. 6th

He brought a few chocolates for the kids :-)

Lebkuchen - ready to decorate

Lots of great help!!!

Yummy!!!!

Life has been fairly busy lately with school, work, sports, friends, Christmas etc. It has been good though, and we are trying to truly enjoy the spirit of Christmas. After holding out for a German tree, we decided to go ahead and use the fake tree. Germans don't put up their tree until "our" Christmas Eve (they celebrate on the 24th, so they put it up on their Christmas Day). I thought this might be a neat idea, but without a tree up, it just didn't seem so "Christmassy". We had all of the decorations already up, but the tree was definitely the missing element - so the tree had to go up early. They keep their tree up until the 3 kings day (on Jan. 6), so it is a bit too long to have a real tree... Another German tradition is to celebrate the Advent Sundays (every household has their own advent wreath with 4 candles - it is a must!) My friend had an idea to get together with 4 families on each of the Sundays of advent to have a little celebration (gluhwein, kinderpunsch, cookies, singing, playing in the snow etc.) We have each taken on a Sunday to host, and it has definitely been helpful in feeling the Christmas spirit. Bailey had her Soccer party a few weeks ago, Mia had her "turnen" Christmas Party last night, and Camden has his homeschool and soccer parties this weekend (forgot to mention that we are homeschooling Camden again until next year - I will write more on that another time...). Bryan has his work party next week, and Mia has a choir concert too, and did I mention we have had lots of snow to mix in with the parties!!! One last funny thing... every year we make Lebkuchen. It is a German type of cookie/cake, and is a Christmas essential. The only way I know how to make it is with my friends' recipe which calls for shredded Potatoes. I love it, and the potatoes keeps it very moist. It is not the most common way to make it though. I usually give some to neighbors and friends. I've mentioned before how literal Germans can be... well I was talking to our older friends a few days after I had given them some Lebkucken. He looked at me with a very serious face, and proceeded to tell me that the Lebkucken was horrible - he didn't like it because it was made with potato. I honestly think it is the cutest thing, because I love how honest people are. If I was given something that I did not care for, I would very politely offer thanks. By our friend saying that he did not like the Lebkucken, it had nothing to do with our friendship, or how much he appreciated the thought, instead it was just his opinion, and then life goes on back to normal - kind of funny!! It really makes me laugh!

Apartment update...

Kitchen before...

kitchen after (still needs trim though, and a new window) On a side note... German houses do not come with kitchens - typically you bring your own  -(kind off different, I know...

Living Room before....(yikes!)

Living Room after.....

Bedroom before....

through the door is the bedroom - after....

We have definitely been moving slowly with our little apartment. It is finally pretty much finished though.  Bryan's friend helped us out so much in getting it to where it is now. He seemed to have much more energy for it, than we did. He helped Bryan; put in new floors, update some of the electrical wires, and put in the trim. Such kindness always amazes me!!! Whenever I go over there, I want to move in and decorate, but being that we have an apartment that we all fit in, it wouldn't make much sense to move in to it with only one bedroom :-). When we have to leave here though, it is comforting to me to know that we have a little "home" to come back to.

Nuremburg Christmas Market

Each stand is decorated adorably

So many cute decorations!

The crowds are just beginning...

When we ducked into a toy store to warm up, we found this 18 thousand piece puzzle!!!!

Overlooking the tops of the Christmas Market stands!!!

Beautiful!!!

As we were pulling out of the parking garage, this guy crossed our path - little things like this always make me smile!!!!

Add caption

Cold, but happy :-)

Perhaps the most famous Christmas market in the world is the one in Nuremburg. Last time we were there, Mia was still in a stroller! We decided it was time to make another trip last Saturday. Luckily we got there pretty early, because after lunch the crowds were too much - I guess that is the problem when you are the most famous market :-). Anyway, we did have a nice time even though the hustle and bustle of Christmas was evident. A very nice day none-the-less!

Schnee!!!! (snow)

I Love that sweet face!!!

The snowball fight begins :-)

Ein kleiner schneemann (a little snowman)

The battle continues :-)

We had our first big snow storm of the season yesterday. After an early morning run, the flakes began, and then soon the roads and sidewalks were covered with fluffy white snow! Nothing like a nice snowstorm to bring in the Christmas Spirit!!!

Bamberg Christmas Market

The crowds were not bad at all!

I adore the "natural" decorations

I love the "stars" too!

Bailey ordered a "snickers" crepe - delicious!!!

This year they have a "Rauchbier Gluhwein" Rauch Bier is what has made Bamberg famous in the bier world.

Bailey's photo :-)

Cozy feeling of Christmas!!!

Bryan, Bailey, Camden and I spent the afternoon at the permanent Seasonal Christmas Market in Bamberg. Mia was making Plachen (did not spell that correctly, but basically it is an array of German Christmas cookies) at a friends' house. It was the first time in forever that she was not with us when we were out as a family - a very weird feeling not to have her there. Anyway, we had a nice afternoon taking in all of the stalls at the Market, and enjoyed a very light dusting of snow fall as well. I love the snow - even if it is freezing cold, there is something special about snow! Each year, the set up is similar. Our favorite gluhwein stand can always be found in the same place, as well as the crepes stand, and candy stand. For the ambiance, you would think everything would priced quite high, but everything is extremely reasonable, and allows for the ability of multiple family visits throughout the season!