August 31st (Tuesday)

Had a headache last night and couldn't do much. Battled it most of the day today. So glad that it's gone. Sunday we had a potluck after church and was a lazy day. We didn't do anything other than go to church. I finished reading 'The Defector' by Daniel Silva which was really good. I didn't get out of bed that morning until 10:45 so I could finish it. I even nursed Pace right from the bed. :)

Yesterday not much went on. Yoday Constance from church came over with her son Linus. They took the bus here and ate dinner with us. Richie went to play Badmitten tonight. Luna stayed in her p.j.'s all day. It was that kind of day. It's always that kind of day after a migraine.

August 28th, 2010 (Saturday)

Went to a fest in Frankfurt today. Our friend Josie came with us and we took the train. It was about a 40 minute train ride and nice not to have to find parking in a bigger city. It was an international art/museum fest; the we went to last year. I bought two more silk scarfs from the same guy as last year too. A black one and a black with hot pink one. The kids got to play at the playground and also jump on a moon walk for a bit. Ate good food. The boys had Crepes w/ cherries, Richie had a burrito from a Honduras stand, and I had Thai food. Zehr gut. We got Panda licorice that they sold by the meter. And then of course, eis. We forgot to bring the camera today and I was so bummed. So no pictures.

We got back to Wiesbaden and had to get some things at the Commissary. Richie took the kids to a park and the three oldest ones crapped their pants. Niiiiice. I think Elee might have made it to the bathroom though. So they all ended up in the commissary to use the bathroom.

Best deal of the day: Seventh Gerneration toilet paper for $4.99 for a 24 pack. Also 'Finish' dishwasher cubes for just under $5.00 for a 48 pack. Both were about half off at the Commissary.

Kids are in bed and Richie's starting a fire in our fire place. Going to go snuggle and read.

August 27th, 2010 (Friday)

I woke up several times in the night. Woke at 2am with our door having been cracked ever so slightly. I woke Richie up cuz it was freaky with a little bit of light coming in our room and no one making a sound. He got up to find Luna standing quietly outside our bedroom door. FREAKY!! It doesn't help that I'm currently reading a spy book by Daniel Silva.

Woke up at 5am with Pace wanting to eat, then again at 6:40 with Josiah in my bed and Luna climbing on my head. Then at 7:15 with Elee wanting something. So, I got up. :)

Josiah came home an hour early today. I was a little surprised, but didn't think too much of it since his schedule is very weird. Richie called me two hours later telling me the school called looking for him. It took them two hours to realize he wasn't there? So I called the school back to say he was home and okay. Anyways, he made it home safety on the bus. When I asked him what happened he said, "I had to get home. I saw people putting on their backpacks". I can imagine it would be confusing, and also not wanting to miss the bus. But he was the only one on the bus and a teacher (not his teacher) even walked him to the bus. DUH! Next week the principle said teacher will make sure to keep an extra eye on him.

We played Wii tonight with the kids. Had so much fun! Then we had a little dance party with some old school 'bass' tape that Richie found.

August 26th, (Thursday)

Josiah had trouble with his math and wasn't sure how to do it. I used Google Translator to figure out the directions. We figured out he had to count the cubes on the paper. So I got the cubes from our 'Break the Ice' game to actually build the cubes so Josiah could count the cubes. It worked really well.

Made meatloaf and scalloped potatoes yesterday. Had dinner all ready for when Richie came home from work.

August 25th, 2010 (Wednesday)

Today was a good day, an early day. Set my alarm for 6:50. Josiah had to leave for the bus stop at 7:15. He walked there himself. I got Elee to the bus stop at 8:20 and again I was jogging to get there. I asked the bus driver in English/German, "das okay"? and pointed at my watch and he said "ya" and a whole bunch of other words that were foreign to me.

Luna likes the Veggie Tales movies. She asked several times today for, "Veggie Tales t.b.".

Richie worked on the tree-house with the boys while I went to a German Class as a second language all the way over in Mainz (across the bridge). They said I could have a free trial. I left an hour early and got there a few minutes before class started. I don't know if I can handle the drive two times a week. It was a very good class though. All in German.

Two years ago today mom passed away. I'm doing okay today. Tried calling dad today but he didn't answer.

Tried calling Papa Don too....Happy Birthday Grandpa! Love you and miss you! Hugs and fishy kisses to you. xoxoXOXOxoxo

24 August, 2010 (Tuesday)

Today I walked Josiah and Elee to the bus stop. We ran to the bus and happened to be late, although really the bus was early for Elee. So, we'll have to be there extra early tomorrow. Josiah said something to me after Elee left like, "okay you can go" and he sat down on the bench. He said it in a nice way but I still waited for him to get on the bus. I can't believe how old he's getting. He's reading some books that Aunt Stephy and Uncle Andy picked up for him. They are Scary Freddie books or something like that. He's really been enjoying them. I just ordered some more of the Magic Tree House books today. He just reads so fast!

Elee's teacher said Elee did good today. He was speaking in English and in German she said. She sent home a note. I think he'll really pick up German quick.

I played a couple rounds of UNO with Elee and he beat me! Then we played Snorta but we didn't finish the game. For some reason the boys always get upset about not winning. They always want to win.

Went to Aldi tonight to get some Mulitvitamin juice that they carry. It is so good. Richie took the kids (I had Pace) to the park to play soccor. They had a great time. Now....time to go hang out with Richie.

August 23, 2010 (Monday)

Today was Elee's first day of Kindergarten. He was ready to go at 7:30 when we took Josiah to the bus stop. I took Elee to school today at 9am to get him settled in. He immediately went over to where the toy sharks were. I picked him up at 12:30 to follow him home on the bus. It's actually a VW mini van, but it's the bus for the Kindergarten. There are about 6 other kids in the van that get dropped off in our neighborhood and it's the only stop.

Played Snorta with the boys tonight. We had a great time and of course the conversation always leads to smelly butts. Which they had, and daddy got them in the bath right after playing two rounds of the game. Hahahah.

It rained so hard this evening and rained all day. After we put the kids to bed, there was a beautiful rainbow. A full arch! Plus there were two bows! And then on the other side of the sky, a beautiful sunset. God is so beautiful! So we got Josiah and Elee out of bed so they could see it. It was just absolutely amazing.

Andy and Stephy, Happy Happy Anniversary! Two years ago today!! Miss you and love you guys so much!

August 22nd, 2010 (Sunday)

We met up with my friend Selma today at a park in Wiesbaden. It was the first time seeing her since we've been back in Germany. I met her and her son at the park last summer when we were staying here for 5 weeks. It was so nice to catch up and even meet her husband and also for Richie to meet them. We went and got EIS which is what the German's call icecream. We went to Dolce which is now my official favorite place for eis. They use all natural ingredients and also they have chunks of real fruit in it. I got plum and also chai tea latte eis. I have never had those flavors before and they were so good. The best eis in Wiesbaden. I remember going there last summer but I do not remember them having those unique flavors.

We went to church afterwards. Richie stayed in the van with Luna and Pace since they fell asleep. I took Josiah and Elee in. Richie came in later.

We got Elee's stuff ready for his first day of Kindergarten tomorrow. Matchhosen (raingear- because they play outside everyday no matter what kind of wheather), lunch (what they call breakfast or bread), some paperwork, extra change of clothes and slippers for class. It is really difficult for me trying to figure out how we are going to juggle the boys going to two different schools, dropping them off at the bus stop at different times and also them coming home at different times. Josiah's hours are always changing and that is very hard for me because I like routine. It is hard with Luna and Pace and wanting them to sleep-in in the mornings but I have to sometimes wake Pace to leave. Hopefully this will all work out and I can get the little ones on a normal nap-time sleeping schedule.

August 21st, 2010

A girl came over and bought $100 worth of Luna's clothes size 12-18 months. So sad to see it go. Part of that were two brand new pair of Robeez though. I paid $10 each for them so I made money. I put a few things up for sale on Ramstein Yardsales through Bookoo. Great way to sell stuff. I'm not going to sell things like I did with Ebay. I just need to downsize some things.

We had our Housewarming Party with friends from church. There were about 15 adults that came plus 6 kids plus us. It was awesome! We had lots of good food, conversation and beautiful weather. They prayed for us and over the house. It was perfect. When everyone left I felt so full of peace.

God is so good, and I feel so undeserving.

And to my oldest brother, "Happy Birthday Clinton"!

20 August (Friday)

A plumber came today to fix a leak in a pipe in our basement ceiling. We can finally use water on the top two floors now. We were without for several days. He couldn't speak any English and I can't German, so I got on google translator and we talked back and forth that way. It worked great and it was really funny.

Richie got a haircut last night. We went into downtown Wiesbaden to get Elee some matchhosen (raingear) for school. I laughed so hard when I saw his haircut. I kept thinking of the movie Zohan with Adam Sandler. All I could say was "Diiisco Diiisco". When he took a shower this morning though I have to say that it looked quite hot.

We ate at our Vietnamese restaurant and got Pho last night. It was delicious. Not the same as our favorite Vietnamese place back in Michigan but still good.

Getting ready for our housewarming party with some friends from church. That's tomorrow. So much to do. Making a lot of food and there's a lot to clean...especially since I had to wait to clean the bathrooms until the plumber came.

19 August, 2010

Okay, so my friend Carri Hurst suggested I start a blog of our happenings here in Germany. My first thought was, "who the heck is going to read this"? But, after considering, I realized this would be a great way to kind of keep a journal. So, I decided this is more for myself than for everyone else. My goal is to write something on here everyday. I want to look back on what we've done over the year since our kids grow toooooooo darn fast. So, here I go....and thanks Carri. And so begins the non musings of....me, and our life here in Germany.