Our Little Rose Garden: Month by Month!

Hello loved ones! I wish I could think of a better title, but there is so much to write that I just want to get it all put down on "paper," as it were. I haven't written since Christmas, so here goes!

January

We got a little snow at the beginning of the year!

The kids continued in AWANA and I got some good pictures of Crazy Hair Night! And lest you think that the whirlwind adventures that will be documented in the post are all that we do, here's a photo of just some plain "belaxing," as my nephew used to say!

And meet Niya! She joined the family unofficially at Christmas time, but she and David have since become "official."

February

At Christmas this year we received an unwelcome present: Sarah's mom's cancer diagnosis. You can follow her journey here: https://www.caringbridge.org/site/4f1568e0-c494-11ef-aae4-cbdff75a7708 . Thank you for your prayers for Kathryn and Michael (Sarah's dad). We were able to go visit them in combination with Rob's and David's annual silent retreat. Dad had his hip replaced just in time for us to be there to help out! David stayed behind for a few more weeks after Rob and Sarah flew home. He got his driver's license and helped out/hung out with his grandparents. It is strange, but honorable, to begin caring for your parents.

As soon as we returned from the States, Sarah had the privilege of taking Ian to Venice for his 16th birthday present. It happened to be the last weekend of Carnivale! And, we got a stomach bug. So, it was a beautiful time of doing a lot of sitting and people watching. Not a bad place for it. We were able to take a gondola ride and check out St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace before the tummy troubles hit. I'll spare you the details. ;). But I couldn't decide on which Venice photos to cut out, so mostly, I didn't! Enjoy!

February and March are full of birthdays in our family. David had his 18th with his grandparents in Idaho; Ian celebrated late in Venice; Isaac turned 11 and Tessa, eight.

Daniel and Kathryn found a community theater company on base and had six performances of the musical Stepsisters, a retelling of Cinderella. Kathryn played the Apothecary and Daniel was hilarious as one of the Prince's friends.

And now for a bit of trivia about living here in Germany. One of our favourite things sold by the Egg Man who delivers around the village: Bunte Eier! These hard-boiled eggs are then. painted and coated with a covering that keeps them good for several weeks. These look like Easter eggs, but we buy them year-round!

In late March Rob was the speaker for the Chapel's youth retreat in Garmisch, Germany. There is an Army base there with a resort that is popular with military personnel here in Europe. Sarah remembers going as a highschooler living in England. The Stepsisters actors and Emma - who had a ministry weekend away - weren't able to come, but the rest of us had a great time!

Sankt Andreas in Farchant on the way to this Spielplatz (playground)

And, yes, the waterfall flows through the playground!

Then we took the train (up) and the gondola (down) to see the top of the Zugspitze. This is the tallest point in Germany and, once at the peak, you can cross into Austria as well.

It was such a steep ascent!

Garmisch is a really beautiful area!

We returned home to the cherry blossoms in bloom! This is the church in our village. We are occasionally involved here, coming for special services, kids' graduations, and Sarah attends a women's Bible Study that is affiliated with the church, though they meet elsewhere.

April - Frogs, Church, Gems, and Vikings!

So, as Spring came in we headed up one of our favorite hiking trails to see the Frog Pond. We love tracking the changing seasons here and it did not disappoint on this visit.

Tadpoles!

There's an old coal mine on the way up to the pond.

Random silliness occasionally breaks out!

We're still participating in the Rheinland Pfalz International Choir and were able to go on a weekend retreat with them this month. We also have found a really sweet worshiping community with the Episcopal service on base. We are able to receive the Eucharist (almost) every week. Our children are learning to read and pray with the Scriptures and ancient prayers. And they love having the kids serve along with the adults on Sunday morning. We are very very grateful.

We celebrated Passover and Easter (vigil service) with great joy this year! Also we wore orange. Sarah didn't get to pick, though she did manage to find an alternative to the prison jumpsuit that was originally planned for her...

Osterferien

Our big trip this Spring was to Denmark, a new country for everyone! We stopped in Hamburg for the night (and ate hamburgers, of course) and then headed north to the area of Ribe, Denmark. The Danish are far more comfortable in German than in English and it was an odd experience to travel to a country where we don't speak the language and have to get around in a different foreign (to us) language. We visited a Viking museum, a beautiful lighthouse with remnants from one (or both?) of the World Wars. We drove over to Billund and visited the Lego House, a museum and building experience at the original Lego site. There was some lovely beach time, too! Kathryn is our working child and she couldn't get the time off to join us, so for her adventure she dyed her hair blue!