Hide-and-Seek

Hannah likes to play hide-and-seek so much that sometimes she just hides and yells, "Come find me!". She is not very good at being quiet and some of her hiding places are better than others, but someday, we may actually have to spend some time looking for her. In the meantime...can you find Hannah?

And, yes, ladies...that is all of her closet space. The door to the left contains some shelves. I look forward to having American closets again!

Christmas!!

Merry Christmas, everyone! We had a wonderful morning...thinking of our family, praising God for the gift of His son, Jesus, and of course, opening gifts. Hannah got up and the first ting that she saw was her new kitchen. "For me?!!", "For me??!!", "For me??!!" It was all she could say. Little did she know that there was more to come!

David down the stairs to see what is under the tree. Little did he know that the stockings were hidden and he and Jeremiah would have to go on an early morning scavenger hunt to find them. Aren't I the funny one?



For me??!!

How many necklaces and bracelets can I wear?? All of them, of course - plus a knife in each hand!

All while I stick my tongue out! Am I talented, or what?

Hannah helping Mommy. Once you get her started, there is no stopping...unless it is for EggNog French toast - our Christmas morning tradition!


One of Keith's favorite Christian bands


I know what to do with this! We will have to restring the guitar for our left-handed guitar player!


Our two newest ROCK STARS!

Thank you, God for sending your Son, Jesus, to be born on this earth and live as a man. Thank you that He kept His life completely pure and free from any sin so that we were saved when He died on the cross for us!

Christmas Eve

A Christmas tradition in our house is to open a couple of gifts Christmas Eve. Usually, there are pajamas (a big surprise) and a children's Christmas book. This year, Hannah got to join in on the fun opening gifts.

Could that be a book in that paper??

All my babies!

One of these days, I will actually get Keith to smile for a picture!

Just another day...clowning around!

Hannah got in trouble. We told her to go to her room and sit on her bed. A few minutes later, this is what we found...

Jeremiah loves to take pictures of himself!

Hannah can make that face, too.

Hannah and Bruno

Hannah LOVES riding on David's shoulders - as he RUNS through the house!

Notice the mom having a heart attack every time they round the corner is not pictured...

Oh yeah, don't forget to wish the birthday boy a happy 17th!

Birthday Party!!

We love birthday parties! David is (almost) 17! He had a group of frineds over to celebrate - I mean, really, when do the boys not have friends over, anyway? But, celebrate we did! Cake, ice cream, presents - the works!

Isn't this a cowgirl birthday party?

Everything seemed pretty normal...

Until David was suddenly attacked - by a pink cowgirl hat!

Wonder where that came from??

Later, David and his best friend, Chris clowning around

Squadron Christmas Party

Keith and I trade off Scout activities...so today he had the boys out selling Christmas trees at our fundraiser and I had the pleasure of taking Hannah to his new squadron's Christmas party for the kids. It was tons of fun and nice meeting the new people that he works with. Hannah had fun until some big guy in a red suit showed up. Then...

Hannah's first glimpse of Santa

She was not real thrilled with going to see this man. I kept her off to the side until all the other kids were finished. I made sure that she noticed that Santa was giving out candy. So...

Lured by the idea of candy...

She finally made it onto his lap. Now we did not discuss asking Santa for presents. I mean, we don't really do a lot of Santa at Christmas - that is not what it is about. But, Santa is a fun game to play, but anyway, I didn't tell her that Santa was going to ask what she wanted for Christmas. When he finally asked the question, she answered the one thing that she was really there for, "Candy!". He piled it on! I think she had almost as much candy then as she got at Hallowe'en!

The right way to eat an Oreo

Are kids born knowing how to do this?

Snow!!

Snow already??!! It is not even Thanksgiving, yet. Oh well, when life gives you snow...make snow angels! I did not even have to ask the boys to take Hannah outside to play - they are so helpful! I did have to make hot chocolate and do several loads of laundry - but what a small price to pay!

Snow!!

A self-portrait, I am sure.

Making snow angels.

All Hallow's Eve

Hallowe'en again. I have to admit that we reused Hannah's ladybug costume from last year. It's not like she actually got to go out in it last Hallowe'en; I think she only wore it for about 30 minutes.

This year she went to our church's Fall Festival - and made out like a bandit. The boys joined in on the fun and worked a few booths. It is such a blessing to have children who enjoy serving others!

Hannah in all her glory!

Aaaaaaayyy! The Fonz is here!

And if you get lost, Tracker Jeremiah is here to help!

Notice that Hannah is in all the pictures. Keeping her out of a picture is like trying to keep from getting wet in the rain!

Book-lover

Hannah loves books a lot. She usually takes three or four of them to bed or nap with her, and sometimes sleeps with stacks of them on her bed. I have to go into her room after she falls asleep and remove the books so that she has a place to sleep.

Jeremiah

Jeremiah...a man of many talents!

Bandaids!

Hannah was a little too quiet. It took me a little while to find her...hiding behind her door...and playing with "ban-aids", with every bandaid in the box aptly placed over each mysterious "boo-boo" all over her legs. Hopefully we will not actually need a band-aid until I can get to the store again.

Jeremiah's Birthday Party

Jeremiah's birthday party was a bit delayed for our move on to base housing. Moving is "nicht so guet", but living on base will certainly have its benefits. For Keith, it means faster DSL. For David and Jeremiah, it means a much shorter commute to school and closer proximity to their friends. For me, it means a park next door, and not having to drive to base to pick the kids up from their extra-curricular activities, saving me MANY hours a week!

Well now, back to this here party...and now 2 teenagers in the house!





Jeremiah and his friends...playing video games, of course!





Sleeping beauties...



The "Wake-Up Monster" has arrived!!

It was a lot of fun - probably one of Jeremiah's best with all his friends in attendance. Welcome to teenagerhood, Jeremiah!

???

Sometimes you just have to wonder...

When you have teens in the house, you never quite know what all the pictures are for!

Independence Day

One of the challenges living overseas is celebrating American holidays in American style. I mean, what do the Germans really care about our independence from the British? They are cordial about it, but for them, it really means nothing. so, the bases here really try to offer something to make us feel a little more at home. This year, Keith's squadron took the celebration a little further with a cookout, bouncy castle, ball games, movies and even outdoor RockBand! It was a lot of fun and nice to be able to enjoy the fireworks without having to look for a parking place!


Hannah in the bouncy castle



Soccer, anyone?



A perfect view to watch the fireworks!



RockBand, anyone?



Jeremiah raising the roof!

Rothenberg

Rothenberg is one of Germany's most popular walled cities from the Middle Ages. It is a little touristy, but not too much. We went with our church group and our next-door-neighbors and had a really great time. A historic detail is that during WW2, Rothenberg was saved from total destruction by the American Secretary of War. The town was occupied by the Natzis and the Secretary of War ordered that it be taken without artillery fire to save the historic portions of the city.

David in the City Square

Jeremiah, David, and Hannah on the fountain in the city square

I said "Smile!", not "Pick the flowers!"

Our family and our neighbors on the stone "steps" under the wall to the city

Hannah and Mommy in the garden

David and Jeremiah in the stockades!