Life at the House

If you see my facebook, you'll be aware that we have had snow. Lots of snow! I woke up to a world of white (think Amy Grant's Christmas to Remember) and as soon as I was out of bed I was running around taking pictures. I went out with Brad to walk Sam, and we walked up to the end of the village. Everything is just so picturesque, especially with the fresh snow blanketing everything. I asked Brad if he ever felt like he was living in a postcard. He said that on trips to Rothenburg and similar places, he felt more like he lives in Disneyland for free. It's a fairly accurate description. :)


Yesterday I went shopping with Debbie at a German market (Globus is the closest Germany comes to Wal-Mart), and I picked out a few of my favorite things, including pepperoncinis stuffed with goat cheese and some Bresso. I covet a German grocery store at home, simply for the vast variety of meats and cheeses and jogurts they have! I'm sad that it's now illegal to bring home any kind of meat, but believe me I will be laden with chocolate and cheese and other deliciousnesses. If you want something specific, let me know!

Sunrise happens here about 8:30/9 am, and it's dark again by 4:30, which really is messing with my brain. By 9pm, I'm exhausted, which I put up to a combination of leftover jet-lag and sheer internal clock confusion by the early darkness. In the morning, I enjoy my tea with Brad and Debbie before we split off to our separate occupations. Debbie's not been feeling well, so today has turned into a very quiet one. I've been working on the videos, which are coming along quite nicely. It's weird to have been elevated from slave to intern and now to contractor, perhaps the highest level achievable in this house. Contractors get all kinds of perks, hee hee.

I am loving the snow. People were rather aghast that I had never before shoveled snow, so I seized the opportunity to do so this morning, and Brad obliged by narrating a video about it, thinking his filming was a fair trade for my shoveling.

The chill outside really makes my room seem even more delightfully warm by contrast. I also love the new wood-burning stoves that have been added since my last visit, one in each living room. We sat around last night, Brad knitting a scarf, me writing a letter, Debbie chatting on the phone, listening to Christmas music.


I am loving being here, even if it is cold. Still holding out for a White Christmas. Love and miss all of you at home! And eine froliche Geburstag für Matt!

Rothenburg & Würzburg Christmas Markets

Hello! I decided to do a vlog, for several reasons that you don't really care about it. However, I was exhausted, between jet-lag and a long weekend trip, so I only went with one take. Please to forgive any errors or oddities. I say umm a lot. Enjoy!

The Last Day

It seems unreal that this is my last day in Germany.

It began about 12:05 am, as I was sitting on the couch watching movies, when Mac opened the door and told me to go put on my shoes so we could play in the snow. He wanted to make a snowman, cause he'd never done that before, and we built a big one! We rolled giant snowballs up and down the silent street until about 1:30 in the morning, and we built Christoph (that's his name) right outside the front door. We had fun dressing him up in Mac's beret and fleece, with a knife for a mouth and a plug converter nose. He even had bushy eyebrows! Brad certainly was startled when he went to step out this morning. :)

I spent the morning packing all my stuff back up. Despite having gotten rid of as much as I could - including multiple pairs of shoes - my bags appear to still be overweight. All that German chocolate!! But I got it all in, which is good. We went out for Döner as my last German meal, and we had Spaghetti-Eis to top it off. Came back, and I talked to mom about details and whatnot. Tomorrow morning we'll leave at 7 am, and I'll be in Phoenix at 8:30 pm!!!!!!!! I get to sleep in MY OWN BED tomorrow night!! AHhhhhh this is unreal! But so, so, so incredibly exciting!

I am going to miss it. It's going to be a weather shock coming from snow to 80 degree sunshine. I'm going to miss how beautiful the German countryside is. I'm going to miss Brad and Debbie, and I'm really going to miss Mac, and I already miss so many others. I'm going to miss speaking German - or a mix of "Denglisch." But I cannot wait to see my parents and hug my sister and see the SUN and pet my kittens and eat real mexican food and hug my friends and go to my church and did I mention enjoy the sunshine? I am ready to be home!!!! OH, it's so exciting!! Thinking about it is giving me tingles. :) hee hee hee hee the year is over!!! Can you believe it?? there were times when it went by soooo slowly, but now that I'm going home it seems to have sped by. Although, while it seems I haven't been in Germany that long, it seems like I haven't been home in forever. EEEEEEEEE I cannot WAIT!!! I hope I sleep on the plane, that always makes time go faster.

I'm coming home TOMORROW!!!

Week One

Well, my goodness, I can hardly believe the first week is already over. Time flies when you're having fun! And what a week it has been. Have I mentioned I love this place?

So, Tuesday morning I went with Debbie to the PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) Bible Study on post. It had been snowing a little bit when we woke up, and by the time we got to the chapel, there was enough snow sticking to the ground that we could leave footprints. I was excited! Well, 3 hours later, it still hadn't stopped snowing. We got almost 8 inches of snow!! It was so beautiful! We did get stuck on post for a while until the roads got cleared and we could go back to the House, and it was just so cool to see everything covered in so much snow. I finally got my big snow for living in Germany! Wheee!!! Of course, I had to go make a snowman, down on Brad and Debbie's volleyball court, and they even gave me a carrot for his nose. :)
Wednesday night is always a dinner & discussion night, and there were quite a few single soldiers there. We filled the entire upstairs living room. It was fun to meet a lot more of the soldiers, and to see some familiar faces again.

Thursday was a good day, Brad left to go pick up the speaker for the PMOC (Protestant Men of the Chapel) conference that was this weekend, so Debbie and I had a nice, laid-back day, concluded with popcorn and movies.

Friday is Bible Study day, so we clean and cook during the day, and people come over for dinner. It was a smaller group, since most of the guys were at the PMOC retreat. One of the soldiers led a Bible study, and then everyone went home except our weekend group.

This weekend, the group was Debbie, me, Nellie, and Mac. Now, Nellie and Mac are regulars, to the point that they have rooms named after them. The 2-bed bunk room (where I'm living) is "Nellie's Room," and the bedroom is "Mac's Room." (and the other bunkroom is "Rob's Room.") What a great group - we had a blast. Saturday was spent shopping, all over in Idar-Oberstein and on post in Baumholder. Saturday night was movies and ice cream sundaes!

Sunday morning we had chapel, and then it was back to the House for grilled cheese sandwiches - and yummy tomatoe sandwiches! Lazy afternoon playing dice and catching up on e-mail and stuff, and watching Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, which is very good. We also all got new nicknames this weekend. In Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, they have an accountant, and they call him Mutant. (you have to see the movie!) Anyways, it's hilarious, and at the end I said I needed someone to call Mutant - and Mac volunteered, so he's officially Mutant. Nellie is Trolli, or gummyworm, because she managed to win an electric blue Trolli hat at the German store. Then they decided I was Princess, or Buttercup, after we watched the Princess Bride - which of course makes Rob the Dread Pirate Roberts. It's random, but a lot of fun. We went back to post in the evening so Debbie could go to Bible study, and we three ate at Taco Bell (!!) and then picked Rob up at his barracks, since he was back from PMOC, and we went to the bowling alley on post. Just really a great week!

On the first day of...

SNOW! YES, SNOW! I LIVE SOMEWHERE WITH SNOW!! Isn't that exciting?!?! There we were, sitting in German class, when the teacher looks out the window and says, oh, it's snowing. What?!? Celeste and I (my fellow desert dweller, shivering here in the frozen north) ask for permission then run outside. SNOW! It was too warm for it to stay on the ground, but it was coming down pretty thick, and it was beautiful! Sadly, I didn't have my camera dabei any of the times it snowed, because I was either in class or driving. But still! It snowed! And I have high hopes for more! I'm dreaming of a white Christmas....

Then, today was full. We made cookies! Watching four kids (Lena was over) and trying to bake cookies and clean up all at the same time is a handful. And tomorrow I get the kids all alone, all day long. Eek! A true test of my abilities. But yes, the first cookies of the season! Woo-hoo!! I love this time of year!!!!!