At home again in Deutschland

Make a Smilebox postcard

Home again...here again

We're finally home & hit the ground running...well, almost walking since my car STILL isn't finished after 3+ weeks at the auto body shop. But I digress....hit the ground running - right. Back to work & school for both tired girls. I think Grace is about caught up on sleep, but I'm still on Deutsche zeit. Had a wonderful time...here are a few pics until I get a Smilebox put together. We hit most of my favorite spots & found a few new ones; celebrated coming together & put some old hurts to rest - both of which liberated & soothed the soul.

Words are failing in my weariness....so I'll just share some pics & come back another day. Thanks to all who prayed for our safety & good visits; for those who held my heart in the waiting. These were moments to last a lifetime - without a doubt! Love ya'll!

Here we are

Enjoying ourselves for sure...sadly counting the days until we come home. More when we return...miss you all!

On our way

Here we goooooooooooooooo!

for sure here~


and maybe here~

And nearly every day~

See you in May~

The Face of Grace

Delighted with her new pipe cleaner glasses made at the "playplace", Gracie wore them to preschool then next day. Her teachers & classmates were so wowed by the cool specs, the entire class made them. They even made a pair for the class pumpkin...he's hiding in there somewhere.

How fun! Grace was so proud of herself..."That was my idea, Mom." Kudos to those teachers for capturing a "teachable" moment and incorporating the kids interests into their day!

The forecast today is for a balmy 89 degrees...The beach bag is packed (always) and includes my study materials for an exam on Monday. After we pick up our swim buddy, we are beach bound. We might do a bit of apple picking on the way....we'll see. That seems rather Fall-ish and did I say the temp was near 90 degrees??

Bis spater~~ and speaking of Deutsch (bis spater=until later)

Gracie had her 1st day of German Kindergarten last week. It's one day a week, just a couple of hours but total immersion in Deutsch. Yeah! Come to find out, mom speaks enough German to help out in the classroom. Thus, I'm learning as well. This is GREAT!

Have a good one~ Gotta get the girl ready to play today. Hey...are you praying for a harvest amoung Muslims? Thanks so much for joining your's with mine....Until the whole world knows

2007 Southern Tour: Part 3 Atlanta Chillen & Grillen with Sarah

We met up with my good friend, Sarah, whom I met while living in Amberg, Germany. With just a couple of days, we simply relaxed & enjoyed catching up on what's new & reminiscing about times past. Sarah wowed us with a divine choc chip cinammon coffee cake...Gracie is the master taste tester!

Talk about YUM!

After a visit with Sarah's crafty mom, Michele, we took a chilly dip in the pool. That Gracie is a fish for sure, undaunted by lack of sun & occasional raindrop. We rounded out the visit with some tasty grilling at Sarah's hand. I'm trying to think if that yummy fresh pinapple even made it to the grill. Oh, well....good times with a good friend indeed! AND it was a treat to get to know Chad a bit more as he came home at the tale end of our visit. Just in time to share some blackberries with Grace...or rather watch her eat them ALL. :o)

Sarah's wedding Feb 05

Sarah & Grace at 3 weeks old

Pre-wedding play Feb 05

Sarah to the rescue when Gracie needed help up in the climber at Chic Fil-A.

2007 Southern Tour: Part 2 Kentucky Friends

Leaving Santa Claus, Grace & I made our way down to the Cumberland Mountains, Barbourville KY, to visit Jen & Gabi.

Jen & I were colleauges by chance & friends by choice during my term in Germany. Our babies were born just two months apart, so Jen & I grew together in more ways than just out. :o) Gracie loves to hear me tell how she kicked Gabi's behind when she was a "teeny tiny baby" in my belly. I hung out with Jen alot, especially after Gabi was born, to practice my baby skills & help out where I could. We were both a long way from home. I remember resting sweet Gabi on my 8-9 month pregnant belly. It was like someone announced "Let the kicking begin" as Grace pushed back on the pressure little Gabi was putting on my belly/baby. It is still as funny to me today as it was then. Gracie and Gabi both get a "kick" out of the story. :o)

Grace & Gabi had quite the time polishing their nails, riding bikes, swimming, dancing, tumbling & playing dress up! It was like they were old best friends or something. :o) They were 1st friends, but now much more interactive than just cooing, reaching for & rolling around each other. :o)

Here's a picture of us the day before we left Germany.

We tried our hand at flying a kite...you can see from the girls' expressions just how thrilled they were. It was a hot day with little wind. Jen helped us all be successful in our kite flying debut.

Princess play

We were priviledged to join the Anderson's at church on Sunday. Talk about instant in season, Jen had me lined up to sing for Sunday service. Thankfully, I had a couple soundtracks in the car. Gotta love Nicole C. Mullen~

For some time now, I'd harbored wishes to return to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg. Mom, Tracy & I enjoyed ourselves there a number of years ago. I was really looking forward to enjoying treasure memories & making some new ones with my Gracie girl. I mentioned to Jen I would probably make a stop in Gatlinburg on my way further south to Atlanta. Jen's connections net free passes to Dollywood! Whoo hooo! Thanks, Jen, for helping make this dream a reality. :o) Even better than free...it was a day shared with treasured friends!

Dolls in Dollywood

The "spray"ground