Asher turns 6- December 24, 2013

I'm not sure if you know it but Asher is the most tender hearted child, pretty much that ever lived, I am sure. I am incredibly blessed to call this little guy "son". He continually puts the needs of others before him, even to the point of making major sacrifices for those that he calls sister. He is gentle and kind. His days are filled with Lego's, scooters, riding his bike and playing Minecraft. He has a serious sweet tooth which I will take the blame for. He loves Star Wars and hopes to become a Jedi Knight. I'm continually amazed as the Lord grows this little guy into an amazing young man. 

Olivia turns 8- November 6, 2013

Olivia's birthday was very special this year because her Grandma and Grandpa were here to celebrate it with her. How else to celebrate besides for with gelatto?

The weekend following her birthday we had a small joint family birthday party with new friends that we have made here in Wiesbaden.

The following weekend Chris and Grandpa took the older kids to a transportation museum only a few hours from here to see some of her favorite things- planes, trains, automobiles, robots and space ships. All so Olivia.

Sisters and Friends - 11.13

I have a friend here that jokes that our family has two "flavors" of children. We have the Chris flavor- Olivia and Asher and the Nicole flavor- Celeste and Nora. It just so happens that our children of the same "flavors" look a lot alike,  and share a lot of the same interests. So generally,  you will find our flavors together. But, every now and then, to my delight,  I will find Olivia and Nora, playing Littlest Pet Shops, or Celeste and Asher engrossed in a good book. The pictures below were taken by my Mother-in-law while she was here and are precious to me.

 I think this picture says so much about Olivia's personality- rocking the beanie 

and the converse. That girl. Like me in so many ways. Love these two to the core. 

Roman Ruins in Mainz- October 25, 2013

This year in school we are studying Rome to the Protestant Reformation. As you can imagine it's a great season to homeschool in Europe as there are tons of field trips that continually provide opportunities to draw the kid's hearts towards history. Studying the history of this time period has really brought new life into studying Gods word for all of us.

The great thing about living in Germany (ok, one of the great things- I'm a sucker for the coffee, chocolate and bread too) is that there is so much history to be explored right outside our front door. Just 45 minutes south of our home,  in the city of Mainz, we were able to visit ancient Roman ruins from the time that the boundaries of the Roman empire reached into the region that we now call Germany. 

There girls are standing in front of the ruins of an ancient Roman bath

The baths up close. 

  We aren't sure the about this guy's story  but we thought that he needed a little company.

  Also not sure of this, but thought it was a great place for a picture.

 (just look at these lovelies- be still my heart.) 

 From 12 BC to 500 AD Mainz was the site of a Roman fortress.

 Here is where one of the city gates, which was built in approx 360 BC,  was located. 

 (and on a complete side note, this man still makes my heart swoon)

 Interestingly enough, the gate ruins can now be found right 

smack in the middle of an apartment complex.

Yes, these are my children who are trying to prior thousand 

year old stones from ancient ruins for a keepsake.

 Another site that we visited was the ruins of the Roman Aqua ducts 

built in 13 AD to fresh water into the Roman city. The remnants now

 include 58 of the original piers that once spanned  8 km. (about 5 miles)

 (oh. and this guy captures my heart, too)

 A cathedral spire in Mainz.

These Roman theatre ruins, that are also in Mainz, were discovered 

n the early 1900's while they were building a train station. According to

 historians it could hold 10,000 people. Impressive.

 The Drusus stone was a memorial built to honor the Roman general Drusus. 

Drusus son of  Tiberius Claudius Nero and step-son to Caeser Augustus. 

Nora turns 4- October 24, 2013

Our hearts delight in this little girl. She keeps us on our toes with a little sass here, a little spunk there and a whole lot of sweet. She actually has a pretty quirky sense of humor, which doesn't surprise us at all. Above all things Nora is a princess. (In fact, just the other day she was singing about how she was a princess and her daddy is her bald King)  She can out imagine the best of the best and lives in her own little world of make believe. High heeled shoes and princess dresses are her attire of choice- when necessary a crown is worn. Gum her vice. There is nothing that Nora loves more than to give gifts (only to later, take them back). She eagerly awaits the arrival of the one whom she calls "the little sister".

Apple Happle- October 12, 2013

One of the things that we desperately missed while living in Okinawa was the Autumn season. I actually considered asking someone to mail us leaves so that we could toss them into the backyard and walk over them- just for the experience of feeling and hearing them crunch underfoot. And I may, or may not have, planned an event called "Autumnpalooza" to celebrate all things Autumn. I just think that there is nothing like it. And no matter how much you decorate or eat foods called pumpkin this or apple that, there is no substitute for the real thing. Just Autumn.

So imagine my surprise when we learned that there is a pick your own apple orchard and pumpkin farm only half an hour from where we lived. Well, there really isn't anything better to usher in the autumn season.

Apple sauce, apple pie, apple strudel, apple cake, apple juice, apple wine, hot apple cider.....

Date night: Idstein October 2, 2013

One of the advantages to living in Germany is that even a date night, having dinner in the next village over, is anything but ordinary. Our little village of Worsdorf, is governed by the larger, college town of Idstein. The little city of Idstein has amazing half timbered homes that rival those in Bavaria.