Christ has risen! He has risen indeed!

Celebrating the risen Christ with friends here in Schweinfurt made for a very special weekend. Saturday morning we were invited to brunch at the Campbell’s house. We met two new folks and hung out with Emily and John B., their little boy Charlie, and Crystal and Mike C. and baby Cassie. It was a very nice meal and a fun egg hunt for the kids. Loralynn and Tana had fun for quite some time playing with a half-dozen plastic eggs with candy inside on the table after the hunt. Tana didn’t eat any, but Loralynn enjoyed the jelly beans, M&Ms, and mini chocolate eggs.

After Sunday service, we went to the Cochran’s house for Easter lunch. The Brickl family was there, too.

Loralynn was excited to show off my Passover Lamb cake-- the very first cake I have ever decorated (and Dan said it tasted good, too). I made it a red velvet cake to symbolize Christ's blood shed for us.

Loralynn and Tana enjoyed the different toys at the Cochran's home. Loralynn occupied herself most of the time with the other kids, but Tana hung around me a lot in the kitchen because she wasn’t feeling well. The big kids ate at a small table while we ate at the adult table. Loralynn seemed to really enjoy sitting next to Jackson (5 years old..?) and pestered him a lot.

When we got home, I found that Tana had a fever. We all took naps at some point in the afternoon. Then Loralynn found both of their Easter baskets. We got them each a big Kinder chocolate bunny, tiaras and clip-on earrings, and music CDs (“Wee Sing Bible Songs” and “Music Machine”). Tana also got a wind-up chick, and Loralynn got a Play Mobile egg with a fairy set inside.

Since we pushed the clocks forward last night, we had a weird wakeful bedtime (but it’s nice to sleep in an extra hour!).

New seat brings car happiness for Tana

For several months now, Tana has done a lot of discontent crying in the car. We finally decided it was high time for a forward-facing seat for her. We transitioned Loralynn a week after her first birthday (out of a Graco 22 pound max. seat). With Tana, we purchased an infant seat before she was born that goes to 35 pounds. We thought it would last much longer but nearing her 19-month-old mark, she needs out of the thing.

Dan and I ordered one of the few brands (Graco) that ships to our overseas military address. He did some deep cleaning of our Escape yesterday and installed the new seat.

She had some great expressions in her new seat on the way to chapel this morning. In the photo to the right, she's kicking her legs back and forth with great delight!

Easter market fun beats the cold

Despite the cold for March, there has been lovely sunshine and we decided it was high time to visit an Easter Market. We took the short drive to Hammelburg right after Tana's nap and perused the stalls.

The carrousel called their names as we approached, and they got to ride in the fire truck. Tana was thrilled out of her socks and cried for more when it was finished. Loralynn loved it, too. I enjoy being able to provide such a simple pleasure for our girls. It makes me so happy to see them with big smiles on their faces. It won’t be long before they’ll need to bungee jump off a bridge to get the same thrill factor.


After strolling the streets for a while, Dan went for some bratwurst and waited in line. I told Loralynn that Daddy was going to get some bratwurst for us. She saw a kid in line near Daddy who was eating ice cream and I believe she was picturing ice cream in her head when she said, "I like bratwurst." It wasn't until she realized that Daddy was getting "hot dog"-type food that she came to me crying. I pieced together what was going on in her little head. She was so sad that it wasn't ice cream. I didn’t care for ice cream because it was so darn cold (who eats ice cream when it's 43 degrees Fahrenheit outside?), but when I saw how sad she was I couldn't resist.

She picked out her own little cup of peach ice cream and shared it with all of us around a freezing cold table and chairs. We walked some more, shared a yummy waffle and then got two small balloons on sticks for the girls to play with. They thrashed them about and “attacked” both Daddy and me. It was quite fun to watch, and it continued when we brought them back out once we arrived home.

To move or not to move ... that WAS the question

We've loved living in this house in our little German village for the last four years.

Yesterday we were given big news. It seems like it has been a long time in coming. Since we found out that the American army post in Schweinfurt is closing down September 2014, we were wondering how long we would get to stay in the place we've called home for almost seven years. The elementary/middle school where Dan teaches has to cut their staff nearly in half at end of this school year because student enrollment numbers for the fall will be down.

After thinking we were definitely going to be sent somewhere else overseas with Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DoDDS) in June, we were told we get to stay for the very last school year of Schweinfurt American schools! After the initial shock and readjustment of our mindsets, we are excited about staying here to the end and closing this place that we love. Everything will remain the same with our home life but Dan’s work life will be much different: The fall will be the beginning of Dan’s first year without a classroom full of kids since he began teaching 12 years ago. His title will be Educational Technologist (ET) for the K-6^th grade school.