Ice Skating

Saturday, December 12 we took the kids ice skating.

We arrived early enough that we were practically the only ones on the ice. This was nice, as then we weren't running into anyone or making anyone else fall when we came tumbling down! The kids actually did great. Sydney's rollerblading skills paid off especially well for her.

The kids on the empty rink ready to have some FUN!



We rented a little penguin that you can push around the rink. Silas wasn't overly fond of the whole ice skating experience - but we tried to get him use to the skates and helped push him around the rink a few times. He much preferred to be in daddy's arms and go fast around the rink with him.

Shaylee started out the day using the penguin - but after awhile she was on her own skating around! She didn't want to stop. She asked if we could come back tomorrow - since she was sooo good!

All done - time to go warm up with some Kinderpunch and Gluhwein!

To top off the day Sydney lost another tooth! While we were sitting and drinking our warm drinks Sydney was wiggling a very loose tooth. With a little help from daddy - out it came!

More Christmas Market Fun

This past Saturday (December 5) we went to our local Christmas market. We walked around and checked out the booths with all the local goods. I let the kids each pick out a wooden ornament of their choice. They also picked out a door hanger, for future use at the cabin since it is quite woodsy (its for daddy, shhh don't tell him). The kids got waffles with powder sugar for supper...waffles, crepes, or wurst are usually your food choices at the local marts. They enjoyed them to the last bite!

The Jesse Tree - A Promise for Advent

December is upon us - and with December comes all the preparations for Christmas. One of the things our family does each December to help us focus on the Reason for the Season - is the Jesse Tree. This is a wooden tree that we hang up that has 25 little nails. Each day, from the 1st to the 25th, we read from a devotional book and then hang up an ornament representing a Biblical figure that the devotional was about. Each devotional, from Adam to Jesus reminds us of God's Promise - of His love and faithfulness through the generations.

I first made my Jesse Tree back at Orchard Hill Church during my Mom's Morning Out days. At the time Sydney must have been a newborn and Shane wasn't even 2...but I loved the idea and wanted something my kids could learn from and enjoy each advent season. I have several friends (you know who you are) that made Jesse Trees with me. A few days ago I was reading my friend Emily Hill's blog and noticed she posted about their family tradition of the Jesse Tree. I commented right away, and said "we are doing ours too." How awesome to know that across the miles - we are being consistent with teaching our kids about JESUS! (And of course how could I not do a post about it too!- thanks Emily!)

The Jesse Tree has proven to be a wonderful learning tool for our family. Over the years as the kids have gotten older by the end of December they have been able to memorize each of the ornaments and who they represent. Silas has shown interest this year and wants to be the one to hang the ornament on the tree. We've worked out a system where each day we take turns and rotate. But each day Silas asks "me turn?" Shane and Sydney are now old enough to read the devotional booklet and the scripture passage from the Bible. It is fun to sit around the table after supper and walk through the story of God's promise. I am so grateful to Sally Baker from Orchard Hill Church who put the devotional together those many years ago. I hope that she is still doing this: as it is a great tool for families to share in God's wonderful story - and above all to teach their children the Reason for the Season is JESUS!

Silas holding up one of the ornaments (colorful coat representing Joseph) and Sydney hanging the ornament on the Jesse Tree.

All the kids in front of our Jesse Tree

Christmas in Deidesheim

It is that time of year in Germany, when every town has Christmasmarkets. In the smaller towns they may only be open one weekend, where as in the bigger cities they are open every weekend and sometimes during the week as well until Christmas. We figure we might as well enjoy them while we can. So Sunday evening, we headed to Deidesheim. We had been here a few weeks back (for the wine tasting and wagon ride through the vineyards). We had heard Deidesheim's Christmas market is suppose to be one of the best little markets, so we thought we'd try it out. It was fun to come back and see the town all lit up with Christmas lights and the streets lined with little stalls filled with all sorts of neat stuff.

We tried out some warm sweet bread with a vanilla dipping sauce...yum! And also something like apple dumplings that were fried in batter - they tasted just like fried donuts - but with apple filling. We had a little vanilla sauce left over and Jer gave it a try...more yum! Of course we also had wurst and Gluhwein too, as any Christmas market experience wouldn't quite be complete without them!

The kids remembered the fountain with the goat - and had fun climbing up on the statues.

As we were leaving we saw this really neat burning log. It was being used as a heater. The way it was cut was allowing it to stand upright and yet burn - it was really cool. We may have to try that out at the cabin sometime.

Heidelberger Weihnachtsmarkt

On Saturday, November 28 - we headed into Heidelberg for the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market). Shane was at a birthday party (therefore you will not see any photos of him). We enjoyed walking around, peeking into all the stalls, and checking out all the neat items. I even found a Polish pottery stall - but didn't purchase anything as the prices were a bit higher than what I paid when I was in Poland last weekend. The kids enjoyed watching the skaters on the iceskating rink and really wanted to go, but we didn't have time. Once we got home we realized Jer and I have skates here, as well as 2 pairs of kid skates....so we may head back there yet.

The girls

We got Gluhwein and Kinderpunch and even tried some Heiss Orangensaft (which basically tasted just like Tang....do they even sell Tang anymore?) And of course had some wurst as well. YUM!

Silas and Mommy enjoying the warm drinks.

Sydney was excited to get something warm to drink too. Our table had a nice little spot underneath that was perfect for the girls.

Walking through the streets - and of course a trip to Heidelberg wouldn't be complete without a photo of the castle!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope those of you who are in the US are enjoying family and friends, turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and corn, and all the other wonderful foods made on this day! What a blessing it is to have so much food - God is good to us!!!! Now don't forget the pumpkin and pecan pies! Oh yum, yum, yum!

I actually made my own pumpkin pie today (thanks mom for help with the recipe). It turned out great - and tasted sooo good! I had friends Jeff and Sibylle and their two kids Jacey and Daniel over for a Thanksgiving meal. I made turkey breast and stuffing. I made the stuffing like my mom always does (not just Stove Top out of the box). It too turned out really good and I even have leftovers!!!! I was going to take a picture when everyone was here sitting at the table - but I forgot. I remembered once the table was all cleared and the dishes were already in the dishwasher - oh well. Today was a good day, but I do miss everyone back in the US - and of course my mom's Thanksgiving meal!

Most importantly I want to take some time today to be thankful. Thankful for the many blessing God has given to me (and my family). We so often take things for granted. I want to strive to be thankful each and everyday. To wake up and be thankful for the day given to me, to use it wisely. To be thankful while getting the kids up and off to school. To be thankful while the kids are at school, and when they come home. To be thankful in the midst of homework and mealtime chaos. To be thankful as I lay down to sleep at night, reflecting back on my day. I cannot say that I am there yet (on a daily basis in the midst of the chaos). But it is a goal I want to strive for.

Right now, I am thankful. Thankful for the friends that came and celebrated Thanksgiving with us tonight. Thankful for the plentiful, delicious food that was on our table. Thankful for my dishwasher running and cleaning all the dishes. Thankful for 4 sleeping children tucked into warm beds. Thankful for electricity and the ability to have wireless internet connection. Thankful for friends and family near and far. Thankful for my health. Thankful for my husband. Thankful that God is so good to me and continues to bless me in so many ways each day.

Psalm 34:8-10 states: Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Those verses just speak to me. They tell me to trust in the Lord - and I will lack nothing! God is good, he will supply all our needs. He will protect us and shelter us. He is our refuge and our strength.

There are several Psalms that also state: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

How wonderful it is to know that God loves us - and that his love lasts forever. Nothing we can do will change how much he loves us. How awesome it is to serve such a loving a faithful God. I will continue to give thanks to Him for all the blessing he has given and continues to give to me.

Take time today and everyday- to give thanks to God for the blessings that are in your life.

With love, Kimber

Girls Weekend in Poland!

This past weekend (November 20-22) I went with nine other gals to Poland to shop for pottery! I had an awesome time, with awesome gals, who know how to have fun and shop!

My good friend Verena and I - and the group of gals: Nicole, Kathy, Cara, Lexi, Teina, Noelle, Heather, Vicki, Verena, and me!

We left Friday morning and drove about 6.5 hours to Boleslawiec, Poland. The drive seemed to go by so fast. It must have been due to the great "girl talk" and not having 4 kids in the backseat begging for food or asking "are we there yet". And best of all - I didn't have to take anyone potty but MYSELF! It was GREAT!!!!

When we arrived in Boleslawiec we decided to hit one of the pottery shops that was still open right away. I was so glad we did. I was a bit overwhelmed by the huge selection of pieces and patterns. It was nice that some of the gals had been here before, and knew what they were looking for. I loved looking at what the other gals were picking out and getting ideas and tips from them. Here is Verena in the first shop we went to....look at all the pottery!!!!!

We then headed to our hotel - The Blue Beetroot. What a great little hotel. It was so cozy and rustic. I loved it. We were all pretty tired of driving around - so we opted to have supper at the hotel. The food was great and so were the prices! With 10 of us we practically ordered everything on the menu! We had a fun evening, but were also ready to get to bed so we could get up and SHOP! SHOP! SHOP!

Kathy - in our room. And the gals at supper....sorry about the tilt in the picture...in order to get everyone on I had to stand way back against a wall and put my camera off to the side. I took 3 photos and this was the best one!

Saturday morning we ate a lovely breakfast at the hotel. I loved not being too rushed and once again only having to worry about myself. I had slept okay the night before. I was up for about an hour or so just because my mind was spinning over all the pieces of pottery I was thinking about!!!

Outside the first shop were all these BIG pieces of pottery - we couldn't resist a picture. Let the shopping begin!!!!

I love this picture of Vicki. She was checking out the map and list of pottery places - figuring out where we would go next! And at one place we got to peek back in the factory to see the pottery before it is beautifully hand-painted.

More shops - and a close up of my favorite piece that I bought for myself! I didn't buy it right away because I couldn't decide on it - but I am so glad I ended up getting it!!!!

Toward late afternoon our group split up as some of us wanted to get back to a store that was closing early and others of us wanted to check out a few places we had not yet been too. I was in a group with Lexi - and on our way back from one of the shops we had a little run in with the Polish Police! Making memories - that is for sure!!! Lexi handled it lovely - but still ended up with a ticket. Apparently she was speeding - although I think they saw our foreign plates and figured we'd been pottery shopping and would obviously have cash on hand...as the first question they asked her was if she had any cash! Crazy part was, that truthfully she didn't - as she had just spent her last dime at the place were were just at! But surprisingly enough we got pulled over right by a grocery mart that had an ATM....coincidence..hmmmm.

We finally made it back to the hotel. Here is Lexi showing off her ticket and enjoying a glass of wine. We all had massages or pedicures scheduled that evening - it was so nice to sit and relax after our day of shopping.

We then headed down for supper again at the hotel and got to sample even more delicious food. Did I mention that it was great to not have to share my food or cut it up for little ones or even have a little on sitting on my lap. I so needed some time away - and loved every minute of it! After supper we all went upstairs to our rooms and had a bit of show and tell. It was so fun to see what everyone had bought.

That night Verena and I stayed up way too late talking - but it was so much fun. I'm so glad we got to go on this trip together. She is moving to the US in January :( I am going to miss getting together with her weekly for coffee and watching our little ones play.

That was my weekend - it was so much fun. I really enjoyed getting to know some of the other gals better and can't wait to go back again....(I'll keep my fingers crossed). Jer did great at home with the kiddos all weekend (even though Silas was still running a fever). I came home to a clean house and all the dishes were done! I think I ought to go away with the girls more often!