The Big Day

We survived the first day of school!  :)

Not so sure about tomorrow, but we'll think happy thoughts!

Our little family 
has been visiting the school pretty frequently.

Abby has been hanging out for small bits of time & getting comfortable.

{Thanks, Ms. Stacie!}

Last Thursday, we went to see the class lists & Abby met her teacher.

Well, her teacher has been teaching for 33 years.

And she loves singing.  And dancing.  
Most importantly, she loves drama!

{we'll have to see if it's the Abby-type of drama!}

So, she gave Abby an envelope to open on the night before school starts.

Fun, fun!

Last night was the night & she opened the letter...
click on it & hopefully you can read it.

{if not, I'll type it out when I have more energy!}

What an answer to prayer--it was like it was written directly to her.  :)

 It really did help & she seemed excited...she gave Beks a couple of pieces of the *magic stuff* too!

Before school...

Mommy & Daddy had a hard time getting her to leave the house!

She was not happy & was starting to get pretty upset.

Brad did go with her to talk to the teacher when we got to the school.

Abby told Mrs. Harvin that one of her biggest fears was how to ask to go to the bathroom & how to get there!  That's a pretty big step for A, so we were proud of her!

The day seemed to go pretty well.

Seems like she had a mixture of good moments mixed with some not so good.

Some new friends, some hugs & a good teacher...
were a few of the good.

Things she's not so keen on yet...
P.E., girls who yank you back into line (yes, homeschooling, we don't practice standing in line!), and short lunches/recess!

AFTER school...

a little happier!

Fun with sissy

Complete silliness!  :)

We ended the day with an impromptu neighborhood pizza party.

{thanks to Daddy being the pizza delivery guy!}

It is a true blessing to be in this little square & have all these kiddos running around playing.

Hope to soon report that A is loving every minute of school!  :)

Am I Really Behind Already?

Well, when you're out having all sorts of fun in a new country, it's hard to blog!

Do you believe me?  It might be more believable if I weren't home by myself 5 nights a week!  :)  

Some nights it's harder than others to upload pictures and drink wine...

They had a field day here on base...of course it had an Olympic theme.

The girls had little desire to partake, but when they found out they had to sign up to enter the jumpy house, they managed to survive.

Actually, they had fun!

Here Beks is doing one of her special dances...

Our first Thai experience in Germany...

it was good & there are actual Thai people there, so that is always a positive sign.

Makes me miss Korea though.  Mmmm...Lana's.

There are lots of places to try, but happy to know we have Thai this close to base!

After church one Sunday, 

we just started driving & looking.

Here is a place our *Panther Paws* (a book that helps you navigate restaurants/shopping in the area)

said had good schnitzel.

It was our first experience where no one spoke English.

Not that I expect them to speak English...we are in Germany.  :)

Brad is getting to practice all those years of German he took.

Oh, and this is where he was born!
(Um, not at this restaurant--smarty pants! Or should I say MOM!) 

Another awesome thing about Germany...

parks are everywhere.

Now I'm only 2 weeks behind...I have VBS at night this week, so don't expect too much from me!  :)

I'll do my best!

Let's Go Bowling

Fun times!

Before we got into our house, we were off finding all sorts of exciting things to do on base.

We have a great bowling alley here...

it is free for the kiddos to bowl during the week.

We just have to rent shoes,

and with early risers, the fact that we can start bowling at 8 a.m. is a plus!

We rock.

Mommy should probably use the ramp too...and the bumpers!

There is also yummy food there.

It is THE place to go for breakfast!

Not sure what they were doing while eating said food, but it was pretty funny!