Happy Memorial Day

Bob with him mom, brother, niece, and nephews.

There were two giants who got in a quarrel....

"Once upon a time there were two giants who lived on two hills; one on the Felsberg, the other on the Hohenstein. One day they had a quarrel and began throwing boulders at each other. The giant from Hohenstein had the advantage of many more stones to throw, and soon the giant from the Felsberg was buried in a sea of rocks."

And then the rocks were found by the friends on a hike....

28

My sister in law, Amy, sent me some photos of Bob while he's "at training."  Here he is with his brother and nephew.  He was able to spend a whole weekend with family.

Violin recitals

See this empty space  --->

This is where I'm going to learn how to post videos so you can all see the kids play their  recital pieces.

The spring violin recital was fun - to watch anyway.  Actually we're all glad its over.  :)

Day 27.

Stuck in the mud

Hey, who's big American van needed to be towed by a German  with a tractor?  Thankfully, I have friends who have friends!

Day 26.

What do Harry Potter and team tennis have in common?

Ben.

another day....

Yeah, he's a cutie.....

For those of you who don't think Baylor gets enough blog time.  Kinda handsome doncha think?

Baylor gets creative while Alexandra reads.  :)

day 25

Fun for Wednesdays

So today I just wanted to post of photo of Alexandra with new braces,

but we had company, goofy company.  I knew Bob would appreciate these photos.

Also, we took photos with Baylor's camera and found some fun photos.  This is what my boys do in their spare time.  :)

Day 24

Look at those smiles!

Last photo of Alexandra without braces for a long while!

day 23

I should clarify my comments on the previous post.

Algebra 1 is actually not the source of our dissension (obviously).  Sin is the source of our dissension.  Algebra 1 simply gave us the opportunity to realize, once again, our need of a Savior.  It also gave us the opportunity to understand and talk about Proverbs.

Proverbs 25:28 "A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls."

(a mom without self-control.....)

:)

Angst

The source of much angst, tension, and consternation today.....

Day 22.

Life when you're 8

Transformer jammies and a loaded nerf gun.....  :)

Day 21 - I'm just counting the days Bob is gone now, even if we did get a one week reprieve.  It was a great week!!

Team Tennis: Alexandra

Alexandra plays her first team tennis matches.  It was a little bit difficult playing doubles for the first time when she and her partner don't speak the same language!

Day 20.

smiles

I told Baylor everyone likes to see him smile - and look - a genuine smile!!

Day 19.

Tests, lessons, matches, and creeks....

Another busy day around here: standardized testing this morning, violin lessons this afternoon, Baylor's team tennis later in the afternoon (singles: 6:3, 6:2; doubles: 6:0, 6:1 wohoo!), and jumping the creek at a friend's house this evening.

Here's Ben after his shower at 10:00 pm.

Day 18.

From one thing to another

Alexandra - in the car waiting for Ben at tennis so we can go and wait for Baylor at youth group......

Day 17....

Chilly day in May

Alexandra is warming up with soup and bread she bought (and ordered in German) from the grocery store on the way home from tennis.  It was kind of a chilly day today and she had to wait for an extra hour at tennis while I watched Ben at baseball practice.

So I had a few pretty cool photos of the boys but somehow Baylor managed to delete them before I could post them.  Maybe after a year I'll be an expert at posting as well as an expert at keeping photos on the camera until they are posted.

Wishing Bob were here to share a cup of coffee with.....

Day 16....

Mother's Day

I love being a mom to my kids!  Even on bad days.  Today was a good day.  Except we really miss Bob.
Day 15...


I am being foiled in my efforts to post on our family blog by bad internet.  Two days in a row now.  I'm a little frustrated but I'll try at a different time tomorrow.

The picture was of the kids and their cards sitting by the flowers they walked down the street to buy for me.  They're great kids!!

Saturday: tennis and friends

We started our Saturday with Saturday morning tennis and ended it with dinner with friends.  The sun even came out for a few hours today.  :)

 And here is where the photos are supposed to be ----->

except when you have internet access like ours, sometimes it takes an hour for a photo to load.

I'll update the photos tomorrow.
Day 14....

Friday night movie night

Day 13.

Ben's version of recycling

Here is Ben using his Academic Fair project board of favorite sea creatures to build a lego hide away.   Nothing like a few legos and some cardboard!  :)









Day 12...

Team Tennis with the Landstuhl Club

Kind of hard to see but Baylor's is serving during his team tennis singles match.  He said he played better than last week but could have played better.  Team tennis is great because he plays matches every week - and he has to speak German with his opponents and teammates!

Day 11...

Happy afternoons...

Here are Ben and Alexandra enjoying some free time Tuesday afternoon.  Alexandra crocheted a hat for her doll while Ben colored Clone Wars.  Actually, before I took the picture I was napping on Alexandra's bed. :)  Baylor was at tennis.

Day 10....

Spelling test

Here's Baylor in the middle of his spelling test.  Okay, I tried to take it and he hid behind a book so I had to sneak this picture in after a hard word.  "irresistible" - and to be honest I just had to check my own spelling with his spelling book : )

And now we have smiles.....

Day 9....

Alexandra plays Bach

Alexandra had her spring piano recital with students from a German music school and private studios. 
She did a great job and really enjoyed performing.

Two things about tonight's post.  First I really think there's a way I can post a video of Alexandra playing but for the moment I can't seem to figure it out.  And second, if there were a way, I would have to post a video of her playing her piece at home.

I wonder how many times I'll mis-record (is that a word?) something important over the next year...  Somehow you have to select the "type" of video recording you want to do.  I guess I didn't select the right one.  I was sure I had and that is why I also didn't bother taking a picture of Alexandra at the recital.  What you see here is Alexandra at home in front of our piano holding flowers given to her by Brent and Noel Sadler, friends from our church who came to watch her perform.


We ate at Macaroni Grill afterwards.  :)

Day 8...

Good night photos

Okay, so after a late night dinner with our home school conference speaker, I realized I hadn't taken a photo yet today for day 7.  So I wonder how often I'll be trying to convince my kids to smile as I'm tucking them in over the next year of photos?

First, no photo of Alexandra at all.  Second, only one of Baylor hiding as he says, "Mom! You can't take pictures like this and post them for everyone to see!"  And, as for Ben, well when your 8 you just like to smile for the camera.  :)