More Christmas....

Just thought I'd share Kendra's present from Aunt Sissy: Kendra promply declared: "Hey, I need to take this to school and wear it. I want people to leave me alone!" Yep - she's a piece of work.

Below - note the organized piles of presents? This was done before "Mom" got into the living room to take the picture she (I) takes EVERY Christmas - the one with all the presents "around" the tree.

Basically, this was the year that Christmas was our of our (Bart's & my) control. They had been cooking up a "surprise" for us for months in regards to Christmas morning. It was a sweet and wonderful surprise but I think most of you can get a kick out of the following timeline:

• 6:45am - Rachel wakes up and proceeds to "see" if Kendra is awake yet. Amazing how Kendra happens to be awake when sister says "hey, are you awake yet?"
• 7:10am - Rachel says "Hey mom, are you awake yet?" I was not. And gave instructions that we not be disturbed until 7:30/40. Aren't we mean? But it had been a busy Christmas Eve and we were tired!
• 7:35am - Rachel checks again only this time she's carrying a tray. "Merry Christmas" they both yell as they patiently wait for Bart and I to manage sitting up in bed. And serve us breakfast in bed! I typically don't eat until about 30min - 1hr after waking up - and ALWAYS after a coffee. So the croissant and grapes I was staring at were not too appetizing but I figured I could get them down after the coffee which was also on the tray.
• "Um - girls, could you nuke my coffee, it's kinda cold?" They leave to nuke coffee.
• Look over at Bart who is valiantly putting down a mouthful of Special K and declares it to be "a bit soggy - I think it's been sitting for a while."
• The girls return with my piping hot coffee and we gush about how wonderful this is and thoughtful and all that stuff. We then ask "So - when did you make breakfast?"
• "Weeeeell, we got your breakfast done by 7:00 but you weren't up yet. So we woke you up but you wanted to sleep longer. So we waited. Do you like it?"

We absolutely loved it - and we ate it all including soggy cereal. And I didn't even freak out at the fact that while our breakfast was "cooling" and they were waiting for their lazy parents to wake up on CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!!, they completely sorted ALL of the presents into nice little piles. Like a couple of little accountants. No idea where that comes from.

Sometimes it's just hard to keep up with them!

I mentioned we spent Christmas with friends in the mountains. Kendra declared D to be her sledding buddy and off they went. We had a bit of fun on the sledding hill until Rachel and N got into a bit of an accident and there were tears, etc... Everyone ended up fine and Rachel has a beautifully colored goose-egg adorning her left shin.

I think I've mentioned that Swiss refridgerators are a bit small - and most freezers are smaller (usually deli-drawer sized at the bottom of a fridge). So this is what you do when the temps are down and you are having Christmas at your house. Old fashioned refrigerator!Our fireplace decorated with cards!

While one would not typically hang cards over a working fireplace, we have candles in ours instead of fires (and the place is cement so the fire danger is LOW). We call it our funky fireplace and yes, the flat was built in the early 70's.

I show you this as a Thank You for all the cards we receive. Holidays can feel a bit off when you don't live near family. They feel even more off when you don't live in your own country - try getting your tongue around "Frohe Weihnachten." So thank you all for sharing the Season's Greetings with us!

The week of Christmas

Well - it has been such a busy season. I have, obviously, been doing things other than sitting at my computer. Thus - the Blog has been boring and silent for many days.

As I mentioned previously this month - we've been spending time with people. Making the most of time with friends who will not be returning to Switzerland as they left for their homes in the US this past week. Those who are visiting for the holidays. And - those who feel like family in the absence of our own.

I also realized another reason why I have neglected the computer. Please observe the following picture of our living space. It's a very large room and I am taking the pic from the dining area portion. So - dining room, TV/stereo/family room and corner office all in one. I like to work on the computer in silence.

There's not been much silence since last week's visit with Lind's in Engelberg - the girls got out of school the next day. Therefore, quiet will return to the house Jan. 12th. But we're having fun!

Just thought I'd share the following funny observation as I passed our Christmas tree:

Annika! Watch out!!! Padmae is ready to lazer Barbie. Perhaps she's taking out any competition for Anikan's affections? Just thought this was funny and I doubt the girls did this on purpose as they decorated the tree.

This is what happens to our living space when the girls are home with any length of time on their hands. They each have their own rooms. Apparently the neutral territory of the living room works better for them.

Christmas Eve (and Christmas) dawned grey and gloomy along Lake Zurich. So, I took the girls up to a little place nearby to get their ski legs worked out (I had mine the week before - YAHOO). Alpthal Brunni is a small family place and only has t-bars, no chair lifts. As you can see - it also had sunshine and no fog.

In honor of Christmas Eve, they gave the lift operators the day off apparently. The T-bar was self-service.

Um. Self-service T-bar. For a mom with two kids who don't like the T-bar in the first place. FYI - I had not been on a T-bar for about 30 years until we moved to Switzerland. They still have a lot of them as they are cheaper/less liability than chairlifts and easier to install through the cow pastures we ski through. But they are more tiring than sitting oneself on a chair!

Here you can see them with the bar properly placed under their backsides. I think this was our 3rd try. 1st try landed them in a pile about 15ft from where we started. I cleared them out and we tried again. 2nd try had the bar under Rachel but at Kendra's lower back - they still made it all the way to the top. 3rd time was a charm and I finally got the hang of grabbing the bar, getting it under them and catching the next one. It's harder than it sounds - they come in on the left (I am right-handed), it's a moving target and you have to pull that bar down pretty hard and fit it under them. But we had fun and it was a nice Christmas Eve morning.

Bart wasn't working. He was hanging out at home with his bum back. He threw something out in his lower back last week and can't do too many active things this week. Bummer. We missed him.

We headed to Germany last Sunday to visit Bart's sister and her family. Had a nice train ride and enjoyed some cheaper shopping than we would find in Switzerland. The Christmas markets are fun but tend to be full of the same stuff. But we always enjoy the food.

Thought I'd share my sister-in-law's beautiful table - and this was after we did the dinner damage.

She has a knack for decorating and playing hostess. Everything was black & white and beautifully presented. It is fun to be treated!

And the day before we went to Germany (I'm going backwards as you can see), I (susan) was in France to tour a couple Christmas markets/Towns with some friends who have done this annually for about 6 years. I was so glad to join them.

I love this area of France - the Alsace Region. Home of light, sweet wines and beautiful, cottage- filled villages and yummy foods. We finished out our Christmas shopping, ate pastries and had a wonderful lunch in a cellar restaurant - complete with accordian playing by local musicians.

Our last stop was Colmar (a couple of you reading know where I'm talking about). D & I headed to the shops while M & L went to the grocery store - we had only an hour. D & I had time to do a little damage (very little but fun) and decided we need to go back and make a Spring trip.

We had a wonderful Christmas and spent time with a group of friends in the mountains nearby. We are fortunate to have a family of friends here and our health.

Above all we are grateful for the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, through whom we are saved by grace.

We wish you a Happy Holiday!

the Berner Sennenhund

aka Bernese Mountain Dog (auf Englisch).

We have only a day left with Bosco as his owners return from Morocco (popular warm destination this time of year for Europeans). After 5 days with him, I am ready for ski season!

There is no "sideways" walking the dog here. He needs to be taken out at least 3 times a day. And we live on the side of a large hill - the landscape that starts at the Lake and goes nowhere but up. I'll admit - I thought I was in OK shape. I do our stairs (6 flights or 119 steps depending on how you like to count them) quite often now as the possibility of skiing is only a day of free time away.

Then, we dogsat. I have a whole new appreciation for those who are out walking their dogs all the time here. Many people live in apartment/shared housing and not all yards are fully fenced in. Bart and I agree we'd both loose some weight if we had a dog at home here. Up the hill, down the hill - knees don't like the downhill part.

I have even jogged for this creature. He wants to run - so I did it. I don't jog. Or run. When I tore my ACL 13 years ago, running/jogging was on the list of activities that weren't recommended. Whoo Hoo! Just the excuse I needed - running hurts. I am a good walker, love to bike, hike, etc... but jogging? I'm saving the knees for the skiing.

But who can resist this face? Yes, he loves to sit on the snow with temps at 28 - 35F. He'll sit outside at freezing temp's for 1 -2 hrs at a time, happy as can be. The Bernese originates from the Berner Oberland - home of the Eiger, Jungfrau & Monch peaks. They were a farm dog and not bred so much for herding as for "carting" or "drafting." They were trained to pull loads - and many children loved to be carted behind them. They can be quite large (range of 80 - 140lbs), gentle (when they don't have puppy mouths!), loyal, great with people/other animals and smart. The 'smart' comes with a catch - they do need time. You know, to think about what you've said and whether they want to listen.

We are enjoying Bosco but miss the quick intelligence of our Max.

Everyone who passes us immediately says "ah, Junge" - meaning "puppy" or "young one." One wouldn't necessarily assume that a dog this large - and only 6 1/2 months old! - would be young BUT, he has huge paws he obviously hasn't fully grown into (we like to call them snowshoes) and still has the baby fur all over his head. His hair is still changing and he will look different in another year. He looks like a bear right now.. Probably relates to the origin of the name too. Bern, the capital city of Switzerland, has had a bear in it's coat of arms since the 1400's.

For scale, this is the size of a 6 1/2 month old Bernese.

So - that's what we've been up to.

It's also the time of year to fit in all sorts of parties and visiting. We are saying goodbye this month to friends moving back to the States. That's the hard part of this lifestyle. So I hosted a ladies goodbye lunch today (Bosco was well behaved!) and we are hosting a kids goodbye this next weekend. Along with all the other events at school/church - we are staying busy.

Enjoy the day where ever you are!

It's the Christmas Season...

Let's count our blessings.

My daughter made some comment today about getting something that just about set my hair on fire. Not that she realized it and I didn't snap at her but, I had to remind her that Christmas is not about the presents and the size of the gift. I'm glad I didn't snap. She knew as soon as I started that what she blurted out sounded selfish.

It's been a hard Fall. Work has been hard for the hubby so I worry (just for him working so hard). Things are unstable right now. Knowing people who typically stay at "the Hotel" in India. We wonder whether we are moving back in the summer or staying here. All out of our control.

Two families (unrelated to one another) here are sharing their last Christmas together due to aggressive cancers - neither is old enough: upper 40's and 53. Both leaving behind small children unless God provides mercy and extraordinary power through the treatments left to them and extends their lives supernaturally.

I don't know the woman but we (a group of ladies) are going to decorate her house tomorrow for Christmas. I know the man and how his family has come to love my enchiladas. I will make enchiladas for them anytime they want. We've loved his teaching at church for 2 years. I choose "In Christ Alone" for worship the other Sunday and we sang it twice - he loves that song and that is what is keeping them all together right now. What should be keeping all of us together.

I know. I said "It's the Christmas Season....Let's count our blessings." And maybe I sound a bit sad in this blog. Sometimes I feel sad. But we also have so many reasons to be rejoicing. For my family it is a place to live, food, a chance to live in an extraordinarily beautiful piece of Creation, family we love and who are all healthy for the most part at this moment. We are laughing with our kids and they are getting presents for Christmas. We have so much.

That's where my head is at - besides that nasty cold. And why I've been less blog active lately. There are many things to do right now. Time to spend with people.

I pray you all have many things to celebrate this Christmas. And spend lots of time with people.

I've traded one distraction for another

Well - Dad was safely delivered to Zurich Int'l Flughafen this morning and should land in Dulles about 4 hours from now (its 5:20pm for me right now) and then he'll arrive in Sacto. about 4pm. Of course, after 2 weeks here of snow, clouds and a bit of rain, the skies were clear and blue for his departure. We hope he got a good view of the Alps as he left.

So that is one distraction (a good one) that was dropped off this morning and look what I picked up this afternoon! Well, not the kids - we've had them for a while. We are getting our "Hund" fix by watching Bosco for a coworker/friend for 4-5 days. Bosco is Swiss. And bilingual. He is only 6 1/2 months old. He's a living rug.

So I will have company while the girls are in school. Isn't he cute?

I will post a bit more now that I'm feeling better.

Later.........

Kitchen notes

Hey - here's the first apple pie of the Holiday season. We had an early Thanksgiving Dinner with some friends last weekend. We will probably have another Thanksgiving Dinner while Grandpa Paul is with us. So more pie, and turkey.... speaking of which.... Did you notice the size of the oven? I know I've posted a similar picture a few years back but, just had to share again. Notice how I can get one, whole pie in there. As long as the turkey I get is only about 10, maybe 12 lbs, I'll be OK. Anything bigger and it just won't fit. And yes, the oven only came with one rack. Don't ask how I manage to get everything onto the table still warm - I don't half the time!

Here is the whole kitchen. To the left is the oven cabinets and another storage cabinet. To the right is the Fridge & Freezer + cabinets on top and bottom. A 'bit' smaller that I had in the States but guess what? It doesn't take as long to clean and yet, with all those cabinets, I still have room for all our stuff. Just don't take offense if I turn down help - it gets really crowded if 2 people try to do dishes.

But this pic shows why the bakeries are so popular:
What a mess! It is nearly impossible to make pies when you hardly have any counter space. I'm trying to roll out dough and banging into everything within 2 feet of me. Not to mention the clouds of flour. But that's not really the fault of the small kitchen. Just my ineptitude - you should see the layer of dust when I make frosting. They have a great powdered sugar for glazing etc... but it's sooooo finely ground that it practically floats out of the bag. I digress....

So, someday, when it's time to return and get our very own house once again, I would like a kitchen that's not too big but has some good working space. And a view. I like a nice view while I'm at the sink.

Grandpa Paul has requested Apple Pie for his birthday so that's what he'll get. I just hope I don't break anything. :)

Snow Daze

First - here are the girls representing the US of A for the United Nations Assembly at school on Friday. Not as many kids dressed up as was hoped for but ours really get into the spirit of things. Thursday morning we received a call at 6am - school cancelled due to weather. And I am room parent for 2 classes and therefore must start the "phone tree" calling as prescribed by the school. It's not fun calling parents when you are groggy and haven't had caffeine yet.

This is what the forecasted "chance of snow" looked like at 7am:Normally - school wouldn't be cancelled for snow like this. But on October 30th, not many people have their snow tires on yet and the cities weren't quite ready to handle the removal. It wasn't a soft, dry snow either. It was very heavy and wet. The elementary school relies on a private bus service for about 40% of the student transportation and the rest of the students are driven from all parts of the Zurich area - including ferry from across the lake. Needless to say - it was a messy day out there.


The other risk involved: If you are in an accident in Switzerland and do not have the proper tires on for the season - in this case, snow tires -, the insurance company will not pay for damages. Your loss. Too bad, so sad. And, most likely, the reason the private bus company wasn't running.

We don't get our snow tires on 'til Nov. 10 - I'm driving very carefully!


Gee, don't they look sad about staying home for the day. Eating their "hot lunch" in Rachel's room. They love getting their lunch on trays and then eating them in R's room - playing school. Grilled cheese and tomato soup was on the menu in the 'cafeteria.'

The heavy wet snow did a number on the garden and I have more 'clean up' now than I planned to finish Fall with. I had seen bad weather coming and got the tulips in last Sunday afternoon and pulled out some dying annuals.

The snow cruched most of the ferns, the sedum and many of my hydrangeas - just snapped them right down at the base. Not supposed to happen. So, a bit of extra work and fewer flowers from the hydrangeas next year.

The pic below shows a tree/bush that stands about 10 ft high - and is completely bent over from the weight of the snow. It's still leaning over into the path so will have to chop it down as well. So why am I sitting at the computer when I have so much work to do?

Sad, sorrowful faces of little girls forced to stay home from school and play in the snow.

Prayer request: Have a sweet, almost 5 yr old nephew in the hospital with pneumonia and potential viral complications - praying for JT.

Happy Birthday Kendry - #8!

Kendra cracks us up - she must read the card before getting to the present. Even if there is a letter in it - it must all be read before moving on. I think she likes ALL the anticipation and drama that goes with the present process. Stretch it alllllll out........ She opened these the night of her birthday - day after getting back from Hungary. Gee, look at that (above), how many kids do you know who get Nature Valley Peanut Butter granola bars in their Birthday presents?

Seriously - my mom knows how to pack a box and when sending overseas, it's all about how much you can stuff into every available space. Most boxes arrive with very little filler/packing peanuts. We find that baggies and oatmeal work great as box fillers and are light-weight. Yeah - we think too hard about these kind of things.

As her Bday fell during the Fall Break, her party was this last weekend instead. I told my sweet husband the reason I married him was for his Birthday Party assistant skills. I kid you not - I might have been comatose or tied up by pick-up time if he hadn't been there - or halfway through a bottle of Chianti.

Our flat with it's walls of concrete, floors of limestone tile, lack of wall to wall carpeting and lack of window hangings combined with the excited shouts of 9 little girls was enough to drive me through the roof. That, and I have some sensitive hearing issues - so does Kendra. Kendra was at tears within 10 min. and I had to stop everyone and explain the situation. The girls did seem to get it and when reminding them the noise - HURT -, they calmed down for at least 3 minutes.

They had a fun time with the Nancy Drew 'detective' theme that Kendra picked out and got into the Mystery we arranged for them. Kendra really gets into the 'Birthday' planning and ideas so I was just happy it all went well. She was happy with it. What a Sweetie!

Til next year Kendra. I may be recovered by then. :)

Writing out Birthday Invitations

I'm writing out the addresses for Kendra's birthday invitations and thought I'd share - just in case you think your name is too long.

Sample of Streets:

Hermannweidstrasse
Chrummbaechliweg
Foerliweidstrasse
Bueelenebnetstrasse

Sample of Last Names:

Eggensschwiler
Chassagnade
de Keersmaecker
Bauernfeind (hee, hee)

Now say them 10 times fast.

Just a sampling of longer names I'm not familiar with I try my best to spell right. Whew!

CD's, DVD's - Cleaning them up!

Finally - I got to the mess of CD's and DVD's that have inhabited the small entertainment portion of our flat. I've meant to do this for - about a year.

I've been missing too many things, lost accompaniment music for church, we go on too many trips - loads of empty cases. Where are the accompanying CD's?

It's all nice and neat now. I even have some room for a few more DVD's - some Birthdays and Christmas will fill some of that.

What I found funny was how sentimental music can be. I still can't throw away my Paula Abdul "Forever Your Girl" CD or Bart's Scorpion's CD's (not that I would dare!). Some of them remind me of childhood (John Denver), some from HS (Foreigner/Van Halen/early Amy Grant) and then the eclectic mix that ranges from Rosemary Clooney to Pearl Jam to Josh Groban to Alicia Keys to Third Day to Casting Crowns and so on...

It felt good to get it all sorted. And vaguely alphabetized - organization is a good thing.

And found my Wynonna CD for warmin' up - 'cause she's got a nice low range. It's comfy. I'm sure Bart will be thrilled.

Who doesn't use their China?

I just thought I'd share these pic's with you. Especially if you've known us long enough to have given us any manner of china or crystal for our wedding back in 1995 (see honey, got the year right finally).

I copied my best friend and registered for Lenox "Eternal" and I still like it. And we actually use it. It even came to Switzerland with us. Mostly because I couldn't stand the thought of it sitting useless in a storage container in IA for who knows how many years.

But look: it gets used. Nothing dresses up a meal of carrot sticks w/ ranch dressing, Mac n' Cheese and Fanta like a little china & crystal.
After a costume change, the Princess Tea set came out for birthday cake leftovers.
What is the point of having it if it never gets used? So we use it. Even though it requires hand washing/drying. It makes it all a bit more fun.

In other news: Made quick transfer to chf last night as we watched the $$$ go up and down :).

It is cold. Cold enough to leave snow in the mountains and for me to contemplate turning on the heat as it was about 40 degrees this morning when we got up. Girls wore coats and gloves to school. It is Sept. 16th!!!!! It started Sat. and I hope it lets up for a while. This is not 'normal' for Switzerland this time of year. We've been told this every season since we got here.

I'm already getting tired of being Room Mom for 2 classes! Not really (Bart will just shake his head and tell me it's my own fault). It's just a lot of up-front work. Especially with emails and emergency phone lists etc... I've never done 2 classes at once. I just realized that I will have 40 people emailing me re: 2 different classes at various points during the year. I have to keep them all straight and organize my mailbox better or all will be lost.

It really just reminds me that I don't want to go back to work in an office environment again. Except for the clothes maybe. I do appreciate nice business attire. Will have to admire my husband's. I have only one suit left from the old days. It still fits!

That's it - that's how the week is starting. Cold and glued to emails & phone lists.