The family

Just last night, David and I were discussing our demonstrations of affection with the kids, and how they feel few and far between for Alex and Livvy. I'm not a very touchy feely person, and sometimes I need a reminder to make sure I give the kids enough cuddle time. That served as a reminder for me. Events led to me going back to bed after taking Alex to the bus stop this morning, so when Griff and Livvy woke up, I invited them to come lie with me for a little bit. Griff refused. He's a bit of a cuddle bug so I never feel like I neglect showing him my affection. He seeks it out. Livvy joined me. I hugged her for a couple of minutes and told her I love her. Maybe it was two minutes later when she said, "Okay, Mom. Get your arm off of me. I know you love me." It's possible she's innately not very touchy feely either.

The events that led to me going back to bed was really one thing. Lilly has a high fever, and has since yesterday morning. So I had to schedule her an appointment. I don't know what happened to my thermometers in the move. I think the baby kits were lost or not packed. So I don't know exactly how high, but she's not taking in enough fluids, and I'm feeling worried. Her appointment is an hour and ten minutes from now. Thank God. I am very fond of our Waynesboro pediatrician, but so far, our Wiesbaden pediatrician has been great, too. I'm confident that they and God will take good care of her, but if you read this, please say a prayer for her.

Alex is having a Fall party at school today. I'm hoping to go. It will be cute. He has been having a hard time waking up in the morning. He's still sleep-deprived from our big weekend in Bavaria.

This weekend we're planning to take it easy. And next weekend, I hope, we're going to try out a church in Frankfurt. It's long overdue, I know. I hope it turns out to be a good solution for us. Otherwise, we'll try some local churches. It will be awkward at first, but maybe it will end up helping us learn German!

Please pray for us! I feel like we need it this week!

Bavaria and LEGOLAND!

The Bavarian Alps

Last week was quite the week for us!

From Sunday through Wednesday, I went again to Grafenwoehr for work. I got to hang out with my two new girlfriends, again, and it was great to see them. We took a little hike around a lake right at sunset. It was very pretty.

Then on Friday, the family headed to Garmisch-Partenkirken for two nights. We actually were able to get out the door at noon and had a pretty decent drive there. We stopped at McDonald's on the way in and had a quick lunch. We usually don't buy the kids happy meals, but sometimes on vacation we do, and we did this time.

We checked in to Edelweiss Lodge and Resort at about 7:00 p.m., I think. It was just enough time to have dinner and get the kids to sleep for the upcoming big day. Edelweiss was pretty impressive for me, with one exception. We tasted two of the restaurants there, and they were far below my expectations. We stayed in a junior suite, and although it didn't have a bedroom, it was spacious enough for the six of us. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is eligible to use it, especially for big and / or young families. They have a swimming pool and a hot tub. Both are absolutely fantastic.

We had such a big day on Saturday! We took the kids on a hike to some castle ruins (Werdenfels Castle). I was happy to be able to use the stroller all the way to the castle, and then let Lilly out to walk around. The kids loved the ruins, although Livvy didn't handle the hike very well. She just isn't a hiker, I think. <Sad face.> Maybe that will change with time. She is the smallest one of all of us and is doing the same amount of walking as the rest of us. After the hike, we walked around Garmisch, which is absolutely adorable, and got the kids some ice cream and then ate dinner (yes, in that order). Our dinner was incredible. They have a drink here called a Radler that David and I think is fantastic. Who knew beer and lemonade would go so well together? Also, I should have taken a picture, but David ordered hot wings, and he got three full-sized drumsticks with wing sauce on them. Okay, so maybe Germany doesn't do hot wings, but the meals were delicious, both for the adults and kids. I would highly recommend Bungalow 7. The service was also great. Sometimes restaurants don't like us and our little kids, but this one knew exactly how to handle...er...treat us.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and took the kids to the pool. I remembered the suitcase, and hence the swimsuits! Oh wait, I forgot my swimsuit this time. So I bought some clothes to wear in the pool. I can wear them again, but how annoying! Patty! The pool was great, with a little kids section that had them fully entertained for the hour we were there. Even Lilly really got into it.

Of course, after all of that, the kids were wiped out! So we took them to bed and fought with Griffin a little bit not to wake people up when he has to get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. He is on this kick that he is too scared to go by himself, so he's always waking Alex or Livvy up to walk with him, even when it's only ten feet away.

We tried to get the room for one more night, but they were actually overbooked, and couldn't accommodate us any more. So yesterday, we checked out. We debated what to do, but I guess when it comes time to leave, I'm more interested in getting on the road and getting that part done than prolonging the departure. So we checked out of the hotel without eating breakfast and took off. Edelweiss was very good to us. I'm already thinking we will go back, but I hesitate because why would we see something we've already seen?! (There was so much more to see. One could easily spend a week there and not get bored.)

The kids asked for McDonald's for lunch, and of course we stopped there again. Happy meals again. And then we headed home again for the long haul. Except that the McDonald's happy meals had 50% off coupons for Legoland, and we were going to be only 12 minutes away from it. Who wouldn't stop under those circumstances?! We stopped. Thank God for those coupons. I don't think I would have even entertained the idea of stopping without them. With them, it cost us 103 Euros to get in. But that's the way it is with a family of six (even though Lilly was free).

At first, Livvy cried her eyes out because she was too short to ride the roller coaster. They all have this penchant for drama where they say things like, "I'm never going to get to ride again ever in my whole life." Are they teenagers already?! But once I convinced them that they could ride rides, they had fun. We also got to watch a 4D Lego movie, and happily Lilly was good and quiet the whole time. It was a fun time. I took Alex on the roller coaster and he LOVED it. He even talked about it this morning. "Remember when we went on the roller coaster together?" Ah, yes. That was yesterday.

The rest of the ride was uneventful. Uhh, should I air our dirty laundry? David and I fought a little bit because at our very late dinner (after Legoland last night), he slammed the door in my face twice while I was carrying Lilly (who is heavy and requires both of my hands). Not according to him, of course. According to him, he neglectfully let the door shut as I was walking through it. Twice. He was getting impatient because the kids were misbehaving. I'm waiting for him to understand how difficult a weekend like the one we just did is for the kids. All in all, they did very well. And David DID have a good time. We did the castle hike by his choice (and a good choice it was). I don't, and I think I can safely say that David doesn't, let that kind of thing ruin the day. Anyhow, right now David is planning to take any kids that want to go to the store with him. There's a good chance that at least two will want to go, so that will be nice for all of us. (But maybe not David, depending on how the kids behave! It's a known risk, right?)

We had a good time and made good memories. I know we'll have to temper our trip to Italy (in May), but I'm already planning it out that way. I think that next month, we are hoping to visit Trier, Germany. I'm excited to see some Roman ruins. It's closer, too, so it should be an easier trip. We are blessed indeed.

I know not everyone is feeling that way right now, and I want you to know that if I know about it, I'm praying for you. If I don't know about it but I know you, I am praying that God is working His will in your life, and I hope that you can find peace in the midst of your storm.

The Alexanders (minus 1) at Castle Werdenfels

Castle Werdenfels

Aww, brothers

Aw, Mom! The sun! Of course, by the time I switched them around, Livvy was done with the pictures.  Makes me laugh.

Lilly won't remember the castle, but now I have proof

Fountain in Garmisch

Also in Garmisch

Legoland photocollage

Russweiher Lake

Frankfurt with a friend and family

I was so blessed by my friend Heather's visit! She and her mom stopped in Frankfurt to see me before heading over to Krakow for a longer stay.

Why don't YOU do that?!

Seriously, my visit with Heather was absolutely therapeutic. I needed to spend some time with a loved one in addition to my immediate family!

Heather found an app (was it, "Visit a City"?) that put together a walking tour with her input, and we saw so much in Frankfurt! We saw multiple churches and a couple museums. I especially enjoyed the Schirn Museum, which has an exhibit based on dioramas. I've never seen anything like it before!

I learned how to use public transportation to and from my house this weekend. Finally! And how easy it is! It is so easy, in fact, that I think we're all going to go up to Frankfurt this weekend for a little trip. The kids will love the train, and I think everyone will love getting out for a bit. The train station is only a 7 minute walk from my house! Fortunately I had guessed correctly that an all day ticket was literally good all day and would count for a round-trip ticket. On my first day, nobody checked, but on my second day, the polizei came around, and my ticket was good. Somebody else's wasn't, and the polizei asked for his passport, which he didn't have. So then he took him to the back. Uh oh. (He came back to his seat after a little while. It really wasn't too dramatic, thankfully.)

I am getting into this business of living in Europe! I still have to decide where we'll go over the Christmas holiday. My mom is coming to visit (woo hoo!!), and I'm going to show her as much of Germany as I can, but I think we'll still have time to go somewhere as a family. I'm thinking of going north to Berlin, but I might be intimidated by the weather. I still have time to decide!

And I can't wait to visit Bavaria (today)! I think I am one or two weeks late with the leaves, but that's okay. I'm excited to see the mountains again. This time with a digital camera! It could be great!

After my visit with Heather, I actually did as I planned and took the family to Frankfurt. I'll tell you, I can't get us out the door at a decent hour. Today my goal is noon, but with Frankfurt, it was 10:00. Guess what time we left? 2:00. I know how we are, though, and planned only to go to the Schirn Museum and have a nice dinner. We did both, stopping at a Chinese buffet on the way back to the train station. I also put on the baby backpack for the first time since I discovered my herniated disc in 2015. It went well. I had to give it to Dave quite a bit but less because of my neck and more because my core is weak and it felt like my lungs were being squished. But I'm happy I handled it as much as I did.

Oh, and on another note, I submitted my claim for my household goods. Please pray that it gets resolved smoothly and to our satisfaction. We are just too busy to have to spend too much time fighting this.

And now I share the pictures:

From Frankfurt, a visit to Alaska

And Africa, maybe?

Interesting diorama at the Schirn Museum

Schirn Museum. For me, this exhibit was quite weird

Pretty German building

At the Goethe House

Linen press. Looks like a lot of work to me

At the Museum for Modern Art (MMK). What is the purpose of this exhibit? It is beyond me

Near Romer Plaza

In Romer Plaza

The Peace of Jerusalem

Jerusalem, looking exactly as I had pictured

I can't adequately express how grateful I am that I got to go to Jerusalem for a day. It was all so beautiful, and there was so much to see. I saw a lot for being there for only one day: The Western Wall, the Via Dolorosa, the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu, steps and steps of markets, and we found a great place to eat lunch.

I call it beautiful because that is what I kept thinking the whole time I was there. I couldn't figure out why I found it to be so beautiful, until I read something that my friend Wendy put in her post regarding her trip there: "We had been in our spiritual home and fell in love with it." Yes, that was me, too, and I only had one day there.

Did you know that we're commanded to pray for Jerusalem?

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
    “May those who love you be secure.
7 May there be peace within your walls
    and security within your citadels.” (Psalm 122:6, 7)

People have been asking me if I felt safe while I was there. The answer is yes and no. I believe that I mentioned that I was put in a car that was being driven by an Army Major who had taken hands-on antiterrorist defensive driving. That certainly made feel safe. But at one point while we were walking the Road to the Cross, two Arabic-speaking men got in a fight, and the walkway was so narrow that we couldn't get around them safely. It feels like it took 20 minutes, but maybe it was shorter. At that time, I did not feel safe. While I was at the Western Wall, I felt keenly aware that there was a risk of an incident, but at the same time, I felt like I was supposed to visit it, so whatever happened would be okay.

I do hope to return. I may not go to the Western Wall again, but I would certainly like to go to Jerusalem again. We shall see.

I missed David and the kids something awful. As thankful as I am for the opportunity, if I really had my way, I would find a job that doesn't require work-related travel. But it has not been so. That doesn't matter too much at this point because I am thankful for the job security that I have with the government. At least for now, I feel like I am in the place I am supposed to be. And I thank God because I know that my peace comes from Him.


The photos are in no particular order, and are not nearly all that I have to share. I think I'm going to have to create a link and share that later.

Inside the Church of the Flagellation

Ceiling at the Church of the Flagellation

Description at the Church of the Flagellation

City Wall

City Wall

Inside Jerusalem

Inside Jerusalem

Inside Jersualem

Inside Jerusalem: Old Roman Columns

When I asked the salesman if I could take pictures in his store, he said, "Of course. Of course! Like it's your home."

So I did.

At the Church of St Peter in Gallicantu

Outside the City Wall

Description at Gallicanu

Prison floor, or "Sacred Pit", possibly where Jesus and Peter were held (at different times). This is letter A above.

Church of St Peter in Gallicantu

Jesus likely walked on these steps. Even if this isn't actually Caiaphas' house, he probably walked these steps at least once.

The Western Wall

On October 1st, 2017, the United States had a very bad day. A very sad day.

An acquaintance of mine (Judy Chatterton, whom I regret not knowing better!) wrote this about Las Vegas:

Last night ONE person chose evil and HUNDREDS of first responders chose to put others before themselves. Today MILLIONS of people are praying. THOUSANDS of people are lining up to give blood. DOZENS of surgeons are working overtime to save lives. HUNDREDS of nurses are loving & caring for the wounded. An ENTIRE NATION grieves.

This is what you tell your kids... in every tragedy the light overcomes the darkness. We weep for the broken hearted. We pray “Jesus come soon” and we keep on being the LIGHT!

I keep thinking about the millions of people praying. What exactly are they praying? With victims and families of victims, I always pray for peace and healing where possible. With people I pray for but don't know specifics, I always pray for God's will in their lives and for them to have a closer walk with God.

I placed one short prayer in the Western Wall in Jerusalem last Thursday. It reminded me a little bit of the story of King Solomon (1 Kings 3), where God told him to ask Him for anything he wanted. By the accounts we have, Solomon didn't even hesitate, yet he asked for the most perfect thing!

I've never been able to convince myself that I would do so well in King Solomon's situation. But I had heard that people wrote their prayers on paper and tucked them into the cracks in the ancient Wall. I had intended to write my prayer in calligraphy on high quality paper, but of course that didn't happen. Instead, I wrote it out the night before on the hotel tablet, and rolled it up with thread from the free sewing kit they provided. David joked with me about this to remind me that God wouldn't deny my prayer on account of cheap paper and poor handwriting.

I touched the Western Wall. I prayed one prayer. I walked away. 

I had been thinking about my prayer for at least two months. I couldn't actually leave a sheaf of papers behind, so I had to narrow it down to only one. One prayer.

In retrospect, I'm afraid that even with two months of thought, I didn't choose so well. I wonder if, although my prayer wasn't about me on the surface, was it still actually selfish if you took a closer look? I'm not being intentionally enigmatic about my prayer. It was very personal, between me and God, and I don't want to publicize it. But I keep thinking about this one prayer that I have. I pray it all of the time. It's always at the front of my mind. It's one of my most frequent prayers. But having gone to the Western Wall with it as my prayer of choice has made me ask myself what is my true motivation behind this prayer?

If you had to pray only one prayer, how would you choose? Do you think you would have regrets? What would you pray? I'm not really asking you, but I'm asking you to consider it. Isn't it hard?

Maybe not for some. Maybe some have been asking the same one prayer for the past ten years and still haven't seen evidence of an answer. I have some prayers like that, that I just won't give up on. Or maybe some have one obvious, huge thing chipping away at your quality of life that is always your number one prayer. Or maybe some are waiting for your spouse or your sister or mother or father to accept Christ as Savior. Maybe it's all of these for some.

One of the most beautiful things about our God is that He answers prayers! And He gives us no limit! I took one prayer in paper to the Western Wall, but God hears all of the prayers in my heart. He is a prayer-answering God! So don't give up! Pray that prayer. Pray for Vegas. Pray for your loved ones, for our country, for healing, for financial stability! Pray more! Pray without ceasing! Pray, pray, pray! Stop reading this for two minutes and say a prayer. Tell God how good He is, if you can think of no requests. Talk to Him. Say something, anything! Are you angry at Him? He can take it! Do you doubt that He cares about you? Tell Him! He listens, I promise! I have 37 years of prayer behind me, and I can say confidently that there hasn't been one time in my life when I've taken a problem to prayer and not felt reassured afterwards. Praying helps remind us that God's in charge. So go. Do it! Do it poorly or do it well, it doesn't really matter as long as you're doing it!

Pray!

The Western Wall

Initial View of the Western Wall

Near the Western Wall

Description about the Western Wall

Jaffa Port Call

The amazing thing about Jaffa (Yafo, in Israel) was the juxtaposition of ancient to modern. Jaffa is the port where Jonah left in order to run away from God. It was his last point of land before getting swallowed by a big fish. It was so interesting and I got so many pictures that in order to share, I had to create a collage for inside this blog. We walked around Jaffa that first evening after work, and it is quite incredible. I'm so thankful I got to see it.

I visited St. Peter's Church in Jaffa, and as I entered, the congregants sang "Alleluia," and I joined in quietly. That was touching for me. It was a beautiful church, but I didn't take any pictures inside because they were actually worshiping. The outside was also amazing. The location was amazing, too.

This post is mostly about sharing photos. If you have a chance to get to Israel, Jaffa would be worth a visit.

Port of Jaffa

Collage of the city of Jaffa

Door at the port of Jaffa

Window at the port of Jaffa

Port of Jaffa from high up

St Peter's Church in Jaffa

Structure in Jaffa

View of Tel Aviv from Port of Jaffa