“Home”

This is what “home” has looked like to us for the past 4 years. We are just one of 3 families in this house…

Here are some pictures of our village, looking down upon it from the vineyards. It sits in a valley with farmland on all sides…

The village is small as well as old, but to us it’s beautiful. As we pack up all our belongings to keep in storage during our furlough, we make sure to get out every afternoon for a walk through the village. Things become much more dear when we thinks about leaving them behind – the massive piles of chopped wood, saved for generations to be used for years of cold winters; the flower boxes full of thriving geraniums; the rumbling tractors that take huge steel containers of grapes to town; the village band that tromps around blowing their horns on holidays (sometimes during naptime!); the unique faces of our neighbors that we’re just beginning to get to know better; the home-made stands along the road selling jams, produce, and “Linzer” cakes. My girls have gotten used to seeing chickens, rabbits, cows, horses, cats, dogs, and sometimes sheep on almost every walk we take. We also have made it a habit to stop by the small brook that runs through the middle of the village as well as the water trough from which the villagers fill their watering cans and clean their buckets. It’s such a different way of life from the one I grew up with.

God knows where He’s taking us next…but it’s hard not knowing what the next few years will be like! We look forward to seeing the USA again and I’m hoping I won’t miss our German “home” too much!

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Autumn Has Come

Taylor and I went to play at the park a couple weeks ago and found beautiful reminders that fall is now here. The leaves were turning color and beginning to cover the cobblestones and grass at the park. The weather was chilly enough to wear a sweater, the sky a bit grey, and I delighted in the change of the seasons.

Here’s Taylor watching the swans from the bridge at the park…

You can see the two black swans swimming in the moat around the “Rathaus” or city hall (the park surrounds the city hall). The pair has often turned their noses up at our offerings of bread – hoity-toity!

After playing at the park, we crossed the street and bought Taylor a mouse-shaped pretzel from the bakery before walking home…

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The Flohmarkt

Our village had an all-day “Flohmarkt” (flea market) on Saturday with many families participating. It was fun to walk up and down our village streets, viewing their “wares” (some junk, some treasure) and making a few small purchases.

It was much like a garage sale back in the States and yet many things about it were different. For one, some of the families had set up tables and chairs and put out signs reading “Kaffee und Kuchen” (coffee and cake). Folks perusing the Flohmarkt would sit down and indulge in home-made cakes, making small talk with strangers or friends at their table or simply watching the crowds go by.

Other food items were sold as well, such as wine, marmalade, jam, pumpkins, fresh bread, muffins, grapes, apples, and flammkuchen (a German delicacy that is somewhat like a pizza – it has a very thin crust covered with a creamy mixture, onions, and perhaps some meat and then it is baked in a wood-burning stove – quite tasty!). The atmosphere was relaxed, yet festive, and very family-oriented. We enjoyed our time walking around.

We bought Taylor a “ball house” and a couple of books…

We also bought a huge loaf of home-made bread (its smell persuaded me to make the purchase). It looked like it had been baked in a wood-burning stove and it was still warm!

We also bought a home-made dried and silk floral swag that we have used to decorate our balcony railing.

I took just one picture of the Flohmarkt. A few people set up their tables of things to sell in our courtyard. I wish I had taken more pictures, but these tables are fairly typical of what the rest of the Flohmarkt looked like.

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Schliengen Winzerfest

This afternoon the girls and I went to a carnival sort of thing in the neighboring town. There was lots of food (“Schnitzel and Pommes Frites” – a breaded and deep-fried piece of meat with french fries), beer, candy, and games as well as a brass band and a merry-go-round.

We were having a very grumpy day, as the girls have been sleeping poorly and not doing so well. In fact, at church this morning they only lasted about 15 minutes in childcare before they started to cry inconsolably. Taylor yelled, talked, and yelled some more during her nap time and Emma got a shorter nap than usual, too.

That said, I thought we could all use a little pick-me-up at the carnival. I pointed out as many instruments in the band as I knew to Taylor, who is very interested in “insraments,” as she calls them, thanks to the Disney show called “Little Einsteins.” Taylor can be somewhat negative sometimes, but it’s mostly because she’s afraid of new things and new situations. When I asked her if she liked the trumpets and trombones, she said, “No. No. No. Go home. Go home.” When I asked her if she liked the music, she said, “No.” When I asked her if she wanted to ride on the merry-go-round, she said, “No. No thank you. No thank you.” But then when it was time to go home, she wanted to stay! 🙂

Here are some fun pictures of the games and the band…

Here’s my little grumpy Taylor…

And here’s my little “go-along-with-almost-anything” Emma…

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The New Grocery Store

We found a brand-new market about 10 minutes away from us and as soon as I stepped in, I was reminded of home. It was a big store (much bigger than the other grocery stores I’ve been to here) and it made me think of Ralph’s and Albertsons (probably because it was more modern than anything else I’ve seen here). I cannot describe my emotional response – it was so weird to be reminded of home grocery stores. It made me homesick, yet happy at the same time to find something more familiar. They even had Sunmaid raisins and Oreos! I’m such a nut to have this store make such a difference in my day! 🙂 But just look at it…isn’t it great?!

I have to admit, though, that I have not found the same standard of service anywhere that would compare to the USA, in terms of kindness, helpfulness, and “the customer comes first-ness.”

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A Moment of Understanding

One of our neighbors is an older woman who is very kind, but it has become obvious to both her and I that we have trouble communicating. She’s not the type of woman to pretend she understands what I’m saying, which is good! She speaks a German dialect that I don’t understand, since all I learned in language school was formal German. When we do communicate, we have to repeat our sentences, finding different ways to say the same thing, since we usually don’t understand one another the first time around.

Tonight, though, we shared a moment of understanding. Aahhh…it was great. After I put the girls to bed, I walked down to the village water trough to fill our watering can (since my plants were withering in the heat). As I passed this neighbor’s home and barn, I said hello to her as she was sitting outside her front door visiting with another neighbor. She asked my drily, while looking at my watering can, if I was really thirsty, and then she gave a little smile. Not only did I understand what she said, but I understood a joke! I laughed and responded politely, but I was actually quite touched. The fact that she would tease me made me feel so much more at home in this foreign country. That was truly a blessing today!

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A Baseball Game

B-House has been looking into sports ministries here and found a baseball league. Imagine that! We went to a Sunday afternoon game last weekend to check it out. The scenery was beautiful, but we’re sad to report that the playing was not quite up to par with the Angels or Dodgers back in CA. 🙂 The players had fun, though, and it was refreshing to be outdoors. Taylor enjoyed what she called “washing baseballs” (watching baseball).

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