It begins...

I went up to Carli's room yesterday and this sign was posted outside of her room. It says:

Carli Zimmer (room)

No Caleb.

The days of annoying little brothers has begun!

Woo Hoo!!

Today was a very happy day because WE GOT A CAR!!!!! I am so excited! We are now the proud owners of a Ford Galaxy mini-van! I remember saying at one point in my life that I would never drive a mini-van and I have never been more excited to be wrong! Now I just need a bumper sticker that says "Soccer Mom" and I'll be set! (I guess I need kids in soccer first)! Josh did a fantastic job figuring out everything that had to happen in order to buy a car in Vienna (which was quite complicated) and he drove it home today! I am pretty sure that our kids are just as happy as I am!


We were also invited over to one of Carli's friends houses for coffee and cake. They were so very kind and we enjoyed some homemade apple strudel and some krapfens and a nut roll. (All are authentic Austrian snacks). They have daughter in Carli's class at school and a son around Caleb's age and a daughter around Cotter's age, so our kids had a blast. We got to spend time talking about Austrian Christmas traditions and had the opportunity to talk about why we are here in Vienna. Please pray that God will bless our relationship with this family and provide more opportunities to talk about Christ with them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A little late, I know, but we hope that you all had a great time with friends and family and were able to spend time thinking about all that you are thankful for. For us, Thanksgiving day was just another ordinary day. We all got up and went to school and then Josh ran some errands and I brought the kids home and went to bed. We did, however, get to spend some good time talking to our families on Skype. It was so good to see everyone, but it was also hard seeing what we were missing. We did go to TGIFriday's for lunch in hopes of a big Thanksgiving meal, and they had one- for dinner, not for lunch, so we missed it. Maybe next year! We did really enjoy our meal anyways.
We celebrated Thanksgiving with our team on Saturday. Everyone brought favorite dishes and also tried some new ones. I was able to make green bean casserole and creamed corn and mashed potatoes. We had turkey (or course) and lots of homemade bread and mac and cheese (Carli loved it!) and pies and more. The food was amazing! We played a game of Pictionary after dinner and I think everyone had a good time. I know that this was a hard year for everyone on our team because it was the first big holiday away from family. We still had a great time together (like we always do) and made some new holiday memories.

Let the Christmas spirit begin...

Last night, Kari and Alisha and I went to my first Christmas Market. Everyone talks about how amazing they are and it was amazing. We went to the one that all of the locals avoid. It is at the Rathaus and I think that it is the biggest one. All of the locals think that it is too touristy and all of the things that they sell are not made in Austria, but are made in China! Nevertheless, we decided to be tourists this time, and Austrians later.
One thing that the markets are known for is the punch. You buy a mug and they fill it with whatever flavor you want (but make sure you ask for Kinderpunch, because everything else has alcohol in it) and then you can return the mug if you want and get your money back. It was so good! The booths are full of cookies and candies and ornaments and toys and so much more. All of the trees are filled with lights and there is a huge tree in the middle of the market. We even ate chestnuts that were roasting on an open fire. It really got me in the Christmas spirit!

Snow Pictures

What a day!

Today was a great day! It snowed all day long and the kids played outside with one of the neighbor kids and built a snowman! We had pancakes for breakfast, chili for lunch, chocolate chip cookies for a snack, and we started painting our basement. Then Carli lost her first tooth! She was so excited! She doesn't think that her friends will recognize her at school with her new hole!

On days like today, we are reminded just how blessed we are. We have a nice place to live that keeps us very warm on cold days like today, we are blessed with three healthy children, and we have the opportunity to share God's love in this beautiful place. The little neighbor boy, who played with our kids outside today, ate lunch with us. Josh said a prayer before we ate and I think that was the first time that he had ever prayed. He seemed very confused, but still held Caleb's and Cotter's hands and bowed his head. Josh even prayed in German so that he could understand. Josh also had the opportunity to talk with a neighbor for quite some time today. We continue to see God working here in Vienna. Thanks for all of your prayers.

Let it snow!

We got our first snow today!! It started out in the morning as rain with a few small flakes and then within an hour, huge beautiful flakes were falling! It was so wonderful and the kids absolutely loved it. Caleb said "I love living in Vienna! Christmas comes much sooner here! Mom, we need to go buy a Christmas tree today!" I told him that it is not quite time to buy a tree and Christmas in Vienna still comes the same time as it does in Oklahoma. I did, however, decide that we are not yet ready for a Vienna winter. We all need to go buy some snow boots!

We worshiped today with the Inzersdorf congregation (which is the largest congregation in Vienna) and we had a fellowship meal after services. Then, this evening, we met with our team for a time of singing, scripture, and prayer. It was a great day full of beautiful snow, great food, and new-found friendships.

Lichterfest

At Caleb's Kindergarten, they had a light festival. All of the kids decorated lanterns and t-shirts and they sang songs and carried their lanterns around. They passed out candles to all of the families and at the end, my dad went to Caleb and lit his candle. It was really neat and I was so glad that my parents were here for it. Caleb sang his song so loud (in German) and was watching to make sure that we were watching him. Afterwards, they had hot cider and cookies. It was a special night for Caleb. In the picture is Caleb and his good friend Lukas.

Lesson Learned

The other day, we went to an Abbey that dates back to the 1100's. It was a beautiful building full of art and sculptures hundreds of years old. We decided to take a tour of the Abbey so that we could really learn about all of the history. There were a lot of stairs so we decided not to put Cotter in the stroller. As you can imagine, the kids were absolutely bored. We were in the last part of the museum where there were separate rooms with antique furniture. There was a large red rope that sectioned off each room. Well, I guess Cotter thought that the 800 year old chair looked pretty comfortable because he took off under the rope and ran straight to the chair! We all screamed his name in unison and he froze wondering what was wrong. I slowly said "Cotter, come away from the chair." He started to walk back to me and as soon as I could reach him from under the rope, I grabbed him from his jacket and swung him back on the other side. I sat him in the corner and told him not to ever go under the rope again. He had no idea what he did wrong. He was just tired of walking so he saw a comfy chair to sit in, so he was going to help himself. Next thing he knew, he was flying through the air by his jacket!

We definitely learned that next time, we will take the stroller!

Albertina

Yesterday we went to the Albertina museum located in the center of Vienna. They have just started a new exhibit called Monet to Picasso. It is actually one family's collection that they have loaned to the Albertina for a permanent display. We saw original paintings from all of my favorite artists like Monet, Renoir, Degas, Matisse, Kandinsky, Dürer, Rothko, Pollock, and more. It was amazing. There is just something about seeing the originals of all of the paintings that I have studied for years. We saw one of Monet's waterlily paintings. I could actually see each brush stroke that he did while painting that painting in 1917. It was amazing. Carli brought her pad of paper and sat down in front of a drawing by Renoir and started to draw what she saw. I think that she loved the museum as much as I did.

The boys, however, had a very different experience....