Caleb

I just now finally got used to the idea of Carli loosing teeth, and then Caleb decided to join in the fun....

AAHHH!! They are growing up too fast! 

Song in my heart

Lately I have not been able to stop singing one of my favorite songs. It has become my kids bedtime song and I love hearing the words come from their mouths. The words are so meaningful to me, especially at this stage in my life, so I wanted to share them with you and hope that we can share in the same prayer...

"Father God, just for today,
help me to walk
Your narrow way.
Help me to stand,
when I might fall.
Give me the strength,
to hear Your call.
May my steps be worship,
may my thoughts be praise,
may my words
bring honor to Your name.
May my steps be worship,
may my thoughts be praise,
may my words
bring honor to Your name."

Busy times

It's been a crazy few weeks. I am just now able to sit down for a few minutes to write a little about what we have been up to. Josh was gone for a week for a men's retreat in Germany, and just like almost every other time he leaves town, Caleb had another asthma attack. It was really scary, and we packed our bags to go for another stay in the hospital, but by the time we got there, they said that he was not at a dangerous level any more, and since we had all of the same medications that the hospital would use, then I could monitor him at home, and bring him back if needed. Well, he ended up sleeping through the night and I didn't have to bring him back to the hospital. We were so thankful that we didn't have to spend the night in the hospital again. 

Josh got back from his retreat on a Friday and then I left Sunday morning for a week-long women's retreat in a small ski town in Austria called Filzmoos. It was a great week where I was able to spend time with other Christian women, spend time in prayer and Bible study, and just regain some lost strength. And, I forgot to mention that the retreat was all in German! It was very challenging to understand everything that was going on, but there was an English discussion group that really helped. We stayed up late playing cards, went on beautiful hikes, ate a ton of amazing food, and spent lots of time getting to know other Christian women in German- speaking Europe. It was a gret retreat, and I am already looking forward to next year. Here are a few pictures....

I got back from the retreat on a Friday, and my mom came in for a great visit on Saturday. She was here for 6 days and we were so excited to have her here. The kids loved hearing their favorite bedtime stories. I can never do it as well as Nana!

Now, at the end of this week, we are looking forward to having Pat and Carla Jones and their family, and the Wilguess family here for a visit. So, as you can see, we are extremely busy right now! 

God continues to bless us with new friendships and new opportunities to serve Him. I think that our team is becoming more comfortable with speaking German which makes it easier to meet new people.  We are all excited to see what God has in store for Vienna.  

Let the celebrations begin

Do you remember how much Austria celebrates! It seem like there is a festival every weekend! And, we have to be careful because the grocery stores close on holidays and last year we were not prepared for those days at all. Just like last year, the first celebration that we went to was the Erntedankfest which is a celebration of the Harvest and fall. We went back this year and enjoyed a lot of great food and games. Later in October is my favorite... the Kurbisfest (pumpkin festival). I can't wait!

Alone...

Josh left today for a men's retreat in Germany. I will be here all week- by myself! I'm sure it will be interesting! But then, I get back at Josh next week when I go to the women's retreat for a week and leave him here with the kids! Carli asked him the other day, "So Mom is going to be gone for a whole week?! What are we going to eat? Are we going to have fishsticks every night?!"
If anything, I think these next two weeks will give Josh and I a better appreciation of each other!

so many languages...

For the last 7 or 8 months, I have been suffering from migraine headaches. It has really been challenging and I struggle with patience (especially with my kids) during the times that I have the migraine. They usually last 3 days and I am extremely sensitive to light and sound. One night I was putting the boys to bed and I turned on the floor fan in their room. Caleb was in the top bunk and I was tucking Cotter in on the bottom bunk. As I was talking with Cotter the curtain was moving back and forth like crazy. I got frustrated with Caleb and I yelled at him to leave the curtain alone. He said quietly, "But Mama, I'm not touching the curtain." I looked up to see that the fan was blowing the curtain and Caleb was laying quietly in his bed. I quickly realized that I should not have yelled at Caleb and that I was taking the pain of my headache out on him. So I turned around and looked at the fan and said "Fan!! You leave those curtains alone!!" The boys started laughing so hard, but then Cotter said, "But Mama, the fan didn't understand you." I asked why it didn't understand me and he said, "Because it speaks German!" So I turned back to the fan and said "Fan! Macht das nicht!" They started laughing again and then Caleb said, "The fan doesn't speak German, Cotter. It speaks FANish!"

Visit from Dad

My dad was on a business trip in South Africa and was able to stop in for a few days on his way back! We were so excited for the surprise! Here are a few pictures from his trip.

We went into the flower garden behind our house. This is a picture of
our house from the garden. (We live in 1/4 of the house)

My Dad took some amazing pictures of the flowers. This is my favorite!
He got to meet Rodi (our friend who works in the garden)

Thanks Dad, for everything! We loved having you here! We love you!