Sand Delivery

We ordered some sand to refill our sandbox, and it was delivered to our driveway yesterday afternoon. The kids played in it a little while first. They then had fun helping to move it around the house. Eddie and Dustin were having fun playing soldiers. The newly filled sandbox was a great attraction! :)

Greenville Glimpses: Graduation and Mother's Day

The Dining Room Overflow Table The Kiddie Table The Graduate and Cake Baker A Special Party for a Special Graduate Yearbook Discoveries Slidepresentation on the refrigerator The Audience Last car in the parking lot after church Sunday morning Mother's Day dinner with Bradley's mother Dalene and Danae

Welcome Home, Daddy!

Today was the long awaited arrival day of Bradley. The four youngest kids and I left at 6:30 a.m. to head for Berlin. For some reason Bradley's flight was bused to the other end of the airport, and I was given wrong directions twice by airline personnel, the Lord allowed us to find each other just before Bradley was going to go into an elevator as we were coming down the steps. The kids sighted him first, :), and we had a grand reunion!!! Our trip home stretched out, too, due to the famous German "Stau". (traffic jam) A three lane highway was brought down to one lane, while the street markings were being repainted. But we can't complain. The other side was completely blocked by a serious truck accident which must have happened not long after we passed through on our way to Berlin. We thank the Lord for His safety, once again. Our welcome home sign Great to be back together again! At home Bradley unpacked and spread around his gifts for various ones. Danielle wanted to show Daddy where her "hands" were. We made the sign for Bradley two years ago, when he was gone at camp for three weeks in a row. We painted everyone's hands and printed them. The banner was perfect for this occasion, too. :)

Mother's Day in Germany

One gift was given to me yesterday...a spaded garden plot. Dustin worked hard and raked it to give it a nice finished look! I had a wonderful day with 8 of my 10 children, and the girls wrote sweet cards and letters. A delicious breakfast and later dinner, as well. Some sweet gifts (To eat and to enjoy :)) Derek was gone Friday-Saturday helping at Camp Impact, so he slipped away to the flower store around the corner after church. :) We combined the flowers and got a picture outside. A yummy red velvet cake that Donia made. :) My youngest "D-light", Danielle. The kids wanted to sing "Happy Mother's Day" to me, but Danielle couldn't figure that out. :) She stopped everyone, "No, it's Happy Birthday!" So she sang it that way for me. (The free advertisement for peanuts at the end was given by Devon. I have been advocating peanuts as a healthy snack for the last year or so. :))

Greenville Glimpse: Around Graduation

Stephanie came back to graduate. She had been in Dalene's room 2007-2008. Stephanie graduated in December, and spent the spring months in an orphanage in the Philippines. After the Commencement Concert last night Bradley and his parents Danae and Bradley The girls and my parents with Bradley Dalene, Stephanie, and Danae

82nd Commencement at BJU: We got to watch around our desk in Germany!!!!

Hot off the press today! What a blessing modern technology is. We had enjoyed nightly services from the Bible Conference in March and found out a few days ago, that they were going to be livestreaming the graduation ceremony! It was great to "be" there and hear all the testimonies, and most special of all, to see my hubby/our daddy receive his master's degree. We know how hard he worked over the years, and are proud of him and thankful to the Lord!!!! (I left most of these pictures as screen shots, with one exception :)!) The full FMA-Dalene and Danae had isle seats right where Bradley walked in and out! The graduates and faculty coming in Dr. Stephen welcoming everyone Dr. Bob III's address to the graduates The kids enjoyed recognizing students as they filed by. Here Samuel Arnold gave his testimony. We got to know Dr. Michael Moore last summer when he came over and ministered in our first German music camp. The Highlight for us: Lots of cheering going on at this time! Three more days and we will get to pick him up! We love you!

Thursday: Enjoying the Sun Again

In Heritage 2 the Study Unit the Boston Tea Party has been the focus, and a teaparty at home was suggested. Danika got busy right away and fixed up a nice table and tea time! My favorite bushes in the spring time: both of them grace the garden in front of our house with a lovely scent. Derek went down to Matthia's house around noon today to help take nails out of the boards which will be used to cover the windows on the ground floor at Camp impact. Just two days ago Kevin received a call telling him that the current security system on the windows and doors was being removed. It had been put in place by request of the former owner, the government. While Devon, Rich, and the elementary aged boys played soccer, Danika, Danielle,and I ran errands which included cleaning the church. This tree is across the street from our church. The older boys played a little longer than the rest, so we went to a playground nearby. Vicki and the boys walked over to join us for an hour. Sand, sand, sand...digging is fun Around and around they went. Some of them were feeling a mite sick on the way home. The playground had a beautiful little arbor running along the side. It was home to perfect climbing trees. Danika,Danielle,Joel, Micah,Donovan,Dustin and Eddie Meanwhile...back in Niedern: Evan is helping his daddy And carefully observing every move The bucket of nails they removed. Each board weighs 20kg, so Kevin was fixing a means by which to hold the weight of the boards to the back of the trailer.

May 1st Week-End at Camp Impact:: Unfortunately, I can only give a little glimpse of all the work people did during these days!

I didn't make it around to the many places people were working during these days. We drove down to camp on Thursday afternoon and when we got to the bottom of the hill leading up to Camp impact Doreen was there to wave a welcome to us. She, Derek and Donia had gone earlier to help and she had come down the hill to the parking place with Uncle Kevin who had a meeting with some officials about a neighboring property. The girls started off the mowing while the boys were still gathering tables and chairs for the next day. As soon as the boys were done, they took over the mowing of the front property. Cleaning up some shelves found somewhere to use in the "kitchen". The newly rented outdoor toilet facility which the men used. A favorite: Devon treated the kids to wheelbarrow rides after emptying out the brambles that had been cut back. The best climbing tree Doreen had the idea to have a story time and songs with the youngest children. They loved it. Later on Danika took over while Doreen was busy elsewhere helping. The walkways now free of all the bramble-cuttings. The large pile on the right was burned on the last day. Danika on the first opportunity of drying dishes of which there were many during those days. I caught this picture of Danika a little while later telling the four little kids---Danielle, Micah, Joel and Evan---a Bible story. A newly cleaned out parking area. The leaves were all swept up and taken away by the next morning. More tables to clean up and set up The hanging spot for the welcome sign. Getting the metal railing ready for painting. It took a lot of elbow grease and sand paper. :) The new sink that was constructed outside to help with water distribution. Lunch around the fireplace with lots of delicious meat and German hotdogs. Enjoying a new "friend" in nature Pulling little trees that were coming up all over the soccer field. The large pile was burned Saturday afternoon. Kay took on a project of digging out the baseline of an unsightly metal fence. Susan brought flowers to plant. What a great addition to the entrance area! Markus and Regina painted two rooms while they were there. Volleyball was a favorite! This walkway was practically invisible before the guys starting working on it. Marc and Beni built a mini-bridge to enable cars to cross the main waterline which comes down to the house through a special hose. In the afternoon the kids tried some football. Evan enjoying a dirt pile and "earth mover". The new outside sink that was constructed. Some of the teenage boys also dug up the grass and put in tile in front of it. One big project was trying to clear the pipes to be able to use the toilets in House 1. The Lord gave grace and by the next morning finally everything seems to be running normally again. The only water source is the one hose outside, but water is carried and poured into the toilets for flushing. Derek brought in a huge branch for the fire on Friday night. A group of boys slept by the fire. Saturday morning breakfast Anytime the trailer was being pulled the kids were ready for a ride! Lorraine got to blow off the sidewalk that various young men had cleared. Kevin and Marc checking on one of the work projects: clearing out the "stuff" lying around in House 1. Dinner was a lovely meal of a meat sauce over rice and salads. Carol was in charge of the kitchen and did a great job feeding everyone! This young man was very creative in managing all aspects of getting his meal together. :)

Preparations for the Week-end

May 1st is Germany's Labor Day, and this year it made for a nice long week-end. Taking advantage of that holiday, Kevin had invited people to come for a time of fellowship and work at Camp impact, while getting to know the miracle and blessing the Lord has given. Donia worked hard help get this welcome banner done before we left on Thursday.

Time to Change

Danielle always enjoys "going" somewhere, no matter where to or for how long. :) Sometimes it just means a quick trip down to "my Evan friend" (her cousin's house) to pick something up. On this trip we were getting textile paints. Derek changed our tires last week while the others fellowshipped with him. Devon had brought the tires up and the little kids had fun rolling the tires over to the front door after church.