Greenville Glimpse: Shopping and "Refreshing"

The kids had fun with Grandma McKenzie looking for some last items before Derek heads off to camp for the summer. Nothing like a Frosty to perk you up again. :)

Greenville Glimpse: Grandpa McKenzie Turned 73 on Monday

Mom fixed a lovely birthday supper (one day late) for everyone and added a special German touch to her beautiful cake--a sheet of marzipan between the layers of cake.

Greenville Glimpse: A Very Happy Reunion!!!

The pictures say it all! Due to the delay, Dalene and Danae were able to be at the airport, too. (They were still working during the official arrival time.) What a joy!

Tuesday Morning: On His Way

The Lord worked it out so that Grandpa Matthia (flying standby) could travel back to the States with Derek. They had great time together and arrived in Greenville safely, albeit two hours late, due to weather and safety concerns.

A Farewell Party For Derek

We enjoyed the wonderful hamburgers Bradley grilled and the fellowship with all those near and dear to us. After everyone left, Derek finished up his packing, and got a typical pre-trip night of sleep of three hours. :)

Musik Festival 2008

There were hundreds of pictures taken during this week of musical adventure, and if you are interested you can visit Rebecca G.'s blog at www.christianrebecca.wordpress.com for a very nice overview of the week, or go to the impact website, www.impactev.de (Find Freizeitarchiv on the left, click, and then find Musik Festival '08 and click on FOTO.) to see lots of very nice pictures. I will just post a few that include our gang. Donia (with Amber), the reflection of a stained glass window on the music they were singing (that Donia took), the musical notes that they decorated the main room with, Devon in the guitar sessions, Doreen with Annette (Dalene's best friend) and Lynette, Derek goofing off during break time, and Bradley who was busy from early until late with teaching, preaching, private lessons, workshops, rehearsals, and translation for rehearsals.

Sunday, May 18th 2008

After our service I took some pictures, mostly of the older children who were outside at the moment. The dresses Danika and Helene are wearing are "new to them". :) They were worn by Doreen and Lynette for the wedding of Alex and Graham, January 2005.

A Trip to Magdeburg

We made two stops on our way into town today. The bank and the library. Then we were off to our main attraction. The kids love the big playground in Magdeburg with its rope climbing "mountains" and tall slides, and rope walkways between them. Everyone had a great time. For Donovan it was a stretching experience. He overcame his initial fear though, and by the end was "swinging" up there with the rest of them. Danielle had no such problems. She went up the rope ladders as if she were climbing up a grass hill. I was thankful for Dustin sticking behind her, especially as she jumped her way across the high rubber-matted rope walk-way.

Kay turns 35

Susan invited us to join them for Kay's birthday party on Sunday. So after naps we drove over. It was a beautiful day, and the kids loved exploring, touching animals, trying to catch sheep. Later on we went to the little playground in the middle of the 300-resident-town.

On Their Way

At 11 a.m. sharp our van left for the music camp, three hours south of here. The top picture is my background saver this week. :) Bradley's days are filled to the brim, but he always takes time to touch base with me (usually late at night), and I am thankful for his spoiling me in that way. Derek, Devon, Donia and Doreen are at camp with Bradley. This is Doreen's first camp, and she was thrilled to go.

Evidences of Spring

ALong with springtime come lots of little projects. The grass is growing fast and beautifully this year due to lots of sun and rain. The boys painted the deck this year again and Doreen took this picture of the clouds reflecting in the bucket. :) Danielle is enjoying cleaning with the new mop Grandpa and Grandma got us. Donia has baked pies several times recently, and with the rhubarb growing tall, two of them were rhubarb pies. My Daddy came over last Friday to "buddy" our nephew Erik home and also to help at the MusikFestival. He spent his first two days here and freshened up the flower beds in front and several other areas around the house.

May 3rd 2008

That Saturday was the boys' special day with Amber. Danielle joined Miss Amber for the farewell pictures, but the outing was for boys only and included Edwin, as well. Danika loves flowers, and brings them into the house out of our garden often. On this day she did two creative things. She decorated the wall above her bed with tulips, and then she stuck tulips and other flowers into a bowl of dirt mixed with sand. It stayed looking quite fresh for about a week!

A Bowling Adventure

Mom and Dad go bowling pretty regularly, and so all of us enjoyed some time with them at a bowling alley in Magdeburg. The little kids and I had a special lane with little walls up to prevent all the balls from going down the gully. As a result, the little kids were getting pretty close to my points. :) It was a lot of fun!