Last, but not Least

From top to bottom: Bradley with Doreen (9) Dustin (7) Danika (6) Donovan (4)

A wonderful Evening

A Beautiful Sunday Evening Walk

Shortly before 8:30 p.m. most of us joined to go out for a walk. Our usual path takes us between homes, to the edge of our housing development, and down a "field way" between huge fields on either side. The sky changed from one spectacular cloud combination to another! The fields had grown significantly since our last walk about a week ago. The wind was beautiful, and the air was still warm.

24 Green Thumbs

I think just about every one of us has done something in our garden in the last days. Thanks to the good amount of rain, pulling weeds was almost fun :). We planted our squash seedlings, and the grass which has been growing got cut. In the warm sun, Danielle also enjoyed the little bit of water that had collected in the mote on top of the Little Tikes "castle" on our deck. On Thursday, and again today, our neighbors walked by with their 19 month old son. Ferdinand enjoyed playing with the kids, dogs, and bouncing on the trampoline. We are thankful for the good relationship we enjoy with this family. A little later in the evening they came back over with a "Bobby Quad" for Donovan and any of the kids who could still ride it. They had two of the exact same car, and wanted to share.

Danika, the "Shutterbug"

Danika also took other cute pictures, and it was sweet to see that she had gotten her camera out in various places in the zoo to share her experience with us. :) Digital photography has been such a joy.

A Special Treat

A Trip to the Zoo in Magdeburg

After several days with almost no Internet access, I am able to get online again tonight. Yesterday was a big day for Danika as her best friend, Helene, turned 6. Helene's daddy, Kay, grows a special grass for the elephants at the zoo. As a result, the driver who picks up the grass each morning arranged for a special tour around the zoo yesterday. The children got to go inside several cages, feed some animals, including the elephants, and pet the penguins. It was a highlight for all of them. I had given Danika our camera, and she took several very nice pictures. Stephen and Vicki King were there with Brüggemanns, too. Micah was also celebrating a birthday, turning 2! Stephen kindly burned us a CD with his pictures as well, and we enjoyed hearing Danika "show and tell" about her exciting day after church last night.

Happy Mother's Day 2007

Today was a beautiful spring day. The church was quite full this morning. We are meeting in the old facilities until we hear back from the man in charge of the new ones. The children had written cards, made an "M" for mother, a mouse and a lamb while making pancakes this morning, and gotten me a very pretty pendant and an apple tree to replace one of ours that had died this past winter. I thank the Lord for all 10 of my D-lights.

Come rain, come shine!

By the sky on our picture you might never guess that we had rain off and on all day. Derek and Devon came home quite wet after two hours of playing soccer with some other teens and men of the church. Around noon Donovan and Danielle enjoyed the trampoline. Donovan took good care of her, but she was just as happy to be on her own, even if she fell down. In the afternoon Danae, Danika, Amber (our teacher) and I went to the mall about 10 minutes and two villages away. Our mall includes the biggest grocery store in the area, which is sort of on the order of a Wal-Mart that sells food. I was surprised today when I saw crushed ice for the first time! After we got home, Danika was helping me carry in and she reached into the back of our VW bus and said, "I can carry the diesel---or what do you call this?" I looked over to see what she had in her hand. "That is our aluminum f-OIL," I explained. :) Have a blessed Lord's Day tomorrow.

Rain, rain here to stay, helps things grow another day

A few days ago the weather men told us we had gotten enough rain to make up for all of April's deficit. I think that in the mean time (four days of intermittent rain) we are well on our way to having enough for May :) Our farmer Kay, whose birthday it is today, said that it is not too much for the plants yet. We are all thankful for the moisture that has come gently, hard, and even as hail. The picture shows the view from our school room upstairs during a hard rain. Tonight Devon, Donia, Lavonne and I went to the mall to do some shopping. On Friday evening this mall is open until 10 p.m.. The kids found a little merry-go-round which seemed never to want to stop. :)

Danae took the picture for us while we were out walking between the fields this afternoon. The beautiful yellow rape-seed oil fields are beginning to turn green. Dalene and Doreen This evening Devon and Bradley ate a special supper together, as a belated birthday meal. They both enjoyed the white asparagus which is currently in season and cut fresh daily in our area.

Here are Dustin and Danika enjoying their travels and taking turns with the luggage.

Painting, Traveling and Walking

Today was a busy day. The boys worked at Kay's farm this afternoon. Meanwhile Danika and Donovan painted chocolate Easter eggs which Dalene had given them with frosting. Their Aunt Pamela had found this delightful craft and given it to Dalene at Easter time!

Cousins Catching Up

Tonight the Matthia cousins came up for a visit with Dalene. Everyone enjoyed learning more about college life: prayer groups, societies, rush week, classes, sports, initiation, etc. :) Erik, on the far right, will be joining Dalene and Danae in August.

Welcome Home, Dalene!

Shortly after 6 a.m three eager little siblings got underway to the airport in Berlin to pick up their oldest sister. Dalene finished out her freshman year this past Saturday and we thank the Lord for the wonderful joy of spending the next three weeks together here in Germany. At 8:30 a.m. there was a very happy reunion when Dalene came through customs, and two hours later the rest of us got to give our hugs as well. It wasn't long until the "big kids" were enjoying Dalene's new Vintage (her yearbook) together.

Evangelistic Services: May 3rd-6th 2007

We were thankful that at least one unsaved person came each time, and on Saturday evening there were two. The Word of God was clearly preached, and it was a blessing and challenge to saved and unsaved alike. We set out some refreshments to encourage fellowship and no one seemed in a hurry to leave.

Wednesday Evening: Last preparations

After prayer meeting, Carol and I practiced a special for the Thursday night service. Eldon (on the left, Kevin and Carol's second oldest son) and Derek were part of the last set up of the evening.

Fun in the sun (Tuesday afternoon)

This year has been especially sunny. Bradley heard a report that stated that there had been more hours of sunshine during April in several German states, than in any summer month in the past. Heat temperature records of the last 100 years were broken. Playing outside has given the children a nice summer tan already! We thank the Lord for a nice yard for them to enjoy.

Tuesday, May 1st: German Labor Day

Our Internet has been mostly off since last week, and our days were very filled with activities, so I am just now (on Monday, May 7th 2007) able to share some news and pictures with you. On Tuesday morning, one of our projects was to put away some things in our attic. Dustin, Danika and Donovan were initially excited to "see what they could see" from the top of the ladder. Danika was fearless in this case :), but for the boys this little excursion became a good object lesson for keeping our eyes upon the Lord, and not down on the waters or circumstances around us. In the end, as you see in the picture, all three of them felt pretty good about climbing up, even on their own. Dustin happily recounted afterwards that he had "practiced trusting in the Lord."