Well, one thing that I have definitely missed about Germany is the Christmas Market. You can find one in just about every town and each one seems to have its own unique flavor. But one thing you can be sure of – there will be Glühwein. Nothing else can keep you warm and satisfied as you trundle along looking at the various Christmas wares. Ahhh… Christmas in Germany. I love it!

Last night we finally made it to the Heidelberg Castle Illumination. Three times a year they reenact the burning of the castle; it is an amazing thing to see and draws quite a crowd. Although we have lived in the Heidelberg area for about 7 years in total, this is the first time that we made it out to see this awesome event. Thanks to our friends, Holger and Angelyn, who took our German conversation group (of which, I tend to provide the most entertainment) up the Philosophenweg to see the lighting from the opposite side of the Neckar River. It was a great evening!

Last week, our friends Melanie and Richard visited us from Crete. On Friday and Saturday, I drove them down to Bavaria to see the Neuschwanstein Castle. No matter how many times I’ve been there, this is one of my favorite places to go in Germany. Maybe not so much to the castle itself, but the area around Füssen is amazingly gorgeous. The colors, the people, the food – all of it comes together to make you feel welcome in one of the most beautiful areas on the planet.

One of the reasons I had really been looking forward to making the trip is that I wanted to have some time to walk around and photograph the Neuschwanstein Castle. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t have the same plans for me. After grabbing a few gray, cloudy pics, I went to one of the restaurants along the path and enjoyed some of my favorite German cuisine while Richard and Melanie toured the castle. Now, I might not have gotten the photos I wanted (another time, perhaps), but the food was good.

See the rest of the photos…

Well, for those that hadn’t heard, we are officially back in Germany. We have been here for a little over a month now and are slowly starting to get settled back in. Currently we are staying in a small, temporary apartment near Heidelberg, but expect to move into a house in another nearby town by the middle of May. While the apartment is big enough for the four of us, plus Annie and Chester (dog and cat), the walls do seem to get a little close in with each passing day. Fortunately, the weather here has turned absolutely gorgeous. Today, after a morning run (the first time I’ve run in I don’t know how long!) and a delicious pretzel snack (we’re in Germany, what can I say?), we headed out to one of our favorite local locations – a small lake in the forest near the headquarters of SAP in Walldorf.

Today we celebrated Gavin’s 7th birthday with his friends at the Nefeli Taverna in Aroni. We had a great time and the food was wonderful as always and the cake was scrumptious! The sad part is this is our last weekend here in Crete. Only five days to go before we start our journey to Deutschland and the cold weather. We are definitely not looking forward to saying goodbye to all of our friends here, but are looking forward to seeing our old friends in Germany and getting back involved with our church there. Fortunately, with things like Facebook, you never really have to say goodbye anymore…

Here’s us singing Happy Birthday to Gavin:

As I was reading an article this morning, I began thinking what I could to do help others out this holiday season. While there are obviously many ways I can help, my answer this season is simple. If you were thinking about giving me a Christmas gift this year, instead make a donation to Compassion International. When I look around my house, I already have everything I could ever need (and I am a bit embarrassed to say a ton of stuff I/we don’t really need).

We have sponsored a little girl named Valerie through Compassion for many years now as well as contributing to Compassion’s Child Survival Program. Valerie has been a huge blessing to us as we read letters from her about her life in Haiti. It is awesome to know that we are making a huge difference in the life of a child in a country that I care very deeply for. I don’t mention any of this to seek kudos, but instead to show how easy it is to make a world of difference in the lives of others not nearly as fortunate as any one of us.

* And if you weren’t planning on getting me a present, PLEASE consider donating just the same.

This past Monday, I set out in my kayak to go from Marathi Beach to Stavros Beach. Both of these are on the Akrotiri Peninsula on the northwestern part of the island of Crete. It was to be my longest paddle yet and the first time I’ve not had to go out and turn around and come back to the same launch point. There was only one good place to stop along the way – in fact, it was a really nice, secluded beach accessible only by boat. The only problem is that once you get around the most eastern point on the peninsula, you get the pleasure of smelling what I can only express as a highly concentrated geep (goat/sheep) urine/feces smell. No joke! It just so happened that the little beach I stopped at must be somewhere near Ground Zero. So, while I did hang out there for a few minutes, I didn’t linger as long as I would have had the wonderful aroma not been there.

After that, it was a long paddle around to Stavros. The scenery was gorgeous and being pretty much the only one out there (other than the odd fishing boat) was very nice – though being a beginning paddler, it is nice to know folks are around in case you get into trouble. Fortunately, I didn’t have any problems and just enjoyed the morning. I only wish I had actually eaten something before starting out – my energy was definitely waning there at the end.

I recently found some of our old Hi8 camcorder tapes – what a trip down memory lane! To make sure we have them in the future, I went ahead and put all the videos on the computer. This one is of Tristan’s first day walking. You’ll have to forgive the annoying daddy commentary, but needless to say, I was pretty excited.

Very hard to believe that the boy in that video is now 9 years old and in 4th grade. Just a reminder to cherish each day with your kids – one day they’ll be off on their own and won’t even bother calling home (that was for you, mom!). Enjoy!

In honor of Father’s Day and just because I love him, I dedicate this post to my awesome husband Matt. He is wholeheartedly dedicated to the Lord, his family, and in helping others in need. Matt is a devoted father to his two children. He is a supportive and loving husband. Matt is also a loving son to his mom and dad. Let’s not forget to mention that he loves his dog Annie.
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I just made this recipe today (see Variations below) and it was a big hit with everybody.