2 Months in Germany

So we have been here 2 months today! I honestly cannot believe it has already been 2 months, but at the same time it feel like we have been here a year. It really has been a pretty smooth transition. We have hit a few road bumps, but overall it has gone very well.

OUR CONTAINER:
Our container arrived on November 16th about 3 weeks after our arrival. We had a little hiccup with paperwork, but it was easily fixed and the container was delivered to our house around 10:30. It was unloaded in about 45 minutes and every piece of furniture and box was put in the room it belonged before noon, thanks to help from some great people from both the German church and Bob's parent's American military church. We unpacked most of our belongings in the next few days, but are still working on little things around the house. Bob is pounding nails for some pics on the wall as we speak. :) Amazingly, only 2 little things off our container broke: one glass (goblet) and the glass in a small jewelry box. We were praising the Lord for that. I really expected them to open the truck doors and have broken things come tumbling out. :) I know, I am such an optomist. :)

LANGUAGE SCHOOL:
The next week after our container came we started our first day of language school. I was a nervous wreck, but the first day went well. I actually enjoyed myself. We learned how to say, "My name is": "Ich heisse Kelly..." and "What is your name?" : "Wie heissen Sie?" and to tell where we were from: "Ich komme aus den U.S.A." This fun stuff lasted for about a week and a half and then we got into the grammer side of things. This is where the headache began. We finished up our class the week before Christmas, and have been enjoying a break. Our second level of classes begins on January 10th. I am ready to get back into my groove, but not looking forward to the headache that will come with it.

CHRISTMAS COOKIES:
This was a first for me. I have never made a bunch of different cookies for Christmas, but I thought I would try it out this year and share with our neighbors. We did this on December 23rd. We had no idea what to expect. We have seen a few of our neighbors, but we had yet to talk to any of them. We set out on our trek. We were just going to knock, use our best German we could muster to wish them "Frohe Wienachten" and move on to the next one. We had so much better of a response than either of us imagined. They were so kind and so excited that we had come by. The first two houses they spoke nothing but German, and Bob was able to understand most of what they said. We got to the third house and they instantly invited us in, and we stayed for 1/2 hour. The woman spoke fairly good English, but her husband did not. So we had a split conversation in German and English, and they were so kind. They told us probably 3 times if we needed anything to please let them know. It was such an encouragement to both of us, and we were excited to attach a Gospel tract to each box of cookies along with a calendar with the German church's information. We are praying the Lord will use this as an open door with our neighbors.

CHRISTMAS:
Christmas was a little different for us this year. I have spent every Christmas of my life at my grandmothers house in Des Moines, IA. This was the first year of not being there and it was very sad for me, but it was so nice to have Bob's family here. We had such a wonderful time spending the day with them. Being away was sad, so we tried to keep a few of the traditions we have always done with them, along with starting some new ones of our own. On Christmas Eve as long as I can remember we have eaten soup at my Aunt's house. So Christmas Eve we made one of the same kinds of soup we always have - Chicken Corn Chowder and Cheesy Garlic Biscuits (Red Lobster Biscuits). Bob's parents came over and we ate, let Jackson open a few presents and then we watched "The Nativity Story."

The next morning we began the festivities around 9 a.m. with a BIG breakfast. We made pancakes with fresh fruit cooked in them, and the four of us polished off a pound and a half of bacon. Then we opened presents and what a fun time we had. Jackson has always had fun opening his presents on Christmas, but this year he is at the age where he knew Christmas was coming and he had been excited about it for a few weeks. Each present he opened was just as exciting as the one before, and let me tell you, HE HAD PRESENTS!! This is the first time Bob's parents have spent Christmas with him and they went all out.

The best tradition we started as our own was lunch. We had already had about 3 Thanksgiving turkey dinners for different events over the last month, so we decided to try a different route. :) We had the biggest T-bone steaks you have ever seen. They were over an inch thick and were so good. I don't think this tradition is going away anytime soon.

We were able to Skype with my family a few times during the day and it helped feel like they were not so far away having Christmas without me.

Well I hope that brings you up to date on what is going on with us. We are keeping pretty busy and looking forward to the coming year. My prayer is by next year, I could write this whole post in German. Don't worry I won't, or at least I will translate it for you. :)

I hope and pray all your Christmases went well and your New Year will be filled with God's blessings!!