7.8.2011 Anniversary Day

Today was our 7 year anniversary, and it was a good day. We’ve never been ones to go outlandish on an anniversary, we’ve never had the money to go on an expensive vacation, or buy expensive things. Instead, we treat it as a day to remind each other that we love each other and kiss a lot. We try to go on a date to get away from the kids (we love them, but it’s nice to have a break).

Today was a fine anniversary in a new land. The day started with the kids waking up early. Heather thought I said 6:50 when Holly woke up when it was 6:15. Stanley woke up soon after. Now you’d think that being married in August means you get a gorgeous day. Well, we live in Germany which is kind of like the Northwest only further North. Today it rained really hard! And here at our new home we don’t have a car to drive to church and drop Heather and the kids off at the front. On our bus/walking route to church we have to make one connection (where we run up to the next bus) and then walk just over a quarter mile up hill. Good thing our stroller has a rain cover 'cause the kids were dry but we were soaked! It was quite memorable and we had smiles the whole way.

This picture is not from today!

At church we were reminded once again how awesome Christ’s body is when it works. We were so welcomed by new and newer friends. Rachel (the lady who fed us last week) was so helpful and really wants to help us find a new place to live. She even made an announcement during the second service! Doerta (Dirta) is a 26 year old German gal who was very welcoming and wants to help us feel welcome as well. Her English is incredible 'cause she's spent over a year in the US, and Heather had an instant connection with her. And then we saw our friends from my school, Alison, Susan, and Jessee who were familiar and friendly faces too. Heather got to meet some of the ladies in the Kinder Sunday School (nursery) since Stanley and Holly were not going to go there without a big fuss or Mom or Dad. It’s hard to drop off your child screaming when you can’t tell the workers that they’ll be fine in about 30 seconds. Anyways, we’re thankful for where we’re at and we know we’ll make many new friends at this church. We came home for naps and then this afternoon/evening our good friends Freya and Hiroki graciously offered to play with Stanley and Holly so we could go out on a date. We dropped the kids off at Freya and Hiroki’s house around 5, and we had over an hour kid-free. I truly don’t remember the last time we that much time without the kids. I think the last time was July 18th at church but we were in church so it wasn't "us time". That is not a good thing. For all you married couples, make sure you go on a date this week with your spouse! Freya and Hiroki are actually talking about doing a babysitting co-op among teachers at the international school. Not a bad idea. We could use more dates and we'd love to bless other couples as well. :-) For our date we were on a tight budget (12 Euros was all we had). So we went to a Greek restaurant that Freya and Hiroki recommended. We shared a Gyro plate that also came with a side salad. It was quite good. It was a wonderful time to enjoy each other's company and catch up a little. We looked at a map of Weimar together and located all of our important places to know so Heather can feel good about being on her own while Scott is at school tomorrow and all the days following. After dinner we headed across the street to a beautiful Catholic church where they were having their evening mass. Wouldn’t it be amazing to do church in a huge cathedral built hundreds of years ago? While we might not agree with all the Catholic doctrines, we were reminded that the cathedrals were built huge and beautiful to remind us how Awesome God is. And there are some things that the Catholic church does that we miss is our modern churches. One of the things Heather pointed out was that these cathedrals (and maybe all catholic churches, I’m not sure) are open all the time to come, get away, and be in God’s presence. While we don’t have to be at a church or cathedral to meet God, there is something special in being in a chapel or cathedral or church and spending time with our Savior. We are also thankful for the reminder of what Jesus did for us when we see the stations of the cross. Anyway it was a great day. Tomorrow is my first day of work. New teacher orientation and meetings. As the school year begins, I’m not sure how regularly we’ll be able to post. Heather will try to get pictures up on Facebook, and I’ll try to blog when I can. They probably won’t be as long as they have been. Thank you for reading, and we appreciate and miss all of you back home. We are excited about where God has us and this upcoming school year. Good night! P.S. from Heather: Maybe some time we'll start going to sleep before midnight! Eight hours of sleep would be lovely!