Last Christmas in Germany

We leave Germany in exactly one month!  Which means we move out of our house in about 2 weeks.  Yikes!  There is so much to do!  I'm trying to stay calm about everything and not worry too much.  Next week we're planning on shipping my car.  That will be a little hard going without a car but I'd rather have it in Texas sooner than up to the last minute here.  It generally takes 5-8 weeks for a car to ship overseas.

Our last Christmas in Germany was very nice.  Christmas Eve we cooked our traditional Christmas meal, beef tenderloin and this year our sides were mashed potatoes and green beans.  I made a spinach dip and served it with carrots, tomatoes, and crackers for the appetizer.  For dessert we made cream brulee.  We invited one of Collin's co-workers over for dinner and had a nice time getting to know him better.  All of us, except for Caden, stayed up pretty late talking.  Caden got to open two presents on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day we woke up early.  Caden came down stairs and opened the rest of his gifts.  We rushed off to church, which starts at 8:30am, and brought a wonderful couple, Doug and Lynne James, home with us to eat a Christmas lunch.  I mainly heated up Christmas Eve dinner since I knew with church there wouldn't be a lot of time to cook.  We also made a pumpkin pie because we knew our friends liked that dessert.  I had never had pumpkin pie before and I really liked it.  Later that day we made our annual ginger bread house.  Caden LOVED eating all the candy we used to decorate it.  He has never had that much candy in his life.  Of course he didn't have any candy until this past Halloween and he became hooked.  Not good.  Ha!

We love Christmas and celebrating the birth of Jesus.  The last 4 Christmases we have spent in Germany and we will miss this time of year here.  However, we are looking forward to coming home to Texas and spending future holidays with family there.  We were hoping it would snow this year on Christmas, but it didn't.  On the other hand, we were blessed with some sunshine which was nice and somewhat rare this time of year.  Now I'm hoping snow will wait until we're out of our house since some of our furniture will have to be moved via our upstairs balcony and if it snows or is raining it will make it more challenging.  Also, I'm more of a summer/spring/fall girl, than a cold, wet, snowy winter girl.  I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas!

All ready for Christmas Morning!

Merry Christmas!



Opening his first gift on Christmas Eve



Family picture before church - Caden was still in his pjs

Playing with his new train set

Christmas Day lunch

Doug and Lynne

Family picture before lunch

Playing with new toys

Making our ginger bread house

This year's ginger bread house!

 

 

I have Hashimoto's Disease

I had a follow-up appointment with an internal medicine doctor today. He's head of his department and a very good doctor. He told me I have Hashimoto's Disease, which is an autoimmune disease where my immune system attacks and eventually kills my thyroid. Thankfully, I do not have Lupus. As far being borderline on the anti-cardiolipin tests, he is running that again and is checking my T3 and T4 levels, doing a complete blood count, checking protein levels in the urine, and a few other tests including an ultra sound of my thyroid. I go back to see him in January.

I'm still trying to take this all in. I honestly didn't even know where my thyroid was until this past weekend. I'm not very medical savvy to say the least. Your thyroid is below your Adam's apple. Thankfully, if this disease kills my thyroid and it no longer functions, I can be on thyroid replacement medicine to keep my body functioning. That's the good news. The bad news is that every 6 months I need to go and have my thyroid levels checked or if I start having certain symptoms such as fatigue, hair loss, weight gain, and insomnia. I already battle insomnia and fatigue quite a bit which is not surprising. When you can't sleep you tend to be more fatigued.

I'm praying now that my anti-cardiolipin levels turn out normal. If they are not, then there's a good chance I have a blood clotting disorder as well. There are several names for this: Hughes Syndrome, Sticky Blood, and Antiphospholipid Syndrome - APS. Sadly, I have a few of the main symptoms of this disease - multiple miscarriages and headaches/migraines.

The cause of my miscarriages could be from a few things: thyroid problems, APS, or possible bad luck. Thyroid problems can cause miscarriages and sometimes thyroid problems occur in women after they have their first child. Since we now know I have a thyroid problem and have had two miscarriages, my doctor recommended that I see the following specialists: Endocrinologist (for future problems, I need to go ahead and find one), Maternal Fetal Specialist (for any future pregnancies), and continue to see an internal medicine doctor.

I'm also wondering how many women who develop PUPPPs during pregnancy or after giving birth have an autoimmune disorder.

If you know anything about Hashimoto's Disease or any other thyroid problems or blood clotting disorders, please let me know how you're coping with it. I hope you all have a blessed day.

Caden is 2.5 years old!

It was only 2 and 1/2 years ago that Caden was born.  He is truly a gift from God.  It's been a while since I've done an update.  Here's a few recent things going on with Caden.

Caden is potty trained!!!  I know, I can hardly believe it.  But he is doing wonderful!  We started on Thanksgiving and he rarely has any accidents.  He started off doing really well too.  I know there will still be an occasional accident but overall he has done marvelous!  When we go out, he does great, of course part of that is I think he wants to check out every bathroom everywhere we go.  Sometimes multiple times too.  He's especially interested in hand dryers and toilets that flush automatically or clean themselves (which they have in Germany).  Hand dryers still frighten him some, but that doesn't seem to stop him from being a little obsessed with them.  Both wanting to see it and talking about it.  He still wears a diaper at night but surprisingly has lately been waking up dry and waiting to go to the bathroom.  The first morning he did that I was in utter shock!  Usually his diaper is soaked.  We went through a time period where we'd change his diaper before we went to bed just so he wouldn't wake up at night wet, which then he'd wake us up.  He is back in his crib but will be moving to a big boy bed again once we move back to Texas.  Right before he turned two we bought him a cool car bed.  He slept in it a while but then wanted to sleep in his crib.  I had left his crib in his room because my friend was pregnant and I knew I would need to watch her son and I wasn't sure for how long.  After going months without Caden sleeping in his car bed, we sold it.

Gab, gab, gab!  There is constant chatter coming from Caden.  We love it!  Not sure if he takes after his mom or dad more on that one.  Ha!  He comes up with the funniest phrases.  It's getting hard for me to remember the infant days when he would just coo and cry.  Now he has opinions and is getting very good at expressing himself.  Which also leads to some frustration sometimes.  Especially when he can't think of the word he wants to use.  Or he gets excited and starts blabbing and it becomes a mix of English, German, and Cadenish.  He clearly knows what he is talking about and sure thinks we do too!

Good Health.  Praise God, Caden is doing so much better!  He has not thrown up in over 2 months.  We have less than a week left of his medication.  His iron levels are up and he seems to have even more energy and is constantly on the move.  Jumping, running, galloping, climbing, you name it, he's into it.  We have also been blessed to miss a few viruses that have passed through many of our friends.  I feel certain God is watching over us. 

A few newer things.  Not sure when he started doing some of these things but I don't think I've written about this. 

- He can wash and dry his hands. 

- He enjoys taking his clothes off, especially pants.  If he could run around naked all day, I think he would.  But it is way too cold for that. 

- He loves to sing, this isn't new but the number of songs he knows has greatly increased.  The other day he sung all the words to "Jingle Bells."  Collin and I looked at each other and asked who taught him that.  We seriously have maybe sung it with him 3 times.  Caden loves all music but especially Christmas music right now.

- He knows his mom's name is Marisa and his dad's name is Collin.  A few weekends ago we were driving and he said, "there is Marisa and Collin.  They are my parents."  That was probably the most shocking thing I've heard him say recently.  I asked Collin who told him that.  Collin said he talks to him about that sometimes.

- He can spell our last name.  Early on he could spell his first name and now he can spell his last.

- Caden is starting to recognize more words.  Some words such as his name, mom, cat, dog, and zoo he easily knows, but he's also starting to piece words together and sound them out.

- He still rarely takes a nap and when he does it becomes a late night for us.  So typically his bedtime is from 7-7:30pm and he wakes up between 7 and 8am.  On average he sleeps about 12 hours but sometimes 11.5-13.  It just depends on how tired he is.

- He loves other kids.  After MOPS or church he'll tell me, "I had fun playing with the kids.  They are cool.  We played with a ball" or whatever they did.  I love getting to know what he does when he's away from me.  It makes me feel a little better about leaving him in someone else's care when he can tell me about it.

- He knows where Texas and Germany are on the map.  His placemat at the table is a world map.  He talks about getting in an airplane and flying to see his grandparents and points and says, "there's Germany and there's Texas.  We are going to fly to Texas."

- He likes playing the piano.  I look forward to him learning to play.  He seems to have good rhythm and I know anything he sets his mind to he'll be able to achieve.

- He loves candy, thanks to Halloween when he got his first piece.  He no longer plays with a sucker and pretends it's a drum.  Oh no, he wants it open so he can eat it.  Germans are very generous with handing out candy to kids, especially chocolate and gummy bears.  Caden's favorite candy is gummy bears which he calls, gummy bearies. 

Favorite Toys

- Marbles and pom poms.  We have a wooden marble set and he LOVES it!  Everyday he wants to play it.  Several months ago I bought some pom poms (little cotton ball type things) and have him sort them by color.  We also make letters with them.  He loves playing with those too.

- Tools.  Any tool that looks like Dad's he loves.  He'd prefer Collin's tools over the toy ones.  He loves to pretend to fix things.

- Coloring.  He loves writing and drawing pictures.

- Play-Doh, who doesn't love it?!

What he wishes were toys

Batteries - this is a constant battle.  He can easily remove batteries from remote controls, keyboards, and anything that does not require a screw.  I finally figured out why he'd play his toys that made noise and walk away.  He wanted to run down the batteries so we would open them and replace them.  He started bringing us something that needed new batteries.  He'll say, "this toy needs new batteries.  You need to take off the screws and put new batteries in."  Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't.  It depends on the toy.

Caden, you bring so much joy to our life.  You constantly bring smiles and laughter to our home.  We love you and very much enjoy getting to watch you learn and grow. 

Love,

Mom and Dad

Why I'm Having Miscarriages

Having a miscarriage is devastating. It's really frustrating how many doctors want to wait until a woman has 3 miscarriages before they do anything. My advice is find a doctor who will help you. While it sadly may be more common than what people realize and there often is no explained reason, there still is a chance that you may have something wrong with you and it's fixable under a doctor's care. In my opinion, it is better to find out earlier than later. If you've ever had a miscarriage, you know the sinking feeling you feel after you find out that your baby is not going to make it. And it's really simple to find out if something is wrong, whether it's a hormone imbalance, thyroid problem, or another disorder. You simply have blood drawn, it goes to the lab and then you know. Not very difficult which is why it's aggravating that so many doctors insist that you wait for 3 miscarriages before they do this. Also, sometimes there really is nothing wrong. But if there is, it's nice to know so something can be done. Isn't this what modern medicine is all about? Thankfully I found out why I'm having miscarriages.

Once I had my second miscarriage, I asked my German doctor to test my levels including my progestrone levels. A doctor in the States suggested I get those levels checked. She agreed to check my hormone levels and told me to come in and have blood drawn between day 2-5 of my next period and then 21 days after it started to get the best results. She said she would check since I had my son with virtually no problems and now have lost two babies. The nurse took a total of 3 vials of blood. She also had me see a specialist about a fibroid that has appeared since being pregnant with my son to see if that could be the reason for the miscarriages.

I also called to make an appointment with an American gynecologist. When I went in to see him, he said typically in the U.S. they wait until miscarriage number 3. I begged him to run some tests and said someone suggested I get my thyroid levels checked and my hormone levels. He said he would do it but I needed to fast the night before (no food after midnight) and come in on Day 21 of my last period. When I went to the lab, they took 10 vials of blood!

This is what I found out. The American doctor called Friday and said he discovered why I'm having miscarriages. He said I have thyroiditis, which means my thyroid levels are very elevated. I'm also borderline for having cardiolipid which an autoimmune disorder. He is referring me an internal medicine doctor where I will need to get a little more testing done. Sadly he cannot help me beyond this but thankfully a specialist can.

My German doctor gave me good news that my hormone levels are normal. She has told me before that I am healthy and she didn't see any reason why I could not have more healthy children. She did NOT check my thyroid levels or for autoimmune disorders. But she has done ultrasounds and did check my ovaries after both miscarriages.

I want to thank one of my blog readers for her advice to get my thyroid levels checked after having my second miscarriage. She suggested this and after doing some research, it seemed like many doctors don't check this. If you have had a miscarriage, I am sorry. But there is hope. Maybe there is nothing wrong, but then again, there could be. Ask your doctor to please check your hormone levels and thyroid levels.

Once I see an internal medicine doctor, I will let you know what the next step is. One thing I have read is that most likely I will need to take a baby aspirin next pregnancy to help my blood from clotting. Most likely I will also need to take some kind of thyroid medicine. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.

BIG NEWS! BIG CHANGES!

We have some major changes coming up, we're coming home!!  Not just for a visit but we are MOVING back to Texas.  Collin was offered a job last week and has accepted it.  We have enjoyed our time in Germany, a life-changing experience, but are very excited about living back in the U.S.  We are certainly going to miss our friends here but we really feel like we need to get back to Texas.

There is so much more involved in overseas moves than moves within the States.  When we arrived it took 2.5 months for our household goods to arrive and our vehicle took 5 weeks.  We are not looking forward to the in-between stages of the move but are looking forward to being close to many family members and friends.  Caden is excited too, he keeps talking about moving to Texas to see his grandparents.

We are still working out all the details, there is so much out-processing that takes place, but we should be flying into Texas the last weekend in January.  Collin is giving our termination letter to our landlord today, we will spend approximately the last two weeks in Germany in a hotel, ugh, and then are going to look for temporary housing that is furnished while we look for a permanent place to live and for our furniture to arrive.

This is probably the best Christmas present we could get.  Collin has wanted to work for this agency for a long time.  He's going to be a branch chief of a geospatial database section.  We have been praying for the right opportunity to come along and we feel like God has answered our prayers.  God is faithful and constantly provides.  Please keep us in your prayers as we go through this transition period of 3 months or more.

Collin, Marisa, and Caden

New Friends

A few weeks ago I got an email from a lady who found my blog.  Her and her husband are debating on whether or not to move to Germany.  She said that my faith really stood out to her and she wanted to know if her and her husband could meet me and Collin for coffee or dinner.  After talking with Collin we decided that would be fun and a great opportunity to share with others who are considering doing what we did.

They flew to Germany from a town outside of Chicago on Sunday.  Then drove 1.5 hours to meet us for dinner in Heidelberg.  I asked my friend, Jane, to watch Caden for us.  This is the second time she's watched him and she put him to bed both times.  What a blessing!  And this all happened at her house, wow!  None of his grandparents have been able to put him to sleep.  In fact, besides us, she's the only other person. 

Anyway, we met Anna and Paul who are around our ages.  They came to check out Paul's company over here and see what they thought of Germany.  They got married a year ago and would love to have children.  So I shared my experience of having a child in Germany, which was fantastic, and the pros and cons of living overseas.  I told her there will be lots of excitement and joy but also plenty of dark days as well.  Reality sets in when your husband goes off to work the first day and you're stuck at a hotel and say to him as he's walking out the door, "what am I going to do all day?"  Then you explore the city and can't find anyone who will speak English to you and say to yourself, "what have we done?!"  With time you'll learn some of the language, make friends and adjust.  By living overseas, you'll also have opportunities to travel and see things you never would have if you didn't take the leap over the ocean.

We really enjoyed our time with Anna and Paul and hope to get to know them better in the future through email and phone calls.  One great thing about being a Christian is you can find friends almost everywhere you go.  We'll be praying for you, Paul and Anna.

We invited them over to see our house after we ate dinner.  German houses are different than most American homes.

St. Nikolaus Tag!

On December 6th, Germans celebrate St. Nikolaus day.  The night before, children leave their boot outside the front door or outside their bedroom door.  While they are asleep, St. Nikolaus comes and leaves goodies in their boot if they were good.  If they have been bad they he leaves sticks.

Caden left both boots out.  Thankfully he has been very good so he got a few goodies in each boot.  He got some gummy bears, which he loves.  And he got some Thomas the Train take-n-play bendable track.

What's in my boot?

It's Gummy Bears!

Emptying the boot is fun!

Fun bendable track

Happy that he got some Gummy Bears

Today was my MOPS Christmas party playdate.  It went okay.  Sometimes I think some things are more trouble going to than they are worth.  Caden was not having a good day.  He's more of a homebody and prefers smaller groups than large groups of people.  If we walk in a room with a lot of loud noisy kids, he immediately wants to leave.  I honestly don't blame him.  Before we left this morning, I asked him if he wanted to go to the Christmas party.  He said no.  When he says "no" he means it.  It was difficult getting out the door.  Also, he doesn't like going to the military chapel.  He loves going to church, thankfully our church is not there, but there's something about this chapel that he doesn't like.  Anyway, after a few messes and him trying to leave the chapel, I finally decided it was better to take him home.  Today was a challenging day for us.

Caden drawing a picture at the party



Eppelheim's Christmas Market

This past weekend we got a lot of rain.  Friday evening I volunteered at an event called Holiday Magic.  Santa Claus comes to this event, they light the big Christmas tree on base, and lots of kids from the military schools sing Christmas songs.  My MOPS group sold soup, bread, and gently used children's clothes.  All the booths are outside, brrr!  I helped out last year as well.  Last year it was snowing and freezing.  This year it was just wet and cold.  Caden had to go with me for the first part since Collin wasn't off work yet.  I brought my camera but since it was raining and I had Caden, I left it in the car.

It was also the weekend our town had their Christmas market.  We went with our next door neighbors, the Hollenback's, last year, and we decided to go again with them this year.  We truly are super blessed to have such fantastic neighbors on both sides of us.  I brought my camera with me to this market and took pictures, even though it was still raining.

Jana made pork sandwiches and European beans for dinner.  Then we walked downtown to the market with them.  Thankfully Saturday night it was just sprinkling.  Sunday, when Santa was suppose to be there, it was pouring.  We didn't even attempt to go.  One difference between Germany and Texas is, typically things you do in your town you walk to.  There is limited parking downtown and it's really only about a 5 minute walk.  Even though Santa was going to be inside the concert hall, we decided not to go.  Thankfully, Caden saw Santa Claus at the bookstore Saturday afternoon.  Santa doesn't bring that much to our house but he is coming for St. Nikolaus Tag (St. Nicholas Day) tonight.  We'll put out a boot and see what he brings Caden.  If you want to participate, leave your child's boot outside the door tonight and he will leave a treat, usually something sweet, in the boot if they have been good.  If they have not been good, he will leave twigs.

Caden's potty training has been going great!  He has been staying dry and for the first time ever, woke up this morning and said he needed to potty and his diaper was completely dry.  Way to go, Caden!

Here are a few pictures from our town's Christmas market.

Miska and Caden

Weeee, Caden riding the swing

Jana, Collin, Steve, and Miska cheering Caden on

The lovely Eppelheim Christmas tree

Miska playing one of the games

Jana and I enjoying a hot drink

Inside the town's concert hall

First Christmas Market in 2011

Christmas in Germany is really nice.  There are a lot of Christmas markets all over Germany.  After the visit to the specialist in Mannheim the other day, we went to our first Christmas Market this year in Mannheim. 

Mannheim is a large city and their Christmas market takes place downtown next to the water tower.  It was a really nice Christmas market with lots of vendors, rides for the children, and food to eat.  We're going to try and go to several Christmas markets this year and I'll post more pictures as the Christmas season continues.

Beautiful water tower in Mannheim

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Daddy showing Caden his hat

Lots of people and lots of vendors

One of the toy vendors

Lots of stands to look at

Look at that sad face!  Caden usually loves carousels!

Riding the ICE train ride

Candy and nut vendor

This time our family rode the carousel together

Mannheim Christmas Market

Appointment with the Specialist

This afternoon I had my doctor's appointment with the specialist in Mannheim, regarding the fibroid.  Before I give the update I need to brag on Caden.  He did wonderful!  We were away from the house for 4 hours and he did not have any accidents.  We also met Collin for lunch today and he stayed dry the whole time.  He is doing very well with potty training, I am so proud of him!  He fell asleep in the car on the way to Mannheim.  Collin held him while I had my appointment and was afraid he was going to pee on him.  I told him he wouldn't and he just needed to take him to the bathroom once he woke up. When Caden woke up, Collin took him to the potty and he didn't have an accident. Hurray! I know Collin was happy too, he told me earlier that he didn't have a change of clothes for himself! After my doctor's appointment we went to the Christmas market in Mannheim - pictures to come later.  We ate dinner and Caden rode several rides.  I am glad we're taking the chance and potty training - Caden only wears a diaper at night, no pull-ups when we go out, just underwear and pants.  He's also happier not wearing diapers and being a big boy and his Mama is overcoming her fears of potty training. 

Okay, back to the appointment.  Thankfully the fibroid is outside my womb. The doctor said it's about 3cm and he doesn't think it is causing the miscarriages but he also doesn't know for a fact that it is not.  He recommends I have it removed.  However, he also said that I don't have to have it removed if I don't want to.  He said I could try again to have another baby and there may not be any problems.  However, the fibroid most likely will continue to grow.  Collin asked if it will be more difficult to remove if we wait.  The doctor said no and that it is actually easier to remove them when they are bigger.  He said some women have a lot of fibroids and have babies just fine.

If I have the fibroid removed I would have to spend 2 nights in the hospital.  I spent 4 nights in the hospital after Caden was born and I am not a fan.  But it was different with Caden, I had no clue what to do and could not sit down.  So having a surgery that may not be necessary and spending 2 nights away from my family in Germany does not sound like something I want to do.  I have to go back in about two weeks and give more blood samples to my German doctor.  Monday I have an appointment with an OBGYN on base.  I was super lucky to get this appointment.  I'm going to have her check my blood for various things that American doctors check for such as my hormone levels and to see if my blood is clotting and preventing the baby from growing.  I have read quite a bit online that taking Baby Aspirin could help prevent a miscarriage.  So I'm going to talk to the doctor about that as well.

So the good news is I don't have to have it removed.  The bad news, the doctor was still uncertain if the fibroid is causing the miscarriages.  I asked him if he thought it would be okay for us to try a third time to get pregnant before having the surgery.  He said that would be fine and he didn't see any reason why I could not do that.  Finding someone to watch Caden for two days while Collin is at work is almost impossible.  So really it would be better to have the fibroid removed in the States.  Also, German hospitals are not that enjoyable to me.  Of course no hospital really is.  I'll have a follow-up visit with my main doctor in a few weeks after she takes more blood from me.  I have given more blood in Germany than I have in my entire life!  I'm just going to praise God that I don't have cancer and that it is not urgent that I have this surgery at the moment.  The doctor did say that eventually I will probably need to have it removed.  Please keep us in your prayers.  We would love to have another healthy baby.

Thanksgiving and Potty Training!

We had a nice Thanksgiving this year.  We certainly missed our extended families...a lot!  The stomach flu that I got on the retreat last weekend also got a few other people from church sick that went to the retreat.  So we decided to just do Thanksgiving as a family and not join our sweet friends from church just in case Caden's immune system was down.  We want to keep him well.  Getting good medical help for him is very difficult here and he is finally do very well, healthwise and not throwing-up. 

Turkey Schnitzel out

To celebrate Thanksgiving, we went out to lunch at a greek restaurant in town.  Their special was turkey schnitzel so we had that.  For dinner we cooked some ham, sweet potatoes, and green beans.  Collin picked up a pecan pie the other day when he went to the commissary.  It was delicious!

Thanksgiving at home

Yummy!

The biggest thing we started was officially potty training!  Caden has done great!  It is so hard to find a time when we can be home enough days in a row to potty train.  He was almost potty trained at the end of August/September before we went home to the States.  While overseas we stopped the training, then he's been taking iron which makes his poo very black and sticky so we decided to wait.  He has been going in the potty for a while now.  When we're out if we ask him if he needs to go, he usually goes.  Same when we're home, we just haven't taken the chance of taking the diaper off and letting him really go on his own.  Here's what we did and how he's done.

Hey!  A little privacy please.

Thanksgiving was Day 1.  Caden peed in the potty with no accidents at home.  We're doing the bare bottom method but when we went out we put a pull-up on him.  He peed at the restaurant but at Toys R Us (we needed to do some Christmas shopping price comparisons, and yes, everything was open in Germany on Thanksgiving since Germans don't celebrate the holiday), he peed in his pull-up.  He didn't poop all day which is no like him unless we travel.  Typically he'll save his poop until we get home.

Friday, Day 2: Caden did great peeing in potty.  This day we didn't remind him and constantly ask him if he needed to go, just occassionally and he did great!  We had to run an errand and ate lunch out, put a pull-up on him to do that.  Got home and he pooped in it.  Then later started to poop in his log cabin upstairs, Collin caught him and put him on the potty.  He finished there.

Saturday, Day 3:  After breakfast Caden ran and sat on the potty.  He peed and said excitedly, "I went pee pee in the green potty!"  We cheered for him and were very happy he took the initiative to go on his own.  He passed some gas this evening so I asked him to sit on the potty and see if he could poop.  He did and was super happy about it!  We were too!  No poop on the floor.  Collin reminded me of two setbacks today while they were together. It seems that all the diaper-free time and has got him thinking of all the ways one can pee.  Two times he stood on exercise mats and peed on them. Both times he announced that he was going to pee on the floor but Collin couldn't get there in time to stop him.  Collin then put him on the potty and Caden peed some more then, laughing like crazy.

Tomorrow we are venturing out without a pull-up.  Hopefully he'll make it through church.  There's no bathroom upstairs where we worship.  You have to go outside, down a sidewalk, into the other building.  Wish us luck!

What Keeps You Going?

With the Nelsons in Rothenburg, Germany

This past weekend we finally made it to the Euro-American Family Retreat in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany. This was our third time to visit Rothenburg. For the past four years we have wanted to go to the retreat but usually are unable to make it mainly due to lack of vacation days. This year we decided to go to at least part of it. We wish we could have gone for the whole time but Collin doesn't have the extra time off since we go back to the States once a year.

The theme this year was "What Keeps You Going?" Lots of people from all over Europe attend this retreat. Mostly missionary families. Even though we are not missionaries, many things that were talked about at the retreat apply to us. Tony Coffey, who has been a missionary in Ireland for over 20 years, lead the daily Bible study. He talked about different prophets and how many felt like they were failing. Yet, God took their failures and hard times and used it for His glory. God looks at our hearts. If our hearts are in the right place that's what is most important. Again, a lot of this applied to missionaries and how many are planting churches and how slow the process can be. But even in our own lives, when we talk with unbelievers and are reaching out. It's not always an instant success. Many people will actually walk away. But the fact that we're trying and want others to be saved is what is most important. If you are a Christian, think about how thankful you are that someone shared with you the gospel. There are many people who don't know the truth and have no hope. However, if we are willing to be open and share with them, they may be changed forever, just like we were. So when asked, what keeps you going? What does? For me, I think it's knowing that after this life is over my life will continue with God in Heaven.

They provided childcare for kids 2 and up. We were uncertain if Caden would do well since he doesn't like the childcare at the military chapel but he loves Sunday school at our church. Thankfully, he did great! Here are a few things he said when we picked him up on various days: "I had fun playing with the kids," he said everyday. "We jumped on the bed, it was fun," when they stayed in one of the hotel rooms. "We played with buttons," when they did crafts one evening. No fussing or complaining at all. I was so glad. It meant Collin and I were able to enjoy the speakers.

Caden and his friend, Natalie Hutto looking at a magazine at a restaurant

The retreat was from Saturday to Wednesday. We had to leave Monday after the morning session. Several families from our church in Heidelberg attended which was great. We also go to see our friends the Nelsons who are missionaries in the Ukraine. They had planned to come stay with us Friday night before the retreat but their son, Caleb, got sick. He was throwing up a lot and we all thought it was best if they stayed in a hotel. Saturday morning he was feeling better so they came over and we took them to Heidelberg and did a tour of the castle. We love this family. They are so precious and love people and the Lord. Saturday night Olivia threw up in the car on the way to the retreat. Sunday, David was sick throwing up. Then Monday night after we got home, I started throwing up and was very sick on Tuesday. Today is Wednesday and so far Collin and Caden have not caught it. We're praying that I was the last to get it. I have not been that sick in a long time. I'm just glad it was short lived and everyone seems to be better now.

Castle grounds in Heidelberg

Sunday we took a day trip between sessions to Nuremberg. We went to the Documentation Centre Nazi Party Rally Grounds. We have been wanting to go here for a while but typically run out of time off. The retreat was in Rothenburg and the Nazi Documentation Centre was an hour away. It was really neat to see and learn more about Germany's somber history, espcially with regard to WWII. Chasing a 2-year old added to the fun as he wanted to get into the exhibits or try and squeeze through small spaces where Mommy and Daddy could not fit. Needless to say, we didn't get to spend as much time as we would have liked as it is challenging keeping a bored, energetic little guy out of trouble.

Caden having fun at the documentation center

Overall we had a great weekend and wonderful fellowship. We're looking forward to Thanksgiving and spending it with friends. It is still so strange to live overseas away from family. The holidays make us even more nostalgic for home.

Happy Birthday, Michael!

We have been super busy lately!  Last weekend our dear friend and next door neighbor, Michael Robl, turned 50! Michael and his family have been super kind to us since we met them three years ago.  Anytime we need a German's opinion or help with something, he is willing to help if he can. To celebrate his birthday, his family had a surprise party for him at the fire station in town. Our fire station is almost 120 years old and is really neat! He knew he was having a birthday party but didn't know they changed it to a surprise. His wife blind folded him and took him to the car. She drove around and stopped at the fire station. They led him upstairs to the party room where everyone was lined up to surprise him and sing "Happy Birthday."

The fire station was a great place for a party. We even got a tour of the trucks. Blue Rock loved that! We all got to go inside them and look at the equipment. Michael's son, Markus, is in the fire brigade and gave everyone a grand tour.  Caden LOVED it!  At first he was a little scared of the big trucks but later enjoyed getting in them and seeing the hoses and equipment.

Germans celebrate birthdays a little differently than Americans, which I actually like. The two biggest differences are: the birthday person provides food for everyone and secondly the party lasts longer than 1-2 hours. For example, our friend catered a yummy lunch and a few hours later provided a variety of cakes and coffee. His children provided some entertainment by having him play a game of guessing some famous Broadway music. They also created a beautiful slide show of his life. We had a wonderful time. We were only able to stay for about 4 hours because Blue Rock started getting restless and tired. I'm not sure when it was really over. He was just starting to open some presents from family when we needed to leave. Happy birthday Michael! We felt very honored that you invited us and had a wonderful time!

Eppelheim's Fire Station

Delicious lunch!

Yummy cakes!  There were even more than this!

Sitting in the big fire truck - Caden was a little scared

There's one good looking fireman!

Caden hanging out with the big kids

Caden trying on a fireman's hat

These were just a few of the trucks at the station

"Look, this tire is as tall as me!"