National Prayer Breakfast - Take Two

This morning we went to the actual National Day of Prayer Breakfast. It was much more like we thought it would be like. The room was a lot larger than the room we ate breakfast in last week. A band and choir welcomed everyone in and there were lots and lots of people and probably six times more food than the little room had last week.

The band and choir were great. Pastor Tom Holiday from Saddleback Church in California was the main speaker. His message was really good on priorities and love. One thing that really stuck out to me was that sometimes we get so busy trying to "succeed" that we miss out on relationships with others. At the end of your life it really won't matter too much how much you had accomplished if it did not include having meaningful relationships with others. What a lonely thought! God calls us to love and have fellowship with one another. Life is much more fun when you are experiencing it with other people.

The 58th Annual National Day of Prayer is May 7th this year. The theme for this year is "Prayer... America's Hope" and is based on the verse from Psalm 33:22 which states: "May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you." It is awesome that our country still has a day set aside for prayer. During times like these we especially need to be prayerful! We hope you will be able to participate in praying for our country on that day as well as the rest of the days of the year.

We got a car!

We bought a second car! It's a European specification, 2000 Ford Focus and it's a lot of fun to drive. We bought it from a nice couple in the area and brought it home tonight. It's going to be my commuter car for when I don't ride my bike to work. It has a standard transmission, so as soon as Marisa learns how to drive it, she's gonna be racing it at the local Formula 1 track, I just know it. A few things we like are: it is able to carry a car seat safely, has 4 airbags, a nice stereo with an iPod controller, A/C, and it gets good gas mileage - great for exploring Europe! It has a comfortable ride and we think it will make a great second car. The best part about it is that we paid cash for it, taking Dave Ramsey's advice. Click the link and watch the short video. You won't believe how one decision can change your life.

Spargelicious!

We tried a local specialty this week: white asparagus. Asparagus is called Spargel in Germany, and you see hand-made signs everywhere when it is in season. They cover the asparagus up to keep photosynthesis from happening, which keeps it from turning green. (Poor little asparagus...treated like a mushroom). That is supposed to make it sweeter and more tender. Click the title above for more info. We bought it at a roadside stand nearby. They had five or six bins with different prices.

The more expensive kind is fatter and whiter. We opted for the second to cheapest for our first try. See the pink?

The lady at the stand told us we should peel the tough sides off - and offered to sell us a peeler! Our OXO peeler will do just fine, thank you.

She also said cook it in wasser, but we think we'll try to steam it next time. Marisa did a great job of cooking them up and I thought they went well with the chicken breast and sweet potato.

Okay, quick backstory: Last year when we first moved into our home, we heard about Spargel and even saw a few statues of it in a nearby town. Getting into the spirit of things, we tried to find some to cook but the season was over. We went to the American store which sells some local products and were excited to find some. When I got it home, I noticed on the back it said, "Made in China!" (By the way, we still haven't tried the canned kind from China). Ha! At least we were finally able to try the local version this year. Happy Spargel season!

National Prayer Breakfast - Take One

Yesterday morning we woke up a little early to make it to the National Prayer Breakfast that was supposed to start at 7:00am. When we arrived at the Pavilion dining room we were a little surprised that no one but us was there except the guy who was setting up the breakfast buffet. We asked the man if this was the right place to meet for the National Prayer Breakfast and he said yes. I then looked at my watch and saw the time was now 7:05 and as I pregnant woman I was very hungry. So I asked him if it was alright if we started eating and he said yes.

We piled our plates high with delicious food and still we were the only ones there. We said our own prayer for our country, family, and friends. We talked about how there must have been poor communication for us to be the only ones there and maybe they changed the time to 8:00am or something like that. Finally around 7:45 a woman walked in and asked us if we were there for the briefing. We asked her if she meant the National Prayer Breakfast. She said "no, I'm here a little early for a briefing I'm giving that starts at 8:00am." We looked at each other and thought maybe we had the wrong room. So we asked her if she was sure that was her room and if so did she know where our room was. She asked to see our tickets. Then she said, "your breakfast is not until April 17th." Embarrassed, we quickly cleaned the table, apologized, told her the food was really good and promptly left! We're looking forward to the real National Prayer Breakfast.

German Zoo and BBQ

Last weekend we went to the Heidelberg Zoo with one of Collin's German friends from high school and his family and friend. This was our first experience visiting a zoo in Germany. The zoo was really nice, it was smaller than the FW Zoo but was nicely kept. One interesting difference was there was not as many barriers between the people and the animals like there are at many of the zoos in the States. We thought this made it easier to see the animals.

After the zoo we went to our first real German barbecue. The difference between a German and Texan barbecue is that our German friends barbecued all pork. They had pork steaks and sausages. All which were really good. They also had a good salad, french fries, and round potatoes. In Texas a traditional barbecue usually consists of beef steaks, chicken, hot dogs, chips, potato salad, and beans. We had a good time.

Here are a few pictures from our zoo trip.

Spring and 3rd Trimester

The weather has been gorgeous since we returned to Germany. After a long, cold and dark winter, the sun has finally shown its face again. Germany moved its clocks forward for Summer Time last weekend. The days are beginning to be longer again. The birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and the weather is warm, it has been in the 60s and low 70s this week. If this is what spring is like we wish it could be spring all year!

I had a doctor's appointment last night and everything looks great. My baby measures two weeks ahead of schedule. I am 27 weeks and the doctor said my baby is the size of a 29 week old which means he is about 1.13 kg (2.5 lbs) and around 38.1 cm (15 inches) long. She said the baby is very healthy and looks great. She also said that my weight gain is also really good. I had a few concerns but she said she sees pregnant women every day and my weight gain is perfectly normal. We even got to hear the baby's heart beat for the first time. The test takes about 15 minutes. They attached a heart monitor to my stomach which charted the baby's heart beats. It was really neat! My doctor will do this test every visit from now until delivery. I am also going to have appointments every two weeks instead of once a month. The count down has begun!

Here is a picture from the 4D ultrasound last night. His hands and feet were covering his face so it was hard to get a good picture of him.

We also received our stroller and car seat in the mail yesterday. We ordered them from Target.com last week and were pleasantly surprised to receive them already. They also sent us our pack-n-play. I do not think we have ever received items online this fast before. Collin put together the stroller last night and we love it! We were a little concerned because we did not see it in person and they could not ship the one we originally wanted. Once Collin put it together we discovered it is perfect! Thank you again to all who gave us Target gift cards. We really appreciate it. Now all we are lacking is a crib, rocking chair, some furniture for the baby's room, and a few small baby items. Hopefully within the next month we will have the baby's room ready for him. We are so excited!

Texas - Home Sweet Home

We just got home from spending two weeks in Texas. We never would have thought vacationing in Texas would be so much fun! We got to see lots of family and friends. Thank you to everyone who showered us with baby gifts and warm wishes. We are overwhelmed with gratitude and feel very blessed.

Our time in Germany has been fun yet often stressful. It was a huge relief to come home and not have to try and translate a simple conversation. I also enjoyed randomly waving at people when we were driving just to see them wave back - not very common over here. Many people seem to take a little longer to get to know people. We have some great German friends who are very friendly, so there's hope! But Texas is our homeland.

While at home, we ate Mexican food at least 8 times. So good! We spent a week with Collin's parents and a week with mine. We were able to visit with our Legacy family two Sundays. They are very special to us. We wished we would have had more time to see more family and friends but we were constantly on the run. We enjoyed getting to see everyone we did. There are several people we hope to see next time we are in town that we were unable to see this time.

Here are some pictures from our visit back to the States.

Some of Marisa's family at Uncle Julio's

Marisa, Amy, and Chase

Audra, Marisa, Karen, and Michelle

Shawn and Marisa - Mr. Southall made this rocking horse for my son. He made Shawn one 29 years ago and he still has it! It is a very special gift.

Collin and his dad

Sabra and Marisa

Shane, Collin, Steve, Jim, and Orlando

clockwise from left: Tricy, Shaugna, Deidra, Larissa, Marisa, and Collin's mom

Shane, Debbie, Marisa, Collin, Jim Jr., Viola, and Collin's parents

Here we are in front of one of Collin's favorite mexican food restaurants

Larissa and Marisa

Marisa's parents

Emily, Mary, Tracey, and Jessie

Marisa and her sister Michelle

Marisa and her dad

Brandon, Chase, Marisa, and Collin

Marisa with some of her old co-workers:

Emily, Kelly, Marisa, Taylor, and Tracey

Proud fathers to be! Bernd, Phillip, and Collin

Proud mothers to be!

Joceyln, Marisa, and Ashley - we are all due within two months of each other!

Rose and Marisa

Marisa, Collin, Kevin, and Elizabeth

Marisa and Grandmother Dot

Collin and Drew