M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

You know the song...

And so does Brady! He started singing it today for the first time. :) I grabbed the camera, he stopped, but after a little prompt, he was singing again!

Home Sweet Home

We're moving back to the states in August. Buck will be an OC (observer controller, for you non-Army speaking friends) at Fort Polk. We will be there for at least 3 years. That's the longest we will have been in one place in the 6 years we've been married. So, we decided to build a house.

Actually, we're not building it since we're still in Germany, but my mom, who is THE most amazing, wonderful, beautiful woman in the entire world, is overseeing the project for us. Because of her, when we arrive in Louisiana, we will have a beautiful, brand new house to call home. It is already proving to be quite the project since we have to communicate via email or the telephone so we can choose all that will go inside...flooring, paint colors, countertops, cabinets, fixtures, hardware, etc., etc., etc....But, she is doing it all without complaint and out of love for us. How lucky are we?!?!

The lot was purchased some time ago, but it took us a quite a while to choose just the right floor plan. We finally found one that had everything we wanted and construction began last week.

I realize that these pictures probably won't look like much to you. But, to me, they are the making of a dream. Our dream. Our little piece of the American Dream.

When I look at that dirt I see a home that will be filled with family, friends, love and laughter. I see precious memories being made and milestones being met. I see the yard in which Brady will probably learn to ride his bike and in which Noah will learn to walk. I see the smile on my boys faces and hear their laughter as they run through the sprinkler; their little cheeks red from the hot summer sun. I think that of all of the things about this house, I'm looking forward to the yard the most. Brady so loves being outside, so it's been hard here in Germany with the long, hard winters and not having a fenced yard for him to run and play in. Now, in just a few short months, he'll have plenty of room to roam!

When I look at that slab of concrete, I see the patio on which there will be many backyard barbeques for the neighborhood and where many family dinners will be enjoyed. I see the kitchen where I'll sit at the table across from my Mom or Dad and enjoy their company over a cup of coffee. I see the rooms where Brady will sleep in his big bed for the first time and where Noah will sleep in his crib for the first time. I see the place that we will bring home our third child, God willing.

For me, this is a dream that I've had for a long time. But, with moving so often, I never knew when, or if it would come true. Now that I see it finally coming together, I realize that it was well worth the wait.

Tulips and Windmills -- Mother's Day Weekend

This Mother's Day was very special indeed! Not only did I have two beautiful boys for which to be thankful, but I was able to see a beautiful part of God's creation. We spent the weekend in Noordwijk ann Zee, a wonderful little seaside town in The Netherlands.

I have always wanted to see the tulips in the spring. From all of the photographs I've ever seen it just looked like a little piece of Heaven here on Earth. And seeing it in person left me more convinced than ever that it is indeed! God's hand was evident in everything that I saw and smelled and touched.

I took many, many photographs and thought I'd share my favorites with you.

It is quite difficult to get a 2 month old and a 2 year old to look at the camera at all, let alone at the same time. This is the best we could manage. :)

This picture is a bit out of order, but I didn't want to go back and upload all of these again, so here it is...This is Keukenhof. The 2nd largest park in the world and 3rd most photographed. It's not hard to see why. There are millions of flowers here!

Not long after crossing the border into The Netherlands we started to see windmills. I know this isn't the greatest picture of one, but cut me some slack...we were driving 80 mph on the Autobahn. It's a wonder I could even get it in a frame!

Our hotel, the Hof van Holland. It sat on a beautiful, quiet street. I loved the streets there. It was like stepping back in time to the 1940's. We saw many families riding their bikes with woven baskets on the front.

The rest of the photos were taken at Keukenhof. They are simply amazing!

...And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:13

I Was Here

Today, as I was scrapbooking, I was listening to "I Was Here" by Lady Antebellum. I'm sure most of you have heard the song by now. In case you have not, here is bit of the lyrics ...

You will notice me

I'll be leaving my mark, like initials carved in an old oak tree

You wait and see

Maybe I'll write like Twain wrote

Maybe I'll paint like Van Gogh

Cure the common cold

I do not know, but I'm ready to start, because I know in my heart

I want to do something that matters

Say something different

Something that sets the whole world on it's ear

I want to do something better with the time I've been given

I want to touch a few hearts in this life

And leave nothing less than something that says I was here

There was a time that I felt lost. I was searching for my purpose, wondering why God put me on this earth. I spent my days and nights asking, praying, hoping I would find my passion ... or at least a way to feel that my life meant something to someone. A few years ago, maybe I would have heard this song and wondered what I would do to leave my mark on this world, but not anymore.

I do not need to write like Twain wrote, or paint like Van Gogh. Michaelangelo's got nothing on me.

Just look at those two little faces. They are my David, my Mona Lisa, my legacy. They are my mark on this world. Because of them I have done much more than just pass through this life. Even if no one else in this world remembers my name it does not matter, they will.

When I look into their precious faces this life becomes crystal clear. They are my reason. And long after I'm gone little pieces of my heart will still be wandering this world.

There's not a day that goes by that I do not praise God for the blessing of my boys. Being their mother is the greatest honor I could ever receive.

Blessed

God has richly blessed Buck and I with loving, caring, amazing parents and our boys with the most wonderful grandparents any kids could hope for. They have been given more love in their short days than some kids get in a lifetime.

My mom was here when Noah was born. Looking back, it still amazes me that she arrived less than two hours before I went into labor! She wasn't here when Brady was born. The little stinker decided to come a month early and surprise us all, so to be able to share the birth of her grandchild with her this time around was very special indeed.
Just this past week, Nana, or Ana as B called her, flew over to see Noah and Brady. Buck was in the field pretty much the entire time she was here so she and I were able to bond in a special way. Buck and I have been married for 6 years in May, and we haven't spent more than 4 days together. It was time much needed and time well spent. Much like when my mom was here, Noah's tiny hiney didn't touch his swing very often!

Even though Zia wasn't here when Brady was born, she was on a plane and in Germany with us by the time he was 7 days old. I have some very special memories from those 2 weeks she was with us. I will never forget the look on her face or the tears in her eyes when she held that tiny little bundle for the first time. And yes, in the background you can see all of the things that were supposed to be hanging on our walls. Our household goods arrived on Monday and I went to the hospital in labor Wednesday night! Brady came home to many, many unpacked boxes!

And, Nana and Grandpa both made it out to see B when he was just a few weeks old. They were able to stay for a week and what a special week it was! I would imagine that holding your grandchild for the first time is much like holding your child for the first time...instant and unconditional love.

We are blessed indeed to have people in our lives who love us so much they're willing to put their lives on hold to fly across an ocean...just to be with us.

Sunday Funnies

It seems that when I disappear for a few minutes to take care of Noah, Brady will find a way to get himself into trouble.

Take today for instance.

I left the room for five minutes. I changed a dirty diaper and Noah's outfit after he spit up on it.

When I left, Brady was sitting in his chair, drinking his milk and watching Little Einsteins.

When I re-entered the room. My child was standing in between the living room and the dining room with that deer in the headlights look on his face. I knew it couldn't be good!

I noticed something on my floor. As I get closer I noticed that it was covering my entire 8x10 carpet. It looked as though 100 stuffed animals had exploded throughout my house! There were big and small chunks of cotton everywhere! The trail led from the living room, around the couch, into the dining room where it was under the table and even stuck to the walls!! Then I noticed something else...

Tiny, wet, gel beads mixed in with the cotton...what appeared to be MILLIONS of tiny beads.

Finally, it hit me...

It wasn't a stuffed animal that had exploded, it was my child's diaper!!

Only it hadn't exploded...he had ripped a hole in the bottom of it!

I'm still not sure how he managed to spread it throughout the house and onto the walls in five minutes time, but he did!

Maybe I'll start potty-training sooner than I thought!

Cologne (Koln) Part Two:

Our second day in Cologne was just as wonderful as the first, despite the rain, cold and wind. Luckily, we had planned the day so that our activities (except for the walking...you park in a parking garage and you walk in Europe, you don't drive) would all be indoors.

We started the day with a FANTASTIC traditional German breakfast downstairs in our hotel. They had brotchen, cheeses, meats, the best scrambled eggs I've ever eaten, these little sausages they called meatballs, (I don't know what those things were, but it's a good thing I don't have access to them every day), yogurts, fresh fruit, fresh juices and coffee. (I love coffee, but I LOOOOVE German coffee. It has a richer, nutty chocolaty taste! Amazing!)

After breakfast we checked out of the hotel and walked over to the Nazi Documentation Center, which from 1935 until the end of the war in 1945 served as the Gestapo headquarters and prison. The top floors serve as a museum, but in the basement is the prison, a haunting reminder of the terror that innocent people once endured. You can still read inscriptions carved on the cell walls by the prisoners, their voices still crying out that they were once here.

After leaving the museum, we went over to the Lindt chocolate museum/mini-factory and cafe. We had an unbelievable lunch at the cafe overlooking the Rhine river. I meant to get pictures of the food, but was too busy trying to corral a 2 year old. The salad that I had was the BEST salad I've ever eaten. Seriously. And the chocolate torte was a slice of heaven!

The museum is quite fascinating as it takes you on a tour of how chocolate is produced from the planting of the cocoa beans to the final yummy product. At the end you walk in to a mini factory and the smell of chocolate overwhelms your senses! (Personally, I think this is how Heaven will smell! :)) At the back of the factory is the biggest fondue pot I've ever seen, brimming with melted Lindt chocolate!! A woman hands out yummy little wafers dipped in the chocolate. I considered going out to the car, changing my clothes to disguise myself, and coming back over and over again for more wafers. If it wouldn't have been raining so hard and so cold I definitely would have!

After Buck pulled both Brady and I, kicking and screaming, out of the chocolate shop, we started home. What should have been a 2.5 hour drive ended up taking just over 4 hours...First, because my husband insisted on traveling miles back into the city for gas, which we didn't need just yet, second because my husband got mixed up in construction and got off of the Autobahn at the wrong exit and the entrance back to the Autobahn was closed and we had to travel nearly 20 kilometers in the wrong direction just to be able to turn around, and third because we then had to stop to feed a very hungry baby. Thankfully, we laughed it off and eventually made it home safely.

Here are the remaining pictures.

Noah had a snug, warm and comfy ride for the weekend.

One of the prison cells. This cell once held 33 prisoners at one time.

This is that dark cell with the stone bench.

This picturesque courtyard was the site of over 400 executions. By the end of the morning Brady was all tuckered out. I don't know if he was bored by the museum, or exhausted from staying awake, crying to get into our bed until after 11p.m. and then waking up before 6 a.m.

This is a statue of Snow White dating back to the 1800's. She doesn't at all look like the smiling, kind Snow White of Disney. She's kinda mean and scary looking.

Be still my heart... This was the fondue pot where I almost dove in and went for a swim.

Decadent desserts at the cafe... That's all folks!