Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Hurricane Katrina Relief
Obviously there is a huge need now for help with the relief effort, there is widespread devastation. Here is a link to a group that is helping, Samaritan's Purse. We often do projects for this group, through the chapel on post. Things like shoeboxes of supplies etc. It is a reputable organization, Franklin Graham (Billy Graham's son) is the CEO. Obviously there are other groups you can contribute to, Red Cross and Salvation Army are two that that come to mind. Just wanted to share the info on this particular group, so if anyone was looking for a way to contribute.
Most of you know my brother Michael lives in the New Orleans area (Pearl River is the name of his town). He did evacuate, so we know that he and my nephew Matt are safe. At this moment, he has no idea how or if his home survived, so please remember him in your prayers. If all is intact and his home is safe, there is still the lack of electricity, clean water etc to deal with.
Most of you know my brother Michael lives in the New Orleans area (Pearl River is the name of his town). He did evacuate, so we know that he and my nephew Matt are safe. At this moment, he has no idea how or if his home survived, so please remember him in your prayers. If all is intact and his home is safe, there is still the lack of electricity, clean water etc to deal with.
Safely home
Kenny made it home Sunday morning, Jacob and I were so excited that morning. We have been pretty busy catching up, and taking care of regular activities. I will post a few more of his pictures and catch up any news in the next couple days!
Saturday, August 27, 2005
On his way home
Kenny finally received the last necessary part and finished up, and has been making his way towards Wolframs-Eschenbach over the last few days. Well, at least trying to get here. He actually has an arrival scheduled in Frankfurt early tomorrow morning (Sunday)! He went through Kuwait, and called me from Bahrain. He is flying from there into Frankfurt, at least that is the plan. I know he will be happy to be back in cool Germany, out of the desert sun.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Our Family
Jacob made this drawing in kindergarten yesterday, he was so proud of it. His teacher helped him label everyone, so we would know who was who :) (Mami is Mommy, I imagine they weren't sure how to spell it. Most German children call their mothers mama)
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Rain rain go away!
Jacob went back to kindergarten yesterday, he was so excited! He spent a lot of time with me at church the past few weeks, attending the children’s classes they provide while the adults meet for church, study etc. I asked him which he preferred, playing with the English speaking kids at church or the German speaking kids at kindergarten. He was very certain and said he liked kindergarten better. So at least he has tried both options, and I know which one he likes the best.
Wolframs-Eschenbach had their Kirchweih fest (a fest celebrating the church, although there is nothing religious about it) over the past weekend. We spent some time there, Jacob rode some of the rides and we had some bratwurst. They have the same 3 rides every year I think, but they are lots of fun for the kids. It’s a small fest, but it’s a small town! We had to time our visits between the rainstorms, it has been raining so much. The rivers and creeks are overflowing, it’s much worse in southern Bavaria, and Austria. The roads that are near the water have the “hochwasser” (high water) signs up, so they are prepared for that. It seems to have eased up, so maybe it will start to dry up in the next few days.
Due to the rain we are overrun with slugs and snails. The slugs are really big (I think), usually 2-4 inches long and a reddish brown. Yuck! They were trying to get our tomatoes, but Jacob alerted me to the problem and we got them off. We have had some cherry tomatoes ripen, and they have been quite tasty. Our larger tomatoes are coming along, but really need some sun to get them ripe.
Kenny is doing fine in Iraq, sounds like he has finally gotten all the parts he needs. That means (hopefully) that he will be home really soon!
Wolframs-Eschenbach had their Kirchweih fest (a fest celebrating the church, although there is nothing religious about it) over the past weekend. We spent some time there, Jacob rode some of the rides and we had some bratwurst. They have the same 3 rides every year I think, but they are lots of fun for the kids. It’s a small fest, but it’s a small town! We had to time our visits between the rainstorms, it has been raining so much. The rivers and creeks are overflowing, it’s much worse in southern Bavaria, and Austria. The roads that are near the water have the “hochwasser” (high water) signs up, so they are prepared for that. It seems to have eased up, so maybe it will start to dry up in the next few days.
Due to the rain we are overrun with slugs and snails. The slugs are really big (I think), usually 2-4 inches long and a reddish brown. Yuck! They were trying to get our tomatoes, but Jacob alerted me to the problem and we got them off. We have had some cherry tomatoes ripen, and they have been quite tasty. Our larger tomatoes are coming along, but really need some sun to get them ripe.
Kenny is doing fine in Iraq, sounds like he has finally gotten all the parts he needs. That means (hopefully) that he will be home really soon!
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Still here!
Time just gets away from me, especially without Kenny here. By the time Jacob goes to bed, I'm not too far behind him! We are all doing fine, staying really busy. We have had lots to do with the women's group at church, getting ready for our Fall Bible Study to start. Also, trying to do some fun things while Jacob is out of school for these few weeks. We went to the Deutsche Bahn Train Museum (in Nürnberg) with some friends last week. The kids of course enjoyed the room with all the toy trains, but they did show some interest in some of the other exhibits also. It was a nice museum, not real big, but the right size for all of us. Of course while in Nürnberg we had some lunch, and then made the obligatory stop at Starbucks. Another day we went to Playmobil Park, which Jacob finds to be better every time. Mainly because as he gets bigger and stronger he can do more things there.
Jacob started swimming lessons today, at in indoor pool a few towns over. It seems really good, he is already becoming more confident in the water. It is at an indoor pool of course, since the weather is still too cool for the outside pools. Nice and warm and steamy in there, very pleasant. It starts rather early, 8am, but then we still have time to do some other things during the day.
Kenny is doing fine, I talk to him for a few minutes almost every day. He is finally at the repair site, but of course they are missing parts. So he is slowly getting the job done, as soon as he is done he can come on home. The conditions are pretty good there, sleeping in air conditioned trailers and plenty of choices for food. Taco Bell, Popeye's Fried Chicken, Subway, Burger King and of course the military dining facility. He actually has more choices than we do on our base here! He said it's much nicer than when he went to Afghanistan in Dec 2002.
I can't post any pictures, Kenny took the camera with him. So, I'm back to using my regular 35mm camera. Jacob can't understand why he can't see the picture on it, and how are we going to get them out of the camera. I think he only sees the pictures on the computer, so he doesn't know there is a whole other process for photos. A child of technology I guess.
That's all for now, sorry for the slow posts but nothing too blogworthy has come up lately.
Jacob started swimming lessons today, at in indoor pool a few towns over. It seems really good, he is already becoming more confident in the water. It is at an indoor pool of course, since the weather is still too cool for the outside pools. Nice and warm and steamy in there, very pleasant. It starts rather early, 8am, but then we still have time to do some other things during the day.
Kenny is doing fine, I talk to him for a few minutes almost every day. He is finally at the repair site, but of course they are missing parts. So he is slowly getting the job done, as soon as he is done he can come on home. The conditions are pretty good there, sleeping in air conditioned trailers and plenty of choices for food. Taco Bell, Popeye's Fried Chicken, Subway, Burger King and of course the military dining facility. He actually has more choices than we do on our base here! He said it's much nicer than when he went to Afghanistan in Dec 2002.
I can't post any pictures, Kenny took the camera with him. So, I'm back to using my regular 35mm camera. Jacob can't understand why he can't see the picture on it, and how are we going to get them out of the camera. I think he only sees the pictures on the computer, so he doesn't know there is a whole other process for photos. A child of technology I guess.
That's all for now, sorry for the slow posts but nothing too blogworthy has come up lately.
Thursday, August 04, 2005
off to Iraq
Kenny left this morning for Iraq, he shouldn't be there too long. He has a specific repair to make, and once it is finished he will be on his way back. It is something that came about pretty quickly, so we didn't have much time to worry about it. Now it's just the wait for him to return safely to Germany.
Over the weekend we went to the zoo in Nürnberg (again), just to get out and enjoy the nice weather. We had a good time, Kenny and Jacob had their usual fun feeding the goats.
I took the role of stroller guard, so I didn't have to go in and be mobbed by those critters. It was a fun day, and the weather was so nice. It's a little cool for August today, but at least it's not raining.
Friday night there was a huge storm, lots of trees and branches blown down. One of our neighbors lost some roof tiles, and another one had a whole window blown in. It was by far the worst storm we have ever experienced hear, between the strong winds and heavy rain. Everything is cleaned up now, but there are piles of branches all over from the cleanup.
That's all for now.
Over the weekend we went to the zoo in Nürnberg (again), just to get out and enjoy the nice weather. We had a good time, Kenny and Jacob had their usual fun feeding the goats.
I took the role of stroller guard, so I didn't have to go in and be mobbed by those critters. It was a fun day, and the weather was so nice. It's a little cool for August today, but at least it's not raining.
Friday night there was a huge storm, lots of trees and branches blown down. One of our neighbors lost some roof tiles, and another one had a whole window blown in. It was by far the worst storm we have ever experienced hear, between the strong winds and heavy rain. Everything is cleaned up now, but there are piles of branches all over from the cleanup.
That's all for now.
