Serenity is my Life

I'm baaaack!

2010-08-29T16:33:00.001-07:00

Well, it has been close to a year since I have posted a new update on my blog. I guess time has just gotten away from me. Did you ever notice how the faster time goes, the faster time goes? It's crazy!

I am thinking about changing my blog a bit to suit my current ambitions and interests. Most likely - I will be blogging about parenting. It seems most of my world - other than work hours - revolves around making wise decisions when it comes to our daughter's future. In the last year - (which is only her first year as a teenager), we have dealt with more issues than I think I dealt with my whole career as a teen; But times have changed - and now more than ever we parents need to share our concerns, share our thoughts, and basically allow each other a good scream once in awhile.

So that is the direction I am going. I will warn you before I scream - I promise.

By the way - I am open to suggestions for a clever title for my new parenting blog. Stay tuned!

Differences Part 2

2009-09-26T17:54:00.001-07:00

There were so many little things that were different in Europe. Here is a list of things that we compiled over the course of our trip.

They don't use mustard.

Driving 220 mph on the Autobahn.

We heard church bells at noon and 6 p.m. everyday - from all directions.

Restaurants only serve lunch until 2 p.m. - after that it's just beverages and snacks - no meals.

Ice is not common - you have to request it in your beverages.

No free drink refills anywhere.

You pay for a glass of water.

Windows open in.

Air conditioners are very uncommon.

Windows do not have screens.

Most cars are compact.

Roofs are made with a lot of different materials (ie: sea weed)

There are wind turbines every where.

Woman cover their legs and show more cleavage.

Weird bug bites

A pharmacy is only a pharmacy - no Walgreens or CVS type stores.

Men wear capris & carry bags.

Grocery stores do not provide bags (ever been to Aldis? Same thing everywhere in Europe.)

Fountain pens are used regularly.

Pornographic materials are right out front for all to see.

There were solar panels everywhere.

You have to pay to use most public toilets.

Light switches are buttons that you push.

Toilets have two buttons to flush - one for little stuff - and one for BIG stuff.

Europeans don't wear white sneakers unless they are exercising.

They have Mercedes taxis!

The birds sound different.

They have alot of bike paths between towns.

Sparkling water (like club soda) is a common beverage - most homes keep it on hand.

Plastic bottles can be redeemed for euros almost anywhere. They have a special machine that you put the bottle in - and it spits your euros out.

Now that you have information overload - I'll finish by saying that Europe has a lot of customs we should adopt here in America, especially the conservative ones. They do everything they can to save energy including having different toilet flushes for different size loads! No wonder their economy is - well - not like ours.

Differences

2009-09-25T17:39:00.000-07:00

When we boarded the plane in Detroit - there were three customs agents standing there. They were picking people at random and frisking them. Ashley was so scared they were going to pick her. She clutched her stuffed dog and her bag and proceeded through the line of people. When we got to where the customs agents were - one of them (a lady) looked at her with a straight face and said, "may I see that dog please?" Ashley turned pale white - looked at me - and handed the lady her dog. The agent frisked the dog, handed it back to Ashley and winked at her. As we were walking away - the other agents were laughing. Apparently they like to freak kids out.

When we got to Germany - we walked off the plane. We got our luggage. We looked around. We actually asked a security guard where we should go. He pointed to the exit. No frisking, no declaring, no customs anything! We were dumb founded. We had prepared for anything and everything - and nothing happened. NOTHING! Until we came home - to our country of citizenship - where we have lived our entire lives. I tell you what - this country does not mess around in the airports. We should feel very safe.

When we walked off the plane - we entered a large - empty room. The only thing in there was 5 customs agents and 3 dogs. We were instructed to form a single file line against the wall. Every single person was looked up and down from head to toe. The dog sniffed every single person. If the dog sat down next to you - it wasn't because he liked you. We only saw this happen to one person. He was asked to step forward - the dog sniffed him again - and this time the dog moved on. PHEWWWWW!

When we got done with that - we got in a line to declare our purchases. We had everything itemized just like we were supposed to. We handed the papers to the customs agent - they stamped it - and we moved on..... to the next check. That went just as smoothly. So after three customs checks - we were able to leave the airport. Quite a difference from just a few short years ago when we pretty much just got our luggage and left.

There were a lot of other things that were different too. Look for part two of this post for that. My fingers are getting tired!

2009-09-23T05:20:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a little break from sharing our trip to share this slide show. Ashley just turned 13. She is my pride and joy and she is turning into a beautiful young lady. Enjoy.

The North Sea, More Food, and Whatever else I feel like posting

2009-09-03T13:26:00.000-07:00

Well - I just realized that a lot of the pics in the last post were already posted - so since I have time - I am going to do a random post of some other things we did on our trip.

We went to the North Sea, a very interesting place. When the tide goes out - it goes out miles. So all that is left is mud - lots and lots of mud. There are actually tour guides that will give "mud" tours. This is because if you don't know what you are doing - you can get stuck when the tide comes in. Here are some pictures of Ashley enjoying the North Sea Mud.

Then there were the festivals and again - the food. Here is a picture of me in a Drindl eating some sort of fish at a Bavarian Festival.

It was really good! Can you tell?

Here is Judith playing barmaid.

Of course we couldn't resist this photo opp.

And I think this pretzel is actually bigger than Ashley's head!

And last but not least here is Josh eating a Feuerwurst at a winefest. This was something that he was told he HAD to try. I think he liked it!

And if Castles are your thing....

2009-09-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

We saw a lot of awesome castles in Germany. Many of them were under construction - which is probably an ongoing thing when you have a building that covers 5 acres and is 800 years old!

This one was in Heidelberg. It was under major construction. But I did manage to get some really cool shots. I love taking pictures of abstract architecture.

I accidentally got this guy's profile in my picture. He's kinda cute though isn't he?

We also visited this castle - but I don't remember what city it was in.

And this is the Swan Castle. This is on the grounds of Neuschwanstein. Neuschwanstein is the castle that was the model for The Disney Castle.

Unfortuantely the pictures we took of Neuschwanstein are on Judith's camera. I will post them as soon as we get them transferred.

Just one last thing.

This made us laugh everytime. "Exit" signs in Europe are as such......

Pronounced just like it sounds!!!!!!

Berlin - the wall - the war - the impact

2009-08-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

Berlin was a huge city. We were there 3 days and didn't see all of it. While we were there - we visited Checkpoint Charlie. Checkpoint Charlie is the checkpoint where people would cross over from East Berlin to West Berlin or visa-versa. The checkpoint is now a museum memorializing the wall, and the fall. It houses actual items that were used to smuggle people across the line and stories of people being separated from loved ones.

I may need to do another post about Checkpoint Charlie because I think the rest of the pics are on Judith's camera.

As we walked through the city - you could see where the wall used to be. There are marks on the sidewalk that were left after it was taken down, and they literally go straight through the middle of the city.

Something else that we saw in Berlin was this church. It was bombed in the war and now stands as-is as a memorial. Next to the church are two or three towers that house 100's of glass mosaics. The glass is what was salvaged from the ruins. There is everything from small slivers of glass to large pieces. Again - I will have to post more pics when I get the ones from Judith's camera. Here are the pics I have that show some of the damage still visible today.

This was one of the most powerful parts of the trip for me because it really showed the reality of was - and we were standing right there!

Heidelberg and so on

2009-08-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

This is Heidleberg.

This is a castle in Heidleberg.

And so is this.

And this.

After Heidelberg - we headed to Berlin - a city full of European culture. Check back for possibily 3 or 4 pages of our time of in Berlin.

First full day in Germany

2009-08-26T15:53:00.001-07:00

For our first day in Germany - we went to Bamberg - a beautiful town not far from where Judith lives. Here we visited this church. The gates into the sanctuary were locked so we weren't able to get many shots. But it was our first look at one of the churches we had heard so much about, and it was a good impression.

While walking around the town - we saw a lot of really beautiful architecture. This was one of my favorites.

This mural was also very cool.

If you look close at this mural - you can find a lot of "mistakes" like this: look closely! Do you see it?

Great food is another thing we had a lot of fun experiencing. There were so many different foods to try - we wanted to try a little bit of everything. This is what it all looked like.

This was also our first time to eat in one of the infamous beer gardens; and it was very typical of what you hear about on the travel channel.
I think Simon is again practicing his camera skills here. (see him at the left end of the table?)

Speaking of Simon......

Simon got duck - he loves duck leg. Here he is with his dish.

We actually talked him into eating in American style!

But that didn't last long because eating this way is absolutely unacceptable in Germany. I hope
we didn't get you in trouble Simon!

The red rooftops in Germany lend themselves for a great photo op. I took advantage of this when we were on a wall over-looking the city. Look how cool it is!

Love that last shot of our Judith!

We did take the opportunity to get some great family shots too. Do we look German?

This was really cute too.

So to end our first day - The Schunks threw us a party. We got to meet most of their closest friends and family. It was a lot of fun and we met a lot of great people! Here are some shots of the yard as we prepared for the guests. Ashley is posing with Laura - the family dog. Laura is 11 or 12 years old and pretty slow in her old age. But she is so sweet. Ashley loved her.

Simon was playing papparazi as usual - and we had a lot of fun taking pictures of eachother taking pictures!

Josh had a lot of fun talking to this guy.

He is a genious. He has been accepted to Harvard. He lacks a bit of common sense though. He asked Josh if he had ever had Chicken beer. Josh says "WHAAAAT! We don't have chicken beer!" The guy (his name is Marco) says " No, really! I was in a chat room talking to some Americans and they told me you had beer made from chickens!" I don't know if Josh ever convinced him that they were playing with him, and that "chicken beer" does not exist.

We also got to see our other german daughter - Mirja. Although not nearly enough.

We met Judith's uncle who brought us some regional wine. We got it home safely. Now we just need to pick the right occasion to drink it! Maybe New Years?

Another thing we discovered in Germany is that they use cola in some interesting ways. Have you ever had Cola Beer? It doesn't sound good - but I like it. They sell it bottled over there - but you can make here by mixing about 3/4 beer and 1/4 cola. They also mix cola with orange juice. Ashley liked this combo.

That pretty much sums up day one. Sounds like a full day huh?

Germany Part One

2009-08-25T16:08:00.000-07:00

Ok Folks - here we go. Part one of our adventures ensues.

When we arrived in Germany, we were exausted and could not WAIT to get off the plane. We expected to go through a customs check, get our luggage, go through another customs check, and hopefully leave after that. Well - there was NO customs check. Nothing. We got our luggage and we left. CRAZY!

After some looking around and feeling a bit lost - our hosts appeared. Simon was on hand with his papparazi skills, but all the shots are still on his camera. Judith had the same beautiful smile as always with a tongue piercing added to the mix. She also went blonde on us.

So after we got something to eat - we headed out into the European world.

After about an hour of travel - we were greeted with this - cool huh?

Turns out Judith's boyfriend, Nico, has access to this awesome antique VW Bug Convertible. So we were chauffeured the rest of the way to Judith's home in this beauty.

Judith's home is beautiful. The homes in Germany are very old - some as old as 500 years. This is a shot from the street of Judith's home.

The next several pics were taken during a walking tour of Judith's town. The name of her town is Mainstockheim and it is located in Bavaria. It is a very typical German town.

That's all I have for now. I have so much to share - I need to figure out the best way to put it all together. Stay tuned!

Pictures

2009-08-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

The last three days were spent in different cities. The first in Bamburg, the next in Rothenburg, and today we were in Heidelburg. Here are some various pics from these cities.

We made it!

2009-08-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

We are in Germany! The flight was long and tiring - but worth the hugs we got when we arrived.

I have already taken a lot of pictures - but don't have time to load them now. Keep watching for pics sometime soon!

Germany - Let's Go!

2009-07-30T03:57:00.000-07:00

It's the day before we leave and I have been up since 4 a.m. We are trying to rearrange our sleep schedule so as to relieve the jetlag soon to ensue.

Ashley has actually been up since 1 a.m. She was jumping on the trampoline at 3 a.m.! At this moment it appears that she is going to doze off on the couch. It's 7 a.m. Should I let her sleep? Hmmmmm. Maybe for an hour.

So the bags are all packed - we have just a small load of laundry to do; some socks to stuff in around the edges, and we will be ready. Tonight we are having dinner with Dave and Sue (BW Wings! and Cool Beans Ice Cream!) The fridge is empty - the deep freezer is empty and unplugged. The bills are paid - foreign currency exchanged. We're ready.

LET's GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Would someone please find a way to stop time?

2009-01-19T17:35:00.000-08:00

From Serenity is my Life

Ashley is learning how to sew. Today she made a really cool pillow case. She is going to make curtains for our bathroom and she is taking a sewing project with 4H this year. She is also about the only person that can make Tasha laugh besides her parents and grandparents. She seems to be somewhat of a role model for Tasha. I don't know about you - but all these things make Ashley sound sort of.....well.... mature. I'm so proud of the young lady she is becoming but every once in awhile I really wish I could just make time stop.

Attention Crafty Friends!

2009-01-17T11:39:00.000-08:00

So - after almost 15 years of marriage - my wedding bouquet looks like this.

Not too bad for having moved 6 times in the first 2 years of marriage. However - I really want to preserve what is left of my treasured bouquet. So anyone who can suggest a way to do that will be forever my hero. I might even write about you on my blog! Now THATS incentive!

2009-01-09T20:30:00.000-08:00

lemonade or orange juice - you decide

2009-01-09T16:43:00.000-08:00

They say when life hands you lemons - make lemonade. I'm not crazy about lemonade - so I get handed oranges.

Most of you know that God blessed us with a beautiful daughter 12 years ago. We were unable to have any more due to complications. I used to want another one so badly - but lately - I've been tasting the orange juice. 6 glasses to be exact. They are in the form of nieces and nephews. I actually have 9 nieces and nephews - but 3 of them are grown up and we don't see them much. The other five however are still very young. And so much fun.

This is Adam.

From Serenity is my Life

Adam is about 6 months old and is a riot. He just celebrated his first Christmas and learned the art of ripping paper and eating it.

Next is Audrey.

From Serenity is my Life

Audrey is just 6 weeks old and it's hard to see her personality yet. But she is a joy to hold and cuddle with. We can't wait to see how she develops.

Which leads me to Tasha.

From Serenity is my Life

Tasha just turned a year old and is Audrey's sister. She loves yogurt and sloppy kisses. She is a big goof ball and never fails to make me laugh.

Emily, Spencer, and Jaycob round out my list. Emily is my brother's youngest. She is such a joy. She is a little lady and loves to play dress up.

From Serenity is my Life

Jaycob and Spencer are also my brother's kids.

This is Spencer.

From Serenity is my Life

Jaycob won't let me take his picture - so I don't have one to share:) After all - he's 12 and WAAAAAYYYY to cool for pictures! Jaycob and Spencer are all boy and have taught their little sister everything they know about bugs and farting. I also have Benji, Bryant and Kelsi. They are too old for me to drool over.

Here's Jaycob - his mom caught him mesmerized with his MP3 player. Way to go mom!

I consider my nieces and nephews my orange juice. They are God's gift to me. They are God's gift period. I love them all so much. And the best part is - I get to spoil them and give them back to their loving parents.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T16:05:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T10:24:00.000-08:00

Well hello everyone! My blog still exists - I just haven't had much to say.

I am really excited about 2009 as this is the year we go to Germany! We leave July 31 and will be in Germany for 3 weeks. While we are there we will get to see some really awesome sites around Europe - and spend time with our Judith and her family!

2009 is also the year that Ashley becomes a teenager. Yikes! Teenager in the house!

Our New Year's resolution is to do family devotions 3 to 4 nights per week this year. Ashley is in charge of tonight's devotion. That should be fun! I'm excited to spend the quality time with my family and learn more about God and His plan for our life!

So happy 2009 everyone! Pray for our country's leadership and the economy - 2009 could prove to be a very challenging year without getting God in the middle of our lives!

God Bless!

Just not much to say

2008-11-02T13:46:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone - guess I've been slacking a bit in the blogging arena. There just hasn't been much going on - or maybe there's been too much going on.

Ashley is twelve going on 23, mom is retired, Fall is here, and The Office is still the funniest show on TV.

One exciting note is that our flight to Germany is booked! July 29 to August 21. The next step is getting our passports. I cannot wait to get out of Montpelier and see a completely different part of the world. That will be so awesome!

Well - sorry about the boring post - but if all of them were exciting - THAT would be boring!

Just a little FYI

2008-09-28T11:21:00.001-07:00

Hey Guys! if you go this link and register - you not only will eliminate junk snail mail - I will earn commission! Check it out!

http://www.USJunkMail.com/default.htm?refer=ANGELAF0828

12 going on????????

2008-09-19T15:39:00.000-07:00

Thursday was Ashley's birthday....the day that 12 years ago her angels were watching over her. The day that 12 years ago - she became OUR angel. We knew when her life was sustained that day that God had a special plan for her life; and watching her life unfold has been everything but boring to say the least.

The coolest thing about Ashley is that she is not afraid to be who she is - to express herself the way SHE wants to; and to let the Lord go with her. I believe Ashley is going to be a God-fearing women. But for now - I am enjoying the few days I have left that she is still a girl. A beautiful, compassionate, smart, crazy, respectable girl.

Enjoy the pics of Ashley on her birthday sporting her fave look and hanging out with her friend Sydney. You'll also notice her playing with something - that's a ZEN. It's OK - I had to Google it too! You'll find the pics at the bottom of this page.

I DO have a life in Montpelier!

2008-08-30T10:57:00.000-07:00

You might think that my life revolves around people from Germany. And honestly - over the last year it has. But lately I've had time to re-group and notice what's going on right here in my own little world.

The most significant of these is a certain 11.999999999999 year old that lives here. She is blossoming into a very cool, compassionate, creative, rocker chik! AND she can out run her entire 6th grade class!

Ashley has had many looks in her young life - the most recent of which is "rocker preppy with a twist" And OMG - U R SOOOOOO going to love this look! (that's Oh My Goodness for all you non-texting people who like to communicate with actual words!)

Check out the "Ashley's many looks" pics! (that last one is the current look - yes - that's RED!!!)

Thanks for coming!

2008-08-27T18:08:00.002-07:00

Thanks for coming. I've said that a lot in the past year. First it was Judith, then we got to meet her friend Mirja; and bringing up the rear was Simon.

What fun it has been to get to know these people from clear across the world. So far away - yet so close.

A year from now - we will be in their stomping grounds. We get to see their corner of the world - and hopefully come away as enriched as we hope they were by being here.

2008-08-27T18:08:00.001-07:00

Remembering

2008-08-16T18:19:00.001-07:00

We spent the evening with our dear friends Ken and Amy Thompson. They invited us over to join them in welcoming their new exchange daughter - PIA. Pia is from Germany and she seems to be a very sweet and fun loving person.

Pia reminds me of another fun loving and sweet German girl. It was a year ago that we were welcoming her and getting to know her. Little did we know that the nervous and exhausted girl that walked off that plane.....the girl in the red shoes.....would be such a blessing to us.

We miss you Judith - and we still cry. It's hard to let go of a piece of your heart. You brought new energy to our home, and new perspectives on life.

It will be awhile before it feels right that you aren't here.

Broadening our Horizons

2008-08-09T17:12:00.001-07:00

Today we drove to Detroit Metro and picked up Simon. Simon is from Germany and will be staying with us for the next two weeks. Simon is also Judith's brother. Therefore - he feels like family.

I must say that he and Ashley do look sort of cute together don't ya think? No worries though - they seem to think of eachother as buddies. They watched Spongebob together in the van and really enjoyed having someone to laugh with.

God has truly blessed us by putting this family in our path.

A Little Help.....

2008-08-02T10:56:00.001-07:00

So I love photography. And I hope it shows in my photos.

All of the pics to the left are being considered for a local competition. I want to submit just one - the best one of course.

Please take the time to give me your opinion either by comment or sending an email.

Enjoy the pics by the way!!!!!

A soldier in our midst

2008-07-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

If you look closely through the color guard - you'll see a soldier. That's my dad.

All my life growing up my dad was ashamed of the service he gave to this country. Ashamed of serving in a war that no one wanted. Ashamed of something that he should be everything BUT ashamed of.

He's not ashamed anymore. And I never was. But I've never been more proud to say that my dad is a United States Marine - and he's a hero. He's my hero.

Meeka

2008-07-12T18:05:00.001-07:00

Anyone who knows me at all knows that Meeka is not just a dog - but part of my heart. This morning I awoke to a second day of vomiting and diahrrea on her part. Along with that came rectal bleeding and foaming at the mouth. Needless to say - I was very worried about my little pooch.

We took her to the animal hospital and had them run the usual stuff. Come to find out - she apparently ate something she shouldn't have. Which could be anything since she has an extremely sensitive stomach. She can only eat one kind of food and nothing else.

Anyways - she appears to be fine - I just have to shove two pills down her throat for a few days!

The big 4 0!!!!

2008-07-11T19:35:00.000-07:00

My big brother turned 40 last week! It's hard to believe. Those kids keep him pretty young!

I've uploaded some pics from the big bash. Enjoy!!

July 4th

2008-07-05T19:39:00.001-07:00

By the way - July 4th was so fun!

We got to see our new nephew, our best friends, and my brother and his family!

Check out the pics!!!

This is my first Blog

2008-07-05T19:18:00.000-07:00

My first Blog - feels like a real milestone! Like I'm with the times!

I decided to do this because we have such a full life - and I want to share it with our family and friends; and we have family and friends all around the world!

So here's to what will hopefully be many posts and pictures of our little corner of the woods. I hope you enjoy!

Angela