Deutschland

Well, we are ending another 2-week school break -- classes resume tomorrow AM.  This break was much needed.  We both completed another round of testing (which we passed!!) a couple days prior to the break.


In celebration of S's 3-month-birthday, we loaded our Ford Fiesta and set off on our first multi-country car trip as a family of four!

The first day was a long one and after 6 hours in the car, Mr. S had had enough but toughed it out the remaining 4 hours...  G is a great role model as she travelled contently without incident, so we trust S will acclimate, eventually!

Our first stop was north of Frankfurt, Germany where Dianna's friend (a German high school exchange partner from circa 1998) lives with her family.  They were great hosts and we enjoyed catching up with them.

Next stop was Ramstein Air Force Base for a fun-filled week with Nona, Boppy & Uncle Darol!

Lots of story time with Boppy

Craft time with Nona

Snuggles with Sims

It was "fasching carnival" season (think Mardi Gras) so we attended a parade-style celebration

G & her pony

Air Force marching band in the parade
They were impressive!!

We also took a few day trips to see some nearby sights...

Exploring the Schloss in Heidelberg

And we couldn't forget Boppy's birthday...

Traditional German meal for Boppy's special day

G gave Nona her belated b-day gift

Train ride to Trier...

Getting ready to board

Riding the train

Silly girls...we ride horses NOT pigs!

Roman city gate in Trier, Germany

Hitching a ride, Uncle D style

One of several beautiful cathedrals

More Roman ruins

Schloss in Landstuhl, Germany

S finding his hands..."Wow, those are mine"

Couldn't pass up an opportunity for some family portraits...

Loving Uncle D

Special Memories

Thanks so much for coming to see us!!

We also caught up with 2 med school friends and met their newborn twin boys -- so sweet!  But in the midst of 3 baby boys (all less than 14 weeks old), no photos were taken.  Oops!

On the way back to Albertville, we made our third stop near Strasburg, France where our future Chad teammates (a German family with 2 little girls and a little boy on-the-way) are learning French.  What a blessing to meet with the B family and to know that we will, Lord willing, all be together in Chad later this year!!

B family

We returned to Albertville just in time to greet Dianna's college roommate at the train station.  More on our 3 days with Mary will be coming soon...


   DDG&S

Fun with Friends

This post will be a short photo journal of the visitors we've had over the last 2 months...

Christmas with the McV Fam!!

Our Happy Reunion on Christmas Eve

D watching G get her face-painted

She wanted "princess"
yet ended up with "cat/lion"
Oh the mishaps of language barriers

Enjoying the marching band
serenading the streets on Christmas Eve

Letting creative juices flow
"Gingerbread" (aka cracker) houses

G attending to details...
and tasting a little, too!

We took a day trip to a nearby ski slope...

Beautiful Winter Wonderland

McVs preparing to ski

Skiing the Alps!

Sledding was more our style

We also took a day trip to Geneva...

Life-size checkers & chess boards = FUN

Reformation Wall

The "big" kiddos...
S stayed warm and snug in his sling

Deep in thought,
 or was it sleep??

Group picture at Conflans

What a blessing to spend our Christmas holiday with dear friends!!  Thanks for visiting!!

Starting of 2014 with MORE friends:

Shortly after the McV crew left, we were happy to welcome some of our Wichita friends (and fellow Via Christi grads) to Albertville.  It's an amazing story of God's provision and perfect timing that they were able to enroll in our language school for the Jan 2014 start date -- and we are SO glad to have then here!!  AND, not long after classes resumed (Jan 6th), we enjoyed a visit from more Wichitans -- Dr. Todd and his daughter Lauren : )

Welcoming Dr. Todd

G exploring with Lauren in Conflans

And another trip to the slopes...but this time only with sledding in mind!

Making our game plan

Walking up the hill

For another fun ride down!

Even Mommy gave it a try

Again, we are SO thankful for the visitors that we've had and we are looking forward to more visitors soon!  Next up are Dean's parents and his older brother who will be meeting us in Germany for a week of vacation.  Then Dianna's college roommate will spend a few days with us in Albertville.  More fun times ahead...

Love,

DDG&S

Official business in Lyon

January 22, 2014

As Sims was nearing 2 months of age, we decided it was time to get down to business, nationality business that is!  Our understanding is that Sims will not be considered a French citizen unless he lives in France for several years (since neither parent is French)...so to keep him from being a boy without a country, we started filing out the necessary forms to apply for his U.S. citizenship -- passport, SSN & report of birth abroad.

Trying to capture a passport worthy pose...
no, we did not use this one : )
But this is kinda how we all felt doing the paperwork!

Since the application must be submitted in person at either the U.S. consulate in Lyon or the U.S. embassy in Paris, we decided to turn it into a family day trip.  Lyon, the 3rd largest city in France, is much closer to Albertville and ranks high on the list of "must sees."  Off we went...

Lyon, France

We made it to the city just in time (okay 5 minutes late) for our appointment.  The consulate office was a bit more obscure than we anticipated, but we found it.  An hour or so later our paperwork was submitted, and we left with two miniature American flags in hand (consulate's gift to kiddos) in search of a spot for lunch.

Lyon is well-known for food -- "gastronomie" -- so there was NO lack of restaurant choices.  After a yummy meal, we ventured out into the damp cold to see a few of the city's highlights...

Traversing the Saone river with Sims in tow
See the cathedral at the top of the hill (in skyline)?
Yea, we walked up there!!

Little better view of the cathedral -- middle of skyline

G, our acrobat

St. Jean Cathedral
in Vieux Lyon ("Old Lyon")

G befriended a Romanian man who was panhandling in the entry way.  He spoke a little English, and she, clueless to what he was doing, was intrigued by his little cup with coins.  He seemed to enjoy G's banter as well as her hug.  We are thankful for this friendly little girl God has given us...rarely meets a stranger!!

On our way up Fourvière Hill...
the adults got their work-outs!!
(Di with Sims & De with G)

But the view from the top (see 1st pic of Lyon) was well worth it -- as well as Notre-Dame Basilica...

Inside
Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière

 As you might imagine, we were all pretty worn-out by this point in our day.  We happily loaded onto a tram for a quick ride down the hill -- next time we'll consider riding UP and walking DOWN!!

Tram to Fourvière

Sims' enjoying the ride

Our big girl riding solo!

We will keep you posted on Sims' status...who could turn down citizenship to such a cutie?

Awaiting approval,

DDG&S

Notre Noël en France

Our Christmas in France was a time full of family, friends, fellowship, food and fun!!

Here are some pictures highlighting this most wonderful time of the year...

Happy family of FOUR!!

IKEA...starting him young (4 days old!!)

Reindeer cookies to share with friends

Homemade ornaments to decorate our tree

Giggles with friends after the children's
Christmas program...Noah's ark

Penguin "peck" on a lion's cheek!

Père Noël

Live music downtown
(Store = "book-aholic")

Will likely add more to this posting later but for now we're happy to succeed at partial postings!!

Loving the busy life as a family of four learning French,

DDG&S