WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING IN JANUARY

Well, January has turned out to be a very busy month for us. We got to Fl. and started right in doing more things in the house. We have to have it ready to bring our stuff back this summer. We plan on returning to the states the end of May. So things have to be ready for our "stuff" to enter into a house that already has "stuff" in it.

There are still major things that had to be done, and we are getting them done. The biggest thing was getting rid of the old - old carpet in the house. We looked at laminate flooring but decided on carpet again. We wanted it to look Floridaish (probably not a real word, but you know what I mean) so we went with a pretty green carpet in the small living room and guest room/scrapbook room.
Out with the old...

In with the "new".

We had an old bamboo set of furniture on the porch, needed some attention, but the scale was good for the living room. We had the cushions reupholstered and hubby sanded and refinished the wood frames. It looks brand new. We are so happy with it. We donated the big, old hide-a-bed and a mismatched coffee table to a charity here in town - which made the living room seem much larger.

Painting, painting, and more painting. But we now have light rooms. In the guestroom/ scrapbooking room we put in the leftover counter top as a work are for me. I am going to enjoy it a lot.

My creative space (well, part of it.) Its not all complete but well on the way.

In between all of the work, we did make two weekend trips. We went to Lake Placid to see our brother and sister-in-law and their family. A fun thing we got to do was sit around a fire pit and make S'mores. Haven't done that in ages. We talked and laughed late into the evening. On Sunday Dick ministered at the church that Scott and Sylvia attend. We had a great time with the people there. Then back to the house for lunch and more visiting. It was a very fun weekend for use to be with the family.

Dick roasting marshmellows.

Scott and Sylvia getting the graham crackers, peanut butter and chocolate ready for the hot marshmellows.

The next weekend we went to Ft. Meyers to see our nephew and his wife and new baby. Little Emily Love is so sweet, and I enjoyed all of the cuddle time I got to have with her. It just wasn't a long enough visit, but better than not getting to see them at all.

Micah, Jen and Lil Miss Emily Love

After leaving there we went to Port Charlotte to visit Peter and Betty. We have known Peter since 1983 when he and our Son were in Bible College together. Peter has a ministry in Port Charlotte and we were invited to minister to their worship leaders, church leaders and Dick ministered on Sunday morning. We had a great weekend with them.

Peter and Betty and Dick.

Then back to work between trips. All in all it has been a very productive time for us. The only downfall was last Tuesday. We had been painting (I used a long handled paint roller to do walls) and a lot of bending. On Tuesday evening, we were having dinner guests and I turned wrong and put my back out. What a way to end our time in Fl. But...Wed. it was worse, so Dick had to see if he could change our return flight. We had favor with the airline, since our ticket was the "use it or loose it fare". They let us extend our return flight by a week. Now to get this back healed so I can drag my suitcase through the airport and on and off of the trian in Germany. I just don't understand Dick saying he couldn't handle 3 suitcases and 2 computer bags and a camera bag and me. So, this has been our month. Lots going on and lots of blessings from God.

One other exciting thing happened for me in January. I had my first 2 scrapbook layouts published in an on-line scrapbook magazine. The magazine is Ready,Set, Create. I had one layout that was a heritage layout accepted and another one about Ryan (our oldest grandson) going from new born to engaged entitled "Where did the time go?" Some of my online friends encouraged me to submit some of my layouts, so I did. If it were not for their encouragement, it probably wouldn't have happened, so THANK YOU Corey and Kimmie!

So, when we return to Germany I need to start thinking about the move. Sorting things to get rid of and what to bring back. And only 4 months to accomplish it all.

A NEW YEAR STARTING

Wow...I can't believe its been so long since I updated this blog. I knew that December was a very busy month but I had hoped that to have done a little on the blog.

We started December getting ready to decorate our apartment for the Christmas season. I love Christmas and wanted to decorate early. Deep cleaned the living room to get ready, and the best laid plans just didn't come to pass. It was almost the week before Christmas before I got to start decorating. Too much going on.

The first weekend in Dec. we went to Arnsberg in western Germany. We love to go and visit with Esther and Randolph and their church. We had a great weekend of ministry and just fun and fellowship also.

We had a visiting teacher stay with us for 3 days. He was teaching the 2nd and 3rd year students. This is the 3rd year that he has come and taught at the school for Richards 3rd year class.

On the 11th we headed to North Germany, a village called Krogaspe. We have dear friends there, and we wanted to visit and take in a couple of Christmas Markets. On Friday we went to Lubeck for the first market. It was fun with Hans and Else, and the old part of Lubeck is quite interesting, so it was a good day. On Sat. Richard had to study for his sermon on Sunday morning, so Hans and Else and I went to another Christmas Market. It was amazing. We went to a farm where they had set up a huge craft market and outside other booths with many different types of items. I loved the craft market, and found several different types of things. Some stocking stuffer items, which I love to find. On Sunday we were at the church and had a wonderful time with the people there. This is a bitter sweet time for us, since we are realizing that we may never be back there again, since we leave to move back to the states the end of May.


Marguerite - Richard - Else

I made Christmas cards this year. It was the first time I have ever done that, and I was so pleased with how most of them turned out. I only sent them to people in Germany, since postage to the US is more expensive than the cards I made. People in the states got our e-mail greeting - sorry.

The last week of school before break was very busy. I had my last English lesson until the 3rd of Feb. We also had a Christmas party for the 3rd year class. It was fun. We had supper for them, and boy do they like to eat. It was a fun night and we laugh a lot. Three of the students will travel to the US for their practical studies for a month. One young man will be at the Church in Gillette. I am so excited about the, as he will be working with our daughter and son-in-law and some dear friends for the month. I love it when our family gets to meet some of our students.

On the 19th we had the leadership team to our apartment for dinner. It was our way of showing them our love and appreciation for their work at the school. We had a wonderful dinner, and lots of fun conversation and prayer. The leadership team prayed for me, since that morning I found out that I had bronchitis, and also that we would have a safe trip to the states. Such wonderful friends to have.

We were able to open our home to one of our students that didn't have a place to go for Christmas. Not a good home situation, so Richard had an opportunity to speak into his life about some ways to try to make things a little better in that situation. Christmas morning we read the Christmas story, opened our stocking gifts, and ate a special brunch. Sven left a little before noon to spend a couple of hours with his mother and then he left for Frankfurt. He flew out the next morning for Missouri. He will do his practical study there for the month of Jan.

On the 31st we took the train to Frankfurt, spent the night - and what a night that was - to leave the next morning for the states. New Years eve in downtown Frankfurt is not a restful place to be. We tried to go to sleep early because of the long travel day on the 1st, but from about 11:30 until about 1:00 there were more fireworks shot off than I have ever seen. We finally got up and watched them for a while, until they started to settle down a little. So, not a whole lot of sleep. Our flight on the 1st was great. We left right on time, and because of the weather we got in 1 hour early. Gave us a little more time to visit with my family (my sister and her husband and my mom and dad). We had a good visit with them, ate a Chinese meal and then headed back for the airport in Detroit.

Richard - Marguerite - Susie - Kit - Mom & Dad

Marguerite - Mom - Dad

Marguerite - Mom - Susie


Got into Tampa about 10:00, got the car and went to a hotel. We really needed some sleep by then. It was a little over 24 hours by that time that we had been up.

We are now in Leesberg, Fl. for the month of Jan. Trying to get some things done at the house so we will be able to move our stuff here in May. With a house full of stuff, and bringing 8 years worth of stuff from Germany, we need to organize. So, that about brings you up to date on what is going on in our lives at the moment.

A fun thing is - we are now a great Aunt and Uncle. Richards nephew Micha and his wife Jen had a baby girl on the 2nd of Jan. We will get to see Emily Love on the 15th or 16th. How fun. She looks like a beautiful little girl, and little girls are a scarcity in our family, so it will be fun to meet her.


Micha - Emily Love - Grandpa Scott - Grandma Sylvia


We wish each of you a New Year filled with many blessing. My New Years resolution is to try to keep up a little better this year on my blog. My goal is to update it at least once a week. We will see.