Bill Cosby - Still Funny

The kids discovered two unused MP3 players yesterday and have now inherited them. We still need one more, but that should not be too problematic. This gave me the opportunity to introduce my two oldest (11 girl, and 10 boy) to Bill Cosby's sketch about Noah today. On my old MP3 player I had some of Cosby's sketches. The kids were laughing hysterically throughout the entire sketch and quoting it thereafter. I listened to it too and realized I still truly enjoy it.

Listening to the sketch today reminded me of something else. Hearing this sketch as a child was one of the earliest times someone brought the scriptures to life for me, or better stated, opened my eyes to the possibility of bringing the scriptures to life.

Bill Cosby paints beautifully a person's reaction to someone following the path of God - "Hey, your ark is blocking my drive way! I have to go to work!" He also eloquently captures the frustration one encounters when trying to fulfill God's commandments. When God tells Noah he has two male hippos (the last two animals to get on the ark), Noah responds: "I'm not bringing in a female! You change one of them!"

Speaking of Noah, and the Scriptures coming to life. For scripture study last week, we measured the length, width, and height of the Ark - if the ark were placed on our street. We realized that the Ark would have been quite a bit longer than our street. It would have been taller than the tallest house on our street (if you count the TV antenna on top of that house) and it would have been wider than the street (house door to house door roughly) - "what's a cubit?"

I found the following information about the ark online: The Ark's dimensions were at least 135 meters long (300 cubits), 22.5 meters wide (50 cubits), and 13.5 meters high (30 cubits). That's 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high!

Ian's Works a Miracle

We're not sure what Ian's asks for in his prayers. We're just beginning to understand the Amen at the end. The rhythm changes slightly at the end of his prayers and then we know that the Amen will follow. Sometimes the prayers are short. Sometimes they are a bit longer. I guess it depends on what Ian has to say. I'm not sure if his prayers are answered, since I don't know the content of his prayers.

What I do know is that one of our prayers has been answered through Ian. The other children enjoy praying again. The routine of family prayers in our home has been changed entirely since Ian started to pray. The other children volunteer to pray after Ian is done with his prayer. We usually say a 2nd prayer to make sure some essentials are covered. Ian doesn't mind, and it is amazing to the see the children so happy to pray. They also pray with a bit more feeling behind their words, and a bit less routine.

Funny Tidbits

Tonight we found out that the Under-21 European Championships were being played. Somehow we had missed it earlier. Then we didn't know what channel it was on. Instead of turning on the TV an flipping through the stations Spencer ran outside, climbed up on the swing set and looked into our neighbor's patio where they have a TV. He walked into the house and said ZDF (one of the channels here in Germany). We flipped on the game and got to see the last goal. Germany won 4-0.

Another funny thing that I wanted to mention happened today in Kindergarten. I went with Ian. He was able to do a practice day in Kindergarten. While we were sitting in the opening time in a circle one of the boys (probably 3.5 years old) said to the boy next to him. "Your arms can fall off. And your nose . . . if you are digging around in it." That was hilarious.

Ian had a great day in Kindergarten (pre-school). I was there the whole time, but he did several things on his own. He drew a picture, sat in the circle with the other kids, ate breakfast and cleaned up his place. The kids put their plates and cups away, wipe the table, and get a new plates if necessary. Ian ate so slow he didn't there were no more kids coming after him, so he didn't need to get a new plate.

At breakfast I introduced Ian to a couple of people. When one of the boys looked a bit cockeyed at me. I explained the background of Ian's name - Scottish for John (in German Jan). One of the boys said - hey my name is Irish - Lennon. My dad is from Ireland. He thought we were from Scotland, we we are not. This worked out nicely because me and Lennon - we spoke some English to each other. And, Lennon looked after Ian in the sand box, showed him where the tools are, helped him dig in the sand, etc. It turned out to be a very nice day.

Nein

What language will Ian speak first? Well Denglish, of course. Actually, most of his words thus far have been English words. Although he has no problem understanding instructions in German - from our children, our friends, or the childrens German friends. Nonetheless, English words dominate his limited vocabulary at this time.

But when it came time for one of the most important words in any childs vocabulary - the word "No", Ian opted for the German version - "Nein". He emphatically says "nein" to most everything, just like any other child - just that his no is in German.

He has one other word that could go either way. Ian's "more" sounds an awful lot like the German "mehr" - at least most of the time. "More" is also a critical word in a child's vocabulary, so I'm not sure if the fact that two key words were in German is a sign of things to come, or just a coincidence, but it's enjoyable to watch.

H all the way

Ian is at the stage of life where he is learning to talk. Yes, he's almost three, and yes most children can speak much earlier in life, but for Ian, the moment is now and it is enjoyable to watch.

Ian is now at the stage where he has one dominant sound. At least two of our other children did this as well. Shantal and Hannah both loved the sound "B". Ian loves the sound "H". Once you know this, it makes understanding the poor boy much easier.

Here are some examples:
"H"ian "H"out! He said this as I was taking him inside to change his diaper this evening and he wanted to stay outside.

"H"in house! Ian says this when we are nearing the front door of our house.

"H"auto! Ian says this whenever he sees a car. Auto is the German word for car and an acceptable English word.

Ian also loves words that begin with the letter "H". For example: Hannah, house, hat, hop, etc.

I've always enjoyed this phase when our children reach it. And it's just as fun with Ian right now.

Stockbrot

Stockbrot means bread on a stick. This is something the kids commonly do at school activities. Today I made Stockbrot for the first time. In order to make Stockbrot You take dough and wrap it around the end of a stick, then you place the stick over a campfire and let the dough cook.

Cooking bread on a stick has the same relaxing feeling as roasting marshmellows around the campfire. Your stick is too short, or too long, or too flimsey, and the dough, in this case, falls into the fire, catches on fire, or turns suddenly dark shades of black. You fight against he smoke, try to get the right angle so as not to singe your hair, and to still cook the bread. But if your lucky, things work out and you have an nice little piece of bread to eat at the end.

The Library Lady

It has just been confirmed by an international study. Library Ladyies speak softly. I've been to the library 3 times this week and each time I am shocked by how quietly the library lady speaks. I thought - maybe it was me and I was just not hearing very well, but no - I was there again today and it is confirmed. She was speaking so softly I had to ask her to repeat herself several times because I just can't pick up on the German when it is that soft.

That aside, I was able to go to the Library with Emma. She rode her Laufrad (a starter bike with no pedals) and did really well. Much better than the last time I went with her and she took her "Laufrad". On the way she saw a friend from pre-school and stopped for a minute to play (pre-school is called Kindergarten here in Germany). At the Library she was able to pick out three kids books. The funny thing was that I tried to pick out a fourth one that looked pretty entertaining to me. She would have nothing to do with it. No, Dad, not that one, she kept saying.

She picked out two books from the author Eric Carle. I had picked out a DVD version of the very hungry catepillar ("Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt") earlier in the week. Quite well done.

Emma's big plans

I had a fun experience with Emma today. She is just about to turn 4, but going on 14 at least. She strives for independence in all that she does. It is challenging for dad and daughter I believe.

Today I took Emma to Kindergarten (pre-school in English) and on the drive over there I missed the first turn off. We usually take the first turn off in order to avoid waiting at the the traffic light at the 2nd possible turn off point.

She exclaimed "Dad you forgot to turn!" I responded "I was thinking of something else. Thanks for telling me. I was about to take you all the way to work with me!" and smiled.

Emma then went to explain that she did not want to go to work with dad. She needed to be in Kindergarten. Johanna needed Emma so she had someone to play with and the Little Pia needs Emma in case the Little Pia cries (there are two girls named Pia who attend Emma's pre-school). "And besides, dad", she gently reminded me, "I've already been to your work. I need to be in Kindergarten."

What a wonderful experience.

Here Comes the Sun

This morning was the second beautiful day in a row. The weather was peaceful, calm, and cool, and the sun was shining, which made for a beautiful sunrise.

As I rode the U-bahn (now above aground) over the Rhine, and saw the sun again, I thought - this must be a trick. By noon, it will be rainy and the sun will be gone.

Surprise, surprise, the sun shone all day. It was a nice day.

Winter Cup

Today Spencer got to go to a day of soccer in Düsseldorf. The Fortuna Düsseldorf Winter Cup between Duisburg, Cologne, Berlin, and Düsseldorf. From what Spencer said there were four games of 45 minutes each. Düsseldorf lost to Cologne in the final and so the boys I drove home from the train station said they now hated Cologne, because they beat Düsseldorf. Spencer said he had a good time and he was glad he got to go to a soccer game. There were a couple of games that went to penalty shots, which is always fun.

But the story he told Tamara was the best. He started with how you have to take your ticket with you in order to go to buy food, and go to the bathroom. He then told her how he bought three currywurst mit pommes (polish sausage with curry sauce and fries) and actually ate them all. He also drank a bottle of water, and soda. He then went on to explain that he had to throw up afterwards, surprise, surprise.

That kid has some hilarious stories.

Braces - ouch

Well it has happened. Shantal needs braces. It looks like the payment plan is pretty good for the basic service. The Orthodontist would, however, like us to purchase the advanced service plan, which includes items such as: more frequent x-rays and cleanings, sealants on the teeth, a permanent retainer afterwards (lower teeth), fancier self healing bands, and something else I'm not remembering now.

550 € over 3 years for the basic plan - paid in all cases (with or without the fancy plan and apparently reimbursed after successful completion of the treatment).
30 €/month for 4 years for the fancy plan (total 1,440 €) - not reimbursed.

And, we've got 2 more kids coming.

Oh, and we still have to talk Shantal into the whole affair. Who knows how that will turn out. I showed Shantal and Spencer how to ride the train down to the Orthodontists office on Saturday.

Mowing the Lawn

Ah, what a refreshing day I had today. I was able to mow the lawn. Normally I dread mowing the lawn (especially in rainy Düsseldorf - mowing wet grass is never fun). I've been mowing lawns for decades now. But this summer I had a break.

Tamara started mowing the lawn after returning from the U.S. and that has been awesome. It is especially helpful since I can only mow on Saturdays (nights are out since I get home so late, and Sundays are out for church) and about half of the Saturdays are rained out, so sometimes the lawn gets quite long before I can get to it. Enter my great wife. She has taking over mowing the lawn lately and it has been great.

Well today was a sunny Saturday and the grass was long, and I had time - so I jumped in to help Tamara out. When I was done I told my wife - that wasn't as dreadful as normal - thanks for the break honey.

Long Overdue Update

Hi All,

From what I can tell I last wrote when Tamara was recovering from her surgery in February. And so, first of all I must thank so many of you for writing and wishing us well at that time, and keeping us in your prayers. We were truly blessed during that time.

I neglected sending an update for some time now. I feel like our lives are so normal. But, I have received a few requests to send out an update on our family. I will now attempt to do so. As always, if your email inbox is already too full, or you prefer to simply read updates on the blog, just let me know and I'll gladly stop including you on the updates.

It is a good time for an update since Ian's B-day is tomorrow. In Germany it is considered bad luck to talk about such an event before it happens, but since I am still an American and it's almost midnight now, I will break with the German tradition and take the risk. Ian will be 2 years old, which means, as you probably know - we have been in Germany for almost 2 years. Ian was three weeks old when we left the U.S. Ian's age helps us keep track of how long we have been here.

We will have a little barbecue and B-day celebration with some friends from our congregation tomorrow. The couple we invited have been great friends to our family since arriving in Germany. They are definitely like surrogate parents to us and grandparents to our children. The wife has taken care of Ian during church services for most Sundays for the past 18 months. When she prayed last week in church, Ian was totally excited to see her come down from the stand. Her taking Ian eases our burden during the church services immensely, especially since I serve about once a month as a translator for the English speaking members of the congregation during the service and am unable to sit with the family on those weeks.

Catching up on our family. I would like to start by mentioning that Tamara is doing fabulous. She is still taking iron tablets every day and B12 shots once a week, but has tremendous amounts of energy. It is wonderful to see her full of energy and able to do things. In fact, she was doing so well that after Emma started going to pre-school last May (called Kindergarten here in Germany), Tamara started walking Emma to pre-school almost every day. She combined this with a change in diet to lose some weight before her trip to America this summer. She did a great job and still gets compliments on her new look. Tamara was able to take Shantal with her to America for 2.5 weeks. They had a good time. Tamara came back refreshed and full of even more energy. It was great to see.

With Tamara away I took time off of work and was able to be a "full-time" dad for the 2.5 weeks. Wow, that was a great experience. I almost cried when I was back at work I missed the kids so much. It was hard, but tremendous to be with them. I realized that Tamara does a tremendous job with the kids, and was grateful for her return. Spencer was also profoundly grateful. After her arrival, Spencer thanked Tamara for cooked meals for about four days in a row. He never does this. I guess the joy at having nice meals again was just so overwhelming that the gratitude just couldn't be contained.

Now that Tamara is feeling better, I can start to be sick***. I have been seeing the doctor for some stomach/digestive track issues as I have trouble digesting milk products or too much meat. The problems could be related to the pancreas (in German the word for pancreas is very cool: die Bauchspeicheldrüse. It means- stomach spittle gland). It could be the thyroid. I have started receiving vitamin shots, and the doctor is doing blood work to test more stuff. I recently felt quite aged when I ran out of my antacid medication (related to potential pancreas problems I take these) - I can't live without my prescription!
***By the way, it is totally normal to talk about one's health problems here in Germany. I seem to recall it being a bit taboo in the U.S. But, I like talking about health problems, b/c it detaches the problem from the person and makes the problem less personal, less hidden and scary. So, if you are grossed out, sorry - it was a German moment.

We seem to have a "normal" life now here in Germany. School is back in session. Hannah is back in gymnastics and has set a goal to be on the medal stand at the next meet in November and really enjoyed gymnastics during the Olympic Games. She was in the paper today for being in the gymnastics program last year. Spencer has returned to playing soccer and is playing well. He was complimented by the coach twice this week on his play. He plans to join the Boy Scouts starting tomorrow and seems to have found peace in the school. Shantal is struggling in school. She feels like all of the kids (especially the girls) are mean to her right now - some of course more than others. We are working on that one with the other parents (especially with the parents of the extra mean kids), but it is slow going. On a positive note, Shantal will be in a play on Saturday - she went to a theater day camp in the summer and we are excited for the performance this coming Saturday. She is very artistically skilled and seemed to have really enjoyed the theater camp.

A big decision is coming up for Shantal and Spencer this year - we must pick a new school for them for next year. This is the last year of grade school and they start secondary school next year. The teacher makes a recommendation regarding what type of school they should attend. This is where the teachers assign the kids to a school system that will lead down one of three career paths - essentially, blue collar, mixed, white collar. Having never done this before we will be asking our friends a lot of questions and praying quite a bit.

Emma is very excited to be in pre-school. She even went to a B-day party all by herself a few weeks back. This was a very bid step for her. She used to cry when being dropped off at friend's houses. Now she is excited. Ian is growing up. He is doing everything a two year old does - except talking. The doctor is concerned and gave us some tips for helping him progress - mainly reading with him. The doctor will check in six months and see how it it going. We are not too concerned - he comprehends wonderfully, and Hannah approached speaking in a similar manner.

One last note. I had a wonderful opportunity to see one of my former scouts a few weeks back. He was visiting Germany as part of a school exchange program. His family will host a young man from Germany later this fall for a few weeks. What a great experience to walk around the Ems river with him and my two boys and talk about life, how things have changed since we left, and what his plans for the future are. When we first started working together 5 years ago in Wisconsin, me as scoutmaster and the scout as a young teenager, who would have imagined such a moment.

We often think of friends back home and miss our associations with you. May the Lord's finest blessings flow into your lives.

Cheers,
Gardner

A Huge Crush on Someone

Totally in love!

Wow, the kids are getting older. Over dinner tonight our school age children were talking about who was in love with whom among their school friends.

The subject came up because a boy was invited to a girl's B-day party that Hannah attended. Apparently that meant that the boy has a huge crush on the girl throwing the party. Hannah said, rather matter of fact, that wasn't the case. She knew this because the boy has a huge crush on someone else.

Then she said something really cute: I don't know who I should be "verknallt" in, using the German word in the middle of her English sentence. I rubbed her arm and said that's not to worry.

The great thing was she was so serious about it. She had said - this thing everyone is talking about - to have a crush on someone (verknallt) - hasn't happened to me. So, she decides to think about who she should have a crush on. Very adorable. Hannah has always had a gift for taking the complex things in life and making them simple. It reminds me of the conversation we had this summer about who Hannah should marry.

We've all been there

A colleague of mine said this to another colleague when she said: "I sure am tired of washing our dishes in the shower."

I can think of a lot of responses to "I sure am tired of washing our dishes in the shower." But we've all been there, just wasn't on the list.

Responses such as "Say what!" "Did you just say, wash dishes in the shower?", and "Are you kidding me?" come to mind.

These responses came to mind because I grew up in a land where kitchens belong to the house and the phrase "They took everything but the kitchen sink" makes sense. Here in Germany the kitchen, with rare exception, does not belong to the house. In other words, when you move, you take everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink. This commonly results in living in a home without a kitchen for a few days, weeks, or even months, thus necessitating the washing of dishes in the nearest equivalent to a sink, i.e., the shower or bathtub.

I was reminded of this conversation today when I spoke with an English fellow who just moved to Düsseldorf and finished hunting for an apartment. He said he was extremely blessed to have found a place with a kitchen, and with lights (another item that does NOT belong to the house/apartment in Germany). We were equally blessed when we arrived and were grateful that they took everything but the kitchen.