Another Christmas has come and gone, and at the risk of offending half the civilized world, I am glad it's over. Christmas has always been my favorite time of year. I love the music, the lights, the decorations....I even grew to love my pathetic fake Christmas tree. What I don't love is the rampant commercialization of such a special day. I don't love it when my kids start whining that so-and-so has more gifts under his tree than they do. I don't love it when a company offers me free shipping on orders of $49 or more, then when I proceed to checkout, deny me the special offer because I have ordered toys (who in the world orders TOYS for Christmas???). I won't mention any names, but that company's initials are Amazon.com. I'm getting off the subject here, but you know what I mean. I don't like the "Oh, I didn't know she was going to get me a gift! I better make a mad dash to the store on Christmas Eve and get her something in return!" Sound familiar? I don't like it when people try to stamp out the true spirit of Christmas. Oh, and let's not leave out the 15 pounds of fudge I have eaten in the last 3 weeks. Forget fruitcake....chocolate candy is the gift that keeps on giving, and I have the skin-tight jeans to prove it.

We were very sad that Blake was unable to be here for Christmas, but we have so many amazing friends here, including our German neighbors, who stepped in to fill the gap. We started the week with a train trip to Neustadt, Germany for a Christmas market (check out our website for pics). In spite of the cold weather, we did some great shopping! On Christmas Eve, the kids and I delivered our own plates of homemade goodies to our neighbors and sang English Christmas carols. Then we enjoyed Christmas Eve dinner with several other women whose spouses are also deployed. After eating a huge meal fit for a king, we cracked open a few bottles of "gluwein" (google it). Hey, it's tradition; I can't mess with tradition. On Christmas day we ate yet another meal with a family from church who graciously opened their home to us, even though they've only known us a few short weeks. It wasn't easy to be apart from Blake. Before he left, I set out to "toughen" my skin. I knew this would be a difficult time, especially over the holidays. I knew the kids would be lost without their daddy on Christmas morning. (I knew I would be lost without him on Christmas Eve, having to play "Santa" and eat 6 chocolate chip cookies, 8 carrots, and drink a whole glass of chocolate milk!) But the lonliness we all felt was eased with the love and generosity of others. Now that is what I mean by the true spirit of Christmas. The love of Christ is something you can't giftwrap; you can't put a price tag on it. It's love that is given freely to those in need. Spirit of Christmas, indeed.

Well, it's only been 8 days since Blake left for the desert, and already my world has begun to spin out of control! Last Monday night, I started getting a sore throat. I thought it was from yelling at the kids too much, but by Wednesday morning, I knew it was the flu. (I think the flu bug has ears, because I was just telling Blake last week that I needed to go get my flu shot soon.) Anyway, I started feeling better over the weekend, but by Sunday the bug had migrated to my chest, and I was coughing up my lungs by noon. I finally made it to the doctor yesterday, only to find out that I have bronchitis and an ear infection. To make matters worse, I had a flat tire on the way home from the doctor's office. So I have to ask other military spouses...Is this normal, and does it get any better?

Christmas is just around the corner, and, as usual, I'm not ready. My tree is up, the pathetic looking fake tree that makes me want to cry. Ever since Blake and I married, it's been a tradition to have a real tree. But not this year. Because of deployment, and in our rush to decorate before Blake left, we (sniff, sniff) settled for a fake tree. It really doesn't look that bad. The kids did a wonderful job of putting the ornaments on it. But, alas, it's not the same. I miss that wonderful aroma of Christmas that lingers all through the house even after the tree is gone. I miss having to keep extra water in the tree stand so that the poor thing doesn't die too early. I miss having to vacuum pine needles off the floor every day......OK, I don't miss that, but I do miss having a real tree.

We have finally figured out exactly how Santa makes it all around the world to deliver toys in just one night. He doesn't do it in one night. He spreads it out. The Germans actually celebrated Christmas last Tuesday. Their "Santa" comes on the night of December 5. The kids put out their boots, and Santa fills the boots with goodies. Then, on Christmas eve, December 24, the Christmas angel comes to bring them the big toys. The kids wanted to put out their boots last week for St. Nick, but we told them that he only delivers to German kids on that night. Truth be told, we just haven't done our Christmas shopping. Why do today what you can put off 'til tomorrow, I always say.

My internet stopped working this weekend. It just quit. I woke up Saturday morning with no connection. So I called my friend, Rob, to come over today and fix it. He found the problem right away. My router wasn't plugged in. Technology 101, people....always check to make sure the device is plugged in, or you'll look like a big moron when the computer guy comes to fix your computer.

We hope you all have a safe and wonderful Christmas. May God bless you and your families this holiday season!

This week will be a hard one. Blake is leaving early Tuesday morning for his deployment. Although I am not at liberty to name the location of his "visit," I will say that it is somewhere in the Middle East, and it will be an extended stay. To be honest, I cannot complain, mainly because this is his first deployment in over 8 years of service. But his fellow servicemen in the Marines and Army spend much more time in the desert on just one tour than he will probably spend over the next few years. We are blessed, but that doesn't mean that the Christmas season will be easy without Blake here with us. I am more worried about the kids. I don't think Grace fully understands what is happening, but Troy is very aware and has even started having nightmares about Blake's deployment.

I am planning some activities to keep the kids busy while Blake is gone, hoping that will help ease the pain of our separation. There are so many things to do around here! A friend just returned from a trip to the coast of Spain, where she says it is warm and beautiful. I've been dying to visit Italy, but I'm afraid the kids might get bored with museums and historical sights. I really wanted to get out of the country, but we may just drive to the mountains for a "snow retreat."

We would appreciate your prayers over the next few months. Of course, praying for Blake's physical safety is important, as he will be working in not-so-friendly areas of the world. But I would also ask that you pray that God will use this time away from home and family to draw Blake closer to Him. I have no idea what this deployment will be like or what he will be doing or where he will be going. I do know that He is in God's hands, and my prayer is that God will do a mighty work while he is gone.

If you would like to e-mail Blake, or send snail-mail, please leave a comment with a contact point, and I will forward his addresses. Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We have had an exciting week, complete with lots of snow and even more turkey...yum, yum! Blake started off the week with a quick trip to the states. Would you believe he went to Warner Robins, Georgia? Yeah, you can imagine how jealous I was, especially considering he was able to have dinner with my parents and my brother. We weren't sure if he would even make it back in time for Thanksgiving, so I guess that was the first thing for which we were thankful--we were together. Considering the fact that Blake is leaving in 9 days for a 5-month "trip," courtesy of the U.S. military, togetherness is a luxury and not one we take for granted. We spent Thanksgiving day with a very good friend of mine, Jill, whose husband is currently on a "trip." I roasted the turkey, made some macaroni a la Brenda-Bailey-style, whipped up a sweet potato souffle (thank you Aunt Lois!), and baked some gooey, chocolate brownies (are you hungry yet?). We had a great time visiting and eating, and eating again, and eating some more. Later that night it started to snow. It snowed all night, and we ended up with about 3 inches of glorious white snow---perfect for sledding on our new toys that I bought for the kids last week. Let me just say right away that sledding is my kind of sport. Maybe that's because I'm in a position that comes natural for me---on my rear!

By the time we woke up this morning, most of the snow had melted, so we decided to take the kids ice skating in K-town. The rink just opened last weekend, and the kids have been asking to go....why not try it? Now here's my question for you to ponder....who sits around and thinks up this stuff? Who was the first person to say, Hey, let's put a very thin blade of steel on the bottom of our shoes and ride around on the ice! That will be fun! Actually, I did have fun, and by the time we finished, I was doing triple loops around the rink. Ok, I'm exaggerating. By the time we left, I was able to go around the rink one whole time without falling. That's more like it.

The kids had a great time, too. We rented a penguin for Grace. Ha! I can see the puzzled looks on all your faces! The "penguin" I'm referring to was plastic, about 3 feet tall, and wore his own ice skates. Oh, and he had handles on his head for Grace to hold, to help her keep her balance while she learned to skate. It was really neat. She skated around that rink for two hours! Of course, Troy was born with athletic talent, so he was skating circles around us all from the minute he stepped on the ice. Irritating.

I can honestly say it's been a wonderful holiday. I am thankful for so many things, but especially my family. I'm also thankful that I worship a God who has poured out blessings on my life even though I don't deserve any of them. I wrote a scripture on my message board this week that sums it up: "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." (1 Chronicles 16:34) So what are you waiting for? Go ahead...give thanks.

(Last weekend we traveled to Austria for our first attempt at skiing. When I say "first," I mean it literally. Grace, Troy and I have never been skiing. It was quite a trip! Blake says that I should have enough to write about for at least a week! We had a pretty good time, even if it wasn't the most ideal situation for beginners. The area we were in, Hintertux, didn't have a great slope for newbies. In fact, we were at the very top of the mountain...any higher and we would have been skiing with the Almighty Himself. Read on....)

I'm sure you've all seen those guys and gals on TV who are into "extreme" sports like skydiving, or snowboarding down the side of a mountain, or surfing the largest waves in the world. You have probably thought to yourself, Those guys are insane! It's OK to admit it; I've thought it myself a time or two. But this weekend I learned that I am an extremist! Yup, it's true. Incredible heights, excessive speeds, sports that defy death.....you name it, I am extremely afraid of it! In fact, I think that when God was weaving together my DNA strands, he inadvertently left out my "adventure" and "courage" genes! I figured all of this out too late, of course, because by the time it hit me that I am NOT a thrill-seeker, I was being shoved onto a ski lift and transported up to the heavens.

When I look back over the whole experience, I have to chuckle a little. I'm sure the only thing funnier than me falling down a million times was the sight of me banging my head against the ski lift while screaming, "Please, God, don't let me die!" If I had been able to take my video camera with me, I would be a filthy rich woman right now. I just remember thinking, Lord, if it's my time to go, you should just take me up, because it will be a closer trip for me. Blake was very considerate (or worried) and paid for me to have an instructor. Too bad she didn't speak English. Her only words were "look" and "go" and "STOP!!!" Hey, I only ran over her twice; she was lucky.

I guess I should be happy with myself, because I attempted something that is completely out of my comfort zone. By the way, my comfort zone could be defined as "sea level." Anyway, it was a neat experience, and I definitely want to try again. Only next time I'll leave my fear at home....or maybe just pack a few extra anxiety pills.

Have you ever had a weekend where you just needed to get out of your house? Maybe it needs some serious cleaning, and you can't stand to do it, but you also can't stand to stay in the filth. Well, I'm not saying that is what happened here (ahem...), but I will say that last weekend was a "get out of the house" weekend! That is the great thing about living in Europe. "Getting out of the house" becomes more than a trip to the local mall. All of the sudden you're able to see sights you've never seen and visit cities or countries that you've never visited. It means taking in the local culture, sampling the native food, even trying out your new language skills. This weekend we drove not too far from home to a beautiful castle nestled in the forest along the Mosel River Valley. That castle is called Burg Eltz (you can see pictures yourself and read the history at http://www.burg-eltz.de. They even translate in English). I've never seen anything like this. It is beautiful. No, the word "beautiful" really doesn't do it justice. Magnificent? Formidable? I don't think even Webster himself could pen the right words when trying to describe this place. We toured the castle, which, by the way, is over 700 years old and is furnished the way it would have been more than 500 years ago. As I was listening to the tour guide tell tales from the medieval past, I had a revelation: I should have paid more attention in history class 15 years ago.

Seriously, I have never felt so dumb in my entire life! She was spitting out facts and dates and names from centuries ago, and I can't even name all of the American presidents from the 20th century. I have distant memories of studying the history of the world, but apparently I only learned it for testing purposes. I never really planned on retaining any of it. Who would have ever guessed I would be smack dab in the middle of "western civ." Which leads me to this point (and I do have one): I will encourage my children to learn for the sake of learning, not for the sake of making a certain "grade" or maintaining an honor roll average, or graduating cum laude. I will teach them that learning is fun, it opens doors, it makes you a better person. Learning helps you experience life and live it to the fullest. You're never too young to start learning and never too old to stop. Carpe diem!

Many of you have e-mailed me with questions about life in Germany. I think this is the perfect opportunity to put to rest some of the myths about Europeans, while at the same time giving credibility to the things that are true. For instance, we've all heard about the infamous "autobahn" where there are no speed limits. This just simply isn't true. There are places on the autobahn where speed limits are posted and strictly enforced, and those limits are pretty similar to ours back home. In other areas there are "recommended" speed limits, although those are not enforced, meaning you can go much faster if you'd like. The autobahn is designed pretty much like our interstates in America. There are 4 lanes in most places, 6 in others. The main difference here is that it is illegal to drive in the passing lanes unless you are passing. What that means is that you never have to worry about some shmuck from Florida cruising in the passing lane 10 miles below the speed limit. Ain't gonna happen here, folks. If you cruise in the passing lane (or what I affectionately call the bat-out-of-hell lane), you'll get run over. Literally.

Now on to my favorite subject of all--FOOD! It is so true that Europeans in general take meal time seriously, as if it's a social event rather than a sporting one. You know how it goes in America: your waitress takes your drink order 5 seconds after you sit down. Then 3 minutes later she takes your meal order. Then you have about 7 minutes to eat your meal before she asks you if you want dessert. Of course, if you say "No, thank you," she will gladly bring you your check, demand a 20% tip for 11 minutes worth of work, then casually shove you out the door so that she can seat another unsuspecting family. Yeah, that sounds about right. Over here it's different. Food is to be experienced and enjoyed, not eaten as if it's the Indie 500! Usually we wait about 15 minutes before the server comes to take our drink order. Once we get our drinks, the server won't ask for our food order unless all menus are closed (this is how they know you are ready to order). The food comes shortly thereafter, and we don't get our check until we ask for it. I love it. Oh, and FYI, you don't have to tip! No, restaurants pay their servers enough so that tipping is not required, nor is it expected. If the service is great, and you want to leave a tip, fine, thank you, and good night. Otherwise, just sit back, relax, visit with friends, and enjoy delicious cuisine. Now why didn't we think of that?

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Germany? Yes, there are cultural and language differences, not to mention extreme differences in driving! But it's amazing to me how we are still the same, in spite of our differences. I've told you about my neighbor, Petra. She doesn't speak any English, although I am able to communicate a little through her daughter, Stephanie, who has been studying English for 5 years. Petra loves to garden. Her yard looks like something straight out of a Southern Living magazine. She just has a knack for making things grow, and I'm not just talking about flowers. For Petra, language is not a barrier to cultivating a friendship. I've only known her a few weeks, but she bought me a birthday present. I casually mentioned one day to Stephanie how tulips are my favorite flower. Three days later I had a birthday present sitting on my front porch with a balloon attached (on which Steffie had written "Best Witches"--her English still needs some fine tuning!). Inside the box was a set of spring flowers, including tulips! Not only did Petra buy the tulips for me, she came over just last week and planted them in my yard! She speaks no English, and I speak no German, but we were able to spend time together and "plant" seeds of friendship nonetheless. Isn't it amazing how God can bring people together no matter what their differences? I've been praying for a friend (maybe I should have been more specific in asking for one who can speak English!), and He has provided so much more. Now Petra and I are teaching each other how to speak English and German. This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "Bloom where you are planted." One of Blake's favorite bands, Bon Jovi, just released a new album. They have a song on that album (I don't know the name of the song) whose words go something like this: Welcome/to wherever you are/this is your life/you've made it this far/I say welcome/you gotta believe/that right here, right now/you're exactly where your 'sposed to be/Welcome! I love that song.

We went to a carnival last night in K-town. It was so much fun! The rides were great, the food was even better. Blake and I shared a brat that was 1/2 a meter long! (Get out your math book, convert that to inches, and be amazed!) The Germans take their brats very seriously, and I must say, the American version pales in comparison! In addition to the brat, we had cotton candy, a pretzel the size of a frisbee, and chocolate-covered fruit...bananas and strawberries. I came home with a horrible stomach ache and memories that will last a lifetime. By the way, Blake and I celebrated 11 years of marriage this weekend. Let me say again, God is good. Isn't is good to know that He is faithful even when we are faithless? Thank you, thank you, thank you, to all of our family and friends who have prayed for us all these years. We love you!