What a week it's been

This week, when Obama was sworn in as the President of the united States, Chris and I proudly watched on a tv in a German hospital, so far away from the place history was being made. Our choices were to watch in German or Russian.. we chose German because it's the easiest, but turned it up really loud to see if we could hear the original English under the German speakers.

I got teary eyed, and very proud and happy to be able to witness the event. It's a fantastic step for our country to finally be able to see past color, and to elect a good man who gives hope to a terribly worn down nation.

I have been for Obama since I saw his town hall meeting on mtv/myspace. He was well spoken, sure, hopeful and sincere in his answers. I have never felt so drawn to put faith in a politician, and I put my faith in him. I'd never before really asked about people's political choices, but I found myself one night sitting with my dad, asking "What can I say to help you decide to vote for this man?" I felt so strongly about him being the right choice, I thought the best thing to do was to spread the word to my family and friends. Chris and I are very proud to see this man in office.

Now- why were we at the hospital? Well, in December, Brady had a long febrile seizure, and the Doctors wanted to ensure there was nothing other than fever to cause it. We stayed overnight at the hospital because Brady had an EEG on Tuesday and a sleeping MRI on Wednesday. We are still awaiting the results, as they will be sent to our pediatrician. Hopefully that information will be available this coming week. Brayd is doing fine now, and back at school playing.

Keira is doing great, and is very interested in reading and writing. We are working at home with her on that, because they are not teaching those skills at her kindergarten. We are considering changing her next year to a school where they will encourage that curiosity and provide her with instruction and stimulation to keep her interested. Until then, we're working on it at home.

It's nearly the end of January, and we finally undecorated and store our Christmas things away. We've potted our christmas tree, and put it outside, hopefully to use next year.

It's been a trying week at my school, as my students are acting a lot more like siblings- with the rivalry included. We've actually had a couple kids get hurt in 2nd grade, because others are lashing out and losing their tempers. Also, my class is super talkative right now. I'm trying new tricks to get them to focus, but if anyone has suggestions- I'd like to know!

One funny thing stands out though. In science we are studying the food chain, and when I said "Humans eat plants AND animals" I was met with many groans and "EEEEW!" I assumed this was because they didn't know that meat came from animals.. until one boy said "YUCK! I don't eat... PLANTS!" I just had a great laugh at that, because he was more disgusted by veggies than learning pork means pig.

All in all, things are going well. We are trying to get the house ready for guests coming in a few weeks. I am also finishing one class with GMU, while starting another course for my masters. Only a couple more to go!

Fun weekend

This weekend so far has been great!

On Friday, Heather went with some friends from work to Koeln to see Twilight in English (YES, it JUST came out!) and then got dinner and drinks together. 5 women out on the town made for a fun, fabulous time.

Chris and the kids spent their evening with the Wrights, eating dinner and playing Mau Mau. Chris said they had a great time, and Keira ended up falling asleep on the couch.

Today, the whole family went to the Duesseldorf boat show.

It's one of the biggest boat shows in Europe, and includes all sorts of water activities, from kayaking to really big yachts. We were there most of the day, but unfortunately disappointed by the lack of Catamarans on display. In fact, there were about... 2. One was a hobie cat which was hardly big enough for the 4 of us to sit on (really) and the other was a 62 foot yacht that you needed an appointment to even see! I believe that one only cost about 15,000 euros per month.. HAHA

We did take our time and look at a trimaran, but the middle hull was really close quarters, and if we'd be on something that thin, I'd want two hulls. After that we looked at a 37 foot Hanse. It was broad and well designed. In fact, the salesman said they do design their boats with living aboard and families in mind.. so I guess we'll keep that in our minds.

The kids love looking at sailboats, but eventually even they got tired of it. We left the HUGE Duesseldorf convention center, and took the Sbahn to the Altstadt. We walked a few block to get to the Duesseldorf visitors center, where we picked up some brochures for Aubrey's girl scout troop. They are doing Germany for thinking day this year, and we're happy to help out.

After the visitor's center, we walked a few blocks again, across the town hall square, and went to a very good restaurant for dinner. Chris found out that he does not like tomato based lobster soup, and I kindly shared a steak.

After dinner we caught the S bahn back to the convention center, and our car, then drove home. The kids are tuckered out, and went to bed at 8, I am tired (it's 9:30) and going to bed too.

Tomorrow is a simple "relax and get stuff done at home" day. I'm looking forward to sleeping in.

Weekly update

So, we're back to work and school.

Brady had a hard time going back, hard time parting with Mommy and/or Daddy, at first, but he's doing better now. He is getting really good at, and enjoying complex puzzles.

Keira is back in the groove and going willingly to school, but she isn't really adjusting to the "no naps" thing there, and is very VERY tired by the end of the day. Her German is constantly improving.

Heather is back, and really missed her kids, and they missed her. This week was exams week for this term, so we've been preparing for that.

Over the break, Heather read the "Twilight" book series, along with a few work colleagues. The premiere of the movie here is this week, and Heather is going with those friends to Koeln to watch it in English, and get some dinner on Friday.

Heather is now reading, nearly finished with "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon. It's a good, long and entertaining read.

Chris had a good time luging and building wardrobes, and Heather is nearly finished unpacking the boxes in the guest room. We hope to have that completely finished by this weekend, and certainly want everything ready for our friends that will visit next month!

The weather has been COLD! We had a record low, at -27 degrees C, and we had about 5 inches of snow which didn't go away for over a week. Suddenly it feels nearly balmy at -1 today!

We spent last friday evening with the Wright family, and Stuart managed to read so nicely to the children, that they fell asleep right in his lap. After that we just sat around the table telling stories and jokes, and didn't really notice the time until midnight! It was a great time. While Heather goes to Koeln on Friday, Chris and the kids will go to Friday dinner at the Wright's.

Our niece was born this week, which we are all excited about. Congratulations to my brother and his wife, She's beautiful!

I will leave you with a funny random thought from Keira. We were at the grocery store, and I asked her if she wanted anything. She immediately said "yes." I asked "what?" and her reply??


...."coconuts"

Happy New Year!

Good luck and Good times in 2009! Or as the Germans say Guten Rutsch im Neues Jahr!

We spent New years eve hanging out at home, doing laundry and playing xbox. Chris worked some more on the kitchen also.

We're enjoying the 2 weeks we've got without school, just to hang out and get things together around the house.

We have internet again, so look for weekly updates!