Ask and You Shall Receive

I guess I spoke or posted a bit too soon. That little dusting we had Tuesday turned into several inches of snow yesterday. We truly have quite the Winter Wonderland. Jeff was even sent home yesterday for a snow day. When he got home the three of us bundled up and ventured outside for some shoveling, sledding and ball chasing (Kastor enjoyed the white stuff too). Lily loved being outside and riding her sled. She was so excited, yelling "SNOW" every few minutes. Here are some pictures of us finally enjoying some Winter weather.

Congratulations Marchands!

Congratulations Shanon and Steve!! Hunter Steven Marchand was born Jan 16th at 4:54pm. He is a tiny guy at 4 lbs 9.7 ounces and 18 inches long. He was born a few weeks early, however Mom and Dad say baby Hunter is doing great. Kisses to Hunter!! We can't wait to meet you.

Scrapbooking Weekend in Garmisch

This past weekend I packed up all my pictures and scrapbooking supplies and headed off to a Crop Weekend with four of my friends. The Crop (scrapbooking event) was hosted at the beautiful Edelweiss Lodge and Resort in Garmisch, Germany. Our backdrop, the beautiful, snow capped Alps. It was a very relaxing weekend and I left the resort with a huge sense of accomplishment. It was also a nice weekend away to decompress. The Prager family has had a lot going on this month, so I was really able to get some R&R and therapeutic distraction.

Friday (Jan. 19th) Kim, Karen, Beth and I left the base at about 12:45 to start our grand adventure. Kim's Jeep was packed to the brim with paper, stickers, pictures and embellishments. The weather was rainy and windy, as the day before we were experiencing 50 mph winds. However, we weren't worried, with all our scrapbooking supplies we felt pretty weighed down. The trip took us a little over three hours. We checked into the resort and headed straight to the conference room to unload our supplies. Jacquie had arrived a day early and snagged us each a 9 foot table. We also had an extra one for snack and supplies. You can't scrapbook with out Peanut Butter m&m's and Happy Cherry's! We dropped our clothes in the room and got busy cutting and pasting right away. We started at 5:00, stopped at 7:30 for dinner and then stayed up until 12:30 a.m. We were all so anxious to finally be getting caught up on our projects. There were a lot of travel and baby milestone pages completed that evening.

The next day we slept in a little, grabbed some breakfast and then it was back to work. We scrapbooked from 10:00 until 1:00 and then drove into downtown Garmisch to enjoy some yummy pizza, caprese salad and wine. After lunch we had to rush back to the hotel, as we all had afternoon massages scheduled....auh!! We scrapbooked the day away, in disbelief that the sun had set so quickly. We stopped for another dinner break and then finished that evening at around 2 a.m.

I am sure you are thinking, how can anyone scrapbook that much? Well...we talk, eat, listen to music, share ideas and supplies and LAUGH a whole lot. When someone is stuck we stop and try to offer creative ideas, it's a true team effort. This really maximizes our time and allows us to all interact and enjoy ourselves.

Sunday morning we scrapbooked a few more hours and then called it quits. We did a little shopping in downtown Garmisch, grabbed lunch and then hit the road around 1:30. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed a breath taking view of the Alps as we drove home. Total, I finished Lily's baby book and officially started her Toddler book (16 pages). All the other gals did about the same. Well, except for the "Super Scrapper", Beth, she finished a whopping 28 pages!! She's a quick one! Karen, Kim and Jacquie turned out some beautiful travel pages, while Beth and I primarily worked on our kids books.

The weekend was an all inclusive, two night stay with two meals per day for only $150. It was more than a fair deal as the resort really accommodated the 40 or so Stuttgart Scrapbookers. We had lots of space and were able to network with a lot of other scrapbookers. I made some new friends and received a lot of good advice and information on scrapbooking. Overall, a wonderful experience that I would love to do again. Thanks to Kim, Karen, Jacquie and Beth for making me laugh so hard and being such sweet friends. I had a BLAST!! Until next time...

More Fun at Kinderland!

Jeff, Lily and I have made several fun trips to Kinderland over the past month so I thought I would post some cute shots. If you've been following our blog you know this is one of Lily's favorite places to hang out. She is really quite the dare devil these days. She runs, jumps, climbs and slides all over the equipment. She even bounces on the trampoline. She loves to slide and has finally conquered her fear of going down alone. She and her best bud, Gabi, often meet here on the weekends for some play date fun. Jeff and I end up laughing for two hours straight watching Lily run around and try to master everything. She has taken a few tumbles here and there, but everything is made of rubber so she literally just bounces right back onto her feet. Lily enjoys Kinderland so much we are even thinking of hosting her second birthday there!

Let it Snow...FINALLY!

Today was our "first snow" of the season. I was so happy to wake up to white trees and frosty grass. I truly miss the REAL winter season. I love sledding in the fields, drinking hot chocolate and snuggling on the couch with my sweeties to keep warm. It's been a really warm winter here in Germany and we've all been longing for some of the white stuff. We only received a light dusting, but they are calling for more later this week. For now, I'll have to settle for my mini Winter Wonderland and hope it keeps coming. It's hard to believe that our last year here in Germany and there isn't even enough snow to go skiing.

Baa Baa Black Sheep

Just another day enjoying the beautiful walking trails in Weil im Schonbuch! This day was a special treat. The weather was warm so the sheep were out in the fields. Lily (and Kastor) were so excited to see all the sheep and baby lambs running around. We stopped for a while just to take it all in. We just won't see things like this when we get back to Virginia Beach. One mama sheep came running down the hill while her two babies chased after her trying to nurse. Lily was so excited yelling "sheep, mama, sheep mama" and "baaa baaaa." It's nice when her books can truly come to life.

A Girl and Her Cheerios

Lily has always been a great eater. She loves a diversity of foods, especially breakfast goodies. Today she enjoyed her first bowl of yogurt cheerios. She did such a great job using her spoon and getting every little cheerio out of the bowl and in to her mouth. The mess was minimal and she really enjoyed her very own bowl of cereal. She was probably ready for big girl cereal a while ago, but Mommy was having a hard time letting go of some old baby ways. She was so proud of herself when she finished and even shouted, "all gone cereal!" Check out her "Got Milk" smile!

Birthday Bunco!

Just wanted to catch up on some posts. This year my birthday fell on my monthly Bunco night. Jeff insisted I go have fun with my girlfriends and we would celebrate later in the week. It was such a fun birthday night. Kim made my favorite cake (homemade strawberry) and Denise hosted a fabulous Bunco. The prizes were all themed "to keep you warm" so we were all able to take home some fun gifts. I usually am pretty lucky at Bunco, but I had no birthday luck. I came in second to last. Oh well, I still felt very lucky as I spent the evening with such a great group of friends. Thanks for all the birthday wishes ladies!

Lily is 21 Months!

It's hard to believe that Lily is almost two!! My little angel is becoming such a big girl. Here is a snapshot of Lily at 21 months. -She has a VERY large vocabulary and also puts 2 or 3 word phases together.

-She can eat well with a spoon and fork, but still likes to use her fingers

-She has QUITE the temper and is impatient at times

-She still sleeps 12 hours a night, but her naps are usually 1.5 hours or less

-She has a head full of curly, brown hair and big blue eyes

-She can count to 13 all by herself and knows some of her ABC's (she tries to sing along)

-She loves to sing songs, dance and attend her Kindermusik class

-She wears size 24 months or 2T clothes

-She is not interested in potty training, but can sit on it and say "potty"

-She knows all her animals and the sounds they make

-She knows body parts and loves to beep Mama's nose

-She LOVES Dora the Explorer and Diego

-Her favorite songs are The Itsy Bitsy Spider, If You're Happy and You Know It, Brush Your Teeth, Old MacDonald and ANY Wiggles Song

-She loves driving around her cars and trucks and making sounds, but she loves baby dolls too

-Her favorite foods include mac and cheese, hot dogs, fruit, spaghetti, rice, chips, pancakes and anything sweet

-She loves going to the playground or Kinderland and playing on the swing and slide

-She can say Kody and dog Kastor and tells them hello several times a day

-She is a daddy's girl, but wants mama when she is over tired

-She still LOVES Finding Nemo, Elmo and the Wiggles

-She enjoys her baby dolls and is going to be a wonderful big sister

-She loves to scream for fun and when she is angry

-She LOVES books and we read several times a day. Her favorites are Brown Bear, Brown Bear, The Wiggles Adventure, Good Night Moon, Good Night Dora, The Going to Bed Book and Barnyard Dance

-She is still a good eater and likes a diversity of foods

-She knows the colors blue, yellow, orange, and black and at times green, red and brown

-She likes talking on the phone to her Papa

-Her best buds are Gabi, Case, Anika and Jacob

-She shares well and plays well with others

-She has all her teeth (except the two year molars)and has a beautiful smile like her Daddy

-She can do puzzles and sort shapes

-She LOVES coloring and art projects

We love you Lily! We're so proud of you sweetie.

Remembering Nanny

Perhaps they are not the stars, but rather openings in Heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy. ~Author Unknown

Rest in peace Nanny, you will be truly missed. We love you.

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Our European Travels!

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New Year's Dublin

Well I figure I ought to give this a try to tell everyone that I'm alive and give Irene a break from posting all of the time. New Year's this year was a little different from our tradition of sitting on the couch and trying our damnedest to make it to midnight!!! This year Kevin was in Whales consulting at a school and took an overnight ferry to Dublin for New Years so Irene told me that I HAD to go meet up with him. I didn't want to leave Irene and Lily all alone to ring in the new year but how often do you get to party with your brother in Dublin....let alone for New Years?!?! I flew in Saturday night and met up with Kevin early Sunday morning. Most of Sunday we hung out and walked around Dublin and then after a quick Irish mass, we headed out for lunch and didn't look back. We spent most of the afternoon/evening hopping from one traditional Irish pub to the next and even took in a little Irish music. Kevin and I ended up in the square in the Temple Bar area to count down to 2007 with the rest of the revelers. Needless to say it was a great time!

Welcome 2007!

We received this blessing from some dear friends. How appropriate to start 2007!

"May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let His presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us."

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!!

Christmas Day

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Our Christmas this year was a very special one. Jeff and I both commented that this was one of our best holidays ever. It was so nice to be at home and start our own family traditions. We missed our families dearly, but at the same time we were happy to be in our own home for Christmas for the first time in five years.

For starters, I woke up three times Christmas night, partly because of pregnancy, but mostly due to sheer excitement. I couldn't wait for Lily to wake up and go see what Santa had brought her. I was also very anxious for Jeff to open his gift from me. I woke up the last time at about 8:00 and decided to go light the tree, start breakfast and turn on some Christmas music. At 8:15 I ran upstairs with the video camera and woke Jeff up. He was still tired, but I dragged him out of bed any way. Shortly after Jeff got up we heard Lily talking to her sleepy bear and knew she was FINALLY awake. We went into her room with the video camera and asked her "Guess who came last light Lily?" She screamed "SANTA!!". She was so sweet, it made my entire morning. We came downstairs, bursting with excitement for Lily to see her new kitchen. The night before I had written "Merry Christmas Lily! Love, Santa" on her MagnaDoodle and placed it near the kitchen. When she entered the living room she yelled, "WOW" and ran towards the kitchen. However, as soon as she reached the kitchen she ran straight to the MagnaDoodle and started drawing. Jeff and I just laughed...I guess she wanted to write a thank you note to Santa. Jeff told her to look to the left and pointed out the kitchen. She quickly noticed all the little gadgets and we soon were cooking up a storm.

Most of the morning was spent slowly opening gifts and allowing Lily to play with them. She is so blessed to have so many wonderful people in her life. Thanks to all of you for sending gifts. They were ALL perfect. Our house officially can be called Dora the Explorer Headquarters!

As the morning progressed we enjoyed some yummy fruit and cinnamon rolls for breakfast and tried to make it through the mound of presents under our tree. At around 11:00 Lily was in dire need of a break so we took a time out for a Dora video and some more breakfast snacks. Jeff and I finished opening all our gifts. Thanks so much to all of you for thinking of us. Your gifts were so thoughtful. Jeff gave me a beautiful jewelry box this year and it is an organizers dream. I have already color coordinated and hung all my jewelery in it! Thanks so much Honey!! I gave Jeff a Scuba Diving Certification class. I think he is excited, as he and the guys have already planned some trips and he's not even certified yet.

After lunch Lily went down for her nap while Jeff was busy in the kitchen preparing our Christmas feast. I set the table with all my new dishes from Italy and made dessert. We missed turkey at Thanksgiving so we were happy to be having dinner at home this year. After nap time Lily opened a few more presents and then we all just relaxed and played with her toys. At around 5:00 our good friends Kim and Larry came over to enjoy dinner with us. They brought lots of food, so it was truly a big feast. Our menu included: artichoke dip and crackers for an appetizer, turkey with gravy, stuffing, potatoes, green beans, butternut squash soup and cranberry sauce for the main course and chocolate cream and berry crisp pie for dessert. It was a delicious dinner and we all stuffed ourselves silly.

After dinner Lily opened the rest of her presents. It took three separate sessions to get through them all. After Lily went to bed (she was wiped out), Kim, Larry, Jeff and I played cards until almost midnight. To end the evening we talked to our families and then fell into bed. We had such a wonderful, relaxing day. This year was truly a magical time for the three of us. I am already getting so excited for next year. We'll be a family of four and be back in the States. We hope you all had a joyous Christmas with your families. We love and miss you all!!

Even Kody and Kastor were tired after our busy day!