Thankful Tuesdays: Daisies...

... and other wildflowers are popping up everywhere.  And Junior J has been happily going out with his yoghurt cup to pick them to bring them home.  While you'd probably not see these little flowers in most flower arrangements, I love how they remind me of how our God cares for them, and even more so, for us.  So this week, I am thankful for:

:: Our God that cares for the flowers...

... and the birds.  Who promises that we do not need to worry, and who provides for us, be it food...

... or warmth from the sun...

:: Smiles and giggles and laughter that help to ease the burden of household chores:

:: Little presents left at your door, be it jellyfish or colorful grass, for decorating your bedroom walls:

What are you thankful for this week?


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Weekend wanderings: The search for a church

We spent the past 3 weekends hunting for a church to attend.  The first weekend we had the car, we turned up at the York Barracks as they had an English service there... only to be told that their regular service was cancelled, as they were scheduled to have a parade for their troops coming back from Afghanistan.

Then we arrived next week, to find out that the service we were attending would be the last one for the barracks!  Thankfully we met a lovely Taiwanese lady in church (who was married to a local, and was the only person who bothered to talk to us at all) and she helped us to inquire about other English services.  Turned out that they would be continuing services in another barracks, so we headed down there yesterday.  We nearly didn't make it for the service, since we got lost in the army grounds and the guard at the gate was not sure where we should be headed.  Thankfully, we found the place, and attended their service.  It was a tiny gathering, with only 10 people (which included the four of us, plus another mother and her baby)!  So I guess we'll just be attending this service from now onwards, since I doubt we'd be able to find another church that has an English service.  Junior J and baby J will just have to play quietly during the service at one corner of the room, since there certainly would not be any Sunday School!

I guess I'm just glad we are not churchless over here... and meanwhile, we managed to do quite abit across the past 3 weekends:

:: The first weekend was a rainy one...

... and we sent my mum off to the airport...

The view from the car, on the way home from the airport.

:: And since there was no church service, we thought we'd go to the zoo instead.  However it was raining, so we drove down to Dusseldorf to hunt for Japanese food instead (Dusseldorf has a huge Japanese community).  We parked and wandered around the old town area, but couldn't find any Japanese eateries, so we settled for Spanish instead:

:: Then for the 2nd weekend, we went to this really good Italian place just a few minutes walk from our place for lunch on Saturday:

... and also tried Asian food after church on Sunday:

Fortune cookies, that predict your fortune in both English and German! 

I liked the lotus salad, really refreshing!

:: And for the weekend that passed, we spent some time at the farmer's market, where our pram had a really difficult time getting stuck into the cobbled paths.  We managed to get our groceries (including the white asparagus which seems to be the rage right now), and along the way Junior J got presents from nice shopkeepers, like a tulip from the florist, and ham from the butcher!  And we ended up with lunch at another Italian place near our home:

The table was filled with Junior J's finds that he picked up along the way!

:: Yesterday saw us heading to the Aasee (the lake in Munster), and having a nice lunch with the hubby's friends after church.

Weekends here are pretty quiet, since the shops are closed on Sunday... but its nice to have quiet Sundays spent with family!

Foodie Fridays: Cooking for 4

Life has gotten busier since I've started cooking for 4.  Junior J has started his usual mealtime antics, so its back to decorating the food to help him to eat better, so here's what he has been getting:

Beef stroganoff. :)

Stir-fried chicken with capsicum...

Ikea over here has moose pasta!

This was on a busy day, where I only had time for sandwiches!

Tortelloni stuffed with cheese...

German noodle, that reminds me of our fried noodles!

The effort seems to be helping the boy eat better, and just the other day, he prepared some "food" and gave me this, saying this was my bento box, haha!

I've started cooking lunch in the morning for the hubby to bring to work as well, since he's had days where he's stuck in the OT and doesn't get to eat at all, poor man.  And to top it off, the littlest in our family has started solids... and right now isn't too impressed with Mama's cooking, going by all the grimaces he gives me every time I try to feed him!  Oh well...

Have a blessed weekend folks!  I've gotta go cook dinner now!

Thankful Tuesdays: Pink and blue

Hello! I am sorry that "Grateful Gatherings" is sooo late this round!  Its been a busy week as usual with the cooking, cleaning and home-learning, so we have been crashing into bed each night exhausted.  Here's my little list for the week... we are thankful to God this week for:

:: Pretty pink cherry blossom trees that line the street that leads to the supermarkt: These are starting to green up and there are petals everywhere.  And the transient nature of these blooms keep reminding me about how God cares for the flowers and even more for us!

:: Yummy snacks: Yoghurt and dairy products are really cheap here, and we're having fun trying out all the different flavors of yoghurt and cheese.  These are great for filling a tummy that's always hungry thanks to the cold...

:: Pretty blooms from the hubby!

:: Blue skies and warmer weather...

:: Little toes peeking out of blue jeans, that make you want to tickle them:

Gosh, I have to run to cook now!  What are you thankful for this week?





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Saturday scrapping: Moving to Munster

Hurray!  The hubby managed to buy a USB cable the other day (for some strange reason, their card readers, which come with a USB cable, are cheaper here compared to the USB cable sold on its own).  Anyway, that means I can get the pics out from my poor constipated SLR... and today, the internet guy came to set up our line, so now we have a faster internet connection too!  

Before we left for Germany, I managed to cut up loads of paper and bind them into a couple of mini albums.  These I didn't have time to embellish, so I just packed the albums (plus a few made by another lovely scrapper friend) plus some scrap materials and brought them along for the move.  There wasn't much space or weight allowance for scrap stuff, so I brought the basics, like some extra patterned paper, tools like scissors and the cutterpede (which was one generously given to me by a friend, thanks babe!), ink, a couple of sets of stamps... and for embellies I just grabbed some and stuffed them into a box.  

So here's an album made to chronicle the first few months of our stay here:

:: I always wish I had Ali Edward's handwriting.  Since I don't, I end up getting her stamps instead!

:: My current fav: Resin flowers.  Didn't bring many of these though!

:: Of course, there had to be a bicycle.  After all, Munster is supposedly the bike capital of Germany...

:: Life has been crazy busy with me taking care of both kids on my own, but life is good... so here's a reminder!

:: I used seam binding for the spine, thought it was a nice change from the usual ribbons...

:: And the full cover:

Now I really gotta get down to journalling those moments down in this book! 

Thinking Thursdays: Bear books

Hello!  I've been finding home-learning a little of a challenge these days, since I'm managing both kids and the chores on my own, plus the materials we have at home are pretty limited (I'm still hunting for stuff like PVA glue, black markers, and stuff like glue sticks seem really expensive!  I miss Popular and Daiso haha!) In addition, Baby J is still quite a fussy feeder, so we've been housebound most of the time.  Since spaces in pre-schools here are very limited, there is a high chance that we would be "home-schooling" the boy for the year.

We've tried going out for walks, but its been cold out (single digits sometimes below 5!) and it takes an awfully long time trying to get both kids ready.  Its rains quite frequently here as well!  As a result, we've been spending most of the time at home hiding from the cold, but we've been reading a lot of books (both in Chinese and English, and now, a little bit of German too).  And we end up taking walks in the evening when its warmer, and hubby is around to pile the layers on at least one of the squirmy fellows!

With limited resources and time to plan activities, I've been finding the "Before Five in a Row" guide very useful.  For the past week, we've been reading most of the stories in the guide that are related to bears:
:: Ask Mr Bear
:: Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear
:: Corduroy
:: We're Going on a Bear Hunt

We've discussed various issues and themes in the books, and also tried out some activities:

Dressing up Jesse bear in various types of seasonal clothes.  The boy lost interest in this activity after awhile though!
You can get the printables here (Look under "Dress the bear", and I think this might be a hit for girls!).

Art activity for "We're Going on a Bear Hunt".  Will share more about this next week as we're still painting away!

All in all, I've realized there are two things that interest the boy: Art, and animals.  He has no patience with math manipulatives and flash cards.  He isn't fond of worksheets and doesn't want to try writing, and any attempts to teach him phonics have failed.  So I guess I'll be planning his activities around these two interests, and of course, since he also loves books, we will continue to read, read and read!

Oh, and since I'm on that topic, any favourite bear books to share?

Thankful Tuesdays: Rainbows...

... alway remind me of how God painted the sky after the great flood to remind Noah of His promise.  And then I marvel at how He made it such that the merging of those 7 colors would give us light, and how that light could then be split apart to form rainbows.  It is just so very amazing.

So this week, I am thankful for the rainbow of colors that remind me of God's promises.  I've been seeing rainbows in:

:: The walks we take around the area... where the boy gathers flowers and holds them tightly in his little hand:

The yellow dandelions are popping up everywhere!

... which end up being placed carefully into his little garden in a little yoghurt container:

We found the daisy on a freezing cold day (about 3 degrees).  The boy was delighted!

:: Those art supplies which are so very helpful in keeping little hands and minds occupied while I cook or clean:

:: Wild drawings of colorful grass that supposedly go "swishy swashy! swishy swashy!":

:: Rather crooked rainbows drawn by hands learning to form shapes:

:: Slipper airplanes parked neatly at the Germany airport, carrying their precious cargo of vegetables and animals:

Slippers are a must here, the floors are really cold!

:: A snack during a brief respite during nap-time:

They sell Smarties yoghurt over here... :)

What are you thankful for this week?





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Saturday scrapping: A few things

Hello!  Here's a sneak peek at an album I'm currently working on.  I'd love to share more, but the hubby forgot to pack the USB cable for the SLR, so I'll upload the pictures next time when we've gotten a new cable!

We still have loads of boxes.  I'm hoping to use them for art and play... someday!

Things at home are slowly settling down and we have most of the furniture that we need.  Almost everything has been unpacked and my mum will be going back this weekend... meanwhile, Junior J has been busy drawing and drawing and drawing.  He draws rainbows and jellyfishes (a circle with loads of lines radiating out!), then pesters us to stick all his drawings on the walls.  They do help to make the place feel a lot more like home!

We've managed to settle our visa extension today as the hubby took leave.  Baby J needed photos, so we used the photo booth which allowed us three tries.  The first attempt had baby looking away.  The second had him blinking, but thankfully we managed to get something acceptable on the last try!

Ok, have a blessed weekend and hopefully we'd get that USB cable soon so that I can dig out all those photos stuck in the camera!

Thankful Tuesdays: Spring...

... has brought forth a whole riot of blooms and colors.  We've been taking walks around the area just marveling at the plethora of flowers, popping up amidst the grass (the narcissus are dying and now the tulips are in full force), filling up the window boxes, and festooning the trees.  Almost every corner we turn, we see more colors... and now I understand why poets wax lyrical about spring.

We've been having cold weather though, and it has been raining.  Just yesterday night, the mercury plunged to -3 degrees!  Whatever the case, I am most thankful for:

:: This beautiful season, that reminds me of what an amazing God we have.  

:: Stuff that help to keep us warm, from radiators and quilts to layers of baby clothes...

... as well as piping hot drinks that warm from the inside.

:: All the encouragement and prayer we've been getting from friends and family.  And for all of you who pop in here and take the time to leave a little note or two... I am most grateful!

:: Help with the kids, from having toys to keep little hands occupied...

These plastic connectors are ingenious, and were a gift from a friend.
Junior J has been making them into fences for his zoo!

Our Lego creation made while waiting for the hubby when he went car shopping.

... to the helping hands of the hubby and my mother.  This I am most thankful for, as me, being the big klutz I am, tripped and fell the other day when we were out car-hunting.  I was carrying Baby J strapped to me, and I landed on my knees and Baby J bumped his head.  Thankfully the boy was wearing his beanie and it was a mild knock for him, but my knee took most of the brunt of impact and I have been limping around for the past few days.  Initially the pain was so bad we thought it might have been a fractured knee-cap, but it seems to be getting better so we are going to wait and see.  I'm just glad baby is ok!

What are you thankful for this week?  

PS: My apologies for the bad picture quality and not replying to your comments! The internet here has been really slow, so everything takes ages to load. I've had to reduce the size of the pictures, but our wireless connection should be up by the end of this month!



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