Women's Retreat

The first weekend in March I was able to go to a Women's Retreat at Burg Lichtenberg. We stayed in a youth hostel at a castle not too far from Kaiserslautern, Germany. It was a really nice youth hostel. The rooms were really like what I usually think of a youth hostel being- dirty, huge and just not that nice. The room we had was meant for about 6-7 people sleep in but we only had 5 in our room and it had it's own bathroom and shower. It was really nice. They also had a cafeteria with good food. The fellowship of course was really great. I got to meet a lot of new people and got to see friends I have known for awhile.


Lichtenberg Castle where we stayed.


Oberstein Felsenkirche (Rock Church)


Playing Phase 10


Stopping for ice cream


Having fun


The Chemnitz Ladies :) Doreen, me and Karen

Heidelberg and ABSS (Advanced Bible Study Series)

In February Clint, Heidi and I went on a trip to Heidelberg with a friend of ours, Steve Allison, from Abilene. He is a professor at ACU and came to speak at a seminar in Gemünden (near Frankfurt). We picked him up at the Frankfurt airport on a Sunday and drove to Heidelberg and enjoyed the rest of the day there and some of Monday looking around Heidelberg. We had a good time visiting with Steve.



In Heidelberg there is a famous monkey on a bridge there. He is holding a mirror in his left hand. There is a sign next to it that says: "Why are you looking at me? Haven't you seen the monkey in Heidelberg? Look around and you will probably see, more monkeys like me." Perhaps in the mirror??? Ha ha. I don't know really what it's about, but it's funny.



Heidi all bundled up to check out Heidelberg! We woke up Monday morning to snow!



This was the view from our hotel room on Monday morning. We were right by the bridge where the monkey was (at the bottom of that big tower is the monkey).



Checking out Heidelberg with Steve. Heidi was sleeping in her stroller. :)



We took a tour of the Heidelberg Castle. It is partly in ruins but there are still some areas that are intact and you can go inside. It was really interesting.



World's largest wine barrel at the Heidelberg Castle. It holds 55,100 gallons of wine.



We took a family picture outside of the castle.

At ABSS Heidi made LOTS of new friends! We saw old friends and made some new ones as well!



Heidi just loved Bill Wilson from Cologne, Germany and he loved her too!



Philippe, Dolores and Nathan Dauner from Marseille, France were there. Nathan is just a couple of months older than Heidi. They had a good time together. I guess it wiped Nathan out!



Roman from Bratislava, Slovakia, Jackie Halstead from Abilene, Texas and Peter from Kosice, Slovakia.



Heidi and Jesse Brazle from Antwerp, Belgium had a lot of fun playing!



Arlin and Pamela Hendrix from Lyon, France.



Roman from Bratislava, Slovakia- we are all supported by Champions Church of Christ in Houston!

I'll Fly Away

Our brother in Christ from Chemnitz, Rudolf (Rudi) Löffler, went to be with our Lord on March 14, 2009. We will be attending his memorial tomorrow afternoon. Please pray for his family and those whose lives he touched. He will be missed here on earth, but we know that he has joined our Father and is in much better hands.

"Some glad morning when this life is o'er,
I'll fly away;
To a home on God's celestial shore,
I'll fly away.

I'll fly away, Oh Glory
I'll fly away; (in the morning)
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I'll fly away.

When the shadows of this life have gone,
I'll fly away;
Like a bird from prison bars has flown,
I'll fly away.

I'll fly away, Oh Glory
I'll fly away; (in the morning)
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I'll fly away.

Just a few more weary days and then,
I'll fly away;
To a land where joy shall never end,
I'll fly away.

I'll fly away, Oh Glory
I'll fly away; (in the morning)
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I'll fly away."


Rudi Löffler (1928-2009)

Heidi's 1 year photos

Heidi's birthday

On Heidi's birthday, Heidi and I were both sick. It was a shame. She had never been sick before, but thankfully it was only a mild cold with a little bit of a cough. Clint took her to the dr. that week and she got some cough medicine and some nose drops for her poor little stopped up nose. I didn't end up going to the dr. although I had really considered it. I felt really puny for a few days, but with sleeping and getting me rest I was back on my feet. Heidi's birthday was on a Tuesday so we decided not to do a party or celebrate a lot on that day. Instead, we planned on having a small party at home on Friday. Thankfully by then we were both feeling a lot better. On her actual birthday Clint and I gave her one present... bubbles! She loved them!



On Friday was the big party day! I made her a teddy bear birthday cake and her own special cupcake just for her! The cake turned out a lot cuter than I thought it was going to. I really don't have a lot of experience with cake decorating so I was a little nervous about it. I have to say that it tasted great too! Heidi loved her cupcake!





I can't believe our girl is 1 year old!

November

In November we did a lot of traveling. Heidi made her first trip to the States to see grandparents, uncles, aunts and lots of new friends! We were glad to be there for a little while so that we could see loved ones. We were in Oklahoma, Texas and Ohio.