What Haaappened??

Knowing that I am so behind on the goings-on around here, I will attempt to do some short* (of course they never end up short) updates on what happened the past couple of months.

After the whole deal with the hospital, Clint's family came to visit us! I was hoping to join them on all their site-seeing, but unfortunately didn't have the energy at the time. I was thankfully able to go to Prague but then I mainly stayed home and got to see them in the evenings.

Sorry I don't really have any good pictures of the whole family since I wasn't with them most of the time. Maybe I can get some pics from Stephanie... hint hint. ;)



They were here for 2 weeks and then 6 days after they left we went to the States.

Right before we left we celebrated our 2 year anniversary! We went out to dinner and then enjoyed a relaxing evening at home watching a movie. Honestly we were both tired and needing just some relaxing time at home so it was perfect for us.



On August 9th we fly to the States and were in Ohio for a few days. We had a good time visiting with Clint's family there. Clint was able to make a presentation of the work we are doing on Sunday morning in Louisville. He did a great job on the presentation and it was nice getting to talk with some of our friends there.

On August 14th we flew to Oklahoma City and from that point on we stayed with my parents when we weren't traveling to other churches or cities.

A couple of days later we drove to Houston and were able to visit my sister, brother-in-law and niece as well as meet the members of the Church of Christ in Champions. They are helping support our work so it was great to get to meet a lot of people. They planned a fish fry for us and Clint was also able to make a presentation on Sunday night there. What a wonderful congregation it was and it was such a blessing to spend some time with them! Here is a picture of Troy, the deacon in charge of missions, frying the fish!



The following weekend we drove to Amarillo and worshiped with the Golden Plains Church of Christ. It was also so encouraging as we were able to meet so many wonderful Christians. Clint gave a presentation there and everyone was so supportive and encouraging to us! They also took a special contribution for us that day and we were so overwhelmed by their generosity and support!





On this trip my parents went with us to Amarillo and then we drove on to Snyder, Texas to see my grandparents. While we were there we met with the Elders at Eastside Church of Christ and talked with them about our work in Germany. It was great to get to visit with my grandparents as well as aunts and uncles and cousins. Here are a few pictures of me with my family.







One of the highlights of being in the States of course was getting to spend time with family. Amy and Ashlyn flew from Houston to spend a week or so with us and so we had lots of good times with everyone, especially those two sweet nieces of mine!











We also took trips to Tulsa and Coffeyville, Kansas which also went really well and were encouraging. We got to see some friends and were also excited about the connections we are making with people who care so much about mission work!

As well as visiting with family, we got to see a lot of great friends. One evening I got to see some of my best friends! We went to dinner with Josh and Amanda and then hung out at the Nowlin Center at OC to chat for a while. Amanda and I are both expecting around the same time in January so it was fun to see each other pregnant and discuss our experiences.



Before we left, South Yukon Church of Christ held a baby shower for us. It was really nice and so many people made monetary donations so that we can buy the things that we need over here in Germany. It was really overwhelming the love and support they showed us!







We flew back to Germany on September 11th and then arrived on the 12th. It was a whirlwind trip but it went really well and we are happy to say that God really blessed us by giving us many opportunities to share our work with others. One of the last meetings we had before we left was with Soldier Creek Church of Christ and we are happy to say that they have agreed to be our sponsoring congregation from July 2008 to August 2009. Praise God for always looking out for us!

Return

Wow, it's been a crazy couple of months. Sorry about those of you who have waited for post on here for a while. Our trip to the States went really well. It was tiring, but encouraging to meet so many wonderful Christians who are supporting us in the work we are doing here in Chemnitz. We arrived back on Wednesday and have been struggling to get over jet lag ever since. Today I am actually going to attempt to unpack the suitcases!

On Thursday we had an appointment to check on the baby and see how things were going in the development. It was really amazing. They had the 3-D ability so we got to see some amazing pictures of our little one! As soon as I get around to it I will put those pictures on here for you to see. The great news is that Eby is healthy and normal. The bad news is that little Eby didn't want to cooperate and show us "the stuff" so that we can know whether to buy pink or blue. We will have to wait 4 weeks until our next appointment to find out.

Our Travel Plans

As many of you know, we are making a trip to the States in August/September. We will be raising funds so that we can stay in Chemnitz for the next 2 years. Please pray that we are successful at finding the support we need to continue the work we are doing. Below is an itinerary of where we will be during our travels. If you would like to see us and we are in your area, please e-mail us and let us know so that we can see as many of you as we can.

Thursday, August 9th- Leave Germany/ Arrive in Louisville, Ohio.
Tuesday, August 14th- Leave Ohio/ Arrive in Oklahoma City
Thursday, August 16th- Leave OKC/ Arrive in Houston, TX
Monday, August 20th- Leave Houston/ Possibly stop in Dallas/Ft. Worth area/ Arrive in OKC
Saturday, August 25th- Leave OKC/ Arrive in Amarillo, TX
Sunday, August 26th- Leave Amarillo/ Arrive in Snyder, TX
Wednesday, August 29th- Leave Snyder/ Arrive in OKC
Sunday, September 2nd- Leave OKC/ Arrive in Coffeyville, KS
Monday, September 3rd- Leave Coffeyville/ Arrive OKC
Tuesday, September 11th- Leave OKC
Wednesday, September 12th- Arrive in Germany

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary Sweetheart! It has been the most amazing 2 years! I am looking forward to many more years and the joy of starting a family with you! I love you!

Week 16

This was taken week 14. You can actually see a pretty good profile on this one as well as an arm and the legs stretched out to the left.

This is also week 14. You can kind of see a little hand sticking up.

Week 14- another good profile of the baby's face.

Week 14- This one was taken in the hospital but is kind of hard to make out.

Week 15- Little Eby was making "himself" comfortable on "his" tummy. You can see the legs and feet sticking up on top. (I say "he" but only because I really don't want to say "it".

Week 16- Eby is facing down and you can get a good look at the spine.


Here's me week 16. Eby truly is growing quickly!

Thank You

I just wanted to post a quick note on here to say thank you to everyone who has been praying for me and my pregnancy. Thank you also for all the e-mails, calls, visits and words of encouragement. It has been a very stressful time with being in the hospital and not really knowing what is going on. Just in case some of you didn't know what was going on, I spent 4 days in the hospital recently due to some severe bleeding. I went in and they were able to tell me immediately that everything with the baby was fine and there were no problems there. There really isn't an answer as to why I had the problem, but the Lord has taken care of me and the baby. Please continue to pray for us and especially our emotional stability through this. It has been a very scary and trying time, but thanks to all the prayers and support I am already feeling God's peace that He is in control. I will be updating soon with lots of new ultrasound pictures! Our baby is growing quickly and it is more amazing every time to see how God is forming little "Eby". (Short for Eberhard) It's only a funny nickname we are calling it (I hate saying "it" so Eby's much better).

Baby Update- Week 11

Here is our baby at week 10. This was taken on June 22nd. You can see the head at the top and if you look carefully, you can see arms on the sides.











This is also from week 10.














Here is one taken from the outside. You can see the legs stretched out to the left and the head to the right. At one point we got to watch the baby kicking its legs and moving its arms all around. It was really amazing!









This is the last one we had done on June 25th when we went in to check if everything was alright. By this time it was already in week 11. I think you can kind of see the arms sticking up a little bit.









Me at 11 weeks. I am starting to get a little bit of a belly. :)

Day 3 of Family's Trip to Germany

Day 3 we took a boat trip down the Elbe River in Dresden, Germany. It was beautiful and relaxing and the weather was so nice and sunny. I think everyone enjoyed it. I had really wanted to take them on a boat trip from Dresden to the Sächsische Schweiz (Saxony Switzerland). The Elbe River goes through what is called the Elbsandsteingebirge (Elbe Sandstone Mountains) and it is a beautiful area. However, since it wasn't the main summer season yet there weren't any good time frames that we could take the trip from Dresden to that area without being on the boat all day long and we really didn't want to do that. But we were able to see some really pretty sights including castles and a famous bridge called the Blue Wonder (Blaues Wunder). We also got to ride on one of the oldest paddle steamer ships in the world.

Day 2 of Family's Trip to Germany

Now I know it has been quite a while, but I would like to catch up on all the things that have gone on since my last post before all the baby stuff came about.

Day 2 of my family's visit was fun. We went to Seiffen, Germany. It is a village in the Ore Moutains (Erzgebirge) not too far away from Chemnitz. It is known for it's wood work and toys and especially the traditional Christmas decorations of this area. We had a good time shopping in the many stores and seeing the Toy Museum.

Baby Update

Sorry to have kept you waiting to hear more news about the baby. Things have been absolutely crazy here the past few weeks. For a quick update: we had the Let's Start Talking Program for 6 weeks starting in May and then we had a singing campaign from Oklahoma Christian the last week and a half. It all went really well, but we were so busy! Needless to say, it was all a bit much for me and I had to take some time to stay at home and rest. I had a little bit of a scare with some spotting and was afraid that something was wrong with the baby. But I rested up all day Sunday and Monday I went into the doctor and everything was fine. He told me to just get plenty of rest and so that is what I have been doing. So, officially my due date is January 13th, 2008! We have now been to the doctor 3 times (including the one extra time to just check if everything was OK). I have several more pictures that I will post on here as soon as I scan them, but I will post the first picture we got from the ultrasound at 8 weeks. They do ultrasounds at every appointment here. (At least so far). Then I will post a picture of me at about 8 weeks. I know you can't really tell anything about it, but some people (Mom) want to see my progress. :) By the way, on the ultrasound... the little white blob in the middle of the big black blob is the baby just in case you are wondering. :)

Big News

Ok, as much as I would love to write everyone individually to tell you the big news... I just will not be able to do that. The big news is that I'm pregnant!!! From what I can figure out on my own I should be due sometime around January 12th. I am going to the Dr. on Friday so I will let you know if I find anything else out. Clint and I are so excited and happy about this! Right now I am feeling pretty sick, but hopefully this will pass soon. I will be filling everyone in with all the details... I promise. But for now I just wanted everyone to know! Please keep us in your prayers! We love you all!

Day 1 of Family's Trip to Germany

As most of you know, my family came to visit in April! My parents and sister Amy arrived in Dresden on Sunday, April 15th. We figured they would be hungry so we took them to lunch in Dresden and then headed back to Chemnitz. We let my parents into Karen's apartment to put their suitcases and to get settled. There was a men's meeting going on at the Sullivan's so they also got to meet several of the men from church as soon as they arrived. Our goal was to keep them awake until at least 8:30 or 9:00 p.m. so that they could get a good night's sleep and get over jet lag quickly. Once my parents were done at Karen's we went over to our apartment. Even though my parents have seen the apartment before it is very different since we were not married then and Clint didn't get any of his shipped things until the week my parents visited back in 2004. Amy had never been to Chemnitz so it was exciting to show her where we lived. We tried to keep them awake and occupied until 5:00 when we went to a local gym to play volleyball with a group from church. I couldn't convince my Dad to get up from the recliner however, so he stayed and slept for awhile. :( Oh well, I think my Mom and Amy enjoyed watching us play volleyball and meeting people and talking. I think they had fun. We came back and ate dinner and decided that the next day we would go to Seiffen. It wasn't long after that when everyone was ready to go to bed.

My Nieces

It has been way to long since I have put up pictures of my nieces. It has been even longer since I have actually seen them. :( It has been over a year now since I have been able to hug and kiss the sweet girls. Ashlyn turned 2 in March and Claire is 19 months old now. They have grown so much since I last saw them and have learned many new things as well. I hear that Ashlyn is a little bundle of energy and she is never sitting still. Claire is picking up new words so quickly and at the moment she loves to say "uh oh". Lana told me that she dropped something in the car one day and she continued to say uh oh the rest of the way home. :) I just thought I would share some of the newest pictures I have of them. Aren't they sweet?! When Mom was here she bought Claire the backpack and necklace and apparently she loves carrying it around the house even though she doesn't know how to open it yet. Back in February Jonathan and Lana got to take a trip to Houston to visit Doug and Amy so the girls got to play together a lot and I heard they had fun, but were also wanting all the toys to themselves and didn't want to share with each other. I guess it is about time for that phase. If you can see Ashlyn's car, it says Princess on it and I think that helps define her pretty well. Look at her with her purse, baby and car. She is such a cutie. Claire loves to get inside the baby bed that is at Mom's house. She is still small enough to get in it. For Ashlyn's birthday she got a play kitchen and her grandma made her a little apron so that she could play "kitchen." I love you Ashlyn and Claire and I will get to see you soon... in August!

The Joys of Marriage :)

It all sounds too familiar...

Spring Is Here!

Spring is definitely here in Chemnitz! We have really been enjoying the sun and beautiful weather. I especially love this time of year because of the blooming trees and flowers. It is so amazing here in Germany.

Around Easter time it is a big holiday time in Germany. Karfreitag/Good Friday is a national holiday and no one has to work or go to school. We were able to relax and enjoy the day.

We started out Friday by going to Jacqueline's house. I have been reading in English with her for almost a year now. She and her husband invited Clint and I over for breakfast. We had a really good time eating all the wonderful food and talking with them. After breakfast Jacqueline and I read in the Let's Start Talking Luke book.

Later in the day we went on a walk with the Sullivans and enjoyed coffee time together. The picture is the Sullivans in front of a beautiful blooming tree right next to their house. Even Snickers was smiling! :)

On Sunday we were invited over to the Sullivan's for lunch and it was nice to share a meal on a holiday with our coworkers. We always enjoy the time we have with them. After a short nap (it's a must on Sundays, right?) we met with the Sullivans again along with Stefan and Martin, a friend who came to visit us. We went on a walk (which is a Sunday afternoon tradition with the Sullivans) and had coffee. (Do you see a trend here?) After coffee we headed over to Jacqueline's house again. She and her husband had invited us over for dinner. We made Russian food with them and their friends and played games as well. We had a lot of fun and got a lot of German practice. :)

Ostermontag/Literally translated- Easter Monday is also a national holiday so once again we had a nice relaxing day. We went to work out at the gym with Stefan in the morning and then we went to Stefan's house for lunch. In the evening we grilled with the Sullivans and Cantrells for the first time of the season! It was so yummy, but the weather was actually chilly that day, maybe a little too chilly for grilling outside. But, it tasted good and we had a good time!

So that was our Easter weekend! I hope you all had a great time as well!

Birthdays, Engagements and Baptisms, Oh My!

The past couple of weeks have been busy but wonderful! A lot of great things have happened and I would like to share them with you all.

First of all our friend Janine turned 20! We went to her house for coffee, cake and dinner. We had a great time with her. It always amazes me the time that goes by so quickly. Right now Janine is finishing up school and will be taking her final exams soon. She wants to study at the University in Leipzig and I'm finding it hard to grasp that she will not always be in Chemnitz! I will miss her so much! Happy Belated Birthday Janine!

Then we had a visit from our friend Lydia and her boyfriend Brandon. It was the first time we met Brandon and we had a great time getting to know him. Although it was too short, it was great getting to see her again. Just a few days after they came to Chemnitz, Brandon proposed and they are now engaged! Congratulations Lydia and Brandon! We wish you God's blessings for your life together!

Then last Thursday our friend Stefan was baptized into Christ! He and Clint have been studying together for awhile, but he has been friends with and studied with several people from church for a long time and we are all so thrilled that he has made this decision to become a Christian! Welcome to God's family, Stefan!