April 30th, 2016

Our time in Tuscany inspired us to add beauty to our home. We flew home on a Friday. The next day, we went shopping for plants (both artificial and real), pots, dirt and picture frames. We immediately got to work. The following week, S and I went to a home improvement store and purchased even more plants and pots!

Inside, I framed and hung a couple of pieces of art we picked up on our travels thus far. One was a watercolor painting from Paris and another was a creative print of the Piazza dell’ Anfiteatro Romano, where we stayed in Lucca. In both cases, I met the artists which made the purchases more meaningful.

They are in our kitchen where we see them daily…reminders of sweet times.

We loved seeing all the potted plants around doors, window sills and balconies in Italy. The rustic beauty was enchanting! In a small effort to imitate what we saw, we made arrangements around the outside of our home. We rummaged through our shed and yard and found an old barrel, a door frame, pots, wood, rocks, sticks, a little lantern and cement blocks to work with. If you came over, here’s a glimpse of what you would see…

Already, we are enjoying the facelift all the plants have given to our home. Our landlords came over last weekend and immediately complimented us on the entry area. It was fun to show them we value this home of theirs and ours. We still have a few more ideas but are waiting for the weather to warm up a bit before we implement them.  One of our next projects should be a rain collection system being that we are in the land of plentiful rainfall! Hopefully, this summer, draping vines and a plethora of colors will create a beautiful sanctuary to invite others to enjoy as well. Please know that includes you too!

April 23rd, 2016

On our last full day in Italy, we ventured out of Lucca to travel to the town of Collodi. One of the books I had checked out from the library, Italy with Kids, recommended a day trip to this birthplace of Pinocchio. A charming park dedicated to the precocious, boy puppet was opened there in 1956. I had showed pictures of the place to the boys before we left Germany. Thankfully, it served as a great motivator to get out of our apartment once again and go exploring.

We navigated the maze of streets in Lucca on our way to the train station. I enjoyed taking in the sites of ordinary life as we walked by. A woman made a cup out of her hand for her dog to drink some water from the fountain. A restaurant put out flowers to entice the senses in more ways than one. People walked down the street, holding hands as they talked. These little things remind me of how much people share in common, regardless of culture and location.

We bought roundtrip tickets at the train station for the town of Pescia, about a twenty-minute train ride from Lucca. To pass the time, we ate lunch at a little Italian restaurant nearby. When we ordered, we told our server about catching a train. He understood as we scarfed our meal down when it finally came; taking some of our calzone in a bag before running to catch our train. We made it and praised the boys for running alongside us to make it possible!

On the train, Hubby read the Pinocchio book lil S had received from Grammy Julie for his birthday. It was a great way to set the stage for the Pinocchio Park. Our stop came up faster than we expected. Thanks to hubby’s good listening ears, we got off the train just in time! We took a taxi up the winding hillside to the picturesque town of Collodi. The rural Tuscan countryside is inhabited by farmers, artisans and merchants and may have been the inspiration for Carlo Lorenzini’s story, The Adventures of Pinocchio. Lorenzini lived in Collodi as a child. He later took the pen name Carlo Collodi.

When we arrived in the early afternoon, we walked right up to the ticket window and through the gates of Pinocchio Park. I was enchanted with the scenery. The park does a wonderful job integrating nature and art, including sculptures from famous Italian artists.

The weather was amazing! We warmed up as we moved through more than forty different areas that followed the story of Pinocchio’s adventures. Here are some of our favorites:

The Big Chessboard!

The Shimmy and Venetian Roundabouts…amusement park rides

The Puppet Theatre…the show was in Italian and though we could barely understand what was going on, the boys still laughed out loud!

Monstro, the large whale who swallowed Geppeto…it spouted water from it’s HUGE head. It was prohibited to sit on his massive tongue but we still enjoyed climbing around his teeth.

The Massive Labyrinth…it took a bit for us to figure out how to get out! We discovered Turbo’s grandfather (reference from an earlier post) on one of the outside walls. The boys were sad to leave him there but, without a passport, it was best for him to not leave Italy!

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The Pirate Ship…a ropes course for kids five and older. I think the instructor was shocked when our youngest shouted out, “I’m FIVE!!!!!” He was SO excited! Though I held my breath at times as I watched them do the course, I loved seeing their confidence and determination grow. They both did it three times. They would have spent the rest of the day there if we had let them.

The Pinocchio Park truly spurs on a child’s imagination in a beautiful, artistic and natural setting. Well done. Three Cheers to Collodi!

When we got back to Lucca, we all wanted to ride the walls one more time…so we did!

We finished off our day with a scoop of gelato! Yum!!

Tuscany was all that I dreamed of and so much more. I was sad to leave. Our short week gave us a wonderful taste of this lovely landscape; a rich flavor that continues to linger…like the gelato! Its not just a place, its a mind-set that inspires one to cultivate beauty and live well. What a gift it was to experience it.

Arrivederci!

(Disclaimer: Though traveling with kids is an incredibly worthwhile endeavor, we still experience many patience-trying, teeth-clenching moments. We make cultural faux pas, stick out like sore thumbs at times and are challenged to react well to meltdowns in the middle of quaint, little streets. I often forgot these tough moments as I look back and capture memories here on the blog. Believe me, they are there…I’m just not taking pictures in the midst of them. That’s a good thing because I still get excited to plan another trip!)

April 22nd, 2016…Happy Birthday to our Moms!

Our lovely apartment in Lucca faced the Piazza dell’ Anfiteatro Romano where the ancient Roman amphitheater once stood. Since it was the off-season, the rates were surprisingly reasonable for the amount of space and location. We had our own private bathroom (not always included) and kitchen. We would highly recommend it. It was wonderful to wake up here and start a new day!

On Wednesday, we decided to explore Lucca. After eating breakfast in our apartment, we headed out on foot to find a bicycle rental shop. Marco, the owner of the B&B our apartment was connected to, recommended a specific bike shop with smaller bikes for our boys. On our way, we stopped at the church of San Frediano to look inside.

One of the wonderful features of Lucca is it’s ramparts. Built in the 16th and 17th centuries, they enclose the charming fortress town. On top of the stone walls is a two and half mile park called The Passeggiata delle Mura. The park is made up of a wide path enjoyed by cyclists, walkers, joggers, and skaters. Lawns, playgrounds and gardens are also scattered about. Its bellissimo! After reading about this in our guide books, it was at the top of our list of things to experience with the boys. It turned out to be a highlight of our trip for all of us!

Though the path is wide with borders of grass and trees, there are no fences or guardrails. A good detail to know on the front end and include in the safety talk, especially with two excited boys. Needless to say, we kept a watchful eye for the edge. I may have still ended up with a new grey hair or two!

After completing a loop, we rented a bicycle cart where Mom and Dad peddled and the boys got to enjoy the ride. It seemed like a good idea on the front end but we quickly realized that the bikes were less work. When we finished our second loop, our legs were EXHAUSTED and our tummies were rumbling!

We walked down the Via del Fosso, a street divided down the middle by an open waterway. The boys were starting to unravel from hunger but we managed to distract them by throwing flowers into the canal to follow. Thankfully, we found a little café for lunch and one of the many fountains in Lucca where you can fill up your water bottle.

Our next adventure was climbing up the Torre Guinigi (because we forgot for a moment the workout our legs had on the bicycles). We spotted the tower from a distance. Its easy to distinguish due to a grove of ilex trees that have gown on the top. Its one of the city’s most curious sights. The view from the top is magnificent!

In this next picture, E is pointing to the Piazza dell’ Anfiteatro Romano, the oval shape out in the distance, where our apartment is.

When we got to the bottom, a school group was buying their tickets to make the climb up. We were so glad to be exiting the building! After relaxing a bit in our apartment, we walked out to the Piazza for dinner followed by some gelato…because when you are in Italy, gelato is a must!

As the sun made it’s slow descent, the boys played in the Piazza San Michele chasing pigeons and each other. How they still had energy was beyond us!

Ciao!

April 21st, 2016

For as long as I can remember, I have desired to go to Tuscany. When Hubby and I first got married, I dreamed of celebrating our 10th Anniversary in Italy. I imagined myself wearing a sundress and riding a bike with a basket attached to the front. As our 10th Anniversary approached, our oldest was just shy of nine months and I knew that Tuscany would need to wait. I watched one of my favorite movies, Under the Tuscan Sun, and continued to dream. Over the years, the desire to go to Tuscany never left me.

Back in February, I started researching a discount airline for E’s Spring Break and found incredibly cheap tickets to Pisa, Italy. Shortly after, I checked out a few travel books on Italy from the library. As I was reading through one of them, I realized Pisa is actually in TUSCANY!!!! I couldn’t believe it! I worked on putting together a rough itinerary as I learned more about Pisa and the surrounding areas. We vacillated on taking the train to Florence but eventually decided against it for this trip. Instead, we chose to see the major sites of Pisa and spend a few days in Lucca with a day trip to the Pinocchio Park in Collodi.

On Monday, April 11th, we took a late flight down to Pisa (thus the discount tickets). Italy is on the same time zone we are and our flight was about an hour and a half long.The boys had more energy than either of their parents when we made it to our hotel. We eventually settled in our beds and fell asleep sometime around midnight.

After breakfast on Tuesday morning, we stored our luggage at our hotel and headed out on foot to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of miracles). We took a thirty minute walk through some lovely streets, seeing a couple of sites along the way. Suddenly, we came around a corner and THERE IT WAS…the famous, Leaning Tower. However, from the direction we first approached from, it didn’t appear to be leaning too much.

Once we walked around to the the front, the tilt became more apparent! The construction of the Torre, started in 1174. It was built to be the bell tower of the adjacent Duomo (Cathedral of Pisa). Due to shifting soil that destabilized the tower’s foundation, it begun to lean by the time its builders got to the third story in 1178. We did not pay to walk up the tower because children under eight are not permitted. We’ll save that for another visit some day!

Instead, we toured the Baptistery and the Duomo which also lean but not as significantly as the Torre. The Baptistery is the largest one in Italy. We took the stairs up to the top level and enjoyed the view.

The Baptistery is known for its AMAZING Acoustics. I read in a guide book to ask a guard to sing when you go. When I inquired about this, I was told there would be a demonstration shortly. We took a tour of the Cathedral and then returned in time to hear this…

Just outside the grounds of the Piazza dei Miracoli, we found a wonderful food stand. We got our food to go and enjoyed a picnic lunch on the grass, near the Baptistery. The boys entertained themselves chasing pigeons while we sat back and enjoyed the views.

Before leaving the grounds, we flexed our muscles and did what we could to help in the preservation of one of Italy’s most famous landmarks. We tried a couple of different angles and trust me, we weren’t the only ones. (Cue the music… “Lean on me when you’re not strong and I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry on…“)

We caught a bus back, grabbed our bags from our hotel and walked to the train station. We bought tickets to Lucca, boarded our train and settled in long enough for lil S to catch a nap in his Daddy’s arms. He was refreshed and ready to go again when we arrived.

Lucca is considered a “gem” and we certainly found this to be true! It is surrounded by a 16th-Century, stone wall with gates that serve as ports of entry. We entered through St. Peter’s Gate, one of the more elaborate ones, and proceeded to walk through the maze of streets to the lovely apartment hubby found us in the Piazza dell’ Anfiteatro.

We ate pizza for dinner and enjoyed our first taste of gelato for dessert. Gelato is Italian ice cream. A small amount carries the riches of flavors. I could write an ode to this delicious creation. Its truly a party for your taste buds!

Since our apartment came with a small kitchen, I asked our waitress for directions to a market. I got the first few turns correct before leading us in the wrong direction. We wondered down quaint, narrow streets for awhile. Just when we were ready to call it a night, I looked down and saw this sign. I couldn’t believe it! THANK YOU Jesus! We picked up a few items for breakfast and headed back.

Before I closed the shades to our room, I took in the view out the window. Our first day in Italy and already, my heart was full. Bellissimo!

April 19th, 2016

A couple of Sundays ago, I saw an image in a home video that has replayed itself in my mind many times since. Even now, I can still clearly remember it. A little boy, a couple of years younger than our lil S, was wearing an orange life vest. He was laying against his mom. She was also wearing an orange vest. Her arms were firmly grasped around him. They were laying low in a small boat crammed together with others. Ocean waves were all around them.

We were in a German church, listening to a man share his story as we watched his video clips. He was explaining the images we saw on a large screen at the front of the sanctuary. The room was full of people whose ages spanned the decades; their nationalities representing several countries. Our church had joined this congregation for a worship service and a meal cooked for 150 people. It was quite the experience.

The service started with our worship team leading the singing in English. The songs were projected on the wall with the German translation below. Then, the German pastor gave the sermon. Thankfully, our pastor translated for us through the ear pieces we shared. We listened to the story of Mary and Joseph fleeing with the baby Jesus to Egypt. They left in time to escape the massacre of all male children two years old and under ordered by King Herod. Jesus’ parents fled the violence in their home country to seek refuge in another. The pastor pointed out that they were refugees. This was a new thought for me. I’ve read the Bible from cover to cover but have never reflected on this time period in the life of Mary, Joseph and Jesus.

After the sermon and a time of prayer, the man was invited to the front. He too was a refugee. The woman and the boy with the orange life vest? Refugees. They had escaped together, in a boat, with other family members. The man talked of the significance of the songs we sang. One of the songs was Oceans (Where Feet May Fail). He shared how the words of this song connected to his story.  Here are the lyrics…

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

Oh, Jesus, you’re my God!

I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

As I listened and took in the images, I was reminded of our shared humanity.

Lord, have mercy on them…have mercy on us.

April 10th, 2016

Our youngest loves holding up all five fingers on one hand as he proclaims he is now FIVE YEARS OLD!! Its a big deal in his neck of the woods. He cleverly fit this into his conversation with our pastor this morning. “I’m five years old. How old are you?”

We had fun celebrating our lil guy this past Thursday. He knew he had received gifts and cards in the mail but was (somewhat) patiently waiting to open them. Thankfully, the wait was over! He started off the morning opening presents in bed. Thank you to all the Grandparents for loving on your youngest grandson and helping make his Birthday so fun!

We were a bit late getting big brother to school but still managed to make it before the bell! Playing with toys seemed much more exciting than getting ready for school. Understandable! We fit more playtime in once we got back to the house.

Mid-morning, we walked over to our favorite coffee house where S announced his Birthday. Within minutes he was handed a yummy, edible gift to enjoy!

Gotta love spontaneous kisses from a newly minted five year old! (heart-melting…)

Our friends, Mrs. Amy and her son contacted us and asked if they could stop by. We met up with them at the house. They had a birthday gift for the Birthday Boy! I loved their thoughtfulness…it meant a lot! Afterwards, we joined Hubby for lunch. S ADORES his Daddy and considers it a HUGE treat to get to have lunch with him!

The park was the next destination of choice for our little guy so off we went to play.

Before we knew it, we needed to head back to E’s school to pick him up. Shortly after, we picked up Daddy and drove to an indoor kid’s Jump House. We had gone there for E’s Birthday and S had so much fun that he wanted to return. Sure! The boys played HARD and so did their parents! We ate dinner there and were the last people to leave at closing. Thankfully, E’s Spring Break started the next day so we didn’t feel the pressure of bedtime.

Time for cake! We sang Happy Birthday to this incredible blessing of ours and watched him make his wish before blowing out his candles. God truly blessed us in sharing this boy of His with us. S continues to be joy-filled, inquisitive, quite the little singer and dancer, loving, fun and rather profound at times when he prays. He has been a true gift to our family. Our little S (who is not so little anymore) is one of the dearest hopes of my heart that God fulfilled in the very best way! We are so grateful!!!!!

Just a quick FYI…

We are on Spring Break this week so things will be pretty quiet here on the blog while we go and play. I look forward to reconnecting once we are back.

hugs, me

April 7th, 2016

A new favorite pastime here at our house is digging. With the plentiful moisture we receive, its pretty easy to break ground and find crawling critters. Our boys are in dirt heaven!

Our yard was what initially drew us to this house and motivated us to make a crazy yet good decision to switch our permanent housing last minute (https://www.germanyjournals.com/?p=283.) With the arrival of Spring comes the start  of yard maintenance. We were so grateful when hubby pulled out the lawnmower from the shed this past Monday and it started up with only a few pulls of the chord. He was racing against the rain clouds that hung low in the sky and finished with only a bit of drizzling. While Daddy mowed, E & S started digging. When I came out to check on the three of them, this is how I found the boys…

Hubby did a great job on the yard! The grass is tamed for at least the next week or so. With the amount of rain we get here, I’m not sure how often we’ll need to mow.

As we walked around the yard, brainstorming planting projects, we came across a little snail in a window box. It immediately reminded us of the movie Turbo; a story about a garden snail that dreams of racing in the Indianapolis 500. Fantastic movie! ANYWAY…

Hubby brought the snail to the boys and they called him Turbo right from the start! It was a new experience for them to hold a snail. We weren’t completely sure if the little guy was alive but then he started crawling around and is surprisingly fast…he’s living up to his name already!

We found a better “temporary” home for him (a takeout container with a lid) that allowed E to take the snails and some worms to school the next day to show his teacher and classmates. His class is studying worms and plants right now allowing E’s visitors to receive a hearty welcome.

Turbo returned home on Tuesday afternoon and was the center of the boys attention. They dug some more, had worm races in the rain and let their hands get covered with snail slime. They were captivated!

I suggested the idea of setting Turbo free in the yard to find his family but they aren’t ready to part ways with him just yet.

It is Wednesday afternoon as I write this post and the boys are out digging in the backyard again to their heart’s content. I can sit at the kitchen table and keep an eye on them out the back door. Once we figure out where we want to plant a garden, we’ll get them working to clear the land and perhaps find Turbo’s family.

April 6th, 2016

We went to church on Easter Sunday to celebrate with faces that are slowly becoming familiar to us. Though we only know a handful of names, its a welcoming place and we are grateful to have found an English-speaking church. We have attended five times now and are planning on settling in and trying to get involved. To those of you who have prayed for us to find a church, thank you! 

When we were visiting churches, we went to this one three different times before we heard the pastor speak. I’m glad we kept going back because we both really like the teaching style of the pastor. The worship is simple yet beautiful, the congregation is small yet diverse and the teaching is deep and challenging. There is a focus on reaching out into the community that we appreciate. We sit at long tables which adds a good dynamic of facing people when you sit down, naturally pushing us out of our comfort zone. The pastor ends the service with an invitation for us all to put out our hands and receive the blessing. The first time I heard him do this, it tugged at my heart. I thought of our church family back home doing the same thing. Whispers came from my lips as I thanked God for this similarity and sweet reminder of the commonalities we have in the Body of Christ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 4th, 2016

E has been fascinated with airplanes and all things space for as long as I can remember. I think one of his first words was actually “airplane!” He loves to play with the gazillion airplanes we have in our house, flying them close to his face as if he is in the cockpit. He shares his aeronautical interest with my Dad who was a pilot. S, on the other hand, recently told me he wants to be a Paleontologist. I was amazed that he could even pronounce the word, much less, consider this as a future job option! Who knows where these current interest will take our boys. For now, we enjoy coming alongside them and finding ways to encourage their interest in fun ways. While my parents were here, we visited two new places that did just that.

The first was the Technic Museum Speyer. The museum’s website drew us in with this description…

“wander around inside an original jumbo jet, as well as inspect the inner workings of a submarine and a sea rescue cruiser. In the halls you will find the largest space flight exhibition in Europe, offering the Russian space shuttle BURAN, an original Moonstone, space suits, a Soyuz landing capsule, as well as locomotives, vintage cars, fire trucks, motorcycles and thousands of other exhibits. 

Museums can be hit and miss with our boys but this one sounded perfect. We piled into two cars and drove about forty five minutes to the city of Speyer. This unique museum was quite amazing! We climbed into airplanes and submarines, went down a super fast slide, rode in bumper cars (the boys), ate at the cafeteria and enjoyed walking inside and outside to see the different exhibits.

Hubby and S were definitely the most adventurous going down the tube slide several times.

Can you see the slide in this picture of the airplanes with Mom and I? Its that twisting silver tube! We walked up several flights of stairs to walk through the airplanes and then had the option to take the slide down or walk. I only went down once and screamed most of the way down. Hubby took a short video on one of his solo trips down.

After lunch we checked out another exhibit hall. Dad pointed out the car he would like me to buy him someday!

The boys LOVED racing and bumping into each other!

My Mom and I sat outside this submarine and chatted while all the boys went exploring through it.

S picked this flower for his Dear and then another for me…LOVE!

I think my parents would be really cute riding in this motorcycle and sidecar =)

We left the museum knowing that we didn’t see it all. It would be fun to return someday!

The following week, we went to a place that many refer to as “The Dinosaur Park” because of the eighty plus life-size dinosaur statues found amongst the grounds. It just reopened for the season and I can see us going there ALOT! There’s fun playgrounds, sandpits, a small stream that would be great to play in come summer, mini-golf, restaurants, a beer garden, creative water structures, a musical stepping pad, more crazy slides and an amazing Lego exhibit!

Here are some picture from Opening Day with my parents…

S loved this water area and could have spent hours here if we hadn’t eventually moved him along

The Lego exhibit had replica’s of the Eiffel Tower, The ICE train we took to Paris alongside this popular US site. Can you name it?

We liked the park so much that I bought a season pass for our family on our way out! I love that my parents enjoy getting out and exploring their surroundings. I think I get my desires to plan family outings from my Mom. She did the same thing when I was growing up!  =)

This past Sunday, our family returned. We pass the park to and from church so we thought it would be a nice stop on our way home. E thanked us profusely as we drove up because he had heard so many great things about the place from his little brother. He was not disappointed!

The boys especially enjoyed this swing they called “the onion.” You climb in from the bottom and it has a lip inside that you can sit on. The Germans have a wonderful sense of play!

I’ll leave you with this little musical interlude from our oldest…

April 3, 2016

Its April! Though we have still haven’t seen the sun as much as I would like, we are starting to see more signs of Spring here! Daylight Savings  happened a week ago, on Easter Sunday, extending daylight into the early evening now. Thankfully, we have rolladens (rolling shades on the outside of our windows) to darken our home and assist in bedtime. Birds are singing in the mornings, flowers are blooming and water fountains have been turned on. Signs of new beginnings are refreshing after this damp and cold winter. Its still raining but I’m holding onto these little signs of Spring while I wear my rain jacket!

As I walk through our village now, I am reminded of my parents’ visit. They arrived the day after Andy left and lived here for ten days; walking the streets, brushing up on their German, visiting “our” coffee shop, and sitting in our living room. This was not my parents’s first time coming to Germany. My parents, sister and I lived here when I was young. I turned three years old shortly after we first arrived. We stayed for three years, splitting our time between the city of Mainz and a small village called Schwäbisch Gmünd. I liked hearing their perspectives and stories as they reflected on their own experiences from those days while making new memories with us.

Its been a tradition of ours to spend my Birthday together and I can only think of one or two years that we have been apart. This year marked 42 years of Birthday celebrations! This is by far the greatest distance they have traveled to be together and I see both their love and commitment to make it happen. Thanks Mom and Dad!

We showed my parents some of our favorite places and then explored a couple of new ones with them which I’ll write about in the next blog post. S definitely scored with the extra time he got with his Dear and Pop Pop. He quickly got into the habit of introducing his grandparents when they walked into familiar surroundings like the coffee shop or our library. E was still in school (to his utter displeasure) and hubby worked most days so we still had the reality of living within the structure of homework, bedtimes and work. However, when we have guests, “routines” are very relative. We did plan ahead for E to miss a day of school and he got Good Friday off which helped. Hubby coordinated his schedule as well, joining us on the days E had off. Here is a instant replay in pictures…

Dear and Pop Pop are HERE!!

S and I took Dear and Pop Pop on a walk through the Nature Path!

We took the train and bus downtown on Saturday. Dad struck up a conversation with a young man on the train and passed on some sage career advice. We walked through the Farmers Market, did a little Birthday shopping and enjoyed a good lunch! Mom and Dad bought me a travel backpack that I’m excited to put to good use on our upcoming Spring Break trip.

Sunday Brunch at our favorite coffee shop. We visited the Easter Market in our village that afternoon. It was very small but the boys still found a fun booth.

We visited the historical center and market square in Mainz, the city we lived in when we were here back in the 70’s.  We walked through St. Martin’s Cathedral, taking in the sacred beauty of this 1,000 year Roman Catholic cathedral. A Farmers Market was being held in the square that Tuesday, complete with hens, Spring flowers and food vendors. I often take pictures of my parents holding hands as they walk together. Now I have one here in Germany.

Scattered about were simple yet loving moments that I hope settle deep in the hearts of our boys. Not so much because of something we did, but more so because of the love their grandparents have for them.

And then…just like that…ten days were done. We said our goodbyes and as always, my heart ached. I know I am blessed having these two as my Mom and Dad. I’m glad they came…we all are. =)