October 31st, 2016
At the beginning of October, my parents spent a week living life in our little village. This was their second visit in about seven months and it was fun to see their familiarity with the area this time around. Before coming to us, they had cruised the Rhine River for two weeks, starting in Amsterdam and ending in Budapest. Postcards arrived in our German mailbox for the boys from Dear and Pop Pop’s travels, sharing fun stories of their adventures. My Mom is always faithful at writing! When my parents arrived, their stories really came alive with the addition of pictures and fun travel souvenirs.
The crazy part about all of this was how they signed up for this cruise before we even knew we would be moving to Germany. What a gift it was to get to see them afterwards because we LIVE in Europe…which is still somewhat surreal to me. I wonder when the novelty of it all disappears? I’m grateful my parents added another week to their already full travel agenda to hang out with us. Though we stayed local, since the boys were in school, the days still seemed to slip through our fingers. Here are a few of the moments we shared that I captured in pictures…
Walking downtown after church on Sunday…Dear gave the boys coins to throw into the fountain to make their wishes alongside her. This tradition has become ours as well!
Lunch Dates with the boys at their school…E and S LOVED getting to sit with their Dear & Pop Pop at their lunch tables! I was quite impressed how my parents hung out for an hour on those hard cafeteria benches!
After-school treats at our favorite coffee-house…
A fun morning out with just me and my parents…I needed to run an errand and they graciously chauffeured me so Danny could have the car. We did some shopping (they spoiled me with the perfect jacket vest and a couple of lovely scarves…Thanks Mom and Dad!), walked around downtown and simply enjoyed the time together before we headed to the boys’ school to pick them up.
Dear and Pop Pop gave the boys pretzels and chocolate kitties…a fun treat! I enjoyed watching my parents love on the boys.
Mom did a fabulous job engaging them with her creative games. It was like they were in “Dear Camp!”
Our last evening, we ate an early dinner together at the Döner restaurant in the village before saying our goodbyes. We were all flying out the next morning but in different directions. Dear & Pop headed home and we were on our way to Rome.
My heart always aches when its time to say goodbye. It’s never easy because I see and know the incredible love of my parents. I’ve come to value it more deeply as I walk through parenthood.
Thanks for coming Dear & Pop Pop! Sei ganz lieb umarmt! (be hugged with lots of love)
