Catching Up

You can tell when things get busy here at the Ingram household.  I don't update my blog for months on end and my emails get progressively shorter.  All in all, our first year (almost) in Germany has been one of the best years of our lives together, as a family.  We have traveled more, and just had so much fun.  We started our time here on March 29th, 2008.  A lady hit us while we were looking for a house to rent.  We got a rental car, found a house, got our car fixed...all in the first 2 weeks in Germany.  It snowed on Easter Sunday.  The kids thought it was the best thing ever.  SNOW SNOW SNOW!!!  

Our first trip was our first full weekend here.  to the medieval city of Rothemburg, surrounded by a wall, with beautiful gardens.  Our next trip was 2 weeks later, to Cochem Castle, which is our "castle of choice" so far.  It's close and it's beautiful.  Then, for our 13th wedding anniversary, Joe surprised us with a trip to Paris, France.  We spent 4 days "backpacking" across the city.  The kids loved it and we came home tired beyond imagination, but thoroughly impressed with certain parts.  I have to say that I have no desire to go back to Paris, and that is a common sentiment among other Americans I've met.  I'd say 80% of the people I've spoken with have said the same thing I said, "Been there, done that, don't need to do it again."  

We spent the summer with our niece, Jana.  We took her and Joe's sister, Cathy, to Garmisch, where we got rained out of camping but were still able to see the beautiful German Alps, Neuschwanstein Castle, and take a horse carriage ride.  We played in the sprinklers, went swimming, played Ultimate Frisbee with our church family, and threw Jana a big birthday bash before she left.  2 weeks after they left, Mamaw and Pop (Joe's Mom and step-Dad) came.  We took them to Garmisch as well, then to the Air Force Ball, and sent them home exhausted. Partying requires energy!  :)

After they left we took a 3 month break from traveling.  I had begun our home school endeavor and wanted to just sit for a while.  School has gone really well this year.  Our only "problem" is that we can't seem to find a German tutor that will fit into our schedule.  (I teach piano Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons from noon-4 and I don't schedule anything after that because that's our family time.)  We're still doing okay with German, though.  Rossetta Stone is a great program if you want to learn a language.  It just doesn't teach the "why" behind the grammar.

The kids put on a "recital" with their friends.  Caylea played a song, Chloe played a song, then Caylea accompanied her friend while the friend played the flute.  It was a great recital.  Unfortunately, I tuned the guitar and, not being a guitar player, tuned one string incorrectly.  After the recital the young man approached me and said, "Mrs. Tori, I think you tuned my guitar wrong."  Well, I did.  I fixed it and we all sat down as he played his song again, with appropriate tuning.  :)

We spent Christmas here, at home, with our own tree, eating by ourselves.  It was GREAT.  Don't get me wrong, we LOVE being with family during the holidays, but this was the first Christmas we've had, just the 5 of us, in 10 years.  (Last one was in Korea, when Chloe was 9 months old.)  It's not about the gifts, it's about the family time.  We took a hike in the rain. That's what rain-suits are for!  

In January 2009 we went to Austria to go skiing. By this time it had already snowed several times here at home, giving us 2-4 inches to play in.  In Austria, we had ice, but the third day it snowed around 5 inches.  The kids and I were in ski school, pronounced "she shool" in German, and we had a blast.  My British classmates told me, "Torra (that's what they all called me), your falls are spectacular!"  (Imagine that being said in a British accent and you'll laugh too.) By Thursday we were all skiing quite well, and on Friday we went, as a family, the 5 Ingrams, to Steinplatte and skied down the mountain together like ducks in a row.  I'll always cherish that moment.  I was terrified.  I was the "fearless leader," with Josh and the girls right behind me and Joe bringing up the rear.  Josh hadn't been on the "big" mountain yet, but he did great.  I was mostly concerned because experienced skiers will take a blue line as fast as they can, with no regard to us beginners who can't swerve out of the way.  I just didn't want my kids getting run over.  They had a blast, though, and the girls thought I went way too slow.  Kids these days....

We went through Salzburg on the way home from Austria.  I don't know how to spell it, but it looks very different from the movie because it was covered in snow, not flowers.  

It has continued to snow off and on to the point that, hold your breath now, my kids are tired of it!  they are ready for sunshine and roses, as am I!!!

On Valentine's Day, we celebrated Josh's 8th birthday.  He wanted to go bowling, so we did.  We ate cake and he got lots of Legos and more college $.  He didn't want any singing.  Believe it or not, as much as he looks like me, he did NOT get my personality (yet).  My mom says I started out pretty shy too.  I don't know at what age that reversed, but I'm definitely not shy now. Chloe is most like me in that area.  In 2 weeks we celebrate her 10th birthday.  I'll have 2 kids in double digits.  What to do, what to do...Caylea's 13th is in April and that's when things get really busy.  Joe has put in for a new job and, regardless of whether he gets it or not, he'll be really busy that month.  We have friends coming in from the States in April, more family in June and July, and 2009 is looking to be just as much of a whirlwind as 2008.  We replaced "gymnastics" time with quality AND quantity "Family" time...bike rides, hikes, and playing Carcassonne (which you can order at Amazon.com with English instructions...it is our favorite game EVER, much like Settlers but with a little more puzzle-ness.)   

All in all, I can say that God is good.  He knows just what we need when we need it, and He makes sure that those things happen in spite of our ability to mess things up.  We look forward to the visits that we are sure are going to happen.  We have plenty of room, plenty of love, and plenty of food.  :)