Williams Family in Germany

14 people were in my house for 6 days. Now 10 of them are gone and it's so quiet! After having my Mom, Dad, brother, sister-in-law, their 3 children, my husband's sister and daughter...all here, I can honestly say that God answers prayer. He knows what He's doing, when and where, and everything is in His timing. We took a train ride, all wearing tie-dyed shirts. It was so much fun. I spoke with a 3 year old German girl who told her Daddy, "Ich mochte nicht so gross famili!" In English, "I don't want a family that big!" My German is getting better. We found a tutor who will start with us in August and teach us to do more than order food and get from A to Z and entertain 3 year olds on trains. I enjoy German. It's similar to Spanish, so not too hard. The hardest part is getting the German natives to slow down for me! I am from Texas, after all! I don't even speak English quickly! :)

My niece, Raychel, caught 64 new snails for Chloe's collection. We're beginning to be over-run with snails. Oh, but the lessons you learn when watching them! One, they are always grateful for food, no matter how old it is. Two, they aren't picky about their mates. Three, they are much faster than you would think a snail could be. Four, each shell has its own unique design and color, much like a snow-flake. Five, they smell really bad and produce lots of slime when in mass quantities. How people eat them, I will never know.

My children loved having their cousins here. They all had such a good time together and bawled when parting. 6 days was just enough for them to remember how much they like each other, but not long enough for them to remember how they can get on each other's nerves. :) We let them eat schnitzel. They liked it. Who doesn't? We also played "Guesstures." If you've never seen a grown man act like a mermaid, you're missing out on life. I haven't laughed that hard in ages. Mom, your "Hula" dancer that wasn't even part of the game was my favorite part of the week. I will never forget that or Ken's litter box. I'm giggling as I type. I'd rather forget Dad's contribution to "Taboo." Wow. That's all I have to say.

Apparently my nieces heard the comments on my husband's rapidly thinning hair and decided to do a transplant. They preceded to rip his arm hairs out, one by one, with plastic tweezers. Unfortunately the end result was simply another bald spot...on his arm. The transplant was unsuccessful.

Apparently you only get a T-bone steak if you're married to Joe. My Dad was happy with his ribeye. There are some things that shouldn't be posted, but I'm hoping that the mention of them to those of you who were present will help you remember some of the best laughs we've had as a family.

This last week was truly one of the best ever. I am so glad they all came. I look forward to the day when we live close enough to laugh together more often. A cheerful heart is, indeed, good medicine!