The snow finds us

Last week we decided that we needed to have some snow this winter. Never mind that we're visiting Canada in January in the snowiest snowful winter ever. So with our neighbours we drove a few hours north and went schlittenfahren. Fun time had by all. Except the kids. We should have maybe more paid attention to the fact that ALL the families returning to their cars included multiple children bawling their eyes out. I made a mental note not to stay THAT long, and set forth.
Every trip to the bottom of the hill was met with, "Noch mal! Do it again!" Lia had a blast. We didn't stay that long, we really didn't. And yet, all 4 kids were crying as we returned to our cars. We had a lovely time at a bakery to warm up, then drove 3 hours in a snowstorm to get home again. Yes, the snowstorm lasted for the duration of our drive. Yes, that means the snow came with us. First time since 1997, there is snow in the Ruhrgebiet.

Here are some shots of our adventure.

Kaboom!

New Year's Eve/Silvester 2009 was celebrated with a bang. We went to a friend's house for
Raclette - YUMMY! - and drove home at 12:45, despite warnings to wait a while. We should have waited, perhaps. It was ... how do I put this ... CRAZY! After enjoying a full 45 minutes of do-it-yourself fireworks surrounding us, there were still lots of explosions around our vehicle. And under our vehicle. I drove, and it was freaky.
In the morning, we took a walk to survey the damage...





























Marc found an unexploded package and was VERY excited. Even though Silvester was over, he lit it up on our balcony...









































So, Kaboom! I mean, Happy New Year! Also, Frohes Neues Jahr!

Joyeux Noel!

On the 23rd, just one day after 3 trips to the doctor in one day (and several antibiotic prescriptions), we drove to Paris. I was a little worried about the drive since lately, Lia had been asking, "Are we there yet?" after a five minute drive to church or the grocery store. Somehow, we managed. We checked into our hotel and called Marc's cousin. He and his girlfriend came over and cooked us dinner in our little kitchenette! Marc's grandparents who were also staying in the hotel, came by for a little visit as well. Remarkably, the girls both went to sleep in the same room, and didn't wake up even with all the noise and excitement in the next room.

The next day we went on a little walk around the hotel, enjoying La Bastille and Le Jardin des Plantes which had a few animals (miniature Koala bears and kangaroos). Lia enjoyed chasing pigeons and avoiding Mommy's camera.















































I found a stand selling crepes right by the playground - happy day! - and we chased our ham and cheese crepe down with some real Italian pizza in our hotel room. Naps were followed by a Mass at a nearby cathedral. The kids did well for the first hour, but we left a little early since they were literally running circles around us. That evening we had réveillon* - I like this tradition very much! An exciting thing was that at the mass, Bonpa ran into his cousin whom he had not expected to see, and invited her to join us. So I met another member of the French extended family.

*In France and some other French-speaking places, including Quebec, Northern Ontario and parts of the U.S., réveillon is a long dinner and possibly party, held on the evenings preceding Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The name of this dinner is based on the word réveil (meaning "waking"), because participation involves staying awake until midnight and beyond. The food consumed at réveillons is generally of an exceptional or luxury nature. For instance, appetizers may include lobster, oysters, escargots or foie gras, etc. Quality wine is usually consumed at such dinners, often with champagne or similar sparkling wines as a conclusion. (from Wikipedia)

Marc's aunt and cousin had prepared all of these amazing hors dòeuvres (the photo shows only a portion of the food presented), including foie gras, champagne, wine, chocolates and many other delicious treats. We did what we could.

The next day was Christmas day! The cousins and grandparents came to our room to open gifts. Kaia took a little while to warm up to Bonpa, and treated him with "The Look", but eventually gave in to a smile...

After a hurried gift opening, we rushed off to the Seine for our lunch cruise. We were quite early, so Lia and I went on a little adventure to see the tower. Very exciting for Lia - she knew about la tour Eiffel, but unfortunately, only from watching Dora! %Where are we going? Tower, mountain, winter palace! We did it! We saved Friendship Day!%

Oh, Dora! Is there anyone you cannot help?

Lia and I also chased pigeons.

At last we were seated, the boat started moving, and we were served our amuse bouches. Lia was not so sure what she thought about French cuisine. We didn't tell her what escargots are, but still, she passed. Thankfully, there was a slice of meat on top, and that went down without question.

The meal was over 4 hours long, and the kids did suprisingly well. Lia found a Venezuelan friend at a nearby table. They were speaking German and Spanish to each other until they realized they both spoke English, and things went better from there. Besides, they were both able to communicate without words through the magic that is dance.

The food was amazing, the scenery superb and the company delightful - what more could you ask for?

After the cruise, we said some goodbyes, and went with the cousins to see another cousin who is a firefighter in Paris. We hung out, heard some stories, and as we were saying goodbye, he gave his patch "Sapeurs Pompiers de Paris" to Kaia - ripped it right off his jacket (it was velcroed, but still, very cool!)

Then we had Reveillons part Deux (still lots of food leftover afterwards!), and we made a gingerbread house (the Canadian contribution)! All in all, a wonderful time! Joyeux Noel!

Getting ready for Christmas/Weihnachtstag/Noel

Despite trying to fit in with German culture and celebrating new holidays and practices (St. Martin's Day, St. Niklaus Day, etc), we broke with German tradition and set up our tree ahead of the 24th. Weihnachtsbaum were being sold from the beginning of December, but they aren't usually decorated until the 24th. We decided we couldn't wait. We put on our Bruce Cockburn Christmas album (best Christmas album ever, by the way), and decorated our Tannenbaum with ornaments brought from Canada and a few purchased here. Kaia enjoyed helping, handing me ornaments as carefully as she could. Lia enjoyed hearing stories of where each ornament came from, and when Granny happened to call in the middle of decorating, she was treated to a spontaneous and heartfelt, "Thank you for the beautiful ornaments, Granny!!"



Above is a picture of part of our new nativity scene. I had seen it in a store in Köln, and then at one of the booths at the local Christmas market. We visited it every time we went to the market, and Marc and I had several "discussions" about purchasing it. I was for, he was not...
One evening Marc and I arranged for a baby sittter, and went to the market by ourselves to get some Christmas presents and have an evening out. We went to see the creche, but it was gone! I was very sad, since I had this little hope that maybe Marc would come around. I looked so crestfallen that Marc very quickly whispered in my ear that he had bought it! The next morning he organized a treasure hunt complete with clues for Lia to find each piece. Then we read the Christmas story from Matthew and arranged it carefully on the piano. This will be a family tradition for many years to come. I can just imagine the treasure hunt getting more and more elaborate every tear.

Also keeping with tradition, I had the opportunity to sing this Christmas season. At our neighbours' church, I sang a couple of my songs which fit very nicely into the 3rd Sunday of advent service (Holy and Sea to Sea). This is a picture of our last-minute band playing a few traditional German carols: Süßer die Glocken nie klingen and Tochter Zion, freue dich. Our neighbours are on accordion and guitar with their little daughter looking on. I also sang O Come, O Come Emmanuel at the church we attend, and was very well received.















I've already written about the Christmas markets and how fun they are. We decided our last visit to a Weihnachtsmarkt would be to Dortmund where they have the world's largest Christmas tree. It was really big (constructed of many smaller trees), but probably more impressive at night, lit up and viewed through a haze of Gluhwein.

Here are a few more fun sights from the Dortmund market - a yummy looking garbage can...and a ketchup cow. Mmm...

Merry Christmas Rose!

So we've been talking about sponsoring a Sudanese orphan who is the same age as our kids, so that they can sort of "grow-up" in parallel. We'd really like our kids to gain an awareness of poverty, and develop a relationship with the poor in some way. (it shouldn't be an "us and them" sort of idea. and we shouldn't simply pity the poor - it's just another way of distancing ourselves. We should participate in lives of people in need (it goes both ways when you have a relationship). Obviously, a sponsorship is a fairly small thing from this side, but it will make a huge difference for the sponsored child (and it seems more real, now that I've seen sponsorship results in person).
Anyway, I contacted Christian Horizons, who organizes orphan sponsorships at St. Bartholomew's orphanage in Kajo Keji, South Sudan. (Lahash International is also involved here). They came back with a little 1-year old who needs sponsorship: Rose!
It turns out that I know her! She is the only little kid whose name I actually learned when I visited St. Bartholomew's! I held her and have tonnes of photos with her - what a great coincidence! It's just an extra feeling of connection that I have to South Sudan now...

Here are some photos...