Hold on tight, cuz I'm finishing up the last week in Europe

I'm tired of dragging this out, so I'm going to rely heavily on the slide-shows for the details of the rest of our European Adventures...

Here we go!

December 27, Saturday (Gideon's monthabirthday)

Gideon and Rachel stayed at home to play with Grandma for the day.

While they were having fun back in Berlin, Brent, Kelli, Simon, JR, Naomi, and I went to Dresden.

December 28, Sunday (my 29th birthday)

Due to the sickness that was going around, Debby stayed home to take care of Kelli. Since Simon stays with Kelli, he stayed home too. But the rest of us headed to church. (It was in German.) JR and I were so proud of the way that Gideon behaved. He didn't understand a word spoken, but bowed his head for the prayers and sat still. While there we got to meet Brent and Kelli's friends that we've been hearing about for the past few years. It was nice to finally be able to meet them.

After services, Brent took Rachel and Gideon back to the house and JR and I ventured out on our own.

I had a killer headache for several hours, but that was the only draw-back to the whole day. Here's our slide-show to give you an example of where all we went.



December 30, Monday

Well, since we were heading out the next day, the kids and ladies stayed at the house and did laundry and packed, while the guys headed to German History Museum and several other places.

Here's the pictures taken while we were at home with the kids:


And here's the slide-show of what the guys saw. (Sorry we aren't providing much information about the pictures.)


December 31, Tuesday (with a some pictures from the night before)

Heading home...
We left wicked early in the morning. Kelli dropped us off at the airport and we were away.

I don't remember much about the first flight due to how early it was. But we had a fairly fine time in the Amsterdam airport again. We finally got a luggage trolley for keeping up with all our coats and bags, which was handy. Naomi and Gideon got to walk around a lot... and then it was time to fly back to the states.

Our set-up on the plane coming home wasn't quite as nice as it was going, but we did end up with 2 extra seats that really helped out with trading off kid duties and allowing all the adults to get SOME rest.

There were so many kids on our flight. But our two literally were the best behaved. They make us so proud. The 2 1/2 year old boy flying right behind Gideon cried non-stop for the last 30 min. of the flight because the pilot turned off his movie for landing. The father looked across the aisle at me and said, "Flying with a 2 1/2 yr. old..." I really wanted to say, cheerfully, "Oh, my son is 2 1/2 too!" But I didn't.

The flight attendants talked to us about how good our kids were. :)

When we were going through customs in Atlanta, the officer needed to see Gideon's face to compare with his passport. And without being prompted, G walked back a few paces, posed, and said, "Cheese!" (I guess he finally got the hang of it.)

Here are the shots from coming home.


And if you are still reading this post... congratulations to you. If you kept up with all of our Christmas travels, then you have now viewed more than 500 of the 1403 pictures that we took between our 3 cameras. (I kid you not, people.)

If you missed any of our travels, check out the "European Christmas 2008". Start with the last post and work your way back up.

(Now my posts can be about 2009!)
Whew!
-Daisha

December 26

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Yes, Debby got us all matching p.j.s. We were so cute. (Ok, so Brent and JR looked like dorks when they were side-by-side...) :)

Enjoy!

Leading up to Christmas

Here is a slide-show of pictures taken while we were just hanging out together and being family. (December 22-24)
Enjoy!

"Official" Photo Shoot of the Grandkids

December 24:

Since this trip was the first opportunity for all 4 grandchildren to be in one place at the same time, we decided to make sure that we got some nice pictures. However, Berlin doesn't have the local JCPenney photo places to make life easy. So we opted to do it ourselves.

Debby got the kids beautiful coordinating outfits that they all looked great in. We dressed them up and headed to a mall that Kelli heard was decorated beautifully.

And wouldn't you know it? MY kids, the ones that are usually behaving, LOSE IT. I mean, both of them, crying their eyes out, while Rachel SITS STILL AND SMILES. Not only is it weird for my kids to lose it, but it's weird for Rachel to sit still and smile while LOOKING at the camera. Well... it was an ordeal. I'll let the slide-show tell the tale.

Scotland and Amsterdam

December 19, Friday:

JR and I said good-bye to the kids, and Kelli dropped us off at the airport. We were heading to Aberdeen, Scotland with a brief lay-over in Amsterdam.

During our lay-over, JR scouted out how to leave the airport for our longer layover on the way back to Berlin, and we ate at a restaurant. Deciding to be adventurous, we ordered the "local appetizer". It ended up being fried pieces of meat, sausage, and cheese. But for dessert, we ordered some apple tart thing with a "spiced cookie sauce". It. Was. Wonderful.

And then... we were finally (finally) heading to Scotland. (I'd been wanting to take JR to Scotland since we started dating.)

We were picked up from the Aberdeen airport by Fenella and Holly Strachan. I can't believe that 6 years went by since I saw them last! We got in the car and headed to Peterhead.

Since Billy and Beth were still at the church building wrapping up their class, we stopped by. I hadn't seen the new bldg., and JR hadn't met Billy yet.

So we burst in on the scene. And when JR joined in one of the games, some of the teenage guys exclaimed, "He's massive!".

As the class wound down, we decided to head back to the Strachan's home and order some indian food. (I love Peterhead Chicken Tikka). I hadn't seen their new home. It is really lovely. I love the old archetechtural details in it... and the choices they have made with carpet, paint, and so forth are really beautiful.

At the house, we met up with Amy and Hannah.

We all gathered around the table for a late meal of feasting on indian food. It was so good! But not as good as the company.

Billy and JR visited and got to know one another while the girls and I reconnected over musicals and videos of Amy and Beth performing, and Jane Austen.

Needless to say, it was a late night.

December 20, Saturday:

Without the kids to wake us up, JR and I slept hard until 9:30 or 10. It was so nice.

And no sooner were we out of our beds, than Fenella's parents, Jackie and Alexa, showed up with one of their friends. Jackie and Alexa are some of the sweetest people you will ever meet. I love seeing them. And I'm always amazed at how well conversations go, considering the fact that they are both deaf.

When their visit was over, JR and I went on a walk around Peterhead by ourselves. First we headed to the grocery store to get some batteries for our camera, and then we headed toward the North Sea. JR was in charge of the camera, and since he fell in love with the place, we have pictures from every 200 yrds. or so. :) On our walk, we found a play-ground with a zip-line. I hopped on it first, but we have a picture of JR on it in the slide-show.

At the corner (under the sign for Keith Inch) we ran into an older gentleman who talked with us for about 10 min. He preached a good sermon for us, but couldn't be persuaded to come and check out JR's sermon the next day.

We eventually made it past the harbour to Merchant Street. That's where the old church building and the Strachan's old house was. So, from there, I knew how to get to the "town square" area. There were people out Christmas shopping. And there was even bagpipe music playing rather loudly over some speakers. :)

After looking through a few shops, we found a place to eat. When we stepped out, we ran into Fenella, Billy, and the twins, Holly and Hannah. The 6 of us, stepped into a coffee shop and visited some more.

We picked Beth up from work (she took Amy's shift, so Amy could go to Dundee with some friends for the weekend) and headed out to pay a visit to Billy's parents. JR still laughes about hearing the Strachan's talk to each other without having to keep an American audience in mind.

Back at the Billy and Fenella's, we had dinner and then watched their version of "Dancing With the Stars". The guy Fenella voted for won the competition much to everyone's satisfaction. Then we played the world's longest game of Phase 10. (So much for JR getting some good sleep before his sermon the next day.)

December 21, Sunday:

Since the youth classes were suspended during the holidays, Billy, JR, and I got ready for class and left the rest of the girls to join us later.

We walked in and were greeted warmly. I'm always surprised by how many people remember me. So, I guess, if you want to be remembered... when you first meet a group of people, be really jet-lagged, and wear a funny hat. :)

JR did the sermon Sunday morning. I could tell he was nervous, but he did a good job. The dynamics in the congregation are very different from those at Meridian Woods. And it was only his 5th sermon ever... But he made one of my wildest dreams for my dream man come true: he preached in Scotland. I am so proud of him.

After services, we ate lunch with the Strachans, and then headed out to Boddam to take pictures of the lighthouse and visit with my friend, Deborah, who recently moved with her family to the area. (When I went on International Campaigns, Deborah shared her room with me both years.) I hadn't even heard what she was up to lately, and come to find out, she lived in Florida right before we moved here, and now is married with a daughter and a baby on the way.

Our visit ended with just enough time for us to head back to the Strachan's to get ready for evening services and JR's second sermon. This was the first time he'd done 2 services in one day. Once again, he made me proud.

We stayed late after services while the guys played ping-pong and soccer, then headed back to the Strachan's to introduce JR to fish and chips and to celebrate Amy's 17th birthday.

(I can't believe that she's 17 already.)

Now, JR does not like fish. But we all kept insisting that FRESH fish made all the difference. And he ended up really liking the fish and chips.

While the girls and I watched Hugh Jackman in "Oklahoma", the guys played video games. And it ended up being another late night before we headed out really early Monday morning.

But while it was just Beth and me watching the movie we were able to talk. She is a remarkable young woman. She is intelligent, perceptive, and funny. I pray that Naomi grows up to be the kind of girl that Beth Strachan is. (I could only be so lucky.)

December 22, Monday:

We woke up really early to drive to Aberdeen to catch our flight. We really enjoyed our time in Scotland, and were blessed by the Strachan family. There is such a lot of work to be done in Peterhead. The growth in the youth programs shows that there are spiritually hungry people. Whether or not God calls us to Peterhead, we will continue to keep the people in our prayers.

I don't remember the flight from Aberdeen to Amsterdam AT ALL. I slept from before take-off to landing. I was out. I guess I needed it. :)

Since we had a longer lay-over this time, we decided we'd get out and see some of the city. So we hopped on the train. I LOVE train travel!!! Eventhough this was only a 20 min. ride, it brought back a lot of memories from my semester abroad.

We hit the city and started walking. We found ourselves in a little street that had some interesting cuisine. JR ordered what he thought was a french bread pepperoni pizza. But upon biting into it, he discovered a hot dog. The man could not have been more excited. There are 2 pictures of it in the slide show.

Our wandering around landed us in the Red Light district. Luckily it was early afternoon, so it wasn't too skanky yet. But we didn't stay there long. :) We headed over to the less embarrassing blocks and wanderend in and out of little shops. At one place we got a choc. covered waffle that was amazing! And we headed back to the train station and got back to the airport for our flight back to Berlin.

When we got back to Brent and Kelli's place, the kids were very excited to see us. We missed them, but we were also glad to get some time just to ourselves.

We would like to ask for your prayers in discerning the Lord's will for us and whether He is calling us to partner with the Strachans and the Peterhead church to work with the families in Peterhead.

While We Were in Scotland...

The kids stayed with Debby, Kelli, Brent, Rachel, and "Baby Simon".

Despite passing around some sickness, and still being jet-lagged, they seemed to have fun.

I don't have tons of details to share since I wasn't there, so I'll let the slide-show fill you in on their fun.



If you haven't read it, check out the first installment of our travel blog entries.

Tallahassee to Berlin

I was going to be really clever and have our travel post titled: 4 Kids, 3 Cameras, 2 Weeks, 1 Wicked Long Slide-Show

However, I think the telling of our trip will be better breaking it down in segments.

Monday, December 15th:

I spent all day packing and cleaning. I mean, who wants to come home to a dirty house, right? Plus, I take great pride in my packing prowess. (There is a picture in the slide show of everything we took with us.) Even though we tried to get to bed early, Gideon ended up being awake until around 10:30 and JR and I didn't get to bed until well after midnight.

Tuesday, December 16th:

We arranged with Debby for her to pick us up at 9:30 am to begin our "trek". The kids are great in the car on trips. So we made our way up to the Atlanta airport. We stopped at Chick-fil-A for breakfast AND lunch. I mean, we all like it, so why not, right?

Upon arriving at the airport (around 2 pm) we contacted Katie and told her where to find the car and headed inside.

We are trying a new sling for Naomi. It's fairly involved and ends up being like a baby bjorn type carrier. So she was strapped to JR who also had a big back pack on and was carrying a duffel bag. I was carrying a duffel bag, diaper bag, and Naomi's back pack. Debby had her suitcase, her purse and her wool coat. And Gideon carried his back pack and tried to keep up with us.

Despite having so much in hand and having little ones to deal with, we made it through security and every check point along the way with relative ease. So we headed to our gate, explored a little bit and waited for our plane.

In the Atlanta airport, I had seen a Curious George sitting on the suitcase of someone sitting at the bar. So, to get some of Gideon's wiggles out, we went to see if he was still there. And he was (several times). It made Gideon's day to see Curious George in the airport. He kept wishing him a good flight.

Also, as Gideon is notorious for, he "hooked up" with 2 chicks. (two little girls (5 and 3) on their way to Poland) I overheard him telling the older one that his name was Gideon and his sister was "Nanomi". Then he said, "Say, "Nanomi." (funny kid)

And at 5ish, we boarded our flight. Did we get the hook up or what? Jr and I were seated right behind the bathrooms and were provided a bassinet for Naomi. Debby and Gideon were right behind us. Gideon was facinated that he had his own tv and was able to watch "Finding Nemo".

The only one who slept on the flight was Naomi. And she slept for pretty much the entire thing. But since there was turbulance JR and I weren't able to leave her in the bassinet for most of the last half of the flight. Gideon slept for MAYBE 2 hours our ENTIRE journey.

Wednesday, December 17th:

We landed in Amsterdam around 7am local time. And after having slightly more trouble in customs, we headed directly to our gate where Gideon and Naomi made more friends.

The entire trip (as well as the previous week), Gideon was fixated on "Baby Simon's House". Well... now that we were only ONE flight away, he talked about it constantly.

Finally that flight came and went and we could see Kelli waving at us through the glass. We grabbed our bags and made our way to "Baby Simon's House."

Rachel was still in school, so Gideon had free-reign over all the toys. He still didn't sleep. The kid is a machine.

I got to run errands with Kelli while Debby and JR stayed with our kids (who were supposed to be napping).

We spent time chillin' until dinner. JR and I broke out Kelli's Wii and played it for the first time. It was awesome!!! I beat JR in baseball and bowling. That would NOT happen in real life. After we put the kids to bed, Brent introduced us to Guitar Hero (Band). JR is obsessed. But it's tons of fun. And we stayed up way too late.

Thursday, December 18th:

Gideon does not handle jet lag well. He was awake most of the night. And Naomi was up often too. But we made everyone get up before 10.

We got ready and headed to a Christmas market by the bombed out church building. Gideon rode on a carousal that had cars on it. He loved it at first, and then he turned around and saw a weird yellow and purple bull on the front of the car behind him. He would NOT take his eyes off of it. JR and I stood on opposite sides of the ride trying to get him to stop staring at it. He looked terrified and couldn't look away... and then he started screaming (not taking his eyes off it or moving, mind you... just screaming) and tears were shooting out of his eyes. He was pitiful, but it was hilarious at the same time. The ride finally ended, and he was calmed down easily.

And I had a Nutella Crepe.

(yes, that did deserve it's own paragraph, thank you)

We shopped in the market while Kelli picked up Rachel from school and then Kelli drove us around Berlin showing us the sites while all the kids but Naomi slept in the car. Naomi, who was in my lap for lack of car seats ended up peeing all over the both of us. (nice memory, huh?)

At the house the kids played until dinner (which is later in Kelli's house than mine) and then after dinner we put the kids to bed. Since Brent wasn't feeling up to Guitar Hero, we finally got a chance to watch "Transformers". It was really good.

Friday, December 19th:

JR and I got up and started getting ready and packing for our trip to Scotland.

Slide-show: