Full of Joy: Braut Party

Can you guess who the beautiful, blushing, bride-to-be is in this picture? If you'll look carefully, Anni is wearing the blue sash in the middle. In English the sash translates to, "Germany is searching for the super bride!" It's a take off a popular show over there called, "Germany is Searching for the Super Star". The sash was perfect for our "Hollywood" themed bridal shower that we (the Dubbe women) threw for our sis-to-be, Anni! It was a perfect theme since Tim and Anni went to Hollywood, CA for their honeymoon. If you didn't know, Chuck and I flew over to Germany the first couple weeks of August to help celebrate his brother Tim's marriage to Anni.

Yep, that's our second trip to Deutschland in less than a years time. Chuck and I were happy to go and spend time with our fam over there and help out as much as we could with the weddings (Yes, I said weddingS- more on that later). Truly, it was an honor to be there. Germany is becoming more and more apart of my heart as I get to know the culture little by little and get to know my "new" family who lives there. Truth be told, I think it's the FOOD over there that is winning my heart the most! ;)

As I sit in our cozy apartment tonight with the "hurricane" raining down around us, I am at a loss at how to proceed. Chuck and I have had the busiest three months we've ever had with more traveling than we've ever done. It was a blissful, FULL OF JOY kind of summer. A gift from my God directly to me. Traveling proved to refresh my heart and spirit as I had spent the spring mourning and grieving in a very dark place. Not that I am completely whole, I will never "get over" our loss, but my heart was ministered to in unique ways this summer by our oh-so-GOOD God.

All this to say, I don't mean to skip through our whole summer and only blog about Germany, but Germany is fresh on my mind. I contemplated posting pictures on Facebook, but that seemed to cheapen the experience. There are many memories, stories, and love associated with each picture that I can't just post the pictures without sharing at least some of my heart.

So the Braut Party (Bridal Party: the shower we threw for Anni. Germans don't throw "showers" so we improvised!) was our first big event upon arriving in Germany. It was a joy to be able to express our love for Anni in having her join our family as a Dubbe with the party. Since we have a bit of a language barrier, it was a tangible way to do just that.


"Pin the Kisses on Tim"

A game that Chuck's older sister, Becky, had debuted at the shower she had thrown for me! It was special to play it again at Anni's shower. We even used the same "Bridal Pin" that I had worn at my shower as well. It was special to start some traditions of our own!