Silly

It's fun to be silly.  Especially in Germany.  =)

For Day 7

The craziness of Sunday kept me from remembering to post yesterday.  Here is my "Sunday post"...

Chuck and Renate at the Christmas market.  This was such a cool place I just had to post another picture!  I thought the church in the background was beautiful and authentically German. 

Jaden

On Wednesday, December 22, while we were in Germany, Chuck's oldest sister, Becky had her second baby.  Before we left for Germany, Chuck and I were totally packed and ready to head to the hospital (2 hours away) where Becky planned to give birth.  Becky had asked me to be in the room with her when the time came and I was so honored.  I really wanted to be there for her.  Obviously her husband, Dave was going to be with her, too but I wanted her to have my woman support.  God had other plans.  So it goes when it comes to babies.

So little Jaden came into this world on our third day over there.  The whole family was constantly checking Twitter and Facebook for updates.  When Dave first posted pictures we were all squealing, ooing, and awing over our precious new family member.  (OK, maybe just the girls were squealing...)  Then on Christmas day we got to Skype and actually see the new guy.  He is such a doll.

After we got back Chuck and I went down to visit for a couple days.  Thought I would post a picture from our time there.  Even though it wasn't taken in Germany, Jaden was very much a part of our Germany trip with lots of thought and love. 

The Boys

 

Growing up, I always thought it would be fun to marry a guy with brothers.  I had no idea I'd marry a guy who was one of 5 boys (as well as 2 girls).  As it turns out, it's a lot of fun having Chuck's brothers around.  And it's even more fun watching Chuck with his brothers. In this picture, Adam is holding the dog (Cute Jamie), Tim is standing behind Chuck, and Dan (Chuck's Dad) is the back left guy. 

Dan is one of those "Guy's Guy" kind of guys.  Know what I mean?  He likes to hike and climb mountains, work on cars, fix things around the house, ride motorcycles, and in his opinion, there is no worthy computer if it's not a Mac.  I appreciate that Dan has passed on some of those skills to Chuck.  Chuck has learned how to fix a lot of things around the house, including car stuff.  He is handy with tools which means a lot to me because so is my own Dad.  Chuck also has learned to be a strong leader because of his Dad.  He is a take-charge kind of guy and I love that about him.  I'm thankful for the things his own Dad taught him. 

Adam, the youngest brother, attends Liberty University and I've probably gotten to know him better than the other brothers.  Obviously because I've spent the most time with him.   He has stayed with us a few times and there have been many family gatherings together.  I enjoy Adam's humor.  He is also a great shopping buddy.  Adam is a talented artist and quite creative.  Most time spent with Adam consists of laughing and goofing off, which comes in handy during boring moments- waiting for certain family members to finish talking after church, for example.  Oh, and he always smells good, too.

Tim is older than Adam and most of the time they're like 2 peas in a pod.   Tim lives in Germany and attends a University there.  The Germany school system is confusing so I won't bother to try and explain it.  He is aspiring to be a teacher- physical education and English.  He spent lots of hours in the attic lifting weights (in the freezing cold, might I add), drinking gross protein shake things, and of course with the love of his life, Anni.  Tim is also very creative and won the award for wrapping the prettiest package on Christmas day.  He has a very sweet spirit and is a natural spiritual leader.  It's been awesome to see God work in his life since I've met him.  Oh and he spent about 9 hours in Frankfurt patiently waiting for Chuck and I to arrive (THANK YOU Timmy!).  More to come on him later...

I love the boys in Chuck's family, including Mark and Matt who we hope will be there next time we're all together!