I love the Alps!

So I never would have guessed last Christmas that I would be spending this Christmas in Switzerland! It is so beautiful. Just like the pictures in the tour books. The skiing is fantastic and our chalet is wonderful! We are having a great time. The only thing missing is our family. Hopefully Skype will work and everyone will be home!

We arrived in Grindelwald on Saturday after spending Friday night in Bern. Bern was wonderful too. We enjoyed the Christmas markets and a great Italian dinner. When we first arrived in Grindelwald we had a tough time finding our chalet. It is an actual town, but there are no street names! Our directions were all landmarks. We missed the very last one, a pole with a safety crossing sign on it, and we went too far down the hill. Once we realized we were too far we couldn't get the car back up the 20 degree incline. We spent 45 minutes trying unsuccessfully to put tire chains on. Then Larry decided to give it one more try. We buckled in and he floored it. Well we still didn't make it! Luckly a nice couple in a little car offered to pull us up (in a huge luggage filled mini van). Turned out Grandma was in the back of their car and they had her get out and walk up the hill to direct traffic! So 70+ grandma hiked up hill while we felt like idoits in our huge American van. We eventually made it and all was well. Our place is great, it's about 900 sq.ft. in a great location. We have a small Christmas tree that is quickly going bare as Landon continues to pull off one ornament at a time. We have built snowmen and went ice skating. Alianna started ski school today and Landon did well in the nursery. We all took the gondola up to the top of Mannlichen. It was a 30 minute ride and the kids loved it! The nursery is at the top so we could check in on Landon throughout the morning.

well that brings you up to date with our trip so far. I will hopefully post some photos and/or video soon.

Ruldolf the Red Nose Reindeer

Alianna had her school concert Friday night. It was a wonderful evening with the kids showcasing their hard work in music class. It was a strolling concert since the school is not yet finished and doesn't have a space large enough for all of the parents. So the children had to sing their parts three different times. Alianna surprised us with a special song. This video is the third time they sung the song so the enthusiasm had declined! They also sang Jingle bells in english, spanish and german! It is amazing and so much fun to watch Alianna speak German. I know I keep saying that, but if you saw her you would understand why. I am also very jealous of how easy german comes to her!

Landon also did a great job of behaving for his sister! It was a long time, it was hot and there were many people. But he was a champ and sat in stroller while munching his way through the concert. He even held his arms above his head and yelled, "WooHoo! WooHoo!" for his big sister. He proudly clapped at the end of each song. The evening was a great success!

St. Nicholas Day

This is Alianna's class celebrating St. Nicholas Day.

It's been a little while since the last post. Things have been busier then ever. We are preparing for the Christmas season and our VACATION! Can you tell I am excited? We are off to Grindelwald, Switzerland for a week of skiing in the Alps. If they make boots small enough we are even planning on putting Landon on skis! And speaking of the little fellow...more great news! He is over is egg allergy! What a blessing! We are down to just peanuts. While peanuts are very scary to me, it is such a huge relief to be down to only one allergy. It has been so much fun to watch him fall in love with chocolate and eat his very first pancake (ok, he really just licked the syrup and got pretty sticky!) He is turning into such a little boy. His babyness is going away. He is talking a little more and we found a new kindergarten. He will start mid-January. I really like this place and it will fit my schedule well with my german lessons. I just hope I am not disappointed again. He seemed to feel right at home when we checked it out. I think he will be happy to make new friends.

Alianna as always is flourishing here! She told me the other day she is German. Not like a German, but acutally German. And I and all of you as well, are no longer allowed to call her Ali. Her name is Alianna! Got that mom! she said. Let's hope Santa get's it right. I don't know who will get the presents with only Ali written on them!

This weekend is the much anticipated Weinachts markt at the castle. We are holding a small open house on Sunday for friends to stop by for some gluhwien and cookies while they check out the markt. I'll have to post some pictures.

Larry is very busy at work. While I hate that he works late every night and we are on our own for dinner, I am thankful he still has a job to keep him busy! We will be very happy to spend time with him on VACATION! I think I mentioned that already! We are going on VACATION! A vacation that I don't have to pack an entire kitchen with me. While I still have to be very careful with Landon, we are actually going to be able to eat at a restaurant with him!

Enjoy the holiday season, relax a little and remember we are really celebrating Jesus' birthday! Even though times are tough we still have so much to be thankful for! Being away from home always reminds you of all the important things in life and all of the blessing we have... family, friends, a warm home, food on our table...
Have a very Merry Christmas!

St. Martin's Day and My Top 10 List of what I miss most

It's been a very busy few weeks! Alianna and I celebrated St. Martin's Day with her school this evening. 600 children filled the streets of Widdersdorf with their lanterns and walked in a parade of lights and song. The parade ended at a large bonfire where St. Martin arrived on horseback. The children then headed back to school to share hot chocolate and Weckmann (sweet bread shaped like a man with a smoking pipe). It was very fun to join in this German tradition.

Landon has also had a busy couple of weeks. The best news in a long time is that it seems he is no longer allergic to milk! We spent Nov. 3 at the Children's Hospital and sat with Landon for 7 hours while he participated in a milk challenge. Every 30 minutes he was given a larger quantity of milk. He did great! No immediate reactions and nothing 48 hours later. Our only concern now is whether or not his system can handle milk. He has had some pretty bad diapers lately. But I'm not sure if it is the milk or if he is sick. So we will just take the milk thing slow. Next month he will have another food challenge, this time with egg. Our lives will forever change if this test also comes back negative!

Landon also started preschool last week and then he ended preschool last week. We were very much looking forward to him starting and making new friends but I ended up not liking the preschool. Once we starting spending significant time there I found there to be too many problems to overlook. So now we will start our search again. Hopefully we will find a school we can feel good about.

Larry is working hard, he is actually on a conference call as I type, and he is enjoying his work. I still have many 'I hate Germany' days and yell out 'I want to go home', but I am trying to adjust. I am often asked what I miss most. Here is a top 10 list...
1. My family
2. friends
3. babysitters
4. Whole Foods
5. Target
6. large parking lots with wide spaces
7. ENGLISH
8. Sabor Latino
9. English TV and all of my favorite programs
10. My house

What's been going on

We have been here 4 months now. I think as a family we are feeling settled and comfortable in our surroundings. One of the fun things about being some place new is that there is always something new to discover! A street we have never been on, a neighboring village we haven't made it to yet. So each weekend we look forward to a new experience.


This weekend we finally made the short road trip to Bonn. It's only 30 minutes away and we had a great time. It had a huge pedestrian shopping area (of course the shops were closed as we went on Sunday) so it was great not to have to worry about cars while walking around. It also had a wonderful park. The kids had much fun on the play structures and Landon had a great time on a set of stairs.

Language classes are moving along. I'm still a deer in headlights everytime someone says something to me, but my germantoddlerese is improving. Today I learned how to tell time! Landon is really starting to say some words. Alianna is his favorite teacher! He loves repeating her. They play so nice together. I know everyone says it won't last long, but I'll take we have right now. It is great to sit back and watch them chase each other. They have all sorts of little made up games they play. They laugh their hardest when they are together!

Ali's Birthday Cycle

For Alianna's birthday, a neighbor named Mattias, fixed up a little motorbike as a present. He painted it red and fixed the battery. It was very sweet. So here is a little video of her receiving her present.

It's been a busy, fun time

So it's been awhile since my last post. Landon and Alianna have both had their birthdays! Frau Schumacher had a wonderful party for the kids. Grandma Jan came to visit and surprise Alianna for her birthday. While she was here both Larry and Alianna were on holiday from school and work. The first week we spent in Belgium at a resort called Center Parcs. It was so much fun! Think of the Homestead meets Great Wolf Lodge. We had a great apartment with 3 bedrooms and a kitchen. Center Parcs had an indoor waterpark and a spa! It also had an indoor pirate play area called Discovery Bay. We all had a wonderful time. We even spent one day walking the streets of Antwerp. After we returned home to regroup, we went to Movie Park in Germany. It's owned my Warner Bros. and looks like a movie set. The kids enjoyed Nick Jr. land and they had rides for both Alianna and Landon. Landon was so excited to ride Diego's Jeep and Ali loved Jimmy Neutron's roller coaster. Once we returned home from that adventure, Ali and Larry spent the next day skiing on an indoor ski hill! They had a 4 person chairlift, real snow, 25 degrees and it was all indoors. And since Larry doesn't know how to stay in once place, we repacked a third time and head for a drive down the Mosel River to Eltz Castle and the city of Bernkastel-Kues. This was Jan's favorite part of her stay! However, we all loved it. So that sums up quickly the past few weeks. I will add some pictures soon.

Now back to routine. Landon will start nursery in November and our next holiday break is over Christmas. We will be spending it here in Germany. I am excited about the upcoming Christmas markets. We are also hoping to go skiing in the Alps over Christmas. Bis bald...

Alarm Clock

I'm told that people who live next to train tracks don't even hear the train passing by after they've lived there a while. We thought that maybe that would be the case with our "Church Bells", however, we've yet to tune them out. Now, the tunes they play are not offensive, in fact, its rather nice to the casual listener. However, when its Saturday morning and there's a chance your kids are gonna sleep-in (till 8am), you not very interested in the local church bell concert at 6:30am. But alas, we can't escape it, they wake us daily at 6:30am, and on the odd chance we fall back asleep at say, 6:50am, they get us again at 7:00 and 7:3o, etc... So, we thought we'd share the melodies of our mornings with our readers. Sit back for the 2 plus minutes and experience it for yourself.

Fun in Konigsdorf

As promised here are some videos from our Konigsdorf castle day. You will notice there is no video of the actual castle, but hopefully you will enjoy watching the kids having some fun. In the first video, Alianna is pretending to be a fountain and in the second, Landon is just being Landon and exploring an alley.
I hope everyone has a great week! For those of you who keep us in your prayer circles, I would like to request a special prayer for the next two weeks. Our new friend, Frau Schumacher, is with her adult daughter in Dusseldorf and then Munich. Her daughter is undergoing some special cancer treatment that has been brought in from the states. She hasn't given me much detail, but it sounds experimental. Frau Schumacher is Catholic and has been lighting a candle everyday. Please keep them in your prayers that the treatment is successful and that her doctors are able to help her in her battle. (Her name is Angela).

Having a little fun...

Here is a video of Landon playing at the Rhein Park back in July. We had a great day. It was hot and sunny! Landon just loved being able to run around and go up the hills and down the hills.

This past weekend we visited a castle along the Rhein. I will hopefully download some video of that soon. We have a usually busy week ahead of us. We are all enrolled in language instruction now so between our classes and studying and we don't seem to have much free time. Alianna of course is learning much faster then Larry and I. Even Landon has a few German words. I also now have a babysitter twice a week for language lessons. She is really sweet and very helpful in explaining so many things! In one day we covered how to really work the dishwasher (she had to call her mom to ask!), we went to the electronic store and bought an audio cable to hook the computer up to the TV and we went to Toys R Us to find a birthday present for a new friend of Landon's.

I am still in the process of deciding which car to order. I love the Galaxy mini van I have right now, but it is not very practical for parking. It is really large and long. This week I am trying out a Ford C-Max. It's great for parking, but not to much storage space once the stroller is in the trunk. And Landon keeps kicking the back of my seat! I am hopefully going to test out a Ford Focus wagon next. I think it might be a nice in between.

That's it for now. Landon and I are off for an adventure and to go chase the ducks! The ducks dread Hurricane Landon. He is a fast blowing storm that comes in out of nowhere and creates mass chaos in seconds. The poor ducks. Since we've been here they are on raised alert. Have you ever seen a nervous duck? I'll have to get video of that too.

Tshoos!

We are settling in...

It's been a busy couple of weeks, but we have emptied 90% of the boxes. Most things made it, but there were a few damaged items. Nothing that cannot be fixed. We have successfully setup internet and phone connections and now we are gearing up to attack TV. I have a feeling this might be quite difficult.

Alianna started school the past week and she is loving it! She had a hard time in the mornings, but by Friday she was tear free! It's only been a week and she has already learned so much German! It is very cute hearing her, especially when she mixes German and English. Landon is missing his big sister terribly. He walks around the house looking for her and goes to the window and calls out "Alya, Alya". It is so sweet and sad. He loves his big sister so much!

Larry is enjoying his work. Ford had a big celebration this weekend to celebrate 40 years in Cologne. We had a very nice time. The kids had the chance to see where dad works and Alianna verified that he really does hang up her artwork on his walls. I had a chance to check out all of the cars because I still haven't picked one out yet. I am torn between picking a car with passagener space or picking a car that I can actually park in the tiny parking spaces and tight parking structures.

As for me I haven't jumped in the moat yet... I start language instruction this week so that is a step in the right direction. I have also starting meeting people and making friends. I'm sure things will continue to get easier...

We have moved in!

So on Friday, July 25, exactly one month after we left the USA, our container arrived and we moved into the castle! The crane showed up, boxes were brought in and uh oh... I guess we didn't think about a few measurements. Our bed didn't make it in our guest room and our bedroom dresser is in our garage, but all in all it went well. Only a few damaged items, but nothing that can't be fixed.

Over the weekend we built furniture and began to unpack 310 boxes! Who knew we had so much stuff! It is one week later and we still have loads to unpack. Our place is beginning to look like home. Landon's bedroom is the most complete and Alianna has the best room in the house. I do like our kitchen even though we don't have much storage space. The hardest part of the house is the stairs. It takes about 52 stairs to reach our bedroom from the front door. It is 10 stairs to the front door, 14 stairs to the living room, 14 stairs to the kid's room and another 14 to our room! But we have a great view!

So it is late and I am off to climb the stairs to my bed. I am going to try to load a short video. Larry just finished hooking up the new TV. We don't have a connection to satellite yet, but now we can watch DVD's. Yeah! Alianna got a German Hanna Montana video. She'll be excited to see it!

Please stop raining...

So once again it is raining. It has been cold and rainy for 2 weeks. I mean it's been 45 degrees at night cold and only in the 50's during the day. Sorry to complain, but come on. Even on a german calender it is July!

So today was moving day. The crane showed up at 8 am and took over an hour to set up, blocking the street for our new neighbors. Then we waited. And waited... our sea container never showed up! So we are back to not knowing where exactly our stuff is and we still cannot move. Uggh!!!!!

So our blog is a little boring right now. I can't upload pictures at the cafe, but I will once we get connected. The kids are great and adjusting very well. We just want the rain to stop! Landon is starting to talk a little. He calls for Ali and it is so cute the way he says her name. He can also say bröt. (which he eats a lot of). Alianna is working hard on her German and can now count to 10. I actually ordered food through the drive thru window! now that was something to hear!

We miss everyone!

Every day is a new adventure

I found my way back to the internet cafe. I should be doing other things, but it's always good to take a break. We are still in temp living quaters. I cannot wait to move! Our newest hurdle is getting our furniture in the house. The movers have realized how tight the stairways are and so now they have to order a crane to get our stuff in the house. Yes, i did say a crane. The furniture will be lifted over the roof and through a new door on the second floor. The next challange will be getting our bed to the 4th floor. I am fairly confident that we will be getting two new twin beds. I don't remember wood (boxspring) having the ability to bend. I guess I'll soon find out.

I have been trying to meet people and make friends, but it' challenging in so many ways. I did go for a girl's night out last week and had a nice time. I did meet one woman the other day at the castle. People come there throughout the day just to hang out. So I stopped by to check out our new kitchen (it's really nice). As i was getting ready to leave, i was held up by the castle's pet goose! She (Gerta) was pecking at the back wheel of the car and i couldn't drive off without taking her head with me. It took me almost 10 mins. to get her to move. She just kept hissing at me as i yelled at her to move. Needless to say, the new woman I had just met, found me crazy and I probably won't be seeing her around any time soon.

The kid's are adjusting well. Alianna is already learning German and Landon loves gummi bears. Landon is starting to say a few words himself. He finds saying brot easier then bread. Larry is also doing well and is very happy with his new position. It will still be a while before we have internet, but I'll try to keep up. Until next time...

Still in temp living...

Happy 4th July! We are doing well. We are living in Widdersdorf for another week and a half. We have American neighbors so that is nice. Our building is all Ford employees. We are now official residents of Germany. We went to the city hall and had so much fun with the kids all day in a city building. Everyone knows the Groth's have arrived. Landon loved the echo of his screaming through the open attruim. The language is very challenging. hopefully german lessons will start soon.

I'm very excited about my new coffee maker! I can make my own lattes! The kids are adjusting fine. Ali is very bored because our air shipment is overdue. it should have been here a week ago. landon is out of his allergy medicine, so things are starting to go downhill. that shipment needs to arrive! He is actually sick right now. We got our first experience in the German ER. It went well luckly. Landon just has a virus, but he was having problems breathing. We thought he was having an allergic reaction to something.

So that is it for now. We have ordered internet service for our new place, but have been told it will be at least 2 weeks. So I am hopeful sometime in August. I will then be able to download some pictures.

The time has come...

We are getting ready to head out in a few hours. We have 9 suitcases and 9 pieces of carrying on luggage! Someone will be getting a good laugh watching us.

We will arrive tomorrow in the afternoon and then go check out our temporary apartment in Widdersdorf. I'm not sure if there is a web connection, so it might be a little bit before my next entry.

Thank you all again for your kind words of support.

I'm not good at saying goodbye

So this afternoon turned out to be rather difficult. Saying goodbye is getting harder as the date approaches. I have been trying not to think too hard about how much we are leaving behind. If I did, I don't think I could get on the plane. So I want to say here what I won't say in person, because it is just too hard. We are so blessed as a family! We have amazing family and friends! There is so much love, support and friendship that I think maybe that is why I can get on the plane. Even though distance and time zones separate us, we still have amazing family and friends. So thank you all for your love and support. We might not be talking or seeing each other as often, but we will be thinking of each of you often.

Finally a day to relax

This is the first day I can remember when we didn't have something we had to do. No packing, no shopping, no house to clean, no grass to cut. So we spent the day hanging out as a family playing hoops, eating ice cream and visiting a few parks. Landon now has an understanding of how to use the slide and he loves it! The faster the better. Alianna hangs on the monkey bars until her hands are so blistered she can't take the pain any longer.

With only a week to go we have started saying so long to some of our friends. This to me is the hardest part. But it isn't forever, just for a little while. I am still dragging a little from last night's friendship celebration. We had one of the best girl's night out yet. Hopefully tonight I will get some sleep and tomorrow we will be celebrating Father's Day.

It's only been a few days, but...

in my head I keep telling myself on vacation, but it's not working. So far this has been the most stressful part of our move. The four of us living in one hotel room with all of our belongings is a little difficult. But on the bright side, I do have a maid! There's not much new to report. Alianna is having fun visiting grandma and Landon has a new place to explore, Landon style! We are hoping the pool opens soon with the heat wave.

The move is on

What a whirlwind! We left for our pre-trip to Germany May 5th and now, one month later, our house is sold, packed up and we are living out of suitcases! The packing was challenging because we had to separate our lives into three different piles; sea, air and storage. It's amazing how much stuff you can accumulate in 8 years. We will miss our home and our friends greatly! It was hard closing the door for the last time. Larry and I built our home and we moved in as two, but we left as a family of four. I think we built some great equity! We have so many happy memories. Thank you all for your offers of help and your well wishes. I hope to keep this blog fairly updated.