Thanksgiving Prep

We decided that a good way to share one of our favorite holidays with some our friends here (and help ward off any holiday blues) was by holding an American Thanksgiving dinner. 

It all started well. Just a few friends in our home. But much akin to one's stomach after Round 3 of turkey and dressing, it slowly began to grow.

Last count had us in the neighborhood of 40 or 50 people. Thankfully, a local church is letting us use their facilities.

We've roasted two turkeys already, with two more to go. Tables are set. Sweet potatoes are mashed and awaiting their sweet topping. A large pan of cornbread dressing is ready to go in the oven.

I'll check back in soon and let you all know how it went!

Language Barriers?

It is amazing to see how kids quickly find ways around language barriers. We spent last weekend with dear friends in Jena, Germany. Our kids only know a couple of words in German, and theirs know about the same amount in English. But did that stop them from playing and having fun? No way!

Deutschland/Germany/Tyskland...

Call it what you will, but we call it one of our favorite countries to visit. Germany is scenic and captivating, full of history and breathtaking landscapes.

We are so thankful that traveling between European countries is affordable. Typically the overall travel costs are the same or less than our travels to neighboring states when we lived in the US!

Last week we attended a conference outside of Frankfurt. It was a great time of encouragement and learning - and seeing some friends we were missing a lot!

After our conference, we took a train and spent the weekend with some really special friends in Jena (in former East Germany). While the visit was far too short, we thoroughly enjoyed our time there and hope we can reconnect again soon!