Making music...

I was asked play the clarinet as part of the worship team at church on Sunday.  I agreed to participate but with apprehension in my voice!  I am never confident at my ability in anything but am willing to try my best.  I am really glad I participated.  I had forgotten how much I missed playing.  It was quite soothing to my soul to play again.  I played Angels from the Realms of Glory, Angels we Have Heard on High, and O Come All ye Faithful.  Playing those songs most certainly put a spring in my step and put me in the Christmas spirit!  Merry Christmas everyone!  I hope you find time to rejuvenate your soul as you remember the true reason for the season.

Biscuits

On Saturday or sometimes Sunday mornings Carrie and I like to make biscuits.  The other day we decided to jazz it up a bit and instead of making them round, like normal, we did this...

Yummy star shaped biscuits!

Rathaus Christmas Market Field Trip

On Wednesday we (2nd and 3rd grade) took a field trip to the Rathaus (City Hall) to do a Christmas craft and visit the Christmas Market.  It snowing and wet the entire time but we had a blast!

On the U-bahn headed to our field trip.  We had wonderful parent volunteers!

Getting help from the Rathaus craft experts

What?!  You want me to smile?

Some beautiful girls inside and out!

Excited to start our craft!  They're so cute!

Working hard on their photo albums

Planning her next move

Look at my decoupage letter box!

2nd Grade Moments

We have been having a wonderful year in 2nd grade!  We are learning a lot and are loving school as we go!  Here are some recent pictures of my 2nd graders:

Hey listen to this!

What are you looking at?

Every so tired!

Making my placemat.

Having fun with a math game.

Sharing a story together

Best buds and so cute

The learning environment

Recent Quilting Projects

Here are some photos of our recent quilting endeavors!  There are many couples on staff this year who are expecting babies.  We have several quilts to make!  Luckily our friend Liz is willing to lend time and creative energy to complete this monumental task!

Heart quilt for baby Sophie.

Butterfly quilt for my niece Elsie.

Animal quilt for baby Daniel.

Winter Recital

This week our music lesson students had their Winter Recital.  It is a fun night where each student in the school who is taking a private music lesson showcases their ability by playing one or two songs.  We have students who are playing the violin, piano, guitar, and clarinet.  Carrie has one piano student and Amanda has two clarinet students.  Here are some pics from that night.  Enjoy.

Playing Silent Night

Concentrating really hard but doing very well!

An amazing violinist! 

So cute!

St. Nicholas Day

Here in Austria, and I think much of Europe, St. Nicholas Day is celebrated December 6th.  Now I know that Santa Claus and St. Nicholas are different, but to celebrate with my Kinder we make moveable Santa Claus'.  Here is a cute 3rd grader and his Santa Claus.  Can you figure out what he forgot to put on his Santa?  I laughed pretty hard!  Please know that this was not on purpose just a formality when the Santa character was put together!  :)

Santa is missing something.  Can you figure out what it is?

Physics of Sound: Sound Vibrations

In science we are learning about Sound vibrations.  It is a lot of fun!  They kids are thoroughly enjoying this unit and I think they wish it could last forever.  I am excited that they are learning and remembering all of the vocabulary they are being inundated with!

Wow!  That is sooo cool!  I can hear the tuning fork and my heart beeping.

Can you hear it?

What does the vibration do to the ball?

The vibration makes the ping pong ball bounce or "dance" as the Kinder called it!  

A day with the Cardenas Family

Recently, one of our ICSV families invited Carrie and me over to spend a Saturday with them.  It was a wonderful time.  We hiked through the forrest to find an elusive pond, ate a lot of yummy food, and stopped at a cute bakery/coffee shop to warm up from our hike.  All in all it was a wonderful day!

Hiking to the pond

They wanted to know if they could swim!  It was freezing!

Carrie and me at the beautiful pond!

Waiting patiently for his piece of chocolate cake!

Very yummy and warm!