Frozen Toes...

Every year we take the entire elementary ice skating four times.  It is fun but this year it was EXTREMELY cold!  I thought my toes were going to freeze off eventhough I had two pairs of socks on!  Here are some cuties on the ice!

The peace sign is a little hard with gloves on!  

A sister and brother with a crazy 2nd grader in the background!

brothers

a speed skater

So much fun!

Baby Quilt #4

This baby quilt is for little Riley Warren.  Little Riley's middle name is in honor of a missionary here who recently passed away in a skiing accident.  It is a wonderful tribute to Warren who was a man after God's own heart.

Putting together the top of the quilt

Happy Birthday Riley!

Baby Quilt #3

There are a lot of little ones that have been born or are going to be born before this school year is finished.  Carrie, Liz and I love to quilt so we have been making baby quilts like crazy people!  Below is a picture of baby quilt #3.  Baby Izaak really likes his new quilt!

Izaak's mom and Liz with Izaak's quilt

On the Way..

On the way home from Christmas, with Rachel in Germany, we stopped by Rome for a few days.  It was colder there than we anticipated and really neat to see all of the Roman ruins that I've only heard about or seen in pictures.

In front of the Colosseum.

I have ALWAYS wanted to see this statue in person and now I have!  It was beautiful!

We mailed postcards from the Vatican.

Amanda being silly and getting tired of walking and walking and walking to get to the Sistine Chapel!

This ramp was quite cool!

Carrie and a tiny car.

Christmas Update

Hey all!  Sorry if it seems as though we disappeared!  We kind of did.  There has been a lot going on updating this blog was on the list but at the bottom.  Sorry.  So, we have a lot of updating to do.  We'll start with Christmas.  For Christmas Carrie and I went to Kandern, Germany to visit our friend Rachel who is a missionary teacher at Black Forest Academy.  It was a fun time to celebrate Christmas with a friend and see her world in Germany.

Merry Christmas!

Cute Kandern House

This was an interesting yard with a lot of gnomes. 

A Beautiful afternoon walk

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!