A busy week...

I wish I could be a little more creative than, "A busy week...", but that is as creative as I can get. As you probably read in the previous post, we all started school, and, over all, we were very surprised at how well our first week went. (Must have been all of your prayers!) The hardest part about school for the kids so far has been taking public transportation. One way is over 45 minutes, so if you do the math...Brad is riding on some form of public at least 3 hours a day. It has been even more draining since the weather has been unseasonably cold and rainy. One of the families from school gave Brad and me a ride home after a parents' meeting and it only took about 15 minutes to get home by car, so we are definitely considering a car now. We also have decided to keep Levi out of school for now. He was going to be going to different school than Luke and Abby, so it would have been too crazy to juggle getting him to school also. He is very content to stay with Daddy.

My German classes have been going well too. There are students in my class from Hungary, Romania, Italy, Africa, Poland, the Philippines, and of course North America. One class we talked about where we all came from and how many languages we spoke...I of course was the ONLY one who spoke one. Many spoke three or four. UGH!

Along with starting school, we had Tamara Mayer staying with us. She arrived on Monday and stayed until Thurs. She was a great help for our first week of school, as she watched the kids on Wed. and Thurs. evenings while we had parent meetings with the children's teachers.

On Tuesday eve, we had a pizza party and game night. The boys ended up playing Monopoly, while the girls sat around the table and talked! Luke cleaned house! (legitimately, according to Brad) He said it was his best night EVER since we have moved here! :) He is a "little" Brad!

Here's Leo (Dali's boyfriend), Brad, Nikolai (a Ukranian man that we have been getting to know), Daniel (Tabea's fiance), and "the Champion"...Luke


Tamara, Dali, Stacey, and Tabea

Yesterday after school we headed out just outside Vienna to Herbert and Maria's beautiful home. We enjoyed an afternoon "Jause" (substantial snack) and stayed through another substantial dinner. (They are the folks who picked us up from the airport, and he is a police officer at the Vienna Airport.) We had a great time getting to know them better and learning so many of the interesting customs of Vienna and Lower Austria.

I'll leave you with an update on "our" girls...
For those of you who don't know, all of these Austrian girls came to live with us at different times in the States. This was the first time that Dali and Tabea met Tamara. We really hope that Tamara will move to Vienna, so she can hang out with all of us more often!

Dali- Just graduated and will be starting the University of Vienna in October. She will be majoring in Sociology and she just got a new job in the 1st District at an art gallery.



Tabea- She is a teacher at Arche Noah and is busy planning her wedding. She and Daniel have set a date for June 28, 2008 and they have asked Brad to officiate the ceremony! We are so excited to play a part in their big day!


Tamara- She is living in Western Austria where she works a Konditorin (sweets baker). Last week was her birthday, so we went out for a famous Imperial Torte. She is a joy and encouragement everytime she comes to stay with us!