First Day of School...

We arrived back in Vienna on Tuesday evening- which meant we had one day to recover from our summer of chaos before school started.  Smart parenting right :)  I think I last looked at the clock at 2:30 am this morning and the last of the kiddos had finally fallen asleep. Ugh.  At least it is only a half day!

I think they all are were struggling with jet lag, but I also think they were excited to start school today!

Luke is a freshman, Abby is in 7th grade and Levi begins 4th grade!  Wow time flies.

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I know this summer I have neglected the blog- and I plan to document our crazy, fun, and exhausting summer soon! But here are a few recent finds that I thought I would share...

(As a result of all of the American treats, we are now trying to eat more salads...don't these look good)
Chopped Salad
Caesar Salad

Would your kids eat lunches like these?

What do you want your children to know?

Have you seen this video? :)

Grandma turns 89!

I know I really need to catch you up on our adventures in the RV out west, but there are too many pictures to post and stories to tell, so I'll start with something a little more recent.

We have been in Iowa for 3 days now visiting with my grandparents. Yes- both of my mom's parents are still living! What a blessing.  My Grandfather is 88 and my Grandmother turned 89 today.  We don't get to see them very often, so when we do, the times are sweet.

Grandma always has a hug to offer...

and Grandpa always has a joke or story to share...

I am amazed at how sharp their minds are, and the details they can remember!  Even though their bodies don't work like they used to, they still manage to keep their humor alive and acknowledge that every day truly is a gift.  Their tenderness for each other is also still very evident, as they can anticipate what the other one will need or say.

Here they are on their wedding day...

And here they are tonight, after 63 years of living life together.  Aren't they cute :)

So today between Dr. appointments, picking up medications and reading the stack of birthday cards she received from so many of her friends, we celebrated with good food, stories, much laughter, presents, homemade ice cream and cake!

(My aunt and uncle from Texas were also on hand to celebrate with us)

Grandma has a huge servant's heart and loves her husband, family and Lord well.  I am so grateful for this time with them and will always treasure the things she has taught me!
Happy Birthday Grandma!

American Adventures Part 1- Florida

We have been in Florida for almost 3 weeks now, and it has been awesome!

Spending time with family in Hollywood and Ft. Lauderdale...

Hanging out with friends in Naples...

We have...
eaten too many of our favorite foods,
shopped at Target,
visited supporting churches (where Brad preached),
had slumber parties, dentist appointments, hair cuts,
borrowed cars (thanks Memoo & Woolards!),
held and played with babies from couples who used to be in our youth group
    and are all grown up now,
been overwhelmed by the number of soda choices,
played at the beach,
participated in VBS at St. Andrews,
had breakfast, lunch and dinner dates with family and friends,
led Bible studies,
and been loved well by so many! :)

Florida will always be "home" to us.  Brad was raised in So. Fla., we lived here the first 10 years of our marriage, our babies were born here, family and friends are here and so many great memories have been made in Florida! We're thankful that our kiddos love both Austria and America.

Friday, we are headed out West for some more "American Adventures"!  We have rented an RV and will camp in many National Parks and make some fun stops along the way.  Brad has done a fantastic job planning all of the details!  I will try to update the blog when we have internet, so stay tuned!
Hope you all are having a great summer!

Parks, Poetry, Playing, a Program and Preparing...

Parks :: This time of year is a great time to hang out in the parks scattered throughout Wien.

All of the flowers are blooming...

And there are lots of holidays in the month of May!

We spent May Day at the Prater...

and Ascension Day at the Donaupark...

Poetry :: Levi's class recently studied poetry and had a "Poetry Lounge" where they recited poems that they had memorized...

They all did a fantastic job!

Playing ::  Abby has been playing a lot of volleyball!  Her middle school team has improved so much this season and it has been a joy to watch them grow as players and support each other!

Abby and her volleyball coach, Miss Johnson


Program :: Levi had a cute Mother's Day program at school, and then we had a picnic in the park...

All of us moms felt loved and appreciated :)

And here Levi is at the park with some of his buddies!

Preparing :: As you can see, it has been a fun, but busy time for our family.  Lots of "end of the school year" stuff still to come, along with World Harvest's Conference that will take place in Spain.  Brad leaves for the team leaders' portion on Sunday, and I fly out next Friday with the kids.  We are looking forward to being with many of our friends!  The conference is always a great time of encouragement, as we see how God is working around the world :)

Once we return back to Vienna, we have 2 more weeks of school and then we head to the States for the summer!  Being gone for the summer takes a lot of "prepping" and "planning"~ but things are falling into place, and we are very much looking forward to our time in America!

Well, that's all for now.  At least if you don't hear from me again for awhile- you know what we are up to...

Spring has finally come...

The trees are finally blooming

 flowers are starting to pop up

the ice cream parlors are busy

skies are blue instead of gray

and I have even gotten out my flip flops

(all of these photos were taken on my i-phone and if you would like to follow me on Instagram, I am VIENNAHUNTERS)

Spring Break...

Our Spring Break didn't feel much like "Spring"-in fact, we had a few days of snow, but that didn't stop us from bringing some spring into the house... tulips from Hofer bring me much joy ;)

Our Maundy Thursday service was a lovely evening of prayer and reflection...

and our Easter service was a true celebration of the Risen Christ!  I am so thankful for the people He has brought to NCW...

Our days over break were pretty low key- usually spent with friends...

playing in the park

having fun at Bogi park

playing competitive games of Monopoly City

and trying out some new recipes... these are Chocolate chocolate chip cookies with chopped up Reese's peanut butter cups.  I found the recipe HERE and I just chopped up about 1 cup of the peanut butter cups and I added about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to the dough