Sugar High...

Tonight we celebrated Dali's 22nd birthday and made gingerbread houses!  Nothing but sugar...sugar...sugar...sugar!





Liesl wasn't too interested in actually making the houses, just eating the sugar!  My kind of girl:)

Little Liesl...

This little girl knows how to melt my heart already!  She walks into our house and says "i want to put jewree on" and proceeds to head down to Abby's room and make herself all pretty.  She also likes to play with the dress-up clothes...how cute is she!  

Guess Who...

is excited to hit the slopes!!!!!

Scenes from tonight's family worship...

During our time of family worship tonight...there was so much to be thankful for...

music, laughter, the message from Max Lucado's book "The Crippled Lamb", only a MILD case of the chicken pox with Abby and a warm and cozy place where our family can worship and pray together.

Get your booster...

Abby had been complaining of a tummy ache for 2 days. No vomiting, no diarrhea...just overall not feeling well. I thought maybe she just wanted to stay home from school since it was exciting to finally hang out with Ewan and Liesl...who knew it would turn out to be chicken pox.

Last night AFTER her Christmas program at school, is when we noticed the bumps on her back...so yes, we exposed her class right before Christmas. Puts us in the running for parents of the year.

Moral of the story is...if you don't want chicken pox, get your booster, as Luke and Abby both were immunized in the States and now both have gotten them. (Luke had a mild case when we first moved here)

Christmas Programs

Luke and Abby both had Christmas programs at school yesterday! The pictures aren't the best-they stink really- but Luke had fun being a wizard and Abby was a star!
Liesl and Ewan got to enjoy the show too!

The McMullen's have arrived...

Jeff, Jodie, Ewan and Liesl arrived safe and sound on Monday.  Years of planning, preparing and much praying have finally come into fruition.  We are so happy to finally have them in Vienna! 

***team bonding moments thus far***

1) exposure to a stomach virus

2) all nine of us riding together in one vehicle and last but not least...

3) believing that Abby now has chicken pox!

(team living at it's finest;)

 

The Party Scene...

Yesterday, we had lots of food, fun and fellowship at our Christmas Party!
Here Brad is explaining the game "Apples to Apples" in German and English
The feast...
The girls talking "girl" stuff and below the boys are all entranced by their video games!

We have had a great time getting to know everyone better over these past six weeks as we studied the Book of Luke. In January, we hope to continue to meet weekly, with a few "question and answer nights" about the Bible, a service project with refugee children, and a family outing of bowling!

Friday Favorites-Christmas Cookies

It is that time of year again.  Christmas Cookie Baking!  It has taken me a little while to get motivated, but with our Christmas Party on Sunday...I thought I better get a move on.  Here is my favorite kitchen helper Levi...

And here are a few of my favorite tried and true recipes:

Cracked Sugar Cookies

Gingersnaps

Here are a few new recipes that I tried,

Lemon Hearts

Oatmeal Craisin Cookies (Adapted from All recipes.com)

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 and 3/4 cups rolled oats 

1 cup Craisins

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Bake at 350 for 7-10 minutes

No wonder we all are tired...

The day started with Show and Tell at Abby's class...then Luke's friend Walter came over

We did crafts and played some monopoly...


Then we were off to Judo...

Then Luke was finally brave enough to pull out his molar...look how big that is!
Finally the kiddos and Milka were off to bed...yes, Milka has her own bed and DOES NOT usually sleep with us humans, but Luke was having Walter spend the night, so I let Abby start out with Milka...                              How sweet are my girls!!!

More of Milka...

Many of you have asked for some more specifics on Milka...so here goes.

Milka is a girl dog, who was born September 19th in Germany. (We had to go to Germany, because we couldn't find any reputable breeders of CKCS in Austria which had puppies at this time.)

She loves to sleep, eat, play with her toys , give sweet puppy kisses and leave a few tootsie rolls around every once in awhile! Still for only being 12 weeks old, she is very good about going potty outside and sleeping through the night without any accidents!

Why do you want a dog?

Our kiddos have been asking for a dog for quite some time. We told them that once we got "settled" and felt more rooted in Vienna, then we would consider it. They also have done so good with all of the changes and transition, that we thought it would be great reward! Another plus, is that dogs are VERY well loved in Vienna. They can go into restaurants, ride public transportation and even hang out in the malls! So far, EVERY time I have taken Milka outside I am stopped and asked questions about her...

Why a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel?

Several years ago, Brad and I were on a flight with a woman who had this type of dog and it was the calmest dog I had ever seen and it was pretty cute too :)...I told Brad that if we ever got a dog again, that I would want one like that. Plus, with all of our research and living in an apartment, we knew we needed a small dog, who was good with children.

Who named her...Milka Joy Chili Pepper Hunter?

We definitely all threw our ideas in the pot, but eventually Brad's suggestion of Milka won. It is a yummy brand of chocolate made here in Austria. Joy came from Levi, and we all agreed that she would probably bring much joy to our family! Chili Pepper was the name given to her by the breeder, since she was a little more "spicy" and adventurous than her brothers and sisters. At first we didn't see the "spicy"side of her...but now she is feeling comfortable enough to show all of her sides! Here she is getting the best of a rope...



Here she is attacking her stuffed turtle...
And here she is running from the scene of the crime...see that tree skirt???? It is supposed to be around the tree!
Still, spicy or not...I could look at this face all day long!

So besides having fun with Milka, what else have we been up to?

*A belated Thanksgiving Feast with friends
*A Block class for Brad, which means he goes everyday, all day this week
*Dancing classes, as we have already been invited to 2 balls!
*Getting ready for our Christmas Party on Sunday
*Still meeting with my German tutor once a week...and probably will be until I die
*and last but not least, trying to get ready for Christmas and for Jeff and Jodie's arrival on Monday!!!! Hooray for teammates!

Milka is home!

Milka Joy Chili Pepper Hunter

Seeing Red...

3 more days...

In 3 more days....our lives will drastically change...let's hope for the better! :)