Here are a few photos from Christmas and our first real snowfall of the winter.


Here is Jason at a huge church in Schneeberg. The little door on the giant church tower struck us as humorous.

Happy Birthday Ashlyn! Dresden's 572nd Weihnachtsmarkt! Frohes Weinachtsfest!

been kissed today?

Here are the rest of the pictures that were supposed to go with the previous post...

Well, we had a good Thanksgiving this year on Wednesday which was the uniquely Saxon holiday: "Prayer and Repentance Day." You actually have to do some research to find out what the holiday is all about. Around here it is just another day off that has lost its religious connotation. Hey, sort of like Turkey -er- Thanksgiving Day back in the states! On Friday the kids had no School so after our German classes, we went over to Meissen. Wow! An amazingly beautiful little city! As with most settlements here, it is built around the focal point of a church that is literally a museum now.

Uncle Steve typcast as the donkey for "The Good Samaritan" devotional.
Logan sporting Dad's new winter hat.

Well, we got over to Berlin today. It was quite the experience! We saw a lot of the well known sights, including some of what is left of "The Wall." I even got my passport stampted at "Checkpoint Charlie" with the old DDR stamp!

Here we are at the Brandenburg Gate. (Logan is in the stroller.)

Here he is on the Berlin Subway. He liked pushing his face against the glass.

The gate from the east...

...and the west.

Caedon at the wall.

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, bombed out during the war.

Jonah, Ashlyn, and Caedon in front of the Spree River.

This line of bricks runs through town where the wall used to stand. Its a reminder of the division that no longer splits the city in two. You can also just see the glass dome on the Reichstag at the top of the picture. Its a symbol of the open and transparent government of Germany. You can actually go up into the dome and look down on the lawmakers as the conduct the business of government.

Just some random pics of the kids. People here have a habit of giving kids gifts. At least more often than not, when we are in a store the shopkeeps ask us if they can give the kids something. A couple of weeks ago we were at the downtown flea market and one of the vendors asked if he could give the kids something. He gave them each a pair of sunglasses. People sure are nice in Dresden!

This week the kids started school and here in Germany they have a great tradition. On the first day of first grade, each kid gets a cone full of goodies and school supplies. They really work hard here to make starting school a non-threatening thing. Anyway, we got Ashlyn's cone, and Jonah one too since it was his first German school day. Caedon gets the best deal, because he gets a little one now, and then the real big one in a few years!

Happy Birthday, Caedon!

Here are a few pics from our recent trip. From top to bottom:
Hiking in the Alps (Before you comment, Caedon and Ashlyn are safer than it looks.)
The Waterfall we climbed up to. It was quite the upward hike.
A view from the side of a mountain.
A view of the Alps from Zell am See.
The castle we stayed at and two views from it.
Kids, (and I) in a Boot am dem See.

I Repent

Got our crate yesterday. We found out we were getting it 3 hours before it arrived when they called to tell us they would be running late! God never ceases to surprise. We had just sent out requests for the crate to not arrive next week so we could atend a retreat. We thought this meant it would come after the retreat, but I suspect a lot of people were ping otherwise!
It was like Christmas around here for the kids and us too. I especially enjoyed being able to listen to some of my music again! We will post again in a couple of weeks when we get back from the retreat.
By the way, my music being here made me think of recommending some. If you haven't heard the great Derek Webb, you need to check him out. Here's a sample:

I Repent

"I repent, I repent of my pursuit of america's dream
I repent, I repent of living like I deserve anything
of my house, my fence, my kids, my wife
in our suburb where we're safe and white
I am wrong and of these things I repent

I repent, I repent of parading my liberty
I repent. I repent of paying for what I get for free
and for the way I believe that i am living right
by trading sins for others that are easier to hide
I am wrong and of these things I repent

I repent judging by a law that even I can't keep
of wearing righteousness like a disguise
to see through the planks in my own eyes

I repent, I repent of trading truth for false unity
I repent, I repent of confusing peace and idolatry
by caring more of what they think than what I know of what we need
by domesticating you until you look just like me
I am wrong and of these things I repent."

Well, Walmart is leaving Germany. I'm not shedding any tears for a couple of reasons.
First of all, it was not really Walmart. It was like some mutated version trying to be Walmart, and failing in the process. There are actually stores already here in Germany that do a better job of being Walmart.
Secondly, I want Walmart to be a part of what I leave behind and visit from time to time. I've already tried to explain this to some of you. I was actually disapointed when I first found out the Walmart was in Germany. To me it has always been a part of what America is (for better or worse) and something I looked forward to in visiting the states. So now I can look forward to just visiting the mecca of materialism whenever I am stateside.

We went to one of the festivities for the 800th anniversary of Dresden a couple of weeks ago. It was quite an experience. It seems as though half of the city's 500,000 turned out! Jonah, Ashlyn, and I rode the big ferris wheel and got several good pics of the city center from the vertigo inducing height. There was a mid-evil style market on one end of downtown, and a lot of international booths set up on the other side.