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.

Here we are with part two of our area tour. Looking back to the west from our house, you see the old (200+ years?) church in the distance behind the trees. It is an evangelical Lutheran Church, and their community center is across the street from our house. Our house is the yellow one on the left, closest to the camera, and we have met half of the other 8 families that live along our street now in these other houses you see.

Turning back to the east, we now see the corner we showed you last time, with the bakery and the döner stand.

Across the street from that corner to the left, we have this bottle shop. It sells mostly alcohol, but soda and water too. The lady that runs it is very friendly. We usually buy a couple cokes from her every few days.

Further east down our street (Alte Meissner Landstrasse) we see the bus stop. Two bus lines come through this stop, and one continues right past our front door. Hundreds of people pass our house every day on their way downtown or back home.

At the bus stop, there is this little park. People from all over the neighborhood come to this park to relax or walk their dog. It cuts through the block to Meissner Strasse, a main street headed to the center of town.

These final two images are from the park. The first is looking south across our street towards another street, Gottfried-Keller. We will show you more of it later. The second is from the other side of the park looking east down Meissner Strasse towards downtown.

Here is a neat aerial picture of our town. Amazing to think that a city of a half million people built up around one of the most beautiful churches, has less than 2% making church a part of their lives.
(Click on the picture to get a bigger view.)

Here is a little tour of our area. For starters, the Church we went to this morning. It is about 20 blocks south of us:
Here we are walking east on our street, Alte Meissner Landstrasse, from the garage to our house. It is the yellow one up on our right.
Here is the house from across the street. We are in the middle, 53A. The one on the left is 53, and the one on the right is 53B. The family in B know english and have been very helpful in introducing us to the neighbors.

Just to the left of our house, between it and the red tree, is this walkway that leads into the block. There is a whole neighborhood inside the block that is only accessible by foot. There are four "blocks" of houses similar to ours within the block, before you reach the next street.
Proceeding down Alte Meissner to the east, you come to this bakery on the corner. We go there nearly every other day for bread, and an occasional cookie or cake.
Across the street from the bakery, is this Doner Restaurant. We eat here at least once a week, and have started trying our German out on the owners.
Hope you enjoyed this little walk down our street. Use it to PW for us and our area. I'll add some more of the neighborhood soon.