Winter Wonderland

November 2008

In late November, I headed to work early one morning, through a beautiful winter wonderland. Growing up in Texas, and having lived 15 years in California, never had I driven through such streets headed for WORK, only the ski slopes.
Shortly after I took this photo, I called my boss, hoping we might be having a “snow day.”
:-)
We weren’t.

P.S. Note the pile of snow on the car hood...

The Hellers Gekommen!

October 2008

Karen Heller Morrison has been my best friend for (could it actually be?!) 26 years. We met my freshman year at university when my upperclass roommate kicked me out of our room so her boyfriend could spend the night, and I was told to sleep next door...in Karen's room. That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Karen's mom, Inge, grew up in Germany, and returns annually, with husband Roger, to visit the relatives. This year, John and I were lucky enough to be included in their Germany plans.

We spent a lovely evening with them, dining at one of the local restaurants, the Bayerishof, after taking an embarrassing number of routes to search for the place. (We don't go out much.)



After dinner, the boys went to bed, and we stayed up until midnight drinking wine and talking about Germany, culture, politics, and life in general. Who knew your best friend's parents could be so...FUN?!!



Roger & Inge, we hope you'll stop by again next year. We truly had a wonderful time.
With love,
Gail & the Boyz

First Snow of the Season

November 22, 2008


This was the view from our kitchen window Saturday morning. A light dusting of snow covered our little vista, and the air was crisp and cold. After breakfast, we bundled up and headed out…to the backyard.




Jack thought the snow was cold, but great fun.




Luke was not so sure.



We had great aspirations to build a snowman with a carrot nose. Then we discovered the snow was not as thick as we thought. And that our carrot was double the size of our snowman. In the end, our little guy stood a proud 6 inches tall, sporting leaves for arms and eyes. Actually, the snow was so dry it was difficult to get the little guy to even stick together.



Clearly there’s one thing that was growing well in our yard…a giant mushroom. (I know, I know…I can hear the comments now about what it must be growing in…we’re so full of…%$^&)



After watching Jack making snow angels, Luke finally decided to move around the yard a bit.





Tonight, as we tucked Jack into bed, we looked out his window into a winter wonderland, with snow blowing through the air and blanketing the earth. A beautiful end to the day.

St. Martin of Tours Parade

November 11, 2008

We had a treat today at Luke’s school – the annual St. Martin of Tours kinder parade. Here’s the background (a bit long, but interesting):

Excerpt from: St. Martin’s Day - Martinstag Guest Author - Holly Fox
Fall has begun, we’ve turned our clocks back, and the sky is already dark by late afternoon. A procession of children carrying glowing lanterns on long sticks sing, “Ich geh’ mit meiner Laterne, und meine Laterne mit mir. Dort oben leuchten die Sterne, und unten leuchten wir. Mein Licht ist aus, ich geh’ nach Haus. Rabimmel, rabammel, rabum.” (I’m walking with my lantern, and my lantern comes with me. Up there the stars are shining, and we’re shining down here. My light is out, I’m going home. Rabimmel, rabammel, rabum.)
In early November, German children begin these processions, which celebrate the feast day of Martin of Tours. On the actual feast day, November 11th, families might attend a special church service where they hear the story of St. Martin and sing more songs. They then go on one last procession led by a man dressed as a Roman soldier on a white horse.
St. Martin was the bishop of Tours and lived in the 4th century. Originally a soldier in the Roman army, St. Martin met a shivering beggar in Amiens and gave him half of his cloak. That evening Jesus appeared to him in a dream wearing the half cloak. He then decided to be baptized and two years later committed his life to the church.
Another story is that when he was chosen to become the next bishop of Tours, a hesitant St. Martin hid in a goose house. The cackling geese, however, gave away his hiding spot and he agreed to the job. Some stories suggest that to punish the geese, he immediately killed one of them for that evening’s dinner. Roast goose is the traditional St. Martin’s day meal across Catholic Germany. Although St. Martins Day is celebrated in the traditionally Protestant parts of Germany as well, the day is notably more important as a Catholic holiday. In the Rhineland the lantern procession even takes on a certain Halloween feel as children go from house to house singing and receive sweetened, bishop-shaped bread rolls with raisin eyes and buttons.
November 11th is also the official beginning of the new Carnival session across western and southern Germany and traditionally the day to pay one’s tithes. These tithes could also be paid to the church in geese. St. Martin is unique in that he is the first saint that was not martyred. So the celebration of St. Martin’s day has no gloomy overtones, only shining lanterns, children singing, and treats to eat on the way.



So this afternoon, John and I went to Kid’s camp to see Luke in the parade. It was very chilly, and Luke was not in a happy mood. Yesterday he fell on a play structure and skinned his nose, so he looks a bit sad in the pictures! At any rate, there were kids everywhere with their lanterns attached to little plastic “fishing poles” with a battery-powered light hanging on a cord into the lantern. (They reminded me of the fish in Finding Nemo down in the deep dark depths of the ocean with the light hanging on his head.)



Clearly most of the parents were German because they knew all the words to the Lantern song, while John and I struggled to hold a crying, struggling Luke, juggle the camera, and continue to pick up luke’s lantern which was not cooperating with his “fishing pole.” After a round of singing as we walked up the block, we headed back to the school for the traditional bishop-shaped rolls with raisin eyes and some warm kinder gluhwein (punch), which Luke greatly enjoyed. There is no question the little guy loves his food – a satisfying end to the day!


Lastly, happy birthday and love to my sis...(Aunt)Dott!!

The Progressive Dinner...our Last Summer Story

Just found this draft in my files...so here's one more trip down memory lane to our summer trip to LA. Summer is a distant memory now, with temps down to freezing this week in Deutschland. Brrr!!!

August 3, 2008

One of the highlights of our trip to LA this summer was a progressive dinner with our wonderful neighbors. This was the brainchild of the amazing Heather Haggenmiller, who somehow manages to start a photography business (she’s awesome – check out her new site umamiphotography and her blog umamiphotography blog), cook delicious meals, sew Halloween costumes (and hem my jeans in a pinch!), and make raising two children under the age of 4 look easy and fun …all while being incredibly cute and in fantastic shape. I just figure I’m lucky to know her.

The evening started at the Shackelford’s for appetizers – it’s always a treat to go to John and Marcia’s because they eat elegant, grown-up food. We had cocktails and food with ingredients like “caviar” – it was fabulous.



Then we progressed up the street to the Coulter’s for yummy chilled cantaloupe soup. “Awesome” doesn’t do this dish justice. We ate out on the deck, with the sun starting to set over the ocean. It reminded us how much we love where we live (and those we live around).




Next was the Haggenmiller house for the main course – my favorite grilled chicken thighs from the Williams Sonoma cookbook – can never remember their name, but man, Matt cooks ‘em up just right!! All the kids were with a babysitter (bless her!) at the Haggenmillers, so we got to do a bit of visitation while we were there!



Last, we went to the Rochman’s for dessert. I first tasted one of Joan's desserts at our GOTH (Girls on the Hill) bookclub and it was sehr lecker (very yummy)!! The woman has a gift! Since Harvey and Joan were remodeling, we dined at Harvey’s folks’ architectural gem. After years of driving by and wondering what it was like inside, it was such a treat to take the tour. Then I spent the rest of the evening wondering how I could get a house like that!!!






It was a lovely evening…one we will not soon forget. We love you guys and miss you lots!!! Thanks again for taking the time to make our visit home so special!

Bouncing Tigger and Twirling Luke

OK, couldn't resist the opportunity to share another video...this one shot on location at Hoelderlinstr. 32, right before dinnertime. Unfortunately, you can't really hear the Tigger song, but Luke clearly could feel the music! He is sooo much fun...
Much love,
Gail and the Boyz

Tap Dancin' Jack and the Lukey Dance!

September 27, 2008
While in LA, Susan and Helen gave us a really cool little video recorder called a Flip, with the agreement that we would take movies of the boys and publish them. So here we go. In this clip, the boys are ready for bed, and Luke has been dancing around the house - the "Lukey Dance." Jack is excited, and no one is really wearing their "listening ears." Welcome to our madness...take a look.

It’s like coming home from college!

August 29, 2008





When John, Jack and I moved in with Susan, Helen and Katie Love-Cooksey in May of 2007, we had no idea just how much like family we would become. It wasn’t the first time we had shared a roof with them – in 1998, when we remodeled our house, we moved in for 6 weeks. That was pre-kids, but we did have two dogs which weighed more than both children at this point, for what it’s worth. So, in 2007 when we decided to remodel our bathrooms, we knew exactly where to turn.



Of course, I was 8 months pregnant when we moved in, and I was four months post-birth when we moved out. Yes, we left for the hospital and returned “home” with newborn in tow to the Love-Cooksey Casa - we really took the Godmother experience to a new level! Amazingly, it all seemed to work out just fine…their living room became functional as a nursery, complete with breast-pump hookup and changing station on top of the sofa table. John cooked many a meal, and the refrigerator occasionally became overrun with small bottles of breast milk…everywhere.



Susan and Helen took it all in stride, completely understanding and tolerant of my hormonal mood swings, the baby cries and my pump supplies scattered about the countertops. Helen bonded with Luke and was happy to hold him and feed him when I needed a break.





Meanwhile, Jack was having a heyday with Susan. Everyday was full of bear hunts, rocket ship trips and trains. On the day Luke was born, Susan took Jack on a special hike to a cave, while Helen headed to the hospital with us. It was quite wonderful and we were so grateful.





We decided there really was something to “it takes a village to raise a child” and the multi-generational home. There’s also something to living with two doctors when having a baby, especially when one is a breast specialist!



When I was in LA in late August, I stayed with the Love-Cookseys, and it was just like coming home from college. Our home away from home. How wonderful it is to have friends like this – a gift of Grace.

We miss you guys and love you!

The Ehlers

August 15, 2008



We have been blessed with some really good friends…folks who have listened to us through good times and bad, who have cared for our dogs, cats, kids and relatives, and have even let us live with them for months on end. We are, truly, blessed. So, when we went to LA in August, we were pretty excited to catch up with some true friends, the Ehlers – Craig, Jackie, Jeffrey and Parker.





We’ve known the Ehlers for years, through St. Matthew’s. Parker is our Godson, and the Ehlers are Jack and Luke’s Godparents. Suffice it to say we are good friends. Jack was so excited to get to stay with Parker in LA – and play in Parker’s “Fun Zone.” I was so excited to go for a challenging walk every day with Jackie while solving the problems of the world. John and Craig were separated at birth, so they were just happy to see each other. And Luke? He found a new friend in Jeffery, who became a really great “big brother” and helper when Luke was around.



We had a great time, full of retail therapy, movies, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, but the highlight? My powdered white donut birthday tower. When I woke up on my birthday, Jackie had engineered the best thing I’d seen in months – a tower made from my favorite Donettes. Man, I love those things!



And I should also add that Jackie and Craig hosted an incredible surprise party for me that John conjured up while I wasn’t looking. (Thanks guys!!)





Here are some pictures of our stay, but the really funny part? This video (below) of the boys - but let me highlight a couple of things…

...the video starts with Jack trying to push Parker off the bean bag with his backside…an event that is completely lost on John who is encouraging Jack to smile for the camera, completely oblivious to the fact that Parker is now on the floor. Then, Parker turns into Storm Trooper, and when Luke stands up, he looks like he’s had a few too many!! At the end, you can hear Jack from the other room complaining about Parker being noisy - talk about the pot calling the kettle black! It’s classic. Hope you enjoy it. (and will someone please leave me some comments about whether you can get this video to work? It's the first time I've tried it - just click on the "Comments" word below)




Jackie and Craig, thanks again for all the hospitality. We hope to see you in Germany sometime soon…much love!

Jack’s First FIS Fuβball game!

September 13, 2008




Saturday was Jack’s first day of fuβball (pronounced "foosball") at Frankfurt International School (FIS), and guess who the assistant coach is...perhaps you recognize those sexy legs in the picture above? The "head coach" is a woman – Erika - and she's already sent out an email with a long list of drills for next Saturday. I'm expecting a winning season!



Jack is on the “Red Team,” comprised of about seven Primary (Kindergarten) and Pre-primary (Preschool II) kids, most of whom go to FIS, but not all. The FIS facility is quite beautiful, with multiple fuβball fields. I tried to capture it on film, but the picture doesn’t do it justice.




We were very curious to see how the practice would go – Jack hasn't shown tremendous aptitude for organized sports...remember the YMCA swim lessons in 2007 from which he was requested to withdraw because screamed, cried and disrupted the class? Or perhaps you recall the YMCA basketball team John coached where Jack’s idea of fun was to run down the court and roll on the floor. He had no idea where the ball was at any point, and frankly didn’t care. He also enjoyed tickling the other players and "close talking." (Is anyone wondering how happy the Y was to see us leave the country?! uh huh!!) Then there were soccer lessons with most of his St. Matthew's class that we attended once – no amount of encouragement could convince him playing soccer with his friends was better than hanging onto my leg.

So, imagine our surprise when Jack not only participated, but actually volunteered to be the first player to do all the exercises! (Of course, there was that initial moment when Coach Erika told him to dribble the ball and he picked it up and started to bounce it on the ground. The parents all hooted!) But wow - it was a different Jack out there on the field yesterday. We were so proud!




It was a chilly afternoon, though Jack and John were quite warm from running around. Luke slept through the whole game, all nice and warm.



Me? I shivered on the sideline talking to two moms – Beatrice from Paris and Reshma from California who agreed with me that it was cold.

John thinks I’m a wimp about the weather…and he’s right – I am.

In closing, love and happy birthday wishes to the boys’ Godmother, Jackie!!!