ThanksGiving

Today is Thanksgiving Day, In America.
We are missing these people...
And her (Carli- Who will soon be the newest member of our family) Tyson and her got engaged last week and we are SO excited for them, they are waiting until May for us to get home!

And them...

BUT...we won't be missing out on this!!

Because TOMORROW (our delayed Thanksgiving) we get to go spend it with THEM:

I woke up this morning feeling a little sad, here it is, Thanksgiving, and I am cleaning, and taking Colton to the doctor to get his shots, Matt has two practices, kind of a regular old day. To add to that, after Matt's practice, the team is having a Thanksgiving dinner. BUT, I am not invited. I don't really understand why they would do this. But this will now be...the 4th Thanksgiving that I have basically not spent Thanksgiving with Matt.

So, while Matt is off at practice and Colton is taking a nap, and I am supposed to be cleaning, I am going to make a list of things I am thankful for, instead of dwelling on the fact that it is NOT Thanksgiving here today.

First, I am grateful for my husband, Matt! I can not imagine my life without him, and can't imagine having this experience with anyone but him! He is such a great example to me of Always being positive and optimistic. Basketball has been frustrating me a little bit, but he is always happy and keeps working his hardest no matter what the circumstances.

Second, I am thankful for Colton. He is the happiest little guy I know, and I couldn't feel more blessed having him in my life! I love love love this time I am able to spend with him, and to watch him grow. I also love the time Matt and him are able to spend together that they would not normally have in another situation.

Third, I am thankful for our FAMILY back in America that we Love and Think about Always! They have supported our decision to come here and encouraged us along our bumpy road being here. We have enjoyed being able to see and talk to them through skype! It is so great to know that no matter where you are in the world, you will always have family to count on and who loves you.

Fourth, I am thankful for the people we have met here in Weissenfels and in Germany. I am amazed out how giving everyone has been to us. Matt and I continually say how blessed we are to have met some of the people we have, and know that they will be life long friends, and had we not moved to Germany, we would not have met them!

Fifth, I am thankful for the Church in our lives. When we moved to Germany, we knew that we had the Church where people would greet us with arms wide open! I have always heard growing up that the church is the same no matter where you are. I always figured that was true, but when I came here, I could see that it was true. There are wonderful members of the church living the gospel all over the world, they just speak a different language :)

Sixth, I am thankful for my Heavenly Father. The first day Matt left after we had been here for 4 days, and he was going to be gone for a week, I couldn't imagine myself getting through it. However, I never once felt alone. I think He knew how much I needed Him that week, and I always felt comforted, and still do. I am SO thankful for my Heavenly Father.

And I am thankful for....

Choclate, Ice-cream, music, my computer, pictures, clothes, cobble-stone streets, christmas markets, turkey, chocolate cake, a big fridge/freezer, beautiful weather, trees, sunshine, books, knowledge, cars, traveling, Holidays, basketball games, toys...etc.etc.etc.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mikkel is on the way!!

Sooo...one of my greatest friends/old roommates/godmother to Colty ;) is coming to visit us in a few days!!!

First of all- She gets to see THIS LITTLE MAN. Who, might I add, has recently learned how to WALK! WHEN he wants to, he can walk across the whole room, that is WHEN he wants to. The sad thing is, I have NO camera to record him!! That is another good thing about Mikkel coming, my camera comes too!! :) If you can't tell, I have really been missing that thing.

She also gets to see THESE...Everywhere!!!

And these...

And go to these!!!!

YAY!! We are excited!

Germany vs. America

Nooo...I am not going to compare which is BETTER!

I have, however, been compiling a list of Differences between America and Germany. I feel like I have seen many different places in my life, I have LiveD in Utah, Florida, Illinois, Georgia, and Idaho, driven across the entire USA twice And been to the majority of the other states traveling with basketball or just vacations...HOWEVER- after moving to Germany and living here for ONE WEEK, I think I experienced more different things/people/customs/way of life than ever in my life before that. Who ever knew one culture could be SO completely different from another, yet similar in a lot of ways too. I often times find myself comparing American things to the German people, and I am not doing it to be prideful of my country, I am simply doing it because I am fascinated by the differences/similarities.

I do, however, believe that Americans (because of the many cultures we do have) are very open to new ideas, and are interested in new ideas/people/things, whereas here in Germany not so much. They have been doing these things for thousands of years, why would they change??

Ok- So here are a few from my lovely little list of differences:

1) Wearing tights/scarves/socks is a MUST. No flip flops :)

When we first moved here, it was probably 80 degrees for the first couple of weeks, so, naturally, I didn't put socks on Colton's feet. I can't even count how many people came up and rubbed his poor little cold feet. Little do they know that his feet are Always Sweaty!!! Even now when it is cold, I take off his socks and they are wet from his sweat.

Also, if you are not wearing tights or a scarf, you are probably going to catch a cold.

And my favorite of all, when we were in Berlin it was about 45-50 degrees and sunny. Yes, I wore flip-flops ( my feet don't get cold) and we walked out of the store and my mom overheard someone say, "That lady, she is wearing flip-flops!" (yes, they said it in English). We could not stop laughing. I guess everyone is very concerned here about other people's toes staying warm! :)

2) Shopping Trip

Okay, so grocery shopping is Not the same AT ALL as we are used to. First of all, many people walk to the grocery store (even if they are very old) I see old couples walking to the grocery store every day, in the cold/rain/sunshine/whatever they are walking. We live 50 yards from the grocery store, and Uh, normally I would drive, but seeing all these people walking motivates me to make the journey on FOOT!
Also, everyone brings there Own grocery bags/baskets. You have to buy them at the counter if you don't provide your own.
I am pretty sure they SHOP daily for their groceries, because we look RiDiculous with our basketful of FOOD.
They do not begin scanning the food until everything is placed on the belt, I MEAN EVERYTHING! This is fine for most people, because they only have a few items they are shopping for. The Stucki's however, NOOO, the cashier has to wait about 10 minutes for us to unload every last item. It is, however, a rrreally good thing that they wait for us, because once they start scanning, Oh my, I have never seen someone scan food so fast. There is about a foot of space and if you don't load your stuff into your cart quick enough- it will be pushed off the edge. It's really quite funny actually.
One more detail about grocery shopping, DO not put your own debit card in the machine, or you will get chewed out in German- wow. I actually said, "Calm down" in English to the woman.

3) As I said before, People walk everywhere, no matter the weather, or how many kids they have. They have the COOLEST kinderwagons (buggy strollers) with pillows piled on top of the children, and when they get older- sleeping bags that strap into the strollers. We Did invest in one of those. I have often contemplated why we don't have these in America..hmmm, no one walks in the winter with their children, or the summer- we are lazy!

4) Double-beds. No, they don't share a king/queen size bed with their spouse. They have two twin beds connected. Sepearate sheets/separate blankets/and pillows that are twice the size of a normal pillow. I really kind of like it, but do miss the good old King Size bed with HUGE blankets :)

5) No one wears their shoes in their house. Now this one, I like, but mainly because we have hardwood floors and you can see every little thing. They have a rack by the door where they take their shoes off, leave them, and put on shoes "only to be worn in the house." I have made Matt follow this German tradition, and we have our own little shoe rack outside the door. I'll have to take a picture when I get my camera :)

6) So..Matt had a birthday a couple of months ago, and everyone kept asking him if he was going to bring cake to practice. What? I thought the cake was provided for you if it was your birthday? Not IN germany!

7) Okay, more on the walking- A girl came over to visit us and I asked her how far away she lived, she said, oh only 30 minutes. But-- She lives in our town, and I am pretty sure from one end to the other is NOT 30 minutes. I kind of forgot about the comment, and as she was getting ready to leave somehow I found out she had walked over. So, I said- YOU ARE NOT WALKING, if you live 30 minutes away- that will take forever! She said, oh no, 30 minutes walking! I guess here you have to specify if it is by car or foot? oops.

Well, I could go on and on with the stories, but here are a few others in brief:
They have 1 and 2 euro coins, so you have an extra lot of change-no bills for those!
They arE GREAT about recycling, and often times have numerous garbage cans.
They wear their wedding ring on the left hand when they are engaged, and the right when married-- I guess Matt and I are only engaged here :)
The Eis Cafe's are still going strong in the winter, and I see people walking down the street with an ice cream cone in hand-- love it!

Okay, I am going to have to wait for another day to continue my list of differences. It's not better or worse than what I am used to, Just different. (maybe just a little bit less convenient though)

Long lost Family Pictures!!

These were taking over 3 months ago!!!! My mom brought the CD out when she came to visit with all of the pictures! I love this first one, the wind was blowing soo bad at the beginning!

The funny thing is, Travis really looks like he is beating up Tanner!

I can't believe how much he has changeD!!

This is my favorite one :)

Love you family and MISS you guys!!

No camerA!

So- My camera broke a couple of weeks ago-- right before my mom lefT! I have been deprived of taking pictures of Colton!! I think I have plenty, but I might miss a big moment in his life! Oh well, my wonderful friend MIKKEL is coming to visit in a couple of weeks and bringing my new camera that I ordered !! Kind of a sweet deal that I get a newer/better camera :)
Anyway, since I have NO pictures of Colton to share- I thought I would update Matt and basketball :) Everyone keeps asking me about it, and I realize I am so caught up with being here in Germany- I forget the reason we ARE HERE!
Although this picture is small (i got it off of a website) I love it! His team went a couple of weeks ago to the radio station nearby, and had interviews and a photo shoot. I wish I could get the real pictures because they are really nice.
And here is his team MBC- This picture was taken inside of the gym that they play in. His team was in the PRO-A league last year (which is the second league in Germany) Anyway, they won it so they moved up to the BBL (top league in Germany) and were predicted to get knocked back down after this year. ANYWAY- they are doing SOO good in it. They are tied for 3rd place, and are 6-2. They have beat some of the top teams in the league. I guess there have been a bunch of articles about their team/coach (I wouldn't know because I can't read them).

As far as Matt- he is doing okay. He said sometimes he feels like a freshman in college again having to learn a new system, style, etc. He really enjoys it, but obviously they are frustrating times. The games are soo much fun to go to though, they have a VIP room with lots of dang good food, and the fans are crazy, and because his team is doing so well it is fun to see them winning! We have had a lot of time to think about what we want to do in the future, and if coming here is going to lead us in another direction, or teach us something, or what the purpose of us being here is? I guess that is how life works though, and we might never know? We are just enjoying being here for now and learning about another culture that is sooo sooo different from ours (one of these times I will blog about all of the differences I have been noticing)

ANyway, Colton got sick this past week. This is really the first time he has been sick! I think maybe one or two times he has had a stuffy nose for a day or two, but it always went away. This team it stayed, and it seems to be getting worSE! He is, however, sleeping amazing. I think he is just more tired and he loves his sleep time. And other than being a whole lot whinier (sp), I can't really complain. I can't believe he will be a year old in a few weeks. You always hear everyone say that, but now I see WHY!

A few things about Colton before he turns 1:

He LOVES his dad. I think I see it more and more every day. Matt walks in the room, and Colton goes crazy. I always thought that would make me sad if he got more excited for Matt, but Nope, I love it! As long as he comes to me when he is tired and wants to cuddle :)

He LOVES LOVES LOVES stuffed animals (we put them in a pile, and he chucks them all behind him, turns around and does it again, when he sees them- he goes crazy), Books (he can flip through the pages for hours and keep himself entertained), and Little random toys so he can inspect every little thing on them (kind of weird)

He also loves to EAT. I don't think there has been one thing I have given him that he hasn't accepted. And he has probably tasted just about everything. Even the German food, he loves. Some of his favorites are corn, mandarin oranges, mushrooms, bread w/melted cheese, green beans, applesauce, yogurt, and our favorite cookie that we always eat w/chocolate in the middle (he chows the entire thing)

He loves being at Matt's games. We sit right behind the bench and there is a hand rail in front of us. He holds onto it and dances the entire game. He also does squats (haha, he just stands up, and squats down over and over) He also loves to watch everyone clap, and claps like a mad man. One of Matt's teammates has a little girl about 4 months younger than Colton. He probably checks to make sure she is still there every 5 minutes during the game, and then smiles when he sees her.

He likes to play a game with Matt where Matt pretends like he is ignoring him, so Colton will get up in his face and smack his face and as soon as Matt looks at him he squeals and starts crawling away. They could play that game all day (oooh..and they do)

Anyway, our little night time routine is my favorite. He loves his bath, and reading books, and when you bring his bottle in, he rips his pacifier out and chucks it on the ground and opens his mouth and starts whining for it...reallY?

Anyway, I always try and get him to say words, but pretty much he is too much of a busy body to waste time talking. He always says HEy when you walk in a room (kind of funny, hey?) and says dada all day long. He makes lots of different little noises though, and there are times it seems like he is trying so hard to tell me something, because he keeps tapping me and making noises, but I haven't quite figured out what it means?

Ok- So I got distracted on the basketball post....oops :)

P.S. Matt went to get a hair cut yesterday (FINALLy). We went in Halle, so JOdi went in with him to translate. I think their clippers are different numbers than ours because his hair is SOO short! He said it's the shortest he has ever had it. hehehe. I walked in and was laughing, but it is growing on me and I kinda like it. I am going to find a camera so I can take a picture of it :)

She's GONE!

After three awesome weeks of touring Germany, my mom did have to return to America! So sad...The good thing is we have over a thousand pictures to remember it all from (no joke) I tried to choose wisely which ones I just HAD to post, but I couldn't resist putting a lot of them up.

Anyway, yesterday we got up and drove her to the train station. She was a little more nervous this time because she said she knew what she was getting into. It was kind of sad, because the train came and we hadn't really said our goodbye's, but she had to hop right on and leave. OK- I really didn't think I would be as sad as I was when she left, I haven't been very homesick other than the first few not so good weeks. Anyway- now I feel homesick all over again. WE had SO so so much fun, and she spoiled us (and definitely Colty) so so much! I can tell Colton already misses her by the way he is acting. As we were walking away from the train station, Matt said, your mom gets to go back home to a nice house with carpet, a dryer, big fridge, unlimited food, TV to watch football and basketball :( and I was thinking, ice-water, comfy bed, my down comforter :( ANyway enough dreaming....we are still here- and here is our fun time with my mom!

Here is my beautiful mother at Sylke's in-laws house. Everyone here kept saying they thought she was my sister :)

So--FINALLY towards the end of her trip, Matt had a game. I can't believe she was here for 3 weeks, and only got to see 1 home game! Oh well- here is the fanclub cheering away!!

Colton cracks me up at the games, as SOON as the game starts he sees everyone clapping and seriously claps at the right time-ok maybe sometimes he claps for the other team!

Matt came over and saw Colton after the game, and when he walked away Colton started crying! He loves his dad.

On Sunday, we had the special treat of going to Sylke's in-laws for a true German meal. We ate duck, which I have never had before-wow, it was good. Sylke and my mom outside the pond at their house.

Colty and matt with the same hair!

Hanging out at their house

I love this picture of my mom and Colty.

Sylke and Christian and his parents and us :)

After a scrumptious meal, Sylke took my mom and I to Freyburg (a town about 15 minutes from us) while Matt went to practice. Here is me near the castle.

Buildings around the castle. Loves these pictures and LOVE the fall leavess!

Ok- I think this is the most awesome picture! This is called Fat William, or Fet Wilhem (I think) in German. You can climb to the top of the tower (Which we did not do) and look out and see the beautiful town of Freyburg.

Freyburg is a wine making town, and there are these vineyards all over!

Mama next to an old motorcycle

I quite liked this little town. Germany continues to amaze me, every little town we go to, I fall in love all over again!

So- Halloween in Germany is first and foremost Reformation Day here in Germany, and everything is closed! We had been going and going, so we had a nice Relaxing day!

If Colton sees you chewing gum, he is NOT afraid to come get it

And if you are not careful, he will get it from ya with those 7 front teeth of his

The only thing that is open are the restaraunts, so we got all ready and went down to the market and walked around Weissenfels, and ate at an excellent restaraunt! Yes- I know I have a big cold sore above my lip!

My mom and I in the town Zentrum

Even though we didn't go trick-or-treating, we had to dress him up as a BENGAL. IF we were still in Pocatello, I told Matt I would dress him up like this for the bball games!

After a little bit he kind of liked it!

OK-So we also went to the Leipzig zoo. It was so so beautiful, and fun to take Colton because he acknowldeges the animals now :)

WOW.

He gets a little excited over the penguins! I don't know why, but he is obsessed!

Colton and his daddy!

We found a little pumpkin patch, and it seemed to match perfect with Colton's outfit.

Grandma and Colty crossing the bridge!

The crew

In the Asia section- sooo pretty!

So, one day we decided to lay low a little bit. In the afternoon, my mom told Matt and I to just go somewhere, have a little date, while she watched Colton. It was really nice to just get out and do something the two of us. We mainly just went for a walk, there is a path right by the river and it was quite lovely :)

I know...we are lame.

Here we are...FREEDOM! Thanks mom!

I told my mom before she came I thought for sure Colton would be walking by the time she left, but I was wrong. He has taken a few steps, but now he just sits down when you try and get him to walk...he does stand just fine for a long time though...

We also took my mom to our favorite garden eis cafe. Like father like son

It used to be all full of flowers and chairs to sit out here...

The birds at the cafeWe also had the opportunity to go to one of my new favorite towns in Germany, Weimar. It is known for it's culture, and they city dates back to the year 899! It is also 5 miles away from a concentration camp (which we will get to later).

The whole town looked like this...greenery everywhere and small quaint restaraunts

Me and Colty in one of the restaraunts. Funny story, my mom asked for ice (eis) in her drink, and the lady, who did speak some english, said, yes, what kind, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla-EIS means ice-cream pronounced the same as ice. And they don't serve ice in their drinks...we had to tell her no EIS, but we wanted it on the rocks.

Yet another Eis Cafe

So, we drove up the road to the concentration camp. The road leading up to it was called Blood Road. These monuments were before the camp on the drive up.

So- there were still some buildings up at the camp, and this was one of them. It is a "doctor's room" where they brought in the people to "check them out" They put them up against the wall to measure them, and there was a hole right where they measured them, and they shot them in the back of the head! They had loud music playing outside so no one knew what was going on, and then they hauled the bodies off the back. I could not believe this.

This was a chute for transporting the people into the cold cellar where they would hang them on hooks.

And these were the ovens that yes, they seriously put human beings in them. Sickening.

Colton had no idea what was going on

All of the bunk houses were knocked down where most of the people stayed, but this was more like a jail for the "disobedient prisoners" (whatever that means) There are about 25 stalls in here, and when they got to stall number 1 they knew they were going to die the next day. Basically all that was in them was a metal bed, and a little slot that maybe they put food through for them.

The entrance into the concentration camp. The death toll was estimated at around 34,000. It was not an extermination camp, but there was still unbelievable number of deaths because of the harsh conditions. It was also the first Nazi camp liberated by U.S. troops! I love that!! Anyway, it was really interesting being there, and still doesn't seem real to me.

On to a brighter note. While my mom was here she got into taking cool pictures of light posts. She wants to blow this up and have it in her house, so we will see.

We went on an afternoon walk at a park in Halle with the Albrechts.

Here is the crew

Love the scenery!!! It is fall and still SO green!

Jodi and I and the kids!

This is the view from outside of our church building. As we were sitting in nursery, my mom was taking some lovely pictures of our surroundings :)

Here is another view!

Colty riding the rockinghorse in nursery.

So...we had a Halloween party at the Albrecht's and Hannah and I got "masks" to where for the party!

All I could read on the mask I bought was algae..yummy.

We also had a girls day + Colton with Jodi and Hannah, my mom and I. We took a tour of Halle, and shopped :) Oh..and we stopped at an Eis Cafe of course. Here is Colton enjoying his girls day.

The girls at the Eis Cafe

Outside the Cafe

Basically I just followed them and snapped pictures. Halle has a lot of the same shopping stores as the malls in Leipzig and is such a nice city!

I said, "Girrrls" and snapped and they all turned around in perfect sequence.

There were stands set up everywhere selling stuff the day we went. Don't know why, but it was fun.

Grandma and COlty :)

A lovely building we had to take a picture of in Halle

We also took a trip to Leipzig (actually a few of them) but we went to the City Center and walked around on this particular trip. My mom, Colty, and Bach.

Look at those cute, red German boots that she purchased!

Down the streets of Leipzig

There is a train station Mall in Leipzig that we went to-- this was the outside of the mall/train station

Matt studying the "EIS"

Colton once again being soo nice, even though he was stuck in his stroller.

Basically at the majority of places you have to pay to use the bathroom. I thought this sign was so funny. AND...I never knew what WC stood for, I even asked a few Germans and they didn't know, but my GRandpa told me it meant Water Closet, but it's not German?

INside the train station.

As we drove in to Leipzig, these are the type of buildings we pass. Cool!

Me and my big boy..I love him!!!

Anyway, I know that I just put up ridiculous amounts of pictures, but pictures do say 1,000 words! We LOVED having my mom here, and miss her soo much already! I am so glad she was able to come spend 3 weeks with us. I always tell Matt I wouldn't feel as bad to live all the way over here if we didn't have Colton, but taking him away from everyone just breaks my heart. I love that we (our little family) gets to spend so much time together, but I feel bad he is missing out on all of his extended family. I guess the good thing is we have forever :)

Thanks mom for the awesome trip, the treats, chocolate cakes :), eis cafe's, lots of walking, clothes, boots, sleeping in in the morning :) and everything else!!! We love you!