Tonight we had family movie night. We turned out all the lights and cranked up the sound system. We all laughed a lot and had fun.
Then it was time to put them all in bed. Normally we give them 10 mins. to get their teeth brushed, PJs on and in bed before they get in trouble. Tonight, since it was already late, and there's no school tomorrow, I gave them 20 mins.
Lo and behold, they were all finished and in bed in 10 mins. What an awesome evening!
Robin's been gone for a few days... the house is still intact (mostly) and the kids are still alive. I guess that means things are going well.
I've been helping a missionary family get setup in Germany, just as our friends, the Freys did for us when we first arrived. It's difficult to get everything taken care of when you don't even speak the language. Anyway, it's nice to be able to be able to help someone else.
Actually, this family's daughter is watching TV on the sofa with Emma right now. She's Emma's "new best friend." Earlier this afternoon they were singing a song they made up about Dr. Pooper (or something like that). Loads of fun! (Can you sense the sarcasm?)
We dropped Robin off at the train station tonight. It was sad. The girls both cried for awhile. They cheered up a bit when I told them we can call her everyday. We prayed for her before I put them in bed. It was sad, but cute.
The kids all came home and told me how awesome this new school is. They have all made some new friends. Ryan even said, "I like this school... all of them are like me." Thanks for your prayers for my kids!
Okay, so I'm really sad because Robin will be leaving tonight to head back to the USA to be with her family for a week. Her dad isn't doing well, so she's going to help out.
Actually, we will put her on a train to Frankfurt tonight. The train connections from here to Frankfurt aren't very good in the early morning. Tomorrow morning she flies to San Antonio.
That means I'll be left here alone with the kids. If you don't see another blog from me within the next day or so, call the police! ;)
Jon
My brother-in-law, Ben, always used to tell my son, Ryan, how he couldn't wait until Ryan was old enough to mow his lawn. Well, yesterday Ryan mowed our lawn for the first time. With a bit of coaching, he did a great job. He only did the back yard, since our yard is hilly and rounded... but he did awesome!
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So last night one of the neighbors (a Swiss guy) had wwaaaayyyyy too much to drink. He had his stereo turned up pretty loud and it woke up one of the other neighbors, even though it wasn't the official quiet hour yet.
So the guy that was awakened started a shouting match with the drunk guy. They ended up out in the street screaming at one another.
Since this was a few doors down the street, a bunch of the neighbors just went outside and watched the festivities. (None of them understood the drunk guy either) My kids watched from the window as the drunk guy would scream -- in Swiss German, which is hard enough to understand even when the person speaking is sober -- at the other guy, then go inside and slam his door. Then he would come out about 30 secs. later and scream some more. At one point, he threw what appeared to be oven mitts at the other guy, who picked them up and threw them back.
Ryan said, "Mom, this is better than a movie... let's get some popcorn!"
If it wasn't so pathetic, it would have been hysterical. But at precisely 10:00pm -- the official quiet hour -- they both stopped and went inside.
... only in Germany!
