Auf Wiedersehen!

 

It's FINALLY here!! Today my Oma and Opa will be taking the three musketeers to Europe. Adrienne (Jo), Miriam (Mimi) and I are first cousins all born in the same year within 6 months of each other. We are all super close, so it will be an even better experience with them by my side! We will be in two different countries while over there; Romania and Germany. We are leaving for the airport in about an hour and a half, and I had to find something to do with myself to avoid getting sick from excitement!

 

Random Fun Fact: Oma and Opa are my grandparents on my Dad's side. Oma and Opa mean Grandma and Grandpa in German. It started before I was born after their first or second trip to Germany.  They taught the grandchildren those names and ever since then they have been called Oma and Opa!

 

 As you can tell, I am SUPER excited, but I am also relieved that I am done with all the packing. My room was a DISASTER while I was trying to pack. It could have been mistaken for an area destroyed by a tornado...

 

 

Once I started putting things into the suitcase I could think of a hundred more things I could possibly need. I finally had to take some clothes out so I wouldn't over-pack. We will have our own little house while over there with access to a washer and dryer, so really, I only had to pack for 1 week. Thankfully my bag is only 37 pounds, so I have plenty of room for presents (and lots of them!)  without exceeding the 50 pound limit.

 

 

I have my big purple backpack stuffed to the brim with delicious snacks (cappuccino mix from The Homestead!!!) , books, and, unfortunately, schoolwork.

 

 

I will be gone for 18 days, which will be the longest amount of time I have ever been away from home. I am not usually one to get homesick, but I will be ready to see everyone again! Mom keeps saying to me, "What are we going to do without you?"  I told her she should just be happy for a break from me ;)

 

On a different note, June 2nd happens to be this darling and adorable girl's birthday! I am sad that I will miss it, but I think she will enjoy a birthday present from Germany or Romania! She is the baby of the family and is turning 14. AHH! How did that happen?! Seems like yesterday that she was just my baby sister, and now she is almost taller than me. I am so thankful to have her in my life. While we don't always get along, I couldn't do without her!! Love you Mary Lydia!

 

 

In less than 24 hours I will be shopping in Frankfurt Germany!!!

So long! Farewell! Auf Wiedersehen!

 

 

 

 



Mother's Day

What better way to spend Mother's Day than with all the mothers (at least the one's close by!) that have touched my life and made me who I am? Each of them has been such a wonderful example to me of how a Godly woman should be. Even though they all have different personalities, they have shown me how to live and love in God. 

 

 

The mothers present: Aunt Mary Beth (Aunt Bess), Oma, Grandma, and Mom

 

To celebrate these beautiful women, my cousins and I made dinner for them and out families. For dinner we had an Italian theme. I tried out a new recipe, Eggplant Spaghetti, and Jojo (check out her blog dancetothemusicbyjo.blogspot.com) and Kim made regular spaghetti for those who don't like eggplant.

 

 

I saw the recipe while in the waiting room at the dentist's office on the Food Network. It looked good so I looked up the recipe when I got home. I wasn't a huge fan of it, but Mom and Grandma said they loved it. Bread with oil, salad, and applesauce completed our Italian experience.

 

 

Our little kitchen was full with all the daughters helping out! We had an additional helper as well...Betsy! She is my cousin from California and is visiting us for a few days. We sure appreciated her help in the kitchen! I think after preparing this good meal for a large group all of us felt even more thankful for the work that our Mothers do for us.

 

 

Everyone seemed to enjoy the food and company!

 

 

The dish washers :)

 

 

 

We had a fun little surprise when one of the kids noticed the Good Year blimp floating past...it sure isn't a usual sight around here!

 

 

Jo and Oma playing cards... For the rest of the evening we played games, relaxed, talked and had an all around good time.

 

 

Grandma, Mom, Betsy and I all played Uno with Isaac. Uno is his favorite game. He loves to make people draw four. He also enjoyed telling Betsy who to skip!

 

 

 

 

 

After everyone left, Mom sat down with her book. Gram, Betsy and Dad all opened up Words with Friends on their various electronic devices and they have been playing it since then. Judging by the disgusted exclamations coming from the living room, Betsy is beating them both!

 

That completes this wonderful day! Today I just couldn't help thinking of how blessed I am to have a mother who is so founded in her faith. Sadly, this is not how the majority of families are. It is also a good reminder to pray for those families without a mother, for whatever reason that is. All I know is, I appreciate my mother and all she does for me and my family.

 

Thank You Lord for my beautiful Mom.

 

 

Spring in Swing

As the thermometer steadily rises so does the excitement and activity around the Lehman household. Today after church we gave ourselves a break from all the crazy activity and took the time to just enjoy spring.

 

We have a flowering crab apple tree right outside our living room window. The past few days it has been simply GORGEOUS to look at.

 

 

Mary and I just walked around outside, taking pictures and enjoying the warm weather. We stole a flower off the tree for Mary's hair :) Notice the short sleeves and shorts...we are definitely excited for summer time!

 

The water was cold, but we did wade around in the creek for a little while. I just love this picture of Mary because I caught it when she wasn't really posing. She was right in the middle of a giggle :)

 

 

I have such a beautiful sister <3

 

 

Bare feet!!! Tis the season where shoes become foreign.

 

 

After taking pictures with Mary I went in search of Isaac. I found him reading books on the couch. We try to get him to look at books more often, and it usually doesn't succeed. This time he started looking at them without any prompting. He just couldn't resist the Sesame Street book sitting in plain sight :)

 

 

I did convince him to come outside, though. His favorite things to do in warm weather are jumping on the trampoline, playing basketball, and riding his bike or Mary's scooter.

 

 

I must confess that Isaac does not enjoy climbing trees, probably because he is extremely lacking in balance and coordination. I had to help him up and he informed me that it "wasn't safe."



 

After playing outside and taking lots of pictures, we came inside and enjoyed a perfect warm weather refreshment: pink lemonade. It was nice to spend a lazy afternoon doing whatever sounded fun. There aren't many of those available right now!!

 

 

 There are only 15 more days until I set out for Europe for 3 weeks with my Grandparents. I will be super busy trying to finish up school before then, so this will most likely be my last blog post until then!

Have a blessed week and get out there to enjoy spring!