Klara and I went visiting teaching this evening, and the lady we teach was late, and I am so glad that she was. Klara and I had a grand old time waiting for her. If it wern't for the wait, I would have never captured this precious moment. I love my little baby visiting teaching companion.
My Grandmother, 78, passed away one week ago. She was a wonderful lady, she always played with the children,and had a silent confidence about her. I enjoyed her fun sense of humor and the quiet reverence that always abided in her home. I spoke to Grandma only a few weeks prior to her passing. I called her fairly often from my overseas home, and I am so glad I did. Life is too short, and you never know when your loved ones will leave this earth. My grandma was one of my best friends. When I was in high school, I attended basketball camp every summer, and I always stayed at her house with several of my friends. She was always welcoming and made us each feel comfortable. She and I share many memories together. She has known me from the very begining of my life. She was there just hours after I entered this world. It is strange to think that when I visit her home, she will not be there, and I will feel the void. I spoke with her recently, after giving birth to my daughter, and told her that the next time I saw her, we would take a four generation photo. Now, I'll have to do it with my Grandpa. She never had the chance to meet my little Klara, and I am sad about that. She would have loved to hold her close.
I love my Grandma Pat! I was not able to atted the funeral, I am still wondering if I should have flown over for that event, none the less,I made the decision not to. However, she knows that I love her and I will miss her terribly. I am extremely grateful to know that she still lives. Her spirit is very much alive, and one day, she will be ressurected; her spirit once again united with her body, in it's perfect frame. It brings me much comfort to know this. Until we meet again Grandma! I will never forget you.
Well, we're still in the same house, but with very little. We got home from our Normandy Trip Monday evening at 11:30 and Tuesday we woke up really yearly to take our VOLVO to be shipped off... we're a family with one little car now. and Wednesday the movers came and packed all our stuff up. It was amazing, they arrived at 8:30 am, and had everything boxed and wrapped up by 11:30. 3 hours! There were 3 men and each one took a floor and knocked out the huge job. While they were packing, I went around to each of the guys and asked them if they wanted anything specific to drink because I was going to go to the store. One mover asked me to buy him 5 cases of Diet Pepsi. I thought it was a little strange, but I did it anyways. He loves the Pepsi, and they don't sell it in Germany, only in the Commisary here on Base. He had dollars in his wallet, so I gave him the pepsi in exchange for 20$. Crazy German! So, we are all comfortable in our house with loaner furniture from the Government. We are pretty much camping in style.
Last weekend, we drove through France to visit Normandy, a trip we've wanted to take for a long time, and we are so glad we finally did it. This would have been a shame not to visit. We vivsited Mulbery bay in Aromanches where Winston Churchill commanded the building of a temporary port. This is the port that supplied the final push of the allies to conquer the Germans. It was a really impressive feat. This part of France loves Americans and the Brits. It was nice to be appreciated overseas.
We stayed in a really old home that was built in 1860, so it definately was there during the war and survived. The room was ok, and the breakfast nothing to speak about, but the people and the home were good. Here are a few pictures of our trip to Normandy.
These first 5 pictures are of Aromanches, the place of the artificial harbor.
You can still see remains of the harbor in the distance of the photos. The Brits Canadians, and the Americans sunk 15 battle ships to create a barrier from the sea, to calm the waters so they could build the harbor to supply the war.
Here we are on Omaha beach, or Bloody Beach. The cemetery is situated right on the cliffs. It is beautiful and a very reverent place. 
The old home we stayed in.
Point Du Hoc. This is where 250 rangers scaled the cliffs by shooting rocket propelled ropes with anchors up the cliffs. They fought the germans for 2 days before having any back up. The US battle ships pounded the landscape with many bombs, you can still see all the scars from the attack on June 6, 1944. The German bunkers are still in tact (some of them) while others were destroyed. There were also huge guns that would shoot 12 miles long, up on Point Du Hoc. This was important for the allies to capture because it was such a vantage point for the Germans.
Utah Beaches
Here we are at Mont St. Michel. It is a very famous place in France. When the tide is in, it is surrounded by water, but it was a huge fortress in the old days because the tide could go out as far as 18 KM and when surrounded by water, it was difficult to capture. This was also a training place for monks, a very large abbey. It was one of the cooler castles we have toured here in Europe.
Oh, and on the way home, Klara decided to get really mad when we drove through Paris, so here we are, in Paris for dinner one last time where we ate dinner at McDonalds.
Saturday we went with some friends to Colmar France. A quaint town with a "Petit Venice." We really enjoyed walking through the old village and loved eating the yummy flamkuchen and pastries in France. Colmar is where the artist who sculpted the statue of liberty was born, hence the wanna be statue as you enter the town. We are going to miss the fun times in Europe and our day trips to France.
Our little Dolly is 2 months old! She is wearing a little French beret that I think is so adorable when it is formed right, and can look so goofy if worn wrong. She is smiling lots and lots and is interacting much more with us and has found her voice -we love those adorable little coohs. She is sleeping through the night in 9 hour stretches! She has been doing this for about a month now. We are totally blessed to be able to sleep as we did pre-Klara. Being a mommy is the best job out there!
