Norfolk

We're here in Norfolk to meet the new baby Lentz. He's a cutie with a strong pair of lungs. Oliver Robert likes being outside, so fortunately the weather here has been great, so it's been pleasant to get him out and about in the Baby Bjorn. Mom Ann looks way too good and is far too sweet to be getting as little sleep as she is.

Vern and Beth came down for just one day all the way from CT to see everyone, so the whole Lentz family (minus nephews Seth and Justin who are both in their senior years of college and high school, respectively) was together.

Ann and Brian have this lovely, historic home that looks just like what you ought to live in in Virginia. They've decorated it beautifully and the yard is fantastic.



Mom Ann with Maddie and baby Oliver






Oliver with Oma Lentz






Vern Lentz



Skip, Horst and Beth Lentz

Christmas at the Cabin

The day after Christmas we got to head down to the Sanders new cabin they've built in the woods of Mount Ida. And when I say "they built it" I really mean they, themselves, did it. Most of it, anyway. They have done a fabulous job putting together this amazing, cozy, little space out in the country near Lake Ouachita. Rob has been talking about a cabin at the lake since we worked together in the early 90's and here it is.




Maddie and Julia




Brooke gives dog Sally a lift down the loft



Skip using the cabin for it's intended purpose



Maddie and Juila into the chocolate cookie dough



Rob and Skip lounging

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Santa knows little girls love Joe Jonas



Oh, yay! Bongos!



Skip shows off his Reece's. Can't get these in England. Europeans have yet to discover the joys of chocolate mixed with peanut butter



Mom shows off her new hat we bought in Germany



Maddie presided over the gift distribution



Maddie loved it all!




Skip strikes a pose

Update

Mom and Dad put up our Christmas tree for us and we had a great time decorating it. Lots of memories and friends go along with our ornament collection.




Skip explains Cricket to Lile and Martin



Andrea and her kids Emma and Abby Kay



Dad and Susie--I LOVE this picture!





Taking advantage of the free WiFi at the Little Rock airport as we prepare to head for Norfolk, VA to see our new nephew Oliver Robert. Haven't had much internet access over the last week, so I've been a bit behind on the blogging. Got a fabulous new camera for Christmas and have lots of new photos to post when I can.

Tuesday evening we had the Choates and the Kastens over along with Susie Kirkwold-Hook. Her husband Justin is the new guy at the newspaper, so he couldn't join us as he had to work. A good time was had, even though Katie is not totally up to par. We're hoping that a procedure coming up in January will get her back fit as a fiddle. Kennedy Kasten spent the night with us and we returned her home on Christmas Eve morning.

Will post Christmas Eve pics and Christmas at the Cabin with the Sanders pics soon.

Home Again, Home Again

Made it back to LR with relative ease. We were SO fortunate. The Atlanta airport was packed with people who couldn't get to where they wanted to go because of bad weather in other parts of the country. Our trip was long, but relatively uneventful--with the exception of a super-crowded Gatwick airport. When we arrived, we actually had to wait in line outside before we could even get in to the departure area.

Mom and Dad picked us up at the airport at 7:30 p.m. LR time. I think we were all in bed asleep by 9:30. Maddie woke up at 2 a.m., but I told her she simply had to go back to sleep. She woke up again at 5:15 and we all got up and started our day.

We're all bearing up pretty well with the jet lag--probably our best transition yet. This morning, Mom and Dad picked me up to go to the Presby church in NLR to preach while Skip and Maddie took our car to go to Grace Presbyterian where all of Maddie's former co-horts were putting on the annual Christmas pageant. Christmas Eve, we'll head to Mom and Dad's church (Second Pres). Wonder if we can hit all the great Little Rock Presbyterian churches over the next week?

We all met up again for lunch with friends Kennedy and Katie Kasten at (of course) a Mexican restaurant. Came over to Mom and Dad's this afternoon to eat all the homemade candy Mom has made and take advantage of their Internet access. Looking forward to lots of time spent with friends and family.

We're all really starting to fade after our first day in the new time zone. Will head home soon for what is hopefully a good and lengthy night's sleep for all.

Only in London can you pause to look at a few of Rodin's sculptures as you Christmas shop. I met a friend at the Victoria and Albert Museum yesterday to do a little more shopping in their gift shop. I arrived ahead of her, so I took the time to admire the work of Rodin and some of his comtemporaries.

My people watching while tooling around the greater London area included:

a very overweight German family--which is very strange. Germans are not usually obese.
a middle aged woman with bright pink hair
another middle aged woman dancing unabashedly on the street to the tunes of a steel drum Christmas band playing to raise money to prevent child abuse
a very happy Asian couple chatting away excitedly on the bus. I'm guessing they had a good day in London
a guy on a longboard skateboard (like a grown-up guy, not a teenager) skillfully weaving through the crowds at Leicester Square

Back on Monday night I took Maddie to a Panto, which is short of Pantomime. Here in England, these are not silent plays, but kind of farcical, audience participation performances geared toward children. We went to see a funny version of the Cinderella story. Maddie loved it. The same three actors played all the roles and got all the kids involved in the story.

Today I had to take the bunnies over to our bunny boarding place. The owner wasn't available during the day on Friday, so she asked that I bring them today. They do NOT like to ride in the car. Then I headed out to Maddie's school for their Christmas party. The two second grade classes had a combined party and there were stations set up in each of the rooms. The kids were divided up into groups and went from station to station icing gingerbread men, making snowmen out of tube socks and rice, participating in a book exchange and making Christmas Crackers. Then Maddie's friend Kei came home with us. Kei is moving to Perth, Australia about two weeks after we get back from Christmas, so I had promised a little extra time with her. It only took us 40 minutes to get Kei home to where she lives way out past the school. Such is the world of playdates in the greater London area.



Maddie and friend Megan



The spread the moms put out for the party. Whoa!



Okay, so now, I'm being a little boastful. This is the bag I made for Maddie's teacher.



The reverse



The close-up. Oh yeah, I'm going to get the big head. I can drive on the left side of the road AND make a cool bag. It may not be the most impressively constructed bag ever made, but I think it's really cool. What do you want on YOUR bag?

Twas the Week Before Christmas Break

and all through the house
Nothing was in order
It all was chaos

But cheerful chaos it was
Happiness reigned
For we knew in a few days
We'd be in the US of A

The laundry's not sorted
The presents not wrapped
Lots going on
No time for a nap

Christmas cards have been sent
Bus driver's gifted
Cookies and pies are baked
lots of BLEEEP has been shifted

Skip is exhausted
Maddie's over the moon
Merry Christmas to all
We're coming home soon

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Duesseldorf Part Two

We really had a great weekend in Duesseldorf. It was very, very cold on Friday and Saturday, but dry all weekend long.

We discovered a new twist on an old coffee shop. Schusters has been a fixture in Kaiserswerth since the 1920's I believe. But now they've taken part of their shop and turned it into K5, a much more modern coffee shop. More like Central Perk or someplace you might find off the slopes in Vermont. The decor is great and the waitresses are friendlier! We went there everyday.



Skip enjoys the new coffee shop


We headed out to the Christmas market at Schloss Moyland on Saturday with Mary and Jamie and Erin Gollhardt. We got a little lost and that, coupled with a bridge construction traffic jam, made our trip much longer than it should have been. Getting lost and/or delayed in travel seems to just be part of the ex-pat experience no matter where you are!

It was really cold and I had on so many layers that I felt a little like an oompa loompa when I walked. But the market was beautiful and Skip got to enjoy the matjes (sardines that have not yet spawned) from the same booth he ate at last year. He went there twice and even got Mary to try them the second time. I was not up to the challenge.




I had my own bathroom at the market at Schloss Moyland. The men's was labeled Anton.



Skip, Maddie, Jamie and Mary at Schloss Moyland enjoying bratwurst and potato pancakes



Maddie and Jamie dance to the tunes of a Christmas choir at the Schloss Moyland market



Maddie and Jamie confer



Our family outside Schloss Moyland. That's me, hardly able to move, for all my layers. I am SUCH a cold wimp.

Saturday night we went to our favorite Italian restaurant and we were greeted so warmly by our regular waiter, you would have thought we were family. It felt really good to be there with good friends and good food.

Sunday we slept in a bit and wandered around Kaiserswerth. We met up one more time with the Robinsons at the K5 coffee shop and set a date for them to come see us in London.



Maddie outside a local drycleaners. We liked their poster.




Annie and Lizzie Robinson with Maddie


We hit the Christmas market in Kaiserswerth. It was a little disappointing in that they didn't seem to have the mix of products they did last year, but it was still beautiful and it wasn't nearly as cold out as the day before. I did have quite a grievance, however. My favorite thing to eat at the Christmas markets are these roasted, sugared almonds. You can only get these at Christmas time. I limited myself to a 100 gram bag each day. I wanted 2 bags on Saturday, but knew I could have another one on Sunday. So I waited, and then, there were no almonds at the Kaiswerswerth market. This is unheard of. Every market always has the almonds. We don't know WHAT was going on. We would have complained, but we didn't know who to complain to. I suppose I should be grateful. Skipping that final bag of almonds may be the only reason I could still button my jeans when we left.



Maddie strikes a post outside a Christmas market booth in Kaiserswerth



Maddie with buddy Jamie



Me and Mary


Maddie cried most of the way to the airport. Just about killed us both. She said if only we'd stayed in one place we wouldn't have all these friends that we had to leave. But she conceded to me that she wouldn't want to give any of them up, either. Fortunately, Maddie cannot sustain a sad or a bad mood for very long. She can go to the deepest depths of despair, but she just can't stay there long.

We all would have liked to have had more time, but that probably would have been true no matter how long we stayed. Just too many people and places we wanted to see. But we had a great time and are grateful for the chance to go back.

Duesseldorf Visit--First Day

Our day started with a race through the airport because we had some issues parking. I've driven to the airport several times, but only to drop off or pick up. And when we fly out of Heathrow, we usually call a car to take us. So as we're dashing through the airport, trying not to miss our plane, Maddie's pulling her suitcase (still that one you gave her about three years ago, Aunt Linda) and saying, "This is going to make a great story!"

We made the flight and arrived in Duesseldorf. Our rental car turned out to be a Mini Cooper, which we thought would be cool. And it is, but it's not called a mini for nothing. If there had been one more of us, we never could have gotten all of us and the luggage in the car.

We checked in to the hotel that we stayed in when we first moved to Germany and we even got the exact same room. It's nice to be in it without the jet lag. Skip and Maddie went off to the store Real to buy items on a list that we had crafted together. They were semi-successful as they were unable to find or simply forgot several items on the list. While they were there, I met some friends for coffee. By chance, another friend who had moved back to the states was visiting this week to. I had nice visits with friends Mary, Susan, Kathryn, Melanie and Karen.

I met Skip and Maddie up at ISD where Maddie met up with friends Annie and Lizzie. She is spending the night with them tonight. It was amazing how many faces of parents I didn't recognize at ISD. There has been a huge turnover there.


Me with friends Karen Robinson and Jo Tuffil

So after Maddie went home with the Robinson family, Skip and I met up with cousin Torsten and Elke who came down from Dortmund to go to the Christmas markets with us. Holy cow! It is cold here. I can't remember when I've been as cold and I was sporting several layers. It wasn't so bad when you got into a crowd, but between the crowded areas, it was brutal.

It was at the market that Skip's worst fears were realized--he simply couldn't eat everything he wanted to. But he did make a valiant effort. It started out with a cup of Eierpunsch which is this really nasty warmed up eggnog they serve here. Then I stopped for these roasted, candied almonds they have, and Skip had one or two of those. Then he and Torsten both got a bratwurst followed by some Gluhwein (a mulled red wine). There was talk of potato pancakes, but no takers. Then Skip had a piece of my Pflammkuchen which is kind of like a small pizza. Later there were different varieties of wurst available, but he just couldn't do it. We even saw some backfisch and some spaetzle (German noodles), but he had to pass on those as well. Fortunately, by the time we took the train back to Klemensplatz, his stomach had room for his favorite curry wurst, which is a Berliner wurst chopped up and covered in spicy curry powder, onions and hot sauce. So, as I said before, a valiant effort was made. And we still have another market to hit tomorrow and Sunday.




Skip, Me, Torsten and Elke all with our souvenir commemorative Duesseldorf Christmas Market Snowman Mugs

We did do something other than eat--we shopped. Unfortunately in our search for gifts for others, we only ended up with things for ourselves. Perhaps we will do better in the eating and shopping tomorrow. Chalk Friday up to a friend, food and spending frenzy.



Our new painting. Each square has a symbol of Duesseldorf in it, including the radio tower, the Radschlaeger, the crest of Duesseldorf, the Frank Gehry building, and St. Lamburtus church. We love it.




The Christmas tree in the mall at the Schadowarkden.

Off to Duesseldorf

Well, I didn't have to wrestle Skip to get him to stay home. It only took a stern talking to. He did spend most of the afternoon on the phone, but he did sleep most of the morning and didn't have the crowded, cold commute on top of an already-sore throat.
He seems to be bouncing back.

Maddie is excited to see friends. I hope she won't be too disappointed when she realizes how many of the people she knew there are no longer there.

The forecast on both CNN and the German wetter.de both report no rain for the whole weekend. It will be cold, but dry. Yay! Must be living right.

Feeling really fortunate to be able to make this trip at this time. We have missed the friends we made in Kaiserswerth, and we wouldn't want to miss the Weinachtsmarkts. Nobody does Christmas cheer like the Germans!

Because of this weekend trip and our trip home, Maddie's missing out on the Christmas activities at church, and I fear that Christmas may be too much about Santa this year. In Germany, we went to a church of mostly ex-pats, so all the Christmas music and pageants were done early in December because many of the members would be leaving to visit home for the holidays. But here, we just attend a church where everyone is local, so their Christmas activities tend to follow the actual Advent calendar. And outside of church, I have seen no evidence in England that Christmas has anything to do with the birth of Christ. My German speaking was limited, so I was never in the media loop there. But here I notice that there are no radio or newspaper ads about Christmas Eve services. Or pastors showing up on TV spots to remind us about the reason for the season. We're going to have to do a little more reading and talking about the baby Jesus this year here at home.

Getting Ready for Germany

Friday, we head to Duesseldorf for a long weekend. Naturally, Skip, who is probably the family member who is most looking forward to it is sick. If he does not feel better tomorrow and plans to go to work anyway, I may have to sit on him and make him stay home to rest. He still has a few pounds on me, but in his weakened condition, I think I can take him.

I've been enjoying and struggling with the preparation for two sermons I am going to preach on the 21st and 28th at First Pres in North Little Rock. It's a lot more fun preparing sermons when you don't have to do it every week, but it's also a lot harder when you're out of practice.

So, what do people in Germany want from England? Here's a list of stuff I'm taking various people:

children's chewable air sickness medicine
Booth's Pink Curling Gel
Mince Pies
Christmas Puddings
PG Decaffeinated Tea
A couple of magazines

I have plenty of suitcase room because I plan to bring quite a bit home with us. On our list to bring from Germany to England.

Some baking goods for my mother-in-law
Tempo tissues (they come in portable packs and are much stronger than what you get in England or the US)
Milka Chocolate
Christmas ornaments
Neuropas (a homeopathic medicine that is a blend of St. John's Wort, Valerian Root and Passion Flower extract. It's a must for beating the grey, rainy winter blahs)
Knorr dill salad dressing mix
Haribo gummis

Any requests? Get them in quick!

We are all looking forward to seeing friends, although many of our friends are no longer living there. I get updates from friends in Istanbul, Shangai, LA, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Texas. Next week Maddie is having a friend over after school for the last time before she and her family move to Perth, Australia. It's a weird, weird world we live in.




Last week was the annual Pendleton Court Tea at ACS Hillingdon. It is a holiday tea hosted by the fourth graders of ACS for the residents of a nearby retirement home. Two children from each class (first-fifth) were chosen to present something that they are working on in school. Maddie and her friend Evan were chosen from her class and they shared their Gingerbread Boy stories.

Saturday, Maddie was invited to sleepover at her friend Ann's, so after Skip went to an early Fulham soccer game (as it was being televised), we headed into the city. My favorite alternative publication (Bust Magazine) holds holiday "craftaculars" in New York and LA, but for the first year ever they had one in London. Skip and I headed down to Euston Station and the St. Alysious Church Social Club for the event. It was crowded, but very entertaining.

Then we went into the heart of London to check out the holiday happenings. We'd heard about the lighting of the tree in Trafalgar Square, but were a little disappointed with it. Not quite as grand as the one in Rockefeller center. After searching for a restaurant that wasn't booked for the night or offering a two-hour wait, we ended up at this little Mediteranean place with fabulous food and great ceilings. We strolled the very crowded streets of London to check out the store fronts and the lights. Entertaining, but not up to par with NYC during the holidays.





A group of Santas gather around the statue at Piccadilly Circus. We have no idea why.



Santa hangs out in the window of Selfridges Department Store



Debenham's windows sports holiday sheep



Maddie is enjoying her Advent calendar that cousins Annelie and Joerg brought from Germany




Maddie and the Girl Scout Troups of ACS went caroling tonight at the London Epilepsy Society. It's quite a large complex with several group homes. Higher functioning residents live pretty much on their own, and then others have whatever level of care they require. Some residents were in wheelchairs, others wore helmets to protect their heads in case of seizures. In one of the houses, there was a cat who lived there as a pet. As we were leaving, Maddie asked her friend Megan if she saw the cat. Megan said yes and asked if Maddie had seen the cat's bent ear. Maddie said, "Of course. That's why he lives here."