In Which I Sound Like a Complete American

So far I have not had very many opportunities to use my extensive German vocabulary (which consists of: Guten Tag - Hello
Guten Morgen - Good morning
Auf Wiedersehen - Goodbye
bitte - please
danke - thank you
and No comprendo which means I do not ... no, wait ...)
  I enjoy hearing the German language, but in some situations it can be quite overwhelming.  Crowded McDonald's when you have just been awakened and dragged off a warm bus that you did not want to leave, into the freezing cold to get a burger that you did not want to eat, surrounded by talking people that you can not understand, and then accidentally eating a pickle on your supposedly ketchup-only cheeseburger while suffering through the stares of the locals because of your younger brother who is expressing the way you feel by crying incessantly is a great example.  I wanted to get back into that bus, pull on my slippers and curl up again more than is possible to convey through a blog post.
  I have been working to expand my already extensive German vocabulary with the following phrases:
Ich verstehe nicht. (I do not understand.)
Es tut mir leid.  (I am sorry.)
and
Konnen Sie die Heizung anstellen?  (Could you turn the heat on?)

~RM

Germany: check. Jet-lag: check. Snow: check. Frostbite: double-check.

After a full twenty-four hours of traveling, we have arrived in Hohenfels and are settled into the 'Sunrise Inn'. 

 Germany is amazingly beautiful.  Covered in snow and experiencing it's harshest. winter. yet.  Problem?  To say the least.  Snow is piled high on roofs, icicles hang from balconies and every one of our noses turn red after being outside for 5 minutes.  But the snow does make for a stunning photograph ...

Now I am off to make myself some hot cocoa.  Auf Wiedersehen for now.

~RM

Getting Through Security May be a Bit of a Problem....

Is it legal to pack your friends?

~RM

How to Fit 11 Persons into a One-Horse-Open-Carriage 101

This weekend was family-get-together weekend.  Which means:

Early Christmas.

Photo shoots.

Carriage rides.

Plaza lights.

And general craziness fun. 

~RM

Merry Christmas!!

~RM

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas....

~RM

Feel o' the Fall

Friday was spent on a photography/lunch outing with my dad.  I enjoyed every minute of it.

Our first stop was the church that my parents were married in.  A beautiful old building that was really easy to take good pictures of.

See what I mean? Very photogenic.

 Stop number two was Loose Park.  Large fields surrounding a beautiful pond area in one of the nices parts of Kansas City (in my opinion anyway) with leaves falling, and wind blowing ... it felt like fall.

 

 On to the rose gardens (which might not sound like it would be very nice looking this time of year, but dying roses sometimes make very nice photos).

And then browsing and Italian food for lunch in Brookside.

(Union Hill)

~RM

November

"November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.


With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.


The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring."


- Elizabeth Coatsworth

~RM

Time for a Recap

I find that when you get behind in something it is very, very (how much can I stress very?) hard to catch back up.  I apologize for not posting in so long.  And now I am going to use that age-old excuse: "everything has just been so busy."

To recap what has happened during my span of writer's block:
I will probably wear this out quickly but, I love the weather here!!  I have missed the season change and the fall colors and (can you believe it?) the cold.  On Thanksgiving day it snowed!!  That was very exciting to say the least. 
Thanksgiving was filled with food, family, and fellowship which makes a grand combination.  There was way too much food for us to eat and I have a feeling that my aunt, uncle, and cousin will be set for meals for another month.
The Lopez clan has finally settled into some kind of a schedule here in Mimi's home.  Each morning starts with Bible reading and then to the Y for some exercise.  After that it's school time.  Christmas carols fill the house as each student takes their turn at the piano while their classmates work on math, reading, omnibus or french. 
Christmas time is in the air!  The house is decorated, though I must say, it most definitely did not decorate itself.  Stockings hang above the fireplace and each day Bear remembers to tell me which one is his and which one is Cristabel's.  Holiday ads fill our commercial breaks and Christmas music blasts through the cars speakers as we fly down the highway.  It's Christmas in Kansas City!  It is very good to be in my hometown.

~RM

~RM

Bendy Straw vs. Spoon...Life is SO Complicated...

Case for Bendy Straw --

Pros: They are awesome and they bend

Cons:  They require very strong jaw muscles in order to end up with any shake in your mouth...

Case for Spoon --

Pros:  Holds a whole mouthful of shake and is easy to use

Cons:  Cool factor of about -2 and does not bend...

-- Before and after pictures of our Skyscraper at Winsteads.

~RM

Kansas City!!!

We have finally arrived!!  Here are just a few pictures of the Plaza...

~RM

Excerpt of the Week

    It was a stupid plan and I berated myself for suggesting it.  However -- this you must understand -- When the Unseen Hand leads you in its grasp, you follow.  Or turn back and live in eternal regret.  Of course, there is no certainty in following either.  That is what makes faith.  Follow or turn back -- there is no middle ground. 
    That night I chose to follow.  It was my decision; I chose freely.  And I bear responsibility for the consequences.  That is the price of freedom.
    Oh, but I felt alive that tempest-tossed night with the rumble of waves and thunder in my ears, the sting of salt in my eyes, and the smell of moss and wet rock in my nostrils.  And that warm, trusting girl by my side.  I was alive, and I gloried in the living.

-from 'Merlin' by Stephen R. Lawhead

~RM

Spring Cleaning....in November....

....All I have to say is: it shouldn't be legal.....

Tomorrow we leave this wonderful house that has been home for the past two years and move into the not-so-wonderful TLF that will be our living space for the next two weeks.  Tomorrow morning the home 'inspector' (insert dramatic dun-dun-DUN music here) comes to, well, inspect.  Our house has to be ship-shape before then.  The walls must be free of all dirt, crayon marks, food smudges (not that there's many of those) and pretty much blemishes of any kind.  I told my mom that a lot of them are not removable.  She told me to use some soap and elbow grease.  The blemishes have been removed and I am out of elbow grease.  Saturday was spent cleaning and painting our garage walls and then power scrubbing our fence, white fences and red dirt shouldn't be legal either.  The refrigerator has been thoroughly sanitized, the microwave was just washed, and this morning the oven cleaned itself.  Most of the walls have been sufficiently disinfected, but there are still many more things to be done.  The bathroom being at the top of the list.  I do detest cleaning bathrooms.....

So I decided to type up this blog post and let you all know how things are going!

Nooo, I'm not avoiding anything....

~RM

Rising AND Shining

                                           

I woke up this morning to my brother's voice.  He sounded exasperated, as if he had been repeating himself.  Shaking my shoulder he says my name again, trying to remind me that I was supposed to go for a run.  I answered with a groan.  The sky outside my window was still dark, street lamps still shown brightly, my alarm clock flashed 5:45 am.  My feet peeked out from under my blanket.  They were rather cold.  After much poking and prodding, I sat up with another groan.  I pulled myself reluctantly out of my nest of warm blankets on the ground and told him to leave (none too audibly) and then began to ready myself for my imminent physical exercise.  When I was finally prepared, I stepped outside as the sky was just beginning to brighten.  Birds were chirping, the street glistened with  the last night's rain, and I realized how long it had been since I had removed myself from our home early in the morning.  I ran and I felt refreshed despite my heavy breathing.
Although I would not have admitted it a few weeks ago when my dad announced that we would be doing 'family PE' over break, I found that I was enjoying it and that I needed it.  It's not that I'm lazy, I spend at  the very least four and a half hours a week doing ballet, but now that I'm not dancing, I never 'find time' to get out and move around.  There is always so much to do here in the house.  Homework, chores, homework, blogging, homework, packing...I can always think of  a reason to not go outside.  I've found that because I'm inside all day and don't exercise, both my muscles and attitude are affected.  Waking up in the morning and going outside, even just for a walk, gives me time to breathe before the day begins and (especially when I'm just walking and am not distracted with trying to inhale and exhale) I use that time to talk with my Father.  That in itself makes my day go so much smoother!

~RM

One of the Many Things That is Wrong with Me

I decided to change the background of my blog since I was getting kinda tired of the old one.  No big deal right?  It wouldn't be if I would just find a background and be done with it ... Instead, I choose one, apply it, and then come back the next day and change it again because it was 'too bright and distracting' or 'too dull and colorless' or 'I don't know, I just don't like it.'  I find it very hard to make up my mind on certain things (now, whether I want a piece of chocolate right now or not is not one of those things).  So, this post's purpose was to apologize for driving you all insane with my blog being a different color each time you visit.  Bear with me.  Hopefully my mind will make it's self up in the near future ...

~RM

No Ghoul Left Behind

On our driveway stands a small boy wearing blue pajamas that read, "Daddy is my hero".  In his hand he holds a lethal foam sword daring any Halloween monster to challenge him.  Surrounded by darkness the conqueror fears no one.  Running to the very brink of his dominion he raises his weapon, yelling at the fiends across the street ...

"HEY! MOONSTERS!! WE GOT CANDY!!

The brutes could never resist such a challenge ...

~RM

~RM

Hidden Talent

My room is empty...well, all except for my bed, my duffel, and the teeny, tiny TV that we kept.  The other day (right after the movers took all our stuff away) my dad came in and expressed how he wanted my room to stay nice and neat at all times.  Of course my response was,  "Psh, that'll be easy!  There's nothing in my room!"

I am extremely talented.  I have the ability to make a mess out of nothing...

Living out of a duffel is not for me.  In no way shape or form was I meant to live with all of my clothes stuffed into one bag.  There is no good way to get anything out of it!  Especially when my jeans are at the bottom.  I like my jeans, a lot.  And, on top of the difficulty of retrieving clothes out of the evil bag that causes much frustration, all of my clothes are wrinkled when I finally find them!  That pushes my buttons.  Ironing every single piece of clothing I own before I wear it is not my idea of good time management.  Of course, spending an hour on the computer is considered good time management....

~RM

And Now For a Traffic Update...

Due to major construction, hallway 85 is down to one lane....

~RM

~RM

Update on Baby....

...Sister!  We learned that the baby is a girl on Wednesday.  I am very excited to have another baby to coo over, to cuddle, to kiss, and make funny faces at that probably scare the child to death, again.  I have missed those things since Bear was a baby (though I have been able to get my 'baby kick' through babysitting the sweet children in our small group).  Her name is Cristabel, we have already started to shorten it to 'Belle'.  I was praying that she would be a girl ever since I saw the cutest pattern for a little girl's dress at 'Fabric Mart'.  Funny reason, I know :)  She is due February 10th, a month after we arrive in Germany.  Please pray for a healthy baby and healthy mom.  I'd really appreciate it!

~RM

It's Funny the Changes that Take Place Within the Human Brain at 4 o'clock in the Morning

A word from the not-so-wise-who-had-to-figure-this-out-the-hard-way:  "Staying up till some ridiculous hour in the morning at a sleep-over, while it may seem a good idea at first, is most definitely, undeniably, without a doubt, absolutely, not a good idea."  Last Friday night was spent with two of my very good friends for our last slumber-party madness before I move.  We had pizza, soda, the Keira Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice, chocolate, an air mattress and lots of stuff to talk about.  The evening was bound to be great.  Note: When using a slightly deflated air mattress, do not sit on the edge as this may result in falling backwards in a very ungraceful manner.  At around 5:30 pm we promised each other that we would stay up till at least 4 am, and we did.  At least two of us did...one of us fell asleep for a little bit until our giggling woke her up, I'm not naming names....   Common sense and brain-cells tend to turn off at around mid-night.  Quite a few times someone would crack a joke that was not all that amusing, but in our befuddled state anything was sidesplitting.  And, even more often were those times when someone was trying to say one thing but was not able to perfectly form the words so her statement resulted in gales of laughter.  Of course the next day no one can remember the conversation surrounding the comment.  The outcome is a quote like this, "That's how you shave a camel."  Don't ask, I don't even remember who said it.

Despite the fact that Saturday afternoon was spent unconscious on the steadily deflating air mattress and that my sleeping habits have been out of wack all week, I would not have missed that slumber party for anything.

~RM

A Walk on the Beach/ Aloha to Hawaii

My parents have been putting together a 'yearbook' that covers most of our stay here in Hawaii.  Having experimented with a photo album for my dad while he was in Iraq, Shutterfly has been used to construct this book of memoirs before our move.  My father came up with the idea to take this picture for the very last page of our yearbook as an 'aloha' to our home here in Hawaii. 
~RM

And With the Rain Comes the....Wildlife

I named him Stanley....
~RM

September Spotlight

September .... if you look it up in the dictionary it's definition is: 'full to overflowing'.  Just kidding.  This month Mimi visited.  Everyone went to the dentist, even Bear, that didn't go well ...  Our family hosted small group, which, despite it's name, is not in any way small. I think the grand total present was 39 people.  Things got kinda wacky at work for my dad.  We received our orders (read about that here).  Acceptable winter-in-Missouri clothes have been packed and unpacked multiple times once I realized that I still wanted to wear those jeans that I packed at the very bottom.  Passport pictures were taken (tooken? tooked? taked?).  Isaac and my dad rode one-hundred miles in the Century Ride.  Our small group celebrated a full year of being the Leeward small group.  Riley went to the vet. 
All that and normal life had to continue (normal? what's normal?).  I have read the Pilgrims Progress, the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, the Autobiography of Charles G. Finny, the Pit and the Pendulum, and I am currently reading Of Plymouth Plantation for school.  Algebra 2 is driving me to the utter brink of mental stability.  I'm serious.  Waking up in the middle of the night shouting,  "No! X equals 27, not 13.9827!  You forgot the negative sign!"  Such outbursts do not reflect well on my sanity...  I have learned how to say,  "Qui vous aimez mieux? Lait ou de jus d'orange?" Translation:  "Which do you like better? Milk or orange-juice?"  I feel accomplished.  In science I have learned about Kingdoms Protista, Monera and Fungi (which I like to pronounce fun-jai).  So, life is continuing and getting more exciting as the days pass.  This Friday my parents will be celebrating their seventeenth anniversary.  Next Friday we are hosting the biggest slumber party EVER (in the Lopez household anyway) as my brother, sister and I celebrate our birthdays with friends.  My parents' reasoning behind this insanity is they think it will be best to get it over with all at once.  They have no idea what they're in for ...  So!  That is what the month of September looks like for right now!  I have to go finish some high-order determinants in math ... Pray for me.
~RM

Oh Yes, Life Most Certainly Can

There have been quite a few times that I've said to myself,  "Life just can't be more hectic."  Oh, how I regret those words now!  This past week we have 1) received our orders - almost, anyway, we have not actually held a copy of them. They are currently being revised since a few minor details (like my dad's social security number) had to be corrected. 2) We have learned that we will be leaving island about a month before we thought we were.  3)  Suddenly we realize that our possessions will be shipping in just a few weeks.  That hasn't exactly sunk in yet.  "You mean I have to pack all these things?  Already?!"  "You don't have to pack everything!  There's a trash pile and a sell pile right over there!"  My mom is very organized and enjoying the whole 'weeding out process'.  I, on the other hand, am not.  She says I get it from my dad's side.  So, the next few weeks are about to get amazingly crazy with all the packing and the garage sale coming up.  Add to that ice-skating lessons, ballet lessons, small-group, and school....I don't think things will be slowing down anytime soon.
~RM

~RM

Kindness Never Fails

A retelling of an Aesop's fable assigned for writing class. 

With his little red cape billowing in the soft breeze, Noah galloped around his yard on his invisible steed.  The Sun watched with growing amusement as the little boy donned his cooking-pan helmet, uttered a fierce war cry, and charged his imaginary foe.  Chuckling at Noah's childish antics, the Wind, who was gently pushing clouds here and there across the sky, smiled ruefully.  "He reminds me of the Element Olympics we used to hold!" exclaimed the Sun,  "What fun those were!"  Unintentionally, the Sun had toughed a sore spot, the Wind was overly competitive and reveled in putting others to shame with a show of his might.  But he had never won the Element Olympics because of his anger issues.
"May I make a suggestion?  I suggest that we have a contest, you and I," the Wind went on slyly, "to discover who is the strongest."  "Enticing idea, I assure you, but how will this be accomplished?"  Pleased, the Wind proposed that they compete to see who could make Noah remove his cape. Because of the Wind's proposition, the two elements cast lots to decide who would go first, where they would hold the competition, and when the contest would begin.  The Wind was chosen.  The place was here and the time was now.
Preparing himself to blow his hardest, the Wind huffed and puffed and touched his toes.  When he was sufficiently warmed up, the Wind began to blow so violently that Noah, who was completely perplexed as to where this wind came from, skidded across the yard.  But even though the Wind blew as hard as he was able, he did not succeed because Noah only gripped his cape tighter to keep it from flying away.  Haggardly, the Wind conceded to the Sun, grumbling darkly about the contest being impossible.  The Sun had a different strategy.  Pushing his sunbeams to their fullest extent, the Sun grew warmer and warmer until Noah slumped down under and tree and removed his cape.

~RM

Riley, Summed-Up

            This is Riley.  Riley is our dog.  Riley is...special.

Riley likes to act like an old dog, sleeping inside, going outside, sleeping outside.  He has a schedule.  Unless of course it's a Friday afternoon and the ice-cream truck drives by, then....well, then it's best to stay out of his way. He also has this thing with people walking along the curb next to our fence, he'll run up and down the length of our yard, over and over again, barking like anything while the people walk calmly by.  Then he'll go lay down again to catch his breath.  He doesn't care if the people walk on the other side of the road, on the sidewalk.  Riley just enjoys defending our borders.  Little girls on our street think he's a monster and spend their time running right up to our fence and staring at him while he barks insanely.  That pushes his buttons.  So do birds eating his food, the birds have learned to fear him.  Though, once you get to know him, he is really a sweet, laid-back dog.  He lives with Bear stepping on his paws and generally treating him as something to boss around.  If that isn't patience, I don't know what is.

~RM

To My Dear Brother...

Happy 13th birthday Isaac!!  In celebration of your thirteen years, I have put together this little blog post that pictures each year of your life from year 1 to today.

Happy Birthday Isaac!