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