First Day of School--2009

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Paige's 1st Violin Concert 2/10/2009

What an exciting night! Paige's first violin concert! We were all so excited at how the night would go, as it was a first for all of us. The children all lined up in order of performance. She was number 10 in the line up. She didn't appear to be nervous, but she's not one to show it either. Her teacher, Catherine was very encouraging which was wonderfully helpful. Paige adores her and for good reason--she's precious! As Paige took her place by the piano, I think I was more nervous than she was. It literally only lasted for about 10 seconds being her first time. Her teacher wanted her to simply get used to playing in front of people. She did great. We were all so very proud of her. I can't wait until the next time when her song may be more like 30 seconds!

Winter 2009

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Hope everyone had a terrific Valentines Day! Here are a few pictures to catch everyone up on the Donnachie Girls.

Our first Christmas in Germany--Dec. 2008

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

What a wonderful Christmas we had this year! Very exciting being out in the mix of things over the holidays in a new place. Here in Germany there are these wonderful Christmas Markets. They are located in different areas all over the city/country. They sell different Christmas items, have rides for the kids and of course have terrific food. It's a real tradition here in Germany. People will gather at these markets for hours of eating,drinking and visiting with old friends. Some places will also do little entertainment shows for all different ages. Just a whole lot of fun that can be enjoyed by all.

Grammy came to visit us and we were in heaven to have a familiar, loving face from home. She was able to visit the girls schools and even go along with us to visit Santa at the Ambassadors house. We had a great time having breakfast there with other Embassy families. One of our favorite highlights of the Christmas season was the Christmas play at church. All the children were able to participate from Brooke's age on up. They sang songs and told the beautiful story of the birth of Christ. My Paige was one of the Angels telling the Good News of Christ's birth to the Shepherds. I was so proud of her. She was able to recite 9 or so verses perfectly, speaking clearly the entire time! Okay--what do you expect? I'm a proud Mom! Claudia and Brooke were just as adorable, singing their little hearts out!

We enjoyed a lovely Christmas Morning with our girls followed by a lovely dinner at our friends home. We followed that day with two more days of celebrations here with friends and co-workers. Of course we really missed our families, so we are anxious for more visitors to come! Hope everyone else enjoyed their holiday season. And even though we enjoyed ourselves here, know that we all still miss and love our friends in the US. Happy New Year!

Suesses oder Saeures!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

We had a delightful fall and a very Happy first Halloween here in Germany. It started with a trip for Claudia's class out to a working farm/pumpkin patch. I was able to accompany her as a Chaperone. It was a fun but exhausting day for the kids. The main reason for attending this particular one was because every year the farm puts together a big theme and builds it all out of pumpkins. This year it was Noah's Ark. It was amazing not only that they were able to construct all these animals out of pumpkins and gords, but the variation in color of the pumpkins! I thought they had been painted until I saw the crates full of them.

The Ark itself was breathtaking! It really allowed one to imagine the real one that Noah built and gave the children something to not only see but touch and therefore identify better with the Bible Story. Many questions came out of this trip...I love the mind of a child! :) The kids had the opportunity to see and pet several different animals, play on a playground, bounce on the giant bubble, etc...I could go on, but I won't. It was so much fun I wanted to make sure to take Paige there as well--so last Tuesday we loaded up with one of my girlfriends and her two girls and headed back to the farm. The kids were on fall break so were were able to take our time, but with the time change it got dark fast! So our evening ended a little earlier than we anticipated, but was still able to see what we had intended and enjoyed sharing the time with friends.

Then it was time to get ready for Halloween. Paige's school hosted a "Spooky Disco" the Wednesday before the break. She dressed as a witch for the dance, but then opted to change her mind for Trick or Treat. The teachers did a fabulous job with the kids for the disco--they had a BALL!!

For the actual Trick or Treat night, Claudia decided she wanted to wear Paige's witch costume, Paige went with the Black Cat idea, and Brooke lucked into Grammy sending her an adorable witch costume as well. Perfect for her, since she is going through the stage where she wants to be just like Paige or Claudia. Cute yes, but sometimes causes her mommy the trouble of having to be creative on a daily basis. We wouldn't want to upset her or "break her spirit" as Grammy would put it! :)

On Halloween night, we were pleasantly surprised at the number of Trick or Treaters out in our neighborhood! It was adorable when they would come to the door and say "Susses odor Saures" literally sweets or sours--but of course we would be saying "Trick or Treat". So after doing a little trick or treating around here, we met up with 2 other families from Craig's office in the "American neighborhood" and went up and down that street seeing lots of familiar people, collecting candy and sharing some with them. It was lots of fun, because this is where EVERYBODY brings their kids that are American--but trust me--lots of German kids come there too, in hopes to collect a large amount of American candy.

After a fun, chilly night out with friends, we made our way back to the house, put on pajamas and cuddled up on the couch. We were able to watch a couple of Halloween cartoons and then off to bed they went. No amount of sugar was going to bother them that night. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to answer the doorbell and to have all my nieces and nephews standing there!

I've attached a smilebox for you to view easily here. Enjoy!

Claudia's 1st day of German Kita!

Well, it's finally here! Claudia's long awaited first day of school! But it's no regular preschool--it's a German Kita or Kindergarten! Here in Germany, they don't call it preschool, they call it Kindergarten until they start in Year 1, when their formal education begins. In Year 1 is when they get their real schultutte(see above blog for description), but we couldn't let Claudia start her very first year of school without such a fun treat, especially since her big sister had one! It was of course on a much smaller level, but still just as fun for her to receive.

She is attending a school called The Tom Sawyer school (in the old American Sector). It is bilingual. She has a German speaking teacher and an English speaking teacher, so she hears both languages all day. Most of the children in her class speak German, with the exception of 1 or 2 that speak both. It is our hope that she gets a jump start on learning German now, so she can be more prepared in future German classes. And maybe she can even help teach me!

At school she not only gets to have breakfast, but lunch too. This is a Montessori based school, so they really feel like eating is such a big part of their social interaction. And now that I think about it--they are right! What do I do when I am visiting a friend? I usually go out to eat!

Aside from things she is doing in the classroom, she gets to take additional classes that other teachers volunteer to teach during free time. So our little Claudia is taking Pottery on Mondays and Music on Wednesdays! She loves these extra activities, especially since she's so used to hearing about all the fun stuff Paige gets to do at her school! She is finally able to do her own thing!

Outside of school, Claudia started taking swim lessons too. Next year when she attends the British School with Paige, it will be part of her curriculum there. But for now, her class is right next door to her school, which is super convenient and she has a great time too!

Claudia is getting a great start to her education, and we can't wait to see all the different German traditions she'll be introduced too along the way!

Paige's First Day of School--2008

The first day of school is always so exciting. But this...this was Year 1! In Germany it is an old tradition that when a child enters Year 1 they are given a Schuletutte to celebrate the beginning of their educational experience. A Schuletutte is a cone shaped, treat filled gift. It use to be only filled with sweets, but now it is a few sweets, school supplies and other fun things your child may be in to. Not only are the kids given these gifts, but they have all the parents, siblings, grandparents, neighbors etc. come to present it to the child. I didn't tell Paige about this event, so when we showed up for the big presentation of the Schuletutte, her face lit up with such excitement I will never forget it! At the close of the ceremony we all went outside to take pictures. There we had an opportunity to catch up on each others summers and meet the teacher who was new to BBS. There wasn't a whole lot for them to get use to, because these kids were in each others class last year. There are only two Year 1 classes and every year the class stays together when they move up. It was a lovely day that will always be special for Paige. Welcome to Year 1, Paige!