December 18-25

Tuesday-Friday

Oops, been falling behind on writing! It was a fairly uneventful week, yet somehow very full. I baked a lot... I think I'm still somehow expecting the hordes of family from home to be around to help eat it all when it's just my cousin who will be here to share! I didn't make double batches of anything like I would at home and I didn't bakes gobs of mini cranberry breads, but I was still busy in the kitchen every afternoon. :)

Wednesday evening was the Christmas Gottesdienst for the elementary school. HR and ME both went with me. Thursday ME and HR went to the Nativity play practice. HR is a sheep and they don't have to speak, so she hadn't been going to the other rehearsals. When she came home, she said "That was fun! I want to do that every week now. Ok, Mommy?" I had to explain that there are only a couple more rehearsals and then the play will be performed on Monday and then it's over. Deflated HR. Someone at the adult choir reminded me that there is a Wednesday afternoon youth group for 6-12 year olds and that perhaps now that ME and HR's German is coming along that they might like to join in that. I think after the Christmas break, I'll suggest that they try it...

Thursday after school the girls helped me make Gingerbread cookies per my mother-in-law's traditional recipe and Friday the girls cleaned the apartment while I made my grandmother's sweet roll recipe (baked in my neighbor's oven, rather than my little convection oven). Everything turned out pretty well, so the "taste" of Christmas will be familiar and sweet!

Friday evening I went into Bonn to rehearse the Mozart Messe again. This was a rough "dress" since there won't be another rehearsal before the concert on the 26th. The soprano soloist is an American woman with a thick American accent. I could hardly understand her German! Wondered what the Germans thought of that... Wonder what her sung German is like--how can you sing well in German with well formed vowels and then not try to do the same in the spoken language?! I'll never get that.

Tomorrow a.m. I'm picking up the rental car (and missing my Laufen training again! :( ) and then we've decided if the weather is "nice" (i.e. not raining), we'll go to Ahrweiler again and see the Weihnachtsmarkt there. I also have to squeeze in a run to the grocery store...

Saturday December 22

Picked up the car (a new Renault Espace this time--smaller than the VW Maxivan and bigger than the Ford Galaxy; should be just right for getting our big luggage in for the ski trip to Switzerland but not so big that it's hard to park/maneuver), then got a load of groceries before heading home for a quick lunch. Then we all packed into the car and headed to Ahrweiler again, hoping to check out their Weihnachtsmarkt (last one before they get taken down!). It was lovely. It spit at us but never really rained (remember, we tried going to Ahrweiler once before and got rained out by a wind/heavy rain storm) and the Weihnachtsmarkt was sweet, small, and not terribly crowded. We ate our last Weihnachtsmarkt specialties (roasted candied almonds, fire roasted salmon with potato Reibekuchen (fried shredded potato pancakes), and one thing we hadn't seen at the other Weihnachtsmärkte: Hirschgulasch (Deer gulash) with potato dumplings. Super yum!

Sunday December 23

A quiet morning. We didn't go to church since tomorrow there will be 2 services and two of the girls have atrocious colds. Instead we straightened up a bit (not very Mennonite, cleaning on a Sunday, I know; we had done the main cleaning on Friday but it needed another run over), played, and relaxed. In the afternoon ME and HR went to the church for the final Krippenspiel practice then our neighbor picked them up and they played with her daughter, R, for a couple of hours after the practice. Meanwhile GE and I walked (I walked, GE rode her Laufrad), to the U-Bahn station to meet my cousin, MM, who was arriving from Hamburg. Feels truly like Christmas to be anticipating a family visitor! Her trains were all on time and we only waited a few minutes at the U-Bahn until she arrived.

We put out a big German Abendbrot spread for supper and then relaxed together into the evening.

Monday December 24

I got up early to put together a baked oatmeal casserole, stuck it in the little oven and went for a run. When I came home everyone was up and about. I decked out the table with sweet breads (cranberry, banana nut, lemon poppy seed, and sweet rolls) and the baked oatmeal for our Heiligabend breakfast. Then I cleaned up and headed out to brave the grocery stores for our supplies for Christmas Eve meal and Christmas Day. It wasn't too bad. It was busy but nothing like a Walmart the last week before Christmas. Maybe because there are so many little grocery stores and everyone is spread out among them instead of concentrated in one...? I was planning to get a roasting chicken, but when I went to the meat counter, there was a small young turkey! I think it will even fit in my little oven...Otherwise, I'll do it in my neighbor's oven since they are in England for the holidays.

At 2:30 I went to the church with ME and HR so they could get ready for the Krippenspiel. J, my cousin MM, and the other 2 girls came later. I saved some seats since the church filled up quickly. There were so many people they had overflow in the fellowship hall with a video feed!  The service was music interspersed with the acts of the play (which was really well done!) and a short sermon.

Grace checking out the huge Krippe (Nativity Scene) at the front of the church.

HR in her sheep costume. We were encouraged to not take pictures during the play (which I regret not ignoring) and they dashed off afterwards before I could get them in front of the Krippe for a picture. Had to settle for pics in the "green room" with their giant St. Nik chocolates (thank you presents for taking part in the play--with extra sent home for the sisters!)

ME, donkey ears in her hand (she even had some lines: "Eee-aw, mach ich!") and the extra chocolates for GE and MK.

Afterwards the girls went home and were given a snack while J and I went back to join the adult choir for the second music service at 5. MM came to that one too. Afterwards we headed home and set up the Raclette machine for our Heiligabend supper: variety of cow, sheep and goat cheeses, prosciutto and Blutwurst, salami and ham, boiled potatoes, sliced tomatoes, zucchini, onions, 3 different crusty breads, and smoked trout and salmon... I forgot to take a picture before we dug in, so you'll have to settle for the aftermath...

We decided to mix our traditions a little: instead of opening presents Christmas morning, we opened the ones under the tree on Christmas Eve (the German tradition) and planned to open the stockings on Christmas morning (American tradition). We started with reading the Christmas story in English and then in German. We lit the candles on the Christmas tree for a few minutes to ooh and aah, then everyone helped to blow them out. Then one child at a time got to open a Christmas present from under the tree (the big "kids" too). Plus I set out a plate of Christmas cookies, because we hadn't eaten enough for dinner (just kidding).

Tree lit with the real candles!

MK with a new wooden hand model which she can pose and practice sketching different hand positions.

It's not Christmas if Daddy doesn't have a pair of new boxers on his head.

Afterwards everyone went quickly to bed. It wasn't as late as I'd thought it would be, but we still slept late (after 8!!) on Christmas morning. When we finally all crawled out of bed, I set out the decorated "Christmas Tree" sweet rolls, tea and coffee, and more sweet breads, including the little Stollen I'd picked up as the one store bought addition to our traditional sweet bread repertoire. The girls opened the stockings which were mostly edibles and little Christmas decorations from the various Weihnachtsmärkte we had visited. All the trash was gathered up, the rug quickly vacuumed before the crumbs could get ground in and then it was time to play and relax again. I'm making the big meal in the evening so we'll just have a light lunch (too full of Christmas breads to eat lunch anyway!).

Christmas morning table sent. My new teapot with tea candle stand! It's wonderful--keeps the tea just the right temp all morning.

These are usually in the shape of a Christmas tree, but the pan was smaller and I miscalculated how much they'd rise, so it all sort of smooshed together. Still tasted great though and the kids didn't care that the "tree" looked a little funny!

One of GE's new little ornaments. Can't see it well in this pic but there's a little bluebird sitting inside the star.

J's new ornament from the Ahrweil Weihnachtsmarkt: a wood cut out of a little village scene.

Another one for J: an innkeeper with 3 beers that say "Prost"! (from the Bonn Weihnachtsmarkt)

A gift from our neighbors and my running friend S. A whole family of sweet little clog-wearing figures.

From J to me. It says "Frohe Weihnachten"

An Igel and Igelbaby (Hedgehogs)

The manger scene from the Bonn Markt with the Kreche figures that fit our Kreche set at home--there was a stall at the Bonn Markt selling them!

HR's little angel sitting on a shooting star.

For HR from the Bonn Markt.

HR's ornament with little rabbits from Ahrweiler.

The only bummer: MM woke up with a stomach bug and had to dash to the toilet. She's ensconced in bed with some sparkling water and a bowl! :( Hopefully she'll feel like sitting up to the table this evening. Tomorrow a.m. she takes the train back to Hamburg.

Christmas Day evening: dinner was a success. Cranberry sauce, apple sauce, roast turkey, gravy, green beans, mashed potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, and my favorite stuffing recipe: wild rice and mushroom with pecans made even more spectacular by my use of a German sourdough bread instead of the white country bread! The little turkey was just right (only 5.2 lbs!) and there were no left over mashed potatoes (and no one complained they hadn't had enough). MM sat up to the table but didn't eat much. Here's hoping if it hits us, it does so quickly and all at once so that we don't have it in Switzerland!!

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends all over the world! Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and well wishes on this adventure of ours. Can't believe it's half over!