Sunday, September 29, 2013

Blessings

Today baby James got blessed.


And I felt like a very blessed mama



So grateful for the priesthood in my life... for how it blesses my family and home




 and makes my hubby a better man 





Monday, September 23, 2013

Battle of the Bulge


So a week ago I was perusing the internet when I came across a Battle of the Bulge tour being offered by the USO for the coming Saturday.  I jumped all over it.  Somehow we had to get on that tour.  Ben was totally game too, of course, having served with the 101st including two combat tours.  First we considering taking all the kids... but riding on a bus from the crack of dawn to late at night with numerous stops in-between... none of which were exactly kid friendly seemed like a recipe for disaster.  So we reconsidered.  We found a sweet newly returned sister missionary in our ward who was willing to come spend all day with the girls so we could go.  Yea!!  It's so nice when the stars align.  Of course, James would stay with us.  

So in preparation we hit this book pretty hard the days leading up to the tour .  


Nope, I had never read it, but had heard lots about it from my brothers and dad and had seen parts of the HBO miniseries.  What an awesome story it is.  I'm sure many of you are already familiar with it, but it's tells the story of Easy Company, part of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division in WWII.  They participated in the most difficult campaigns on the Western Front including D-day, Operation Market Garden, and Battle of the Bulge.

So, it was so fun to read the book and go on the USO tour at the same time.  I'm weird, but I really do love military history.  My dad beat it into us kids. (I remember having FHE lessons on the Battle of Gettysburg, he more than once talked about Lincoln over the pulpit, his shelves were full of military history books, and the first time I remember him ever seeing an R movie --gasp!-- was when Saving Private Ryan hit the theaters.)  So having that background and then MARRYING into a military family, it was inevitable.  Oh, and did I mention I have my masters in military history?  Ha!  I know, it's comical, and I like to keep it on the down low... that is unless the History Channel would like to feature me in one of their productions.  I'd be sitting in an armchair smoking a (fake) pipe offering my two cents on the strategical blunders of Pickett's Charge.  It's one of my fantasies.  But moving on...

Easy Company... notice the screaming eagle patch, which my husband also dons with pride

So let me use this map to explain what happened at the battle:


Um, never mind.  

In a nutshell, Hitler decided to make a last ditch surprise attack on the allied front in Belgium in December of 1944.  While Easy Company was getting ready to enjoy a peaceful Christmas after their intense fighting in France and Holland, they were called on to defend the crucial city of Bastogne, which was an important crossroads.  Because the allies were caught off guard, the 101st did not have adequate food, clothing, medical supplies or ammunition.  They fought during what would be the coldest winter on record.   The Germans pushed through the allied front forming a salient known as the "bulge" (you can see it on the left) and the 101st quickly became surrounded. They were able to eventually prevail upon the Germans, but it was the largest and most costly battle for America in WWII, 89,000 casualties and 19,000 deaths. 

Our first stop was at an American cemetery in Luxembourg.  This cemetery contains over 5000 graves mostly of servicemen who died in the Battle of the Bulge.   



The sea of white crosses is overwhelming to behold.  We got there just as the sun was coming up, the grass was still wet with dew, it was a beautiful and peaceful morning. 


Especially overwhelming is looking at the dates on which these men died... most of them from December '44-February '45.  So much death and destruction in such a short time. 


This is a member of Easy Company, who died in his foxhole with his buddy where they took a direct hit from an artillery shell. 


Another member of Easy Company who died on a patrol... shot in the neck.

And who else is buried here?  None other than General George S. Patton himself!



So just a kilometer away we skipped on over to the GERMAN cemetery, which was really quite interesting.  This cemetery is filled with the Germans who died in the same battle.






A list of their Missing in Action

Most of the graves had four people per plot.  Notice there are two names on this cross.  And on the backside are two other names. 


I couldn't help but compare the two experiences.
The American cemetery invokes the feelings of awe, reverence, sadness, respect, gratitude, and pride.

What do the Germans feel when they visit their cemetery?  Sure they feel sadness for the loss of their loved ones.  But to have that sadness in addition to the knowledge that their loved ones fought on the wrong side, the side that was so grossly misguided and then completely defeated.  I had never considered it before.   


And sites from the rest of the day:


A honkin' memorial in Belgium



I loved this memorial to Easy Company along a rural Belgian road, in the background you can see part of the Ardennes where the fighting took place


















Ben in the Ardennes.  Can't you just see a German Panzer crashing through the forest behind him?  Creepy. 





The Bois Jacques in the Ardennes where E Company was surrounded.  Just imagine it being covered in a foot of snow.  And dark.  They fought in the darkest month of the year, about 16 hours of darkness per day.  No thanks.



The original foxholes are still there!!  This was my favorite part of the tour.  Being in the exact location where the fighting took place.  Such a reverent place.  It's hard to describe.


Standing in one of the foxholes


Easy Company's view of Foy, one of the towns they recaptured from the Germans.  That's No Man's Land out there where they would have to go on patrol.  Again, no thanks. 



Supposedly the house where the German sniper was hiding out who Shifty Powers killed

And I love this:


photo

A bust of General McAuliffe who refused to surrender Bastogne to the enemy at all cost.  When the 101st was surrounded the German general wrote to him asking him to surrender.  He famously replied, "Nuts!"  So, yeah, the Belgians, and most especially the Bastogn-ians, are forever grateful to the 101st.  

And by the way, the Belgian Waffles were DIVINE.  Definitely made the trip worth it :)




Thursday, September 19, 2013

Odds 'n Ends

I'm still getting used to being a mother of a school aged child.   It's weird, let me tell you.  I feel like I've turned her over to someone else to raise.  Like she's no longer completely mine and now she's open to all the worldly influences, both good and bad.  I'm not sure how I feel about it.

Every morning at 7:30 Emily bounds off to school hand in hand with her dad, happy as can be.  It's like she can't wait to leave behind me and Caroline.  Sniff.  I'm trying not to take it personally.  

It's a long day.  We pick her up at 2:20 and by the time we get home it's close to 3:00.  The school is here on base, so we walk.  I carry James in the Ergo and push Caroline on her tricycle. 

Emily loves to walk home with her friend and neighbor Ellie.   Ellie has older brothers so is a tomboy of sorts.  She basically runs circles around Emily.  She splashes through puddles and climbs up trees and runs fast as lightening.  Em tries her best to keep up. It's hilarious.  She'll come to a puddle and hesitate... doing her best to clear it.  Then she'll complain  her shoes got wet.  She'll attempt to climb a tree, but doesn't get too far.  She'll chase Ellie in tag but quickly give up.  Let's just say I am very happy she's hanging out with Ellie.  I think she's going to toughen her up!

One of several trees we stop by on the way home

Just the right height for 5 year olds


Once we reach home they find a worm.  Fascinating.  

And dig for more worms

And now I'm totally changing the subject:  



The girls first visit to the German dentist.  C looked WAY small in that chair.


But she was brave





And stake conference in Germany. Oh, the things we take for granted back home! 

So, it's fun to go and see all the Mormon Germans.  I'm amazed at how established the church is here, especially compared to Poland.  But, the downside is everything is in German.  So, we went to the RS room, watched the live stream, and this kind German came in and translated the whole 2 hours for us.  He was awesome.  His brain must have been killing him.  

And my new favorite thing in Germany:


These are the most delicious whole grain rolls... soft and chewy and they have to be healthy, right?  I eat them at breakfast, I eat them with a salad at lunch.  I'm seriously hooked.


And of course, they're much better when dressed up like this, right?  That's Nutella underneath.  Now that is a tasty breakfast.  Not sure it's helping me lose any of the baby fat though

Speaking of which, I think we may have a problem.  

Nutella has become a staple in our home.  When you send the hubby on a grocery run for milk, bread, and nutella, you know you know you have a problem.

When you join the family for breakfast Saturday morning and find that all the jars in the cupboard have been scraped clean and go into panic because the commissary isn't open yet, you know you have a problem.  


This is the German version of nutella and I personally like it better.  Maybe because the nutrition information is in German and therefore I can't read it?!



And last but not least, the latest on James.  He is my favorite thing in life right now.  


Emily loves to tickle him and hear him laugh


The Sweetest Thing



Sunday, September 15, 2013

I Roamed and Rambled and Followed my Footsteps

Do you recognize those words?  

They continue:

To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me

Here's a few more:

The sun came shining as I was strolling
The wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
The fog was lifting a voice came chanting
This land was made for you and me

Back in the day, when I worked at Philmont Scout Ranch for a summer, we would whip out the guitar and belt out this song with the kiddos.  Corny as it might sound, I loved singing that song.  It was there at Philmont, and at Zion National Park where I also worked for a summer, that I grew an immense love for nature and the outdoors, specifically hiking. 

So, naturally, when I heard about volksmarching in Germany, I became VERY interested.

Volksmarching is a form of non-competitive fitness walking.  Basically, a bunch of people get together and go walking in the great outdoors.  You can choose how far you want to go... 20 km, 10 km, or 5 km.  They have volksmarches every weekend all over the country. 

 So a couple weeks ago I attended our local "Stuttgart German-American Wandering Club" meeting where I learned what volksmarching is all about.  Our local chapter is just one of about 150 wandering clubs in Germany!  

                     

Everyone was really nice, but I was surprised that I was pretty much the youngest one there.  As in, this is a club for people more like my parents' ages.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, but, it just didn't seem like the hippest place to be (no offense senior citizens).  After the meeting I went and joined Ben who was at a nearby Irish pub for a fantasy football draft with his coworkers.  His club seemed a lot cooler.  

Regardless... 

It still appealed to me... getting exercise while exploring the country without having to spend a lot of money!  And what I really want is to instill in my kids a love for nature and the outdoors.

So Saturday I dragged the fam out to our first volksmarch.  We decided to ignore the forecast for rain, because, come on, if we let the forecast dictate our weekend plans we'd never go anywhere!  


After about 5 minutes of hitting the trail, Emily complained that her legs hurt and she was tired.  She wanted to ride in the stroller.  Sigh.    

A potato farmer trying to get the mud out of his tractor tires

One of the club members, Bill, was nice enough to accompany us on our first "march."  We went into the Schonbuch Forest.



To keep the kids engaged there were questions posted along the trail for them to answer on a sheet.  When they turned in the answers at the end, they got a prize. Em was all over it.

The only problem was the questions were all in German.  Fortunately, Bill knew enough to help translate for us. 

One of the rest stops along the way

And as you can see, volksmarching isn't just for the girls.  Is it just me or are my hips about six inches wider after delivering a 9 lb. baby?!?  Double sigh.  BTW, that's beets behind us.  Schrute farm, maybe? 

And our reward afterwards, Black Forest Cake, mmmm...

And Em enjoys a soft breaded pretzel!  Not sure she's so deserving since she walked MAYBE one kilometer out of the 5k walk.  But, hey, it was our first one.  Slowly but surely we'll get there, that is, if I can ever convince them to go again.