A constant source of joy

When I look into her eyes,
when I feel her hug me tight,
when she calls me by my name,
when she smiles as only she can,
when she throws her head on my shoulders,
and when she falls asleep on my back,

then I know... that I have been so blessed.

With a little girl that took away all those years of grief and sadness, just as it is said in Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." God kept His promise and I am honored to be able to see it every day right in front of my eyes.

She is beautiful. She is happy. She is mine.

I don't know where to start as I am constantly amazed by her and my heart literally overflows with pride.

Munchkin has been with us for a little over a year but it sure feels like it has been forever. She completes our family. She is a little firecracker, and yet gentle and caring. Anything that she is exposed to, goes right to her brain and is applied. Clapping, High-fives, throwing a ball, climbing up the stairs and scooting back down on her bottom, pretend-reading, sorting shapes, doing puzzles, and yes, eating with a fork. 

She interacts so well that I could easily forget how old she really is. She shows so much compassion for her siblings. If one of them gets hurt, she comes over for a pat on the back and a long-lasting hug of comfort. When one of them cries, she cries, too. They play kitchen, she has to be right next to them. We go outside to play soccer, she grabs her mini soccer ball and kicks it - just like the big kids!

Her small motor skills are incredible. One of our little routines, when I want to go to the bathroom, is to give her a small piece of toilet paper (clean of course!). In hand, she runs of to the stairs and rips it into microscopic small pieces. Nope, she does not put a single one into her mouth! And then she brings them over for me to throw them in the garbage.

And none of this goes without verbal communication. I am absolutely blown away by the things coming out her of mouth. At one year old, she knew every member of her family, including the extended family of grandparents and aunts and uncles - by name. Of course, like with Peanut, I am trying to teach her baby sign language, but really, it is in vein as she signs AND says it at the same time. Signing more and saying 'mo', so Mami and Daddy really get that she wants more!

Words that I have heard her say include: 'hi', 'bye-bye', 'baby', 'water', 'waffle', 'cereal', 'shoe', 'nigh-nigh, 'go', 'peek-a-boo', 'ba' (for bath), 'wow', 'than you' and 'please', 'wau' (German for woof), 'doggie', 'meow', 'lalala' (for music), and her newest thing: 'are you?' (for where are you?).
I do not remember my other kids being that talkative at this age.

She knows what she wants and she knows how to get it by asking for it. She understands pretty much everything I ask of her. When she stands up in the bathtub or her high chair, I ask her to 'sit down' and she sits. She drops a toy (and Mami does not feel like playing the pick-up game) and I ask her to 'pick it up', she does it. It feels like with child number three, I have really gotten a hang of parenting - at least SHE makes me look like it.

Thank you God for our little Munchkin, for blessing us with her presence - it is a gift that we cherish each and every day.

Vegan Sugar Plum Cake

When I went shopping on Saturday I had a great find: sugar plums. I had never seen them in America until then. While I grew up with them and missed them (but not enough to go on a big search), it seems they are less popular over here. So I bought them.

Tonight, when I was washing them, prepping them for tomorrow's snack, I got the urge to make a plum cake. Like the one I remember from when I was a kid and my aunt would bake it - she is a great baker! Mmmmh.

My search was successful: on a German site (the link is here in case you want to check it out). I had to quickly change the metric measurements into the American units - with alot of guessing. And it has a special ingredient that I was dying to try out: it's what we call in our house bubbly water, aka seltzer. We drink it every day (it is a very common drink in Germany), but I had never baked with it.

Also, I just bought my first spring form, so I really wanted to use it! ;-)

Let's see how it turns out when I take it out of the oven.

I followed the recipe almost to a T (big surprise):

For the cake mix:
2 cups of flour (I used my regular all purpose flour)
1 cup of sugar (Vegan!) - it seems alot, so I need to taste and see if it could be reduced to half a cup or 3/4
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pinch of salt
1/2 cup of seltzer

For the Streusel (aka crumb topping):
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup of sugar
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1 pinch of salt
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons of vegetable oil

In the middle:
enough sugar plums - according your own liking
I couldn't tell you how much I used - maybe about 15 in total

Making the cake:
* mix all dry ingredients in a bowl
* then mix in the seltzer
* grease the spring form
* put dough into the spring form, raise it a bit on the sides
* wash, clean, and cut the sugar plums
* spread the plums all over the dough, as thick as you like
* make the streusel in a different bowl, mix all dry ingredients together, then add the oil little by little
* you want the crumbs to be wet enough to stick together
*spread those over the plums
* bake at 350 degree Fahrenheit for 30-40 minutes

Guten Appetit! 

 Mmmh, Lecker!

God is all you need!

I did not want to be strong.

Nobody asked me if I wanted to be vigorous, tough, and courageous.

Neither did I know how capable I really was.

Lately, I have had a few people come up to me and say things like "I admire your strength" or "I envy your faith" and even "You are an inspiration".

Believe me, when I think of myself, I do not see any of this! And yet, I have to admit, there is a certain strength inside of me that I never knew I had before - and may it merely be my survival mode. I am a fighter, and not a person to be known to give up (easily). I CAN endure.

Though as nice as these compliments are - and they do feel good - I can not take in the praise for something I did not do myself! It was only with God and through Him that I am where I am today. God only gives us what we can handle, even when we think we can't take it any longer. He knows better. And He rewards us when we follow His lead.

Am I really stronger? Or have I simply learned to lean on God - more? I think what is bigger is my faith, not my tenacity or perseverance. I KNOW I can rely on my Savior for anything. My world might get shaken up, but my Rock will be the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).  Nothing can separate me from His love (Romans 8:38), and He won't give me anything that I am not able to withstand.

God was my hope in my darkest times. He saved my life, and today, I can 'claim' to be a survivor. He helped me to turn my anger into faith, in Him. He healed me physically and emotionally. It was a long road, and I do expect to fall back once in a while, but I also know that I will bounce back to the truth, God's truth. I surrendered and entrusted my life back into His hands, and I am very comfortable with that.

So I guess God made me stronger. He transformed me into a confident woman that desires to bless others. I have more courage to follow my dreams. I dare to be bolder about my faith. I believe that I am a little wiser, at least in my knowledge to cherish each and every day and not to waste life with foolishness. And if I lose all of the above, I am certain that I will always have HOPE!

If YOU are at a point in your life where it seems that you can't go on, that there is not an ounce of strength left inside your body to carry on - stop! Stop, get down on your knees, surrender, and let God carry YOU! It is a wonderful experience. Once He has picked you up, it will bring you joy; the joy of sharing His glory, and be a testimony to others.

God can do so much for YOU. God loves you. He delivers you from your trouble and lifts you up. He is satisfying. He brings peace, hope, and happiness. It's pleasing to please Him and others. It fulfills and gives a purpose.
God is all you need.

True Friendship

Disclaimer:
I have lived in the States for over a decade and want to assure my readers that I like living here. I believe God put me onto this continent for a reason.

With that being said, I do have to rant today......

Usually, when Americans ask me what I think of their country, I reply honestly very positive. In my opinion, every country on this planet has pros and cons to offer. No country is perfect because no human being is perfect. Leaders make mistakes, just as the little people do.

In general, I like to look at the bad things that I left being in my native Germany, and only look at what I gained in living here. Believe me, there are many things. Many advantages that make this country a good place to be.

BUT in the last four weeks, I have talked with many of my old German friends, and for some odd reason, they all have complained about one thing: Americans and friendship, or rather the lack of it. The lack of closeness and the lack of being able to rely on them. The superficiality of small talk and casual get-togethers are hard for us Germans to understand.

There is a saying that it's hard to become the friend of a German, but once you are, you'll be one for life. With friendships comes expectations and responsibilities. As a German myself, I can testify this to be true. It takes a long time to trust someone, but once that bridge is crossed, there is no doubt of relying on one another. It's mutual and enjoyable. It makes life less lonely.

Going through my mental friends list, I have to say that all my friends are Europeans spread all over the world. Some of them, I have not seen in almost two decades, or one, or a few years. But I email with them, talk to them on the phone, Skype, or interact personally in one way or another.
I can not say that about my American acquaintances! Nope! Americans like social media..... and social media is great to hide at home, have lots of acquaintances, but no expectations and no responsibilities with true friends. It's shallow and quick and easy.....
And I want to point out that it is not a lack of trying to integrate myself. I have tried and failed many times. I simply want more.

I don't know about you, but I do expect more from life. I want real friends to laugh with, to cry on their shoulders, and to make memories with. I want real conversations about small victories and about big dreams. I do not expect my friends to agree with each and every thing I do, but I do expect them to be honest - something that alot of Americans are lacking! Sorry. I don't want just friendly people around me, I want real friends with their strength and their weaknesses. I want deep and meaningful relationships.

So if you can see yourself in the phrase: "I call you later." but in YOUR mind, you have no intentions to do so, or to do so anytime soon - know that there might be an assumption, or hope, in the receiver's mind to hear from you soon. When I say later, I tend to call later - meaning literally in the next FEW days. And there are many 'empty' phrases that Americans like to bombard their opponent with, with no true intention behind them. Small talk. And most people on this earth just don't know what to do with it.

When approached with a question, Germans tell you what they really think - I do not always get that impression from the people on this continent. I feel I get excuses, coverups, apologies, and even deceptions - everything but true feelings. After all, if someone asks you something, I assume that they want to hear the truth,. But I had to learn the hard way that this is not the case here. People like to be buttered and honeyed up, flattered and smooched. To me, that is all just a different word for lying. Don't sugar-coat the answer, BE REAL!

As Christians, we are to speak kind words to encourage and build another up (1 Thessalonians 5:11), and we are not to use our tongue like sword thrusts (Proverbs 12:18).
But the bible also says in 1 John 3:18 "let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth". That means, don't just talk about how great a friend you are but really BE there when you are needed in time of trouble. And what is the truth? God's truth! And God's truth is not always wrapped in gift paper with a bow on it - God has spoken harsh words before, words that needed to be heard for a change to arrive, usually for the better.

In my opinion, friends are there for the good times and the hard times. They are there to sharpen another, just as iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17). A true friendship can be so rewarding. And I am blessed to have many friends around the world that I can call true friends, and that I can rely on.

I found a great article, that I agree with for the most part, you can click on the link below. Please read it.

List of lapbooks 2012-2013

Our school days were definitely busy with the curriculum that we were using this year. Math and all kinds of English subjects like Phonics, Reading, Spelling, Grammar and Handwriting, were great BUT it was lacking with the fun things like Science, History and Geography.

So I decided to fill in the blanks with lapbooks. These projects are fun and creative and can be done as deep (or not) as wished. We had some more broad view lapbooks, and then some very intense ones. No matter what, we enjoyed them very much this year.

Here is a list of all the lapbooks we have done:

2012:
- Native Indians
- Texas
- Numbers All Around Us
- All About Me
- Patriotic Day - American Flag and some American history
- Spiders lapbook
- Health lapbook
- Animal Classification
- Christopher Columbus
- Weather lapbook
- Thanksgiving lapbook
- Fables lapbook
- Christmas Around the World

2013:
- MLK Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Bee lapbook
- Poetry lapbook
- President's Day + George Washington + Abraham Lincoln
- Introduction into Art
- Books of the Bible
- St. Patrick's Day
- Easter lapbook
- Parts of Speech
- Good Citizenship
- Solar System
- Earth Day and Plant Life Cycle
- Introduction to Music + Orchestra lapbook
- Colonial Times
- Inventions and Technologies

We did a lapbook almost every week, just a few were done within two weeks. Most of our materials were either found online - the internet is a wonderful place for research - or in books that we bought or borrowed from the local library.

My kids love mazes and word searches and coloring pages, so we always included those.

In the beginning of the year, I thought I would only do these with Coqui (2nd grader), but Peanut quickly realized that she wanted to be a part of this as well. I let her join in a few like Thanksgiving and Christmas. She loved it and I could see that she was finally participating. So I had to adapt each theme for her. I came up with the following.

I took each week's theme and took one letter for her. Like during the Solar System week, she did letter S, and during St. Patrick's week, she worked on the letter P. This way, I figured, we will eventually cover the entire alphabet, AND she is learning many other things along the way. She felt included, got to work on a cover page and got to cut paper - her favorite thing to do in school.

Hopefully, we can give you ideas and/or help you find resources. Happy homeschooling.