Summer is over...

As always, I've been slacking on my blog, so here's my attempt to catch up.

Our summer was busy, not too busy, but busy enough.  We spent LOTS of time outside, especially at the playground by our house.  We made a few trips up to Ramstein/Landstuhl for doctor appointments.  We (me and the boys) went to a Barefoot Park, where you do just that...walk around barefoot and then you get to experience different feelings on your feet.  We walked on a bed of nail heads, bark, small rocks, large rocks, pinecones, etc.  We walked the shorter path, so we didn't get to walk through the mud or on the polished glass pieces...maybe next time.  We spent lots of time with our friends when we were outside too.  A few times we even played in the water with multiple sprinklers, a medium sized pool, water balloons, squirt guns and spray bottles.

 

Since we've been without A/C in both our van and our car we have not traveled too far...to help keep cool we've enjoyed some YUMMY ice cream (more like gelato) and cold watermelon.

After looking back at my pictures my memory was jogged and I am remembering a few more things we did...we were all involved in VBS (Joshua, Gregory and Roxanne).  I (Roxanne) enjoyed being in charge of a group of about eight 4-year olds.  Gregory LOVED everything about VBS, but his favorite time was "game time".  And Joshua was thrilled to be with his best bud, TJ, for the WHOLE week.  These two boys are a day apart and TJs mom helped out in the nursery...and of course Joshua loves TJs mom too.  This week created some special memories and I hope to continue being involved in a VBS program every year to encourage time devoted to learning more about God.  I can recall many memories from my times with VBS and I hope to let Gregory and Joshua have these special times as well.

At the beginning of summer we spent some extra time with our friends Jan and Ginger up in Ramstein.  We visited the Gartenschau where there is a dinosaur park and lots of play areas.  The 8 kids all had a great time...our two, Jan's four, and Jan's brother's two.  Even though we lived in Ramstein for 4 years we never felt the desire to visit the Gartenschau, but now with kids we knew we needed to check it out...especially since Gregory has such a desire to know more about dinosaurs.

Another adventure we had was going to an Animal Park that's not too far from where we live.  We saw lots of deer, bison, goats, a couple of owls, chickens, sheep, rabbits, moose and a few other animals.  There were some areas where you could pet the animals and you could buy food to feed many of the animals as well.  Of course Gregory and Joshua ended up throwing the food at the animals instead of letting them eat out of their hands...the goats we started with were just to slobbery :-) 

We also had to say goodbye to some friends and this is and will always be one of the hardest things about being a part of the military community.  Some of those friends we said goodbye to were:  Gregory's wonderful Preschool teacher--Mrs. Wilharms and my MOPS Coordinator--Jenny Wilson.
Now that the summer has ended it's time for a new chapter in our lives...Gregory going to school!  See next post for more on this :-)

Belated Father's Day post

As I am catching up on blogging I am thinking about what the "important" things are that I want to blog about and this is one of those important things.  Father's Day!

I know Father's Day was a while ago and I know Tom is not my father, but he is the father of my two wonderful boys and I don't often take enough time to celebrate him and all he means to me and our family, so he deserves this blog (and then some).

This past year he completed his CCAF Degree with the Air Force (this is the equivalent to an AA degree at a college).  I know it's not as big of a deal as a four degree, but it is half way there.  Congrats!

He is also working hard on his Youth Ministry degree with SAGU still while working with the Air Force.  Currently he has a lot of medical issues and he tries hard to not let them get in the way of life, but sometimes he just has to take a break.  And other times he just wants to forget about all the pain and still wrestle around with his boys...they'll only be little for so long (and then they'll be taking their daddy down!)  Tom frequently takes time to play games with Gregory and always makes sure that the rules are learned and followed.  Something that not all kids learn these days.  His passion is ministering to youth and over the past 9 years we've been together I have seen him grow so much in this passion (he might find this hard to believe that it could grow, but I've seen it through the different experiences we've gone through and through the different groups we've worked with).  His passion for God has deepened as well over the 10 years we've known each other.  Of course we all have room to grow in our desire to be more like Christ, but it's been awesome to see how God has drawn Tom to himself and how Tom has developed a deeper desire for Christ. 

I know Tom's not perfect, but I am happy to call him my husband and I know my boys LOVE their daddy and look up to him with everything in them.  All he needs sometime is a reminder that those two boys are watching his every move and they are going to grow up to be just like him (whether he likes it or not) :-) 

Tom I am praying for you and loving you with every step we take together.  Even though Father's Day was a month ago, I just want you to know that you are appreciated every day...not just on Father's Day.  I love you and thanks for being such a wonderful dad to our boys.

Our MAY trip to MO and MN

As usual, I am VERY behind in blogging...feeling like not doing it anymore, but I don't want to give it up for good.  I also don't like when I get so far behind that I feel like I'll never catch up...that's how I feel right now too.  Even though I have all of these feelings, I will press on!  So I hope someone's out there reading my blog and making it worth it. 

Over two months ago now we flew back to the US from Stuttgart.  The flight from Stuttgart to Atlanta was uneventful, thankfully.  And from Atlanta to Springfield, the same.  We had a good time in Springfield.  Time went too quickly as always.  We were so thankful everything worked out for our visit.  God definitely helped put everything together.  We were able to buy the house Betty was living in so she didn't have to move since the people she was renting from were wanting to sell the house.  This was all done in about 45 days, thanks to a great friend in MO who is now a realtor (Michael Cataldo is a great realtor in case you need one!)  We also got to enjoy being there to support my sister-in-law at her college graduation, from CBC.  Congrats!  Of course there were late night chats, enjoying time with our niece and nephews and our boys loved being with there grandma Betty and cousins and aunt and uncle.  We got to enjoy some shopping time at Walmart (which we miss a ton when we are gone!)  I got to see my best friend, Carla and her little girl and enjoy so many missed restaurants!  It's always nice to spend time with family and not have to do it with a phone or computer involved.

After spending a week in MO we flew to Minneapolis.  Once again we had great flights and no problems.  After being there the first night, Tom and I got away for a special night away...just the two of us.  We got some great deals using our airline miles (for our restaurant and hotel).  This was the first night we had spent alone (with no kids and no hospital stay involved) since Gregory was born (so about 5 years).  We were very thankful to Bryan and Raquel for watching our boys...they got a little reminder of how much attention Joshua needs (see my sister's blog to hear about this).  So sorry Bryan!  And then the day after my parents arrived.  Our nephews and Gregory got to spend so much time in grandma and grandpa's new (to them) motorhome and loved hanging out with them too.  We got to see where my sister volunteers (at the MN Science Museum) and see where Dr. Bryan hangs out and "practices medicine" :-)  We got to spend time with my younger brother and his family as well...watching Kirk play some softball, eating and hanging out at the Mall of America and riding rides.  Thanks guys for the fun times.

When all the fun in the USA was done we got back on the planes and made it back to Stuttgart with no problems...only minor flare-ups with Joshua on the 9 + hrs flight.  It was a good time, but jet-lag, really IS ROUGH!  Yuk!     

As always there are lots of new pics at our shutterfly page...  http://tomandroxannecook.shutterfly.com/

Happy Birthday Gregory!

Yesterday was Gregory's 5th birthday.  Wow, some days it seems like yesterday we were hurrying to Landstuhl after my water broke and other days I KNOW it wasn't yesterday.  It has been such a blessing to be back in Germany for so many reasons and Gregory is one of those reasons.  Since he was born here, it's so much fun to show him things like the hospital he was born at, the building we lived in where his first bedroom was and so many other things.  HE LOVES living in Germany...funny thing is, he is the kid who would find something great about where ever we live.  He is my encourager, compassionate, smart, active, creative and so much more preschooler (who is more than ready for Kindergarten).

 Gregory picked out a Lego birthday theme quite a few months ago, so I had been combing Pinterest for every idea under the sun and then had to narrow them down to what was actually going to be possible.  So we ended up invited FIFTEEN kids to the party and 13 were able to come.  It WAS CRAZY!  We have a pretty small apartment, so there was very little walking space after all the toys were drug out and with the mom's and dad's which came too...BUT, it was an awesome fullness.  The kids had fun, the parents enjoyed YUMMY food and Gregory ended up saying it was the "best day ever".  So we count it a big success :-)  I made some super yummy yellow cupcakes from my cupcake recipe book from the Cake Mix Doctor books.  They were topped with a homemade chocolate syrup frosting that was easy and yummy, from the same cookbook.  We had pizza biscuits from one of my favorite websites, Onceamonthmom.com and we had a delicious fruit salad (with almost every possible fruit) and there was also dill dip to go with some fresh veggies.  Tom doesn't usually have time or take time in the kitchen, but for this party he was a huge help making the biscuits after I showed him how to make them.

We played two games, I Spy the Lego Guy and Put the Smile on the Lego Guy.  The kids really loved hiding the lego guys and trying to find them.

For decorations I made the birthday banner that turned out amazing...I must confess I didn't design it, just found it online and put it together, so awesome!  And then I had gotten two molds - a lego mold and a lego figurine mold.  So I made yellow lego guys for on the top of the cupcakes, made chocolate lego bars, lego guy crayons and lego soap.

Gregory was INCREDIBLY blessed by all of the gifts his friends gave him.  There were plenty of legos, some Kre-os, a Spiderman car that does tricks, games, a ball and glove and a Leapster 2 (that will be awesome for the airplane ride we take in a few days!).

Oops I forgot one thing about the day before the birthday we all (as a family) got to go enjoy cupcakes with Gregory for snacktime at Preschool.  This was a great start to the birthday fun.  And to cap it all off there was a Kid's Fest on base today, so we got to meet some friends for this and enjoyed pony rides, balloons, games and the Kid's Flea Market where the boys got even more toys they didn't need :-)

So now that the celebrations are done and the house is still pretty decently clean, we move on to packing for our trip to MO and MN.  We will get to be in MO to see my sis-in-law graduate from CBC and then we'll head up to MN where I'll get to see the majority of my family (all except Kevin's family - which we will miss).         

As always there are tons of pictures to show things better than I could ever describe them :-) 
http://tomandroxannecook.shutterfly.com/

Happy Easter and Happy Birthday to me!

So this past Sunday was the first time my birthday has fallen on Easter and I believe it is the only time in my lifetime that it may happen.  We celebrated the most important event first, my Lord and Savior's resurrection and then in the evening we celebrated my birthday.  Oh and we even continued celebrating on Monday when we enjoyed my meal of choice, Italian food, from Taormina's in Landstuhl, Germany.

All throughout the week prior to Easter Sunday I had been discussing with Gregory and Joshua the Easter Story.  We had fun with a few different kinds of resurrection eggs.  We made some beautiful stained glass looking crosses (with saran wrap, construction paper, tissue paper and glue).  We also had fun making resurrection  cookies (that had to stay in the oven overnight) and we made resurrection rolls for Sunday morning breakfast. 

We also had a special Easter snack while watching one of the VeggieTale Easter movies.  I took plastic eggs and put snack foods in them and delivered them to the boys in their Easter baskets.  We also did a special Easter egg lunch, where I put each of their meal items inside the plastic eggs and then served the meal in an egg carton to each of the boys.  Both times they had so much fun being surprised with what was inside each egg.

Of course we went to church in the morning and then there were Easter baskets and Easter pictures, Easter ham (which I learned not everyone does to my surprise j/k).  We had a yummy meal and then later in the evening after dinner we had some yummy ice cream cake that Tom & Gregory picked out for me. 

 For my birthday I took a raincheck on my gifts since we are heading back to the states in less than a month, so I get to do some easily justifiable shopping when we are there :-)

So it was a busy weekend, but a nice time to be together as a family celebrating Jesus' resurrection.
And Tom did a nice job helping make my birthday special.  Oh and I almost forgot, but I got BEAUTIFUL flowers from my friend, Amanda.  Daffodils and tulips, very nice spring bouquet.  I was so surprised when she gave them to me last week.

Hopefully all of this rambling will help you understand the pictures if you go HERE to look through them.

Food

So I don't usually blog about thoughts or memories, but I really want to write about this since it's on my mind...so here it goes.

FOOD, there are so many memories wrapped around food in my mind.  As I was making some chicken salad for me for lunch, I was flooded with emotions and thoughts and memories.  So I am going to share some of these memories...

-Chicken Salad-
When we lived in Colorado Springs, whenever Ruth Fravel would have the female youth group volunteers over for a lunch we frequently had chicken salad and strawberry's with Brianna's dressing, SO YUMMY...this week I made chicken salad and bought some strawberry's and dressing...so I will be thinking of so many of you this week, to name a few...Gentri, Ruth, Tabitha, Laura, Katie, Jenni, Susie

-Knepfla Soup-
It's a rainy dreary day here in Germany today and thinking of making some Knepfla soup...this has been a family favorite for a long time, and when I say family, I am thinking back to when I was in college living at home and would make this for me and my mom and dad.  Missing them today as I make the soup.

-Garlic Shells & Cheese-
This makes me think of my incredible sister, Raquel.  I remember sitting at her and Bryan's table in their first apartment in the DC area after they had been married for not very long.  It was one of my many visits to them while I was still single, but got the benefit of traveling so much and spending time building a deep relationship with my sister, who is now one of my best friends.

-Ham-
Since it's Easter time and thinking back to a few Easters ago when we were in Germany the first time...we were having our Easter meal with our friends, Brian & Amanda Collins.  They had baked a ham and were getting ready to serve it up.  Amanda forgot to be careful when cutting the ham and went through the foil pan, so ham juice had leaked EVERY where, including under the oven.  What a mess.  Oh and you'd think I would have learned from someone else's mistake, but no, I know I've done it before and had meat juice all over the top of my glass stove top here in Germany the second time  This might have even been when they announced to us they were pregnant with Emily.  And now this week they are celebrating the birth of their adorable son.  Congrats!

I am pretty sure I could go on and on and on about food, not just because I like food, but because I LOVE the memories food and meals create.  Oh one more from just a couple of days ago...I want my boys to have great food memories too!

The other night the boys were ready for bed, relaxing and watching a movie before bed, "Twas the Night Before Easter," the latest Veggietales Easter movie, from a couple of years ago I think.  I got this great Easter snack idea.  So I got the boys Easter baskets/buckets and got 12 plastic eggs for each of them.  Inside each egg I put different snacks (choc chips, raisins, puff corn, m & m's, etc.).  Then I delivered the baskets to them on the couch.  Gregory (and Joshua) was so excited about opening each egg to find what surprise snack they would get to eat!  When he was done with his snacks he said, YOU ARE THE BEST MOM EVER!  Talk about making me smile and thank God for him.  :-)  This is the stuff that life is made of :-)  Good stuff.

Wilhelma Zoo

So yesterday we finally got out and "did something".  It's been so difficult with Tom working, so many illnesses (or injuries), weather, doctor appointments and Gregory's preschool for us to get out and do something or go somewhere (other than Ramstein--although, that's not all bad since we get to see our friends, Jan, Ginger and kids).

We went to the Wilhema Zoo, here in Stuttgart, of course we picked the PERFECT day to go and we had a blast!  It was in the upper 60s, sunshine aplenty, cooperative kids and lots to see!  Gregory's favorite was the Aquarium (inside the zoo park).  Joshua says his favorites were the elephants and the giraffes.  We went with our friends, Amanada and her two boys (Ethan-4 and Evan-3).  So the boys each had someone to play with and I even got to have some adult conversation while we enjoyed the walking, the beautiful flowers, the fun animals and the kids being cute and crazy.

  We were amazed to see other people we knew at the zoo (from MOPS and PWOC)...I figured we'd hear some english spoken but didn't think we'd know the people who were speaking it :-)

We ended our trip to the zoo with popsicles, which were so yummy on the day that ended feeling so warm!  For more pics click here. or  http://tomandroxannecook.shutterfly.com/