Hail & Farewell

In the Army, when someone leaves an orginazation they have a Hail and Farewell. They Hail (welcome) the new folks and Farewell (say goodbye and best wishes) to the ones leaving. Oh, rewind….Larry was at work and I drove to meet him at the restaurant. On my way I picked up my friend Shelly…Can’t leave her out! Ok, now to finish….Tonight the H&F was in Westin, KS. Larry’s boss is leaving and his heritage is Irish so they had it at an Irish joint called O’Malley’s. This was a unique place to say the least. When you go in the door there are rooms to the left and right that have tables for dining. BUT, if you go down a looong cave like ‘hallway’, it takes you to some very steep stairs. Once you are down the stairs to the left is a large room….well, I don’t think I can call it a “room”…it is more like a cave. The walls are curved toward the ceiling and it is very dark in there. They of course have Irish music playing in the background. Now, to go to the bathroom is another long journey. You go down yet another cave like hallway. There are no windows or doors in the dining area since it is underground. So, if you are afraid of enclosed places, you might want to rethink eating there. The atmosphere made for an interesting evening.

Larry and I left in separate vehicles and talked on the phone the entire 1 ½ hours home. Yes Momma, I had my ear piece in and had both hands on the wheel. Ha!

Kind of a short blog but it's time to call it a night. Goodnight!

Stitches are OUT!

My new haircut. Not good at styling it yet!

Got my stitches out! My incision is not exactly what I had hoped for. Of course there is still some swelling and it is not totally healed so I am hopeful that it will get better. Looks to me like there will be a scar on the edge of my mouth. UGH!!!!!

I got my hair cut today! It is barely touching my shoulders. I’ve not styled it yet myself so I’m not sure how I’m going to like it. Larry likes it, or at least he said he does. He is good about stuff like that. He loves me no matter what and don’t get caught up in that kind of nonsense.

It’s A Boy! My friend Shelly is having a boy. She found out today. Momma and baby are both doing very well. Now I know what section of the store to shop in!

Sean called tonight. He had a baseball game that we did not get to go to. I answered the phone and he said, “I’ve got ‘information’ for you and dad”. He began to tell me about his game. They won 17-9. He caught a pop-up and that was the last out of the game. He was SO excited and talking very fast. I of course said, “Alright, that’s awesome. Good for you! Sounds like you are doing well”! I asked, “Do you want me to tell dad or do you want to”? He replied, “Well, which way do you think would be more efficient”? I giggled as I thought his choice of words was interesting for an 11 yr old. I gave Larry the phone and Sean began to give him the plays of the game. Funny how kids minds work.

If I have time between doing my daily activities and working on getting the house ready, tomorrow’s subject will be, My Georgia Accent!

Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day! Thank you Service Men and Women of every branch of the Military, Veterans or Active Duty, for all you do, have done and your sacrifices.

Today has been a semi busy day. We have been working on the house of course, surprise surprise! The kitchen sink and faucet is installed. The new bathroom exhaust fan, or as Larry would say, “fart fan”, has been installed. The old one was so loud you could almost hear it outside. Today we sold a large German Shrunk, which in the states we would call it an entertainment center. Yeahhhhhh! We are SO glad it is gone. We were about to have to move it AGAIN so we could put down the last of the wood floor. Now, we don’t have to. A very nice family is enjoying it as we speak.

During the day today, Sparky came over for a while. He was bored and wanted to hang out with us. He knows that in this house, there is always entertainment. He said, “Well, I got something to tell you that you wont like. I fell out of the bathtub”. He was stepping out of the shower and ‘thought’ his foot was dry enough and stepped out and slipped. Basically, he did a split. One leg in the tub and one leg out. Keep in mind, 3 days ago he had a heart cath and has an incision in his groin. Doing splits is NOT cool for a man, epically when he has an incision! He said he is fine but it worries Larry and me. We worry about him so much. Once we move our worry will increase.
I just put 2 whole chickens on the grill to smoke. OMG, they are SO good. If you want the recipe let me know. I’ll be glad to send it to you. I actually got it out of the Weight Watchers cookbook. It is simple and YUMMO! If you don’t like garlic, forget it…lots of garlic.

Hope your day off work was relaxing and I hope you Thanked a Soldier or Veteran today! I did!

A special Thank You to my husband for all that he does and has done for our country. His sacrifice is great and I am very thankful. I Love You Michael.

Our Weekend....

Friday…We got up very very early Friday to take my Father-in-law, Tom (We call him Sparky), to St. Luke’s Hospital in Lee’s Summit for a Heart Cath. He did very well. They put a stent in and he will go back in 4 weeks for 2 more. The blockage they took care of on Friday was severe. We are SO thankful that stents will do the trick and there will be no open heart surgery. We were so pleased with St. Luke’s staff and the surgeons. It was a long day but Larry and I are so thankful that we were here to be with him and to be his transportation.

Saturday…He is home now and doing great. Still not in full speed of course but doing well. We have laughed at him a lot. He is just at the age and stage in his life where he doesn’t care about a whole lot. He was starting to get out of the bed to go to the bathroom and Larry, Aunt Carol and I were going out of the room since he was not ‘properly’ clothed. He said, “Oh, you don’t have to go, not nothing you haven’t seen before”. The nurse said, “Yeah, but that don’t mean you want to see your families parts”. It was so funny! Well, he can’t drive until Tuesday. He has been back and forth between our house and his today.

Sunday…Sparky is still doing well. He wanted to go out to breakfast this morning so Larry, Sparky, Terry and I went into town to eat. Later, we were sitting at our kitchen table and he told Larry to get him the lawn mower key. We asked why and he said, “Well, you guys won’t let me drive my truck so I’ll drive the lawn mower”. There he went through the pasture. He was determine to transport himself however he had to. Too Funny!

We now should own quiet a bit of stock in Lowe’s with all the stuff we have done around here. We just made our second trip of the weekend, and about the 5th of the week…let’s just say, good thing we got 12 months no interest! Ha! We got a patio set we needed…well, wanted AND needed. This weekend we get 10% off with a Military ID so we took advantage of it. So while the sale is going on we purchased most of the stuff we need to finish the house. I’ve been watching Larry change out lights and sinks in the kitchen. I’m helping when he yells for me. I keep offering to help but there is only room for one of us under the sinks. So, I’m bloggin’, Sparky is reading the paper and Molly is at Sparkys feet guarding him. Got to go, he needs me.

I’m back. Since I left off, we had some mishaps with putting up lights in our kitchen. This house has been a challenge from day one. Nothing in here is “standard”. Simple task become nightmares. So, Larry took lights down…and put the same old ones back up….long story. I have NO idea how we are going to fix this dilemma but stay tuned!

I have now fed Larry, Terry, Sparky and myself. We put the patio set together and I just love it! It is a table, 6 sling chairs and an umbrella with solar lights inside. We sat and enjoyed it for a little while but we are pooped and are ready to call it a day.

I’ll chat more later!

My painful Thursday!

First of all, just want to say praise the Lord! My Momma has had some health issues and has had LOTS of test in the past 2 weeks. The results of all test are good! God is good! She is feeling much better and we are all so thankful. Love you Mom!

My Thursday....I've had a nodule on the corner of my mouth for maybe 8 months or so. It was not big, just a little lump. Well it started getting larger and tender. I went to the doctor and he wanted to remove it. So we planned to excise it after I returned from Germany. That was done on Thursday afternoon. I got to the office and we did the signing of permission slips. Here came Dr. Smith....magnifying goggles on, ready to go. They cleaned the area with betadine (which is a brownish/orange color). He said I looked like I had tobacco juice running out of my mouth. Ha, we all had a good laugh. Then came the "injection"! OMG, it hurt!!!!! I've had lots of surgeries and procedures in my 35 years so I am no stranger to OR's, Procedure rooms, Doctor offices, etc. Well, this shot was a butt kicker. He said there will be a little stick. Yep, and it hurt. As the needle is in the side of my mouth he said, "That's not the worst part, this is". Then.....he injected the numbing med. WOW....pain Pain PAIN! At that instant my jaw, lip, corner of mouth and what ever else area got shot with the med, was HUGE! I don't mean like when you go to the dentist and it "feels" big but is really is not. I mean....it was HUGE! I told Dr. Smith that I now looked like I have a chew in AND juice was running out of my mouth! He laughed and agreed with me and the nurse burst out laughing. So he got it out and feels positive it was a cyst but is sending it to the lab to be sure. So I now have 2 stitches beside the corner of my mouth and a bruised area just under it where the injection went in. Now, the next phase. There I was, swollen like I had a chew in, fresh stitches with strings sticking out with a bruised area underneath the stitches. What a sight?! Then what did I do....I went to the Commissary. Yep, I went out in public. My father-in-law is having a heart cath on Friday so I was not sure what the weekend would hold and how many folks I might be feeding. SO, I had to get some groceries. I went through there as fast as I could hoping to make it home before the meds wore off. I darted between the isles as fast as possible with people looking at me with a questionable look. I just know they were thinking, "She must have been in a wreck. OR What if she is abused?" Funny how people look at you with a question mark on their faces. Oh well, I didn't see anyone I know....Thank the Lord! If I were in Gainesville or Lula, by now the rumor would be going around that I had a busted up lip and no tellin' what stories would follow.

Ok, now that you are probably grossed out from some of the detail and probably laughing at me, I'll sign off. Hope I entertained you a bit and made you giggle a little.

Saturday...Cat's Graduation Day!

Saturday….Catherine’s Graduation Day! Once again, we woke up early. Actually, we could have slept a little later but woke up and could NOT go back to sleep. Oh well! The night before, the kids asked for muffins so I made them 3 packs of muffins and every single one was eaten! We just hung out here most of the day. When the time came we all got ready for the Graduation. I straightened Cats hair and made sure it would look good while wearing that lovely cap. Time to leave….we picked up Laura’s friend Chelsie, our other daughter, and Larry’s 2nd cousin Clydine, who is more like an Aunt to him. The graduation was held at the University of Central Missouri, in the basketball arena. We got there 40min. early and it was packed! There were 12 of us looking for seating plus 2 more people that we saw that wanted to sit with us. We finally found a place that we all could sit. Larry videoed and I took pictures. As Cat walked in, our hearts swelled. We all screamed for her! When she got to her seat, she turned and found us in the stands. She smiled a huge smile and waved. At that moment, we were so proud and our excitement for her grew.
The Valedictorian did a great job with her speech. The gist of it was that we are all different and that we all have strong points and weaknesses and that’s okay…And…You don’t have to know everything about everything, just be you and be good at what you know. Ok, that was SO not the words she used but in my words it sounds pretty good too.

After the ceremony was finished we found Cat to take pictures. She was so excited. She is very family oriented but at that time, she was more interested in seeing some of her friends before they left. Funny, when I first met Cat she was shy and very much an introvert. Now that she has been exposed to ME, the person who can talk to a stop sign and get a response, we now want to tell her to slow down and hush. Just joking! We are SO happy and proud that she has opened up and is becoming her own person. She has a personality and is now showing it! Larry and I are both outgoing and never meet a stranger….we have finally rubbed off on her. You know, as a step parent, you never know IF you will be an influence in the lives of your step children. I have not only influenced them but I have also become a mother to them and a friend. I feel that I have helped to shape their lives and their futures.

After all the grad stuff was done, Catherine went to “Project Graduation”. It is something that the community is really supportive of. It is a lock in for the seniors if they want to attend. It was also held at the college. They fed them, had the pool open for swimming and had activities lined up. Of course the activities were things they enjoyed like; Seumo wrestling (They put on a ‘fat suit’ and wrestled), Fly trapper (Where you put on a suit that is fuzzy, jumped on a small trampoline and jump onto a wall and Velcro themselves to the wall), Bungee pull, Twister, on an inflated surface, and just lots of cool stuff like that. She had a blast and we did not have to worry about her; who she was with and what she was doing!!!!! Not that we have had to worry about that stuff with her. When it comes to doing “the right thing”, she has done well.

Early Sunday around 5am, when Cat was leaving Project Graduation, she sent us a text saying, “Thank you for a great weekend and I made it to Mom’s safely”. Later on Sunday, she brought the kids by to pick up some stuff and told us that she had a great weekend and thanked us again for all that we had done because it was so much fun! That made the rushing, the money spending, the prep and the pushing ourselves to exhaustion worth wild. My Momma said that when you have kids, you do for them first and make sure they have what they need. Well, once again, Momma was right. Larry and I had no idea what we were wearing to graduation until a few hours before we left. However, we got the kids new clothes and new shoes for the big night before we left for Germany. I’m not patting myself on the back; I’m just saying that what you do when you have kids is beyond what you can imagine and letting Momma know that she was right.

Also on Sunday…we got up to say goodbye to Tommy and Pat. They left around 7am. We went back to bed and slept until 11:30! Yes, Larry Parr, Military man, slept until 11:30! We SO needed the rest!

It’ has been a big weekend in the Parr house. We are proud of Catherine for graduating with honors. She left high school with an A+ average and we are proud of her. But most of all, we are proud of the Christian lady she is. Don’t get me wrong, good grades are awesome but being a Christian is much more important and is much more honorable than a grade from a test.

Congratulation Catherine Michelle Parr. We are SO very proud of you and thankful for you! Next step, college bound…then it will be; Catherine Parr, DVM. (Doctor of Veterinarian Medicine) Hey, that works well for us…Molly’s sister will be her doctor….hahaha!

Please pray that Catherine keeps God first in her life and looks to him for direction.

*Funnies: Catherine came in the house on Sunday and I asked, “So, how does it feel to be a bum?” She looked at me with a questionable look. I continued and said, “Well, your not a high school kid and your not yet a college kid…you’re a bum”. She gave me a look that said, Huh?! Then she said, “Oh, ha ha, very funny”. We tease Cat because she is smart but sometimes a BLOND. I just laughed. Little did I know that Larry said the same thing to her? The funniest thing about Cat is; she makes fun of herself. She says, “I’m such a blond”….and she laughs at herself more than we do.

(Just FYI, I did 2 blogs at the same time. I’m SO behind! There was a blog before this one titled; Friday...Graduation Party)

Friday...Graduation Party!!!!!

My oh my! Friday morning…..We got up early and started the day. We finished getting the house ready for our family to arrive and got the graduation party things together. We had to borrow chairs from the Elks, go to the Commissary for groceries, pick up the cake and balloons, made signs, wrapped gifts, set up the tables….the list goes on and on. But…We Did It! We pulled the party together and Catherine had a blast. Tommy and Pat, Larry’s brother and Sister-in-law, arrived around 3pm. The kids came in from school and helped with some of the last minute stuff. I made Graduation signs that we put them in the front yard and tied balloons on the sign too. People kept slowing down and some even pulled in our drive way thinking it was a Yard Sale sign. When they got close enough to read it, they turned around. We left the signs out Saturday and the same thing happened. It got kind of comical.

Enough about Missourians and yard sale sign lets get back to the party story. We had the cookout and filled everyone’s tummies. We had 15 people here and everyone seemed to have a good time. After dinner we had Cat open her gifts. When it came to our gift we sent her on a scavenger hunt. I wrapped a shoe box with a note inside. (I won’t write the entire contents of the notes; I’ll just give you the gist of the notes.) The first note told her that her gift would not fit in the box and had her go to the office to look for it. In the office she found a note telling her that we changed our minds and put it in the shed out back. The note in the shed sent her to the basement. Sending her to the basement gave us time to put her gift out. The last note said; “Silly Graduate, you’re supposed to be all smart now. You have looked over your gift. It is outside sitting on the table in front of your seat. See you outside. Love, Dad and Momma Kim”. She came back outside to find a laptop computer sitting on the table. Larry was videoing and she ran to me and almost tackled me saying, “thank you, I love you, I’m so surprised, thank you, I love you!” She was SO excited. After the gifts we went inside and had cake. WOW! They were all hyper from the excitement of the occasion and running around looking for the gift…BUT once they ate the sugar filled cake…..H-Y-P-E-R! They were laughing and giggling until Catherine could not even get her breath. I looked at her and almost panicked because her face was bright red. Oh and before the cake, they had a contest seeing who could chug a Sprite the fastest and Cat got sick and threw up. That did not slow her down one little bit. She had an awesome time. She thanked us over and over for the party and said she had a lot of fun.

At one point in the evening I went inside to do something and I was the only one inside. Sean went through the house and didn’t see me. I said, “What’s up”. He said, “I was looking for you”. He had a look that I knew he wanted to ask me something. He said, “I’m the only boy kid here”. This was another indication he wanted something. I asked if he wanted to go to his friends’ house which is at the back of our property and invite them over. His eyes lit up and he said “right now? I can run fast and be right back”. You just had to be there but it was So cute! Those dimples were shinning and he gave me a big hug, kissed my cheek, said “I love you” and ran out the door. Poor guy, his friends were not home so he was stuck with the adults and a bunch of girls!

We have one of those portable fire pits and had planned to have smores. Well, after the cake they decided not to make smores. However, Marissa was bound and determined to have smores. Grandpa was sitting by the pit watching Marissa roast marshmallows. I went over to help her and she was just having a great time making her smores.

Funnies of the day…maybe you had to be there:

*(Sean LOVES TV) We were getting things ready for the cookout and Sean came in the kitchen and said, “If you need me, I’ll be in my sanctuary”. (He turned and went into the living room to watch TV)
*I was holding balloons that were “floating” in air. Marissa walked up to me and said, “Oh boy, do they have helium in them”? I said, “Are they ‘floating’?” She giggled and said, “Oh”. Maybe 10 seconds later Laura walked up and said, “Do they have helium in them”? Marissa with her arms crossed she tilted her head sideways, rolled her eyes and said, “Are they floating”? Marissa just looked at me and grinned. I laughed so hard and Marissa looked at me and smiled and shrugged her shoulders. Laura smiled and said, “oh, duh”. Laura had no idea of the conversation between Marissa and myself….Priceless!
*Catherine sent me a text earlier in the day saying that they did a Senior Prank and she would tell me about it when she got home. When she got home she wanted to wait and tell us all at the same time. Laura said, “She told me and it is not that funny or interesting”. Cat of course gave her a “look”. Cat forgot to tell us so on Saturday she was telling us and when she started she said, “We wanted to do something memorable, something the teachers will never forget”. Laura said, “Like That’s going to happen. Boring!”
*(Cat and her friends were sitting at the kitchen table) I was helping Laura get ice out of the freezer and the ice was stuck. So I opened up the freezer and was trying to get a clump out. I finally got it out and was going to throw it in the sink. Somehow, a huge chunk of the ice went right down my shirt! I jumped and of course was trying to fish the COLD ice out and while doing so almost came out of my shirt. The girls were laughing hysterically at me and Cat said, “And That’s why I love my Step-Mom so much! She does stuff like that all the time.”

Ok, that's the end of the Graduation Party. Next will be Graduation Day!

2 Days until Graduation....

Whoa! We began our day full speed ahead! We woke up this morning starving! We went to get a biscuit and Larry went to go to work for just a little while. I went to Wal-Mart to do a little shopping for the Graduation party. Then I went to one of my Favorite places, Lowe’s! I bought flowers which is also one of my favorite things.

Larry got home and began to cut grass. His dad started cutting the grass yesterday which we were SO thankful of. I started cleaning, washing clothes, etc. etc. etc. Oh and I dyed some curtains. I needed dark brown curtains and all I could find were beige…so I dyed them! They look pretty good and I think they will work our well.

My father-in-law came by late in the evening to chat. He wanted to take us to dinner. We were so tired but we went because we knew it would make him happy. After we got home we planted flowers. Ok, let me explain. In our landscaping, we have a small pond with flat rocks all around it. I plant flowers in pots and set them around the pond. Also, we ‘try’ to get fish from our big pond to put in there but sometimes that is a challenge. Anyway, after dinner we planted plants until we could not see what we were doing. It got so dark that we left the back deck full of plants in pots, plants in their original containers and potting soil every where. After all, there is always tomorrow. Yeah Right!

Catherine’s Graduation party is tomorrow….she is soooo excited! It will probably be after the weekend activities before I get time to update the blog.

Take care, have a great weekend and pray for Catherine that God will direct her path and that she will listen to him as he guides her.

Love to all!
kdp

....Rewind

I need to rewind just a bit. I realized that I didn’t talk about our last day in Germany. Well, Larry worked until around 11:30am. I was at the hotel getting ready to go and packing last minute stuff. When he got to the hotel we loaded up our stuff and went for lunch. We walked to a place around the corner from our hotel and shared a sandwich and a pretzel. I wanted him to try the sandwich I had about a week before and we LOVE the pretzel with butter. So we sat outside and shared our lunch. After lunch we began our 3 ½ hr drive to Frankfurt. However, that drive took 5+ hours!!!!! We ran into a traffic jam (in Germany they call it a Stau (Staow). We were at a dead stop. People were getting out of their cars and standing or sitting on the side of the road. The cars ahead of us would begin to move…but only a short distance…then we sat again. This went on for at LEAST 1 ½ hours. Five hours or so later, we finally got to the hotel in Wiesbaden and we were oh so happy! We took our things to the room and headed out to dinner. Wiesbaden is one of our favorite areas and Wiesbaden was my first visit to Germany. We walked to one of our favorite restaurants and had dinner outside under a huge umbrella. In Germany, during the spring and summer, the restaurants have areas to eat outside and that my friend….is the European Way. I LOVE it! During our dinner two men, one playing a sax and one an accordion, began to play on the sidewalk. It was so nice to be eating dinner with my sweet hubby and listening to such awesome music.

We retired to our room kind of early since we had an early flight. That’s okay; we enjoyed the evening, the food, the company and the entertainment. What more could a girl ask for?

kdp

Home Sweet Home!

Home at last! We had a great flight. We got up at 4:30am and left for the airport at 5:30. Going through security, the machine did not like Larry's backpack. They went through it with a fine tooth comb and then let him so. We were all watching and laughing. Once settled on the plane they served us an interesting breakfast. Ok, let's see...airplane food....means it's all pre-made and warmed in a microwave type thing. How fresh do you think the eggs were that they served? Let me give you a mental picture. You know those cinnamon rolls that you get in a wrapper at a convenience store...the ones that the layers of the roll are very flat and the layers roll in a circle like a sleeping bag. That's what the eggs were like. I was raised around chicken houses and I've cooked many many eggs, but never have I seen eggs that make a spiral circle. Much to my surprise, they were not too bad. Now the rest of the stuff they served was not worth mentioning. We picked at our plates a little then we popped our PM pills and off to dream land we went. Larry was drained from working such long hours and of course getting up as early as we did we were both still sleepy. Put that all together with Mr. PM pill and we were OUT! We arrived in Chicago and made our way through customs. At Ohare, they are not quiet as fast or as organized as other airport customs. We were slightly rushed to make our connecting flight. We arrived at the gate and guess what....no plane. The plane was delayed about 30 min. which is not bad but we rushed for no reason. We took off once again and landed in Kansas City. I sent a text to my brother letting him know we arrived in the US. He responded, "Welcome to our Country". I replied Thank You in German. HA! I called Momma to let her know we had landed safe and sound. (If you have read my previous blogs you will know what's about to come out of her mouth.) She asked, "Do you have your luggage? Did it get lost?" At that time I was waiting on it but yes, we got our luggage. We were starving and decided to stop at Cracker Barrell which we love and it's close to the airport. Next stop...to get Princess Molly from her Nana's house. Oh she was so excited to see her Mommy and Daddy. She licked my face giving me sugars. She jumped and ran around. Her Nana taught her some new tricks and she had to show off. I sure did miss her!

We are now home. With so much to do the next few days, I pushed Larry and we got out bags unpacked. He is normally ready to do whatever needs to be done but not so much today. I gave him and energy drink and told him we have to push through. We did it, all bags are empty.

I enjoyed writing about my days in Germany. They may have bored some of you to tears but hey, it's my blog. Ha! It was a great way to record and remember the trip. I've gotten emails from family and friends that have been keeping up with us. It's great to know that you guys want to know what's going on with us. Now that we are home, the topics will change. After graduation is over I'll go back to some subjects that I mentioned in earlier blogs like, My Georgia Accent!

Larry is already TTU and snoring and I'm ready to join him. I know you are wondering what TTU is....Ten Toes Up! We have lots of those. Hmm, now that I'm home maybe we should continue the word of the day. Between Military terms, Georgia terms and Missouri terms...it could get interesting. We'll see.

Good to be back in the states!

Kim

Tschüs

I love to take pictures...This was taken in the park on Monday.

Tuesday....Today is the day….we begin our travel back to Missouri. Larry is at work finishing up this exercise. I’m getting dressed and finishing up the packing. When he gets back I should have everything ready to hit the road for our 3 ½ drive to Wiesbaden which is just outside Frankfurt.

Last nights BBQ was great. The owner did the grilling and we sat outside under vines of wisteria. I got to meet Chris, who is a guy that Larry and Mike worked with many moons ago. He came here to have dinner and visit. Seems like an awesome guy and it was great to put a name with a face.

This is probably the last you will hear from me until we get back home. We have to hit the ground runnin’. Catherine’s graduation is Saturday. Larry’s brother and his wife are coming into town for on Friday and we have a lot to do to get ready for the weekend.

Please pray for our safe travel and a burst of energy when we get home.

Depending on what area of Europe you are in Bye can be said in several ways…
Word of the day: Tschüs (Chew-s)=Bye When you leave walk away from someone you say, Tschüs.

Tschüs,
Kim

Sunday Cont. & Monday....

The picture was taken today in the park.

First I have to back up to Sunday. Sunday evening when Larry came in from work he entered the door with a beautiful long stem rose, a beautiful Mother's Day card and a warm hug. The card was perfect! He wrote me a sweet message and of course I cried. What a sweet husband I have! I am so Thankful! I love you!

Monday…I was totally a German today! I slept in a little this morning. Today is a German holiday so the only thing open is restaurants. I walked for a while and had an early lunch outside under an umbrella. I sat down before they began taking orders which was perfectly fine; I read for a while and had a cappuccino. When it was time to eat I ordered pizza. It was very good, great choice! Then I went for a walk in the park. The park is just amazing. Every time I walk through it I find areas I have never seen. They have cement tables that have checker boards painted on the top. Pretty cool! I took LOTS of pictures. I love to take still life pictures and boy did I today! It is so nice to see families and couples of all ages enjoying the day. I sat in the park and read for a while. I kept getting distracted by the birds. Then sat at another place and had another cappuccino and read some more. Then I had an ice cream and walked back through the park and took more pictures. The ice cream was not exactly what I was wanting so I threw most of it away. I finally made my way back to the hotel.

I packed today trying to get us ready to leave. Tomorrow, Tuesday, we will leave Weiden around noon and drive to Wiesbaden. EARLY Wednesday morning we will fly out of Frankfurt. Travel day is always long and we are always drained. The GOOD thing about travel day, Wednesday, We Get To Pick Up MOLLY! I miss her so much. She is with me 24/7 and it is so weird not having her follow me around and sitting in my lap while I am on the computer. Even when Larry and the kids are not around, Molly is.

Tonight the hotel is having a BBQ for the guys. (I tag along) I’m not sure how that’s going to go but I am sure it will be wonderful. The only thing I know is it is in the Garden. I LOVE sitting out there so it should be a great evening. All of the guys are exhausted and are ready to head back to the states.

Have a great day!

Word of the day: Einbahnstraße (Eyen-byne-stras-sa)(the weird looking capital B means double s)
Einbahnstraße=One Way Street (Important to know!!!!)


kdp

Happy Mother's Day

First of all; Happy Mother’s Day to the most precious mother of all, my best friend, my mother Geneva. I love you very much. You are and have always been a wonderful mother and even more than that, my friend. It’s so hard to be a mother and a friend but you managed to be both. She taught me more than I can even mention but among them is; She taught me about Christ, to be a good friend, to be honest, to be friendly, to be faithful, to be a good steward of money, to be a hard worker and…most of all she taught me to be a Mother. Thank you for all the love and support you have given me. Tim and I have been blessed beyond words having you as a mother and role model.

Hi Mom, Happy Mother’s Day. I tell Peach all the time how thankful I am for you and her Dad because you gave me the love of my life. I pray you have a blessed day. Love you, Larry

I am a Step-Mom of 4. (Larry calls me the Bonus Mom) I have very dear friends who are step mothers and some of them have children of their own too. They agree with me 100% that their job as a step mother is much harder than their job as a mother. I’ve always wanted children and could not biologically have them. However, God saw a need; A need for me to be the step mom of 4. Maybe not the way that I had planned, but the way He planned. I cannot lie, there are still times that I long to be a mother to my own or adopted baby. Sometimes I still want a baby, sometimes I am satisfied with what I have. I guess it’s a “woman thing” but none the less, I have moments.

My Babies: Larry, though he is my husband and an adult, he is my #1 baby. He is the love of my life and the person I want to grow old with. Catherine, my 17 year old in 6 days will graduate from high school and begin a new chapter in life as she begins college. Laura, my 13 year old will be in high school next year and she is becoming a lady before my eyes. Sean, my 11 year is such a cutie with those dimples that he ‘thinks’ will get him his way. He is a Momma’s (meaning ME) boy for sure! Marissa, my 9 year old is the sweetest little girl and is developing a wonderful and funny personality. Molly our Pomapoo is my little princess. She is the cutest puppy in the entire world. She is the joy of ALL of our lives.

I would love to have met Larry’s mother. She passed away October 95. I would love to have met the lady who raised my Prince. I’ve never met her but I love her for the person she gave to me. I am forever grateful.

To all my friends and family……Happy Mother’s Day! I want to list names but there are too many. You know who you are. You’re my blood relatives, my family by marriage, my bonus mothers and my friends.

Happy Mother’s Day to Mommy-To-Be Shelly. I know you are excited and nervous. You’re going to be a great Mom. I’ll be there to help and encourage you.

To all you Step-Mom’s (Bonus Mom's)…Well, WE should have our own day cause Lord knows we deserve it! Ha! Who do I need to talk to to get that goin’?

To All………Have a Blessed Day!

Ahhh, Saturday in Germany.......

One of the many fruit, veggie and flower venders at the Saturday Market.

Saturday….Ahhhh, Saturday in Germany! People are taking walks, riding bikes, sitting outside restaurants eating food, drinking beer or wine, eating ice cream, eating pastries, drinking cappuccino’s, carrying on conversations and relaxing. Today Lisa and I were totally Germans! This was her last day in Germany; she leaves early tomorrow morning for home. I told her it was her last day and we could do whatever she wanted. She wanted to hang out in Weiden and eat German food that she has not tried and just sit and enjoy the day. She picked a wonderful day, it was so pretty. On Saturdays down the middle of town there are tents and such set up with fruits, veggies, flowers, spices, etc. People flock there with baskets to take home the goodies they buy. No matter how many times I’ve seen the weekend markets, I am always amazed at the number of people that are selling and buying. Everything looks so fresh.

We started our day out on the town around 11am. We both skipped breakfast so we were ready for lunch. Lisa said she wanted to eat all day since it’s her last day, trying to get in all the goodies she has not tried. So, first she wanted pizza. ( I got another Shelly on my hands. Ha!) I took her to the place Shelly and I ate the day we watched the parade and presentation of the May Pole. Like most German meals, it took forever to get our food. That was ok, we were on no schedule. After that, we walked for a while. Shelly and I had found a park and Lisa wanted to go there. It is such a beautiful place. There is a creek running through it with bridges crossing over. There are also fountains, walking/biking trails, play grounds and a running track. Oh so pretty and relaxing. We walked the park and enjoyed girl talk. There is a clothing store calle Whorl. Well, Whorl was having a fashion show toay. We stopped and watched the girls walking the short runway in the "newest summer fashions". We shopped a little and then Lisa was ready for her next treat. She wanted a pastry and cappuccino. So, she had a pastry, I had a pretzel with butter and we both had cappuccinos. We sat for a long time just enjoying the sun, watching people pass by and of course more girl talk. We then went back to the hotel and sat in the beer garden. Beer Gardens are outside areas with tables and maybe large umbrellas. Most of the time there are vines growing overhead as decoration and shade from the sun. We sat for a while enjoying a glass of wine and more girl talk. Her husband came in and they left for Frankfurt for her to stay the night due to her flight being so early in the morning.

SO, here I am….the only wife here as usual. That’s ok, I’m with my hubby! I had a great time with Shelly and Lisa. Shelly and I became even closer friends and Lisa and I began a friendship. You can’t get much better than that!

Tonight, Larry and I went walking in search of a place for dinner. We went to the place that Lisa and I, and Shelly and I had lunch. They have Spargle soup which is a seasonal soup and one of Larry’s all time favorites. So I wanted to take him there for the soup. Me and the girls ate outside but Larry and I went inside. There was a long winding spiral staircase that led to the restaurant. It was so nice to be alone 2 nights in a row. The food and company was excellent.
Tomorrow, Sunday, is an important day for Larry and will be a long one. After Sunday, his days should begin to lighten up and most of his major stress should be lightened as well. He is sleeping now beside me counting Z’s. I am praying for him to have restful sleep and to wake up feeling energized and ready for his big day.

Word of the day: Zollen (said the way it is spelled; zoll-in) Bitte (Bitt-ah)
Zollen Bitte=Check Please

kdp

Friday.....

The picture is the town of Eshenbach.

…Today Lisa and I went out and about. We were not really sure what we were going to do. We went to Seltmann Dish factory here in Weiden. I LOVE to shop there because they have an irregular section. The irregulars have itty bitty flaws that you have to look close to find. I’ve bought platters from there before and just love using them. WELL, I hit the jackpot today! You have to just take your time and go through the dishes. I found a beautiful platter that I just ‘Had’ to have. I kept looking and found another piece to it, then another. Finally, I found a soup serving bowl to match and I was So excited. I wound up with 7 matching pieces and was oh so happy. What REALLY made me happy was that the original cost of what I got would be around 350€….I paid 28€! I LOVE a bargain!!! Lisa found some goodies too. Her husband is never going to let her shop with me again.

We were both dying for a Diet Coke with ICE so we turned into Americans and went to post for a Subway and soda. We visited a few more places and on our drive we found a cute little town and decided to stop and have a look. It was a typical German town with a cobblestone road leading through the center of town, a few shops, dining, ice cream shop, etc. We make a little stop for ice cream and headed back to the hotel. It was a beautiful day and a great day for a drive-a-bout.

The day wound down with dinner for two. Larry and I had dinner alone for the first time on our trip. We went to an Italian place where the food is just amazingly good. We share meals here because they are very LARGE portions. We shared a cucumber salad which is so yummy and we also shared a pasta dish. The icing on the cake of the day was, when they sat our pasta dish in front of us guess what the dish was? It was the exact same dish design I bought earlier in the day! I was so excited and said to Larry, “That’s it! That’s the dish design I bought today”. He liked it and said, “Cool! I really like it. This is a sign that you made the right choice.” We had time to talk and catch up a little. We have had very little time together but the bottom line is; we are together and we lay our head down at night side by side.

Word of the day: Wasser (Vah-sa) is Water. Bitte (bitt-ah) Please.
Wasser bitte= Water please. However, in Europe you have to specify if you want water with gas or without. Of course without is plain water. With gas is carbonated water. For me, NO gas please!

Kimberly Dawn

Wednesday & Thursday....

Wednesday….Shelly went back to the states. I was sad to see my buddy go. She has contacted me via email and she arrived home safely. I didn’t leave my room today except for dinner. I was just in the mood to read, watched TV through our sling box, searched online for stuff for my business and for houses in Manhattan, KS….stuff like that. I did finally get ready to have dinner with my hubby. That’s about it!

Thursday….I started the day out in an exciting way. Are you sitting down…this one is good! I did 2 loads of laundry. Yep, laundry! Ha ha, had ya goin’! I went to the PX and bought me a new book then went to do laundry. Another Officers wife flew here on Monday, her name is Lisa. So Lisa and I did a little shopping. We went to a German grocery store, which I like to do because it is interesting. Lisa stocked up on some goodies and I did too. (Don’t worry Sonya; I have your Gummies hidden from Larry) Our biggest thing we did today was to visit a German Concentration Camp in Flossenburg, Germany. Wow, I don’t know if I have words to describe it. It was shocking and sad. She and I both felt like the wind was out of our sail. I mean, it is SO sad. Some of the pictures were horrible. I am so tender hearted and just reading the descriptions, seeing pictures and listening to the audio stories; it’s just heart breaking. As we left the main building we were both kind of sad. However, we walked the grounds and saw some pretty scenery. There is a chapel there and that was somewhat comforting. I took a picture of the church which is at the top of this blog.

Not sure what the next few days will bring. Maybe something more upbeat. Here is something new I found…..Have you ever heard of a fruit called Physalis peruviana? I have fallen in love with them. I looked it up online and the English name is Cape Gooseberry. If you don’t know what they are here is Kim’s description. It’s the size of a cherry tomato, orange in color, it’s leaves are light green but with the texture of a thin husk, the leaves wrap downward and cover the fruit. You pull the husk leaf back and eat it like a grape or a tomato. A lot of the guys eat ice cream for desert and they use these as garnish. The guys don’t like them so they give them to me. They eat the ice cream and I get the fruit. I have had a hard time describing the flavor but online it described it as tomato/pineapple like blend. Well, I don’t know that I would say that! It taste maybe closer to pineapple/orange blend….but reminds me of a SweeTart. So if you ever see them, try them. They may be all over the states but I’ve not seen them. From now on, I’ll be looking for them.

I’m starting a word of the day. I’ll TRY to help you pronounce the word and tell you what it means.
Word of the day: Guten Tag (Goot-en Tahg) which means Good Day.

So, Guten Tag!
Kimberly

Tuesday Continued.......

I reported on Tuesday morning so here is the afternoon. Shelly and I headed out to our Pizzeria for a repeat of the best pizza ever. Well, they were closed! The last time we went was on the weekend; however, they open at 5pm on weekdays. We were not extremely happy. Oh well! We decided to just go on a 'drive-a-bout' and find a new and interesting place. We found another pizza joint...CLOSED. We found a cafe'...they had no place to sit other than outside, it had been raining and all the seats and tables were wet. SO, we continued on. I remembered an Italian place Larry and I had eaten at in the past so we went there...CLOSED. We decided to go down one more road and if we find nothing, we would park and walk in the area we are familiar with. What do my eyes see? An Italian sign...we found a Pizzeria! Guess what? They were OPEN! We each ordered what we had at the other place which was what we were each craving. It was just as yummy as the other place. We were happy girls! After that we parked and walked to the market platz for a little shopping. Then we stopped at a bakery and I had a pretzel with butter and water. I was so excited...the water was COLD!!!! Sodas and water here are room temperature and when I got the COLD water, I was so excited that I ordered a second bottle. (the bottles were small but I was happy) When Larry got home I told him about the cold water and he laughed at me but was excited for me. Ok, you are reading this and thinking, "What’s so exciting about cold water?" Well, when you are in a country that don’t put ice in your glass unless you ask and then it's only 2, maybe 3 cubes if you are lucky....you are happy with a cold drink. Every time I go on post I go to the Shopette (which is like a gas station that carries things other than soda and junk food) I buy a soda from the 'cooler' OR I go to the PX food court and get a soda with a cup FULL of ice. You might be thinking it's no big deal but do this; go for a week drinking room temp soda, room temp juice and room temp water and then tell me how bad you want a COLD drink! Ok Ok, I'll shut up about that! I think you are getting my point.

After returning to the hotel I read and responded to some emails. It is SO funny, nobody puts comments on my blog but they email their comments. Don't get me wrong, I love the input and response no matter what form it's in. I ALWAYS love to hear from family and friends. The last few days I've chatted with lots of you; Momma, Sonya, Christy, Cher, Beckie....and many more. Though I'm connected to all of you by our hearts; the internet helps us stay connected with words!

Well, around 8:40pm, Larry strolled in the hotel. He changed clothes and we headed to dinner. He is feeling better today but of course still extremely tired. Dedicated man, dedicated husband, dedicated father, dedicated Christian, dedicated soldier! He is the love of my life and I am proud to call him my husband.

I've always been the only wife on the trips I've been on. This time I had Shelly and it's been great. Tomorrow she fly’s back to the states, I'll miss her. We were already good friends but this week, our friendship has grown. We both look forward to our move knowing we will have each other to rely on. I know you will read this Shelly.....I love ya and pray for safe travel for you. I've enjoyed our days of just chilling out, enjoying the great German, Italian and Greek food, the pastries, the shopping and the girl talk.

Love from Germany,
Kim

Monday and Tuesday.....

I got in trouble. I got an email from my Mother with the subject; WHAT NO BLOG!!!. So, I am updating my blog before I get into trouble again. That's her way of keeping up with us without being a nosey mother. Ok Momma, I know you are reading this....I was just joking. Thanks for loving us enough to read the blog. And NO, you are not a nosey mother/mother-in-law. You have Larry wrapped around your little finger!

Monday....Well, Larry was up early and off to work as usual. I had a quick small breakfast here at the hotel and went back to my room to read my book. I've been reading a book and it was getting close to the end. Shelly and I left for our lunch and window shopping just before noon. We walked down to the market platz and had a brat.....YUM!!!!! We bought it from a vendor on wheels which is where you get the best ones. We sat at tables set up along the sidewalk. Just so happen, there was a bakery right beside the vendor so we ventured inside and looked at all the goodies. We had a pastry and cappuccino. We often use the excuse that "the baby" wanted the pastry. Of course, that has nothing to do with me but it sounds good! After our tummies were full and the baby was happy we began our window shopping. We did buy a few things but nothing major. Shelly tried on some maternity clothes and we looked at baby stuff. We eventually went back to our rooms and I curled up in bed to finish my book. I finished it and it was really good. I read "Late Bloomer" by Fern Michaels. Larry and Mike worked late and the 'baby' was getting hungry so Shelly and I went down to have some soup before the guys got home. Finally, around 8:30, Larry came rolling in. He is feeling bad again and he looks drained. Actually, all the guys are looking drained. Anyway, we had dinner and before too long we were in our room and Larry was counting Z's.

Tuesday.....Larry was up AGAIN very early and off to work. I sure do miss him when he is working these crazy hours! This is Shelly's last full day with me. (sniff sniff) I sure will miss her. We are going back to our favorite Pizzeria today and are hoping for a repeat of our favorite pizza. Got to get ready to go out and about.

kdp

Fri, Sat, Sun...Updates.

Catch up time………

Friday….Shelly and I walked to a Bakery a couple blocks from our hotel and had lunch. Mike picked us up late in the afternoon and took us to post to do laundry. I had forgotten it was Friday and that is NOT the best day to do laundry. The place was FULL of young soldiers doing laundry. We waited for washers…then waited for dryers. We looked across the room many times and were commenting on how ‘young’ they all looked…seemed like they were just kids. Made me feel old! We took clothes for Larry to change into and we all four went to an Italian Restaurants once the clothes were finished. OMG, the amount of food was crazy! It was wonderful but we could have ordered two dishes and all four shared it and still been as full as a tick! It was wonderful as all the food is here in Germany. After we got back to our hotel we joined some of the other guys in the restaurant to chat a while. There is a dish here that I have fallen in love with. So, we asked the owner/chef about it. He was so flattered that I wanted to know how to make it. He told me how AND gave me the main ingredient to take home. He then told me what he ads to the main ingredient and how he cooks it. He wants me to email him and let him know how it turns out.

Saturday….Shelly and I went shopping while the boys worked! Ha! We hit the crystal factories, Christmas factories, miscellaneous shops…OH and I found the place that sells my FAVORITE German candy bar. I was so excited. Next we had lunch at a Pizzeria. We both agree that we had the best pizza we have ever had in all of Europe, including Italy. Shelly had a Hawaiian pizza and I had Pepperoni and Salami pepperoni. OK, the Pepperoni is not what you’re thinking. Here, when you order pepperoni it is long green peppers that have very little heat to them and a little sweet (kind of like a banana pepper). Pepperoni like we think of is salami/salami pepperoni. What an awesome pizza. It was a fun day with my friend and I enjoyed dinner with my hubby. What else could a girl ask for?

Today, Sunday….It’s been a nice day. A little cloudy at times. Of course Larry is at work and his days are getting longer. He should be in around 7:45 or 8:00pm, then we’ll have dinner downstairs. Midmorning, Shelly and I went for a walk. Sundays in Germany is truly a day of rest. Nothing is open except a few restaurants. We went back to the room, showered and went back out for lunch. Shelly has been dying for a Crepe! There has been a carnival in town this week and today was the last day. The carnival had them so we took off walking in search of Crepes. You should have seen the look on her face when she saw the crepe stand. She lit up like a Christmas tree and almost jumped for joy! We watched them make it and she was oh so happy. It was a loooong walk but my friend and her growing baby in her tummy, were very happy. We made it back to the hotel and I’ve been reading. Well, except for that little nap I took. J So it is now a little after 7:30pm and I am waiting for Larry to come in from work. He has been so tired. Once he has dinner he is pooped and ready to sleep.

Update on Molly….She is doing well with her Nana Beckie. There was a tornado that ripped though her area and hit many homes and businesses within 2 blocks from her house. She and Molly are fine. We knew that this was coming soon…Molly is in heat. According to Beckie, Molly is doing well. Beckie is keeping the boy pups away and protecting my baby!

This is all just an update on our days. I’m just having a laid back time which was much needed and is much appreciated.

Kimberly

Happy May Day!

Thursday......Happy May Day! Today is May 1st which is a German holiday. On any German holiday 90% of all businesses are closed. Shelly and I knew that there would not be much open but hoped to find a place to have a cappuccino and maybe some lunch. We walked to the center of Wieden and just as we suspected most everything was closed. There were long tables set up and a stage. Anytime there are tables set us like that, there is normally going to be some sort of festivities going on. (Of course that means a lot of Germans drinking a LOT of beer) So Shelly and I found a restaurant that was open to have lunch. We sat outside and ordered our lunch. After we ate we finished with a cappuccino. While eating we were noticing some men had uncovered a part of the cobblestone and seem to be doing some kind of work in the hole. Also, there were some teenagers roping off a large section which included the area the men were working on. THEN, we noticed that little by little the area was getting crowded with people. So we paid for our food and drink and got up to walk back to the hotel. A German lady who spoke very good English stopped me and said, "Are you sure you want to leave? Any minute they will be bringing in the May Pole. It is a tradition; I think you will like seeing it". I told Shelly and we decided to stay. So we sat back down and ordered another cappuccino and continued with our girl talk. A few minutes later the band started playing and a parade of people began to come down the center of the town. They were dressed in German clothing, some carrying flags. Not sure what they all stood for. Following the people was a huge truck pulling a HUGE blue and white striped pole with pictures of different building from the town on it. They used a crane and placed the pole in the hole that Shelly and I thought was where men were working on a drain of some sort. Silly us, it was what held the May Pole! Funny thing is we were right up front...I mean one of the best seats to have. There were a few times we were a little concerned about the pole breaking loose and rolling right over us. We were also right in the lime light of pictures being taken and cameras rolling and I told Shelly I could just see the news paper with a big picture of 2 Americans front and center for the planting of the May Pole. Shelly said the towns’ people will look at it saying I know this person and that person....but I don't know those two. Guess you had to be there but it was rather funny.

Of course as soon as the ceremony was over and we could once again head back to the hotel....here come the rain, and lots of it. They had already opened the huge umbrellas and the lady who was telling us about the event came under the umbrella and shared our table until the rain stopped. She told us that the pole is a symbol of spring and means that the dark is gone (winter) and spring is here. The pole will remain up the entire month of May. At this point we were freezing. Finally we headed back to the hotel and here I am, telling the story. Of course I didn't have my camera as we thought we were just going to find some lunch. I'll go back and take a picture and add it to this blog later.

I did try something today at lunch that Larry talks about a lot and loves. Spargal soup (I know I misspelled that) made from white asparagus. White asparagus is asparagus that has never seen light and remains white. It is only available this time of year and for a short period of time. It was yummy. I felt guilty having it without him but I plan to take him there for dinner one night so he can have one of his favorite German soups.

That’s the biggest part of my day so far. Now it’s time to rest before getting ready for dinner. More yummy German food!

Love and Hugs from Germany!