Pictures from Germany

Well, I'm running out of time here so I'll have to edit and update with some titles and explanations later . . .

The Tree is Up!!! The Tree is Up!!!

We have both our trees up now!

The 7 1/2' slowly spinning tree with Mr. Mittins investigating:


Same tree without the flash on the camera:




And a close up of the bulbs:



And tree #2, the 6' tree with Ms. Dots investigating:



And again without the flash on the camera:




And a close up of the little tree:




We're getting so much more done around the house. I am getting really excited! We're hoping to have everything finally unpacked before New Year's, or shortly thereafter.

Luke 2:1-40 (New International Version)

The Birth of Jesus

1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.

4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Jesus Presented in the Temple

21On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.

22When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"), 24and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."

25Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
30For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel."

33The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

36There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

39When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

May you find grace and peace this Christmas season!

Love,
Julie & Joerg

A Toothy Tale

Well Joerg broke a tooth on Tuesday and now has a temporary cap thing on it. He'll get the permanent one in about 2 weeks.

We have both our trees up. We redid the one tree as the lights weren't enough for it. So we bought LED multi-colored lights and redid the tree. I'll have to post pictures later.

I still need to post some of the pictures from the trip to Germany too!

We've been busy with the reorganize the house project. The goal is to be done before New Years :) We know with God's help all things are possible!

So what is your favorite Christmas Carol? I love a lot of different Christmas songs, but the Christmas Song itself is just very relaxing for me! (Chestnuts roasting on an open fire . . . )

Well I better get back at it!

Love,
Julie

We're approved!!!!

As of today 11/30/2007 we have an officially approved home study and we're just waiting to be matched!

Sorry I've been a little m.i.a. lately, but we've been very busy with decorating for Christmas, and putting Thanksgiving dinner together. But I had to stop in and share the great news!!!

Love,
Julie

Busy busy little bees . . .

I'm sorry we haven't been in here to update for a bit. We've been busy reorganizing more areas of the house, and getting the home study done. We're almost done with the home study, and we're working on our profile. Everything is coming together very nicely!

God has been very good to us, and we trust that He has also been faithful to you!

God Bless!

Love,
Julie & Joerg

Just a quick update . . .

Just a quick update here today. We were in Germany for the last 2 weeks and a bit. We had a lot of fun! We went to visit family. I'll see if I can post some pictures we took while over there soon.

While in Germany I attended Weight Watchers. I had a lot of fun learning how the German program differs from the US one. I did manage to lose 4.6 pounds while there too! I also learned about Nordic Walking. So Joerg & I will be trying that out at a workshop here soon and see if we enjoy it. If we do, I think it'll be great exercise, and we can go walking anywhere while getting a full body workout.

Our home study visits will start soon. And we're almost finished with the required reading. It's getting very exciting!

That's all for now . . .

Love,
Julie

The organizing continues as Autumn approaches . . .

Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 (New International Version)

24 A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?

Psalm 90:17 (New International Version)

17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.



We've come pretty far in the organizing. Still more to go though! But it's very encouraging to see how far we have come, and exciting to think how it will be! The more stuff we're not using and get out of the house, the roomier the house becomes. It becomes more open and inviting! And it's a whole lot easier to cook and bake in the kitchen when everything is organized! Do you have a favorite kitchen tool? So far I really love my Kitchenaid stand mixer. Mine is red. I've been looking into some of the attachments for it.

I started back on Weight Watchers on Thursday. And I'm staying on plan! I'm doing the Flex Points rather than the Core program. I don't like how restrictive the Core plan is. Too much you cannot eat. It's much easier to figure out what to eat and stay on program in the Flex plan. Granted, if I were on the Core plan, there would only be so many foods in the house to chose from.

But I want to eat real foods, and I know Joerg wants to eat real foods too - meaning not buying fat free or sugar free foods that are artificially bulked up with junk to replace the fat or sugar. That said, I don't have a problem making real/natural substitutions. Such as replacing the oil in a cake with natural applesauce. I really like the leader! She said she didn't lose her weight eating fat free or diet foods. She learned how to eat real foods in the right proportions! So I know I've found the right leader for me. Are you on Weight Watchers? Care to share your success story, a favorite recipe or tip?

Today our Sunday school started back up. We're studying Romans. I have a women's Bible study starting on Tuesday on Esther and Ruth, and then we'll be going to a Bible study together Wednesdays on Colossians. It's really feeling like Autumn now.

We have more adoption paperwork we've been working through, and much more to go! Hopefully we can get through it all in the next two weeks here. We're going to try at any rate.

We went shopping this weekend trying to find long sleeve polo style shirts for the fall/winter for Joerg for work. We haven't found them yet. Joerg thought we should just wait until they go on sale, and then in the meantime he'd just use the t-shirt variety. I reminded him they (long sleeve polos) probably won't be on sale until next spring if that were the case. So I guess I'll be doing some window shopping trying to find them this week.

I've been reading a great book series! You've probably already heard of it. But if you haven't here's the link to the author's website: http://www.thoenebooks.com/index.asp I'm reading through the 20th century novels. I started as their FAQ suggested with the Shiloh Legacy series. I'm waiting for the Shiloh Autumn book to arrive any day now. Guess I better get more work done organizing and on the adoption paperwork before it arrives.

Well I'd better get back at it!

Love,
Julie