The Family Cochran

Note:

2012-02-09T01:14:00.000-06:00

Obviously, I'm not great at putting videos on the blog...we'll work on that! :) For now, if you want to watch the "Carnival of the Animals" clip that I filmed below, just click the link that the movie gives you when you go to play it and watch it on YouTube. That should work...if it doesn't, let me know. :)

"Carnival of the Animals"

2012-02-08T18:00:00.004-06:00

Daddy was off this weekend, but with a few under the weather (and more getting that way) we decided it was best to stay close. Daddy took those of us who were feeling well to listen to an orchestra perform "Carnival of the Animals" - it was really neat and was a lot of fun (even though we couldn't understand any of the narration because it was, of course, in German! We were able to pick out a few of the animal names though)!!

Daddy really likes it over here because they serve espresso everywhere!

Getting ready

Waiting

It was a neat place

It begins!!!

I'm trying to post a video of the finale, but we'll see if it uploads down below!

On the way home...

I thought the sun and sky was so bright and pretty!

The wind generators in the distance reminded me of home...

A view out the front...

...and one out the side!!

Hey! I got it to work (I think :) - if it doesn't play PLEASE let me know!!! Hope you enjoy it!!! (Note: the ads show up automatically and I can't seem to get them off - Sorry!! - hopefully they won't be a problem!)

Pizza!

2012-02-07T13:03:00.000-06:00

On Saturday we had what I think is the most delicious pizza I've ever tasted!!! It was amazing!!! The chef and his wife are both Turkish and were really kind. They spoke a little English so we were able to communicate slightly.

Making the pizza!

They told us that this is about 40 chickens all smashed together and roasting on this rod - very interesting!

I asked if I could get his picture (he didn't mind) and then..

...he said "Here, get one with my big knife too!" :)

Him and his wife were so nice - we definitely want to go there again!

Sabrina sat in the jump seat on the way home (a sometimes adventurous but much enjoyed position! :) and held the pizza. On one of the turns, she almost lost the pizza and her and Stasia made up the following song (to the tune of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean"):

"Sabrina fell out of the window,
and on the grass she did lay,
until we came back and got her,
with pizza sauce all over her face!"

The food was DELICIOUS!!!

Misc. Pictures From The Past Week

2012-02-07T13:01:00.000-06:00

The title pretty much says it!!

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of our first walk in our village, but that was neat and we all enjoyed the fresh air. Enjoy the pictures I DID take!! :)

Sabrina made our first homemade traditional German meal - bratwursts, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, and white gravy! YUM!!

She made bagels from scratch for the first time for breakfast one day - they were delicious!!!

Shenandoah fell asleep in the car - I thought she had quite the face on!!

Our big adventure this week was navigating through Kaiserslautern while daddy was at work - it was crazy!!! The roads are so narrow and the traffic was VERY busy!!! I'm thankful for the smaller villages around where we live. :)

We drove on the autobahn for the first time!! The younger ones kept telling mommy to "go faster, go faster!" I'm not sure what she topped out at!!

This is the front gate at Ramstein AB - we're not yet used to the long lines to get on the base(!) - quite different than from our base at home!!

Our First 12 Days...

2012-02-05T13:29:00.006-06:00

Yes, its been 12 days today since we arrived in Germany!! Besides everything that I've already posted about, here are some other things that our first 12 days have been filled with...

We were re-united with daddy which was the best thing that has happened so far! :)
Daddy got us signed in on the base.
We were blessed to find a rental car (for a good price) that seats all of us - this was an answer to prayer!!
Daddy and Mommy took our passports onto the base and were able to get us registered in on SOFA Status (to make sure we fall under military care while out of the country).
Daddy getting used to his new job and has been quite busy
Met our sweet English landlady
Got settled into our new German home
Got acclimated to the time change (almost! - 7 hours is a challenge!!)
Baked cookies for and met our German neighbors
Took care of (and are still taking care of) those with colds
Took care of (and are still taking care of) those with stomach flu!
Got assigned new chores (yes, since we are not in Europe for a vacation, but are actually living here, it's a different experience and normal life must go on!)
Did laundry, cooking, dishes, etc. (like we said, it's the normal stuff :)
Shopped at the Commissary more than once (yes, it's a challenge resetting up the kitchen!)
We've enjoyed the BX over here as it is SO much nicer and much larger than our one back home. It's nice to have some place you can find a few "normal" things - although we've really been enjoying new ones as well!
Got used to driving around the air base
Everyone who was old enough got library cards (yay! they have a lot of great resources and even an online German course!)
Getting used to driving around Germany (the rules are different and the roads are narrow)
Got lost a few times, but eventually found our way home! (Mommy is expanding her horizons and branching out of her comfort zone - especially for those who know her!) - she's doing a great job!!
Have enjoyed trying new foods and everyone has their own favorites so far...
Enjoyed the little villages, bakeries, shops, etc. - everything is so unique!
Getting caught up on correspondence and learning that the mail travels much slower over here :)
Getting ready to start school on Monday (as long as everyone's feeling better) and the planning that goes with that!
We enjoyed our first field trip to Nanstein Castle (a few posts back!) and are looking forward to our next touring expedition!! Hopefully, if daddy is off next weekend, we are going to try to go to Paris (but we kind of have to play it by ear!)
Have been getting used to living in a different country (at some times still hard to believe!)

Stay tuned for more posts. It's fun to see all the views on our blog and we appreciate everyone's prayers and comments! Have you noticed I've been more faithful on blogging?! :)

Funny Differences That We've Been Getting Used To...

2012-02-04T04:18:00.003-06:00

It's funny how some of the "little" things in life can be so different and really become "bigger" when you no longer do it the way you're used to! Here are a few examples...

First off, the beds!
Do you notice something unusual? It almost looks like it didn't get made, but in fact it is!! In Germany, you have a fitted sheet, one very large and flat square pillow, and one comforter/blanket that is folded in half on top. There are no sheets!!

The bathroom doors don't lock. They have a key hole, but we don't have access to the key! :) That can get interesting...

The light switches not only look funny, but are on the OUTSIDE of the doors!!

The only advantage to this is that when I want to find out if someone is in the restroom, I just flip the switch. If I hear a scream, that means I better wait. :)

The toilets also can be a little confusing and to a little guy like Sayer, a bit overwhelming. The first day we were here, he came up to mommy saying "I just don't know what to do!". So you may be wondering what the problem was. Well, you'll notice the too buttons above the toilet? The little one is for if you go pee and the big one is for if you go (yes, I'm going to say it...) poo poo. I guess it's supposed to save on water that way by adjusting the flushes accordingly. I hope this isn't to uncomfortable of a conversation :)

Now on to the trash...

When we assigned new "Germany" chores, one of the things I got was the trash. It certainly is not as simple as it may seem!! Over here, recycling is not an option, it is a rule. If you don't do it right, they don't take your trash!! You can imagine the adjusting one has to do!! So you'll notice above the three containers. From left to right: 1) What we've deemed "Garbage - Garbage" which includes anything yucky that you truly want to throw away (food scraps, diapers, dirty kleenexes, etc) 2) you have the compost, which thankfully is pretty much like what we do back home for our garden! 3) you have "Clean Garbage (recyclable)" which includes clean or washed items such as washed out milk jugs, clean (washed) paper plates, any clean napkins (minimal use) etc. Glass doesn't go in any of the trash, you have to wash it out and take to a special location yourself.

Once you fill up a bag inside you take it to one of three dumpsters. Blue is the clean paper, cardboard, etc (but NOT what you use the yellow bags for. Those are separate, even though they're similar). Black is for the "Garbage - Garbage". Brown is the compostable. The yellow bags just sit by the curb. Now this wouldn't be too bad if we weren't so good at filling up the "Garbage - Garbage", or if they picked it up more frequently (only once per month), or if you were allowed more than just what fits in the dumpster. The other catch is that our dumpster is only the "two person" dumpster because they charge per person over here and the size for our family would be REALLY expensive!!! Pick up days are confusing. But when in doubt you can do what I do - Look out the window each night and if you see dumpsters by the road, just do as the neighbors do!! :)

This post didn't include talks about how German washing machines run for 1 and 1/2 hours or how our hot water tank is so small that it takes strategy if you want to get a hot shower - but I'll leave you to imagine that for yourselves!! Also, originally we thought they drove on the wrong side of the road, but we were mistaken. That is in England I guess. But the driving sure is different!! Some of the roads (actually most of them) are so narrow that driving gets interesting at times. Mommy was saying the other day how we should figure out a way to hook a camera on the front of our van when we're driving to show to people back home!! Another thing that we found interesting is that Germany has established "quiet hours" - meaning you can't mow your lawn, be noisy outside, etc. They are from 1-3 every afternoon and all day on Sunday. Its been interesting learning how other countries do things!

Our First Snow!!!

2012-02-04T04:17:00.002-06:00

The past couple days have been sunny and it was nice to see the sun again!!! The first week, every day was cloudy, which I understand is normal for winter over here. On Monday we got our first snow!! We only got about 1/2 to 1 inch, but is was still exciting!!

Yay!! The sun!!

Pretty and white!

Winter wonderland - a view of our backyard

Getting ready to go out and...

...play!!!

Sisters and snow

An Evening With Friends

2012-02-03T23:00:00.006-06:00

Last Sunday, the Gernerts had us over for dinner. Like I mentioned in a previous post, we've been friends since we were stationed in Japan over 18 years ago! We had a nice evening of fellowship together, but unfortunately had to leave early because Sienna started not feeling well. Thankfully she's feeling better now!

Melissa and Rebekah introduced us to "Uno Stacko"

Seth really enjoyed their playmobile bins

Sayer did too!

It's such a blessing that they're letting us borrow the playmobile while we're over here

Oh no! Uno Stacko got unstacked!!

Camera wars!

Ms. Patty and Mommy made personal pizzas for dinner

Mr. Gernert and Daddy

Yum!!

Mommy said she was trying not to covet Ms. Patty's pizza scissors :) - they were really neat!

Dinner time!!

Thank you all for having us!!

Our Home...

2012-02-03T09:26:00.000-06:00

Would you like a tour of our German home?! Okay, here it is!!!

Across the street from our house

Looking down our street one way

Looking down the other way!

Our entry way

Our upstairs hallway - we have three bedrooms and a large bathroom

(hello from me in the mirror :)

This is the bedroom that Sabrina, Sayer, and I share

This picture is for my little buddy William! I get to see him every day :)

Our dining room

Our living room

And our kitchen!

Our First Castle!!

2012-01-31T17:27:00.006-06:00

Last Saturday we went to Nanstein Castle in Landstuhl (about 20 minutes away). It was SO much fun!!! Seth was especially excited about visiting the castle. It was in much better condition than we expected it to be in and was so neat to explore. I took a lot of pictures... I probably went overboard on the blog post, but I couldn't decide which ones to post - hopefully you don't mind!! :)

Okay, so first off here is a little history behind Nanstein Castle of Landstuchl Germany...

Nanstein Castle is the landmark of the Sickingenstadt. It was erected in 1150 AD by emperor Friedrich Barbarossa above a 15 meter high sandstone ledge. It is the place where Franz von Sickingen, one of the last knights, died in 1523. Franz von Sickingen died on the 7th of May after the surrender of the Castle as a result of the injuries he sustained during the battle for the Castle. The Castle contains building material from five centuries. There was a moat around the castle at one time and of course a draw bridge, but I'm not sure of the exact location of either one.

Now for the pictures!

Why was this sign by the road leading to the castle?

Because it was EXTREMELY narrow and steep and the least amount of traffic the better!!

A view of the hotel from up by the castle - it looked like a nice place

Seth's first castle

The challenge of sight seeing in another country - you often can't understand the signs!! :) Thankfully they had a pamphlet in English.

The Battery Tower from 1518

Walking by the castle wall to the entrance - this is the oldest part of the ruins from about 1150

Another sign - this one had some in German AND English

By the entrance

Looking up the circular area inside the archway

On the castle walls!

The view of the village from the castle

This tree is growing out of the ruins

This was a little window from one of the stairwells

Inside the castle walls

Here is a view of the castle and the village from the air

Exploring

Here are some of the original rocks with different symbols on them that have fallen from the walls

This is a view through a metal barred door into a room - we thought maybe it was the dungeon! :)

Up and up we go!

Looking out from inside

Isn't the view spectacular?!

Looking out from the top of the castle

Now we're going down!

This is the original cellar

Does this look familiar?

It goes all the way through the wall to where we parked our car

You can see all that sandstone

More of the fallen rocks with the designs

Seth and Sayer by a suit of armor

Then Shenandoah wanted her picture taken too!

Our First Couple Days in Germany...

2012-01-31T17:26:00.002-06:00

It's great having daddy so close - 10 minutes away is awesome! (back home its 1/2 hour!) So we've enjoyed daddy being able to come home for lunch. We still are getting used to the time change and so a few of us were still in our pajamas that day. :)

Unpacking and getting settled in!

Seth helping

Our first German dinner! We ate here our 2nd night in Germany.
Several of us had the traditional favorite of Germany "Schnitzel"

Shenandoah

Over here when you ask for water, they ask you if you want "water with gas?" Hmmm... interesting if you don't expect it!! Ha ha, they actually just want to know if you want your water carbonated. We tried it and it was fun! (Shenandoah wasn't too thrilled with it though)

Yum! A German Latte

Our first experience of a German grocery store. It makes you very thankful to have pictures on the outside of packages!! Otherwise it could be interesting... :)

We had a birthday celebration for Seth! He turned 9 the day we left and started our travels.

We didn't have candles, so the gummy bears worked instead and he got German dessert bread as his treat! :)

We love you Seth!!!

Birthday goings on around the table

He got a really neat dinosaur book

Wow!!

A birthday prayer

Pictures really don't do it justice, but the roads are extremely narrow over here and the driving rules take some getting used to!

Ms. Patty has been such a blessing answering our questions and showing us around the base. Shenandoah really likes "Ms. Patty".

This lady was helpful with maps and information on the local area and sites to see around Germany.

This place...

...had some fun treats!

I don't know what they are called. We're still at the "look, point, and buy" stage. :)

Getting swung by mommy and daddy!

We've done a little shopping at the BX on base - it is HUGE!!!

Girl Scout cookies are yummy!

Mommy was a Girl Scout when she was a little girl, and we couldn't pass up the cookies.

Of course we got the "Savannah Smiles" :)

Reading books

In Which We Arrived...

2012-01-31T17:25:00.001-06:00

...in Germany!!!

Yay!! We landed!!

Ms. Patty and Mommy
Ms. Patty and mommy have been good friends ever since we were stationed together in Japan more than 18 years ago!! Though we've stayed in touch, we've never been stationed at the same place again until now when we're both in Germany - once again overseas!!
Daddy, Ms. Patty, and a man that daddy works with met us at the airport to help transport all of us and our stuff to our house (the vehicles are really small over here so that was a blessing!)

Our German home

The front entry

Beautiful flowers, fruit baskets, and German gummy bears!

Ms. Jennie (our English land lady) is such a sweet lady and had arranged some nice surprises for us to help us feel welcome - she continues to take such good care of us and is a huge blessing!

She also brought us some German dessert breads

And also a personalized key holder!

Visiting

Shenandoah loves the stairs!

Lots of luggage!

(we didn't do too bad :)

Seth asked to use one of daddy's and mommy's bedside tables. He organized all of his stuff!

Sayer organized his on our windowsill

Shenandoah really likes her new bed and slept great!

This was an answer to prayer... We were able to get a very good price on a rental van that seats our whole family!

We ate dinner at the Base food court...

...it's very nice and quite large!!

Daddy showed us the hotel that he stayed in when he first arrived

It's only a ten minute drive home...do you think we're suffering from a little jet lag?! :)

Our Trip Out...

2012-01-26T19:33:00.001-06:00

...was a little stressful, crazy, and exhausting, but it was good too!! We're very thankful for the Lord's protection and provision and bringing us safely here. Thank you to everyone for their prayers. What a blessing! Well, since it is just Thursday and we only got here yesterday, you should be impressed that I'm posting so soon. :) I think I've almost broken a record!! Ha ha... Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pictures!!
Saturday

We prepare to embark in a VERY stuffed van...

The back

Yay! Here we go!

On the way out of town, the "O's" took us out to Cherry Berry for Seth's birthday! Thank you guys!

Seth got a new army lego set

"O" and Cochran kids picture

We were supposed to make it to Arkansas that night, but the Lord had other plans. Providentially, we ended up needing new tires (daddy had just put new ones on 8 months ago!) and by the time we got them, it was late, so we ended up staying the night with the "O's".

Who doesn't belong in this picture?! Knox is so cute!

The "O's" had a sign up for Seth

Checking the route

Sunday

I got to drive some!

Crossing the Mississippi River

Memphis!

(you can barely see the sign in the distance)

An all important stop...

It was a long day...

...but we had fun songs to keep us awake and a story on CD read by Victoria Botkin called "A Bride Goes West."

Monday

The kids were enthralled by the pancake maker at the hotel we stayed in

Sabrina and Shenandoah

Mommy and Sienna

Appalachian Mountains - here We Come!!!

For lunch we ate in Lexington VA at the "Joyful Heart Cafe"

Ready to eat!

I think Shenandoah enjoyed her food

Sayer and Seth

Stasia, Seth, Sayer, and Shenandoah

We were able to see Stonewall Jackson's grave site - that was so neat!

Graves over looking Lexington

This was an interesting marker

This is the original site of General Jackson's grave

This is the church where he taught Sunday school

Lexington is such a pretty and quaint little town

Countryside

More countryside

Finally a patch of blue sky

Foggy again

We saw a lot of this (road, mountains, etc.)

That night we stayed with some old friends that mommy and daddy knew before I was born!

They had a gerbil that the kids were very interested in

Nelson and the gerbil

They got to give it a treat

They acquired a stray dog...

...and Nathan and Adrian decided to give it a bath!

The dog certainly needed it!

Much cleaner!!

They found the dog's owner the next morning

Ms. Kristi is a nurse and was able to take mommy's stitches out from the cyst she had removed last week

Tuesday...

Was crazy!!! After getting around that morning and visiting with our friends, we had quite the adventure! Between dropping our van off at long term parking at a base about a 1/2 hour away from the airport (getting on the base was a challenge in itself because every gate we tried was closed! Finally someone helped us), renting a van and switching all of our luggage over, going to the airport and finding a place to park, barely making it for the space a call only to find out that they had plenty of room and they weren't doing one and also finding out that the flight was leaving much earlier than we thought!, racing through the airport, unloading the luggage, dropping off the rental van, barely getting our bags checked in time, being almost the last ones to go through security, and then only having about three minutes to spare before boarding! Wow! We were looking forward to the 8 hour flight!!! :) We are thankful for the Lord's grace though as we certainly couldn't have done this without Him and He answered our prayers by letting us get on a flight on Tuesday!

Ms. Kristi, Ms. Gayle (another old friend who brought breakfast that morning), and Mommy

Hey! Mommy actually taught Ms. Gayle something on the iPhone!!
(neither one of them are very good with electronics :)

Visiting

The kids had a lot of fun with their dogs! Aren't they funny?!

Through the airport

Boarding the plane - yay!!!
This was the first time Sienna down had flown - they were excited!!

Sayer and Stasia

Sabrina and Seth

Shenandoah

They served dinner at about 10:30 - it was so good to eat!! We hadn't eaten lunch or dinner that day because we were too crazy!

Above the clouds

It's still hard getting used to the time difference

We landed at 4:30 in the morning our time, but it was 10:30 Germany time!

Breakfast right before landing

(Sayer got to switch with Stasia to see the landing)

Germany from the air

Daddy picked us up - it was so good to see him again!!!

Cheers (goodbye in German) for the night then! Next up (hopefully tomorrow) will be a post about our first couple of days here...

~Savannah

We Made It!!!

2012-01-25T16:12:00.000-06:00

... We're in Germany!!!

The Lord provided plenty of room for us on the military hop yesterday and safety on the flight last night. We were so blessed to make it to Germany this morning and it was WONDERFUL to see daddy again!!!

We're still trying to get used to the time change as we are seven hours ahead here than we are back home. So we're used to it being four in the afternoon, but it's actually eleven at night!! It's a little strange... ;)

I wanted to let everyone know we made it safe and sound and to thank you for your prayers. We appreciate them very much!!

I will be back soon with more updates on our travels here and our new temporary home. Hopefully I'll get to that tomorrow as soon a I get our pictures downloaded.

Blessings to you!

-Savannah

And... We're Off!!!

2012-01-20T22:41:00.007-06:00

I know this is a ton of posts that I have just flooded you with!!! I hope you'll enjoy all of them just the same. :) I've added a drop down menu of blog posts in our sidebar so that it is easier to access all of the new posts (as they don't all fit on this first blog page). I just thought that was better than continuing to click "older posts" at the bottom, but I guess it works just the same!! :) Even though we're going to be gone, still leave comments :) - we still get them!!

Tomorrow morning we start our travels. We're heading east - we have about 1500 miles to drive. Lord willing, we'll be leaving on a flight next Tuesday (if we make it on the military hop) for Germany!! Continued prayers for safety and smooth travels would be appreciated. Thank you all so much!

"So they committed themselves to the will of God, and resolved to proceed." ~ William Bradford

This is our theme quote right now, and this is what we're doing!!

"And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest..." ~ Genesis 28:15

Next post... Germany!!!

Farewell to Daddy - January 13th, 2012

2012-01-20T22:39:00.001-06:00

Wow! The day had come for us to take daddy to the airport. Where did the time go?! Thankfully, he didn't have to be at the airport until later afternoon, so we were able to get lunch in OKC as a family.

Lunch as a family at Ted's

Shenandoah

(she's into this strange smile thing lately:)

Loading up to head to...

...the airport!

Making sure everything is set and ready to go

All of us with daddy - we love and miss you!!!

We'll see you soon!

Going back to the van...

...we had fun on the escalators and moving walkways :)

So we headed off on an adventure of our own. We had a lot of errands to do in OKC.

Sayer flying a helicopter at the mall

Sienna, Mommy, Stasia

Of course we took advantage of a local Cherry Berry - we had to eat dinner somewhere!

The funny thing was that daddy flew to Dallas, and then made it to Baltimore MD, before we even made it the 2 hours home!!!

Early Birthday for Seth!

2012-01-20T22:38:00.001-06:00

Since daddy's going to be gone and we're going to be traveling on Seth's birthday, daddy and mommy took him out last week for a little early celebration. He wants to celebrate the rest in Germany!

Work Day and the Fleshman's - January 10th, 2012

2012-01-20T22:37:00.001-06:00

The Fleshman family blessed us by coming up and helping us to complete many jobs we were hoping to do before Germany, but that simply wouldn't have gotten done otherwise. Thank you - you don't know how much we appreciate it!!! We had a great day of fellowship too!!! (I just took pictures of the inside, but the men did tons of work outside that I didn't get pictures of.)

Sabrina and Alyssa canned

Abby

Shenandoah and Emily

Lunch break

Going through the line

Many hands make light work

They're going to be great mommies someday

Fellowship with friends

Stasia...

...and Sienna got to hold Hannah!

Great work girls!

The apricot, peach, and plum sauce is delicious!!

Gluten Free Coconut Flour Bread

2012-01-20T22:36:00.001-06:00

In case anyone is interested, I thought I'd post another coconut flour recipe that we've recently been enjoying...

Coconut Flour Bread
3/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup ghee (we used butter), plus extra for greasing the pan
6 eggs
up to two tablespoons honey (we used agave)
1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine coconut flour, ghee, eggs, honey and 1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt together.
Mix all the ingredients together until they form a smooth paste with no clumps.
Grease a loaf pan.
Spoon the mixture into the loaf pan, and bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes.
YIELD: 1 loaf
TIME: about 5 minutes (preparation), 40 minutes (baking)

Enjoy!!!

Church Farewell - January 8th, 2012

2012-01-20T22:35:00.001-06:00

I don't know words to express how overwhelmed we were by everyone's love and thoughtfulness in the surprise going away they did for daddy and us. It was so special!!! A huge thank you to everyone who helped make it so special - were appreciate it and are truly blessed. Here are some pictures...
Note: I'm sorry some of the pictures aren't super great quality. I was having camera trouble that day!

Everyone assembled and enjoying lunch

The Blevins family joined us for the day - what a special surprise!!

All of the men had something to share - such a blessing and encouragement.

Joshua even called in from San Antonio!

Mr. Bender

Mr. Howell

Mr. Ford

Mr. Sawyer

Mr. Thomas

Mr. Hofmann

Mr. Fleshman

Billy Gilmore

Mr. Ahlgren

Mr. Lindsey

Mr. Ocker

The Ockers put together a really neat slide show of the history of our church and friendships over the years. It's amazing that it has been 10 years now since the Lord helped us to plant what is now Reformation Heritage Fellowship.

Below are a couple of my favorite slides of the day :)

Wow!

"God Be With You Till We Meet Again"

-I don't know why we had to sing that song... it makes for too many wet eyes!

Ariel Ford made this beautiful cake for the occasion

Isn't that neat?!

Keith Allen is so adorable!!

Me and Melinda Blevins - such a dear friend

Yay!! I got to hold Keith!! :)

Game time

Fellowship

More Fellowship

More games!

Alyssa

Corinne and Calvin

Fun times

Ping pong

The men

Lilian is a doll!! This is how she posed when I asked for a picture! :)

They gave us a really neat surprise basket filled with fun things for our trip and special notes of encouragement for everyone - thank you everyone!!! So special!!!

The men started playing the most interesting game of pool I've ever seen

Daddy did his famous "Casey at the Bat" :)

Captivated...

He does such a great job!

Trip To Visit Family Part 4 - January 7th, 2012

2012-01-20T22:34:00.001-06:00

On Saturday, we visited Daddy's parents before heading home. Here are a few pictures...

We brought lunch!

Eating

(Uncle Andy and Aunt Peggy, and Uncle Denny were there too!)

Uncle Denny let the kids play with his nerf gun - they loved it!

Target practice

This is what happens when you hit daddy! :)

Grandma and Daddy

Trip To Visit Family Part Three - January 6th, 2012

2012-01-20T22:33:00.001-06:00

Friday night we stayed with Uncle Joe, Aunt Teresa, Jacob, Mckenna, and Jack. We had a great evening together - it was so much fun!!! Thank you for having us - we love you!!!

Aunt Teresa made a great dinner - thank you so much!!!

Sayer, Jack, and Stasia playing chess

McKenna, Sabrina, and Sienna

Talking technology and face time

Self portrait on the way to...

Peach Wave!!! It was great!!!

(I'm still partial to Cherry Berry though) - you guys need to come down here and we'll take you!! :)

Jack, Shenandoah, and Seth

This looks familiar

Table one

Table two

Going through the line

Table three

Anyone need a back rub?

"Hey, she's pretty good!"

Jack made "Uncle Phill" a special pouch with feathers inside.

Can you tell they're siblings? :)

Uncle Joe and Stasia

Old pictures are so much fun to look at! Great memories!

And of course, "Chinese numbers"! :)

Saturday morning, Jack taught me how to play "speed" - thank you, Jack! That was fun!

Jacob, McKenna, Jack, Uncle Joe, and Aunt Teresa

Cousins

Just for fun, here are a few old pictures!!

(I love doing "then and now"comparisons :)

Jacob and I a LONG time ago (1994)

Savannah, Grandpa, and Jacob - storytime - I love this picture (1995)

(me), Grandpa, and Jacob not quite so long ago (2003)

(me) and Jacob now - cousins are great!!

We got to go to McKenna's basket ball game. Her team won - yay!!!

Watching the game

Two boys and their hats

Sayer (poor boy with the sun in his eyes!), Jack and Seth

Trip To Visit Family Part Two - January 6th, 2012

2012-01-20T22:32:00.001-06:00

We ate lunch at Chipotle - yum!!!

And had a great visit with Grandpa Elder!

Shenandoah got a wheelchair ride with Grandpa

Front view

Sayer's turn

Visiting and story time.

All of us with Grandpa - we love you bunches!!!

Trip to Visit Family Part One - January 5th, 2012

2012-01-20T22:31:00.001-06:00

The first night, we stayed with and had a great time of fellowship with Uncle Todd, Aunt Moe, and Weston. Thank you all for having us - it was a lot of fun and we look forward to doing it again!!! We love you!!!

In which we arrive, visit, and prepare to eat a delicious dinner...

...that Uncle Todd and Aunt Moe fixed for us - thank you!!!

Old pictures - so much fun to look at!

(I recently scanned in all of the pictures my grandmother had of mommy and her siblings growing up. So we put them on a CD for each of mommy's siblings. It was 3,127 photos - wow!!!)

Aunt Moe made delicious apple pie - yum!!!

Shenandoah wanted to show Aunt Moe her pajamas, sleeping bag, and dolly.

All of us with our cousin, Weston

Uncle Todd, Aunt Moe, and Weston

Visiting

The next morning, Uncle Todd fixed all of us a wonderful breakfast!! Fruit, bagels, eggs - thank you!!

Uncle Todd and Shenandoah

The 80's bunch!!

(Uncle Todd had us all try on a pair of his old sun glasses :)

Misc.(first half) of January Stuff

2012-01-20T22:30:00.001-06:00

Wow!!

Sweetie

Sayer got his tooth pulled...at Starbucks!!!

Um...hmmm...Apparently I was over-tired and fell asleep on the floor!! I guess they thought I looked funny and had to get a picture!! :)

Arranging her animals and dollies on her bed

Coloring time

Germany planning

(we've been doing a lot of this lately :)

Mommy helping daddy pack

Yes, taxes must still be done...

Isn't this a great picture?!

Shenandoah finally let us put her hair in pig tails and she kept them in!!!

(she doesn't normally like them)

An Evening With The "O"'s - January 2nd, 2012

2012-01-20T22:29:00.001-06:00

They were up this way to pick up some bee hives that they bought from someone north of us, and then they stopped by our house to visit and pick some things up here! So of course we got a few pictures...

Visiting and talking Germany plan

The fathers went outside to load stuff up

Wallace

Kids playing

Elly

Virginia Reel!!

Seth and Shenandoah twirl!

Fellowship

Mrs. "O" and William

With William and Knox

More Virginia Reel!!

New Year's 2012

2012-01-20T22:28:00.001-06:00

We were originally going to go to a party put on by a family from our church, but the Lord had other plans. Most of us were sick!! Oh well, we had a great day as a family anyway and are thankful for the fact that this has been a fairly healthful winter for us since there has been so much going around.

We played a geography game

Daddy and Mommy surprised each of us with a new book, pair of pajamas, and a journal for Germany! Thank you daddy and mommy!!!

That evening, we had family prayer and bible time, watched "Facing the Giants" (a great way to end the year!) and then some of the kids had a slumber party in the living room...

Shenandoah was too cute in her bed!

Sayer

Seth

Poor daddy wasn't feeling good at all!! I love you daddy!!!

Mommy, Sabrina, and I had a late night "Blockus" challenge!

The Cochran Zoo - December 28th, 2011

2012-01-20T13:40:00.001-06:00

Yes, that is what everyone has nick named our load of animals lately!! :) We are so blessed by the "O" family taking care of our animals for us while we're away. We loaded them up and headed over to the "O" family house. After dropping off the animals, we had a great evening of fellowship. Thank you guys!!!

And after several delays... we arrive!!!

Mr. Rogers stopped by on his way home from work. The Rogers family is one of the most joyful ones I know. They are always wearing a smile and always focus on the good in any difficult situation!! It is always such an encouragement.

Watching...

...the animals come out!

William likes Hercules

Hercules and Ranger are not sure about each other - Hercules thinks he rules the place!! :)

Playing cars with the boys

Wallace

The parents visiting

Eating dinner

The other table

The "O"'s gave us a refresher course on the Virginia Reel!

We all got to watch William's movie!!!

It was FANTASTIC - so special! Great work Sarah!!!

William and I

The Ford Family For A Visit - December 26-27, 2011

2012-01-20T12:31:00.002-06:00

We had a great couple of days with the Ford family. It was so much fun!! Thank you all for coming!!!

Mr. Ford, Christian, and Elijah were a blessing and helped daddy with some projects around the house and property. Unfortunately, Mr. Ford got his leg with the chain saw, so Mrs. Ford fixed him all up. Thankfully it wasn't too bad!

Ariel and I made hot chocolate mix together

The parents fellowshipping

Playing Kemps

Important tip: Don't sit angled from Elijah - he's an expert at discovering signals! :)

Clue

The next morning we introduced them to "Upset the Fruit Basket" while waiting for breakfast to cook.

Even the dads joined in!

Eating and fellowship

The counter seats

Mrs. Ford and Mommy

Setting up "Nertz"

The moms joined us for that game!

Everyone pitched in to set up the lunch line!

For dinner, we went to Cherry Berry - come visit some time and you can go too! :)

Group picture!!!

The Thomas Family Came For A Visit - December 22-23, 2011

2012-01-20T11:49:00.003-06:00

We were all reminded of just how much life really is a vapor and how everything can change just in an instant. The Thomases were coming up for an evening of fellowship when they were hit by another car at the end of our road. We praise God for their safety and that they only had minor injuries. We were still able to fellowship in the midst of helping and getting everything taken care of. They spent the night and we had more fellowship the next morning!

The Thomases van

The scene of the accident

(thankfully the older lady that hit them was okay as well)

Poor Mrs. Thomas was cut all the way through her lower lip and they think she broke her nose!

Back at our house getting everyone fixed and warmed up!

They decided to go ahead and go to the ER when they realized Mrs. Thomas needed her lip taken care of.

While the parents were gone, Matthew read the Bible to us, we talked, and watched "The Great Escape"

Hot Chocolate!

Tea!

Notice Sabrina's neck knife - it goes with her wherever she is! (although she wears it inside her shirt when we're out ;)

The parents got back safely and we had a good night of fellowship!

Ouch!! Mr. Thomas' lip was very bruised

Shenandoah and Micaiah

Sayer, Matthew, Stasia, and Seth

The parents

Daddy and Mr. Thomas

Mrs. Thomas and Mommy

Kid picture!

(Sadly, Melanie was sick, so her and Marscel had stayed home the day before)

As always, any time with the Thomas family was very much enjoyed. Thank you all for coming!!!

Church Family Day!

2012-01-20T11:46:00.001-06:00

The end of December, we had a church family day at an awesome facility that the Hofmann's blessed us with access to. We had a lot of fun (hence my severe lack of pictures from the day :) and I'll post the few pictures I got. We've since started meeting there on a regular basis which is WONDERFUL - everyone really enjoys it. What a blessing!!!

The kitchen works out great!

Setting up for lunch

Ping pong!

Eating and fellowship

Sarah and William

More ping pong

Everyone had a lot of fun!!

We played volleyball too, but I was too busy playing and didn't get any pictures of that! :)

Shenandoah's Birthday - Dec. 4th, 2011

2012-01-20T11:44:00.001-06:00

Since it was a Sunday and we got home late, we actually celebrated her birthday a couple of days later. Here are some pictures...

Happy Birthday Shenandoah!!! We love you bunches!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

Precious sister

Stasia read us a poem to open the birthday proceedings

Sayer and Shenandoah

Seth and Shenandoah

Stasia and Shenandoah

Sienna and Shenandoah

Sabrina and Shenandoah

Savannah and Shenandoah

Daddy and Shenandoah

Mommy and Shenandoah

Trying on a new dress and hat (the hat went with a different outfit ;)

A new baby!

A birthday prayer

She blew them all out in one breath!!!

And was pretty pleased about that too!!!

Misc. November and December Stuff

2012-01-19T20:35:00.002-06:00

We went to a really great Theodore Roosevelt impersonation night at our local college auditorium. The gentleman did a really great job!

Picture time!

Mommy was under the weather - look at all her herbs, teas, and concoctions!!!

We got a new wall fixture - oh wait - ...

It's daddy!! :)

We put a vent in the wall by our woodstove to help get the heat up the stairs

Shenandoah and Sayer

Shenandoah

The four youngest ones in our family

Mr. Rogers, Micah, and Jonah blessed us by coming over and putting on the finishing touches to our roof and some other misc stuff. The boys helped bring up wood. Thank you!!

Daddy and mommy got iPads so that we could skype (or face time) while we're in Germany. Mommy put some educational games on hers for the kids on the flight over. Daddy was enjoying them too! :)

Actually, he was trying to help us figure out why it wasn't working

Shenandoah helping to "organize"

Cleaning

(our deep, deep, deep cleaning!!)

Packing

Family talk and prayer time

Isn't this a cute stance?!

Thanksgiving 2011

2012-01-19T20:34:00.001-06:00

Alright, are you ready for a swamp of posts before we leave the country?! I hope so because I'm going to have about 20 posts in 3-4 days (as long as I remember to schedule them :)!!! First off - Thanksgiving!!!

"Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever."

~ Psalm 106:1

The Lord blessed us with a wonderful relaxing weekend - I don't remember the last time we just "hung out" and didn't have anything particular "on the books"! Anyway, I am so blessed and thankful for my family - here are some pictures from the weekend!

My fantastic parents

All of us with mommy

All of us with daddy

Daddy smoked the turkey in our new grill...

...it was one of the best ever!!!

Daddy, (me), Sabrina, and Seth

Stasia, Shenandoah, and Mommy!

"Thankful For" cards...

Sayer and Sienna

Sabrina and Seth

Shenandoah enjoying her new "D is for Dinosaur" book - I thought this pose was too cute!

Those who didn't have cameras got one for our upcoming trip to Germany!

Seth and I

Sabrina and Shenandoah

Playing games

More games!

Sabrina is making me this BEAUTIFUL blanket!!! She knows I'm a patriotic girl ;)

Our healthy and raw (no eggs:) dessert table!

We did something a little different this year. Instead of having our special Thanksgiving breakfast, dinner, and dessert all in the same day, we spread them across three days to ease preparation work - it was great!!

Cochran Chronicles...

2012-01-19T10:58:00.001-06:00

January 19th, 2012

As I sit here writing this, I actually have several projects going at once!! I am in charge of digitizing all of our old family photos. I'm also in charge of getting our blog up to date completely before we leave, so I'm scanning while I'm blogging! If you find an error in my typing, don't be too hard on me - I don't claim to be great at double tasking! :)

Anyway, we thought we were busy before, but life has certainly picked up the pace!! Packing, projects, packing, planning, packing (did I mention we're doing a lot of packing! :) Yes, it's hard to believe we'll be in Germany before we know it - just a few more days left!! We are so thankful to everyone back here on the home front who is making it possible for us to be gone. We couldn't do it without them - thank you!!! Okay, I hope I'm not going overboard with exclamation points - I guess there's just a lot of excitement right now! We are also very thankful for daddy's safe arrival in Germany - God is so good to us. What a blessing. We miss him very much, but are so excited to be able to see him again shortly. And the time will go by very quickly as we have MUCH to be done and finish up this next week - prayers would be appreciated - thank you!!

Face-time works out great and certainly makes being separated much easier. It's really special to still be able to do family worship with daddy. We even got a tour of his German hotel room - neat!!

Two things before I forget:

First - I had several inquires in regards to Stasia's military ID (here). But to explain further, members of military families when they reach the age of 10 are eligible for their military ID (I remember when I couldn't wait to get mine! :). It is not mandatory in most instances for children, but adults must have them to get on base as well as shop at the base facilities etc. It is mandatory however, that all eligible persons have a valid ID in order to take a military hop (flight) which is how we plan on getting to Germany. I hope I did okay answering questions and that it all makes better sense now!

Second - I wanted to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who have commented on our blog!!! I know for the most part anyway that we don't often respond, but we do read all of the comments and they are greatly enjoyed and appreciated. Keep them coming - we love to hear from our readers!!

Now without further ado I will get some new posts up and coming. This is going to be a full week of blog posts! Also, be sure to check back often while we're away. I plan on keeping you frequently informed of our adventures in travel and European living (really, I do!! :).

Because He Lives,

Savannah ~ for all the rest!

Just A Couple of Things from the Past Couple of Days...

2012-01-16T23:47:00.001-06:00

Sabrina made me this fantastic limeade!!! Doesn't it look wonderful?!

Shenandoah had a new dress on today. I thought she was too cute to pass up a picture!!

More posts coming soon!

-Savannah

In An Instant

2012-01-16T14:29:00.001-06:00

"So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalms 90:12

Saying good-bye to my family as I left for Germany vividly highlighted the erosion of time in my life. Years turn to months. Months to days. Days to hours. Hours to minutes. Minutes to seconds....finally to an instant.

After months of expectation and preparation, my time of leaving came down to that instant. One last word - as we were together. One last touch - as I turned to walk away. One last look - as I walked through security at the airport. Then the instant was gone.

Often the erosion of time in our lives happens without much awareness on our part. We get caught up in the busyness of work and home and we don't notice it's passing. This was not the case as I said good-bye. The erosion of time was painfully punctuated by the sadness on the faces of my wife and children.

I take comfort in the knowledge that all our comings and goings in life are ordered by God:

"But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, You are my God. My times are in Your hand" Psalms 31:14-15

Our duty is make each instant we are given count.

"whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." James 4:14

Until the instant arrives when there will be no more instants.

"in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." 1 Corinthians 15:52

Then there will be no more sadness...no more saying goodbye.

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain" Revelation 21:4

I look forward to that instant!

Forever Press On,

Phill

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Happy New Year!!!!

2012-01-06T10:50:00.003-06:00

New Year Letter 2012

Greetings to our family and friends,

"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you..." Philippians 1:3 We are very thankful for all of you. We enjoy receiving your cards and pictures each year and hearing what has gone on in your lives.

For us - another exciting and interesting year (sometimes a little less excitement would be welcome!!) Here are a few bullet points:

Another Appendectomy
Wonderful Company
Plugged Septic System
Church Family Blessings
Broken Pipes/Water Leak
Savannah's Improved Health
Drought
Heat
Upcoming Deployment
Roof replacement
Among others

We are truly thankful for God's unspeakable grace and mercy extended to our family through this past year.

Our biggest news (so far) for 2012 is that Phill will be deploying to Germany. We are very thankful that it will be a shorter deployment and that, Lord willing, the rest of us will be able to visit him for a time. We are also tremendously thankful for those who will be in our home holding down the fort while we're gone!

Here's a brief update on each of our children.

Shenandoah

Shenandoah just turned 3 years old a month ago. She has now made the official switch from her crib to a toddler bed. However, the idea of sleeping in a toddler bed was much better than the reality!! She is also attempting to make the transition to not using a pacifier (the jury is still out on this one!) She is learning Ephesians 6:10-19 and can even turn to it in her Bible! She often times can be found with a special hat on playing Sam from "Runner From Ravenshead" (a winning film at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival last year.)

Sayer

Sayer is now 6. You will find him almost every day walking around the house in his flight suit. I say almost every day, because every once and awhile we have to peel it off him in order to wash it! He loves airplanes and the thought of flying someday (sounds like his daddy). He began his formal educational pursuits this year and absolutely loves math.

Seth

Seth is 8. He is growing into quite the young man. Seth is becoming such a wonderful blessing to his father with work and chores on the property. He also loves airplanes and flying. His signature clothing item though is a haberdasher hat that he loves to wear almost everywhere. Seth is showing artistic talent and loves to draw. We look forward to the development of his skills in this area.

Stasia

Stasia is 10. She is as bright and bubbly as ever. She has never met a stranger and is our family social representative. She loves to cook and sew. Stasia has designed and sewn several pretty dresses for her 18" Dolls.

Sienna

Sienna is 11 and is our deep thinker. Like all the girls, she loves to read and is a gifted writer as well. She also enjoys working in the kitchen. She is the one the other children have to beat when asking to sit by daddy on the couch (I need 8 sides!)

Sabrina

Sabrina is 14. She is still very much our outdoor girl. She shot her first deer this year. A perfect homesite for her would include a 3 day hike across forests and streams! She is daddy's 'right hand' outside when working on the property. Her peaceful joyful countenance is always a blessing to the family.

Savannah

It is hard to believe that Savannah is now 19. How fast time passes! We rejoice that she has been doing better lately with regard to her POTS. She enjoys pursuing her continued educational goals including further studies in law and government. She has also been studying German for our upcoming trip. She continues to grow closer to the Lord while she joyfully serves in the home.

Ellen

Continually blesses me as a help "meet for me" - a blessed gift from God. I can never adequately express my deep gratitude and, because of the way she seamlessly completes me, I am sure I will never fully comprehend all the Lord has done for me through her. She is a faithful friend, a trusted counselor, a gifted home manager, an insightful disciplinarian and a loving wife and mother. I am fully aware that without God working through her in my life I would not be the man or father I am today. She loves the calling of wife and mother and fulfills that calling very well.

Phill

I continue to serve our country in the Air Force. I love to work outside on the property pursuing the goal of making our family as self sufficient as possible. I look forward to my family visiting me in Germany and the opportunity to teach them the working of God's providential hand through history.

Keep watching for European updates....

We pray the Lord will richly bless you in the coming year. As for us and everything this year holds, I appreciate William Bradford's quote from Plymouth Plantation - "So they committed themselves to the will of God and resolved to proceed."

Have a wonderful 2012

Life Can Get So Busy...

2011-12-30T09:00:00.001-06:00

...take time to stop and smell the roses

Roofing Day #3

2011-12-29T09:00:00.001-06:00

And it was basically finished!!! Here are some pictures from the day. Thank you again to everyone who came up and helped. What a blessing!!!

Working hard

The kids had fun playing outside

Getting the trim ready

Ladies fellowshipping

Getting the metal

Sayer and Levi

Up goes the metal!

Sewing

Handwork and fellowship

Corinne and Anna

On the roof

It was Mr. Bender's birthday and the Ford's made this lovely cake!

Happy Birthday Mr. Bender!!!

Thank you Mrs. Ford!

Tabitha and Taylor

The Many Faces and Poses of Shenandoah...

2011-12-28T16:00:00.001-06:00

...all in the space of just a few minutes!!!

Sayer Lost His First Tooth...

2011-12-28T09:12:00.001-06:00

...on mommy's birthday!!!

Yeaaah!!!

Just a few days later, he lost his second front tooth!

Mommy's Birthday - November 8th, 2011

2011-12-26T11:54:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday Mommy!!! We love you!!!

All of us kids and mommy

Daddy and Mommy

Mommy and Shenandoah

Mommy and Sayer

Mommy and Seth

Mommy and Stasia

Mommy and Sienna

Mommy and Sabrina

Mommy and I

A Birthday Prayer

I made a coconut flour chocolate cake for mommy with all healthy ingredients. It was our first time trying it and it turned out great!!! You wouldn't know it wasn't "normal". :) I'm going to share the recipe with you all below:

Chocolate Cake (and it's gluten free too!)

3/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

10 eggs

1 cup coconut oil

1 1/2 cups agave nectar

1 Tbls vanilla

1/4 tsp orange zest (optional)

Directions: Melt coconut oil. In large bowl combine wet ingredients. Add dry and blend well. Pour into 2 nine inch greased and floured (using coconut flour) cake pans. Bake at 325 for 35-40 minutes. Enjoy!!!

Icing (you may have to play around with it a little, but it tastes great!)

1 3/4 cups agave nectar

1 cup coconut sugar

1 1/4 cups cocoa

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups coconut oil (melted)

Blend all in blender until smooth and creamy. (it thickens up after you let it sit a while - can put in fridge to help set as well). Ice cake and enjoy!

recipe from elanaspantry.com

Roofing Day #2

2011-12-24T11:42:00.001-06:00

Well, the title pretty much explains it! Hey, I'm actually on November blog posts now! :) Once again, we were so blessed by the church families who came up to help us. Here are some pictures from the day.

It was Mrs. Thomas's birthday, so we all scrambled to get decorations up before they arrived!

Team work

Julia and Stasia

Team work on lunch too!

The men were working hard and were hungry!

Melanie and I

(we helped with some of the ground work outside!)

It's coming along

Mrs. Thomas helped us clean up/ pull out our back garden area

Happy Birthday Mrs. Thomas!

It ended up being too windy and we needed some different supplies, so the men decided to work on the wood pile since they couldn't continue on the roof!

Thank you everyone!!!

Misc. October Stuff

2011-12-23T17:40:00.001-06:00

Sabrina made taffy...

...and learned how NOT to handle it!!! :)

They sure did like it though!

Dancing

School days

We got our piano tuned!!! (so nice!)

Sabrina doing Latin

Paper dolls

Airplanes and army men

Samson is getting big - and is ALL puppy!!! :)

Shenandoah wanted Sayer to rock her for nap time

Artwork

Passports!!!

Yeaaaah!!!

The men went on a late night apple order pick up adventure in Kansas!

Dishes

Stasia

Shenandoah

Yard work

Sayer

I love this picture - isn't it great?!

(mommy took it :)

Family night

(I think this one was on Saturday :)

Tea anyone?

Working by daddy

(Shenandoah calls the apple her computer)

Stasia's 10th Birthday - October 20th, 2011

2011-12-22T10:47:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday Stasia!!! We Love You!!!

The birthday girl

She was excited to be able to get her military ID!!

Stasia

Shenandoah and Stasia

Sayer and Stasia

Seth and Stasia

Sienna and Stasia

Sabrina and Stasia

Savannah and Stasia

Mommy and Stasia

Daddy and Stasia

Yeaaaah - boots!!!

Birthday Prayer

Blowing out the candles!!!

Roofing Day #1

2011-12-21T11:20:00.001-06:00

Yes, with all the bad storms this past year and the hail, our roof badly needed replaced. Our church families have been a HUGE blessing to our family and they helped us put a new roof on. We couldn't have done it without them!!! We went with a metal roof and are very pleased with it. After three roofing days, and much help from friends, the roof is done!!! Here are some pictures from roofing day #1.

The kids had fun playing

Daddy ended up needing some more supplies, so Katelyn, Lilian, Sabrina, and I had a fun adventure trek up to the small town supply store. We were successful and it was fun!! :)

Mrs. Fleshman and Mommy had lunch done when we got home!

Lunch break

Mommy's cooler line (sorted by product)...

...worked out great!

The Ahlgren's

On the roof

Too cute! :)

The other side of the roof

It was roofing day so there are a lot of roof pictures :)

Mr. Fleshman and daddy

We ladies enjoyed some fellowship time too!

Mommy made a great protein drink

Yum!!

David started slipping off the roof - thankfully he caught himself, but his drink went all over him!!!

A couple of the younger ones who came around the corner at that time thought he was bleeding very badly!!! Thankfully that wasn't the case. :)

Lilian and Shenandoah

Lilian must have worn herself out with all the fun. We found her curled up on Sayer's asleep.

It's looking great - we are really happy with the color. It matches our paint and the carport really well!

THANK YOU everyone for all of the help - what a blessing!!!

Prep For Germany

2011-12-20T13:44:00.044-06:00

Wow!! Here is another "while it's happening" post. I think I've set a new record!! :)

So, here is what our house looks like right now (with all of our different piles, packings, and projects):

Yes, we're still going to do school while we're gone - the books came in just underweight on the allowance when we did our test pack.

The table right now

We have a great fire going!!

Snow

Our passports came in!

Shenandoah

My project table as of late - old picture scanning, journals, learning German, and new year letter addressing.

We made breakfast easy this week

Poor Sienna isn't feeling good - I think she's getting better though

You can't work without music

The other half of our dining room

Our first two completely packed suit cases - boots, winter gear, and summer clothes!!

Mommy is busy with office work

Sabrina cleaning

Shenandoah helping

Stasia cleaning

Banana break!!

Lovely candles

Camera wars!! Seth loves his new camera daddy and mommy got him!

Our backpacks - these are partially packed and are what we will be living out of. Talk about simplifying - it will be great!!

It Is Snowing!!!

2011-12-20T13:14:00.001-06:00

We have snow!!! I took a break from the scheduled posts to share this - hey I actually am posting something AS it's happening!! :)

Work on the Property, Storm Shelter, and Help From Friends

2011-12-20T10:14:00.002-06:00

We've had a ton of outside projects to do in preparation for winter and going to Germany. Here are some pictures from the middle of October. Mr. Fleshman and Dylan came up and did some work for us two days one week - it was such a blessing! We also got our storm shelter put in which is going to be so nice to have!!

The Fleshmans were such a blessing to us!

Sayer

Daddy

Storm shelter in the making

A closer look

Progress

The Fleshmans were able to get the front gate on our property too

It turned out great

Burning

The kids loved the dirt pile from the storm shelter (they were a mess! :)

Sabrina

Seth

More progress

Cement!

It's getting close - it was fun to watch!

All finished!

We're really pleased with it!!

One Rainy Saturday in October...

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... we had a relaxing day and here are a few things we did!!

Foot rubs!

Reading books

Walking in the rain

Raindrops

Dancing with daddy!

Goodbye To Dear Friends...

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Wow this past year went by so fast!!! But alas, the time to say goodbye had come. We are so thankful for the time God gave us to spend with Joshua, Hannah, and Lily and the lasting friendships we've developed. What a blessing they and their family have been to us!!! We were glad they were able to spend their last night in Oklahoma with us. We greatly enjoyed having one more evening of fellowship!

Upset the Fruit Basket!!

We all agreed this was one of the funnest games of it too

Singing hymns

The next morning...

Dipping up plates

Visiting

Breakfast

Shenandoah

It was so hard to say goodbye

God speed and be with you until we meet again dear friends!! We love and miss you!!