Happy Birthday A!!!!

I think everyone remembers what they were doing on Sept. 11, 2001.  It is a day we will probably never forget.  After watching the news all morning, hearing and seeing terrible things, we went to a doctor's appointment, and learned that we were expecting a baby GIRL in just a few months.  Seeing that baby on the ultrasound screen gave us hope and determination.  We weren't sure what kind of world she was going to be born into, but we knew we were going to do our best to love and protect her!

Three months later, A was born after only 3 hours of (virtually painless) labor and delivery.  She weighed a whopping 9 lbs 5 oz!!  She came out screaming, and didn't stop!!  There was no doubt her lungs were great!!

We took this big 'ol baby home, thinking we were experienced parents.  After a few days we were frazzled, wondering what in the world we were doing!  She was fussy ALL the time!!  She wouldn't go to anyone but me!  And she had a 4-yr old big sister who had been so excited to have a baby sister...and she was sorely disappointed!!  We had several diagnoses...colic, reflux, milk allergy...but overall we just had one unhappy baby! 

As the months went on, we figured her out a bit more.  She loved structure and routine.  She thrived with a schedule.  She still only wanted Mommy most of the time, but she was happy when I was around.  She still stayed sick a lot, and we still didn't know why...

She LOVED her big sister!!  I had a hard time finding pictures of A alone...she always had T in the picture with her!!

She is our fashion diva!  She LOVES to dress up!  Most of the pictures I found of her, she was playing in "dress up" clothes, or in perfectly accessorized outfits!





OH, those curls!!  When they first started showing up, we were intrigued!  As her hair got curlier and curlier, they became a challenge!!  But I wouldn't change them...she's just not A without her curls!!

A was the baby of our family for almost 6 years!  But when baby R came along, she stepped up into her role as big sister in a BIG way!  She never showed any jealousy toward him, and just loved him from the first time she saw him! 

A has always been a "princess".  It started out with dress up clothes, a love of Disney princesses, and has evolved into a love of all things girly!!  (Much to the dismay of her "not so girly" big sister).

A tried several sports through the years, and enjoyed most of them.  But when she started cheer and dance, she found her true talent!!  She just glows when she puts that uniform on!!  She can learn a dance routine in no time!!  And she is willing to work hard to get it right!! She is great at it, and loves doing it!

She has been our little high-maintenace diva from day one!  Fast forward 10 years...and while she has changed a lot, she is still very much the same!!

She still loves structure and routine.  She wants to know what to expect in her life. 

She loves music, and reading, and dancing!!

She is NOT shy!  She can go in a room of strangers, and come out with a new friend in no time!  She willingly went into the little cafe here in our town ALONE and ordered pizza...in GERMAN!!

She loves keeping her things organized and neat.  (I LOVE this trait in her!)

She loves to go shopping!!  (I LOVE this trait, also!)

She is a perfectionist in pretty much everything she does.  If she is going to do something, she wants to be able to do it right.

She is very good with her little brother.  I think she will definitely be a Mommy someday...she has a love for kids that we see everyday in her interaction with little R.

Mommy is still probably number one on her "favorite people" list!

She is still a vegetarian.  Doctors told me repeatedly from about the age of 2 on that she would grow out of it...ummm...nope, never grew out of it! : )

She is all DRAMA!!  If she is happy, she is REALLY happy!  If she is sad, she is REALLY sad!  If she is mad, she is REALLY mad...and this one can happen in a flash!  It doesn't take much!!

All in all, she is a very special dynamic in our family!  There is definitely no one on earth just like our A!  We are so grateful to have her in our family, and we can't wait to see the impact she makes in this world!


For her birthday A wanted a cake from the German bakery, and she wanted to spend the day at Sensapolis.  When we went to pick up the cake we had ordered from the German bakery, they didn't have it! (STRIKE 1)  We went to the commissary and picked up a last minute cake, then drove over to Sensapolis.  It was WAY crowded, so we decided to leave and come back another time.  (STRIKE 2)  We decided we would go bowling on post...drove over there and they were closed for another hour (STRIKE 3).  We decided to wait the hour, and finally we were able to go bowling and have pizza.  Then we went home and had birthday cake.  A likes things to be planned...but she rolled with it this time, and we had a great time celebrating her birthday!

Looke at that form! : )

The "last minute" birthday cake!

A reading her certificate stating that she could order the American Girl doll of her dreams!  She was SO excited!!

We had a great time celebrating your birthday, A!!  We love you, and we love watching you take on this big 'ol world!  We can't wait to see what your future holds...pretty sure you have some amazing things in store!!

Candy Cane Jane

We have been attending services at the Chapel on post.  They were having auditions for a Christmas play, and A auditioned...and got the LEAD!!  It took a lot of commitment...she worked very hard!  And she did great! She had several solos during the musical, and some lengthy lines...and she didn't miss a single one!  Good job, A!!

Our Candy Cane Jane!!

Decorating for Christmas

It was lots of fun dragging out Christmas decorations this year.  I have said before that our house here tends to feel modern and cold to me....but the Christmas decorations definitely gave it a "homey" feel!

Just like our Christmas tree, this is a collection of little items that the kids have either made for me, or given me as gifts over the years,or items we have picked up along the way.  One of the little angel figures still has a 50 cent price tag on it!  During the time it was out the last few weeks, both girls started to take the price tag off...I told them "NO, that's part of it's charm!"

We actually got several Christmas cards this year!  I wasn't sure we would get any...so I was very excited when they started arriving!  Receiving Christmas cards is one of my favorite parts of the Christmas season!!

Silly kids!

Attack of the little brother!!  No one in this house can have their picture taken alone!!  Not when he's around!!

Merry Christmas from the Willis Family!!

Wishing all of our friends and family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!  Whether you are near or far, please know you are in our thoughts this holiday season! 

Someone Sampled the Christmas Tree....

I walked downstairs the other day, and little R was standing in the living room spitting.  I asked him what he had in his mouth, and he said, "Ooohh...it's yucky."  I asked him again what was in his mouth, and he spit out something brown.  I asked him again what it was...he went to the Christmas tree, and took off an ornament that was hanging on the tree.  And this is what I saw.

We have had this ornament for YEARS!!  It's a gingerbread ornament that one of the girls got so long ago that I don't remember exactly where it came from.  It hasn't been broken in the many moves, and has hung proudly on our tree for years.  But this year...a curious little boy thought it looked enough like a cookie, that he needed to give it a taste.  He took one perfect bite from the corner...and he was sorely disappointed!  I wanted to be mad...but all I could do was laugh...and get him something to drink to wash that horrible taste out of his mouth!!  And I have to admit, I was even a little bit proud...we have been working on getting him to try new foods lately...and he did TRY it!!

Decorating the Tree

I LOVE decorating the Christmas tree!!  It is literally a walk down memory lane for us each time.  Some people have beautiful Christmas trees, all in one theme or color.  Ours is a hodgepodge of crafty ornaments made by the kids, ornaments for each of their first Christmases, some sent by friends, and even some that we have had since before R and I were even married!  I am thankful for each ornament...and the memories that go along with them!!

This year the kids did most of the ornament hanging themselves!  And they loved it!  I didn't do much, except some rearranging once they were all finished.  Their ornament placement wasn't quite perfect, especially little R...so I had to make a few adjustments! : )

And as usual, R put the angel on top of the tree!  That is his only job in the decoration of the tree.  And he was made for it...no stools required! : )  This year little R decided the angel needs a name, so he gave her the name Oatmeal...not sure why, but that's now her name!

Little R loved hanging the ornaments on the tree...it took lots of concentration!

The girls did a great job...and T can even reach all the high branches this year!

R putting the angel on the tree...she barely fits!  We live in a multi-level home now, so our downstairs ceilings are lower than we are used to!

Let the Baking Begin!!!!

For several years now, I have done some MAJOR Christmas baking.  I usually make goodie bags for all the people that Rai works with, and then to our friends.  Last year was my biggest year yet...I made TONS of goodie bags, full of TONS of different goodies!!  And I had an amazing kitchen to do it in!

Fast forward to this year...fewer people to bake for (because we don't know very many people), and a MUCH smaller kitchen to work in....and limited resources at the commissary!!  It definitely made the process more challenging, and for some reason nothing turned out quite as well...but after about 2 1/2 full days in the kitchen we ended up with lots of goodies! 

We even delivered goodie bags to our German neighbors.  It was very cute to see their reactions...they were shocked, amazed, and didn't know what to say to almost strangers bringing them a bag full of baked goods for Christmas!!  We did discover that a few of them speak VERY good English...so that is good to know!!  We know who to go to for translation help now!! : )

Christmas definitely feels different this year.  We are missing our families, missing our friends, missing "home", missing Chick-Fil-A (oops, did I put that in writing?). 

But one thing remains the same, and just as good as ever...we are celebrating the birth of our savior...whose birth changed our eternity...and we will be forever grateful for that...no matter what our circumstances happen to be!!



Sensapolis=AWESOME!!

We discovered an awesome indoor adventure!!  On Veteran's Day the girls were out of school and R was off work, so we had planned a trip to Heidelberg to see some castles.  But the weather was cold and yucky, so we opted for indoor entertainment.  We saw this place not long after we got to Germany, and I looked it up online, and it seemed amazing...so we decided to check it out!

It did not disappoint!!  I have never seen anything like it!  It is HUGE, and has TONS of stuff to do!  Since it was an American holiday, all the German kids were in school.  So it wasn't crowded at all, and the kids that were there were American kids...so we heard a lot of English...woohoo!!

All 3 of the kids (and Daddy) had a blast!  I didn't participate in any of the craziness, but I enjoyed watching all of them!

I think we will definitely be going back here during the long winter!!

Waiting on lunch...they have a cafe, and an espresso bar!!

Still waiting, but happy!!

If you look way up in the rafters...there was a ropes course WAY up there!  None of the Willis clan went up there..it was scaring us to see OTHER people up there!

They have a huge castle...with lots of different rooms and activities inside.

They had some CRAZY fast, high, steep slides!!

This is T going down the super steep, super fast slide!

Daddy and R on one of the slides...they loved this one!

R coming out of one of the long, fast, tube slides...completely dark until the end!  He was feeling queasy after this!!

T coming out of the dark slide...she did it again!!

Part of the place is like a little science museum.  They had all kinds of neat little experiments and optical illusions.  This was a little maze with different types of terrain...shows how hard it is to get around in a wheelchair on all different types of surfaces.

A really had to think in order to make the turns!

T kept crashing into walls!

This was a cool room!!  Probably the only time in their lives the kids will ever be even close to as tall as Daddy!  And look at little R, all tall and handsome! : ) 

They have a HUGE pirate ship!!  Little R is all about pirates and therefore pirate ships...but he thought this one was a little overwhelming...

They had lots of amazing slides!  Our kids didn't venture down this one...

This one went to the roof...T tried to do this one...but chickened out about halfway up!  You had to climb a ladder inside the tree trunk to get to the top of this one.

A the rock climber!!

And we topped off the fun with a big, blue slushie!!!

And for the more mature set...hot chocolate! : )

Helping Daddy

Little R loves to "help"!!  Whether it's laundry, cooking, or watering plants...he just wants to help!  I was told long ago by someone wise to let your little ones help...these are teaching moments for them...even if it makes your task take twice as long!!  So I always try to let them help when they want to, and I am pretty much used to things taking MUCH longer than they need to!

But Daddy, on the other hand, has a hard time being patient during these "teaching moments".  But he is trying!!  This day he did a great job of letting little R water the bushes, even though half the water wasn't even pointed at the bushes...and therefore the job took twice as long as it should have!

You can tell by the look on his face that R is struggling to be patient!!

But look how happy Little R is!!  Worth every extra minute!!

Hohenschwangau & Neuschwanstein Castles

Last weekend we loaded up and took our first overnight trip since coming to Germany.  We drove a couple of hours to see Neuschwanstein Castle (this is the castle that Walt Disney designed Cinderella's castle after).  We also had two more castles on our itinerary for the weekend trip.  Each castle trip is definitely a history lesson!  We learned A LOT about King Ludwig II on this trip...very interesting!

The first day we started out at Hohenschwangau Castle and then on to Neuschwanstein Castle.  We were the last tour of the evening at Neuschwanstein, and the bus and carriage rides had stopped running...so we had to walk the entire way down to the little town (and our van)!!  We were tuckered out and ready to go explore our hotel!  We were pleasantly surprised by our hotel...it was very nice!

The next day we had planned to drive a little ways to another castle...but we were "castled" out, and instead decided to drive out to a church that was described as "one of the most beautiful churches in Germany."  It did NOT disappoint!!  Very beautiful!

Then we took a long route home to stop at the Augsburg Christmas Market....our first visit to a Christmas Market!  It was amazing!!  But also VERY crowded!!  And Germans are not known for being polite in crowds!  After about an hour, we had all had our fill of crowds...and we gladly headed home...with a few German goodies in hand!

All in all, it was a fun weekend!!  The castles were amazing, the church was beautiful, and the Christmas market was more than I imagined.  But, it was a LOT of work, too!!  Little R is still a stroller rider most of the time, especially in crowds where he gets intimidated.  But the stroller wasn't feasible for most of this trip...so R and I carried him pretty much the whole time.  He weighs 38 pounds, and that is over my limit after about 5 minutes!!  So poor R took the majority of the load, and he was exhausted!!  And little R just isn't impressed with the castles!  He thinks they are spooky, and wants to leave as soon as we get inside the rooms!  So most of this trip wasn't very exciting for him.  Hopefully as he gets a little older he will enjoy all these amazing sights we are seeing over here...

This was our drive to the castles...

A little more of the drive...

We found the mountains!!

Most towns in Germany look the same...you can't really tell one from another...

This was the drive up to the village where the castles are...can you say BRRRRRR???

Hohenschwangau Castle...where Ludwig II spent summers as a child

Neuschwanstein Castle up on the hill.  It didn't look too glamorous...they were doing some work on it, and there was scaffolding everywhere!!

Walking the short trip up to Hohenschwangau Castle.  Little R was fresh out of the van and having fun at this point!

Neuschwanstein Castle....don't tell Ludwig II, but I think Walt Disney's version is better!

The view from Neuschwanstein Castle

Neuschwanstein again..

The bridge!  I made a command decision, and no Willises ventured near the bridge!

The sunset over the mountains as we were walking down from Neuschwanstein

Our hotel room!!

With a private bath!!

This is Wieskirche.  It is literally out in the middle of nowhere!

The inside was AMAZING!!  There was so much to see, you didn't know where to look first!

The pipe organ...

The pearly gates??

The woodwork was amazing too!  This is for you PaPa...thought this would impress you!

More of the paintings on the ceilings...

The Christmas Market in Augsburg...can you say CROWDED????

Enjoying the Christmas Market...but it was cold!

This is what little R thought of the Christmas market!! : )  He fell asleep holding the tractor we bought for him.

This was the most "blinged out" carousel I had ever seen!!  And it went FAST!!  It was too much for little R...he decided to forego the carousel ride this time...