Wants and Needs

Even though we live on a budget and watch closely our purchases to afford this "time-out" year, we still have a good lifestyle. We have everything we need and more. Since Amelia's 4th birthday is coming up soon, she was asked several times what she wants and her answers are always surprising to other people. She doesn't ask for any toys or games (I guess that means she already has enough) but she wants a cake, a card, her favorite toothpaste and toothbrush and her favorite soups. As you can tell I have a very easy to please child:) And I'm very happy about the fact that she has no great desire for many material things. That's the way we try to raise her. So far, she never completed a Santa's wish list and I try to keep it that way. But she always loved the gifts she received on either her birthday or Christmas. We just try not to overload them with material things or make them think a birthday or Christmas is only about gifts. And believe me when I say my kids have plenty of toys as they still receive many birthday or Christmas gifts.  

But there are a lot of people, and especially children, living in the U.S. that don't have a lot, not even food. So I have been looking for opportunities to help out this summer and share what we have with other, less fortunate, people. A few weeks ago I participated with my Mommy group in bringing dinner to a community center that offers a variety of free programs (after school, summer camps, fitness classes) to mostly low-income families.  

And today I volunteered in our local Soup Kitchen with a group from church (this group volunteers once a month there). It has been my first time working in a Soup Kitchen and it was an eye opening experience. This soup kitchen relies on volunteers 4 days a week (one morning shift and one afternoon shift) to prepare the meals and serve them. Every day they serve between 150 to 220 people for lunch and deliver 250 pre-cooked freezer meals during the week. I sliced a lot of ham and apples today in preparation for their annual Christmas in July lunch tomorrow. It was hard work but also a very humbling experience.  Since a while now I have the inner need to do something else with my free time than just serve myself. And let me tell you, it did feel good, although I didn't volunteer to make myself feel better but rather to learn more about options to help others. It is just one of those things that work both ways- you give and you receive. So I will be back regularly at the Soup Kitchen.

Weekly Roundup

I can't believe it is already the end of July and it has been almost a week since my last blog post. Summer for sure is flying by. Amelia finished another week of VBS at our church on Thursday and started her 4th camp tonight at her new preschool (Central United Methodist Church). Every camp she has attended has been much different than the one prior to it: different theme, different songs, different activities and the number of children in attendance. And Amelia is not one bit tired of it. In fact, she gets excited going to a new camp each week and loves each and every one. The major difference with the last two camps is that they are at night (5:30pm till 8:15pm), which is pretty late for her given that she usually goes to bed between 7:30pm and 8pm. But she did well during the last VBS and was not tired at all when we picked her up (big plus is that they fed her dinner every night), so I expect that this week will go smooth as well. 

The theme for VBS at Fairview United Methodist Church (our home church) was G-Force and included some great songs. We have been listening to those songs in the car over and over and over again for the past 3 weeks. There were a total of 108 children attending this camp. 

While the rest of the week was rather low-key (except for boating on Tuesday) due to our unusual long hot summer here, we mostly played inside and cooled off in the evenings in the backyard. On Saturday, our neighbors, Megan and Mike, and I did a yard sale together to get rid of some stuff. Amelia sure had fun entertaining us while we waited on customers. 

And for dinner, Mike and Megan and her little sister came over for a BBQ.

We had lots of delicious food and a great time hanging out with our neighbors. We sat out in the backyard till it got real dark and even tried (I failed miserably at it) catching some fireflies.

And so has passed another week and soon it will be August and we will celebrate my little girl's 4th birthday. But till then we will relax (on our new reclining couch!) and enjoy those hot summer days. 

Our First Boating Trip

Since we decided to move to Mooresville, NC, we have planned on taking a boating trip on Lake Norman. This lake was created between 1959 and 1964 and is the largest man-made body of freshwater in North Carolina. Lake Norman feeds into the Catawba River and drains into Mountain Island Lake to the south. It offers 520 miles (840 km) of shoreline and a surface area of more than 50 square miles (130 square km) and the average depth of the lake is 33 feet (max. 110 ft). The lake provides electricity to the Piedmont Region in the Carolinas. Our local energy provider, Duke Energy, partnered with the State of North Carolina to establish Lake Norman State Park. It has also built two fishing areas and eight public boating access areas along the shoreline. 

So after several days of preparing the boat at my In-laws' house in South Carolina last month (thank you Pops for letting us have your little "baby"), then driving it 3 hours up North and registering it, today we finally took it out on its "maiden" voyage (the boat is 43 years old but its' the first time for us driving it). The conditions were great for boating: partly cloudy/ low 80s and not much going on the lake as it was a weekday. So off we went to Lake Norman State Park to make our first memories of being boat owners. 

The kids and adults were excited and our boating trip went great. We all loved it. Not once did the kids were fussing, whining or complaining but just happily obeyed and had fun. They proudly wore their new puddle jumper life jackets (USCG approved of course) and felt confident to get up on the boat and move around as they wished. 

Captain Daddy was driving very well and even let Amelia have a turn. Going a bit faster was not a big deal either. 

Because it is summer time and no boat trip would be complete without a jump into the fresh water (water temperature is in the high 80s F), mommy and the kids made sure to have some fun in the water. The life jacket comes in very handy when you want to float on the water. 

Both kids wanted to go in to the water but were a little scared once they actually were in it because there was no ground under their feet. Since this was the first time, I assume that the more often we go the less scared they become. 

On the way out of the State Park, we saw some deer grazing on the side of the road. 

After spending the morning on the water, the kids were truly exhausted. Both kids fell asleep in the car on our way home. I call that a successful adventure. 

Fun in the Sun

It has been a while since my last post but sometimes it is hard to carve out time to write when you are having fun enjoying these summer days. It is still very hot here, usually in the low 90s, so we are trying to stay cool by running thru the sprinklers, going to our "private beach" at Lake Norman, chasing bubbles in the backyard and eating lots of ice cream and Popsicle. 

The water in the lake is beautiful and quite warm, so the entire family enjoyed our outing to the lake last Thursday.

And when it gets too hot outside, then we play inside: dress-up, trains and cars and lots of coloring is going on.

Amelia attended this week another vacation bible study (VBS) at First Presbyterian Church and she enjoyed it a lot. Their theme was: Hometown Nazareth, Where Jesus was a kid. This VBS was on a much smaller scale, only around 120 children, but they did a great job of bringing the city of Nazareth (think role plays, dress up, paper mache camel, a herd of wooden sheep, huddles, a market, etc)  to life and doing lots of fun activities with the kids.

The final performance for the parents on Friday; Elliot went all by himself up to the stage and squeezed himself in

On Wednesday, they had a petting zoo (2 sheep, a pig, a donkey, a pony, bunnies, goats and a rooster) there and after dropping Amelia off in the morning, Elliot had a chance to say hi to the animals as well.

Amelia had plenty of fun and brought home some great art and crafts projects as well as a new understanding of Jesus' life.

While Amelia was in camp, Elliot enjoyed some one-on-one time with mommy or daddy. He went to the playground, the library, yard sale shopping, and to a pool play date on Wednesday.

As a family outing this week, we celebrated Chick-Fil-A's Cow Appreciation Day on Tuesday. If you wore a full cow attire, you received a free meal that day but if you were too "chicken" to look like a cow, you got a free entree by wearing a cow accessory. So for this occasion I got creative and made us some "cow costumes", mainly from Derrick's white undershirts. It was a fun activity for the kids and even Derrick got in on the fun by wearing his cow sign around the neck. 

Moo Moo....till next year. For the upcoming weekend, we plan on going to a Jazz Festival and then will kick-off VBS at our church on Sunday night with a family event. More summer fun is sure to come. So stay tuned.

Remembering my Oma

On  July 3, 2015 my dear Oma (my mom's mother) was called home to be with the Lord and is now reunited with her husband (after 20 years) and her son (after only 5 short months). She was one of the strongest women I ever knew and a fighter till the end. She did not complain much about anything and especially not about any pain that the cancer caused her. Her life was tough but she made the best of it and lived a happy and fulfilling life, always taking care of others.  She was a humble woman of God and a great wife, mother and grandmother. She is survived by 3 children, 9 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.

After a 5 month battle with cancer, she eventually fell asleep peacefully in her bed with her daughter by her side and after saying her goodbyes to her 3 children. Family was always most important to my Oma. She lived for celebrating birthdays and holidays with the entire family and never forgot a birthday or anniversary.

My Oma and her 4 children - June 2012

My Oma and her grand- & great grandchildren - June 2014

Annemarie Stollin (Seeligmann) was born on May 30, 1926 in Berlin, Germany. She grew up during the Great Depression, WWII and in poverty but despite facing a lot of hardships, she always said that she had a happy life. My grandmother and my grandfather, who was wounded badly in WWII and since then disabled, raised 4 loving children, worked hard and never gave up. They not only survived the harsh times but prospered and were able to enjoy their modest retirement: living for God, family and taking care of others. 

My grandma, her brother and parents - 1928

Oma - 1943

I'm relieved she got her angel wings (she kept asking for those the last few days) and also happy that my kids and I had the chance to see her and spent time with her in January. Those 2 weeks were some of the toughest I faced in my life (mentally and physically straining) but also the ones that will stay in my memory forever and give me the most closure.

Despite the fact that I'm the grandchild that lived the farthest away from my Oma, I had the closest relationship with her. When I was younger I spent a lot of my vacations with her and when I left Germany, we sent letters to each other. Every month for the past 14 years, I would receive a handwritten letter from her and I would sent one back. It was "our" thing to keep in touch. The last letter I received was dated June 5th. 

I will miss her a lot but in my heart I know that she is where she wants to be, reunited with her husband and son. She will never be forgotten and we will always celebrate the day of her death since it is not only the day she has met the Lord but also my wedding anniversary. And one day, we will meet again. She said that she will leave the door open for us, but only ajar for now...

"A great soul serves everyone all the time. A great soul never dies. It brings us together again and again."  Maya Angelou

5th Anniversary and 4th of July

On Friday, Derrick and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. We didn't do anything fancy, not even a card, but rather enjoyed our day by being together as a family of 4. Soon enough the kids will be all grown up and then we "have" to celebrate the remaining anniversaries by ourselves. 

Also, my beloved Oma (my mom's mother) passed away on Friday after battling cancer for the past few months. So it was a bittersweet day for me and even though I know that she is finally free and happy to be with the Lord, I still didn't feel like making a big celebration out of our anniversary. In the coming weeks, Derrick and I will enjoy an afternoon away on the boat and that will be our celebration.

For our special day, Amelia wanted to make a cake for us (with a little help from mommy) and it tasted as good as it looked.

On Friday evening we took the kids to a new and popular pizzeria (Alino's) in town and afterwards to the playground. It was just what we needed and all 4 of us enjoyed it.

The pizza was delicious and very authentic as the ingredients as well as the ovens are imported from Naples, Italy. 

Yesterday, we celebrated America's 239th birthday by painting a flag, eating some delicious BBQ, dancing at the park and a fireworks show (on TV). The day was easy going and relaxing just as it is meant to be. In the mornings, we went around the neighborhood on our bikes (the kids) and in the afternoon, Amelia and Elliot were busy painting their flags to take to the parade at night.  

Daddy fired up the grill and we enjoyed some baby back ribs, brats, potato salad, popcorn and corn on the cob. Especially Elliot loved eating his corn (first time that I didn't scrap it down for him).

After an early dinner, we headed to Davidson, the next town over, to see their Independence Day parade and concert at the park. Somehow, the small parade never made it to the park; nonetheless, we had a great time. Red, white and blue as far as the eye can see.

There were blankets and lawn chairs everywhere and people having picnics while the kids danced their little hearts out to the music (80s, 90s, and from today) performed by the band "Pushh". 

First Amelia and I danced together. Then she danced with a little boy but just after a few seconds, the other little boy came over and tipped her on the shoulder so that he could dance with her. She was quiet popular. Luckily, all 3 kids got along and danced happily together.

We pulled out our blanket, popcorn and watermelon and enjoyed the fun.

We truly enjoyed this small-town event and all the friendly people there. It was a great family affair and we will be back next year, for sure. Since the local firework show was way past the kids' bedtime, we watched a couple of concerts and firework displays on TV. Due to some noise in the neighborhood, Amelia woke back up and joined us. A grand finale ending our blessed day. Happy Birthday, America!