A Fun Duet

This is a little preview of the song Christian and Lissie put together for the holidays.  I might post another version later, but for now, here it is . . .

Elves and Other Christmas Highlights

We were invited to spend Christmas with the Clarks in Ramstein this year. Jeanette and I had fun in the few months and weeks before Christmas with the preparations -- we made pajama pants and designed T-shirts for everyone which were then specially packaged and delivered by little elves on Christmas Eve.  Such thoughtful elves --  see how festive (and ready to sleep) these kids all look:

Christian LOVES California

 Taylor LOVES college life

Bryant and Ezra LOVE Garmisch!

 (an inside joke after spending six weeks of last summer together there)

You can find Brian in his Christmas PJ attire (down below)

Erin LOVES Brian

(Brian LOVES Erin)

Lissie LOVES dance

Jessica LOVES soccer

Rachel LOVES seminary

The kids all stayed up late to watch movies and listen for Santa.

Tracy and I stayed up late to listen for movies to end (and for Santa, of course).
Around 2:00 a.m. I checked to see if everyone was settled down for the night,

and then around 7:30 a.m. I heard some movement on the stairs . . .

Before I knew it, or had a chance to pull out the camera,
the kids had delved into their stockings
 and found the note from Santa announcing
an upcoming Garmisch ski trip
(Bryant and Ezra were overjoyed, of course)

Here are CLB a few hours later modeling their new ski hats:

Bryant proved his patience and persistence over these past two Christmases -- with his own hard earned money, and the help of sisters and parents and Santa, he finally had all the parts he needed to build his own computer.  Here he is with the final needed part - the processor.  He was anxious to drive home later that day and start putting it all together.  I'm impressed!

Lissie and Erin received some matching items for Christmas this year.  I don't think it was all planned out that way, but it was fun to see them in matching outfits again.

This time it was Christmas pajamas and new H&M coats

Christian is getting ready to serve his mission in California, so Lissie made sure he got some new hipster glasses for his scripture study.  He doesn't wear glasses, but these are just what he will need on his mission, right?

And here we have Lissie and Christian getting ready to share a fun song as we ended our Christmas morning festivities.  I will try to post a video too.  Christian asked everyone not to laugh as he brought out his best base voice for "Baby, It's Cold Outside."

As we celebrated Christmas this year, it was so nice to be with family and friends 

and make special memories together. 

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

O Christmas Tree!

Here we are (look very closely) in search of the perfect Christmas tree
 at a little farm near Heidelberg . . . 

Lissie loved the whole idea and even got all dressed up in some stylish wintry garb; Bryant just wished he could have stayed home. Lissie romped through the little forest looking for the *perfect* tree, while Bryant found a Charlie Brown special.  He rather quickly decided it was the one he wanted. I told him to take a picture (because we definitely weren't going to buy it), but he didn't. Some of us were having fun though, and we continued our search until we finally found this lovely, perfectly shaped (not too tall and not too wide) evergreen darling:

And here it is all decorated with mostly Lissie's ornaments.

  Bryant and Christian's are in their tins under the tree, just waiting . . . and waiting.

There seems to be a little imbalance in Christmas tree excitement around here.

I'm not sure what happened . . . but,  

Merry Christmas Everyone! 

Princess Elisabeth

Elisabeth turned 18 earlier this month

which called for some royal celebrations:

A visit to Princess Cupcakes

Hauptstrasse Shopping in Heidelberg

Dinner at Da Mario's

And a trip to London (still to come)

Here are Lissie and Shanice enjoying their cupcakes and hot cocoa, and then a few more pictures

 of Mom and Bryant. Dad was also with us, but he somehow managed to avoid the camera.

Happy Birthday, Lissie

We love you very much and wish you a wonderful year!

The Advent Calendar Saga of 2012

Here is Cole checking out his advent calendar in Texas: 

And Annabelle (a.k.a. Apple) testing a drawer from hers in Utah: 

And, lastly, Liam and Juliette anticipating some chocolate from theirs in Washington:

And yes, I stole all of these pictures from my girls' blogs . . . sooo glad they posted them.  I'm just wishing I  had a picture of Bella having some advent calendar fun too (hint, hint).  Plus, I'll have to get a future picture of Henry (a.k.a. Nik) when he's old enough to enjoy some of the advent festivities.  I'm pretty sure Christmas will be one of his favorite seasons, especially since he was born on the 6th of December (a.k.a. St. Nikolaus Tag).  His arrival certainly makes St. Nikolaus Tag even more special for our family.

So on with the saga:  I was so proud of myself in October when I finally decided what to get the girls and their families for Christmas -- wooden advent calendars which they could enjoy for many Christmases to come.  I went online and did a thorough advent calendar search . . . I found palaces and houses and trees and angels and rectangular boxes with little wooden drawers.  I finally decided on something I had found on Etsy and placed my order.  But very quickly and to my dismay,  I noticed that the beautiful calendars I had chosen were made of cardboard, not wood.  So I requested a cancellation.  I had no idea that a simple (or so I thought) cancellation would turn into a two month battle. But I'm happy to report that I finally got my money back a few days ago (a little persistence and a lawyer husband were all power for the course). 

In the meantime . . . I found some rather unsightly wooden house calendars while shopping downtown.  They were pink and blue, and yes, ugly!  But I had this vision to repaint and remake them.  The above pictures show off their new paint and Martha Stewart "Winter Wonderland" decopaged drawers.  I was so excited to send them off in mid-November; and I'm actually wishing I had made an extra one for me (which I could eventually give to Lissie and her family).  But alas, I don't seem to be that forward thinking.  I do, however, have plenty of leftover MS Winter Wonderland paper to put one together someday. 

So for the past 9 days I have been envisioning my sweet little grands enjoying some daily countdown excitement packed into little wooden drawers. Happy Christmas Little Ones!

My November Gratitude List

My November post(s) went missing for the entire month, but thankfully modern technology allows me to pre-date and make-up.  And as I think about November, it all starts to come together into a list of wonderful blessings:

1 November:  I started a part-time job at the library as one of their technicians.  I have never enjoyed a job more than this one, and I know it is a blessing to me.  The opportunity simply "fell into my lap" as I was small-talking with the head librarian one day and she mentioned how they were losing many employees and needing to hire more very quickly.  I expressed an interest, interviewed at the job fair the very next day, and had a job offer within two weeks.  Such a blessing -- especially considering how the sub job at the high school was stressing me out even when I wasn't there!  I am convinced that Heavenly Father knows me very well, and knows what is best for me too.

8 November:  Tracy, Bryant and I traveled up to Lissie's Creative Connections performance in Oberwesel am Rhein.  We were glad she was chosen to participate in this week of creativity, and impressed with her choreography and dancing abilities.  She is a natural performer and we love watching her . . . just wishing we were a little better at photographing and videoing.  Thankfully, it was posted on one of the DoDDs websites.  Jeanette and Jessie were sweet to travel all the way from Kaiserslautern to watch her too -- and on a school night!


21 November:  I finally got an MRI of my right shoulder and arm and found out what is really wrong with it after falling down on it (hard!) in September -- tendonitis (BLAH!) which can take up to a year to heal.  But I am hopeful that physical therapy and diligent attention to the PT exercises will quicken my recovery.  Boo to pain, pain medicine, and sleep deprivation!

22 November:  Thanksgiving (and Rachel's 15th birthday) with the Clarks and the Walls (+ sweet baby Hazel).  It is always a pleasure to spend time with these lovely people.  I think I imprinted on Hazel.  I need to cuddle her again soon.  We also got to Skype with Christian and Taylor and my Aunt Kay in Montana.  So great that Christian and Taylor could go for a visit and get totally spoiled.  I'm so pleased that Christian feels a connection to the ranch my father and grandfather grew up on.  It is also the place of some of my happiest childhood memories.

 23 November:  Tracy, Lissie and I got to watch Bryant and his Vfb Rauenberg beat the first place team (St. Ilgen) and thereby earn the rights to first place in their soccer league.  Great job, Bryant and teammates.  Watching you play soccer is one of the reasons we love living in Germany so much.


24 November:  Thanksgiving (again!) with our good friends the Kloses and the Roses and the sister missionaries.  Everything turned out great, even though my menu is not exactly traditional (no sweet potatoes or green bean casserole) and I no longer stuff a turkey. Crockpot turkey roasts -- yes!

30 November:  Lissie skipped two of her favorite things (ballet and a stake youth dance) and finished her BYU college application essays - all FOUR of them. Hooray! Didn't it used to be only two?  Or was it one?

Goodness! We have so many things to be thankful for, and this is only the beginning of a proper list.  Thank you, November, for reminding  me to write some it down, even if I did it in December!

I decided to add a few Montana Thanksgiving pictures:  Aunt Kay teaching Christian to make apple pie, Thanksgiving golf, Thanksgiving Dinner, and Second Cousins:

"Scary" Times and Halloween Fun

Here are CLB posing with one of the dwarfs in the Salzburg Mirabell Gardens last August.  This pic seemed to fit right in with a Halloween post -- just look at their contorted faces! 

I was so proud of Bryant for being selected as the captain of his German soccer team for this particular game, that I had Tracy take a picture with his phone.  Look, he has the captain armband!  But, alas, this pic also seems to fit just right on the Halloween and Scary Times post - Forget the armband . . . all I see is a giant glowing eyeball (Bryant must be invoking his special different-colored-eyeballs powers).  Was the other team from another planet or what?. 

And now we get to the only authentic Halloween pic of the season - Lissie and her friends dressed as "Maroon 5" at the stake Halloween dance.  Very clever -- they actually won the costume contest. They're lucky they didn't have to contend with any aliens, alien sympathizers, or giant glowing eyeballs!

The Winners:  McKay, Giuliana, Nadya, Lissie and Rachel

With Halloween just around the corner, things are definitely getting a little weird around here.

BMX Biking!

Bryant was invited to share in one of Ezra's amazing birthday gifts - an excursion to the Black Forest for some authentic BMX biking.  This was heaven for Bryant since he loves to go fast and he thinks he is invincible. (Maybe Ezra has the same traits?)  They both came back without any injuries -- Bryant had only a tear in his favorite cords, a lot of mud stains, and a dream of some day owning his own BMX bike . . . or at least going BMX biking again sometime.   

Here there are all strapped into their gear and ready to roll!

This one is Ezra!

Happy Birthday, Ezra!  And thanks for including Bryant in your birthday fun.

Homecoming Week

I have a few pictures to share from Homecoming Week at Heidelberg High School. You might have noticed that I get most of these pics off Facebook (harvesting pics - my favorite FB activity), but there are a couple that you probably haven't seen.  I had to beg them off Bryant and his iPhone.  He wasn't too keen on the idea and wanted to charge me (always the entrepreneur), but he finally just let me have them . . . yes, he is back to being the kind boy I've always thought he was. 

Lissie and Bryant at the Bonfire- held at the PHV library parking lot this year

and with a live band!

More bonfire pictures with Lissie's friends Renee and Rina

Senior Royalty - they are the privileged toga wearers

A 70s theme for the Juniors

Bryant is wearing a "hippie" shirt of Matthew's (I think he wore it to Homecoming way back when!).
Lissie tells me Bryant has mostly "girl friends" at school; I'm starting to believe her.

 Lissie and her dancer friend, Rachel -- both so beautiful!

My nice (and handsome) son Bryant

Cute sibling couple!

I'm glad this is a full length shot because it shows off Lissie's new floral heels.

We had fun shopping for them at Ibiza Shoes on the Hauptstrasse.

More September Happenings

Well, actually, a lot has been happening in September . . . adjusting to life without Christian :(, tons of homework and late nights of studying for Lissie and Bryant, dance lessons and soccer practices, Madrigals and a new Junior Class President (congrats, Bryant!), a couple of days as a sub in the nurse's office for me, and a "calling free" period for Tracy. I also decided to buy an annual pass (only 22 euros) to visit the Schwetzingen Gardens where I like to go walking at least once a week, and I've been going to the fresh farmers' markets and trying out some new and healthy recipes. Tracy has been enjoying his quiet evenings and low-key Sundays. And here are a couple of pictures from our Labor Day excursion to Schwetzingen and downtown Heidelberg, and then a picture of a fun triple date that Lissie and Bryant got to do with some of their Ramstein friends over the stake conference weekend.

You photography enthusiasts would love this site for a professional shoot --
so many beautiful settings

Here are Bryant, Ezra and Brother Clark after some shopping adventures

And finally, the fun group date - making pizza at the Clark's

Those are just a few of the pictures from our very busy September . . . I can't believe we are already almost to October!

This is What Happens . . .

Christian has been so anxious to be off on his own. It was hard for him last year to watch many of his 18-year-old friends head off to college while he still had one more year of high school.
No Fun and No Fair!  But now he is out on his own and enjoying his first semester at BYU.

Here he is on his first real day in Provo, on his friend's (Aaron Steffen's), motorcycle,

and proudly driving around his friends for a group activity (in Emily's car, by the way),

and hiking up to the Y on a beautiful autumn day,

with time to stop for a "cool" pose,

and a group picture up on top.  Such a fabulous view!

And getting ready for church? I like the bow ties! (He has a great group of roommates, by the way.)

So, yeah, this is what happens when you send a kid off to college.  Do you think he's having fun yet?

Time for Transitions

Transition #1

Two weeks ago on September 9, 2012, Tracy was released as the president of the Kaiserslautern Military Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Germany. It is a one-of-a-kind stake here in Germany that is made up mostly of soldiers and civilians that work for the Armed Forces that are stationed in this area. He served for 8 1/2 years as president, and 3 1/2 years as a counselor in the stake presidency prior to being called as president. My youngest children (CLB and maybe E) cannot remember Tracy ever being able to sit with us in church, except during General Conference or if we were on vacation. It's been so long that I can barely remember myself!  Before he served in the stake presidency for 12 years, Tracy was the bishop of the Heidelberg Military Ward for 2 1/2 years, and a counselor in the bishopric for many years before being called as the bishop.  No wonder we cannot remember! But last week, we had Tracy on the bench with us in church. He is, in fact, "calling free" right now.  He seems to be adjusting to his free time quite easily.  He did tell me that he's "not going to miss getting up at 4:30 a.m. to drive to Bitburg anymore!"  But we are happy for the time that Tracy was able to serve as the stake president; he served with and got to know so many wonderful and faithful people in the stake and that has been a blessing. And now we are happy to have him home with us more often, and "on the bench" with us too.  I think we can get used to that!

Transition #2:

I finally finished my bachelor's degree in general studies from BYU in July, and my official diploma arrived just last week.  I don't think I will display it or anything, especially since it is a general degree, but also because I didn't have my name printed the way I should have.  It reads Lisa Marie Allred, and I wish I had included my maiden name, Hermes. It took me seven years to complete that degree and I should have at least remembered to honor some of my Hermes heritage. . . (I'm sending a heartfelt "sorry" up to heaven to my Grandma and Grandpa and Dad -- I know how much you all valued education).  But on to the transition explanation: After I finished the last final of my last class (back in July) I experienced at least two weeks of feeling lost. I did not know what to do with myself.  I actually was disappointed that I wasn't needed to drive girls up to camp, I finished a quilt for one of the YW that was moving, I considered calling the RS president to tell her that I could make some visits for her, and I volunteered to teach seminary if I was ever needed (and I HATE getting up early)!  But I have found somewhat of a routine now with being on call for the nurse's office at the school, and completing volunteer requirements for the Red Cross, and walking with friends, and trying new, more healthy, recipes.  Oh, I also get an occasional nap!  It feels good to have school behind me and more opportunities out front.

Transition #3

Basically, this is the beginning of our Empty Nest phase.  Christian just left us (for college), Lissie will leave next year (probably in June), and then Bryant will leave the next year.  I keep telling Tracy that I am going to fall apart when they all leave.  I actually told him this (on his birthday, no less) that he just is not enough.  I need to be around my children (it must be a mother instinct) which will mean more visits to the states, or a move to the states, or something!  It is hard for me to imagine life without some daily kid interaction.  Obviously, I don't have this transition resolved yet, but I'm sure that Tracy and I will figure it out . . . we have two more short years!

Transition #4

One more exciting transition:  Christian will become our first missionary in February! He just received his mission call last Wednesday to the California Roseville Mission.  He will report on February 6, 2012.  We are so happy for him.  This should be a very rewarding transition for us to have a missionary out in the field.  We have been looking forward to this time for a long time!

High Adventure August 2012

The boys had a wonderful opportunity to join with other boys and leaders of our stake for a high adventure week in Garmisch (yes, Garmisch, again!).  They hiked to the Eibsee in the pouring rain, went river rafting in Austria (I think), had a day at the ropes course, and then an amazing one day climb to the top of the Zugspitze (the highest peak in Germany).  I put together a couple of photo collages (thank you, Nelsons, for the photos) to remember their adventures.

The first collage is from the river rafting day, and the second is from their amazing Zugspitz climb.

Way to go boys!

Just Do It . . . Say Yadidit!

Bryant decided last week that he would run for Junior Class President.  The campaigning has begun, and the voting will be completed by the end of the week.  We brainstormed for some catchy campaign slogans and ideas, and just last night he put the finishing touches on his first campaign fliers. Here is a what he came up with . . .

I think he's gonna win it!

Really Tough or A Big Baby

As Tracy and I were leaving from a visit to a dear friend last Friday morning, I noted that the janitors had just finished mopping in the apartment complex. We had to walk right through their freshly mopped floors to get out the front door, and I felt a little bad about messing up their work.  But just as we started down the front stone steps, my wet feet slipped and I fell down (a few steps) really hard. Ouch!  I had broken the fall with my right arm, and I honestly thought I had actually broken my arm! Tracy said he has never heard me scream like that . . . (and I didn't even know I had screamed). All I knew was that I could not possibly drive my car home.  Luckily, Tracy was right with me the whole time.  We went straight to the University Clinic for an exam and x-rays which revealed NO break.  It was just a badly bruised bone, which was surprising but Good News.  So, I am either just really tough or a big baby . . . because I really thought it was broken!

Cause for Excitement

We said goodbye to these two fine young men, Christian and Taylor, last Monday at the Frankfurt Airport. They were on their way to Provo and their first semester at BYU. We got the chance to skype with them briefly during their layover in DC, and their arrival was eagerly anticipated by their sisters and families on the other end -- hence, the title of this post. They were causing some real excitement on both sides of the globe! Here are the two of them (chillin' on their guitars) just a few days before their departure.

And here is a picture of Christian in his new apartment.  Emily, Marie and the kiddos helped him get all situated (more details can be found at www.notesshewrote.blogspot.com.)  Don't they all look radiant?

And one last silly picture from back in July

Good luck at college, Christian and Taylor.  We miss you guys!