The Glory of Spring

Now, we know that those of you born and raised in California think that it gets cold there sometimes. We will not argue with you, but we will say, there is no way that you can know the glory of Spring until experiencing a real winter.

Remember those two weeks or so of gloom and rain that drives most Californians almost to insanity. Now extend that by two to three months for us, more in other parts of the world (God knows our limit). Ok, are you in despair yet for sun and warmth on your face, for a day that begins before 8:30 am and ends after 4:30 pm. Does your winter jacket feel like a straight jacket? By the way, scarves really do keep a person much warmer in the cold, they are not just for fashion.
Do you long to see a color other than grey and search for signs of green on every branch?

Now, try to imagine the first glimpse of the first spring flowers, Daffodils (Ostern Glocken, Easter bells, in German). Bright yellow signs of hope that the deadness of winter is almost gone. Then comes a 'warm day' (above 50 with sun). The there are more flowers, and little buds on the trees. Bright pink and white blooms turning into leaves eventually! Aaahh, sitting outside, with only a sweater on. Renewed energy for the day, hope, plans for the summer, the kids can play outside, for a long time!

Now the prophetic speech that Spring utters to every man. Does it not amaze you the timing of the Passover feast, in Spring. Jesus became the Passover Lamb, fulfilling the feast of the Passover, but He rose again, exemplifying what Spring had been prophesying to men for generations. After the deadness of winter, when one feels that all hope is lost, new life shows itself, hope returns, a future can now be seen. The winter is literally grey, without snow, it is grey. From the color of the sky to the face of the people. The change that spring brings is so dramatic, it can be felt on many levels. However, to us who believe on the resurrected Savior, it should be a vivid reminder of the change God made in our dead grey souls, and the promise of our glorious resurrected future.

"So when this corruptible has put on incorruption,
and this mortal has put on immortality,
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written:
'Death is swallowed up in victory.'
'O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades where is your victory?
The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God who gives us victory throughour Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore,
my beloved brethren,
Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
Knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
1 Corinthians 15:54-58

Major Milestones

We are celebrating 2, yes 2 major milestones in the same month.

The first happened with Kaleb, he learned to ride a bike without training wheels. He got his ultra cool Hot Wheels bike for his birthday last year, but now it has reached ultimate coolness, without training wheels.

The second is very, very special, Ezekiel is toilet trained!!! This happened without much planning and is a very pleasant surprise. Not long after the event, Anne realized she had been changing diapers for 7 years consecutively. Though most habits held that long are hard to change, this one was not.

Carnival

This is going back a couple months, but that's what happens when one doesn't blog very often.

For those that don't know what Carnival is, in summary, it begins the weekend preceding Lent, and ends Ash Wednesday. It is the days that people are allowed to do "whatever they want" before the period of fasting. Though it is well known in other parts of the world (Brazil and New Orleans are probably the best known to most that are reading this), in Germany, the biggest celebrations are found in the south (Bavaria), and in Cologne and Dusseldorf. All that means is, in these days, these cities have the honor of behaving as a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah. The celebration is held in the Altstadt (old city), where the "Mayor" of Carnival gives the celebrants the key to the city for those days, to 'do as they will'.

That is Carnival for adults. For kids it just means they get to dress up at school, and have fun for one day before getting a four day weekend (adults dress up as well, and yes, it is a postal holiday).

Our kids tend to dress in animal costumes, this year being the year of the dog. We searched high and low for the best dog costumes, and found out one very important fact, costumes are way more expensive here. We finally found the perfect one, on sale!!

The day came and Karis and Kaleb were ready for fun! They dressed up, we painted their faces and away they went. What was fun for us and Zeeky was the Krack Zug (noise parade). Karis' entire school went through our neighborhood in their costumes, just making noise (no one is allowed to scold them). We took Zeeky out to watch, dressed up in Kaleb's old frog costume.

The rest of the weekend remained pretty quiet as the celebrating is in the city center.