Happy Birthday Kaleb!

Kaleb on his 5th Birthday wearing his new Transformers hat

Kaleb Daniel Coronel is the big '5' years old as of March 8th. His only request was to go to McDonald's for his birthday lunch and for Mommy to make him a white cake with strawberries and lots of frosting. That was a do able request. Karis asked him who he wanted to invite to his party, now this is where it became complicated, because he started to name off all of his loved ones in California. We think Kaleb will be the first one to move back to Cali if we are still here by his 18th birthday. He loves 'California' a.k.a Nanna and Pappas house ;0)

So on Sunday we tortured him by not allowing him to open any gifts till after church and after lunch and after singing Happy Birthday. Meine Gute! Poor boy! He did o.k., only asked from the moment he woke up till we lit the candles on the cake "Can I open my presents now? But he also gave me a great sermon illustration. Like the disciples asking ""Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"

Kaleb is an amazing little guy. He loves to do all the crazy and fun things boys do and at the same time he is so soft at heart. Everyday at least 2-3 times in the day he will call out "Mommy, I love you" or "Daddy, I love you" Melt our hearts!

One thing that has really blessed us this last month is to see his all of a sudden desire to pray. He just started asking "Can I pray"? And of course we allowed him to our delight. His prayers are something like "Dear God, thank you for this day, thank you for all the stuff we have and want, thank you for our bodies and our hands so we can grab things. Help us to get back safely from wherever we are going...In Jesus name I "pway" Amen.

As some of you know Kaleb is a huge Transformers fan. He has some transformers toys and cartoons. He was blessed by aunties and uncles and Nanna and Pappa and Oma and Opa, along with Mommy and Daddy with some new Transformer Autobots and Decepticons. He love to go around singing the Theme song to Transformers. I wanted to balance this out a bit so one day I started singing 'Our God is an Awesome God' every time I heard Kaleb sing the Transformers song. Karis, Kaleb and Zeeky caught on to it and we hear them singing it now in their playtime. Kaleb, in learning the song, sang out "Our God is a HANDSOME God..."!

European Pastors Conference January 2009

Conferences are a blessings. You are both excited and afraid to be around fellow workers in God's field. Excited, yes, there is so much to share about what Jesus is teaching you, what He has done in and through your life and the lives of those you serve in the year since you last met. There is excitement building as you gather together in the Name of Jesus, you just know He is going to speak to you, your spiritual ears and eyes are open and placed on 'high sensitivity'. You are excited because you are again amazed at the grace of God in calling you into the ministry, 'counting you faithful' I love God's way of looking at me in Christ!

"Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began" 1 Tim. 1:9

There comes the next emotion of fear, but why fear? Well because I know myself, I know I can be a 'bonehead' and not hear from God. I can busy myself with telling stories of ministry, talking about victories and blessings only to cover up the parts of ministry and life that are difficult and draining. There is a real temptation to be the 'super-pastor' who never tires, never stumbles, never is discouraged with himself or others, never doubts, always trusts, always gives, always and in all ways follows close behind his Boss, his Lord, his friend, Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the flock.

We are often tempted to stretch out our hand that is whole to the Lord. You know the story. Jesus in the synagogue and He tells the man with the withered hand, 'stretch out your hand'. The man had a choice, in front of all those at church that day to expose his weakness, his shame, his lameness, to bring it out into the light for Jesus to deal with. This man could have easily kept that withered hand tucked far into his robe and stretched out his good hand, with pride showing all around him, there was nothing wrong and that he was just like the rest of them.

I thank God for the faith of this man, he stretched out that messed up, withered hand for all to see, most importantly he stretched it out to Jesus and as he did it was restored, made whole, made useful, made strong to the glory of God! The main teacher for the conference was Pastor Sandy Adams from Calvary Chapel Stone Mountain, Georgia. God really used him through the Word of God to search me and encourage me. "If you will return, then I will bring you back; You shall stand before Me; If you take out the precious from the vile, You shall be as My mouth..." Jer. 15:19

One pleasant surprise of the conference was being able to see Josh Blevins! That was great, we had a little reunion with Josh, Joey, Edmund Sr. and I, then there was Brent from Boise, so it was like a little 'Root Teen' Mission reunion! It is great to see guys being called and used to build up and bless God's people around the world. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!

Brent has homemade salsa from Edmund Sr. in the bag! An even exchange for Italian Espresso!

Now I am back home in Dusseldorf and have determined to spend more time with Jesus, asking the Chief Shepherd for His wonderful leading and wisdom in caring for and feeding His precious sheep. Until the whole world hears...

Coronels at Christmas

The Women's event this year for Christmas was called, "The Best Christmas of all Time". The idea being that, just as kids anticipate Christmas all year and wish for it to go on forever, all of history from before His coming and after looks to the first Christmas the moment that changed the world forever.

Having young kids puts an exclamation point on Christmas like nothing else. Their excitement for it makes us almost equally excited. Every year it is always cool to hear some of their interpretation of the season. Karis was enchanted by the Weihnachts Markt. This is the Christmas Market that happens every December, and we have visited every year, but for some reason this year, the sights, the smells, the lights, the decoration, filled all her senses and she declared, "I love the Weihnachts Markt!"

Kaleb summed up the season the best this year by telling us, "Christmas is all about Jesus!"

Ezekiel was just content that we plugged in the lights of the tree and the lights in the window every day.

Anne noticed how much of a help Karis was this year in the baking. She has grown past the stage of "helping but not helping" to actually being a big help in the kitchen. She was also excited to help deliver cookies to neighbors and friends.

We have much to be thankful for this year, but all of it goes back to how gracious our God has been to us, His greatest gift being His son Jesus, who set aside His glory to become one like us, in all our imperfection, to be killed by our sin, but defeat it and death in the resurrection, Amen, Hallelujah...

Just remember what Kaleb says, "Christmas is all about Jesus!"

California Dreamin....

Palm trees, water, sand, and roller coasters, only in Cali

After a couple weeks of anticipation, Anne and the boys arrived safely in California. The trip was pretty uneventful besides 5 or 6 trips to the airplane toilet with Kaleb, who did not sleep on the 9 hour flight until landing. There was also some protest from Ezekiel as to staying in the same seat that long and, well, by the end, we made sure the man sitting at the end of our four seat row that had moved there before we sat down thinking he would have more room, rethink that choice on future flights.

Hello California!

Upon landing, we were greeted by Nanna, Pappa, Aunties Rachelle and April and Cousins Joshy, Javon, Trin, Lele, and Nico. Kaleb couldn't be more excited, in fact he probably felt like it was a dream since it was the middle of the night on his body, and Zeekie treated it like a dream, trying to go back to sleep in his stroller despite the best efforts of his cousins to get him to wake up. The traditional 'welcome to California' In 'n Out hamburger was the next stop. We took it to go and ate at 'Home Again'. It wasn't long after that we all were fast asleep, and not long after that awake again. The jet lag 4:30 waking time lasted over half the trip. The good thing about Nanna and Pappa's guest room is that it has a TV and satelite. There must be other kids awake at 4:30 AM in California because there were plenty of cartoon choices at that hour for the boys, and Mommy was able to lay down another hour until it was time to go downstairs to watch cartoons. One of the first things Kaleb noticed about the cartoons is that all the cartoons that he knows from the TV here (they are the same but dubbed in German) speak English in California.

Cousin's dinner

Of course, the best part of California is visiting with family, and we had lots of fun doing that. In fact, it wasn't long before Kaleb, when he would get tired of being out and about would ask to "go back to California", which turned out to be his name for Nanna and Pappa's house. Make no mistake, visiting family also included some extra special trips to Sea World with big Cousin Kyla, and Disneyland (of course). There was touring all the new stores that have been built in Chino Hills since our last visit. This tour should become less as the years go, there cannot be much more room even in Chino Hills for another shopping center, however there always seems to be space for a new Starbucks!

The boys took full advantage of the weather, playing outside whenever they got the chance. Auntie April made that possible with many trips to the parks of Chino Hills. We got to know, "Zip line park", "Duck Park", "Our Park", and I think a couple more that I can't remember. If those names are unfamiliar to you Chino Hillites, they of course are not the real names but affectionate toddler names that are much easier to remember based on the best and favorite thing ever at each park.

Fun, Fun, Fun!


Of all the adventures, there was none so news worthy as the wild fires. We could see the smoke from Nanna and Pappa's house and we didn't have to drive too far to see the flames on the hills. The sight of the planes that drop the red stuff (that is the techinical name for the stuff they drop to put out the fires and has a red color) was enough to get all the boys excited and as long as the fires chose to keep away from the house, then it was a great adventure. This adventure was one that was fun to tell about when back in Germany because many of the Germans had heard of the fires on their news but thought that we couldn't have been to near as California is so big. Even our Pediatrician and Kaleb's Kindergarten teachers had said they thought of us when they saw the news.

Speaking of Kindergarten, another adventure for Kaleb was his visits to Javon's preschool, Chino Hills Christian Preschool. The teachers were a little worriied that he wouldn't have enough time to adjust, but they were put at ease when he walked right in the first day and started to play without looking back to say 'goodbye'. He had a lot of fun and when asked, his favorite thing was playing with the cars.

Our trip was crowned with Thanksgiving. It was small and quiet. the Turkey was delicious, as well as all the sides. The table was beautiful, and it made a great ending to a great trip.

mmmmmm!

Well, we didn't make it to the beach, or even into Orange County for that matter (once for a haircut, and once to visit Auntie Gina). We didn't get to visit some friends and family that we normally do, and we didn't make it to Taco Nazo. Please forgive us if you were one of those family or friends we didn't get to see. I won't make any excuses except that 3 weeks for us in California is really to short to do all we would like.

By the end of 3 weeks, we were all ready to be reunited with the other half of our family. Kaleb even started asking to go 'back to Germany' after talking with Daddy and Karis one night. The man at the end of our row on the trip home had a much better flight then the one on the way there, the boys slept most the time. Upon arrival we went directly to Oma and Opa's for a second Thanksgiving. It also served well to keep us awake. During jet lag I always swear I will not make that trip again for a long time, at least not with kids. Then I realize, kind of like labor, time fades the memory of physical discomfort enough to cause us to got through self inflicted physical torture sooner then later for the rewards that wait on the other side.

We had a great time, the only thing missing was Karis and Daddy. Lord willing, the next trip can be a family one. God Bless...

PS We also had some very fun days with Coronel Aunties, Uncles and cousins, including one wild and crazy overnight, but I have no pics, if you guys do (Aunties) please send us some.

Thank God For Omas!

Hello Everyone!

Thanks for checking up on the Coronel Family D'dorf.

As you all know, Anne is in smoldering California where the fires are coming to rest.
The fires could not stop the family from taking a trip to Disneyland! Are you kidding?! So while Karis and I were having our own fun here in Germany, Anne and the boys were heading towards Disney, where they had a great time going on roller coasters, driving at Autopia (you Californians know what I mean) and watching the parade at California Adventures. Anne told me that Zeeky-Dude had a blast driving the cars at Autopia but when it came time to get off she must of left his heart on the seat of one of the cars 'cause he freaked out! He did not want to leave, he could have driven around that track till the 'cows came home'.

Anyways, this last week was a special time for Karis and I because my mom came to comfort us for the week. She is amazing! She just got home from the craziness of California to the craziness of Herborn and before she could say 'Was hast du mit mein Haus getan?" I was there to pick her up and put her to work. My dad barely had time to ask "Was haben wir fur Abendessen" when she was already cooking us chicken tacos, enchiladas, Albondiga soup and baking us scones! C'mon! That's my Mexican Mamma! Sorry my dear sisters, I know your mouths are watering but wipe up the drool and ask God to forgive you for being jealous! J/K! Hey, she was with you guys for 3 months! ;0)

I think it was the first day when our adventures began. I thought I would show my mom how to find her way to pick Karis up from school. It is not far but I thought it would by nice to show her exactly where to find our little one in the sea of yelling, screaming, running, jumping, German speaking school kids. We walked out the door of our apartment and she closed the door behind her as I checked my pockets for a house key...yup, we were locked out on the first day together. This is what happens to me and my mom when we team up to make life easier. So we got Karis and came back in time for me to show my worried Muttie how I had some skills in opening the door to our house with a credit card. But before I could say "Ich habe geschaft" our Turkish 20 something neighbor walks out of his apartment one level up from us, sees me trying to get in, walks down the stairs, grabs the card out of my hand and opens it for me in about 3 1/2 seconds. My mom is now officially freaked out and locked the door from that time on at all times of the day. I don't blame her, now I am too. (Nothing against Turks)

That brings me to my next story. We made it to the end of the week pretty uneventful but now it is Saturday and we have to take my long haired, brown-eyed, German speaking daughter to a birthday party. Echinoa is how her name sounds it would be spelled, she is a friend of Karis who turned 8 and wanted Karis to come to her party. Now I wasn't sure how this would go, some times parents stay at the party, sometimes they take a look around to see if things are safe and then leave until the appointed pick up time. We were invited in as we arrived and before we knew it we were sitting on the couch with uncles, grandmas, grandpas and in-laws. Turkish style. It was a great experience and the first I must add.

We ate pizza, bread, drank cola and shared our faith in Jesus with the whole family. Some of the family was really open, like the brother they called Isa (Jesus). I was kinda glad the brother they said they called "Hezbollah" wasn't there though. Anyways, it was time for us to leave and the father of the girls dad wanted to ask one more question which I was glad to try and answer in my limited Deutsch. As I was struggling through to answer and then understand the man speaking to me in even worse Deutsch than I, the father of the girls mother was staring me down and waving some kind of Islamic rosery at me. I didn't even realize it, my mom was the one who was watching the whole thing, praying silently but with all her might. The conversation ended friendly and I had to excuse myself to go home and finish studying for Sunday's sermon.

Mom and I got home and prayed for God to bless the Word we shared to the hearts of those who were open to listen and that the love we displayed would go a long way.

Thank you Muttie, it has been an adventure and mucho fun-o. Thanks to everyone who has been praying for us! God bless you! Tomorrow I will fry up some enchiladas and eggs for 'fruehstuck'. Mmmm....

Oh, and big thanks to Auntie's and Grandma's that contributed to making this little Karis Grace soooo happy with the letters, the gifts and all the love that you sent her while Mommy is gone.

When Mommy leaves...

Hello from the almost empty nest in D'dorf. As you all well know, but not as well as we do, Anne and the boys left today to California. This trip has been a long time coming but is now 'unterwegs' as we say here Germany.

After lots of prayer and waiting for the right time we had to 'drop the bomb' on Karis. You see she was not able to go because she has to go to school. She took the news really well. Of course after the 'why's and the tears we hugged and gave here 'great and precious promises' to live by for the next 3 weeks. Promises which include: Oma coming over and spoiling her for a week, going swimming (indoor of course), taking her friend Lukas and her to a jumphouse, checking out an local aquarium, and visiting a family from the church for dinner (they have 4 kids).

I didn't know how busy the first day would be. We went to bed late, got up early and it was time for 'fruestuck'

Zeeky and Kaleb were excited and ready to eat. Zeeky was so excited he didn't even eat much of his normal 'Schoko Musli' but it takes a lot for Kaleb not eat his 'Zimtos' (Generic Cinnamon Toast Crunch). Kaleb has been really looking forward to going to California. He has fond memories of English speaking cousins, lots of hugs, kisses and tickles; Disneyland, good American food, lots of new toys, Nanna, Pappa, Aunties, Uncles and new friends. In fact when Anne asked him if he would mess Karis and I, he simply replied 'No'. We asked him again later and he said he would after all. Whew...

Thanks for praying. The morning went well. We got off to the airport on time and made good time to Cologne Int. Airport.

The boys had fun running around at the airport.

Karis and I had a fun day, we were both tired and already missing our #1 women and those two crazy boys.

We made the time go by in this way:

1. We came home and ate noodles
2. We did crafts
3. We colored
4. We played Yahtzee!
5. We watched T.V.
6. We drew pictures
7. We cried
8. We laughed

And now we wait for word from our loves ones.

We love you guys and we have you in our hearts every moment till we see you wonderful smiling faces!