Family Visit

We were so thankful to have Nate's parents (Oma & Opa) here with us for nearly two weeks in early October. We had a really special time together playing at home, doing some fun outings and taking a 5-day trip to the Alps. We also got to celebrate Maya's birthday with them before they left. Here are a few highlights from our time together:

Visit and hike up to Dürnstein Castle

At the top of Dürnstein

Walking around on top of Dachstein

Snow in October!

The view from the top of Dachstein

Riding up the cable car to the overlook in Hallstatt

Hallstatt

Hallstatt

Sisters holding hands!

The house we rented in St. Martin am Tennengebirge

Going for a hike

Enjoying the fall colors!

Exploring Hallstatt

Walking around Salzburg

Overlooking Salzburg from the fortress

Family Visits

We were so blessed to have both sets of parents visit us after Maya was born. This also meant, because of the timing, that we had family here for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Ellie's birthday! It was really special for us to celebrate all of these holidays with family, because these can often be the most difficult times to live overseas, when we have to be alone for a holiday. It was also neat to show our parents our new neighborhood and what our life is like, now that we have relocated outside of the city. They have a better sense of our everyday life and ministry now.

Here are some photo highlights from Nate's parents' visit ("Oma & Opa"):

Playdoh with Oma!

Visiting the Christmas markets, sometimes one need a break from all the walking

Baby snuggles

Oma and her girls

Baking Christmas Cookies

Raclette dinner with the Kosse family, here on a Vision Trip and now joining our team

Thanksgiving Dinner

Nate, Oma & Ellie hiking through vineyards

Here are some pictures from our time with Bethany's parents ("Grammy & Grampy"):

Grampy sitting by the presents and our "fireplace"

Playing Candyland

Walking to Schönbrunn Palace, with Ellie's doll in her baby carrier

At the mall

Our day trip to Bratislava

At a Slovakian restaurant

The view from the Bratislava Castle

At the playground

Maya's baby dedication at church

Dedicating Maya

Ellie's third birthday

Family Vacation #1 - Northern Minnesota

We were blessed with the opportunity to go away on vacation with both Nate's family and my family in December. It was so fun and memorable to celebrate the holidays with both families! Here are some photo highlights from vacation #1 up in Northern Minnesota with the Johnsons.

Playing with the race track Dad bought - a fun toy for all of us adults! 

Group coloring time

The view of the lake next to the house we rented

Uncle Neil teaches Ellie to play pool

Book time with Aunt Caitlin

The newlyweds

Swimming at a local pool

Craft time with Oma

Gingerbread Houses

Nate's Creation

Family Photo

Our First Family Visitor!

Lately, life has just been chugging along. We're wrapping up this month's German class next Friday and we've been spending most of our time outside of class doing homework, meeting with language partners and going to church. Hence the lack of blog posts recently! Not much to report.

However, a welcome interruption to all of this normalcy was our first family visitor - Nate's brother! For the last 7-ish years, Neil has spent time volunteering at English camps sponsored by Josiah Venture in the Czech Republic, and this summer was no different. After two weeks there, he decided to pop down to Vienna for a quick visit before heading back to the States. It was really fun to show him around the city and take him to a few favorite places and authentic restaurants. (Anyone who knows us well knows that food is really important to us, so of course this was a big focus of what we shared with Neil.) Nate also was able to skip a day of class to spend more time with his brother and they visited a few museums in the downtown area.

Thank you, Neil, for coming to visit!

Sadly we didn't take very many photos, but here are just a couple...

Having Vienna's best apple strudel at Cafe Landtmann.

Nate catching Neil in some of his more pensive, thoughtful moments.

A Royal Pup

This morning, we met a new family member - our first puppy! We have been wanting to get a dog for years, but were waiting until we got here and were settled. This month, we are taking care of a dog for some friends, and we've really fallen in love with this breed - the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. They are sweet, calm and love to cuddle. They are also at the top of many lists we've read for the best apartment dogs. So we did some research and found a breeder in Austria!

We picked an adorable male puppy from the litter this morning and put down a deposit. They are only 6 weeks old now, so we will be able to take him home in the middle of August, when he's grown a bit more and gotten the nutrients he needs from his mother. But it was fun to meet him!

We haven't picked a name yet, but we're researching popular names in Austria. Feel free to comment with your ideas!

We have always been told that getting a dog is a great way to make new friends here and meet neighbors. Dogs are really popular here and when we take the dog to the "dog park" to play, we can make new friends, too! We'll see!

The puppy meets Nate.

Isn't he just adorable?!