Day 20 - Thankful for Warm Rays of Sunshine

With Daylight Savings time over and the clocks rolled backwards I am not seeing much sunshine. It is dark on the drive to work in the mornings and dark again on the drive back home. Plus it has been rainy this week so there hasn’t been much sunshine during the day. But there is sunshine today and I am fortunate to get to be out in it. Weekends in the sunshine totally make up for rainy week days

Day 19 - Thankful for My Landlords

We have the best landlords.

I am told that some landlords over here can be very hard to deal with but not ours. They are so very sweet and have helped us out in so many ways. They continue to make improvements to the property and have asked us each time what we think about the changes.

We have a newly remodeled kitchen, and we have closets in our upstairs rooms (not a common feature in German bedrooms). Since we have moved in they have put in venetian blinds across the front balcony, an adjustable thermostat, a new garage door opener, privacy blinds for the back balcony, new solar shades on the upstairs windows. They are putting the rent money back into the house making it better for us while we are here. We have some friends who report their landlords won’t even come show them how to work the heating system. Our landlord has prepared a book on all the appliances with instructions for use (in German and English) and helped us understand how to use the radiator heating (which is so very different from what we are used to).

He is 80 years old but do not let that fool you. This evening when we got home from work (at dusk) he had a ladder out and was cleaning leaves out of the gutters. He manages the lawn and gardens in a pretty large yard for this part of town and in the winter he shovels the snow and then goes cross country skiing in the forest across from the house. She is younger but is also very active. She plays tennis and swims almost daily in the summer and enjoys cross country skiing in the winter too. They are very active and I do believe it has kept them young.

They speak some English and have taught us some German. I think he likes to practice his English with us. When we are planning trips he always wishes us "the best of travels" and usually has a note on the door when we get back welcoming us back to town. When they travel I always get a post card from them and frequently get a small gift from where they have been (chocolates, candles and special matches). They have daughters that are about my age but they don’t visit very often so I think they like having us around because the similarity in ages to their children.

They keep asking if we have family coming over to visit and have even offered the use of their extra bedrooms if we need extra rooms... I think they are truly excited about meeting my Mother this May.

Yes, I am thankful for my landlords, they have made transitioning from Oklahoma to Stuttgart so much easier.

Day 18 - Thankful for My In Laws

I have such great in-laws. They took me into their family and love me as one of their own.

A few months before our marriage Dad Mitchell took me around looking for houses in the Midwest City area. Alan was working so he went with me to make sure I didn’t get lost. It was just the two of us that day and he was so sweet. He told me.... this part of town might not be so safe...this school is a good one... this one is closer to church and grocery shopping. I had my very own tour guide of the Mid-Del area and it was interesting to hear the stories behind the different neighborhoods we toured. It was during this drive around town that he suggested I should take the OPM test for a possible job on base (I now have 26+ years of civil service under my belt because of this sage advice). Dad M was the best at comforting a baby with colic. Our youngest son had what I thought was a bad case of colic and I was at my wits end, so I took both boys over to Mom and Dad M’s house. Dad took the baby and a warm - hot water bottle and held him and rocked him and soothed him. And gave me a much needed break! Years later we spent many a summer weekend at the lake and Dad was always so patient with the boys as they learned to water ski or build a fire. He helped Alan work on cars when we needed to watch our budget, offered to hang the mini blinds in our new house because he wanted to help out, he was always eager to go watch our boys play sports and so very patient with them when they were rough housing around in their back yard.

Mom Mitchell is really special too. She has shared treasured family recipes with me, taught me to cook many of Alan’s favorites. She always tries to get just the perfect gift for special occasions and holidays for our children. She made special quilts for both our boys. She set a good Christian example in their early years and she took them to church on Wednesday evening activities (I was working Swing Shift and Alan was working and going to school). She too was always interested in the boys activities and with schedule in hand would be at every game possible from grade school through high school for two boys that between them played football, basketball and baseball... that is a whole lot of sporting events!! She shared family pictures with me and helped me with many a project over the years. She has stepped in and helped out when I was sick helping to care for my family. Most of all she has treated me like a daughter even though she already had 3 of her own.

Over the years we have moved in with Mom and Dad M a couple of times. The first time was just before moving into married student housing. Our place sold and we couldn’t move in to housing until the beginning of the semester. The 4 of us moved into Alan’s childhood bedroom for 2 months and shared a bathroom with 2 sisters still at home. Mom did everything possible to help make this an easy time for us. Then many years later our house sold before we had found a replacement so once again we moved in to the home on Glenvalley. Our boys were older and Mom and Dad were empty nesters by this time so it was nice for the boys to have that one on one attention/time with their grandparents. Then in the spring of 2009 we moved in with them again.... this time I was at my wits end with the house we were living in and once again we were welcomed with open arms. Looking back all 4 of the Mitchell siblings have moved their families back into the Mitchell home for short periods of time. I think Mom might enjoy some of her privacy back but I know she also gets sad when it comes time for each of us to move on...kind of like going through the empty nest feeling all over again.

This is just a glimpse into some of the reasons I treasure my in-laws. I am so blessed to have them and am thankful for their love, kindness, assistance over the years and for their friendship!

Day 17 - I am Thankful for a Wonderful Father

I am so thankful for the time I had with him, he was the one I called when things needed fixed, I was Daddy’s little girl and proud to be. I needed him and he needed me. I am grateful that I carry on some of my fathers best qualities. This man was never late, he was very organized, he loved wood working and he love his family. Yes I miss my Dad. But I go on...getting there on time, being organized, loving wooden boxes, toys and trinkets and loving my family...

I miss my Dad! Today is his birthday and he is celebrating with family in heaven. He was always willing to help out last minute...he was great last minute stand in for Santa at my office Christmas party! He loved doing things with me and my granddaughter. And he was a very special Grandfather...photos below show him with both of my sons on their wedding day. For their 50th wedding anniversary they didn’t want a party they wanted to spend time with family...so we all joined them for a weekend in Arkansas to celebrate. Three of the things he loved, family time, the lake and grandchildren all rolled into one afternoon (the picture of him with the kids in his lap was taken at my brother Phil’s place at Lake Carl Blackwell). He fathered 3 sons and 1 daughter. He loved to play games and even taught his great granddaughter to play Dominos. He loved my Mother dearly...right down to her green shoes! He used to tease her about all the shoes she has. He loved to travel but it didn’t have to be any where fancy. For instance he took us to Magazine Mountain and I remember this favorite spot; a natural bridge crossing the creek up on Magazine Mountain near where his mother was born (I got a picture of them together walking across the rocks). You could count on Gramps to be there....graduations, birthdays and weddings you name it he was there. He loved Christmas time, each year he would video us after we had opened presents. Our family tradition was for each to tell what what we received and who it was from. My dad started our bi-monthly family gatherings known as White Sunday with each family hosting; we took these gatherings to the lake, the bowling alley, family homes, Arkansas, it was all about family time. Daddy served in the Navy on the USS Cocopa during the Korean Conflict. We grew up hearing stories of his Navy years and a few years ago he captured many of these memories and provided each of us with his stories; not published but definitely cherished.

I am so thankful for the time I had with him, he was the one I called when things needed fixed, I was Daddy’s little girl and proud to be. I needed him and he needed me. I am grateful that I carry on some of my fathers best qualities. This man was never late, he was very organized, he loved wood working and he love his family. Yes I miss my Dad. But I go on...getting there on time, being organized, loving wooden boxes, toys and trinkets and loving my family...

Day 16 - Thankful for Warm PJ’s and a mug of Tea

Yes, I am thankful for my flannel PJ pants! Not so much to sleep in but to lounge around the house.

Nothing is better after a long day at work than to come home and pull on a soft pair of flannel pj pants and a warm sweatshirt!

Then settle in with a big mug of Candy Cane Lane Tea or Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate. Ahhh....

Day 15 - Thankful for English Translations on Menus

We went to a Thai restaurant near our house. Here we were 2 Americans, ordering Thai food from a menu in Germany! Thankfully they had 3 versions of each menu item, 1 in Thai, one in German and one in English!

From Thai, to German to English would have been a tricky translation and who knows what we would have ended up with for dinner. But the wait staff and the hostess were quick to pick up that we were not German (once we started talking) and they quickly switched to English.

Thankfully most of the restaurants around here have English translations 0n their menus; as there are 4 American posts in the area. So it is not likely that we will end up with Spleen (or Kidney I am not sure which) like my Father-In-Law did 20 years ago while visiting in Germany. We usually know what we are ordering and we don’t have to go away hungry. Plus we are even picking up some German from the menu translations.

I have been learning some German, but without the English translations on the menus I would still be lost. However, during dinner our Thai dinner I finally got to work in what I thought would be a useless phrase. One that I learned very early from my German Rosetta Stone courses: der Mann ist essen Reis

Day 14 - Thankful for Expressions of Love

While visiting the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber we saw this car drive by a few times. At first we didn’t think about what was going on or who might be inside the car....

Then it pulled up and parked right in front of us and the man in the suit got out and went around and opened the door for the Bride (obviously his daughter).

Next this young man man came running out from inside the church and gave her a BIG hug and kiss. From the looks of it he was her brother. Look at how closely the ring bearer is watching them.

With his daughter on his arm they get last minutes guidance from the priest. The priest talked with them for a few minutes before they went inside. The Groom is getting his jacket on in the background with the brother helping him (the tree is in the way so you can’t see this very well). And by now they have completely lost the ring bearer’s attention.

It was about this time that the church bells started ringing, we looked at our watches and it was not straight up on the hour or even close to a 15 minute mark...These bells were announcing the arrival of the Bride and the start of the wedding!

As we continued our walk through the town I started watching for expressions of love. And you know if you look close enough (or are in the right frame of mind) these can be seem everywhere. We saw Herr and Frau (men and women) strolling arm in arm through the plaza, parents lovingly tending to children, teens flirting their way through the park, elderly couples holding hands while having Koffee at the outdoor cafes, hearts decorating the stone and iron works over front doors, Christ and his disciples carved in the stone blocks of the church steeple.

Along the City wall we also found expressions of love. Citizens of the town and visitors who have donated to help maintain the wall have plaques worked into the masonry along the city walls honoring their loved ones.

We even captured our own special expression of love during the few minutes of sunshine near the end of the day.

Yes there are many different expressions of love, some large, some small and some almost unnoticeable but if you watch closely you will find them everywhere.