We haven't looked back!

Lazy Sunday Casserole

I made this casserole for dinner last night and it was really delicious and better yet, super easy! I found it through pinterest and was not disappointed. Here is a link to the recipe: Lazy Sunday Casserole and a picture of the finished product.

Picture by Kayotic Kitchen

Hope you enjoy it!

The German Slopes

One of the many benefits of living in cold weather is the occasional trip to the slopes...and I do mean occasional, this was our only visit thus far. We drove rode in what seemed like a never ending circle to a nearby mountain about 45 minutes away with our friend Joseph and hit the slopes. 

Please forgive the butterscotch hat....it was Stephen's and he insisted my cute blue cap was not warm enough!

We had our ups,

and downs,

 but really enjoyed the beautiful morning and fresh air.

In the end we survived the treacherous green slopes and even managed to keep down our breakfast on the ride home....thanks to a little myth busters trick, GINGER!

Come visit us in the winter and you just might get to see our "skills" in person!

NIC Christmas

..I only said it might be the last one! This one really is! Just wanted to post a picture from our Christmas Eve Service at NIC. We had a great group and even some new visitors. Until next year...

Joyeux Noel

I know, another christmas post, but it might be the last one! Right before Christmas we headed over the border to Mullhouse with some of our favorite people: Mr. and Mrs. Widmann along with Steffi. 

Entrance to the Church

Some of the Widmann's friends live in France and create a "nativity scene" each year in their local church to celebrate the season. I am sure your wondering, what kind of nativity scene is so special that we would drive twenty minutes to see? My thoughts exactly...until I saw it! It is huge, battery powered, coin operated, and has some figures I never would have guessed would be included in a nativity scene, for-instance— fairies! Yes I said it, big, sparkly, winged, fairies! Try to spot them in this video.....it is only a small taste of the nativity's true awesomeness! (Please excuse the poor video...for some reason I always want to turn the camera vertical....one day I will learn!)

In all seriousness, it was a great trip. Some of the intricate detailed figures are beautiful and I hope next year we can visit again. 

1st Spanjer Christmas...in February

I know it is a little late for christmas, but I wanted everyone to see our first christmas together in Germany. Unfortunately, I left my camera here on our trip to the States...hence, christmas in February. 

We did our best to decorate our little apartment and hang our stockings over the mantel, I mean radiator! Our stockings were extra warm on christmas morning!

We also received this smoking Santa  Weinachtsman from our landlords, it puffs out scented smoke. 

I made our first christmas skirt with inspiration from pinterest.....so addicting. I am pretty happy with the way it turned out and am glad that I can mark that project off for many years to come.

You may recognize some of the material from the lazy-boy....trying to get rid of scraps!

I was unaware that the advent wreath is such a huge tradition here, but it is. I was invited to make one with a friends family and must say it is a fun tradition. We got to light a candle every sunday leading up to Christmas and the greenery we used made the house smell wonderful.

Now to the good stuff, Christmas Day! We tried to start some Spanjer traditions, but it is extra hard when your husband is a pastor and has to work on Sunday. So we settled for a taco dinner after the christmas eve service (don't be too horrified....that tradition might not stick) and then started christmas around 1pm on Sunday. It was a bit anti-climatic but we did the best we could.

First we opened our stockings and then ate a "breakfast-lunch" so it seemed like christmas morning.

Can you tell who's wrapping is who's? Boys and their camo!

It was a great 4 hour celebration (we had to take all our decorations down that night before we headed to America the next morning) and did just the trick. I am looking forward to next year. 

Wine in the Bible

This post is a a little belated but here goes anyways. Our friend Sven Schmidt (to the left of Stephen)

invited us to a wine tasting that focused on scriptures in the Bible where wine is mentioned. We thought it would be a fun learning experience and opportunity to spend some time with Sven.

The wine tasting was held in a neighboring vineyard town: Auggen. The town has it's own winery and produces a variety of red, white, and rosa wines, along with champagne and other similiar products. We had the opportunity to try 6 different wines throughout the night as we learned about scriptures and the history of wine.

The wine tasting was hosted by a former German Wine Princess (this is a big deal in Germany and is taken very seriously) who became a religion teacher.

Stephen and I had never been to a wine tasting so it was a learning experience. The first step is to swirl the wine and then smell it. In this step you can sense how fruity, or strong, etc. a wine may be.

Next you take a small sip and let it sit in your mouth while you breath a little. I am still not sure what that does, but for people with a refined palette they taste some subtle differences.

We had a nice time testing all the different wines and it is interesting how different they all taste. We each found one that we really enjoyed. I liked a local rosa while Stephen preferred a dry red wine.

We talked a bit with our table.....we were the youngest people there by 20 years!

And finally got our picture with the wine princess herself!

It turned out to be very educational and entertaining. We would love to take you to a wine tasting if your ever in our region..."the tuscany of Germany" as they call it!