Here :)

After an hour delay in Manchester, I finally flew into Orlando at 3:30pm. It is great to be back and as of now I have been up almost 26 hours. Going to bed but will see some of you tomorrow night at choir...yay!

Girly Night at church!

For our last Sunday before we come back after summer break (and Andrea's last Sunday period :( ) the youth girls hosted a Girly Night at church tonight. It was so much fun and the three of us got our nails and hair done! Enjoy the pics ...48 hrs til I'm Stateside!!



Eleanor straightening my hair



The finished product!


Some of ACB's finest ladies after their makeovers!


I LOVE Sarah & Marie-Louise


Two of the best roomies I could ever ask for...I already miss you, Andrea!

Pics from the last 2 days of school

Enjoy! See some of you in about 48 hours ;)


Roberto shows off his American dime!


Me & my girl Shannon



Fun on the bouncy castle


Me & my kiddos


Class party at the Eis Cafe (translated Ice Cream Parlor!)


Me, Chelsea, & Nathaniel after the Awards Ceremony

Bittersweet Goodbyes

Today was our awards ceremony at school and began the process I think we've all been dreading..saying goodbye. One of our families is flying back to the States tomorrow and we had to say goodbye to three pretty awesome kids. Emily, Jamie, & Joey Carney. I had Joey in my 4th/5th grade Language Arts & Social Studies classes and Anne taught Emily & Jamie in Middle School. A lot of the kids were crying at the end of the ceremony and of course whenever I see anyone crying, I start in!!! It was just a realization that's been coming and because we have such a small staff I think it makes it even harder when some of them leave. Tonight we had a small going away party at our apartment for the staff who is leaving and we spent the majority of the last 2 hrs just laughing together. It is still hard for me to believe that I will have to say goodbye to them on Monday morning and that when I return they won't be here anymore.

On a happier note, tomorrow IS the last day of school and we are going out tomorrow night to celebrate a great year. Saturday will be spent cleaning and packing and I will welcome anyone who would like to call and interrupt :) :) :) Also, staff was given awards today and I received the "Exuberant Spirit Award" which I thought was quite fitting :)

Ticino

Our friend Jo from church found a great deal on the train from Basel to the Italian side of Switzerland so we took it! We left Friday for Locarno, Switzerland w/our friends Jo, Vanessa, & Delice (We being Anne, Andrea, & myself) from church. It was a nice relaxing weekend just enjoying the scenery and each other! We had a picnic on the lake yesterday and also went up to the top of the mountains that overlook Switzerland and Italy! Today we went to Lugano and took a tour of Miniatur Switzerland (yes that is how Miniature is spelled here!) which is a miniscule version of Switzerland covering a little park. We just got home about an hour ago and are now in the throes of starting to get ready for our last week of school and in Germany until August. Andrea is leaving so it was a nice time for us to get away one last time! Enjoy the slideshow...and Daddy, Happy Father's Day!!!

Gearing up...

With just one more week to go, there are a ton of things I'm looking forward to and not so looking forward to. I'm obviously looking forward to school being out, going to Jax for a few weeks, and getting to see my friends. I'm NOT looking forward to having to say good-bye to some of the staff here at RIA and not seeing them like I have for the last 10 months. I'm not looking forward to losing my roommate, Andrea, and I'm not looking forward to having to say good-bye to the students who won't be back. I'm going to miss things here in Germany while I'm gone but at the same time am counting the days (12 to go) until I'm hugging my parents. Air conditioning will also be a plus since it was 90 degrees here today and there was just no way of getting cooler (at least it seemed!). So it will be a bittersweet 12 more days here, I think. Next week will be Game Day on Monday, a Field Trip on Tuesday, something or the other on Wednesday, class party & awards ceremony on Thursday, and a half day and then luncheon w/the staff on Friday. Saturday will be spent packing and cleaning the apartment, while Sunday will be the last time I'll be at my church for a month and our going away party for Andrea and a Girls Night w/the youth girls. Please forgive me if I don't update so much in the next 12 days. As you can see I'm going to have to find time to breathe!!

5 more days of school...

12 days until I'm in Florida...

Let the countdown begin!

Great weekend!

I don't think I've ever loved a church like I love the one I'm at right now. And the friends I've come to know are such amazing people that I can't wait to spend more time with them! Last night my friends Sarah, Jo, Vanessa, and Anne & Andrea and I went to a praise and worship concert in Switzerland called Regio Praise Night. It was held in this small Christian community called Chriscona way above Basel. We sang for 2 hours and most of the songs were in German or Swiss German. Afterwards, we went out for some DELICIOUS Chinese food and it was just so great to hang out w/them. Here is a pic of all of us last night after the concert:


Today in church our small group led in worship and afterwards had a picture taken together. I also took a pic of my pastor, Geoff, and his wife, Marie-Louise. Yes, I am ecstatic a/b coming home in 2 weeks but I am going to miss these people over here a LOT over the summer!

Visiting the Bunker ruins

Today Nathan & Amanda, Catharine, Erika, Anne, Andrea, Diana, & I went over the border to France to see some original WW2 bunker ruins. A family from our school, the Pomar's, invited us out and the bunkers are behind their village in France! It was especially cool b/c A)Yesterday was D-Day and B)Most of you know what a huge World War 2 history person I am! Anyway, enjoy the slide show!

PS Today was yet another holiday, our last for the school year! It was Corpus Christi Day which translated means The Body of Christ Day.

Baby Samples

I found out recently that my dear friend Lindsay and her husband, Brian, are expecting their first child Dec 30th. I was the maid of honor in Lindsay's wedding 2 yrs ago so this is extra special for me :) Just wanted to send out a big congrats to Linz & Brian!!!

Church Retreat in Langenbruck

This weekend our church had a retreat in Langenbruck, Switzerland. It was probably the best retreat I've ever been on!! We had so much fun. Anne, Andrea, & I were in a room w/the four oldest High School girls which of course we loved! We had a blast with them and last night had a girly night with them and a few other "cool young adults" as we've been tagged! We decided to do facials but since we didn't bring any facial stuff w/us, one of our friends, Sarah, went down to the kitchen and got bananas and yogurt! Anne & I were daring enough to let her put it on our faces!

Our talks with Martin Cavender & his wife, Cesca, were also quite memorable. They talked about relationships and what our worth in Christ is. We also were privileged to have a lady named Bea Schopp to come and lead a dramatic workshop! Of course I went and had a blast! We had a talent show last night that I headed up and the last sketch was Anne, Andrea, & myself acting out "North Americans in Europe." It was hilarious and everyone loved it!

I was also privileged to help lead worship and enjoyed every minute of it. If you guys haven't heard "Mighty to Save" by Hillsong or "Cry of My Heart" by Starfield, GO DOWNLOAD IT!! They are awesome praise & worship songs.

I've of course made a slide show and I hope you all enjoy it. It will give you a chance to see some of my church friends and see the fun we had together. I can't wait to share more a/b this amazing retreat when I get home. It was exactly what I needed before going home in THREE weeks. Enjoy!