Can't Beat It

It's truly one of the greatest joys in life to watch your grandparents hold your baby girl and delicately touch her little fingers and poke her little cheeks. And how weird to think that one day I might have great grandchildren sitting on my knee too! (weird.) Here's a few pictures from the last week here in Edmonton--ones from our week in Rochester to come soon (once I find the right cord to get them off the other camera!).

Hello from Snowy Minnesota

It is so wonderful to finally be here! After leaving our apartment on Saturday, driving across Germany on Sunday and Monday, and hopping in the moving truck one last time to head to the airport on Tuesday, it’s SOOO nice to be able to unpack for more than a night. And especially at such a great place with family! But it's still so weird to think that we have actually MOVED here now and aren't going back to Dresden in a few weeks. I'm sure that will take awhile to get used to.

A blanket of snow is covering the ground outside but the dry, crisp climate feels much warmer to me than the “warmer” temperatures we left in humid Dresden. I am such a northern, dry-climate type of girl!

Thank you for every last prayer said on behalf of our move and flight—everything couldn’t have gone better. We were even pleasantly surprised a couple of times by the amazing cooperation of different people on our way—when does that happen?! And Caitlin could not have been a more flexible and easy-going traveler, not to mention us the unexpected blessing of being able to put her carseat on an empty seat next to us on the plane, which made things sooo much easier. The last of my US visa processing also went smoothly upon arriving in Chicago. Nine of our ten pieces of luggage came all the way through and the last one arrived this afternoon, and because we had so many extra pieces we ended up getting a kind of "VIP" treatment, with porters and airline workers helping us breeze through check in, security and what other would have been otherwise loooong lines. What blessings from the Lord!

We fell into bed last night around 11 pm Rochester time and slept wonderfully through till the morning, despite a brief interuption from the jet-lagged and hungry Caitlinbug. She has warmed up to everyone already, smiling and joyfully playing, soaking in every ounce of love that is being showered on her. Grady's sister Molly and I have even already made a quick trip to the nearby mall to check out the holiday sales. Fun!

Anyway, just a quick update and a few highlights of the last few days here with us. Wishing you all a delightful holiday season with your loved ones!

Still Alive and Kicking...

Wow, what a mix of emotions as we come around the corner to meet our departure from this beautiful and cultural (yet sometimes frustrating) land of Germany. Our apartment is being steadily emptied by friends extracting their few treasures and it makes me smile to think that when we come back to visit we will become reacquainted with each piece of furniture by just stopping by our friends' apartments. Nothing is truly "gone," just in the care of someone else! And what does stuff matter in the end anyway...more and more I long for heaven when all the people dear to me may finally be together in one place (at least more than is possible on earth-!). It has been a full last few days of friends and surprise visitors, heartfelt goodbyes and well-wishes, feeling close to being packed but then always finding more to do...

What joy to find my place here in this Maass family of three, with our own responsibilities and challenges and decisions, but our own. So looking forward to seeing family and relatives but in the meantime still having contentment because now I am home in this little family wherever we are. It's even more real with Caitlin around, reminding us that we have our special, irreplacable role as parents. What a blessing she is to us!

It's a gloomy, dreary, overcast and cold day in Dresden today and I find myself trying to enjoy everything to the last drop, taking special notice of the ringing church bells and cobblestone streets, the many Audis, VWs, and BMWs on the streets, the decorative buildings, and even speaking German. Please don't mind when I throw German words into my English in the next few weeks, I know it will happen!

We are so looking forward to seeing everyone where we're headed but can't deny the inevitability of leaving all our dear friends here. If you can, please pray for all the unknown transitions we'll be dealing with, God is so faithful and will get us through.

Goodbye Dresden, we have so many fond memories of life with you. And hello North America, we look forward to your root beer and beef steaks (among other things!). Bis spaeter!

Neat Effect

Pizza in Germany

Pizza is the ultimate fall-back meal. Just call, order, and within half an hour a piping hot, fresh pizza is delivered right to your door (or in our case we pick it up across the street for an extra 20% discount!). But you don't know what pizza is (or isn't) until you've seen what is advertised here in Germany:
Did you notice that the Pizza Texas has fried potatoes, onions and ham? Potatoes?!

Some other *delictable* sounding combinations include:
tuna, ham, mushrooms and spinach;
mushrooms, broccoli, tomatoes and corn;
goose, red cabbage and pieces of apple;
seafood;
camembert cheese and cranberries.

And my favorite (for national pride purposes):

Hollandaise sauce, shrimp and spinach. I just don't understand!

Seriously, does anyone actually eat these things?!

Well, we just ordered one with spinach, artichokes, pepperoni and Creme Fraiche (a dairy product not found in North America; a cross between sour cream and cream cheese)--we've got to eat unusual German foods while we still can! I wouldn't add the spinach again, but the rest was actually a pretty good combination. I think I'll leave the potatoes and broccoli to the truly "germanized."

More Baby Truths

Curious Tidbit

68%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Faceplant

Tummy time tires our little bug out! We've started putting her on her belly for longer playtimes so she can get some good practice in for her arms and legs, but she doesn't last long. In the above pictures she actually fell asleep with her face straight down, nose smashed to the floor! And below she had been crying a little bit out of frustration and then suddenly just stopped and when I peeked at her face I was shocked to discover that she had almost instantly fallen asleep. Talk about an exerting workout! (and a girl who takes after her mama--we both love our sleep!)

Two Dolls on a Blanket

Let's Keep Him Trembling

“Satan dreads nothing but prayer. His one concern is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.”
- Samuel Chadwick

Das BundesWetterKontrolle

We're uncovering all kinds of interesting things as we sort through paper piles during this packing process. Read on for a cleverly written, "Germlish" (German-English mix) email that Grady wrote to a friend on a Friday afternoon back in 2004 when the rain clouds had rolled in, yet again ruining their plans for an outdoor weekend. It touches on many areas of truth in Dresden culture, from Saturday shopping chaos to the doubled costs when the Euro replaced the DeutschMark. Viel Spass!

Guten Tag meine Damen und Herren,
I am your Weather Fuehrer with another Weekend outlook for our beautiful Deutsches Herbst Weather. Our Friday "rain for the weekend" came right on time today as it should at 14:00 precisely, setting the stage for yet another traditional German weekend (as dictated by the counselor for Weather Affairs and the "Weather for Earth: We will FORCE you to like it" program.) Low lying, soggy clouds have been attracted to the area and will expect to remain until, of course, Montag morning at 7:00 sharp when it will be bright and sunnier than ever. Unless the Counselor has a change in positive attitude he will continue with his course, forcing his negativity on all those under the Fuehrer's jurisdiction, which will expect to keep the German economy on the move with the exhorbitant gas prices and "running around like a rat race" Samstag consumer program. Consumers will, as every Samstag, be expected to be worn out, moody, and from our strategically designed "KeinWasserGratis" infrastructure, pay incredibly absurd amounts of EUROs to drink something with bubbles in it. The 1:1 DM to Euro switch continues to provide acceleration to the economic reform with shop owners exclaiming, "I can't believe my profits have doubled" motto. As always, this is your Fuehrer, Helmut Schwindler, saying, "If you don't know what I knows you'll be paying through the nose!" See you next Freitag when once again the BundesWetterKontrolle Program will be activated at 14:00 und bis dann, Auf Wiederssssssehhhhhhhennnnnn!!!

Comfy Chair

Everyone who sits in can't help but comment on how comfy this chair is! It doesn't look like much but it is a perfect spot to put your feet up (on the matching footstool) and recline at the end of the day. Even Caitlin can't resist the comfort (albeit from a different angle...)!

There's a Chill in the Air

I love fall! I've said it before, but each year when the leaves turn and the air gets a bit more crisp calling for an extra layer or two I can't help but feel renewed. Pull out the sweaters and toques and get ready for hot chocolate and rosy red cheeks and noses from the coolness, not to mention spice cakes and pumpkin dishes galore. I love fall!

We Always Knew She Was a Bug

One of our nicknames for Caitlin is "Bug." And she lived up to it this Halloween!

What a sweetheart!

Try It Out!

Funny stuff! Google "[your name] needs" and see what crazy results come up! (this was popular a couple years ago but still fun nonetheless!)

"Allison needs..."
more good farmers to raise corn, wheat, rye, oats, barley
a loving home
chocolate
a little help from the beauty shop
a Big Sister to give her encouragement
to buy 12 fish
a theme for her After-Prom party
to wear sunscreen
to have a good thermal conduction path between the battery boxes

(Oh man, the last one is totally on target--if anyone can help me find that good thermal conduction path let me know) :-P

Oh and while I'm at it:

"Grady needs..."
major overhaul
an estimated $370 million to accomplish a two-year turnaround
nearly $21 million to upgrade
open government
donations
to know they’re going to get the same basic care
money now
help

hmm I'm picking up on a subtle financially-related theme...it must be because of the plunging American dollar-! $370 million might start to compensate us for our exchange-rate losses over the last five years.... :)

Half a Year Come and Gone

I've heard time only speeds up as life goes on but it's really caught me off guard how fast this first six months with Caitlin just zipped by. Here's to keeping on attempting to be aware of savoring each moment! And happy half-birthday Caitlin!

Yes, I'm Talking *to* the Baby...

And We're Off

First box: packed!! We're so on top of this move! (actually not how we feel at all, but since all the evidence seems to point in that direction...)

In other news, Caitlin happened to spy the box on the floor and we had to break the news to her that we were, in fact, moving away from her homeland of Germany in a short two months. She took the news rather well, considering. (and as you see we opted to strap her down in case of any violent outburst that may have ensued)
Oh and by the way, we're moving! (I guess I hadn't written that yet!) We'll fly out of Dresden in the middle of December and hopefully end up settling in the Minneapolis area after visiting our families for the holidays. Many of the other details are still up in the air, but that's our tentative plan for now!

Schlaf Gut*

By the time our post-worship potluck rolled around this past Sunday, Caitlin was beat and getting fussy. We laid her down in the stroller in hopes she'd fall asleep pretty quickly, but to our surprise after ten minutes she was still awake, not wanting to miss any of the action. When she started getting restless I finally gave her this soft-covered baby book to distract her for a bit--she grabbed it and ended up pulling it over her face, simultaneously falling sleep instantly-! It was really funny!
The best part is that the book's title, "Schlaf Gut*," means, "Sleep Well." :)


*and please read it "sch-lahff goo-t" as to not confuse it with some internal body part.

She's Talking!

...well, kind of. :)

Oktoberfest

This year I finally made it to the most well-known German festival of all! Grady had been there a few times before, but due to the parents' surprise visit we planned a trip through Munich to partake in the Oktoberfest excitement for a few hours. Caitlin jumped right into sampling the local cuisine!

Oma and Opa are Here!

Surprise!
Oma and Opa Maass showed up yesterday to surprise Grady for his upcoming birthday. It was a huge success--he didn't suspect a thing! And after planning and holding in such an incredible secret for over a month, I'm breathing a sigh of relief that I don't have to be so elusive about everything anymore. *phew!* Caitlin has taken to them like she's known them her whole life and it's been really amazing to see her just basking in all the loving attention they are giving her. We're debating changing her name to "Chatty Cathy" because she gets into these talking sprees and just goes on and on and on and on-! She must be catching the grandparents up on what's been going on in the last five months--apparently, alot! And they've already come up with some cute names for her sounds--she seems to like "squeaky door" the most. "Eeeeee-eeeeaaaaaaaa-aaaaa-aaahhhhh....." It's been really great--thank you God for grandparents and their love!

How to Greet Someone in Germany

...If only I had the answer to this question!

I'm sure at one time different areas/cultures had very clearcut ways of greeting each other. People knew what to expect and noone thought twice about it. Situations like meeting an acquaintance on the street unexpectedly, arriving at a party, entering a store, walking into the waiting room at the doctor's office or visiting someone's home all had (and for the most part actually still have) widely understood ways of acceptably "entering." But for my purposes here, I will be talking about the first moments of coming into contact with a friend, usually in such cases as meeting out for coffee or lunch. I am still so confused about how to act in this situation!

So here's the context: traditionally in Germany people shake hands upon meeting. Even really good friends use this formal, business-seeming greeting, but it is also sometimes accompanied with closer contact such as back patting, shoulder embracing, or even cheek-to-cheek contact. I've noticed that many 25-and-under girls greet each other cheek-to-cheek, sometimes with a handshake, sometimes without. Younger generation (also about 35-and-under) guys tend to still shake hands. Older women and men will inevitably shake hands and nothing more but in general it is losing popularity with the younger generation.

Why do I say all this? Because it brings me to my dillemma: when I meet my German, borderline younger generation (25-35 years old) friends for coffee or lunch I have a moment of panic as to how to greet them-! Well actually, since I now have Caitlin with me and tend to be more distracted it usually happens that I don't think about the greeting until it awkwardly occurs. And this doesn't even begin to deal with meeting Americans--the lack of "greeting" throws me through a loop too!

Ok ok, this isn't really that big of a deal, but I'd sure like to get to the bottom of it once and for all. Sheesh!

So it seems to make a difference who has arrived first at the designated meeting location; I would say that the "arriver" leads the situation more than the "arrivee." Unfortunately I am generally the "arriver" and therefore the ball is suddenly shoved into my court and I find myself totally unprepared. Hand shake? (older generation, guys, more formal); Shoulder touch? (closer friends); Leaning? Cheek contact? (very close friends); Hug? Just a smile and a "Hi!"? (Americans); not to mention any combination of the above. Imagine my general hesitation when I stick out my hand for the handshake (safest option) and the other person comes in for an all-out hug-! Talk about feeling "too formal." Or when they take my hand and suddenly lean forward for cheek-to-cheek contact, shocking me to a response of leaning in as well (and the whole time pretending like it was the most natural thing in the world...)...there's just too many possibilities and it's impossible to know what to expect!

I think maybe I just need to have "my" way of greeting others and then when I happen upon a friend then I will just naturally know how to greet them and they can be the ones left in the dark as they follow my lead. But shoot, it's been three years in Germany and I haven't figured this out YET?!? (it really seems like it should be "figure out-able"!)

Hmmmmm....

Something to Note

Playing Around

It's so cool to be around Caitlin and see how she comprehends a bit more each day. She's started smiling and laughing at our silly games and faces--it's so fun! She's still not quite sure what that silver box thing with the black circle (aka "camera") is, so when Mama puts it in her face it results in some priceless expressions. Like this one!

Coffee Break

And here we are in front of *our* cafe, "Cafe & Konditorei Maass" (Caitlin's here too, just sleeping behind us in her stroller). Busses, cafes--we're practically famous over here! (and please excuse the "spliced" photo...it never quite worked out despite our multiple attempts (not to mention feeling like complete dorks/tourists since this happens to be on a super busy street-!))

Oh Man

An actual busker as seen by Courtney on her trip to England...

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
(hey you could take this guy's money and he wouldn't even know it!)

A New Kind of Calculation

New Mom Challenge #59: Getting everything done while the baby naps (and never really knowing how long that will actually be).

Bathtime

One of Caitlin's favorite activities is taking a bath--she's discovered the joy of kicking and splashing and hardly stops once she gets going-! I always lay her on our bed to dry her off afterwards and today she was particularily cute and observant (and still!) so it gave me the chance to snap a few photos.

Welcome!

Welcome to the new Maass family blog! We're glad you're here. Stay tuned to "keep up" with us and our adventures as a young family, wherever they take us!

"The Sentence Game"

My first attempt to play this game via Facebook was a rather drawn-out one--I started this story about a month ago and finally finished it today. In that time four other friends contributed by seeing only the last three words of what was most recently written and adding a bit of their own. The contributors are Me, Rey, Marion, Amy, and Nat. It's a random yet somehow entertaining story!

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a man with his 3 pigs. There came a time when he had to kill one because he was really, really hungry. The man was sad because that pig has been his best friend for years. And when the pig found out what the man intended to do, it ran away from the famous "Blue Wonder"-bridge crossing the majestic "ELBE"-river in beautiful DRESDEN (Germany), but, under the willow tree sat a small gnome who... had a hairy beard. In it lived a small gnome with a hairy beard himself, although noone would know it since he was always hidden. And that is the story of how he got into America.

Now how Amy and I ended up both writing about a gnome...go figure! We must have lived together in Germany or something...

Lakeside

We spent some down time at a lake this past weekend--here are my two favorite shots. Caitlin is really growing and discovering more everyday, it's sometimes surreal to realize we get to witness it so closely. She is such a joy to us!

480...

...diapers! There was a great sale!

And Caitlin's already started diligantly studying....

....her feet. She can't get enough of them and is pretty disappointed everytime she has to wear socks. Cute!

Weird, Strange, and Bizzare

This summer my Yahoo weather widget has looked like this a few times--talk about crazy weather! Who knew there could be sun AND lightening simultaneously?! Man, I learn something new everyday. I'd recommend this widget simply for its educational value!

A Sunny Sunday

We had a great time with friends Nadine, Christian and Mirja on Sunday! We rollerbladed in a huge park in the middle of Dresden, called the Großer Garten ("large park"). Whoever named it wasn't kidding--from one end to the other it's practically two kilometers! Mirja and Caitlin were content to be whisked along in their strollers and we took a couple breaks and watched the two of them interact--how funny! I had to add these other two Caitlin faces too--they're not of her happiest moments but I find them super cute nonetheless. She's started "complaining" nore to us--instead of flat out crying when she's tired, bored, hungry, etc, she now makes these faces and the little sounds that come out are more like whines or complaints. It's funny! And check out her tooth...it's getting big too!

Good Times

This past weekend was the annual City Festival of Dresden, which means rerouted trams, lots of yummy food, interesting entertainment, and throngs of people EVERYWHERE. We decided to brave the mobs Saturday night to support our friend Marion in a fashion show she was participating in. She modeled two outfits--one, typical Gothic with a huge, tall pointy hat, and one, renaissance servant. We also met up with some other church friends and Caitlin did super well in the baby carrier... she even managed to take a nap for a few minutes despite all the surrounding ruckus and activity. We have so many wonderful memories of this festival from past years with good friends and it's sad to think this was our last year to partake. It's too bad that good things do eventually come to an end...

Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect €200...

Grady and I went head to head the other night as we busted out our new Dresden Monopoly game. It was a fun two hours, although I unfortunately had to finally throw my hands up in defeat! Then I took this picture of the end state of affairs...it was pretty sad. We had started by just dealing out all the properties so that the game would go faster and by the time we called it quits Grady had pretty much swept up all of them, not to mention having hotels on practically every single one...I was dishing out upwards of €700 each time I'd unluckily land on one-! When we called it quits I couldn't even mortgage my last two pitiful properties to add up to enough money to pay Grady what I owed him. But in my defense it didn't help that I somehow landed in jail at least four times out of my first six times around the board and missed out on all that "Passing Go" money. And then Grady landed on Free Parking twice, that lucky duck! All in all it was a nice evening spent together and great reassurance that Grady's the money manager in our family!

Quarter of a Year Old

Here are the three month portraits we had done of Caitlin, for your viewing pleasure!

Showering the Baby

At the beginning of June our friend Bri put on a wonderful double baby shower for Caitlin and me and the then-still-pregnant Kristi, who has since given birth to her cutie son Noah. It was a really nice afternoon with ladies even coming all the way from Chemnitz! We played fun games, ate a delicious brunch and even opened a few presents amongst the beautiful purple and green-themed decorations. It was a great time together, although Caitlin slept through the whole thing!

the then six-week-old Caitlin