Preemie Journey of Colin and Veronica Fiegel

Check out my friend's blog at http://www.preemiejourney.blogspot.com/ as she talks about her adventures with her twin newborns; Colin and Veronica. They were born I believe at 28 weeks.

Both babies are doing well. Keep them and their family in your prayers!

Harry Potter

I can't say enough great things about Harry Potter. My head is about to explode!

I just finished the last book, The Deathly Hallows. Boy o'boy was it good.

Now I'm sad. I miss Harry, Hermonie and Ron.

Someone suggested to listen to the books on tape series.

This sounds like a great way to revisit my old friends in a different media.

I want to talk more about Harry but it looks like it's 1 am in the morning and I'm so tired so I'll have to finish this post another time.

Nite nite.

Three Weeks Off -- Yeah Right!

Logan finished school on July 2nd but had two weeks of fun camp following the last day of school. He had fun!

Connor is on break from his nursery school or kita as they call it here in Germany for three weeks. He's been home since July 12th.

Last week was my first week to have BOTH kids home. It's been an adjustment (that's all I'll say) but now that we've got the hang of it we are set for some fun fun fun this coming week.

Monday we head to the Berlin Zoo. Tuesday we go to the pool. Wednesday is our buffer day. Thursday we'll go to the farm, and Friday we'll head into Berlin's forest or what the Berliners call the Grunewalde.

We're pretty excited to have a plan. Last week we didn't but we also had very hot weather and only ventured out of the house in the morning. We don't have air and only one fan so the most you can do is read a book, watch a movie or just sit and sip a nice tasty beverage.

The last couple of days have been very pleasant here. In the low to mid 70s. I hope it continues. I haven't really looked so I hope our plans are still a go.

When Connor goes back to school on August 2nd Logan and I will be reading "The Graveyard Book". A wonderful gift from Logan's friend Juju. Thanks again Juju!!!! We'll take field trips to some of the more notable graveyards in town and do some research on ghosts. It should be loads of fun. Good practice too for school which will start back up on August 23rd.

My Mom sent the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books. I've been reading them and they are quite delightful. We'll read these too and do some research on the Greek gods. Maybe even get to some of Berlin's museums for a real look at some of the Greek/Roman art, sculpture, and myths.

Before we'll know it we'll be back at work and school. In the meantime we'll try to continue to enjoy our summer days and nights before they're gone.

Connor is Three Years Old

Connor Macgowan turns 3 years old come August 3rd this year. It's only a mere week away.

Can't believe my baby is 3. That went sooooooooo fast.

We're celebrating with friends next Saturday July 31st at this cool kid/family friendly restaurant called KiiWii. Here's the link to check it out http://www.kiiwii-berlin.de/.

They have this great indoor jungle gym thingy that the kids love. What's awesome is that the restaurant has glass in the wall so you can sit at your table, eat your dinner and watch your kids play. Connor and Logan usually come out every so often to take a bite of their food and drink something quick before heading back to play. It's really quite nice.

The food is kid friendly too and not half bad. I usually get the cheese burger and it's quite tasty.

I'll post pictures when we have them.

Happy Birthday Connor! We love you!
XOXO

16 Years of Blissful Marriage

Hey all!

Yes it's true. Chris and I have been married for 16 years come July 30th. We celebrated actually tonight with dinner at this great Indian restaurant by our flat and seeing the movie Twilight Eclipse (movie was OK, Chris liked the first one better and I the second -- oh well).

It was a nice time for Chris and I to go out ALONE and talk, eat good food and watch a movie without distractions. Hey don't get us wrong we love our kids! Love love love them but sometimes Moms and Dads need a little break :-)

This past March Chris and I met at 1st Avenue 26 years ago. Crazy right?

We still consider each other best friends and with every passing day I love him more! It's amazing how intense my feelings are for Chris even after 26 years :-) WOW it must be LOVE!

So Happy Anniversary to us! I love you Chris!
XOXO

Two Years Today

Hi.

It's been a long while since I wrote anything and well today/tomorrow is our 2nd anniversary living in Berlin, Germany.

I can't believe we've been here two years already. It went so very fast.

What's new? FYI. I'm going to randomly spew! :-) Also didn't spell or grammar check. I'm too tired and hot.

Well Chris got a job two weeks ago at Mister Spex's an Internet company. They sell eye glasses. Check them out here http://www.misterspex.de/.

We are very excited that Chris got a job just in the nic of time. It will allow us to stay here just a bit longer.

Jennifer is working freelance as a web developer. I got my work permit about 3 weeks ago. I'm working hard to find new clients. At the moment I have one that I'm working on. Check it out here http://www.xleft.com/. This is just a test site. Jan's website will go live at the end of July at http://www.treuholztraining.de/.

Logan just finished 4th grade at the JFK School. He'll be attending "Fun" camp for the first 2 weeks of vacation. Fun camp is sponsored by the JFK after school program. They've got a lot of fun adventures planned for the kids. I'm a little jealous. Logan will go back to JFK in the fall for 5th grade on August 23rd I think it is. Only 6 weeks off but he gets a lot of time off during the year so this schedule isn't too bad.

Connor is attending the Friedenau Kinderhaus, an all German Kita (kindergarten/nursery school). He'll have 3 weeks off beginning July 12th. He's doing great over there and learning lots and lots of German words. It's fun to hear him finally speak. Chris and I were a bit worried as he didn't say much we understood, but now the words are flowing. I guess we just had to be patient. For gosh sakes he's learning two languages at once.

Chris and I aren't big TV sports watchers but have been enjoying watching the World Cup games. Today Germany just kicked Argentina's ASS. GO TEAM GERMANY!!!

Jennifer is finally reading all the Harry Potter books. They are just great but I'm slow to read the 5th book "The Order of the Phoenix". Just haven't had the time to read lately. I need to read all the books before the new movie comes out in November. Hope I can do it.

Jennifer can't wait to see "Twilight Eclipse". Yes groan if you like. I enjoyed the books very much especially "Breaking Dawn". Will go with my friend Annerose when she gets back from Norway. GO TEAM EDWARD!!!

My Mother celebrated her 80th birthday this past April! Happy Birthday Mom! Now get on a plane and come visit us so we can celebrate Berlin style. We are ready to go on an Italian adventure too!

Weather is HOT HOT HOT here in Berlin. Don't much care for it. Our flat has been rather cool so we are thankful for that. No one has air here. Not even sure how you would work it with these windows. I've seen air conditioners at Bauhaus (like a Menards or Home Depot) so if this hot weather continues and becomes too hot we may have to break down and get one. Probably start with a fan first.

Our friends Becki and John Fiegel just welcomed their two twins; Veronica and Colin. Only 28 weeks gestation and doing well. Please if you pray do so for them. They have a long up hill journey to go. Check out their blog at http://www.preemiejourney.blogspot.com/.

We are hoping we can make it back to MN for a visit this winter. Our goal is Christmas and New Years! FYI if you have plans to come visit us.

WE WANT VISITORS! Come and see us!!!! We miss our friends and family and want to show you are new adopted town. There is so much to see and do here plus the rest of Europe is waiting for you. Exchange rate is looking pretty good these days!

Tom our 15 year old kitty is doing well also. We have a nice backyard for him to hang out in (escorted by me of course) and we found a mouse so he's pretty happy. Can't seem to get it though. Mousing was Ted's passion. We miss you Ted! You would have loved this new flat.

We are still looking for renters for our house in MN. No takers yet. We lowered the rent from $2,300 to $2,000. Here's hoping we find someone soon. Would hate to have to sell or lose the house because we couldn't rent it. If you know of anyone who is looking for a house to rent please have them go to our website at http://www.macgowan.com/ for all the details.

Logan just started training to become a server at the Catholic English speaking mission we belong to here. He was so excited to follow in his Mother and Uncle Sean's foot steps. When I was a kid I don't remember it being so intense, but these folks take it very seriously. Logan goes every Friday evening from 5-6 pm. It's a nice time for me too as I get the opportunity to spend some time with my Lord! Logan will have the summer off now and will start back up in late August or early September. If all goes well he'll start serving in October. I'll be sure to post pictures.

So that's what we've been up to since I last posted. If I think of more I'll be sure to post again.

Have a lovely 4th of July everyone!

We miss you all!

XOXO