Nasses Wetter and cute babies

Nasses wetter is German for wet weather, and to an english speaker it sounds like 'nasty weather', which is pretty much how I'd describe it after riding furiously through said weather to arrive in class with water dripping off my nose and running down my cheeks. Nice to see my Moroccan friend, Tarik, snickering at my soppy entrance; I can always depend on his cheery greeting!

This is my last week of class before the long Feb. break. Hopefully the last class, Deutsch 6 will be offered. Today we found out there aren't enough people registered. That would put a dent in my plans. I need level 6 to complete my visa requirements and was wanting to do it all in one go, no long breaks.....also wanted to take the Zertifikat Deutsch exam after 6, and that would mess that up too.

After Christmas we went shopping. Because doesn't EVERYBODY have to go shopping the day after Christmas??? Anyhow. We went to Target with the fam b/c Stefan and I needed new gym clothes and other random stuff you just can't get cheap in Germany. Stefan took a picture of the registers, mainly b/c this isn't a normal German sight:29 registers, and usually nearly half are open.

Friday we drove 17hrs straight, 1,000 miles to Boston from Indianapolis, including a requisite 1hr stop at a Cracker Barrel in Erie, PA to eat a burger, dumplings, and fried okra. Then we arrived in Gloucester around 1:30am. Stefan walks into the kitchen at the Grace's house, sees a can of pea soup with ham and, to my total disgust, promptly eats it. Saturday morning we enjoyed a yummy breakfast at Lee's down at the wharf. We were enjoying the American food to say the least. (Don't worry, we're well back into our gym routine!)

Saturday afternoon we drove down to our dear friend's house, John and Karoliina, in Lexington. They had asked Stefan to do a low-key, in-home baby dedication for their new daughter Tinsae. Tinsae, as you can see, is totally adorable! She's learning Finnish (what they speak at home) and didn't seem too bewildered at all the english flying around her. John's parents (Finns too) were there, Tinsae's god-parents were there (from Zimbabwe) with their two kids, us, John's sister, and a Russian/Indian couple. I was the only native english speaker there - just like in Germany! It was a really lovely time - wonderful people, interesting conversations, tasty Finnish treats, and cute kids - all sharing the same faith and the same God and the same joy of knowing that Tinsae will be raised knowing Him. It was sad to leave such a happy place and we hope we see them on our side of the ocean sometime!