December!

December 24, 2010
This was Tim's last week of school :) So now we just spend the days hanging out, having fun, and relaxing. Today is Christmas Eve back home for many people, but in Germany they give the presents to the children on the night of the 24th. So the tree is up and the presents will be under it (from "Santa") later today. For the past week we have had very nice, warmer, weather. Now it is snowing again and the Kubess's are thinking this weekend might not be one to visit family and friends unless the conditions improve. So far it is only small flakes, but I can see them beginning to gather on the roofs of the houses near by already. I feel sorry for the poor mail-men, even in the snow they ride their bikes to deliver the mail! Not today of course, but any other day they would.
Everything else seems to be normal. Though I have been able to sleep in till 8 for the past three mornings :D
One thing that I must tell you is that I will be flying to Barcelona!!!! I am SO excited!! I also have a friend from the America who I am planning a trip with as well!! I'm looking forward to these adventures :)

December 15, 2010
Saturday and Sunday
I really thank God that I found the Seventh Day Church. It has been such a wonderful place to meet like minded people and they really make me think about things in a different way. The first week I went the pastor talked about what a covenant is. He explained a covenant more as an agreement. So the Covenant is not what God told the people of Israel to do (i.e. the Ten Commandments), but rather that the two parties agreed to work together. The Ten Commandments were part of what Israel agreed to keep under the Covenant. Then he made an interesting link to the bible that in when the covenant is refered to as old and broken God was saying that the Ten Commandments were not done away with, but rather that the agreement that Israel would keep God's ways (and God would do His part in return) had been broken. Now He sent His Son to establish a new Covenant (or agreement) with God's people. So the law was the same, but the Covenant had to be reinstated. Then last week, the pastor made a good reminder of why we keep the Sabbath and how important it is. So the messages have been stimulating and the fellowship sweet. Thank you God!
On Sunday I left the house at 8ish to pick up one of the other au pairs in the area so we could go to the Black Forest together. I drove for about an hour and finally pick him up. We then went to Baden-Baden first and just walked around. We found one of the closed castles (that is actually privately owned) and so just wandered around some of the garden that are open to the public. I had just watched Pride and Prejudice again and could see Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth walking up and down the path. I love that book/movie!! It was very beautiful and gave way to a great view of the city. We then left for Weisenbach. It looks like a 1/2 hr drive or more on the map, but took us 15 mins :) (Dont worry, I went under, not over the speed limit!) We stopped to look around and went to one of the bakeries and then kept moving on. Our next stop was Bad Wildbad which is a cozy little town. Sleepy this time of year, at least on Sunday (when everything is closed). We stopped to get some late lunch and found a cute little place were we ended up being the only ones eating in a big banquet hall. We sat next to a window that afforded a cool view and next to a heater so it was warm. I ate German mac and cheese, which was delicious!
Then we moved on to Calw and walked around just a little. As we were heading back we (that is I) saw a beautiful church in a little town that we had not planned to stop at and was like, "Hey, lets take a look". So we did. In that church there was a symphony playing some absolutely beautiful music! And even though we couldnt get in because all the seats were full we stood out side and listened for a good 1/2 hour or so. Finally we got back to Stuttgart were we visited the Christmas market there quick. I finally got home about 9 PM. But that was a wonderful day. The forest was SO beautiful. It had just been dusted with snow and though not as dark as some of the forests in WA state (just because there arent as many evergreens) it was beautiful. Haha, I would totally believe a story about a dragon coming out of the forest to attack these cute little towns and there people. I could also see little red riding hood going to her grandmothers house and being eaten by a big bad wolf.
If you are in the state of Baden-Wurttemburg and have a chance to drive through the Black Forest, do it!! It is breathetakingly beautiful.


December 11, 2010
The only piece of news that I thought I would report is that I will be driving on my own for the very first time today! I am going to church and tomorrow will be going to the Black forest with a couple of friends if everthing works out. It is always kind of scary to drive on your own in a new environment and this is no exception.