New Adventures for the Pontiff Clan

The kids' newest adventure has begun. School started today. We geared up for school with the preperation of school supplies and clothes and... school practice. Yes, we had school practice last week. We knew that the kids were out of sorts in regards to their school schedule and would inevitably miss something on their to do list even after reading it out loud. So the first day, we explained that they had to get up at 0800 and go through their list. Each day would be thirty minutes earlier than the day before. If they succeeded, they didn't have to do the rest of the week. They would still have to get up early to acclimate their body to school time, but other than that, they would be off the hook. Only one succeeded the first day. When the list says, "Make your bed" or "Clean your room" or "Get your lunch and backpack" and you read that out loud, most would think that would be a good enough reminder. The other four children read their lists and said it was done and yet had missed these things. How is that possible you say? My thoughts exactly. Hence, more school practice. The next day, only one more succeded. You'd think they would get that I was checking their lists off too and I would know what was not done yet. Still, they decided to try me... and lost. Yeah, more school practice. Day three, the next two finally succeded. And day four, the last one had to try three times to get it right. It all paid off though as today went well for all of them. Only one is now "in trouble" for deception. She chose to put on her makeup rather than clean her room and then tried to pretend that her door was closed "so that the cats wouldn't go in there" when she loves having them in her room. I picked up on that immediately.

I laugh at what they think they are hiding. And I wonder, what does that mean that they think about me? Do they think I just don't know. Then I think, "Wow! That's what I did to my mom too." Well, Mom, I am so sorry I ever did that. You were way smarter than I ever truly gave you credit for. Now as a mom myself, I see your motherly wisdom as something to behold. I always thought you had eyes in the back of your head and now know it was God who had your back and told you everything! There is something about a momma and God on her side. Don't mess with her!

So that was the kids' newest adventure. Now ours, Mike's and mine, is opening our newly vacated apartment as a TLA (temporary living accomadations) for people coming in and out of the Kaiserslautern area. Mike got the idea shortly after we spoke to a rental agency about renting out our apartment again. We decided to use this to make additional income, but to also have the availability to bless people coming and going through the church or our family. This week is getting all the furniture in place before I go out to buy all the curtains and home decorations. So please pray for wisdom for me on how to do that. It's not one of my strengths. I'll post pics soon with a link to our new Schrollbach TLA.

Enjoy the rest of your summer while it lasts!

In Him,

Melissa

End of Summer Update

Summer is slowly coming to a close with only two weeks of vacation left. We were trying to maximize our travel time, but with all of Mike's tdy's, we ended up just doing short trips. It was to fun, local places that didn't take alot of planning to do. After all our relaxing, the kids are ready to go back to school.

We've managed to get most of thier school supplies. The rest are being sent compliments of Grandma and Grandpa "Where's my hug?". Plus we are getting clothes ready too. My "to do" list now entails cleaning out the old clothes to make room for the new. Each year gets easier as the kids get older and more familiar with our purging system.

As for me, I have delved into a new Biblestudy called Becoming the Woman God Wants Me To Be. It is a 90-day study that encourages us to become more like the Proverbs 31 woman. The author takes a few verses each week and dissects them into applicable and manageable changes that we can make in our lives. I have to admit, I was excited about this at first, but now I am getting out of my comfort zone on some of the homework items and it's making me nervous. This is a spiritual journey though, that is supposed to leave us different than when we started. So I know it is all me and that I need to just get over it and do it. Pray for me!

In addition to all the kids' fun and my new changes, our poor cat, Sumy, had to have emergency surgery last week. Turns out that she bit off something like a cotton ball off of her cat toy and it got lodged in her large intestine. She came home wearing the "cone of shame" because she had a scar several inches long on her newly shaved belly. Our other cat, Rammy, didn't know what to do with her. He stayed on close guard, but if we encouraged him to get closer to her, he'd meow and run off, and then sneak back up to viewing her again. Sumy gets her stitches out in a few days and is already returning back to her old, sweet self. I have a sad-funny to share: she was still wearing her new collar cone one night when she tried to jump up in bed with me and ended up falling off the bed because she couldn't equate for the collar space. I felt so bad for her. Mike picked her up and put her in bed with me where she fell fast asleep with a loud purr.

Mike's update is that he did not get picked up for school opening the door for us to stay in Germany a little longer. We were happy with either outcome. It's just nice to know which one so we can move forward. He'll be taking a new job soon that might open even more years here. We'll see. We love it here! We love our home that God has blessed us with, we love the base, we love our church, we love our friends! Even after two years, I still wake up sometimes and wonder why God has blessed us with this wonderful opportunity because I know that I don't deserve it.

Lastly, I was talking with a few friends from church and they helped me come up with a new idea for parenting questions. Just ask them on the blog! So if you think of anything you want me to answer, leave a post, and I will do my best to answer it in a later one.

Have a blessed last few weeks of summer!

In Him,

Melissa

Thankful for this summer

The last six weeks feel like they have past by quickly. The kids and I have built our summer routine into one of sleeping in and taking things easy. We do try to stay productive, but we are having fun doing it. We visit the library weekly, try to go swimming, and of course, hang out with friends whenever we can.

Mike got back at the beginning of July. He motivated us to finish our back yard garden patch and wall. It looks great now. However, I think we may have to wait until next year for it to produce anything of substance.

I was also able to finish my sister's birthday blanket. It took four months to make and was worth every minute to make for her. Now that I have completed one for all our family members, I am going to use all the leftover yarn to make a kitty blanket since my cats like to sit on the one I am making. It makes it hard to stitch! Now I'll trick them with one of their own on my lap while doing the real project. After that, I think I will make another one for us. I have to pick out a design though. I want to make something new.

Another update was finding out that we are staying in Germany for another year. Mike was not picked up for school. But it was a win-win situation for us. School or another year in Europe? After these last few weeks of life with our Lifegroup (Couple's Biblestudy), I am thankful that I get another year to spend with these precious families that I have grown to love. And we always love an excuse to get together and party. So a few days ago we celebrated with one family as the husband came back from a six month deployment. Here is a picture of some of us ladies celebrating their family reunion.

I am very blessed to have my children home from school, my husband home from TDY, and friends that are like family when you are away from home. God is good!

In Him,

Melissa