some of Jason's favorites

Jason loves word play, if you didn't already know. Alliteration is one of his favorite things of all time. It only makes sense that he would find such joy in the native language of our new home as we'll.

Here is a short list of some of the words he's adopted into his vocabulary thus far:

dippeschisser  - no real translation

wunderbar  - wonderful

witzbold  - joker

genau  - exactly, perfect, of course

stau  - traffic

schnee  - snow

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And Michelle wanted to share her real reason for becoming so passionate about running.

fröhlich Weihnachten

     Our very first Christmas gift! From our very first German friend! Thank you so much Sarah. Getting a gift via the mail service, and not our US PO Box on base, was quite a surprise!
     What an indescribable feeling to be so far from anything familiar during a very familial time of year, and to be so loved (and so intimately known) by someone we've just known a few months here. Who has such different experiences and life story, but still loves us just the way Christ calls us to.

Homemade German Christmas cookies, tea & honey (poor Jason has been sick forever), and the Christmas Story / Die Weihnachtsgeschichte (it's in German)!

Also a big Thank You to all our friends back home who sent us Christmas cards, helping us to feel not so far away and still loved by many. We love you all and miss you so much- especially seeing all the awesome festivities going on back in Annapolis. Little Drummer Boy, Feed Annapolis, Christmas Crafernoon.   Oh My Gosh. 

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Here is a look at the Bahnhof (train station) that Michelle runs past every day.

Kind of a nice wintery photo...

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What Michelle is up to:
- starting her 22nd book since arriving in Germany
- is hitting 20 miles a week running, about 15 more/week until her goal
- makes 4 new meals a week, thank you Pinterest
- involved in a women's bible study at Christ Church Wiesbaden and is building friendships

What Jason is up to:
- trying to keep himself well enough to function and ward off a (likely to become) pneumonia
- thinking about playing percussion at church
- hanging things on walls: pictures, mirrors, light fixtures, etc..
- finding his place in his office and becoming comfortable in the new environment

What we are up to:
- hanging out at the Irish Pub one night a week for some trivia
- touring the Christmas markets with our new friends Lauren, Jake, and baby Rose
- visiting the library & exercising together at least once a week
- laughing together more than we have in a long time and enjoying the "just the two of us + Autumn" dynamic when we aren't missing out friends too badly

Weihnachtsmarkt touring 2012

Inserted are random shots at various 

Christmas Markets (Weihnachtsmarkt) we've visited this month. 

As some of you may already know, the biggest challenge Michelle has faces thus far in Germany is public transportation. Mustering up the courage to take a bus and/or train somewhere, when she isn't even sure where it is or how to get there on her own, paired with not being able to ask questions or read signs has left her sticking to walkable destinations only. This week that all changed. It only took our first major snow to prohibit her ability to run outside, thus forcing her to take the bus to the Army's fitness center. 

Needless to say, it was an adventure. All she could remember was that her stop was called 'Erdenheim F...". It never occurred to her that there might be more than one stop called Erdenheim [word that starts with and F]. So after getting off at the wrong one and ending up next to a huge, snow-covered field Jason came to the rescue! He followed the bus's route to the stop she would most likely be at, saving her from having to wait even longer in the snow for another bus to come along!

Mainz

To celebrate Michelle's courage to take the bus, regardless of the outcome, we tried out a new restaurant on our street: Thai Orchid, which was perfect for us! Not only was the menu in both English and German, but the staff spoke fluently in either language and was SO helpful! Did we mention that it takes us 4 minutes to walk there? So far we've tried Thai, Vietnamese, Sushi, Turkish, Pizza, Spanish, and a couple bakeries on our street alone. Having such variety within walking distance really enables Michelle to continue her pubic transportation protest.

So these pictures that you've seen thus far of Christmas Markets were taken around 6 or 7pm. Because it gets pitch black around here by 5:30 or 6 this time of year. By December 20th we'll only have 8.03 hours of daylight. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) here I come!

This duo was just a small piece of the incredibly festive market in Nürnberg. 

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