What´s been going on...

It feels like the last 2 months were a flurry of happy and sad events, shaken up really good in a mixer and spilled out right on top of life. I have lots of pictures and things to post about and although it´ll be a few months late, you´ll still see what´s been going on around here. First, my parents visited for a week back in August. We had fun making day trips and just spending time together. After they had left, my mom called to let me know she found out that my former art teacher from high-school had died. He was a great artist and had inspired me with his take on art and his general view on life. I really liked him and it was just sad to hear the news. The following week I received a phone call from a very worried dad, telling me that mom just had an accident with her bike and that she had a very complicated fracture, bones crushed, and that she was at the E.R. just now. So I packed my things, and went home, to check up on mom (who ended up staying at the hospital for quite some time) and dad and to make sure he and the cat got their meals and to keep the house clean. Dad and I also renovated the little extra room where my parents keep the computer. Decluttering and decorating the space for when mom returns. The Schweinfurt Relief Society had been a real blessing too, as they provided for additional meals and their help! I went home a week later, for my Primary lesson on Sunday, just to return to Schweinfurt the following week to stay there and help, AND it was both my parents´ birthday on September 5. So we organized a little get-together at the hospital (balloons and all) for mom and dad and have a conspiracy of all of us children (and Dani) coming to visit.

Some time during all this, my good friend Chrie called and told me about her dad. They had found out that he had lung cancer. I would have loved to visit her or just be able to do more to help but that next week, Dani and I went on our long planned vacation to the Spanish island of Tenerife. We had been looking forward to it for a while (especially since we didn´t really have a decent summer here) but now that the time came to pack the luggage and just relax, I really didn´t have the right mind to do it. We went anyways and it turned out I really needed it! I kept worrying about home and friends, hoping that mom´s surgery had gone well and that she was on the mend, wondering how my friend´s dad was doing... . But we did have a wonderful time in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, and I loved all the sun and warm temperatures. It was also fun to go on church there on Sunday and to dig out my rusty Spanish. I was surprised that I understood almost everything they said during classes and Sacrament meeting. Too bad we couldn´t stay a few more weeks! We came home and I had barely unpacked and gotten used to being back in the cold weather, when my friend called with the sad news that her dad had passed away and that she was coming back home to Schweinfurt. So I packed my bags again and off I was (I have to give credit to Dani, he hasn´t seen much of me recently and he´s been so sweet about it), back home to Schweinfurt to meet up with my friend and her family. The funeral service was last week and a lot of people attended. I was glad to see that there were so many who came to support my friend´s family. I tried to distract and help a little but I wish I could have done more to lift the burden.

Yesterday, we attended a wedding in Heidelberg (Dani´s friend married a girl who studies there). I´m still stuffed from all the good food there ;). I´m also really looking forward to tonight and tomorrow (General Conference Broadcast) and tomorrow is also our 3rd Anniversary!

As much as I complain and whine about living in a boring village now, I could really use some down time the next few weeks (but I already know that it´s not going to happen as I still need to prepare a lay-out for the Stake newsletter, prepare the next activity day, prepare the next primary lesson, ...) ;).

Now I´ve filled you in on the big things. I left out all the little things but I am sure you´ve had enough to read as it is. Sometimes you just have the need to ramble... . Thanks for bearing with me!