~ Merry Christmas Friends & Family~~Frohe Weihnachten Freunde und Familie~
~We thought that this could be a great way to get our Christmas card out this year to our friends & family - isn't technology so amazing? We have had a very fun filled and exciting year! We are continuing to love our amazing adventures here in Germany. We have made some great friends, seen many incredible sights, and lived each and every day with no regrets - which happens to be our family motto. Many people ask what our favorite place has been.. there is really no good answer to this because each place we see has a unique personality and something new and fun to offer. Our list of places we want to see goes on and on and on - there is no way that we will possibly be able to see all of them in the 1 1/2 years that remain. We are very proud to say that we have now been as a family to Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Belgium, Poland, & Luxembourg ... WOW! We are adventure seekers and this is like a dream come true to us.
Kristine's favorite hobby is traveling and she has turned it into a full time job planning our next destinations. If you ever come to Europe.. please ask your personal "Tour Guide Barbie".. a.k.a. Kristine.. she loves helping people plan their next dream vacation. As many of you know her hobbies also include blogging, facebook, and making sure we have an organized and beautiful home to live in. Kristine is a very social creature and has stayed very busy with weekly playgroups, "Ladies Night Out" at the movies, Bunco groups, "Ladies Night Out" at local restaurants, Ladies shopping & spa weekends.. not such a bad life, huh? She is having such a great time teaching the boys about new cultures and watching them blossom into fine, young "German" gentlemen!
Steve is staying very busy juggling "Father of the Year" & "Dentist of the Year" & Husband of the Year" - it is tough to be so needed and loved! He has gained incredible amounts of confidence and skills this past year in the dental clinic, and has started putting price tags on what this will mean to him when he has his own practice one day. He was selected to attend an ADA Dental Conference in Orlando, Fl this past July - where he was also able to connect with family - and bring back many American clothes and treats that his family has been missing like crazy. We are also very proud of him again.. because he has been selected to attend an Exodontia & Oral Surgery training for four months in Missouri! This will give him some amazing training & should be a huge asset for his future business. The boys keep him busy when he comes home and he turns into a jungle gym. He is also the "celebrity dad".. their friends talk about going to see Steve to get their teeth worked on.. ya gotta love small communities. Krisitine has grown used to taking on her new identity.. the "Dentist's Wife". We will miss him incredibly while he is gone to Missouri.. but it will be a huge test to Kristine's independence (which currently is non-existing).
Cole is currently in a multi-age class at Patch Elementary School in Ms. Suhr's class. He loves being around his friends that are in Kindergarten, 1st, & 2nd grade. Cole loves being mentored from his peers and he likes hanging out with the older kids at recess time - he feels like the "hot dog" on campus! He has grown in so many ways this last year. He has been telling us for 2 years now that life will change when he is 6 - well he proved us right! He can now read, ride his bike without training wheels, get dressed on his own.. and help out around the house. He is also VERY good on our new Wii, he is able to beat all of his friends and family in tennis & golf - very impressive. He loves living in Germany..loves to eat Spatzle (German noodles) & loves the surprises that the neighbors leave on the doorstep everyday that he finds when he comes home off the bus. Cole is also an amazing dancer and loves it when the music comes on at night before bed and he gets to show off all of his rad moves.. we are not kidding - he is good! He is a very loving son & a great brother a.k.a. "best friend". He has definitely missed his family tons since we moved over here so he is very anxious to be with them again.
Kade our little bossy boo! He is three now, and is having the best time hanging out and playing with his mom everyday, playing with his toys, and watching movies. This is a boy who knows what he wants... and nothing is going to get in his way. He is as smart as a whip and will repeat anything you say.. so be careful. His favorite word right now is "butt" - oh the joys of being parents to two hysterical boys. He loves it when his mom reads to him, when he gets to help her cook & clean, and when he gets to take & pick up his brother from the bus. Kade will be starting German Kindergarten soon and will hopefully be able to make friends with the neighborhood kids and teach his parents more German words. He is an amazing driver on the Hummer and the neighbors all come out and giggle as he flys past them on the road - of course he always gives them a wave! Kade also discovered recently that he can whistle.. which drives his brother crazy.. because he hasn't quite figured that out. If you are interested in hearing this.. you better bring your chapstick.. he is convinced that this is the secret ingredient to his wonderful whistles. Kade loves to drink more than eat.. so his favorite things right now are chocolate milk and egg juice (egg nog). Kade is great with legos & trains and has an amazing imagination. He melts our hearts with his huge dimples and little winks!
We have been incredibly blessed as a family - and we are absolutely loving the slow pace of things in Germany. We feel like we are living in a bubble.. and really don't want it to pop anytime soon! We have made some great friends who have become our family while living so far away. We are very blessed to be able to spend Christmas in Oregon for a whole month! The amount of vacation time we get is a definite blessing! We look forward to seeing many of you while we are in Oregon and we will miss many of you in Germany which is definitely "Home" to us now. We would love to have visitors.. it really is a dream come true here, and Kristine often says that she feels like she is on vacation everyday. As we look outside and see the snow coming down and covering the red tile top roofs.. our hearts are full of love & happiness for the incredible friends & family that we have in our lives in both America and Germany. We could not be more pleased with how things have worked out! The thought of leaving makes us sad.. but we try to not think about it very much, and just enjoy every minute of this spectacular "McLean Adventure"~
~We hope you have a Merry Christmas & An Amazing New Year~
