Pony Express

Lily and her little friends had a great party at the riding stable yesterday. Three fun-filled hours, and, best of all, Neil and I did NOT have a house and yard to clean up afterwards!

There was cake and cupcakes (Lily picked the Filly Fairy cake toppers), there were the ponies and the trail ride of course, a dog named Harriet who not only likes popcorn but also doesn't discriminate between real (pork) and fake (soy) sausages, there was the hugely popular swing set and wooden pig with a saddle under the huge chestnut tree, friendly people, tractors, the excitement when we discovered a broken-out horse on our trail ride (it was caught), there was the rain that stopped right when we needed it to, and a very happy 5-year-old girl and 6-year-old boy who fell into their beds after we got home and were not heard from again until the next morning.

Finn already told the friendly family who runs that stable to expect him and his birthday guests in late August. Since we are at the stable once a week for the kids' riding lessons I'm sure he will not let them forget. ☺

Dear Lily

♥

You are five now. Somehow, five seems so old. Definitely not a little girl anymore. 

A princess in pink and purple who loves to run and bike and ride a horse and inline skate. You are funny and smart and  courageous and really really LOUD and you can take your brother in a fist fight (sigh). You can be oh so sweet. And you can be oh so, not.  ☺

You are so loved, by so many. And by the One who matters most.

Happy Happy Birthday, princess.

P.S. And sometimes, when we walk somewhere, your small hand in mine, and you whisper: "Mama, I love YOU best of all," I have to pinch myself to make sure this is  real. I am so lucky to have you. Only, I call it blessed.

 

Lily had a wonderful birthday, with a party at her preschool and an afternoon picnic at the park with our English speaking friends. And she invited five of her best friends out to the barn for a Pony Party this Sunday. Stay tuned for more pictures!

Friday Night Quote

The first month

The first month with Sophie gone is almost over. It's getting easier, but there are days when I do miss her, a lot. I knew she was not going to be with us forever, but after all this time she had become one of us, naturally. Finn keeps saying he wishes we could have adopted her. Our friends keep hugging me (thank you!) saying how hard this must be. Neil keeps telling me that if I can't do this anymore I just have to tell him. (I think I said, "Okay, I can't do this anymore - go get her!" ☺) He meant foster parenting of course. And we ARE taking a break for a few months. Luckily, two more families have agreed to be emergency foster homes, so that it is not just us for the whole county anymore. We will spend all of June in Canada, and the vacation will do all of us good. After that, I think we'll be recharged and ready for another adventure.
And of course it helps tremendously that we get to see Sophie regularly. Her permanent foster parents are the nicest couple ever, and we are so happy for the new little family that has been created. Sophie is clearly thriving there. She eats jarred baby food now, and is as happy and huggable as ever!

Look at those legs! And to think they looked like skinny twigs when we got her.

Last week we gave Sophie her parting gift from us, a little treasure chest to tell her the story about the first half year of her life.

It has a photo book about her time with us, portraits we had done last November, the dress she wore in those pictures and a toy that a little friend of ours, Anastasia from Bad Tölz, made for her as a Christmas present. It's a little whale with a rattle inside, and Anastasia is sure following in her mama's footsteps when it comes to being crafty! By the way, Uschi, Anastasia's mother, is currently fighting the fight of her life battling breast cancer. If you know her and Christoph (which I know many of you do) please keep Uschi and the family in your thoughts and prayers.

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The next few weeks will be busy for us, and before we know it we will board that plane at the end of May to fly to Canada! We are really looking forward to our big trip.

But first Opa Harald will celebrate his 60th birthday in Rostock (we'll go there next weekend and stay for about 5 days), then Lily's 5th (WHAAAAAT?!) birthday is coming up on May 4th, with the big party (at the riding stable, thank goodness!) on May 6th, the weekend after that Neil will leave for a 6-day-business-trip to Japan (really, of all places!), and not long after he is back we'll pack our boots and chaps and cowboy hats to go to Calgary.

And as if preparing for all this wasn't enough I somehow had the urge to change some things up in our house after Sophie moved out. Lily's room: check. Hallway: check. Our bedroom: a work in progress. We got rid of our old wardrobes (no built-in closets in this house) and hopefully we will have our new ones in place in a few days. I'm looking forward to actually fitting all our stuff INSIDE the wardrobes. But where is said stuff now, you ask? Well, the question is, where is it NOT? Looking for a belt, Neil? Good luck. Seek and ye shall find. Maybe. ☺

And, I will leave you with a few pictures from our patio. A pair of blackbirds (you know, where the mother is actually brown, not black, but of course the species is named after the male) decided to build a nest in the lattice right in front of our patio door, much to the cats' delight. It's the birdie channel, on air 24 hours a day! Once it got warmer we actually started using that patio door again, and I think the birds were as surprised to see us on the patio as we were to see them. And every time I step outside (or look outside) mama bird gives me the evil eye. Like so.

Believe it or not, I even had a nightmare one night where I dreamed I was in the garden with the kids, and mama bird came and attacked me, getting tangled in the hair on the back of my neck. I woke up slightly panicked. Hitchcock, anyone? And if you think SHE is scary you ain't seen papa blackbird with his yellow beak yet. Those yellow-rimmed eyes can stare ANYONE down. Standing behind the glass and casually nibbling on and waving a chicken leg at them didn't help much either. Oh well.

But when mama and papa bird are gone to look for food I sometimes peek in the nest, making sure there is no loose hair at the back of my neck. 

The expression "A face only a mother can love" comes to mind. Cute looks different, if you ask me. But then, I'm not their mother.

Good night!

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Howdy.

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As you can see, 3 of the 4 of us are sharing a hobby now. Neil tags along on the weekends, takes pictures and carries hats/drinks/snacks/bags/tired children. He can't say this is coming as a big surprise, considering I lived and worked at a horse training facility when he met me. So far he is holding up well. ☺
Bella, the black and white pinto mare is "my" new horse. Apparently she is a Friesian / Paint Horse cross. (As Neil said, "Who does THAT on purpose?" - but oh well.) I've ridden her twice, found her to be a good match (meaning, we were BOTH huffing and puffing after galloping a few circles), and decided I will lease her from the owners. It feels good to be finally back in the saddle. And while my brown riding jeans purchased in Canada in 1998 are still in good shape, the same can't be said for the poor unused riding muscles in my legs. Ouchie. I will take some lessons on Bella with the resident trainer at my new barn. I'm looking forward to that, and it's needed.
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Finn and Lily are doing well with their riding lessons, too. Yesterday they both got to gallop for the first time, and not on a small pony either. (The videos are from their first lessons, and I didn't have my camera yesterday.) Seeing my still 4-year-old little girl perched on top of a full-grown horse in a tiny English saddle, trotting and gallopping around in circles made my mama heart do some very interesting flips. I wonder if this is what Neil feels like sometimes? Because he really wants me to wear a helmet and to purchase a safety vest. I'm considering going all out and breaking into the army museum in Ingolstadt to steal one of their knight's armours. Go big or go home, right? ☺
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