Author Archives: Kim Halloran-Fry

Frohe Weihnachten

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It is late on Christmas Eve and very loud in our house and I wouldn't have it any other way.   Nine of the ten kids are under my roof at this moment.  Ten, if you count the young man who is like family who is joining us for Christmas.  

cupcake

There have been movies and debates about football, remembering days gone by and talks about plans for those to come.  There has been a lot of wrapping and a little bit of cookie making.  I have a full fridge but nothing made for Christmas dinner.  But that's ok.  There are lots of capable hands and it will all happen one way or another. 

tree
There have been many hours logged in the car driving to and from the airport, to and from the grocery store, running in and out of gift stores.  While I normally detest running it is different these days.  The children we used to live with are no longer that.  They are grown and fascinating. They make me laugh and make me think.  The hours and errands have passed so delightfully with them along. I cannot imagine being blessed with better friends. 

mushroom
This year especially, after much separation and challenge, I am grateful for the gift of family.  I hope you are smiling with yours, wherever you may be.

Frohe Weihnachten!

Five

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There has been nary a free moment in the past week or so. My husband surprised me with my early Christmas gift – he flew Colin here.   : )   Besides that, there have been dance performances (3), a talent show, and a birthday for Tess.  She is five now and requested a party with friends this year.  We invited two sweet sisters for cake and homemade games one afternoon last week.  

birthday

A slightly snow-covered castle and very pink cupcakes courtesy of her big sister. 

cupcakes

Pin the tail….

bday l
pinata

And a pinata, which was a first for us.   The birthday day turned out to be dark and stormy so we took advantage of the stairway. 
lilly
Daddy was not going to miss the party so he took off work to come have lunch with her. 

tess
bday
The party goers wrapping up their afternoon, sans shoes and with a silly little sister face from Abbie.   A very nice day all around.  

I apologize that I am behind on blog mail (as well as wrapping gifts, shopping, and a number of other things ; ))  Bear with me please.  We have another son and his friend arriving soon and will have a very full house for a few weeks.  

Nikolaustag

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St Nicholas is busy this time of year, visiting local schools and churches. We have caught a few glimpses of him this season.  At a local church…

santa

And he even honked and waved at us from a white convertible at a stoplight one night, which left an indelible impression on Tess.  As in, "Better get to bed now Tess, St. Nicholas is coming!"  

"In his white car???"  

So, that sorta threw off the authentic German Catholic vibe we were shootin' for but hey. 

table

We still read about the beloved saint and woke to wooden shoes filled with traditional clementines, nuts, and chocolate coins in memory of the good Turkish bishop's efforts to secure an honorable future for some unfortunate maidens.  

st nic shoe

One of the few days you get chocolate for breakfast. 

st nic
Lest you are mistakenly awed (and hence discouraged) by this display of authentic cultural celebration, let me just mention that Nikolaustag is Dec 6th.  

These pictures were taken Dec 7th 'cause, um, St. Nicholas' helper discovered at a distressingly late date that she was shy on clementines and candy canes.  

In 20 yrs they will never know. ; )  

WC

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German bathrooms are  a funny thing.  To us anyway.  They most often have turn knobs like these.   Very often there is also some change involved.  Either you leave it in a bowl on the sink or you may actually have to insert it in the door to enter the stall.  Reason being – there is often a live person nearby who is vigorously cleaning the room all day long.  So you tip. Even if you are an American and are a little unsettled by women running in and out of both the men's and women's restrooms whomever may be present. (one of my little boys hasn't yet recovered from being advised on a potty stop. I will leave it at that lol)

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The faucet in this restroom will strike American readers as odd namely because it is singular.  That would be cold.   But, not uncommon.

faucet

If you follow this  Pinterest board of mine, you will guess how much I loved these mod door signs spotted at a local church:

men
ladies
I am easily amused, although you may be too if you made it this far down a post about potties. ; D 

at play

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Brendan has graduated to our early readers.  Despite the bad press they often get these days we have always enjoyed them, at least our vintage readers.  The vocabulary is controlled, ensuring lots of success, and the illustrations are priceless.  Of course we still read higher level literature together.  These are great fun for independent practice however as well as a fond glimpse of a more gracious time.

At Play is one of the most charming old readers in our collection:

at play
Patent leather Mary Jane's, short pants, and a Scotty.  Doesn't get much better than that. : )
  at play
at play 3

My, my. I remember those wonderful aluminum cake covers.

at play 4
Letter blocks and pull toys.  Obviously written some time before vibrating Elmo's.