America invades Germany!

Well as it happens, it seems that almost every American we know came to Germany the same week. If you read my last post you know that Hillary visited me, but what you didn't know is that along with her we had the immense pleasure of 6 other men coming to Neuenburg. I have to say the woman population was a little low...meaning I was alone, but it was such a joy to have the large group to show around. Here is a picture of everyone in the castle near our town.

Stephen, Mr. Tommy James, Bill Spanjer, Dr. Duggar, Doug, Mr. Geiger, Matt, Alex, and Pastor Aaron.

Here is Matt in the middle of the Black Forest. 

We had the opportunity to explore the baths in Badenweiler. 

The view from the top of the castle.

Along with visiting sites in the area, the men were able to make a big impact on the community and the attendees of our church. Bill Spanjer (Stephens brother, who is a softball coach and pastor in New York), blessed us by preaching in the Sunday night service while he was here. He also was able to help coach our softball team and give the morale of the team a boost. For our Monday night bible study all the men were put to the test in a question and answer session dealing with everything from serving in the church to living as a christian in day to day life. It was really well received, and I know from the girls that it was helpful to answer some of the questions they have about different issues. After the question and answer session we gave them their final challenge of mastering Rockband. They were naturals!

Dr. Duggar was pretty incedible, Doug was tearing it up on the drums, but no one was as good as Mr. Geiger!

The Lord used the men in mighty ways to help spur us on in the race. We were all very thankful for the encouragement, and I hope they had a wonderful visit as well. 

"Hillary, Laura"... wait, I mean "Laura, Hillary"

So I know it has been forever and I am very sorry about that. Life seems to be moving at a rapid pace and I am just trying to stay afloat. In the middle of June I was blessed to have one of my closest friends visit me here in Neuenburg. It was such a joy to see a friend from home and just be encouraged by someone so close and dear to my heart. We had a wonderful visit and I know the Lord used Hillary to encourage the other girls here as well. When two southern gals get together in Germany there is no stopping us. I don't think people could believe there was someone else who had an accent like mine! We had the pleasure of spending the first day in Zurich, Switzerland and could not have asked for better weather. It was so relaxing to sit around and talk about all the things that were happening in Germany as well as on the home-front. Here are a couple pictures from the day.

Glamour shots by the tower!

The lake in Zurich.

Hillary "diving" into the lake. So realistic!

Along with visiting Zurich, Hillary had the exhilarating experience of watching one of my softball games! She was pretty much astounded with my skills and took a video to prove how incredible I am. We had a great time at the game...even though we got killed! Here is the video she took and a sweet picture of me in my uniform.

Lucky #13!!!

It was a delightful visit with Hillary and I am so thankful she got to meet all my friends and go to church. It is very encouraging for the girls to meet other christians and see that they are not alone in this world. Thanks for coming Hillary, you are greatly missed!

Mr. & Mrs. Phillip Young

It is such a blessing to see a Godly man and woman come together in marriage for the glory of the Lord. I would like to give a special congratulations to Phillip and Laura (not me) on their recent marriage. I am so sad I could not be there, but I know it was beautiful. The Lord is going to do mighty things in your family. In honor of your marriage I am dedicating this post to you. I hope you like the old school pictures.

Owen Hall, I will always love you!

Laura and me at JH Ranch.

Phillip after his nose job, it was a little red!

~The Wedding~

The happy couple! Congratulations!

The "WOODS"

Early in the week I was asked if I wanted to go the "the woods party" on Saturday night with a bunch of people. I was so excited all week thinking up all kinds crazy scenarios that would happen at a "woods party." I figured we would have to hike for a while to find this hidden party that would be in the middle of nowhere. I was told there was going to be a band, so of course I imagine this underground band that may be famous in the future playing in the dark with trees surrounding them. I talked to everyone about it, asking if they had ever been to one and what it was like. To my surprise no one had really been to one supposedly and they did not tell me anything about it. Needless to say I was really excited about going and kind of nervous. I thought it was going to be way cooler than anything I had ever been to. We began our journey around 9 pm on Saturday night and I wore my cutest outfit of course. We met at "little montgomery" (my house) and then proceeded to Desiree's house to catch up with everyone else. We all piled into about 5 cars and pulled out for the great adventure. I was filling with anticipation with each mile (or kilometer here) and then suddenly after about 5 minutes in the car we all started to turn onto this small side street. All I could think was "it is all starting," and then suddenly we stopped. The "WOODS" party was nowhere even near the woods, it was a stage with a bunch of picnic tables lined up. There was no hiking unless you count squeezing in between a shrub and the car. I could not believe they were calling this a "woods" party in the middle of the Black Forest. The underground band playing in the dark that I had expected was 2 guys who played American covers and went by the name "Queerbeet. Seriously, that was there name. They actually were pretty good at the beginning, as the night proceeded they started to play German music that even the German's did not like. We did end up having a lot of fun and enjoyed watching the older couples dance. I think the senior citizen age outnumbered us by double. Here are some of the pictures from the night.

Here is Matt, the new intern from New York. He is playing baseball with Alex and is a huge Yankees fan....the southerners are completely outnumbered, and I am not sure I even count Alex.

Here is a group of guys: Marc, Sebi (one of my coaches), Oezi (internet genius), and Alex.

Here is Kathy and me.

Claudine and Andrea were trying to do the sorority pose, and I think they mastered it. Andrea did try to cross her legs at first, but I told here that is not part of the pose.

Stephen thought it was a "forest party" and dressed up like he was a lumberjack. I have no idea why tucking your jeans into your socks helps, but apparently in the world of Stephen it does. He also brought his work gloves for no reason what so ever. He definitely got some looks.

Here is Desiree and Stephen. Notice the tractor hat as well, I guess he wanted to look like he could drive a tractor in case anyone asked or got stranded in the "woods."

The girls.

It was a really entertaining night even without the mystery or "woods." We had great fellowship and the opportunity to hang out with a larger group than usual. Thanks everyone for your prayers and I will keep you updated on things that are happening. love lg

ALL WHITE PARTY

It has been a busy couple of weeks and the events seem to continuously occur. I have been trying to soak in all that is German and have had a blast getting to know everyone in the process. Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending an "ALL WHITE" party with my friends Sophie, Leonie, and Theresa in honor of their upcoming graduation. Needless to say it was a high school party that definitely brought me back to my glory days. Highschool seems to be the same everywhere, and yet we love it. There were black lights, hence the "white" party, so I wore white pants, but was told if I wore ALL WHITE I would look ridiculous, so thank goodness I didn't do that! I'm sure a 23 year old American who can't dance looked normal there. They also had glow sticks, a disco ball, and a smoke machine.....please don't be too jealous.

Here is Sophie and me at the party!

Here is Sophie in action on the dance floor. She was showing me some new moves, the way the German's dance!

Here we are after we did a little dancing and started to "glisten."

It was a fun night and I met a lot of people. The DJ was stuck in the 90's, but I guess the kids in Germany did not realize that because we all did the macerana dance and it was cool! I never thought the macerana would be cool, but if you love it you should visit Germany, you would fit right in! 

Softball!

So I know this is what everyone really wants to see, so I am going to give you a glimpse of me in action on the softball field. All joking aside, I actually have been enjoying softball and I am not completely terrible. We had a game on Saturday that we won 19-9 and I scored twice! Although I did get on base once by walking, I did also get a hit. I know you are all laughing at the thought of me hitting and rightly so. I did not realize I had no idea how to run the bases until I was on first. It was an interesting experience, but I did score so I guess it went okay. A group of girls on the team made chocolate chip cookies and gave some to our coaches, so they have been nice to me even with my lack of softball knowledge. It always a good idea to bribe people.  Here are some of the pictures of me and the team.

This is Theresa, she is the catcher and my batting partner. She is super cute and a great dancer!

This is Andrea. She is the pitcher and is awesome at rock band singing (we started a band after bible study, I "play" the drums...I am about as good at drums as I am at softball!)

This is Claudine and Desiree at practice. Claud is the short stop and Desi plays first base. They are both really good and we have a lot of fun messing around together. Claud is my personal driver and I am so thankful to have her help me so I don't have to ride my ghetto bike!

Here I am at my first practice. I was trying to show off my sweet cleats.

This is Marie, Nadine, and Natasha. Marie is my outfield friend, we don't catch too many balls, but we have a lot of fun trying. We are always really hungry and end up talking about food the whole time at practice. Nadine and Natasha play 3rd and 2rd respectively. 

Here is Andrea again and Kathy. Kathy is hilarious and we had an awesome beat box session in the dugout during the game on Saturday. She plays in the outfield as well, so we continually talk about Mexican food and are going to make tacos soon! 

Well that is the update for softball, we are having a great time and we actually won a game so that is exciting. I will be posting pictures from an all white party I went to soon (and I have to add it was supposed to be for high schoolers!). Stay tuned!

Mi Casa

So I know it has been a while since my last post, but life has been a little busy and I have not had the internet at my house until tonight! Speaking of my house I took some pictures so you could imagine me living over here.

This is the view from my bathroom, and the street that I live on.

This the staircase to my top floor apartment.

This is the kitchen that hopefully I will use to learn to cook German food. If you notice they have included a handful of German novels that I read in my spare time...I wish!

This is my bed, it is comfortable and easy to make which is always a plus!

This is the living room area (my bed is to the right). The coach folds out, so if anyone wants to come visit just let me know. I am currently sitting in front of the coffee table because it is the only place my internet works.

This is the bathroom. It is really spacious and pretty much works like any other bathroom. 

This is the huge balcony that opens out from my bedroom. The softball team is going to have a slumber party this summer on it. I am also watering the flowers and banana trees on it so I hope they stay alive!

This is the view from my balcony. It is a beautiful backyard and the couple who live in the house are so cute. Apparently Walter (that is the owners name) likes to wear a speedo in the summer so that is something to look forward to. I will try to capture him in all his glory! 

I hope you liked the tour. I will post pictures of everyone soon and the things we have been doing. Let me know if you want to see anything specific and I will try to take pictures for you. Love LG

Last Minute Adventures

So in my last post I mentioned a few of Montgomery's finest hot spots: Jalapenos, Biscuits baseball, my backyard, and of course Target. With that in mind I thought I might give you a few more which I have made a special effort to visit before I leave you and head over to Germany. I had the wonderful opportunity to eat with two of my oldest friends on Saturday night at the always delicious Tomatino's. There is something about childhood friendships that put you completely at ease, maybe it is that they have seen it all and still stand by you. I love how comfortable the atmosphere becomes when you can let your guard down and truly talk about your life. It does not hurt either to have a little pizza to push the conversation along. After the Italian feast, Christy (who you may remember as my partner in crime from the batting cages) surprised me with what may be the greatest goodie bag of all time. All I can say is that I have enough double bubble to feed a small army or better yet a softball team! It was such a treat I documented it with a picture.

Next on the list of places to make a pit stop had to be the TPS staple Chappy's Deli. How can you go wrong with a menu like that? To round out my time in Montgomery I felt it essential to visit a personal favorite and what some may consider the highlight of the city: SNOWBIZ! How often can you get a deliciously refreshing snow cone (margarita and vanilla flavor) while gazing out on the Toys-R-Us parking lot and taking in the intoxicating smell of Captain D's. I am sure you are getting in your car right now to visit yourself! So that rounds out the best of the best and I hope you take some time to experience it yourself. I leave on Thursday and will hopefully not have any problems, please pray that the journey would go smoothly and I am not a zombie when I get their.  My next post will actually be from Germany!

Biscuits

It seems as though the time I have left on Alabama soil is diminishing at a rapid pace. To soak in all that truly is Montgomery I have diligently been trying to hit the hot spots before I leave.  As you know Montgomery is full of such places and to really experience them all you have to allow a good 2 days. I have made the quintessential Target run to pick up a buggy full of things I probably don't really need, except for the new watch I got for 12.99! I have also made a point to eat at Jalapenos and devour my last greasy Mexican meal accompanied by the soothing sounds of screaming children and of course the fountain in the middle of the restaurant. Yesterday I had the opportunity to lay by my very own fountain in the backyard while I soaked up the rays and threw the ball for my dog. To round out the day of adventures I decided to do a little research on my new sport of choice...baseball. I had the immense pleasure of watching the Biscuits play the Baybears and win in a very exciting game where I was not hit by a foul ball (seems to always makes for a positive experience). I must say baseball is not a sport to watch alone and knowing that I called in reinforcements which included: my parents, hillary, elizabeth, and my newest friend Kiesha. Towards the middle of the game we all decided that I might need to invest in some safety gear such as a mouth guard, some kind of face shield, knee pads, or just about anything that might help me from the future injuries that are sure to come. It was a wonderful night to cheer on the Biscuits and here are some pictures from the night.

Go Biscuits Go!

Kiesha's first Biscuits Game!

The ever beautiful Elizabeth and Hillary!

My Victory Cry!

Needless to say it was a perfect night to enjoy baseball and the fellowship of great friends. Please continue to pray for my journey to Germany, I leave April 30th and am expectant of all the Lord has in store. 

The Cages

If you read my last post, you know that I am taking up a new sport: softball. To help in the process of actually playing I decided that it was time to face the cages. I am speaking of course about the batting cages, which I might add have a very nice staff. To avoid looking like a complete idiot I decided to enlist the help of a seasoned veteran and former dance queen Christy G. Although she has been out of the sport for a while, she did manage to save some necessities for a successful trip to the batting cages.  She arrived with everything a beginner would need: a bat (this I am told is key to hitting the ball), a batting helmet, glove oil, and a cap that you will see later. I think we must have looked extra pathetic because the nice man who runs it gave us 3 extra coins for no charge. We started on the fast pitch machine at 40 miles per hour and never really figured out that you can move the machine so the balls are actually in your strike zone. Needless to say, I think a 6 year old must have hit before us because they were so low Christy and I were practically playing golf. After a couple rounds we sped it up and had a good time laughing at each other. We definitely were entertaining if nothing else. Here are a couple pictures of us in action. 

This is me trying to not get hit when I first stepped into the cages. I have enough injuries as it is, there is no need to add to the list.    

   

This is me attempting to actually hit the ball.

  

For some strange reason (or the fact that I was using  a death grip the entire time) the bat made my hands all black. I guess softball really is a dirty sport. Notice also the great hat Christy brought me, I look very legitimate. 

Thanks for all your prayers and I will keep you updated on how the practice goes until I leave. 16 days to go.