Germany has a CIRCUS!

My closest friends can attest to my love of the circus. I am not sure why I love the circus, but I really do. To most people the clowns tend to be creepy the smells are less than appealing and the thought of men in spandex is appalling. Although the above mentioned are not on my top 20 favorite's list, I still like the circus. There is something a little mysterious about the performers with their strange costumes, interesting makeup, and nomad existence. I can still remember the tiger cup we ended up with after my first circus experience.

I did not know what to expect from a German circus and to top it off the Kaiser family circus. Needless to say I went into it with low expectations, but must admit I was pretty impressed. I took one of the little girls from our church TIA KELLEY with me. Here we are in the tent.

We had to take some pictures while we waited for the circus to start. Tia liked this clown and she thought I looked just like the high-wire performer...can't you see the resemblance (hahah!). I am thinking about wearing a feather headdress sometime to work.

The show began with horses running around and doing tricks like walking in circles and stepping up on the outside of the ring. It was entertaining and the old man that was directing them was cute in his red and gold suit.

I began to get a little suspicious

when the act that followed was a 12 year old girl named "Anita Kaiser" that basically hula-hooped for 15 minutes with a grand finale of 30 hoops going once around her body and falling to the ground. It was a valiant effort, but I could have done the same thing if I was wearing a feather headdress. The rest of the show proceeded to whittle away at the mystery of the circus and leave me with a feeling of "I will clap for you 12 year old Anita Kaiser!"

The show was helped by the performance of camels, elephants, llamas, and ostriches which ran around and sat on things. Here are a couple more pictures from the day's performances. During intermission you could visit the animals outside and we got an up-close and personal view.

This performance was the best one of the day. He kept going higher and higher and would do handstands each time. I even heard a couple gasps from the audience! Can you imagine if they saw Cirque du Soleil.

I like the way this picture turned out. No flash was allowed during the performances.

Tia got a little close to the longhorn!

It was a first for me to see humpback camels.

Trying to get the horse to show his teeth!

I think Tia almost got run over by the elephant. They were taking him inside for kids to pay for rides. He was looking a little droopy and sad. Well hope you liked the circus. It was an interesting experience!

American Honey

I will preface this by saying I am not typically a huge country fan, but the past couple weeks I can's stop listening to it. I downloaded the new Lady Antebellum album to add to my obsession and love this song. It reminds me of the hot Alabama summers. Enjoy! In case you were wondering the whole CD is really great, I would recommend it.

Flowers!

Some of my favorite flowers that are blooming in my neighborhood! The yards are smaller here than in the south but that makes for amazing gardens. The weather is getting warmer, so it is beginning to feel more like the summer. Let me know if you have any questions about life over here and I will try to answer them.

Our First Game!!!

This past Sunday we had our first softball game of the season. We are missing a handful of players from last year and have had to take on some new positions to fill the gaps.

Sheena (who is the model of the team) is our new catcher! She is a skinny little thing, but she is doing great! I love to get her to do her model walk (which I am trying to master during outfield practices) or pose for photos. It was her first game at catcher, but you could not even tell. She did a wonderful job.

Kathy played first base for a change. She is usually in the outfield with me, but for practice she took on a new position until the 6th inning where she had a minor collision with a base runner. Up until that point she was catching balls and taking names. We are all thankful she did not get very hurt very and was able to finish the game in right field.

The rest of the team shuffled around and played their best. I was in left field for most of the game and then was moved to center field. We played really well and were winning 7-2 for the first three innings. Everyone was amazed to be beating a team that plays a league higher. We also enjoyed their stunned silence as we scored 6 runs the first inning. After the third inning they put in their veteran pitcher and she kind of stunned us into silence. Unfortunately we ended up losing, but we didn't care by the end of the game. It was very encouraging for our team to see that we can play good when we concentrate. I will let you know how our regular season games go in the future. Here are a couple more pictures from the day.

Me and Anita (sorry for the crazy eyes, I was really ready for the photo!)

Nadine (outfield/3rd base) and Natasha (2nd base)

Desiree, Kathy, and Andrea before the game.

and the weather man said.......??????

In case you were wondering what the weather is like here in Neuenburg, Germany this about sums it up. It is cold, rainy, and overcast half the time and 10 minutes later it is sunny, warm and beautiful. You have to be prepared for everything! Hope the weather is nice in your area. I am ready for sun all the time.

NIC

I know you may think all I do each day is eat, play softball, or go to parties, but in reality I sit at a desk and design stuff for the church. To prove this fact I decided to show you some of things I have been

working on lately. The logo needed a little adjusting so I have made that my mission this week. It is not finished yet, but is coming along. Here is a version of it that I used for our new facebook page (Neuenburg International Church if you want to become a fan). I am still working on the colors and other details, but you get the idea. I hope you like it! Let me know if you have any brilliant suggestions.

I also made pictures for the events we have during the week. This is the picture for the evening worship service we have many Sundays in the summer due to players missing the morning service. I love the color scheme, it makes me want to paint something beautiful and hang it up.

Along with church services NIC has started a number of bible studies. It is exciting to see how the Lord is working in our little community. One of the new studies is for young men and they are studying the 10 Commandments. A young man from our church who many call Big Alex is leading the study.

Well I hope you like the designs. The creative juices have been pumping out some work lately but there is a lot left to complete.

**We have our first softball game Sunday so I will give you an update soon about how it goes!

Easter Sunday

Well here in Germany you may not see floral patterns, white dresses, and little girls with hats at an Easter Service but the celebration is just as festive. We had a wonderful 6:30 a.m. sunrise service to celebrate Easter or in German....Ostergottesdienst. Driving to church the sun had not begun to rise over the Hochblauen mountain but thirty minutes into the service light began to fill the room along with a chorus of singers to praise our Might Creator. After the service we were blessed to fellowship as a church and enjoy an incredible breakfast. I took some pictures of the smiling faces after partaking in such a feast!

I hope your Easter Service was as nice as ours. Enjoy the pictures!