All Moved In~

Our little Christmas Village has come ALIVE!

We have had a fun couple of weeks buying all
sorts of fun things to have a "working" village.

 We started with the church and other buildings 

then added many, many trees, a Christmas Market,

bridges, a ski lift, carolers, a Marktplatz sign, shoppers,

snowman builders, a tree farm sales stop, even some

skiiers and snowboarders. 

 It is very sweet and we loved putting things in 

our village that represent all the fun things we 

like to do as a family in the winter or for the 

holidays or things we see as we visit the 

European cities in the holiday season.

A cozy little Christmas village!

~Merry Christmas~

Celebrating Our Saviors Birth~

Today I took the time to walk through the 

Bad Godesberg Christmas Market since

we will be leaving and miss the last week

of the beautiful lights and decorations.

A look down one of the main shopping streets.

 This is the covered pavilion that houses 

Bad Godesbergs BEAUTIFUL Nativity display.

I returned during the day to get better photos.

As you walk around the pavilion you will see

four different scenes depicting Christ's birth.

 This is the scene where the angel Gabriel visits Mary.

The next scene is Joseph and Mary 

journeying to Bethlehem.

 Here they are entering into Bethlehem.

Villagers about their work...

 Women and men in the town market.

 This appears to be the shepards in the fields

when they see the star above.

 All the shepards and others coming to see the

new born baby Jesus in the humble manger.

 Angels above...

 The wise men coming from afar.

A BEAUTIFUL display to have for celebrating
Christ's birth!

"Love" Cookies~

I couldn't resist!

I finally broke down and bought a

Lebkuchen heart shaped cookie!

The flavor is similar to gingerbread, which I like.
They have messages written on them.
It is fun to give them to family and friends.
You use them for decorating, like on your tree.
They last for YEARS!
I know someone who's had one for DECADES....

 I remember seeing these while living in Prague.

I like this one for my sweety!

Hot Chocolate Mornings~

Bad Godesberg has a wonderful little hot chocolate shop 

that the women frequent for any good reason!

Last week was birthday parties...

This morning was a goodbye party for Lisa, one
of the mom's at the school who contributes her
great talents in making fun things happen at BIS.

Monday Markets~

Today was another great Christmas Market day!

Despite the VERY COLD weather 

that moved in over night.

 The first enjoyable stop was an outdoor nativity scene
in one of Cologne's many Christmas Markets.

 I really liked the dark roofs with the white fronts

in this particular Christmas Market, and there was

plenty to enjoy looking at.  At noon the crowds 

were not so bad, but by the time we left at 2:30 we

were starting to bump shoulders with shoppers.

 Another of Cologne's many markets,

in the background, to be visited.

 This setting was cozy for this market area.

I loved the garland and lights hung on the huts.

You can see the crowds starting to thicken.

 These are little elves moving in a circle around this post.

There is a legend about them...

 This candy maker cut us some samples of her

freshly cooked, warm, hard candy.  Deeeelicious!

 Linze and Rahel enjoying the Christmas markets with me.

 This is the Christmas Market right next to the

Cologne Dome that you see in the background.

 Another beautiful tree decorated for the holidays,

next to the statue of the legend...

According to "history" the Cologne shoemaker

was always able to get his shoes made very

quickly as well as keep his home very tidy.

His wife became curious why this was.  

So she decided to wait up one night and see 

how it was done.  While going down the steps 

to catch whomever was helping the shoemaker

she bumped some of the tiny elves down and 

they were so frightened they ran away never

to return and help the shoemaker again!

 Which is why it is now said that in Cologne,

"Everyone has to do their own work!"

Ha! Cute story!

 Later in the evening I was happily in the Bonn 

Christmas Market.  It was very crowded!   

I was able to take this photo in a quick moment 

when one of the areas was clear.  Here are seen one 

place where many people are standing at the tables 

in front of the outdoor wine booths drinking the 

popular and traditional warm wine of the season.

 This is the pyramid we took a picture of 

during the day while shopping last Saturday.

 The church on the square makes a beautiful 

backdrop for all of the festive booths lit up below.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the season!
The cookie heart booth!
These are hard, ginger bread type, cookies with 
messages written on them.  People buy them
for one another as a gift, not for eating.
Hmmmm, I'm thinking I need to get one for Jim...
I just LOVE the ATMOSPHERE!!
SO FESTIVE and COZY!!!

Sunday Meal Tradition~

What a great opportunity our older

children have had attending BYU

together the past one and a half years!

The memories are countless!

Chandra has been a wonderful sister,
and host, cooking a delicious meal
each Sunday for Tyler and her brothers.
For us knowing they had at least one
good meal a week and more importantly
time being together as a family
has been a true joy and comfort.

Outdoor Nativity Play~

This Sunday we took the opportunity to visit 

another Christmas Market.  

This one was special since we went to 

watch a live performance of the Nativity story.

The entrance to the Satzvey Castle
decorated for the Christmas season.

 We arrived just at dusk to see the castle all lit up.

 It was cold but worth the hour long trip.

Each year during the Christmas Holiday's the
 Satzvey Castle offers a live performance
depicting the announcement and birth of the Savior.
We walk through a field to four different settings.

It includes live animals INCLUDING TWO CAMEL'S,

with two humps on their backs. :-)

The WALL~

Our Sunday dinner guests were Dana and Linze.

Besides eating some good food they 

did a makeover in Cody's room.

Cody had "a few" mormonad posters laying around
so his room was spiced up with some new wall decor.

Nothing like some good thoughts 

to wake up to or end your day with!

Just Down the Street~

We finally had an evening to visit our small

little Christmas Market in Bad Godesberg.

It had it's own sweet, charm that was unique.
One of my top favorite things to see of the season!

In the main market area there is an enclosed stand
 depicting four major stages of Christ's upcoming birth.

 As you walk around the circulare enclosure 

there four events depicted with small statues.

Here is the scene of Mary being visited by the angel 

Gabriel to tell Mary she will be the mother of Jesus.

You can see the next scene to the 

right of Mary and the angel.

To the left is Mary in a purple cloak, on a donkey

with Joseph at her side leading her into Bethlehem.

Only to find no room at the Inn...

The baby Jesus in the manger.

The shepards are present as well as the 

wise men on the right of the scene.

Some of the pretty holiday decorations
in the city of Bad Godesberg.