Meredith is Blessed

Meredith looked like a little angel today for her blessing at church - and she acted like one too. She was wide awake, but didn't cry at all. Dave gave a beautiful blessing, and the Spirit was very strong. He held her up after the blessing for everyone to see, and she was just so beautiful, with her big bright eyes and full head of dark hair! Listening to the blessing, I had such an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for my children, and for Dave and the priesthood he holds which enabled him to give the blessing. I even decided to bear my testimony in church today (in German, no less!). We have truly been blessed with a wonderful family!

Happy Birthday, Dave!

We celebrated Dave's birthday in March, in between his trips to the US for work! We had a weekend of festivities, with a trip to Uetliberg - the highest mountain peak in Zurich. We drove, walked, then took a train up to the top. After lunch at the train station restaurant, we hiked the final 10 minutes (about 25 minutes for our family) to the top. There was a lot of snow still there, and a fun observation tower which Elise and Dave climbed. Now every time we drive anywhere around Zurich, we notice Uetliberg and recall our hike to the top!

We had our now traditional cake for Dave's birthday (these special cakes from the Japanese baker are beginning to feel like an entitlement), a birthday dinner, and gifts from the family.

Spoiled with Kindness

In the six weeks since Meredith was born, we have been overwhelmed with so much kindness from so many people here. We had more meals brought to us than we could have imagined (from families at Elise's school, church, and Dave's work), so many gifts and cards for Meredith (including a birthday cake), a baby shower, the boys' preschool generously keeping the boys longer while I was in the hospital, and countless other offers for help if we needed anything! We are so grateful for all the kindness.
And, we had a wonderful babysitter named Cristel who came over in the afternoons to stay with Meredith while I went to pick up the boys, and she played with the boys while I took Elise to various activities. The kids loved Cristel and had so much fun with her (and it was wonderful for me to be able to go to the grocery store without any kids - and even take the older kids sledding one day at our nearby sledding hill while Cristel took care of Meredith at home). Cristel was here studying German, but just returned to the US this week. She really made a difference for us when Meredith was so young - and we all miss her!

Meredith is growing well and is adored by the kids. Every morning when they wake up, Nathan and William's first words are, "Where's Meredith?" When I respond with an evasive, "She's sleeping," they immediately go looking for her - either in her room or in Mom and Dad's bed. They love being the big brothers. And, Elise is a huge help at home - she is so responsible. What great kids we have been blessed with!

Nancy's Birthday

I had my birthday on February 19th, and we celebrated with breakfast in bed for me (Elise and Dave's surprise idea), then cake and family presents at night. We have this amazing cake baker (who is apparently a pastry chef at a 5-star hotel). He's Japanese and speaks only a little English and German, but was referred to us by the mother of one of Elise's classmates. The cakes are so great - covered with fruit on top. We've now had 5 cakes from him (after living here just 6 months). In any case, my birthday cake was great - and the gifts, especially those that were hand-made by the kids (Elise has picked up knitting) were wonderful!

A Trip to Interlaken

Last week was "Sportferien", aka ski vacation week, at Elise's school. Since it was so soon after Meredith was due, we didn't plan a big trip, but we did spend two nights in Interlaken. Interlaken is about 2 hours south of Zürich, situated between two lakes, the Brienzersee and the Thunersee. We stayed at one of the nicest hotels in town, thanks to a great deal I found on the internet (it gets expensive when you have to book adjoining rooms to accommodate our family of 6)! What a beautiful area this is. It's called the Jungfrau region, because of the Jungfrau peak. There are tons of wintersports here.

We got our first taste of real Swiss sledding (sledging in British English, and schlittel in German). This is serious business - there are sledge runs just like there are ski runs. We went to Grindelwald, a popular ski area 15 minutes up the hill from Interlaken. We took a train (not a ski lift - you take a train up the mountain and get off where you want to start sledging), and had a great time. Dave and I took turns staying with Meredith at the lodge half-way up the mountain while the others went up higher and sledged down. Elise took Nathan, and Dave took Will on the first run - so much fun!

We also went to Thun and saw the Schloss Thun (Thun castle) and some of the Altstadt. The whole area is just beautiful with the two lakes on each side, and massive mountains shooting up on the other two sides. No wonder this is such an international tourist destination!

We ate at the Des Alpes restaurant while we were there, trying the cheese fondue appetizer one night, and the chocolate fondue dessert the second night (our family's favorite - hands down - was the chocolate). Now we're investigating the best chocolate fondue set to buy so we can enjoy chocolate fondue at home (you're dipping fruit in the chocolate, so it's somewhat healthy - right?).