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?).

Hergiswil Glassworks

We visited a real glass factory on our way down to Interlaken last weekend, and the kids even tried blowing glass! We have their glass balls hanging in our gameroom at home now. It was an excellent museum tour, which ended with a chance to actually observe the glass being blown. And, Elise got a lesson in "low cost vs. differentiation" (from her parents who both majored in Economics) as we explained to her that the factory survived because they switched from competing on cost to competing on differentiation. And, yes, we helped out by buying a few souvenirs from the glass shop - it's definitely worth a premium to see them actually making the glass item from molten glass right before your eyes!

Baby Meredith Arrives!

Six days past her due date, baby Meredith arrived on Tuesday, January 20th.

We went to the hospital to be induced on Monday morning. The hours passed by, with only small contractions in response to the Synotocinon. I stayed overnight and they continued to try different methods (with each change in midwife shift, I thought, "We'll definitely have the baby during the next 8 hours!).

After they broke my water, I slowly started having real contractions, and labor began slowly. In fact, labor was right during the presidential inauguration broadcast, which we watched on CNN while Nancy had an epidural. Finally, Meredith was born at 10:33. The birth was miraculous. Dave cut the cord and they gave Meredith to me immediately. As with the birth of each of our children, Dave and I are in awe that this special spirit has been entrusted to us by our Heavenly Father. What an incredible blessing!

We are so thankful to all of our friends who offered help - and especially to our friend Susanne (the mom of Elise's friend Nici), who was there to pick up and take care of the kids with each change in plans, and to our friend and neighbor Krystal who came over to stay with the kids late Tuesday night until Dave got home after midnight! We thought we had everything all planned, but of course it happened differently than we imagined. It was so gratifying to have so much help and kindness shown to our family - and it just doesn't stop!

The kids were so excited to see Meredith. Elise was literally bouncing around on Monday and again on Tuesday, expecting her to come. So, when they finally got to see their new sister on Wednesday afternoon, they were ecstatic.

We chose the name "Meredith Grace" - "Meredith" because it is elegant and classic, and "Grace" after her great, great grandmother, Edith Grace Beckstead Holt.

Meredith and I stayed in the hospital until Sunday morning and had a wonderful stay - there was absolutely no reason to leave! As I had heard, the private Swiss hospitals are like hotels, and this particular one was amazing. The food was great (you ordered your meal each day and had additional options from their a la carte room service menu). The nurses were terrific - so kind and helpful. And, the nights were wonderful - they took care of the baby between feedings so I could sleep (and I got stretches of sleep as long as 5 1/2 hours! between feedings). The first night I woke up and buzzed the nurse because I thought I should be feeding the baby. She came in and said, "She's still sleeping. You can get some more sleep!" So, we both came home well-rested and in good health.

Dave was very busy at home with the kids' normal routine, in addition to hosting Nathan's pirate birthday party at our house (which we had postponed until what we thought would be well after the baby arrived - unfortunately I had to miss it!).

We're home now and enjoying our time together as a family, as well as all the kindness shown to us by friends and neighbors.

Nathan's Birthday

After being king on Dreikönigstag, Nathan was all ready to be the birthday boy a few days later! He turned 4 on January 11th! He, along with Elise and Will, decorated cupcakes for preschool the week before his birthday, then had cake and a special birthday dinner on the weekend. His birthday was on a Sunday and he got lots of attention at church. Elise wrote a special birthday poem for Nathan (which was really sweet), and Nathan's big present was a new bike. He's excited to ride it (he's ridden around in the playroom, but we'll have to take it outside when it gets a bit warmer). Nathan is still awaiting his birthday party with friends from preschool and church - we've scheduled it for Jan. 23rd, hopefully the baby will be born and I'll be home from the hospital by then!

Dreikönigstag (Three Kings Day) - King for a Day!

We celebrated a fun holiday earlier this month! In the Christian calendar, January 6th is when the three kings visited the stable where Christ was born. On that day each year, people in Switzerland and Southern Germany buy Dreikönigskuchen, a ring of bread rolls, one of which contains a small plastic king. Whoever ends up with the king in their piece of bread gets a crown and can tell everyone else in the family what to do for the day.
We had our Dreikönigskuchen in the evening on the 6th, so we decided whoever got the king could be "King" for the rest of the evening and the entire next day. We all took our rolls from the ring of bread, searching for the king. Then, Nathan said, "Hey, what's this?" as he pulled out a small plastic king from his bread. He got the crown, and with lots of advice from Elise, gladly ruled over everyone for the next day.

The Holidays In and Around Switzerland

During the Christmas holidays, we had a chance to go on lots of fun outings in the area.
Einsiedeln
We went to Einsiedeln, a traditional Swiss town just an hour away, to see the town and go sledding. We went to an old traditional gingerbread bakery and to see a large nativity scene in the town. This was also the first chance we had for the kids to use their new sled (as we didn't have snow at our house during the week after Christmas). The kids had a great time sledding at the big hill behind the monastery in Einsiedeln.

Bern
We went to the city of Bern, Switzerland, to the LDS temple. It was the first LDS temple in Europe and it was wonderful to be able to visit it (there is translation into all different languages, of course). The kids were taken care of by some friends from our ward while Dave and I went to the temple. Then, we all went into the city of Bern for lunch and a visit to the Bear Pit - Bern was named after Bären, or "bears", and there are some brown bears on display in a habitat in the center of the city. Einstein's apartment is also in Bern, but was closed the day we were there - so of course we'll be back!

Circus Connelli

We went to a Christmas circus in Zurich that was incredible! It was in a big tent right on the bank of the river and included acts from all over the world (the group from the US was a gospel choir from the South). It was a very fun event, with amazing acts of juggling and acrobatics. We were sitting on the front row, so Nathan and Elise were each handed a sparkler as part of the finale (very exciting!).

Wintersports
We went skiing, sledding, and ice skating several times during the holidays. There is a sledding hill very close to our house, which is great! Our favorite day for skiing was at Flumserberg, a resort about an hour away from our house. It was so majestic - while the valley was in the fog, we passed through the fog layer on our way up to the mountain and it was clear, sunny and beautiful at the resort. The Alps seemed to circle the place! Elise skied on her own (sometimes with Dave) and did a great job. And, Nathan went on the kids' magic carpet and came down with help from Mom or Dad. And, it clicked! Nathan kept working at it, and by the afternoon, he was saying, "Ready, Setty, Go" and squealing as he went down the hill. He learned how to slow down and turn, and then he felt really confident. It was so fun to see him learn this! And, while William really wanted to ski too, he was fairly patient being pulled around on the sled. Elise, Nathan and Dave went ice skating twice, and Elise went two more times during her last week of vacation. Each of these two times, there were kids there that she knew from school, and she ended up having a great time with them. I am so impressed with her for being so flexible and open to new friends and experiences!
New Year's
We celebrated the New Year at a very fun party at the house of a family from our church congregation. While the kids came in pajamas and had videos, games, dinner and snacks galore upstairs, the adults had a beautiful dinner downstairs. That was followed by a white elephant exchange for the adults, fireworks outside for the kids, and an incredible local fireworks show in the little town. These friends live on the other side of the lake from us, and at midnight there was a fireworks display that could rival many we've seen - and it was done by an individual, not the town! It went on for such a long time, we joked that next year they would have it synchronized to music. While it hadn't snowed since before Christmas, there was a big snowstorm the evening of Dec. 31st (called Silvester in German). So, the drive to the party wasn't so easy, but it was really, really beautiful! The kids all stayed up until midnight to ring in the New Year! This will be a hard tradition to beat!
Shopping in Germany
Switzerland is expensive! We heard this before we came, and it's very true. Many people go shopping in Germany, France and Austria to get better prices. We're 45 minutes from the German border, so we decided to go to Konstanz on a shopping trip (Dave and the boys went to an aquarium for part of the time - as shopping is not their favorite activity!). It was fun, but we didn't really end up buying too much (although groceries, especially beef, were much less expensive). Given the high prices here, it seems that the Swiss just don't focus quite so much on shopping. The Swiss have very nice quality things, but don't seem to amass as much as is typical in the United States. That is evident in things like the smaller size of houses / apartments, people always out walking and enjoying nature, and a real focus on recycling. It's more about experiences than things! That's a lesson we hope to make an integral part of our lives!

A Merry Christmas in Switzerland

We had a very nice Christmas here in Switzerland - going ice skating at the local rink on Christmas Eve (Will and I enjoyed drinking hot chocolate and watching from the restaurant), then having dinner at home followed by some of our other family traditions. This included reading the story of Christ's birth, each of us deciding on something we can do during the coming year as a gift to Christ, and the kids' opening one present each - new pajamas.

We had a special treat when we woke up on Christmas morning, as it has snowed! We had a big snowstorm the week before Christmas, but rain and warmer weather had melted virtually all of the snow a few days before Christmas. But, in time or Christmas, we received just enough to make it a beautiful morning. Santa Claus found us here at our new address, with all of us getting some treats in our stockings, and the kids getting a sled (schlitten in German). We spent the morning opening presents. Elise's big present was a new ski outfit, Nathan received a racetrack, and Will got a bowling game. Even though we are far from our extended family and many of our friends, we seemed to have no shortage of presents! And, we have received many Christmas cards from friends in the US and around the world - keeping in touch through these cards is one of my favorite parts of the holiday season.

In the afternoon of Christmas day, we went to the forest with some friends for a cookout. These friends are a family from western Canada with a son who is almost 2. They live on our street, just a couple of houses down. On the path in the forest, there is a cookout area complete with a grill and a covered table. So, we roasted sausages and had salad, hot chocolate, and S'mores. It was very fun - but very cold!!! So, we didn't linger too long, but quickly came back home to our warm house. But, it was a nice, traditional Swiss activity on the holiday, with some great friends.