The Beauty of Spring

Another blossom in the garden, another bud on the tree. The sun shows its smiling face earlier and stays out later. The brown dreary world changes into fresh green garments. All this is a sign of Spring!
I found many newly bloomed Forget-Me-Notes in our yard. They are my favorite flower!

I managed to catch a busy bee collecting nectar. After our long winter, I don't even mind the bugs emerging from hibernation. They have their own unique beauty as much as the first spring flowers.
Spring is my favorite season of the year. The whole earth seems to come alive again each year in a new way. Every spring seems greener then the year before, every flower seems brighter then the year before, and everything seems newer then the year before. Makes me wish it were Spring all year round.
Tell about your favorite season, and why, in the comments :) And don't forget to get outside sometime this week to enjoy Spring!

Schönes Östern!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! Here are a few things we did for Easter, and in preparation for Easter...

We started our Easter Sunday with going to church. The youth group at church made a small presentation with Easter images and corresponding bible verses that we read.

We painted Easter eggs! Though we don't have an Easter egg hunt any more, we do enjoy decorating them, then setting them out in a basket as an Easter table ornament.

Rebecca is enjoying chocolate from her Easter basket. We always have an Easter basket hunt around our house. Even Mom and Dad have an Easter basket.

Two of the occupants from our Easter baskets :)

To remind us of the real reason for Easter we have our tomb we make. Usually it is made from rice crispies treats but this year we tried it using corn flakes. All the other objects are from a moldable white chocolate with food coloring added for interest. My mom had much icing left over from an abundance of cakes she has been decorating recently; therefore, we added small details using icing. It turned out to be the most colorful tomb scene we have ever made.

With all the preparations for Easter, it is important not to forget what Easter is all about...

"The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay." Matthew 28:5,6

Felsen Putzer

The Swiss truly have a great sense of humor! Watch and enjoy...

Judo Time!

Recently I spent a fun-filled weekend amid the beautiful alps in a ferien town in Fiesch with my Judo Club, Judo Kwai Oensingen (judokwaioensingen.ch).

In all, there were twenty people who came! The more the merrier :) And that was definitely true. Even the morning jogs at 6:30 seem almost fun because of the friends who are around, though I put an emphasis on ALMOST. We all would much rather have preferred sleeping in till breakfast which was at 7:30.

We did much judo throughout the weekend. Once the Judo club who usually met there joined in with our training. It was cozy to say the least, us all being squished in their not-so-large dojo (judo training room).
We were taught moves from the black belt, which is the highest level of judo. I admit most of us did not look as professional as that picture.

We were all exhausted by the end!!!

Of course we did manage to make time for games. The one guy plays Unihockey and taught us how to play.

When the weekend was over everyone slept in the small bus all the way back to Oensingen where we were picked up by family members. The very next day after the weekend, was a normal Judo training again for everyone except me. I did not take part in the training, instead I did my test for the next level belt, the orange belt, and passed! It may not seem like that high of a level to those who know Judo, but for me, it feels good to not be the lowest level anymore :) Besides, my orange belt coordinates very well with my white outfit. 

Guess What!?!

Guess who I met!!! Tuesday evening my family went into Basel and as we were heading home my mom exclaimed, "Isn't that Roger Federer?" And sure enough it was! We couldn't believe it! Approaching him, we chatted for a few minutes and I was able to get my picture taken with him :) ....

... April Fools :D

It is amazing what Photoshop® can do, just remember, you can't believe every picture you see :) April Fools is always a fun day for pranks and jokes. Tell about some April Fools jokes you have done. Perhaps I will use it for next year :)