Poor Grace

Grace came home from school yesterday with a fever. While I was making dinner she was taking a bath. After a while I went to check on her and I found her like this...

Guess that's the sign of a sick girl! 

AJ's German Fußball Team

Jackson recently joined up with our village (and 3 others that are around us) for weekly practices at the Bürgerhaus. We are in the process of getting his players pass which will allow him to start playing in the games. When we receive it he will be a part of the "JVF 5-Eckstein."
It was a big decision to join because he had to make a choice between soccer or karate which he has been a part of for the past 4 years. He loves soccer and really has a talent for it, but on the other had has come far in karate earning his belts. We let him think about it for a few days and he decided soccer would be good for him. We are looking forward for this new adventure in the German league!

My S.T.A.R. Kiddos

Both the kids came home today with a STAR Student award. We are so proud of them! 

Grace got hers for: Thoughtful

Jackson got his for: Studious

Halloween Fun!

For Halloween this year we decided not to fight the base traffic and go to the church "Trunk or Treat."

It was a great choice and the kids enjoyed it so much more! 

Jackson was Darth Vader and Grace was a ballerina.

 Grace and her friend, Jenna, from her kinder class were attached to the hip all night.

 I love that when we got home the kids dumped their candy out to organize and count it. I loved doing that when I was younger!

A Letter about Emma Jean

Carol wrote this letter below to Jason and I the night Emma died. I love how it captures Emma's life in a nutshell. I will treasure it always. Thank you for writing this...

Emma Jean
 
 Once upon a time there was the nicest and cutest dog anyone had ever known that was born into this world; her name was Emma Jean. She knew that she was about to be chosen by someone that would make sure she had the best life a dog could ever want. She waited patiently for the person to come and choose her from all of her other brothers and sisters and take her to her new home.
 
 That day finally arrived and it was like the person that came in to pick a dog could see no other dog but her! That person was also a very nice young man named Jason. Now Jason didn't know at that time that he would be getting a new job that would take him far away from where Emma was born but Emma was ready to go anywhere that Jason would go because she loved Jason and knew that he loved her too. 
 
 The job that Jason got was a teaching job in Okinawa, Japan. It was really far away from where she lived but she knew that somehow Jason would make sure she got to where he was going to be living. 
 
 Emma was then sent to Michigan where her Grandma and Grandpa lived and it was decided that Emma would have to stay there for a while until it got cool enough in Japan for her to be allowed to fly there. Her stay in Michigan was not very long and soon enough she was on her way to Okinawa. Once there she was just happy to be anywhere that Jason was. He took her to the Ocean and threw tennis balls in the water and she loved swimming out to them to catch them and bring them back. Sometimes she would run out so many times that the coral would cut the pads on the bottom of her feet and she would have to be carried back to the car. We'll maybe not carried but her Grandma sure thought she should have been!
 
 While Jason was in Germany before getting the job in Okinawa he met a beautiful girl named Emily. They knew immediately that they loved each other and that they would be married and be happy. It wasn't long before they did get married and as soon as Emily saw Emma and Emma saw Emily they both loved each other. Emma enjoyed her life there and it wasn't long before Jason and Emily had a baby. That baby was Jackson. The first time that Emma saw Jackson she wagged her tail and instantly knew that this was now her new job - she was to watch over this little boy that she loved so much. 
 
 A few years after Jackson was born Jason and Emily had another baby and her name was Grace. Again Emma knew immediately that she was to watch over Grace too. 
 
 After a while the family moved to Germany and there Emma liked her life the best. She really preferred the cooler weather and being able to be outside with her family, laying on the grass or just going for a walk with them. She had some other dog friends and got along with any person or dog that she met. She had the best life!!!
 
 Now the story becomes sad, but only because her family would not see her on this earth again. She didn't feel good one day and GOD decided that rather than have her suffer he would take her up to his house to play with all the other animals that had gone on before her. She is living up there now and she sent us all a wonderful feeling through our prayers that she will be up there playing for now, laying out in the cool grass just waiting for the time when they are all together again. 
 
 

Jackson's Last Game

AJ was disappointed it was his last game. This boy loves (breathes) soccer! He definitely has the skills and gets what he needs to do to keep the game going. We are so proud of the 3 goals he scored for the team. Hopefully we can get him into something more long term to feed his love of the game.