Interlaken, Switzerland

Stu and I decided on Thursday night that we wanted to do something this weekend.  Stu is an avid climber (for those who don't know... ha!), so we picked Interlaken, Switzerland so he could see the Eiger!  So Friday at noon, I booked a hotel to check in late that night and at 6 pm (yep, 6 pm), we hit the road!  This was a great way to start the trip:

It rained the entire trip and there was a lot of construction.  Poor Stu!  We made it to Interlaken very, very late.  We got Abigail up to the room and ready for bed... but apparently she thought it was morning and time to play.  Finally, 3.5 hours later she passed out on the bed next to us.  Unfortunately, she woke up 3 hours later and that was it.  So we started Saturday armed with only a little sleep, but a good breakfast seemed to put us all in good spirits.  

For those who aren't well-versed on the Eiger (as I wasn't), you can read about the peak HERE.  It is a very technical climb, so Stu really wanted to see it.  There are three major peaks in this region (the Jungfrau Region), Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.  The Eiger is actually the shortest of the three, but it is the most technically difficult to climb. 

It was still raining relatively heavily when we set out for Grindelwald to see the Eiger.  This is what we saw when we got there...

Sad Stu:

No surprise, really.  It was cold and rainy, but Grindelwald was quite pretty.  It wasn't a complete waste... chocolate!

We had a nice lunch and looked around for a bit, then headed back down to Interlaken.  Our timing worked out well, because we were rewarded with this:

Which also enabled us to take a nap. 

The weather had cleared a bit when Abigiail woke up, so we explored Interlaken a bit. 

Abigail enjoyed playing out in the pedestrian area... she got to do a lot of people-watching and leaf-picking-up!

I love this picture. 

We all went to bed very early, and when we woke up it was a beautiful, sunny mountain day!  Yay!  The trip was worth it!  Back in the car to go see the Eiger!

Stu picking out his route.  "I wonder if I can get the stroller up there..."

We saw a gypsy camp on the way home.

July

Once again my month-in-review is quite late!  Our July was something of a paradox... eventful and non-eventful at the same time.  If that's possible.  Eventful in terms of: I broke by arms.  Non-eventful in terms of: I broke my arms, so we really couldn't do anything!  So we spent a lot of time hanging out at home the latter part of the month. 

The beginning of the month I went to Bad Wildungen with some friends.  Fun time with the girls!

I should have known something was up... I went through a series of breaking glass.  I think the final total was 4 glass items within a week.

Abs started walking perfectly!

I went out for a long walk on the morning of the 15th and got home 9 hours later.  The infamous post-break picture....

For some reason, I found the whole thing rather amusing for oh, about the first 6 hours my arms were in casts.  Unfortunately, reality set in (or the adrenaline wore off) shortly after that.  I think it was about the time I tried to lie down in bed.

We bought this cheap "house" for Abbey and it has since become one of her favorite toys.  It took her a few days to get used to it, but now she brings all of her toys in there and plays for quite awhile!

Grandma Mona came to town to help out.  So nice!!!  I think "help out" is actually minimizing her effort quite a bit.

I normally don't like to let Abs have toys at the table, but she seemed to benefit quite a bit for the first several days following my spill...

One of the positives of my not being able to do anything was that I didn't have to do tasks I dislike.  Cutting Abbey's fingernails happens to be one of those tasks.  Thanks, Daddy!  She actually seemed much happier when he was doing this...

I love this picture:

Here we go again...

I've actually been "well" enough to blog for the past several days, I just haven't sat down to write.  The last few weeks have obviously been a bit of a departure from my normal day-to-day activities, so it's taken a bit of time to get used to cleaning, cooking, etc!  We had live-in help every day for the first three weeks (thanks, Grandma!) and another friend who has been helping out since early August. 
My latest report is this... no more casts, no more braces!  It's freedom from here out!  My range-of-motion is returning, albeit a bit more slowly than I had hoped for.  My right arm, which was actually the more severe break of the two, seems to be recovering more quickly than the left.  I'm sure most of that stems from the fact that I am right-handed so I probably have more strength and flexibility there.  Slow and steady wins the race, though, right?  I am hoping that I will be able to completely straighten both arms in the next couple of weeks, which means no physical therapy.
It has been an interesting (almost) six weeks.  I have learned a lot about myself, which is always good.  When you are unable to complete the simplest of tasks ("Can you scratch my nose for me?" or "Can I have a bite of the potatoes now, please?"), you learn just how important it is to be able to ask for and accept help.  I am so blessed by how frequently I didn't even need to ask, though.  We had dozens of people who offered things before we even realized we needed them, and were willing to help in any way possible.  Okay, maybe not everyone was wanting to scratch my nose for me, but from changing Abbey's diapers to cleaning and cooking, our needs and beyond were met.  God has blessed us with an amazing community here in Germany, and I am so grateful for His provision of such wonderful friends.  I have also been blessed with an extremely patient husband who had to put up with a lot of complaining on my part, as well as taking on the role of #1 caregiver to a 14 month old and 29 year old all while being the #1 breadwinner (well, really he's the only breadwinner).  I can't imagine how tiring that must have been!  Poor thing... I don't know how he stayed so patient with me saying, "Can you please brush the back of my teeth again?  They don't feel clean..." 
Thank you all for your prayer, encouragement and kind words.  They were uplifting and so helpful in a time that was relatively difficult for all of us.  I'm so glad things seem to be getting back to nomal.  I think if there's really any lesson that can be taken from this, it is that exercise is more harmful than it is good.  Well, maybe that's not the primary lesson.  It should probably be that one should frequently check the status of one's shoelaces whilst out-and-about.  Oh, and if you're falling, tuck-and-roll.  Hmmm... maybe there are several lessons that could be learned...

Elbow Hiatus

I'm sure it probably goes without sayin, but I will be taking a bit of a break from the updates until my elbows are healed. We appreciate the support and I am sure we will have a lot of pictures and news by the time my casts come off in August!!

(For those who don't know, I broke both elbows in a running accident last Thursday and am now in full arm casts. We have lots of help and I'll be back to normal soon!)

Thanks for all the help, Stu!

Took this the day of the fated fall:

Abbey in June

My June month in review is a bit late (it's almost mid-July)... these are some pics of Abigail that didn't make it into a post (ok, some of them did, but I love them, so I'm re-posting). She's growing so quickly!

My friend's computer has had a lot more keys removed.  This always happens when we're on Skype.  The latest target has been the space bar.

Excited to be feeding herself:

I have to roll her pants a few times to keep them from falling down.  They still end up sliding down.

Instead of paying careful attention, I was taking pictures.  The cracker that is sitting in the stagnant pool of water ended up in her tummy.

Studying the stats of the German footballers:

 But we're still pulling for the USA!

I was sick of not being able to buy fresh cilantro, so I planted my own.  We'll see how it goes...

Tomato as a hair clip:

If you live somewhere that you can cycle, you should invest in a kid's bike trailer.  Even better, invest in a Chariot.  We love it!  (Taken after our ride home from church one Sunday).

Trying to find an item that rolled under the couch:

I didn't take this picture... my friend Kat did (that's her daughter).  This was Abigail's first tea party and I love this picture!