Moran Family Fun

November 28 - I saw an idea on Pinterest (where else do ideas come from anymore?) for helping children remember to use good manners at the table.  The basic idea is that you take a little pig figurine and place it on the dining room table and then during the meal if someone does something bad (burps, reaches across the table, talks with their mouth full) they get the pig.  At the end of the meal whoever has the pig has to help clear the table.  I don't know what we'll do if no one gets the pig; that means everyone used perfect manners and that has yet to happen at our house. Our kids aren't terrible at the table, but there were some bad habits that I wanted to change without being a mean, nagging mom so I thought we'd give the pig idea a try.  I mean we had all the stuff you need - a little wooden pig toy, food, a dining room table, and kids who needed to remember their manners.  The first night I introduced our little piggy, Porkley, the kids were alright wit...

November 27 - Our family loves to play games and we recently started playing a new one that even our youngest kids can play.  It’s different from the types of games we usually play because it’s not a card game or a board game.  Instead we’ve been playing a game that we made up ourselves that we can play in the car as we drive all over Germany - to and from soccer, play practice, church, school, and everywhere else in between.  It’s called the Opel Game and it all started, as so many things in our family do, with Natalie. Jared drives a sweet 1994 Opel hatchback that we affectionately call the dragon because of the amazing seat covers which are embroidered with red dragons.  Natalie loves that car more than I thought it was possible for a five-year-old girl to love a car.  Part of what she loves about it is the Opel logo which is a lightning bolt inside a circle. Before she knew that our car was an Opel she called it the lightning bolt car.  Any...

November 26 - We made it to an actual Christmas Market for our Family Home Evening this week and guess who forgot to bring a camera?  So, the only picture I have today wasn't taken by me but was copied from the base newspaper's article advertising the upcoming market. We wanted to start out the year in Kaiserslautern because we like their Kindergluhwein best and because it's an easy market close to home.  We can park at the church (free parking!) and take a short walk to the pedestrian area of town where the Christmas Market is held. We spent most of our time at the market last night looking for waffles.  We found crepes right away and some of the girls were fine with crepes, but about half wanted a waffle.  Right next to the crepes stand was a kiddie ride that the kids wanted to go on, but I said no because it was creepy.  There were cars going around on an oval shaped track and in the middle of the track were a bunch of robotic Christmas figures.  Th...

November 25 - I know I shouldn't have a favorite, but I totally do.   A few times a year there are bazaars on base where vendors from all over Europe come and sell all kinds of treasures.  If you're looking for a European gift, an antique, or just some cute shoes you can find it at the bazaar.  After four years here, and three years in Bitburg, we've been to more than a few bazaars and I have to say that overall the things for sale at each one are really similar.  At a bazaar this spring I found something I'd never seen before that I had to have and am finally getting to enjoy - a set of four hand painted Russian Christmas ornaments.  There's a snowman, a Christmas tree, a little church, and this babushka, which is my favorite of the set.  She makes me happy hanging there on our tree; I smile every time I see her.

November 24 - It's officially Christmas Market season and we were excited to go to our first Market today.  However, for the second year in a row someone was sick and our plans had to change.  Last year Madison and Abigail had pneumonia and this year Natalie had a stomach bug.  So we stayed home and once again made our own Christmas Market.  It's not quite the same experience, but it's still fun and we didn't even have to drive anywhere. Emily helped out and made food booths by stacking up boxes and covering them with blankets.  Then she recruited her sisters to man them and "sell" all of the food.  I was assigned to work in the Kinderbackerei and help the kids make sugar cookies.  Once we were all set up - Christmas music blasting and all the candles lit - we were ready to open the market. Emily also made signs pointing the way to our market and labeling each of the food stands she'd built.  We wouldn't want anyone to get lost between the ...

November 23 - Each year on the day after Thanksgiving we pull out the boxes of Christmas decorations and make our house ready for the holiday season.  It's a tradition we all look forward to and enjoy.  And each year there a lengthy discussion (really just a discussion, not fighting) about who should put the star on top of the Christmas tree.  This year Jared said that whoever was chosen to put the star on the tree would also get to write on the blog about our day.  The girls voted and Abigail was the lucky one this year, so I'm going to turn the rest of this post over to her: One of our traditions for Christmas is going to Christmas Markets. I just love the Kindergluhwein and the trees and just everything about them. Another tradition is finding the pickle. The pickle is a Christmas ornament that we hang up and try to find on Christmas morning.  Whoever finds it first gets to start with the opening of the presents. Now here are some pictures of us decorating...

November 22 - We invited some friends over the share the big Thanksgiving meal with us this year.  When the day began I thought my daily picture would be of the table all set and looking lovely, or of the perfectly roasted bird, or even of the pile of dishes left when the feast was done.  Instead I took a picture of something not really related to the typical Thanksgiving things. While I was in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner I glanced out the window and saw Abigail, Samantha, and their friend Cole lying on the sidewalk looking up at the night sky.  They were looking for pictures in the stars.  I quickly grabbed the camera and went outside to snap a picture.  Besides all the obvious things we are always thankful for on Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for the wonderful way children look at the world and for the reminder it gives me to slow down and enjoy the beauty all around me.