Dad is Here

After a month and a half of eager anticipation, my dad finally arrived in Germany last Wednesday. We were so excited for him to get here and we are so excited to show him our home and some neat places in Europe.

When my dad called to tell me where the shuttle was going to drop him off, Jackson had just bit a huge chunk out of his tongue and blood was flowing like a faucet out of his mouth. Needless to say, I wasn't paying close enough attention and I went to the wrong place. Jason knew where to go, so he got there before me. When Jackson and I were driving up, Jason and my dad were standing outside. I said to Jackson, "Jackson, do you see Daddy and PaPa? PaPa is standing right beside Daddy." I watched his little face from the rear-view mirror. I could see the wheels turning in his mind as he put together PaPa, the voice he hears on the phone, the picture of PaPa in our house, and the image of him standing next to Jason. As we parked the car, he got a big smile on his face. My dad came over and Jackson was grinning from ear to ear. I got him out of the car and he continued smiling as my dad talked to him. It was so cute and it was such a blessing because we weren't sure how he'd respond to my dad. Here are the first photos we took together. I think my dad looks great considering he just got off of an international flight and hadn't slept at all.

Jackson's infatuation with "Dada's car" has kicked into overdrive lately. It was hard to keep him from the front seat while we were talking and loading the car, so this is the best photo we could get of the two of them.

We picked up my dad at noon and he stayed awake until 8:30 that night. He slept the next day until 9:30. He says that sleeping here reminds him of sleeping at his grandmother's house. The house is very cold downstairs, but he has a fluffy down comforter and a quilt that keeps him warm and toasty. He says it's like being in an oven with his head sticking out because of all of the body heat that he generates under those covers. He loves sleeping here!

Thursday night, Jackson showed PaPa the first few scenes of his beloved Cars movie. Here's a shot a them watching it:

Friday, the weather was beautiful, so we took the opportunity to get outside. My dad had knee replacement surgery almost a year ago, so walking up and down my street is great exercise for him. (Mom, you would be so proud of him!) Jackson heard a lawnmower while we were out, so we had to go find it. Here's Jackson watching the mower with his PaPa:

My neighbors, Peter and Maragret were outside. They have about four apple trees, and just the day before, Peter bottled 100 liters of apple juice. They gave us three bottles and it is soooo delicious!! I made apfelshorle that night. Yum!! Here's me, Margaret and Jackson with Peter in the background:

Peter works well with wood and made the little chair that Jackson is sitting on for one of his children. He and Margaret gave the chair to Jackson. I couldn't believe how sweet it was. We are going to miss the people in our village so much. I am so sad to leave them.

My dad loves being in Germany. He loves the peacefulness of the area where we live. He loves thinking about the history of this part of the world. And he is really enjoying the change in temperature from Houston's hot and humid climate. He says we're in for a culture shock when we return. I think he now understands why we would love to live here permanently.