Higgins Family Adventures

Luke 1:26-33
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

From across the globe to all our family and friends, we wish you a great day today! Merry Christmas and lots of love from the 3.5 of us!
Love,
Justin, Beth and Haley!

This is our first year spending the whole winter in Austria so we are trying to make it feel like home while also enjoying some of the “Austrian” traditions. It’s been hard at times, missing friends, family and America in general but we’ve also found some new things and really really enjoyed them. With the new baby coming in Jan, it’s best for us to be here preparing for him to come in the midst of cookie making and tree decorating.

We have gone to 4 “Weihnachtsmärkte” (Christmas Markets) and have enjoyed each one. They all had different booths, different crafts, different “gluhwein” (a Christmas mulled wine) and all four had great settings along with carolers. The first one was at a castle on top of a mountain, the second was in the “Fußgängerzone” (walking only zone) of the town next to ours, for the 3rd we headed to Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna to visit their market and then last Saturday we headed back to Vienna to the “Rathaus” (the town hall) for the big one there. The last one was extra special because it snowed all day and everything was so beautiful!

Here is a quick video of the Schonbrunn Palace market:

Here are a few pictures from each venue:

Aggstein Castle:

This market was actually at the end of November, view from one end of the castle to the other

View inside part of the castle where the crafts were sold

Modling (the next town over):

View down the main street

Enjoying some punch, 'kinderpunsch' aka hot apple cider for Beth

Schonbrunn Palace:

One of the MANY food stands! So much to choose from!

Rathaus in Vienna:

A statue in the center of part of the market

A view as we were leaving, it's a really beautiful event to visit!

We hope you are enjoying December (what’s left of it) where ever you may be and looking forward to celebrating the “reason for the season” with your family and friends!

Yesterday we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with friends from all over the world. We planned a traditional Thanksgiving with Robert and Sunny (other staff). They cooked the Turkey (breast – full birds here are VERY expensive) and gravy, with green bean casserole, and we took the stuffing, pumpkin pie, pumpkin roll, and cranberry sauce. I (Justin) took on the stuffing. I couldn’t decide between traditional bread stuffing or corn bread stuffing and neither was enough total servings, so I made both. Beth made the cranberry sauce from fresh Ocean Spray cranberries imported from Canada (no canned sold here) and she made the pumpkin desserts from pumpkin puree she made (a few posts down).

We invited some of our fellow staff members who are also staying on campus this winter. They helped with some sides or appetizers; Dimi(Bulgaria) and Kevin(So. Cal), Tania(Moldova), Lydia(Russia), Peter and Katharina and their 2 kids(Germany). We also invited a professor who is here using our library, Meego(Estonia). And we wanted to include some others friends of ours, Ingrid and Dieter(Austria), Dan and Reagan and their 9 month old (CA and NE), and Brother Edmond – a monk at the monastery down the road who grew up in Indiana and misses Thanksgiving and pumpkin pie. For one of our guests it was their first Thanksgiving, and for another it was their first taste of Pumpkin Pie – which was delicious!

Haley survived through most of the meal, but was really enthralled by the 9 month old Caleb. Many did not know the history of Thanksgiving and Sunny did a great job of retelling who the Pilgrims were and why they celebrated Thanksgiving. We were definitely happy to share our traditions with all of them and it made for a very memorable day.

Robert (with a power tool again) cutting the turkey

Dieter getting the sweet potatoes together, another VERY hard to find item, he and his wife were still searching stores 2 hours before lunch to find them.

Our table, with turkey name tags and napkins imported from Target!

Monk Edmond gave the blessing for our dinner

Haley and dad

Caleb, not quite ready to eat a thanksgiving meal

a banquet table

blowing out the candles after dinner

A thanksgiving picture of our own, we are so thankful for our growing family

Monday was leaf day here at the haus. We have a lot of very large trees and most are deciduous. This means lots of leaves. Last year all the trees had dropped their leaves by the first of November, meaning the Short Term Workers who come from the states were able to take care of all the leaves. This year we were disappointed when the last group of STW’s left and there were still many trees full of leaves. Well, after a few weeks, the leaves have fallen and it had come time to clean them up, so an all staff leaf raking day was scheduled.

Tania from Moldova, pretty sure it was her first Raking party since we had to jog her memory on the meaning of the word 'Rake' and how it would go with the word 'party'

Patty

Robert, keeping the leave blower close at hand, gotta love power tools

On the tractor, did leave pick up and compost most of the afternoon

All the 4 ladies working the yard together

The dump site

The whole hard working gang

Our whole staff raked and picked up leaves all afternoon. Even Haley helped, and she was so excited to ride on the tractor with me. It is so fun to see her excited to help out.

Riding with dad to take a full trailer across the street

running to tell mom that she rode on the tractor

on the way back for more

Helping Kevin and Robert rake around the fence

After raking the leaves, it is TCM tradition to have a chili dinner. So Beth and Sunny made Chili & cornbread with lots of other contributions, it was a good way to relax and end the evening.

Taylor, always ready to smile for the camera

A very productive day

It was another morning in Baden for me. With Haley going to school 2 mornings a week, I’ve started to really enjoy these mornings alone (at least for the next 3 months!) I have found a routine of going to the McCafe (where I can plug in the laptop) doing work on line and relaxing a bit with some hot chocolate. Sometimes I stop and get the grocery shopping done, but today I was planning some work and then a walking/photography trip around Baden. On Tuesday the leaves were SO beautiful and the town is just as great so I was planning this morning, hoping in 2 short days the leaves wouldn’t all fall and I could “catch” some of the color on film. Well, I got the work done, the hot chocolate drank and headed out. It was just SO cloudy at first and then it turned to rain so the colors weren’t quite what I had hoped. I focused on some close-ups and got a few good fall pictures. I also stopped at a flower stand I pass each week and have been wanting to support. Overall it was still a good morning and I can’t complain about rain….perfect nappin’ weather for both H and I!

The local vineyards are all yellow, taken pre-rain

The sign that caught my eye this a.m. : Only Today 10 Gerbers for 2.50 Euro

Me and my flowers

The owner and the flower shop

Through out Baden they have pulled the summer flowers and replaced them with this foliage.

We had a rough night last night, H was sick most of the night requiring a lot of up and down with little naps in between. This continued on this morning and the day was bound to be a home day. I’ve had 2 laundry machines going since lunch and did a couple loads before lunch too. In the mean time, I turned on the oven this AM and baked 3 Hokkaido pumpkins to make home made puree. I was so happy after trying about 10 different pumpkins last fall to find this variety and find it works well for baking. I made my puree and divided it up to freeze it. We are ready for pumpkin treats this winter!

a bit more nesting

In the plans are some family classics and some new recipes to try:
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Pumpkin Roll
Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Apple Bread
Pumpkin Cheesecake II

Just looking at the list, we’ll have to spread these goodies out over a couple months!

It seems like we’ve been so busy around here since we got back from the states (3 weeks ago). The day after we got in our 7th Session of the school year started and we are 3 short days away from Session 8 now. This all means a lot of people, work, talking and hosting. Another reason for the feelings of business is probably my intense “nesting” desire. For some reason I never thought I’d be one to use this word about myself but I think it’s true these days.

I’ve been picking up things around the house (seems like all day, everyday), and trying to get things organized now with even 4 months to go before the baby is due. Two fun parts of my “nesting” have been the food and the scrapbooking.

I’ve always seen other mom’s on-line who have sworn by making a “menu” so in this short 7 day break between sessions I thought I’d try it out. So far we have had 4 out of the 8 meals listed, only 50% but it has been really nice to just look at the paper and not have to think of what to make for lunch or dinner. We have had 2 extra desserts that weren’t on the list too! I also added 3 new recipes to the list so that has been interesting, the 3 cheese/spinach calzones we had 2 nights ago were pretty good!

On the scrapbook scene I’m doing a little planning ahead and making a smaller book that will document the 25 days of December leading up to and including Christmas. It has been fun to get out all the Christmas stuff I have and go to town. Hopefully it will work out to be a “just add pictures/writing” type of thing come December. It’s an idea that Ali Edwards has been doing for a few years and it always seemed intriguing.

Haley is doing well, adjusting to going to school two days a week (more on this later this week, check Haley’s blog then) and adjusting to being back in Austria, away from all her family. Almost every other day since we got back she has put a pair of shoes on and said “I’m ready.” The first time we asked her what for, we figured out her plans. “Airplane, Oma and Sam’s house?” “Suitcases?” “Tickets mama?” She is pretty ready to go back and see her cousins, her dog, her family and swim with Nana. I have to admit that it breaks my heart when I think it will probably be 14 months before we are back on US soil but she is happy with skype and the new “family magnets” I made.

Take pictures, cut out, laminate, cut out, add magnet...hours of fun!

Each day is flying by making me think that “long winter” I was planning on and slightly dreading might not be so long. It won’t be long until we are in a serious baby count down and then it will be learning all over again ~ with a boy! Until then the next fun “nesting” items on my list are cleaning and flipping our mattresses and getting all our insurance paperwork in line…good times!

None of us are sure if this is the first season the 3 apple trees on the property here are producing but everyone is taking advantage. I brought a few magazines back with me from the states, including the Oct. Food Network one, where I found the recipe for Apple Cider Doughnuts ~ perfect. So, yesterday I made the dough out of our homegrown apples and chilled it over night. This morning the real fun began, esp. since this was my first time trying to make doughnuts from scratch. The only place we have found in the Vienna area to get a “doughnut” is at McDonald’s, so it’s not really something we even consider.

Justin did most of the picking

Tasting the first one to see what we think

Haley just kept on tasting

This morning was a learning experience for sure. Once I realized how sticky it was going to be and got out the flour things started to look up. We also went through 3 different sizes of doughnuts: way too large, a bit too big and then just right. At one point I had a vision of some professional doughnut maker standing next to me laughing. We melted the thermometer in the oil, I burned 2 of my 10 fingers and Haley had 2 accidents (she’s potty training) during the whole process but in the end we sat down to some doughnuts and milk that we’re too bad, it was a 2 person ordeal for sure.

the key: can't have enough flour!

the process: fry, dip in glaze, dip in cin/sug and eat!

The final product

A bit too many just for the 3 of us, they were taken to the office to share

I think that was a one time adventure and our family will be waiting until our next trip to the states to enjoy a doughnut.
Last night we also enjoyed warm apple dumplings with milk, a family tradition for me, and they were great! Now, what to do with the other 8 apples I have left…?

We had such a good time in California this summer, even if it was only for 10 short days. It was such a blessing to come in the summer months and really let Haley enjoy time outside with the family. On the first morning there and about 50% of the other mornings this outdoor fun has included the park (of course) but not once has she visited the same park!

At the park with Uncle Jona

So happy to be out in the sun!

Nana had spent a lot of time getting out as many toys as she could find from her own childhood and the uncles childhoods. Even a small under-the-stairs closet was cleaned out and made into a secret play room. This was Haley’s first experience with a bike (Nana’s old tricycle) of any type and if her legs were about 1-2cm longer she would have been all over the place.

A little help please?

Papa had to work some so sadly we went out on a few adventures without him. We spent one day at the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose that had a “Curious George” exhibit going on. The place was PERFECT for Haley and if it weren’t for being so tired she could have stayed all day to play in the water play area. They had a great outdoor garden also where she could put on a hat and water anything she wanted, including dirt.

George!

Over and over again, moving and organizing

making sure they go down the tornado

Of course in california, in the summer…you have to swim! We were all pretty happy that the Higgins have a pool, esp. when it was over 90 deg each day we were there. Haley enjoyed playing in the spa (without heat or bubbles) and called it her “garden.” Justin reverted back to his childhood and did cannonballs over and over to “mix up the water.” Haley also enjoyed the noodles, both for floating and “stirring the soup” with them.

The water fun continued at the beach which was much warmer than we were expecting, it was such a great day! The American football was thrown around and sandcastles were made. It was Haley’s first time to really experience the ocean outside of a stroller and after a few minutes she really got into it. We visited an amazing bakery: Gayle’s Bakery after the beach with huge hunger from the sun and sand. (Highly recommended if you’re in that area!)

Not sure about those waves

collecting shells with Nana for the castle

I crack myself up

Hi to the camera

Justin with his mom and dad

Now that I’m trying to recap everything we did it is overwhelming to see how much fun we had. Karen was the same great chef as always and we also enjoyed some “local” fare like Ragoots and In-N-Out.

Phil waiting patiently

Haley's first In-N-Out burger

The last outing we enjoyed with both Nana and Papa was a trip to Monterey and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Haley absolutely loved it and I think the rest of us really enjoyed watching her enjoy it. She loved to yell out when she would see a shark, seeing the jelly fish, penguins and touching the large shells in the water.

Look, Shark!

This is how Haley touches the sea creatures in the touch tank

Haley and her papa

We can’t thank enough the Higgins and everyone else in CA that made our trip so much fun. We loved being with our family and love the memories we made! Thank you for making us feel so at home and on vacation at the same time, until next time…

It’s not really the weather today that is bringing on the “fall spirit” but the trip to the apple orchard this AM that gets me more in the mood. Bring on the apple dumplings, crock-pot soups, sweatshirts and pumpkins!

Snack time

Ayden, show me how he almost always closes his eyes for the camera

Tractor time, she's ok as long as it doesn't make noise

playing in the corn box

Me, mom and Jen

Ayden, 4, with eyes wide open!

Trying an apple that's not quite ready yet

Gotta have the family picture! Haley 2, me 19 weeks

Yea! A DeBoer family fall picture