Decorating for Christmas (Almost)

The Christmas season has officially started (at least it feels that way now).  We had a great crowed for Thanksgiving Thursday night.  Emily had to work that morning (thanks, NATO assignment), so we set most of the house up Wednesday night.  Everyone brought food (we only cooked a couple of things).  Everyone helped clean up afterwards.  I'm not even sure Emily washed a dish (I know I didn't). 

Friday, we went to Cologne, Germany to their Christmas Markets.  The Cologne Cathedral is breathtaking.  Emily says it's the prettiest church she's seen in Europe.  The city itself is where I think I would want to live if I lived in Germany.  (Unfortunately, there's not an army installation there).

Today, I lost the annual argument about how large of a tree we should buy. I think the top of the tree should be within an inch of the ceiling (give or take). Emily just looks for what trees are available. I guess I should stop complaining, it took three tries before we found a place that had live trees. Apparently, Belgians don't decorate until the first weekend of December.

Isaac is currently fixated on the Polar Express.  Claire is literally jumping up and down in Emily's lap.  (She seems to like ginger bread men).  The tree is up.  Most of the decorations are done.  (We still need a couple of wreaths and some poinsettas).  Isaac enjoyed putting frosting on the ginger bread men.  Actually, he enjoyed squeezing frosting directly into his mouth.  Emily made fun of my lack of talent for decorating cookies. 

Villers Abbey

I decided to forgo the Veteran's Day / Remembrance Day (for any Europeans checking in) events this year for a day alone.  Emily kept the kids, and I spent most of today at Villers Abbey.  It's the ruins of a Cistercian Abbey located about 40 minutes from our house.  I wanted to take a few pictures, wander around in the countryside, and spend some time in prayer.

The Abbey is amazing. I spent 2.5 hours wandering through the rooms where these men worshipped, ate, and worked.  Anytime I am at any type of ruins, I wonder about the lives of the people who lived there.  Today was no different, except for the realization that the monks spent almost all of their time in silence.  The designated readers obviously performed the scripture readings.  There were certain meetings where they discussed community issues.  However, most could go days without uttering a word.  I understand the danger too much introspection can have.  I do think we might benefit if we periodically took some extended time to observe, process, and understand the world we live in and the God we worship.

Otherwise, the photography was great fun.  I want to go back when the leaves are on the trees and when there's snow on the ground to take more pictures.  I do wish I'd had more time to wander the trails that run around the area.  Since it's so close, I now know where to get in a day-hike.

The Today Show in Madrid

First of all, Emily wants me to voice her strong opposition to the title of this post.  Especially since I have never met Matt Lauer and haven't seen an episode of the Today Show in a couple of years.  That is now accomplished. 
Last week, we noticed a couple of NBC cameras in Plaza Mayor (Madrid).  Emily announced that the Today Show is doing the "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?"  She thought he might be in Madrid.  Being the compassionate and sensitive husband I am, I ridiculed the idea.  This morning, she saw the episode where Matt Lauer is in Madrid at Plaza Mayor and the Royal Palace.  Being the compassionate and forgiving she is, Emily is making fun of me.

The palace was closed twice when we tried to go visit.  Now I know why.  Now you know why I entitled this post "Matt Lauer is a jerk."

Madrid

For years, we laughed when my Father would fall asleep at the
table after finishing a meal.  Apparently, the problem is
genetic.

I had leave this week, and we went to visit Madrid, Spain.  It's a great place to visit with a family.  We rented an apartment a block from the Prada Museum.  Each morning, we had breakfast at the apartment before moving out for the day.  We were staying close enough to walk throughout the city center to see the Palace Real, Plaza Mayor, and the Prada Museum.  It's not exactly like Rome where there are so many things to see that you are constantly on the move.  That kind of makes it nice with small kids.  We could go back to the apartment for a siesta (and did a couple of days).  We could walk at Isaac's pace.  Emily loved the shopping.  I enjoyed watching the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace.  You don't see a guard detail with mounted cavalry, infantry, and a canon very often.  For the first time in several years, we only visited one church on a trip.

We did notice that the city of Madrid puts a lot of effort into keeping the streets clean.  It was one of the first things we noticed when we got out of the taxi.  We had rain a couple of days, which gave Isaac the opportunity to sprint ahead and jump into puddles.  Claire took a step without holding onto anything in the apartment.  We're counting it as her first step even though I didn't see it.