Yeah, it's January and I'm doing a post from November. That kind of sums up the last 2 months... I'll apply the "better late than never" adage and proceed. On the weekend on Thanksgiving, we had some friends visit us that have been living in Germany this past year. Drew & Bria were college friends of ours from church from back when we were single and living in Akron, Ohio. We hadn't seen them in probably 13 years or so. Through the magic of facebook - we had stayed somewhat connected. They bravely dared to visit us here in Vienna - not knowing if we had become total nutjobs, etc. Within 10 minutes of their arrival at our place (yep - they even were courageous enough to stay at our place!) - we were begging (yes, begging) for them to extend their visit. The joy of reconnecting with them and the ease of just hanging out with them (and their 2 amazing daughters) was utterly delightful. Their visit was deeply encouraging and thoroughly enjoyable. It made the Thanksgiving feel even richer. Here's some pics from that refreshing weekend.
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| Dan & I with Bria & Drew |
The first night we were here we went to a restaurant that wait-for-it... had a playground and a caregiver for the kids. Generally, the thought alone of our kids at a restaurant here is stressful. There are VERY few restaurants that are kid-friendly. Meaning - some places don't even have highchairs, the kids are served water in stemware glasses, everyone is allocated one paper napkin and I've never received so much as a coloring sheet or a balloon... With that said, we usually don't eat out with our kids. However, we had heard of this place and decided to give it a try. It was a total Win! The playground was visible from inside the restaurant and the lady took them over to a separate table and did crafts while we waited for our food.
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| Kids at the craft table at dinner |
Later that night we stopped at one of the Christkindlmarkts via Public.
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| Hannah, William, Grace & Worthy... they made fast friends |
Yeah, it was even better than the pictures portray. Vienna does Christmas really, really well.
(Most of these are Bria's pics).
We enjoyed the beauty of the market and shared some warm drinks too.
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| Kinderpunsch is always a delight |
And this was just the beginning of their visit with us!
Incidentally, Bria writes an
AMAZING blog. Please check it out. She's is wise & insightful and communicates beautifully in text.
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YOU, my dear, are too kind. :) I read this whole post with my heart pounding all excited-like and smiling all huge. Seriously. Your family is so dear. And our time together, well, it sums up what will no doubt be some of our absolute favorite memories from our time in Europe. Can't wait to see you again!!
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