Playing Summer Catch-Up

It’s nearly August, and it’s time for summer catch-up!

At the beginning of the summer we sent out an email to everyone on our email list about graduation and the end of the semester, If you didn’t receive that email and you want to be on our email list to get the inside scoop and prayer requests just send me a message.

Graduation

Graduation was… well… it was something. I found myself comparing the day to the opening ceremony at the beginning of the school year. That day the seniors paraded into the school with flags from their home or serving country and anxious ambitions of the new school year. At graduation the seniors paraded out of BFA with memories, tears, laughter and timid courage. A lot of times people talk about how graduates are now going off into the real world. sort of. Most of them are going to the next four years of the education, here we pray that they continue to learn and grow, they are no more or less in the real world than they already were at BFA. When does the real world start? With the bill of your first university loan payment? 😉 BFA grads are already living life the best way they know how, and I pray they continue to grow into the life ahead of them.

I’m proud of the BFA grads and I look forward to their future with hope and anticipation.

SUMMER TIME

Part 1 (work weeks)

Part of our job for BFA is 2 weeks of work at the school during summer. There is office work to be done, and a LOT of campus clean up/spruce up to do! We decided to do these 2 work weeks back to back right after school got out. So graduation happened on Friday and Monday we were back at work. Only with a slightly different wardrobe!

We were both assigned to the maintenance department team. We got to work together the first week mowing the campus, pulling out brambles, sorting the tires for the dorm vans (in Germany there are winter and summer tires and with so many school vehicles, it was about time they got sorted!) Oh, by the way, it was HOT that week, we came home tired everyday.

The 2nd week Jamison had work to do in the guidance office but I stayed on the maintanaince team and the task for the week was to SANITIZE THE ENTIRE SCHOOL! Scrubbing chairs that hadn’t been cleaned, ever, spraying down every surface that people touch, and scrapping gum off of chairs and desks! The work was hard but the company was good, and there was a lot of bonding over the task. Oh, and lots of iced coffee breaks!

Part 2 (LOOPS VISIT!)

I have to be honest, part of the reason we decided to do our work weeks right away was in an attempt to make the time between school ending and Jamison’s parents visiting seem shorter, It worked! We finished work weeks and had a few days to get ready for them to arrive!

It was so amazing to spend time with Lar and Lor and to show them our life here. We were reminded of Germany’s little cultural quirks as the Loops experienced everything for the first time. Yep, life is different here!

Everyday was full, we did a LOT of walking. We showed them our town, the school, the towns nearby in France and Switzerland and then we went on vacation with them! For them it was a vacation inside a vacation!

We went to Rome for a few days. It was hot and busy! I never thought I would get to see Rome, seeing things I had seen only in a text book before. We were glad we went but it wore us all out, all that tourist stuff. We were ready for our last bit of vacation, to the BEACH!

I don’t know about you, what your favorite kind of vacation is, but mine is the beach. (Or when in Oregon, the coast!) There’s nothing like sand between your toes. We went to Palma Majorca, Spain for a few days to finish up our vacation. It was just what we needed. Sunny warm beaches and water at the perfect temperature for swimming and floating in. Jamison andhis dad “snorked” around while Lor and I enjoyed the sunshine. In the evening we would play cards and relax together. We came back refreshed, and a bit sunburnt…

After our trip we just had a few more days before Jamison’s parents went home, we saw a few more local things and soaked up the family time! What a blessing it was to have family here with us for those few weeks!

Part 3: (Lisa visits)

We had a day to recover and clean house after the Loops left and then we picked up our friend Lisa from the airport! Lisa came to our area of the world for her cousins wedding in France, she was able to come a few days early so that she could see us. Her husband wasn’t able to come, we missed you PETER!

Lisa and I (Jen) took the train into Freiburg and to Lake Titisee while she was here and walked and walked all around. In Europe there is a lot of walking to do!

It was fun to have her visit, bittersweet though as it was a reminder of the deep and dear friendships we left back in the states. We are thankful for the friendships we have here, and that the friendships we had/have in the states are not lost, just waiting across the ocean.

Part 3 (Recovery)

We said goodbye to Lisa on Thursday morning. As much as we loved the time with friends and family, we needed to recover from all that expended emotional and social energy!!! We’ve taken it easy the last few days!

Saturday was nearly 100′ here in Kandern so we escaped to a nearby lake in the mountains (1 hr drive away.) We spent the day in the water and trying to get our dog Gatsby in the water, he isn’t a fan. The day left us feeling refreshed and reconnected.

Part 4 (Preparation)

This next week Jamison will be in the office working on getting organized, school prep and testing services duties. He is really excited about his new position at the High school. He will be full time at the High School this coming year in the guidance office, helping prepare BFA students for university, and beyond! He will remain in charge of testing services (AP, ACT, SAT, etc) He will be pretty busy!

This next week I will be working “in the office” aka the ceramics studio on lesson prep and organizing all the curriculum for my three levels of ceramics classes. We’ve got a lot to do before the school year starts in the beginning of September! We are already excited about welcoming back the students and for our second year here at BFA!

J and J Loop

(Click on the photo to see it larger!)