Oh my goodness - an entire week went by!

Quick, what happened in the week since I last posted? I have just a few minutes to share...

Last Sunday afternoon: Jason played drums unexpectedly for Club Lift, the monthly kids' games afternoon of our church. The pastor heard him and said he was good enough to play on the worship team on Sunday mornings and asked him to do it for today (a week later)! Wow, Jason came out of there glowing.

Last Sunday night: Since the four visiting Covenant Players brought the household total to eight bodies, we invited them to join us in the wooden-floored basement for a mini Civil War Era Dance Evening. We taught them the Jolly Gordon, In-Out-and-Across, Sheena's Saunter, the French Girl, and the Jolly Gordon as a jig (I hadn't laughed so hard in positively ages), and finished with the traditional waltz. What fun, what good exercise, so many smiles. Thank you again to the fantastic Elizabeth R of California who taught us all these dances.

Monday: Emily went off to her 5-day field trip to Verbier (it was changed at the last moment from Anzère).

Tuesday morning: Tried a hiking group of moms from Emily's school. There were seven of us, and I was the only American. All the other ladies were new to me, from the UK, Australia, and Hungary. A beautiful view over Aegerisee (Lake Aegeri). Very kind people.

Tuesday evening: I made a real South African dessert for the first time: Malva Pudding. Yum! Took it to a ladies' potluck evening from church, for which everyone had to bring some kind of South African dish. We have a lot of South Africans in our church here! Jason and I liked it a lot, but David, non-plussed, said it was kind of like a wet sponge, and Emily grimaced at her one bite, after taking in David's description.

Thursday: our first Moms in Touch prayer meeting for the International School of Zug & Luzern (Baar and Riverside campuses). Three of us. A good time. By the end of the day God has answered two of our specific earnest requests, to our great delight and rejoicing. There may be three or four more ladies who might join us this coming week.

Friday: Tried another different hiking group (there are three, believe it or not, all composed of moms from the same school - I guess Switzerland is the territory for it!). British and French ladies, again all new to me. And an exceedingly well-behaved yellow labrador named Peeps. We discovered how to get to some local caves (the Höllgrotten), to be explored another time with the kids perhaps. That afternoon, Emily got home safely from her trip, tired but happy. Yay. It was rather quiet without her home all week.

Saturday: A much-needed relaxing morning, then an afternoon of high ropes course on the mountain above Luzern, the four of us - a 45 minute drive, then a 30 minute cablecar ride - by which time it was down to 5 degrees C (41 F)! Pretty chilly. First turtleneck of the season for me. We were very thankful we'd brought our hats and gloves. We swung around in the trees and did the long zip-lines to our hearts' content for two hours until they kicked us out at closing time. There are still three trails we didn't manage to get to, and we'd all like to go back sometime. They close at the end of October for the season. Afterwards, we looked up smoke-free restaurants in Luzern on David's phone, and saw there was an Argentinian one only 5 minutes from the bottom of the cablecar in Kriens: El Rincón Argentino. It had lots of black and white tango dance photos on the walls. Although it took us an hour to get our food, it was tasty (organic Argentinian beef, salad with pear and sautéed mushrooms, empanadas with chicken and spinach...). And smoke-free as advertised. What a difference to most Swiss restaurants! (by the way, saying "different to" vs. "different from" is a Britishism that I have apparently picked up).

Today, Sunday: Happy Autumn! Got to church early this morning for two reasons: One, it was our first Sunday in a new location (much bigger, much needed - we were really cramped before), and two, in the end all four of us helped out on the worship team for the first time. Jason on drums, David on bass guitar, and Emily and I on vocals. Fun and a little scary. Two guys joined us on guitar, and another two on vocals as well. I am thankful to God for catapulting us into His service like this. He is certainly worth all the worship anyone can muster, and way beyond.

Then this afternoon we took an hour's walk as a family up the hill from our house for the first time into the forest. The kids had fun arguing with each other about whose turn it was to propel the other up the steep hill, and also throwing rocks into the stream we crossed over. We threw a tennis ball and a softball back and forth and Jason ran down the hill after it a few times to stop it escaping into the next Kanton...this marked the fourth time this week I donned my hiking boots - wow! Other than trips to Colorado, that must be a record for me.

Now David is packing for a business trip to the U.S. - his first business trip anywhere since we moved here. Great timing, now that we have the B permits, that let him come back into the country as an official resident.

Phew, I have got to post more often. This gets too long. But then you don't have to read it, do you! Will have to add photos another time. Now must brush teeth and get to sleep!