More Pictures From Auschwitz

The first picture you see is one of the bathroom barraks. This was where they could clean up or do their business. There were two of these barraks for maybe 20,000 people to use. They could only use it in the morning after on the way to roll call or after working 14 hour days on their way back. In the mornings they only had a few minutes to get to roll call. If they were found relieving themselves during the workday (or if they couldn't hold it and went on themselves) they were beaten.

The next picture is of the gate the train came through. Most people who came through this gate were sent directly to the gas chambers which was literally at the end of the train line. It is my opinion that those were the lucky ones.

The next is one of the many barraks for sleeping. The bunk beds had paper thin mattresses and were 3 tiers high. They slept 8 to one mattress. So 24 men in one 3 tier bunk bed.

The next was a picture of the kitchens.

The last is a picture of one of the many guard towers.

If someone escaped or was caught trying to escape they would chose other prisoners out of the camp at random to make examples of. Some would be sent to a starvation cell where he would starve to death. Some would be sent to a standing cell where after working so hard all day he would be forced to stand all night.

Pictures From Auschwitz

The first 2 pictures you see are of the courtyard where prisoners were shot for misbehavior (always in the nude) and the memorial to them.

Then you see 2 views of the brick barracks where the prisoners slept and the fencing around the perimeter.

The last picture is of the gate they came in through. The words mean work will set you free. Though that was not the case.

My Little Beauty

I couldn't resist a few pics of Alaina today. She looked so cute in her little overalls and messy hair!

Pictures From Our Trip

Here are som pictures from Krakow

Memmorization

I have committed to memorize the names of all the countries of the world for the purpose of praying for them. My friend Matt blogged about his commitment to do so. I have been challeged by his world outreach for Jesus. When he mentioned praying daily for them I felt again the desperate need of all of them for Jesus. So, I'll let you know how it's going.

The Weekend

We spent last weekend in Poland. We drove through the Czech Republic and onward to Poland landing ourselves in Krakow. Interestingly enough, it is also known as Cracow. Traveling in the off season, we get to stay in nicer hotels in better locations. In this case we stayed at the Hotel Elektor. We had a suite and enjoyed every moment. The beds were even comfortable. The hotel is located just outside the old town square. So it's in the best location for shopping and sight seeing. We visited Auschwitz while we were there. There is a lot one could say about that. I'll just say the picture of the children that Joseph Mengele performed human experiments with was one that will never leave me. I will not describe it for you. I do not wish for you to have the mental picture I am carrying. I will say this. The tour guide told us regretfully that Dr. Mengele never paid for his crimes. She said he moved to South America and lived there until he died. I know better. Unless he somehow came to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, his punishment in Hell will be worse than anything he did to those children. Of this I am certain. When hubby comes home and I find the camera I'll post pictures of our trip.

Octuplets

The controvery surrounding the recent birth of octuplets to an unwed mother who is already recieving food stamps and other government hand outs in CA is the topic for today. I haven't seen this addressed on any of the blogs I read. I've struggled with my feelings about this. I don't think she really started out to have 8 kids as she only had 6 embryos implanted. I understand the public's outrage that with no job and no way to care for the 6 she already had she purposed to have more children. The problem I have with all the anger and outrage I see is that these children ARE here. Regardless of how and to whom they arrived they ARE here. They need to be taken care of. My main struggle has been as a Christian how should I feel? What is my responsibility? Today I read a verse in a piece of mail I just recieved. "Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?" James 2:15&16. Right there God spoke to my heart. "There is your answer." It is not our business how or to whom these children came. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, comming down from the Father of the heavenly lights who does not change like the shifting shadows." James 1:17 It is our job to love them and care for them. For ALL of them. No matter what. The Lord did not put any exemptions in there. Then too we know better than to judge like the media is doing, don't we. "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:1&2
Ouch.

Just my thoughts for today. Feel free to leave your comments.

Valentines Day Sexism

Six inches of snow on the ground and Valentines day coming up. Alaina and I went shopping today. We were buying cards for February as there are tons of family birthdays and anniveraries this month. I was looking for a card for Alaina to give her papa for V day. That's when I noticed it. There are no cards for little girls to give their daddys. None. I saw a few cards for mom and dad. I saw lots of cards for mommy, mom, grandma, aunt and mother. I also saw one for dad specifically from a pre-teen girl, but none for daddys from little girls or even grown girls who might not have a hubby to send one to. Sexist! Seriously this calls for a letter to the editor. Except that I live in Germany and therefore have no editor to write. Maybe we should email the Hallmark people. Don't daddys count? It seems to me they deserve a valentine just as much as mommys.
What did we do? Alaina was not to be deterred. We bought construction paper, doilies, stickers and crayons and made our own card to give to papa.

Recovery

Alaina has turned the corner. Athough she still has a way to go to completely recover, she is no longer in danger. Praise the Lord! Thank you for all your prayers.

Up Most Of The Night And I'm Beat

Sorry I've been away. Alaina has been sick and it turns out to be pneumonia. Please say a prayer for her. The doctor only let her come home instead of being admitted to the hospital because I'm a nurse. However, if she doesn't improve withing 24 hours and if she wont drink, we'll have to admit her anyway. I'm giving breathing treatments and oral medication here. We're praying that it works and she doesn't have to go.

Mrs. Wilt

Does anyone know what became of Mrs. Wilt of the Sparrow's Nest? She hasn't posted since November. Last I knew she was expecting her third child and it seems they were fixin to sell thier home. I'm just worried about her. If life is too hectic to blog right now I certainly understand. I hope she and her family are alright. Let's all send up a prayer for the Wilt family.

Orders

That's right. Alan has orders and we will be proceeding to Ft. Leavenworth toward the end of the summer. lol 6 years of marriage in April and our 7th move this summer. Sigh, such is Army life. I will however be glad to be back in the States. As a friend of mine put it, "Back to the land of the shopping mall." lol. I'm ready. We'll take 6 weeks off this summer and tour Europe before we go. Seeing all the places we've yet to see. Alan has like 3+ months of leave on the books so we'll get to take a lot. He got special permission to have that much due to the nature of his position so that was good.

Sunday

It's quiet and peaceful this Sunday afternoon. Alan and Alaina are both having their naps and mommy is catching up on odds and ends. Last night we went to a 25th wedding anniversary for friends of ours in Bamberg. It was quite wonderful and we had a great time. We got a babysitter for Alaina. This is the first real couple thing we've done since Alaina came home. We had a blast. It was so much fun, and Alaina had fun with her sitters. We got a really good nights sleep, and went to church this morning. The sermon was good. It was about tithing and giving. Then we went to the DFAC for brunch, filled up with gasoline, bought wiper fluid, came home, put baby down, filled my wiper fluid thing, discovered some other fluid was low, hubby took care of it, emptied the dishwasher, refilled it with a few dishes, hand washed others, wiped down the counters, set up the coffee pot, cleaned out the diaper bag, filled up the baby wipe dispensers, straightened up the entry way, and now for blogging. It's warm today. Nearly 40F and sunny outside. I love days like this.

Computer Problems Fixed

My computer has been acting up and it seems I had too many cookies for it to function properly. So, now they are gone, and I can blog again. This, then is the blog from yesterday.

Today I managed to get a lot done. I understand Pam from Midnight Musings a lot better now. When my back feels good I can do a lot. When it hurts I can't do much and I don't like it. Anyway, today I managed to finish 3 loads of laundry (including a huge ironing pile) and wash and dry a fourth. I also made the bed and cleaned up the bedroom. I emptied the dishwasher. Reloaded it and ran it again and hand washed Alaina's bottle parts. Supper consisted of left overs for Alan. I ate poptarts. I know. Not incredibly healthy, but I've been craving some wierd foods lately. So, even though that doesn't really sound like much, when you consider running after Alaina and taking care of her, it is. At least for me.
I hope your day went well too.

This Past Weekend

This past weekend we went to Rothenburg, Germany. Rothenburg is a walled medieval city that can really take you back a thousand years. Here are some pics from our trip.

Pictures

Last weekend (not this past one but the one before) we attended the Bavarian Medac Ball in Garmisch, Germany. It was very nice and we had a good time. Here are some pics from it. During the weekend, Alaina had her first ride on a merry - go - round ( the kind that you put quarters in) We have created a monster. Pitched herself a big fit when we were out of coins and she had to get off. lol Oh well. She'll learn.

The other picture is of Alan's 1st seargeant. He rarely smiles so this is a sight to behold!

Some Scenes From My Windows

I Am Who I Am

Life has been hectic lately and blogging sporadic, but today I have something to say. I am who I am. This statement has nothing to do with God's statement to Moses in Exodus 3:14.



This is a completely different subject. I am who I am. I am. So, I am. I created this blog to have a voice in the world, to be able to confront some of the false things and ideas about Christianity and my Lord that I see in the blogsphere. I created this blog to have a record of my life as an army wife and to keep friends and family back home updated on our life since we are so far away. I am who I am. I am a child of the living God. I am a wife. I am a daughter. I am a mother. I am a church goer. I am the wife of a soldier. I am the wife of a commander. I am the mother of a pet. I am a friend. I am a sister. I am living in a foreign country. I am learning 3 different languages. I am a nurse. I am a blogger. I am a reader. I like all kinds of different things. I like all kinds of different music. I have very strong opinions about lots of things. I am strong minded. I will likely not change my opinion just because someone thinks I should. I am down to earth. I am unimpressed by pretension. lol There is a statement in one of my favorite movies "Steele Magnolias" that says, "An ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure" and a truer statement I've rarely heard.
So, to the people out there who seem to think I should be this or I should be that. Worry about your own self. I am who the Lord made me and He is molding me to be even better.

Seeing Celebrities

In December we went to the PX one day after church. We had a few things to pick up and also there were some people who came to do a meet and greet. Denis Farina, James Reynolds and others were there to cheer up the troops and we got to meet them and get autographs! Here are the pictures we took. Every one of them were so excited about Alaina and said how pretty she is! They know the way to a mama's heart.

I'm Back...I Hope

A big thank you to all of you who sent prayers up for me. My back is doing better and I can now sit long enough to blog a bit. We had a wonderful Christmas! Alaina had a great time opening Christmas once she was convinced that she wasn't going to get in trouble for tearing paper. Some pictures are posted below. I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday too and are having a great new year!