Emma's 2nd Birthday

Emma had a pony theme birthday party. David did a great job drawing a My Little Pony on her cake. She had 2 friends there, Emeline of course, and Ari, her German friend. His dad is the pastor David works with in Wuppertal. He's about the sweetest 2 year old boy i've ever met. The day went great and she was really spoiled with gifts. She recieved some wonderful things. Emeline sat right next to her the whole time she opened presents and just watched. It was hilarious!

Baby Tag

1- Where were you when you first found out you were pregnant?I was in our first apartment in Dusseldorf
2- Who was with you?David and Emma
3- How did you find out that you were pregnant?I took a home pregnancy test.
4- What was your first reaction to finding out you were pregnant?I was so excited and overwhelmed. We'd been in Germany only 2 weeks.
5- Your Husbands reaction?He felt the same way I did.
6- Who was the first person you told? David, then our parents
7-Did you plan to get pregnant?Yes we'd been trying for 3 months
8-Was everybody happy for you?I think so
9- Did you go out and celebrate?Not really, but we were so happy talking about it.
10- Did you want to find out the sex?Yes
11- What was the sex?Girl.
12-Did anyone throw you a baby shower?no, but our church sent us all kinds of gifts
13- If yes, who?
14- Did you get any outfits at the baby shower that you just knew you weren't going to put on your baby?No.
15- How much weight did you gain?30 lbs.
16- Did you loose all of the weight that you gained?Nope. I still have about 15-20 lbs to lose , it's been alot harder with the second one
17- Did you get a lot of stretch marks?a few, more than with Emma
18- What did you crave the most?Mexican, and it's so hard to get here
.19- Did you crave anything crazy? No.
20- Who or what got on your nerves the most? feeling claustrophobic
21- Were you married at the time? Yep
22- Did you have any complications during your pregnancy?No, thankfully
23- Where were you when you went into labor?At home in bed.
24- Did your water break?Negative.i just started having heavy contractions
25- Who drove you to the hospital? David and I walked across the street to the hospital (which was really nasty btw, Like something out of "one flew over the cuckoo's nest")
26- Did you go early or late?1 day late
27- Who was in the room with you when you gave birth?David and the habamme (kind of like a midwife)
28- Was it video taped?Nope.
29- Did you have any drugs for the pain? Epidural
30-Did you go Natural or have a c-section?natural
.31- What was your first reaction after giving birth?I was so happy and so glad i could finally hold her
32- How big was the baby(s)?3800kg and 55cm
33- Did your Husband cry?No,
34- What did you name the baby(s)?Margaret Kristi
35-Did the name have any significance to you?Margaret is my grandma Koster's name and she was born on my mother-in-law Kristi's birthday
36-Does the baby's name fit? definitely
.37- Did the baby(s) have any complications?nope
38- How old is your baby today?6 months
.39- When is the next one(s) coming?Only God knows, but hopefully soon :)
40- If you could would you do it all over again?Absolutely!

Baby Teeth

Does anyone know if baby's are supposed to always get their front bottom teeth first? Maggie has one little white dot showing farther back on the bottom. I didn't know if this is unusual.

"Don't Waste Your Life"

I've been reading "Don't Waste your Life" by Piper for a second time. This is definitely one of the best books i've ever read! I'm getting much more out of it a second time. Piper was talking about exalting only in the cross of Christ, the center of the glory of God (Gal 6:14). So basically everything good and everything bad that God turns for the good of His children, was purchased by Christ's death on the cross. I was just really convicted after reading this because i have been so excited about trying to buy a house and a new car when we move back. And i have been thinking i kind of deserve a house because i haven't had my own place to make a home for a really long time. And this is way off base, i don't deserve anything except condemnation for my sin. Everything is a gift purchased for me at the cost of death by Christ. This is the reward of his suffering (nothing that i've done to deserve anything). If God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him, then i should not be looking for anykind of material possesion to make me happy. If He decides to give us these things then i can glorify him and exult in His blessings, but He should be what's satisfying me, and nothing else....Anyway, my thoughts lately.

Emma's video

Since we went to England, Emma's been saying some words with a British accent. It was pretty hilarious. I tried to catch a little of it on video, it's starting to fade though.

Some random video's of the girls...

so only 1 for now...i'll put more on later

"Have you ever..."

Great idea Courtney! Copy and paste the list below, then mark in bold the ones you've done. Then you can add one item to the list and keep it going!



1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo Karaoke in my family room with no one listening

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run.

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone.

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Made amends with someone who offended you

101. Flew in a small Cessna plane with just you and the pilot

102. Ran out of gas

103. Eaten fried okra

104. Swam in the Caribbean Sea

105. Peed in a swimming pool

106. Rented a beach house

107. Hosted an exchange student

108. Been a Secret Santa to a family in need

109. Worked on a political campaign

110. Coached a sports team

111. Baked bread from scratch

112. Driven from coast to coast

113. Paid off all of your debt

114. Roast marshmallows over a campfire

115. Cut up a credit card

116. Drove a car through a flood

117. Been on t.v

118. Seen the twin towers.

119. Been to ground zero

120. Been on top of the Empire State Building

121. Lived outside of the United States

122. Been on a safari

123. Been saved by the grace of Jesus Christ through faith

124. Pet A Lion in Africa

England

After Christmas we decided to drive to Birmingham, England to visit some friends. It was kind of a last minute decision but we thought it would be fun to go somewhere since everything would be closed until the Monday after Christmas. We thought we might get a little bored in our apartment for that long. So thanks to my parents for their Christmas gift, we were able to go.

We drove to Calais, France and took the car ferry over to Dover, England. This was alot of fun and good chance for Emma to get out and run around. It was about an hour trip. The cliffs of Dover really are white...




Our friends took us to Staford on Avon to see the Shakespeare sights.

Max and Kayla, our friends kids. Emma had a great time with them.


Here's David's coat he got for Christmas from me and my mom.

This is the church Shakespeare is buried in.

Shakespeare's house.

We also went to see some old Roman ruins, it was pretty interesting.

This is a cathedral we visited outside of Birmingham.

Kenny, Kristy, Max and Kayla.We went to a pub one night and had some great English food.

It was a long trip home. We left on Jan 1st so there wasn't alot of traffic, but David and i tried to just follow our google directions backwards without a map. This wasn't a good idea. We got mixed up going around Brussels and realized later we were driving out some pennisula in the Netherlands. It was dark, otherwise we would have known to turn around. Good thing alot of people speak English there so we just asked for directions. So it all worked out, just an extra couple hours in the car. The girls did really well. We had a great time!

Christmas Day

This year was so fun with Emma opening presents and getting all excited about Christmas.

I think the "Reindeer Droppings" were more for David and I than Emma...we thought it was pretty funny.

Emma loved her baby doll from Grandma Kristi

Maggie's big present was her walker and she got a glow worm

I got a bunch of great decorations for our apartment from Kristi

David got some boots from his dad

Emma got a horse from Papa.

That evening we went to Julie's apartment for dinner with our team and couple from France. This is Chris our team leader


Shannon, Chris's wife and their friend from France. Shannon's expecting a boy in May. They are calling this their miracle child. They had a less then 1% chance of ever getting pregnant and after they adopted Emeline, 4 months later she was pregnant. We are so excited for them.

Christmas Eve

We had a great Christmas Eve with alot of cooking. David and i made gingerbread cookies, cinnamon rolls and French onion soup for dinner. The french onion soup is a Koster family tradition we always had after church on Christmas eve. We went to church at the English speaking international church. Then before bed we read the Christmas story together by the tree and each of us opened one gift (a Martin family tradition). Emma got a my little pony from her Aunt Hannah. She was so excited!

Our Team Christmas Dinner

The Tuesday before Christmas our team had a nice dinner at our apartment with pork roast, pumpkin pie, stuffing, potatoes and lots of other great food. It was alot of fun.