Sum--mer- Time and the Livin' Ain't Easy!

I know all our fans out there have been waiting for our next weekly blog! So here goes!

Steve is still working on remodelling Randy and Jamie's bathroom. Jamie is hoping today is the day that they can move back to their own home. Steve is hoping to have the water hooked up and everything running. It looks great and Randy and Jamie are excited to have a brand new bathroom! I'm sure they will be posting pictures on their blog soon.

This has definitely been a busy spring and summer looks pretty full too. Last week Jamie and Judy travelled to Baltimore for our niece, Chelsey's graduation party. It was a great time. After the party, we found our way to the Annapolis mall and brought home some Chipotle. That's the nearest Chipotle to Salisbury so every chance we get - we make that a stop.

In 2 weeks, Jamie's parents and sister are visiting so there's still plenty of work to be done before their arrival. They will be here over the 4th of July and we are looking forward to their visit.

July's schedule is filling up. The second weekend we will be going to Pennsylvania to a cousin's wedding and then the following weekend Steve and I are travelling to Colorado for a visit with his brothers. We made our reservations this week and we're excited. The only time I have ever been to Colorado was in 1970 for the Nazarene Youth Institute at Estes Park.

We're really hoping by the end of July either Min and the boys will be here or at least have an idea when they'll be able to come. Please continue to pray for all the details to fall into place. Mindy is really being challenged with 24/7 care of the boys with no relief.If you've been reading her blog, you can see she has her hands full. We've been able to communicate with Chris via email and instant messaging. He's really working hard 7 days a week. Keep him in your prayers. As you can imagine, he is really missing his family.

Judy's brother Brian, Chelsey and boyfriend, Ben

Chelsey's Graduation Display

Judy and brother, Brian

Judy, Chelsey and Jamie

Brian, Chelsey and her mom, Patti

The "brudders"

Faithful Fathers

Today is Father's Day. A day for me that is bittersweet. This is the first Father's Day without Steve's Dad. He passed away last September. My own Daddy has been gone for 15 years as of this September. We really miss our Dads but we realize what a blessing our fathers were and how they still influence our lives.

Both our fathers attended Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Massachusetts and became ministers in the Church of the Nazarene. My dad, David E. Andrews, Sr. pastored small churches for about 10 years in S.C., Pa., and Va. He left the ministry when I was six years old so I really don't think of myself as a preacher's kid. He continued to be involved in the Church all his life as a Sunday School teacher and faithful layperson. He loved the Lord and always taught his children to imitate Jesus. He was a godly example and a kind, compassionate man. There was never a day I didn't feel the depth of his love for his God, his wife and children. He made it easy to believe in a loving Heavenly Father who watched over our lives and guided us each day.

Steve's dad, Rev. John D. Scott pastored for 40 years, 33 in the Church of the Nazarene in Upstate New York, Ohio, and New England. He moved to Maryland in 1986 and pastored 3 Methodist charges in Deal Island, MD. He served the Lord and the church faithfully all his life. He was truly a "devoted pastor" to all who knew him-even his family. He had deep spiritual wisdom and was always willing to give counsel if asked. He was quiet and unassuming and all who knew him respected him. He and his wife, Doris raised 4 sons who are all serving the Lord today. They also have 10 grandchildren, 9 who have graduated from a Nazarene college or university, and the last one entering Northwest Nazarene this Fall as a Freshman.

So both Steve and I have a wonderful legacy and we have always felt the hand of God on our lives. It's unlikely we would be in the relationship we are today with our Heavenly Father, if our fathers had not been faithful followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. We owe them so much and are very thankful that our Lord provided such examples in our lives.

I could also take the time to write complimentary words of the man who is my husband and has been such a wonderful father to our two sons. But I'll give those sons a chance to express their own feelings.(I know that's a change for me but what can I say) I just know they couldn't have a more loving,wise Dad and I'm grateful for the Lord's blessing to me as a mother and wife.

This year on Father's Day, I would have to also include our son, Christopher. It is not his first Father's day, but it is the first one in Iraq. It has been a couple months since he had to leave his wife and 2 sons and I know it was the most difficult thing he's ever done. He is such a good father to his boys and his Dad and I are very proud of him. It's been such a pleasure these last couple years to watch him with his son, Luke, and now Will. Being a father really brings out the best in him.

We send out a Father's Day wish to all of the soldiers who are fathers who are serving our country. We are so grateful.

Judy's Dad- David E. Andrews Sr.

Steve's Dad- John D. Scott Sr.

Grandpa Steve and Luke


Soldiers-Our Heroes- David Andrews Sr; Chris Scott

Chris with sons, Luke and Will

Chris, Luke and Grandpa Steve- Guka

Meme came back to Guka!

Just so everyone knows, Steve's prayers were answered and I decided to come back and give him one more chance! It was a tough decision between leaving Min and the boys in Germany or coming home to work and Steve but I take my marriage vows very seriously and decided he still needed me and my place was by his side!


So, last Monday I left my poor little sick Luke with his mommy and brother, Will, and caught the train to the Frankfurt airport from Idar Oberstein. Mindy's neighbor, Jean, so graciously drove me to Idar so Mindy would not have to take the boys out so early. I arrived home Monday night at 9:00pm and went back to work on Tuesday morning. I felt terrible leaving Mindy and the boys and in one week's time, Luke was sick again and then Mindy was sick with the stomach flu yesterday. I went back over her blogs since February and one of them has been sick every other week. It's crazy- especially when they don't have adequate health care on their post. They either have to drive to Landstuhl-45 minute drive away and wait for hours in a ER, or go to the German hospital which is about 5 minutes away and usually be seen immediately. The clinics on post can't see anyone without an appointment. Needless to say, this mother is not pleased with how the military is taking care of the families of our deployed soldiers! I won't use this blog to list all my complaints but you can imagine I have a few concerns.


Last week has been very busy. Steve is remodelling Randy and Jamie's bathroom so the kids moved in with us Tuesday night and Steve has been over there working as often as he could. Friday night we had a small party/ cookout to celebrate Randy's birthday. We had a great time!


Not much else is happening at Shad Point- hopefully their bathroom will be completed in the next couple weeks. I am enjoying having them around but I'm sure Jamie doesn't want it to go on too much longer- she doesn't want Randy's mom to spoil him more than he already is!

Please enjoy a few pictures:


Min reading to Luke

Will at the department store in Idar Oberstein

Will wishing he could have a sip of Luke's drink

Randy the birthday boy with his lovely wife, Jamie

But I Don't Want to Go Home!

Well, the dreaded day has arrived. This is my last day with Min and my precious grandsons, Luke and Will. Yesterday we had a great day. We travelled to Idar Oberstein to buy my train ticket for tomorrow morning. We decided to do a little shopping and Min found all kinds of toys. Luke even found a "Mater" truck from the "Cars" movie. It was in German packaging but when we opened it - he talked in English!

Today was supposed to be a special day. We went to church this morning and came home to eat lunch. The plan was for Min to bake a birthday cake and we were going to have a small celebration for Luke's 2nd birthday which is in 2 weeks. Guka and I had bought him a small DVD player and thought it would be fun to present it to him before I leave tomorrow-however- our little Luke woke up from his nap with an upset stomach. He has not been able to keep any liquids down for the last 7 hours. This has been torture to see him so sick again and have to leave tomorrow. Please pray that Luke will start feeling better soon and neither Min or Will will get this stuff.



I just want to share a few pictures of the last few days. Steve sent a box with "Cars" bed sheets and Min put them on Luke's bed the other day. Ever since whenever its bedtime, Luke can't wait to go lay on his new "Cars" sheets. Its so cute!




The night after Luke opened his car sheets he decided that Guka
deserved a place beside his Daddy on his shelf before he went to bed.
During the night he had both pictures in bed with him and when I went
to get him when he awakened both of these pictures were at the doorway!

Happy Birthday to Guka!

Some boys never grow up!

We want to wish Guka a Happy, Happy Birthday. When we web cammed with Guka this morning we had our on little birthday party. Luke loved it. Check out the pictures. Even Daddy got to join us via a picture! I'm sorry I am not there to celebrate but it sounds like Randy and Jamie took good care of him while I've been gone. At our small group study on Sunday night, they surprised him with a party. Miss Agnes brought him his favorite coconut banana cake and a good time was had by all!Last night Randy and Jame took him to Outback so I guess Meme is not really missed. Since next week is Randy's birthday, we are planning to check out Ruth Chris steak house in Ocean City when I get home.

Well, the weekend was much better for the Baumholder Scotts. Everyone started feeling better on Saturday but we just took it easy. The weather was cooler and we had some rain but it hasn't been bad at all. The sun has been out every day. Yay!

Monday, Min was able to run a few errands while I watched the children. In the afternoon, we went to the "Play Group." This is when all the mothers get out of the house and come to a play room and let the kids run wild while they visit. Min said the mothers enjoy it as much as the kids.I'm not sure how much grandmothers enjoy it!

We have been having fun every night doing the "Go Luke Dance." We find some "get down" music and take off with some great moves. Luke just runs around in circles saying "dance, dance" over and over. Last night we found the song "Stomp" by Kirk Franklin on youtube and had a blast! Even Min and Will danced with us. Unfortunately, Meme has to stop for awhile so she won't have a heart attack. But I'm sure its great for a few weightwatchers activity points. We find this activity very helpful when Luke goes to bed because he's asleep in seconds.

Now, if we could find some music that would keep him asleep at 6am in the morning, that would be nice. He now wakes up every morning between 5:30 and 6:00. Mommy and Meme are definitely not ready to get out of bed. Luke always wants his Mommy first thing so I haven't been able to help much. I usually get up for about an hour and then go back to bed for a couple-otherwise, I don't think I could keep up. I don't know how Mindy keeps going.

Today we hope to venture a drive to Vogelway. Mindy has the directions but has never driven by herself. We wanted to do some shopping since the the PX there is much nicer then Baumholder. They have a great toy section and electronics dept.

I wanted to share some pictures for the last several days. Enjoy!

Why I'm Here!

Well its very clear to me today why I came at this particular time to help Min and the boys. Luke was sick earlier in the week but last night Min and Will started with a fever and this morning she drove herself and Will to the local German hospital while I stayed with Luke. They were sick all night and Min said she better go get them started on antibiotics. She came home with all kinds of meds and they've been trying to get better but Min is still pretty weak and sick. I don't know how she would have made it without me. Her other friends all have children and they can't be around other sick kids so who knows what would have happened. Thanks be to God that He ordained that I be here right now. Now if you, Oh Lord will bring in Will's passport in the next couple days, that would be awesome. I don't know how I'm going to leave them in another week. Please pray for us that God will open the doors soon. Pray that tomorrow will be a better day and everyone will be on the road to good health. (Please pray that I won't catch whatever is going around!)

Luke and I had a great time today. Now that he is feeling better, he's really warmed up to me and we are becoming great buddies. He let me put him down for his nap and bedtime today and he ate like a bear at supper! I couldn't fill him up! We went for a long walk with his stroller and then spent some time at the playground. I've got some great pictures but haven't downloaded them yet. I'll try to post tomorrow.

Here's some from the other day to hold you over!

Luke at the bakery in Idar Oberstein

Luke with his blue eyes to match his new blue PJS!

Will in his swing in the kitchen

Our Germany Adventure

Well, since Mindy is very busy with her boys, and doesn't have time to post, I thought I would share what's been happening over here in Baumholder for the last few days. I shared on the previous post that Luke was sick and she took him to the doctor on Monday. Monday and Tuesday were a little hairy but we all made it through and by Tuesday evening, Luke was feeling much better...so we decided to take a little adventure. We googled some of the train stops between Idar Oberstein and Mainz and decided to visit Bad Kreuznach on Wednesday. It was pretty funny how we decided on a destination. It was pretty much based on the fact that the train ride wasn't too long and what type of attractions were available. Google is a wonderful tool to research places. We downloaded a map, circled a few places of interest, and checked the train schedules.

So Wednesday morning, we set off to Idar Oberstein. This was only Mindy's second attempt to travel off the post and she did a fantastic job. We had a little problem with parking at first but finally found our way into a parking garage, unpacked the stroller and kids and backpacks and began our adventure. We bought a round trip train ticket at the train station and since we had a little time to kill we decided to check out the Idar Oberstein shopping area across the street. It was a beautiful day (as all of the days have been since I arrived). We stopped at a bakery and had a pastry and walked back to the train station. Since the "lifts/elevators" were not working we had to take both boys and the double stroller up several flight of stairs to the train platforms. So many people all day were very helpful to assist us when we were trying to get to the trains and platforms. No escalators or elevators in sight. Actually, on our way back from Bad Kreuznach, the train conductor at the station stopped a train and opened the gate so we could cross to our track for the train we needed. That was a very unexpected blessing!

So, anyway, we got on the train and Luke was so excited. He was in his "Luke Daze" at first but finally warmed up to the idea. He enjoyed watching the many sights as the train flew by. We arrived in Bad Kreuznach around 12:45Pm and after a slight turn in the wrong direction we ended up on the very street we were searching for. It was Mannheimer Str. and there were all kinds of shops and eating places along the way. It was pretty busy- I don't think Mindy nor I expected it to be such a big city. We saw some quaint houses and businesses. We ate pizza at an Italian restaurant outside- I don't think we realized at first it was Italian and we were disappointed when we couldn't find schnitzel on the menu but since we were already seated we decided to stay. It was very pleasant and the the waiter was very helpful.

After lunch, we walked up to the "bridge houses" and looked around some more and then walked back to the train station to catch the 4:02 train back to Idar Oberstein. We arrived home around 6pm and were exhausted! We both went to bed at 10:00pm and have tried to catch up on our rest today.

Unfortunately, that's not easy for Mindy. I tried to let her sleep in this morning but Luke would not allow me to take care of him- he insisted on his Mommy so she had to get up early. Then the maintenance men arrived at 7am and were working outside Luke's window. The other day when he was trying to nap, they were drilling in the hallway by his room. It is getting very frustrating to deal with these worker's schedules. They either work very early in the morning, then they leave and come back at 1pm when it's nap time. I'm not sure where they are in between but it is ridiculous and very inconvenient for families with young children. They've been working on this building since Chris and Mindy moved in. You'd think they could just work until they finish one building and not have to take 8 months to finish a job!

Oh well, the other news of the day is now Will has a fever. He's been lethargic and sleepy all day. I don't know how I'm going to leave Mindy in another week and half. I'm very concerned about how she can handle this much longer-especially when the kids are sick every other week. Please pray that Will's passport comes in soon so they can make a trip to the states! She needs some major support!

We talked to Chris the other night. It was great to hear his voice. I really miss him- there's a definite void in this place without him here. I know Mindy and the boys are missing him terribly and trying to do the best they can.

Here's some pictures of our adventure:

Mindy and the boys as we were leaving

Meme and Will and Luke at the Bakery

One of the beautiful churches in Bad Kreuznach

Side Street in Bad Kreuznach

Cathedral- Bad Krueznach

Train Station

Meme and Luke on train

Will at train station platform

Mindy and the boys on train