A new way to contact us, and The Moore Haus

We set up a free way for you to call us. For those of you in the 310 area code, it's a free call, and for everyone else, it's the same long distance charge as a call to Southern California.


We've got a new phone number. Call 310-929-5828. This will ring through to our computer.


Don't worry about accidentally making a mistake with the time zones and calling us in the middle of the night-- when we go to sleep we turn off the computer, and whenever the computer's off your call will just go straight through to voicemail. Also, our account is unlimited use, so we're paying the same amount whether you call or not, so call us!




Some of you have asked about where we're living this year, so we thought we'd give you a tour of the Moore Haus, one of the most beautiful houses we've ever seen.



This first picture shows the Moore Haus from the level of the street-- perched 71 steps up a steep hill.









However, before you start up the steps, you go though the front gate.

And then start up the steps. When you are trying to move in 9 suitcases (each one weighing exactly the 51 pounds that British Airways allows), you count each and every one of those steps.

The next picture shows the front door (to the left) and a patio for the students. Right in the center of the picture, there's a tunnel that leads to our back door and our patio (which you'll see in a minute).

When you walk into the foyer, you see this incredible stained glass window. The stairway leads to the second floor (where the bedrooms for the female students are) and the third floor (where the bedrooms for the male students are). The brown arched door below the stairs leads to the lower floor, where the offices, student living room, and student computer lab are.

In the next picture (also of the foyer), the door to the left (which is almost out of view) leads to the library. There's a lot of construction stuff in there right now, so we didn't take a picture. The door in the middle of the picture leads to the Reception Room (which is shared by us and the students). The arched door to the right leads to our apartment.

The next three pictures show the Reception Room.

Dominic and Ian have both been starting to learn how to play the piano since we've been here. Stacy thought ahead and brought some piano lesson books, and they've been enjoying it.

When you walk into our apartment, the first room you go into is the kitchen.

Then our living room.

Then the bedroom. Right now, the boys are sleeping in one of the students' rooms, but in a couple of weeks, they'll move into this bedroom, and the two of us will start sleeping in the living room.

Finally, there's our back patio, which is a beautiful place to eat lunch or just sit and read. The stone stairway to the right leads to a path (all on Moore Haus property) into the woods, where there's an old World War II era bunker. The pathway makes a good place for the boys to go play Stay Wars.

So that's our home. Come and visit us some time before April!

Steve, Stacy, Dominic, and Ian

Four blogs for the price of one

A note from Ian:

"Dear All of my Friends and Family, I like about Germany that it's so cool and it's different about California. Because of the Kinder Eggs and because of the many tootsies that they have here in Germany. It's cool because they have big and little chupachups. Well, I liked going to the candy store. That's where I got my Spiderman Kinder Egg. I really liked Luisenpark and the Zoo. The Zoo was so fun I can't remember how fun.

(Playing in the water at Luisenpark)

The Moore Haus is so fun. And once we played hide and seek in our whole house except in the lockie thingies (wardrobes). BYE! From, Ian"

--------------------------------

A note from Dominic:

"Dear Everybody in the Whole Wide World,

I really miss Pepperdine. And I really miss my friends and family. But the Luisenpark and the Zoo, and the Hauptstrasse and the Schloss ... I've had a really good time. We found a bunch of poker chips and my dad's going to teach me how to play poker. Not the gambling kind. I really miss you all.

This picture is of some beautiful flowers at Moore Haus. I took this picture.

This is a slope next to our house. It is a picture of our back porch. I took this picture too.

From, Dominic"

--------------------------------------

A note from Stacy:

So last Monday we went to Luisenpark in Mannheim (a neighboring city) with the Drehsels. It's a great place! A huge area with many play areas, eating areas, water play, bumper cars, trampolines, and a small zoo, as well as indoor areas and even a boat ride.

Here are the boys and I practicing our Flamingo look:

Last Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we played in the rain. We enjoyed getting umbrellas and tromping around in the puddles.


On that Thursday we went to a family's home from the Gemeinde Christi and had lunch. Die Mittagessen war sehr schmeck. I hope that means lunch was very good. So was the company. They were very welcoming.

On one of the days the boys had a huge Squattie war (squatties are what our boys call the small StarWars figures) with Titans for backup (their stuffed animals).

Boy versus Boy

When it cleared up again over the weekend we went on a hike in the woods near our house. It was great to be exploring.
We ended up finding our way around and down to the garden grounds of der Schloss.

It was fun to look around and see cool water bugs and tad poles in the fountains but there were no frogs or lilypads.

The view over Heidelberg is beautiful!

It's fun to become acquainted with the area and the people around us. We've met our neighbors on one side. Sometime we'll give you a tour of the inside and outside of the house. As laid back as our schedule is right now, I find it doesn't take much to wear us out, so even though we're doing well, we're still in the adjusting phase.

We love hearing from you all! Love, Stacy


------------------------------------



And last of all, a note from Steve:



So my biggest adventure this week was my introduction to the German sport Kegeln. Karl Drehsel plays most Monday nights with a group of his friends, and he invited me to come along this week. Very fun.







It was described to me as 9-pin bowling, but there's some big differences. The ball is about half the size, and either has no holes or only two holes-- and it doesn't curve like in American bowling. The lane itself doesn't have any arrows or lines-- just a big open lane. The biggest difference, though, was that there's not just one single game-- where you try to get the higest number of points. Instead, there are a huge number of variations, and after every game it switches to a new set of rules. For example, in the first game we played-- translated Foxes and Hounds-- everybody rolls one ball, and the two highest rollers are the Foxes, and everyone else is a Hound. After the Foxes get a one-roll head-start, each of the Hounds try to roll high enough that their total overtakes a Fox's total before the Fox reaches 50 points. My favorite variation (translated something like Thief, or Con Artist, or Cheater) has everyone roll one ball, one after each other, and the total of all of the players are added together. Everyone tries to avoid being the person who breaks a total of 25, because that costs you. Once the total rises above 25, you try to avoid being the one to break 50 (which costs you more), then 75, then 100, all the way up to 200. I liked this game because it was the only one where it actually was good to roll a 0!


The other Kegeln players were great-- very welcoming and hospitable. Even though I sat through a night listening to friends joke and good-naturedly insult each other in a language I don't yet understand, it was great. Even though I played like, well, an American who was used to an entirely different sport, they were encouraging. Best of all, they told me that since it was my first time I didn't have to pay for anything but my beer. If I come back, though, I pay like everyone else. I tried to keep track of what I would have owed if they had made me, and it was somewhere around 7 Euro-- which would be a great value for a great authentic German experience.




Looking forward to next Monday night.



Thanks for reading this long post!

Steve

Wir Sind Hier!

We made it to Germany and aren't at all surprised that we like it here. We have been so warmly welcomed by Karl Drehsel (who picked us up in Frankfort and took this picture of us), and by his wife Mary Drehsel, who works for Pepperdine, and by Ulla Prokop, who also works for Pepperdine. They are kind and the three of them went with us to dinner our first night in Heidelberg and we had good food and a good time. They took us to one of their favorite Italian restaurants because they knew we had enjoyed Italy when we were there 6 years ago. It was fun to get out of the area we will soon become so familiar with and see a different part of town.

We have been acclimating and settling in well. The boys really like most things but walking up the hill isn't one of them. Our California boys like to ride in cars! But we will all have strong legs soon - I hope! There are helicopter seeds outside the house and the boys have loved finding high places to drop them from and watch them spin to the ground.

Saturday we walked down to the Hauptstrasse and had some lunch, then gelato, and then did a little shopping for food. We all enjoyed the weather, which has been really nice, and the activity of Alt Stadt (Old Town Heidelberg). Later we came home and spent some time exploring the Moore Haus, which is currently empty. It's fun to rummage around and see all the rooms. We are also enjoying watching movies on the big, flatscreen TV in the student area while we're not in the way of the students in their own lounge.

Today, Sunday, we went to Gemeinde Christi, which is the German Church of Christ here in town. We really enjoyed the spirit and the people there. They are very hospitable and freundlich (nice) even though we are strangers. There were many kids there and the boys enjoyed meeting them and having children's lesson with them.

After church we had more gelato - for lunch this time! - then came home for a dessert of sandwiches. After doing a little more unpacking, we walked over to the castle, Der Schloss, and walked around some (it's amazing to be the ones who don't understand what everyone else is saying). We've already unpacked our family games and have enjoyed playing some of them.

We would love to hear from you! We will keep you updated on what's going on and more pictures, too. Thanks for your prayers and well wishes. We are praying for and remembering each of you, too!

Love, Stacy