R.I.P.

It is with great sadness that we post this message.

Today, December 18th 2009, around 2am Michigan time, Nadine's father lost his battle with skin cancer (Malignant Melanoma). He fought a very hard 6-month battle and remained optimistic until the very end, but he finally went to sleep eternally last night. He leaves behind a very sad and grieving family, including his parents J. and S., his brothers G., R., B., his wife K., and his three daughters Nadine, M. and M., as well as his first and only granddaughter Vivie.

So far, no further arrangements have been made. If you wish, please keep the rest of the family in your thoughts and prayers.

Life in Munich

We have neither Internet or Phone until the end of this year, so we will not be able to call or even post anything on the blog unless we go to Starbucks (where we presently are). As such, happy holidays and a good new year to all of our family and friends!! Enjoy some recent pictures!

Christkindlmarkt

I'm a little lazy tonight, being almost midnight and all, but here goes:

Vivie helping Mommy make Salad

While splashing in the water

Daddy's not used to that strong Munich beer (J/K!!)

Vivie all bundled up @ the Christkindlmarkt

Giant Candle house

Yummy chocolate covered fruit
Before

Vivie after ;-)

First dinner in our now mostly organized living room

Have a wonderful week everyone!

We have a HOME!

After almost 3 weeks in a Hotel, we are finally in our own, beautiful apartment. We have all been sick, taking turns with who is feeling the worst, for about 1 1/2 weeks now. Hopefully this is behind us now!

Nach fast 3 Wochen in einem Hotel sind wir endlich in unserer eigenen, wunderschönen Wohnung. Wir waren alle krank, wechselten uns jetzt 1 1/2 Wochen ab wem es am schlechtesten ging. Hoffentlich ist das jetzt auch erledigt!

Vivie reading books to her Doll at the Hotel
Vivie liest ihrer Puppe im Hotel ein Buch vor

Vivie playing with Mommy's shoes
Vivie wie sie mit Mamas Schuhe spielt

Such a girl!
Ein absolutes Mädchen!

Our apartment from outside!
Unsere Wohnung von außen!

Left half of the kitchen
Linke Hälfte der Küche

Right half, fully equipped with a beautiful kitchen!
Rechte Hälfte, voll ausgestattete wunderschöne Küche!

This is our Living Room... well one day anyways!
Das ist unser Wohnzimmer.... wenigstens eines Tages!

Yes, that's right, we have a home office now!! Once the 30 or so boxes are no longer stashed in here, it will actually be a pretty big room!
Ja genau, wir haben jetzt ein Büro!! So bald die ca. 30 Schachteln weg sind, wird es ein recht großes Zimmer sein!

Vivie's room, as yet with no decorations
Vivie's Zimmer, bis jetzt ganz ohne Dekorationen

Look at all the toys this girl has!
Schau mal was das Mädchen alles an Spielzeug hat!

Our bedroom, one side. Our furniture looks so small now that the bedroom is so big!
Unser Schlafzimmer, linke Hälfte. Unsere Möbel schauen jetzt so klein aus weil das Schlafzimmer so groß ist!

Other side of the bedroom, things still needing to be unpacked
Rechte Seite des Schlafzimmers, Sachen die noch ausgepackt werden müssen

And the brand-new bathroom, also not yet fully organized
Und das nagelneue Bad, auch noch nicht ordentlich eingeräumt

~Les Kaplanovs~

Safely in Munich

We have safely arrived in Munich. Our temporary phone number here is +49 ([0]151) 104 313 80. We are not in an apartment yet, so we do not have a permanent address or phone number.

Andreos can see the BMW building from his work desk

Below are some pictures Auntie Ela shot with her Camera, enjoy!