Frohe Weihnachten! Our Christmas letter

Once again we have been in transition and once again we have been exploring with four kids in tow. We wrote a poem to describe our year.

In November of ’05, on a balmy, fall night,
The plane lifted off and I realized my plight.
To get four ornery children and ten bags too
From Hawaii to Germany without losing a few.

We stopped over in Texas and spent four weeks there,
Enjoying the relatives and Taco Cabanas to spare.
With no dry eyes we bid the U.S. farewell,
And began the long plane trips as well.

To Stuttgart, Germany the Air Force had sent us,
Now we stayed in a small hotel over Christmas.
We found a townhouse with a guest room to spare,
Grandma and Grandpa have visited there.

Over the glorious summer we did travel
To places with castles and churches and cattle.
Victoria looked for princesses wherever we went
Ethan cried, “No more castles, please!” but on we sent,
The boys climbed town walls, high church steeples,
Learned more history than many of the peoples
That lived in the other places we’ve been.
We wonder aloud the things they’ve learned and seen
And are thankful for the opportunity!

We took a long road trip and saw the great Alps.
Even in summer the mountains had snow caps.
We visited Italy and saw the tower in Pisa
Hiked a rocky coast and ate lots of pizza.
We saw lots of cathedrals and paintings too
It also had a beach with a lovely view.

Back through Austria we did travel
Lots of ruins and lots of cattle.
Spent a week near Germany’s highest mountain..
More castles and alpine peaks, but who’s countin’.

Two trips to France round out our year,
Strasbourg is nice and made us glad we are here.

When we don’t travel, we have much to do,
The kids are in scouts, AWANAs, and TaeKwonDo.
Homeschool group is growing and the kids are glad.
Lots of friends and activities to be had.
Neal’s job is with DISA; He loves it there.
I’m still at home trying to do my share.

Yes, our family is still continuing to go
But we would not have it any other way, you know!

Merry Christmas to all and to all lots of cheer
Let us know if you are coming our way this year
Our phone number is German so drop us a line
Email will find us most of the time.
God bless you and keep you this fine time of year
Again Merry Christmas to those we hold dear!

May you have a blessed Christmas and a happy new year!
Neal and Vivian, Matthew, Daniel, Ethan, and Victoria Schneider


P.S... Here's the thumbnails for the printed newsletter border: