Early Friday morning I experienced a tender moment that touched my tough heart. Thursday and Friday nights I slept in a different room so as to avoid hearing Douglas' snoring (I'm a light sleeper and it keeps me awake at night). Around 3:00am on Friday morning I heard Douglas in the other room. He was standing in his crib calling for Mom. "Mom. Mom." Then it was "Dad. Dad." Then I heard him lie back down in his crib and in his cute little whimpering voice he said, "Mom and Dad, all gone." Then he fell asleep again. Wow, I am normally very tough with Douglas (I don't handle crying and whining very well), but in that quiet, early-morning moment, my tough heart was softened a bit.
Late Friday morning we drove to Niersbach, Germany, a quiet village where Ben (my cousin), Jana (Ben's wife), and their kids currently reside.
Filling our bellies with some hearty German food.
We were thrilled when we saw that they have a washer AND a dryer. We have not seen a dryer since we left the States.
We arose early Saturday morning (we are eight hours ahead of Utah time) to watch BYU beat Mississippi State in double overtime. What a game!
Douglas enjoyed playing with the kids and their toys.
Saturday afternoon, after watching Caitlyn, Jackson, and Lauren play in their soccer games (Jackson scored an awesome goal!), we drove 90 minutes to the city of Koblenz, where my great-great-great-great grandfather, Alexander Neibaur, was born. Here are a few details about him:
Alexander was born January 8, 1808, at Ehrenbreitstein, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany (although at the time of his birth it was part of France, so Alexander also noted that he was born in Alsace-Lorraine, France).
The Fortress of Ehrenbreitstein is now part of the City of Koblenz and is situated on a 385-foot cliff where the Rhine and Moselle Rivers merge.
The French destroyed the fortress in 1801, and Alexander was born seven years later somewhere in the fortress.
His parents were Nathan Neibaur and Rebecca Peretz Neibaur (Nathan was an accomplished linguist and a physician and surgeon. Some say he was, for a time, the personal physician of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Nathan was born in Nassau, Deggendorf, Bayern, Germany).
Alexander was the first male Jew baptized into the Restored (LDS/Mormon) Church. He taught Joseph Smith some more Hebrew and German in Nauvoo.
The Fortress of Ehrenbreitstein is on the hill behind us.
Statue of the last German emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II.
Fortress of Ehrenbreitstein
The spot where the Rhine and Moselle Rivers merge.
On the lift going up to the fortress.
Looking out on the city of Koblenz.
On top of the fortress.
Playing at a splash pad after visiting the fortress.
Walking to the cars to make the drive back to Niersbach.
Sunday morning we attended Ben and Jana's church meetings (the Bitburg Military Ward).
Tis a small world. Those of you who spent time out on the east coast might recognize these two friends (Roger and Courtney).
Sunday afternoon stroll through the forest surrounding Niersbach. Doogles will miss those three.
On Monday morning I took the kids to a nearby playground.
Then we played in the forest again.
Vichy needs a few hundred of these signs. Too many dogs there.
Douglas and Jackson playing Minecraft.
Little did we know what was happening while we were playing in the forest. Jana was due to give birth later this week, but she had a c-section scheduled for Tuesday morning because the baby was breech. Sunday night was a rough night for her, so she decided to call Ben at work Monday morning to take her to the hospital. 20 minutes after they arrived at the hospital this little man came out feet first.
Good-looking boy! Ben and Jana couldn't decide on a name for their new boy, but German law required them to have a name for him by Tuesday morning. Ben just informed me that they chose the name Thomas Maxwell Carter.
How fortunate we were to be here for this neat occasion.
"Wow, all this baby stuff is making me hungry. I'll take a doner kebab with extra meat.......or just the bread around the kebab." We enjoyed some Turkish food before we took the kids back home and Ben returned to Jana in the hospital.
Thank you, Ben, Jana, Caitlyn, Jackson, and Lauren for letting us spend the last few days with you.
Little Thomas, you are blessed to have been born into a wonderful family.
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