The Trip of a Lifetime...

    This year will mark many milestones for our family:  I'm now officially 1/2 a century old, Craig & I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, and our oldest child will continue her college education away from home in the fall.  In response to all these things, my sweet husband surprised us with a trip of a lifetime!  All seven of us traveled to Europe, starting off with 5 amazing days in Paris!  I'll let the attached photos show you some of our blessings along the way.  I am so thankful that I could share it with my children instead of having to try to describe the indescrible to them when we returned.

Enjoying breakfast at a sidewalk cafe in Paris.  We really enjoyed the fresh French bread everyday!  This sweet lady treated us like her family, and she didn't even speak English!  We found the people in Paris to be very kind and accomodating.

The Eiffel Tower at dusk...

How can you crochet at 200 mph?  In the TGV train - on our way from Paris to Switzerland!  Another surprise planned by Craig.

Here's the rest of our gang.  I must have counted to "7" at least a thousand times during the trip just to make sure we still had everyone.  See - counting stitches over and over again does actually come in handy sometimes!

Walking across the Rhine River in Basel, Switzerland, all luggage in tow.  We were on the way to pick up our rental van.  Basel is also the home town of one of our tennis favorities, Roger Federer.

My daughter Becky and me - trying to stay warm in the Swiss Alps.

One of the many spectacular views of God's creation we were blessed to experience.

Another incredible view.  Looks like a great place to retire, huh?

A view from a castle in Germany.

A small taste of home in a foreign land:  Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough Ice Cream.

A sobering visit to Dachau Concentration Camp.  The gate reads "Arbeit Macht Frei", which is "Work will make you free," the biggest lie of the 20th century.  Every prisoner walked through these gates.  We were able to do what many prisoners never could - we freely walked back out of these gates after our visit.  

Part of the original security fence that surrounded the compound.  I will spare you any other photos.  If there is any doubt in your mind about the doctrine of the depravity of man, this place will remove any doubts.  

Look what we found for sale in a high fashion Italian shoe store right near the Trevi Fountain in Rome:  crochet sandals!  That's not all.  I also found a pair of crocheted racing gloves and a cabled hat at the Ferrari Store!  Looks like crochet is alive and well in Europe.  : )

The Coliseum at dusk.  Our apartment in Rome was only 3 blocks away!

A visit to another ancient city, Ostia Antica.

A hummingbird moth, one of the many little ways we were divinely blessed on this trip.  

Visiting with the Lanz Family in Switzerland.