Community

We've been lucky enough to form a pretty great community in the last year and a half since we moved to Germany. 

But I remember clearly, when Logan was a couple of weeks old, sitting at the kitchen table with my parents and Justin feeling pretty defeated. 

Justin and I expressed how hard it was to live in Berlin across the world from our family. We were just barely in our first season of basketball. Knowing we had more than two years ahead of us felt incredibly overwhelming. 

When we moved to Berlin, Justin jumped right into traveling with his team and I was too pregnant to walk more than 15 minutes outside. It was an easy excuse to stay in our comfy, peaceful apartment. Yet, after months of that lifestyle, it wore on us and we felt stuck. 

I'll never forget what Dad suggested we do. He told us to get outside of ourselves. We needed to serve. Reach out. Make connections. Invite people into our circles.

Our circles have grown & grown. We feel so lucky to have the amazing connections and friendships that form our Berlin community. Our church friends, basketball friends, kind neighbors, helpful doctors, moms I meet at the park, and everyone in between. 

Here's a few pictures from last week showing a little bit of our circle. <3

Beautiful Berlin!! I've slowly been increasing my milage during my Saturday runs. Only two more weeks until my race. I'm thankful for the beautiful views that have made the longs runs more enjoyable. 

I've been going on more walks with Marlies. I love her!! We've had good conversations about important things. We share what we believe & she even said she would come to church with me next month. 

If you look close you can see the purple crocuses from our walk. They're popping up everywhere in the city! Blue, white, purple, yellow. They look like they're sleeping in this picture since we had some cooler weather.

A new, red coat from our upstairs neighbors. Logan adores Kaya & gets so excited any time he sees her.

Ludwig & Marlies were excited to share their newspaper article with us from Justin's recent game. From Missionary to Professional Basketball Player <3. Justin talked about where we go to church near the Tiergarten & how important family time is to us. 

One of the highlights of Justin's home games is sitting by Norman and Birgit! They help keep this sleepy, restless boy entertained & we love them.

& going to our favorite place on our favorite day of the week. Our ward is incredible. You can't visit hoping to sit in the back and hide. You'll be found, welcomed, and feel pretty special. That's how I feel each week when I leave, whether it's a seamless Sunday with Logan, or we spent the two hours walking the halls of the building. We feel loved & we love them right back!