Posts
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| Gordon |
Monday, May 17, 2010
Where in the World are the Allens?
Well, we have settled down long enough and have finally gotten our internet so I thought I would update everyone a little.
We believe the Lord has led us to Gordon Texas, which is a little town with only a stop sign on main street. I am learning what living in a small town is like and how news travels fast.
The kids are enjoying it and have been exploring every inch of our yard and finding bugs and frogs and flowers and Fire Ants!
We are part of a small church that is just forming from a small group meeting in peoples homes to getting a building and finding its feet in a more public setting. It is pretty great to be a part of that. Kate is leading worship every week and doing a great job! It is awesome to see God using her and seeing her walk out part of her calling and I have nothing to do with it.
We miss Berlin at least once a week now and not every day like before. I'm sure missionaries in the Bible must have had places they wanted to stay forever but God kept moving them along. Not just for the people but also for them. Every place we have visited and lived has changed and affected us. God has taken care of us every step of the way. But we still miss Berlin alot.
The kids are growing up super fast and changing every week. Graham has 5 teeth and Belle has got the cutest curls and is talking so well. Noah is big enough to mow the yard. I have to start it but then he mows until it runs out of gas.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Had a baby!
Well, It's official, the kids now outnumber us.
We are the proud owners of a shiny new '09 baby boy.
Here is the delivery day lowdown. Tired and way behind on everything...but wanted to share. Sorry for bad grammar...or grammer...whatever.
Kate was having contractions all night and they had been stopped before with water but this time the water was no help.
She woke me up at 5:30 to tell me that they were not stopping and were getting stronger.
What was crazy was I had just woken up from a dream where there was worship music playing and there was a guy with his hand on my back praying for me and then I woke up and Kate is in labor!
God is so awesome.
Anyways I'm in a state of controlled freakout since we had no one to help us with the kids and how to get to the hospital and we dont even have a bed yet!
I called a cab and woke up the kids and packed the bags and the whole time Kate is doing the movie thing where shes makeing these loud... oooooohhhhhhhh.... sounds.
So we get all in the cab and she can barely make it to the cab cause every 3 steps she is.... ooooohhhhh.... the poor cab driver was pretty calm but he took a wrong turn and he started driving faster and Kate is oohh.ing louder and lounder and hes starting to sweat a little.
But we got there and we get out at the wrong door... so she has to walk 50 feet to the other door.
So she takes 3 steps and then ooooohhhh...So being the observant person I thought...shes never going to make it up the 10 foot ramp to get into the hospital. So I get a nurse to bring her in on a wheelchair and they take her in and leave me and the kids in the hallway while they "check her out". Well she comes back and tells me "Your wife is having the baby"
So I leave the kids in the hall and go in with Kate for a while and she is doing ok. But the first thing she tells me is "it's too late to have medicine".
So they walk her thru breathing and she is doing totally awesome so I run out to check on the kids.
They are good so I run back in to check on Kate and a few mins later we have a baby!
So we got to the hospital at 6:15 and she had him at 7:02.
Christopher Isaac Graham Allen
5.37 lbs
17.32" long
August 24th
They brought an incubator from another hospital and then packed him up and took him over there. Then came back a few hours later and took Kate.
We went home and let the kids rest for a while and then headed to the new hospital that is now an hour away. Found Kate, saw Christopher, lots of doctor talks, kids were good but totally on sleep craziness mode, waited for 4 hours for pump for Kate, got home at 1am.
Everything worked out more perfect than I could have planned and I know that God will take care of whatever we need.
Kate is going to go everyday to the hospital and I will keep being Mr. Mom. Poor family has to eat my cooking.
Ok gotta go.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Fun at our friends Garden house
Our most wonderful neighbors and friends Ulli Ursel invited us to their garden house for a few days and we had a blast!
They had their very first marshmallows!
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| Garden House |
Monday, April 13, 2009
Forget all the blogging stuff.
I have decided that I will never get around to "blogging" but I can post some pics and put the link here for everyone to see.
Feel free to post comments and I will try to update the pics a little more often.
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| Cute Kids and Easter |
Monday, February 16, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving/Christmas!
Well its a little late but I wanted to say happy thanksgiving!
So Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!
There are so many things that I am grateful for.
1. I wanted to say a big thank you to our friends the Serios for all their help over the last 8 months. Without them we would have never made it here. They helped us with our Visa and finding a school and finding an apartment. Heck without them we would have never been here at all! Thanks for letting us tag along!
2. My kids. They have been a big challenge trying to get settled here but honestly without them I think I would have gone insane. They are such a joy and remind me of what is really important in life.
3. My wife. Without her I REALLY would have given up long ago. She really is my helpmate and best friend and for some reason is still here so I guess she likes me too, cause she's still here!
4. Berlin. Well living here has brought so many different changes and adventures that I dont know where to begin. But thank you Lord for bringing us here and using it to change our lives!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
First Snow
Here are some pics and video of our first snow. It was really rain and snow but it was cool anyways.
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| First Snow |
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Last 3 weeks - week one.
Ok, I got a few comments requesting more info of whats going on over here so I am trying to do that now. It jut seems like I "wake" up every so often and go...what day is it? What am I doing? Why are my feet cold? Then I remember we have been here for 8-9 months! Its Berlin, its November.
Here is the story of our last 3 weeks broken down.
Week 1:
Start the tiny Violin.....
We walked into our house to see our sink was overflowing.
So I thought, ok no big deal, I'll just get a plunger and were good to go!
Well... I bought a plunger..... and after about an hour of plunging I thought ....hmmm maybe something bigger? So I asked the hardware guy and he said to get this water shooter thing. Looks like a big water gun with the plunger thing on the end.........no workie........so at this point we leave for lunch (since our pans and dishes are all contaminated) and when we come back we see our sink had overflowed with our washing machine water, which we had started before we left for lunch. Again Im thinking no big deal, I just need a roto rooter thing and were good to go. Back to the hardware store I go. They have 1m 5m and 10m long ones. Im already upset about spending like 20eu on the other things so I get the 5m long one. Well...nothing happens.
It is at this time we notice our sink is filling up with water and we have nothing turned on!.....Aha! Its the water from the upstairs apartments! All their washing machine and sink water is flowing into my silverware drawer. Its not my pipe, its the main pipe backing up in my sink! So up we go to ask everyone to please stop using their kitchens and washing machines until we can get the maintenance guy here to fix it. Our neighbors help us make the calls needed and promised to stop using their water. We put notes on everyones doors to warn them. And then it was night.
The next day I wake up to the sounds of water....I think......Kates in the shower.....then I think...maybe not? “Kate, are you in the shower?” “No!” Crud....I jump up and grab the bucket and go at it again..and again...... I had to stand guard with a bucket to run back and forth to the toilet until the guy got here.
Well, he finally shows around 4 I think. Of course he shows up and trys everything I did (they always do that). Then he gets out his POWERED roto rooter....pause...nothing. So he looks at me and I tell him I think its not my sink thats clogged, its down in the big pipes. So down we go to the cellar to find the mysterious pipe....ok so an hour later and many trips to the cellar we figure out which line it is and that there is no way to get into it. Its all giant metal pipes. I asked him can we try one more time under the sink? Well we did and this time he gave it that extra push and Victory! So we had no water for 2 days and the kitchen smelled like sewage for a while and we had to rewash everything but we survived.
Things I learned: I learned a lot about plumbing. Our neighbors are nice. Its best to live on the top floor. Apt insurance is a good idea.
Week 2 and 3
Week 2: Then the next week due to not paying my gas bill (forgot) and not able to read the warning in the mail, our gas got turned off. Actually I let the guy in to turn it off and had no idea. Kate thought that was pretty funny. Im not laughing yet.
Week 3: We are now waiting on the House provider to send out a gas technician to check the lines for a leak. So still no heat.
Well 2 days of phone tag and the guy came! He cut some holes, pulled some pipe, made a mess, but did get it working. So yippee..the heat is back on.
All this has really opened up relations with our neighbors, which has been good. They have been really great helping us read things and make phone calls and letting us use their shower.
Seems like life back to normal for a while?
Friday, October 10, 2008
Hello!
Ok,
I know it had only been a few months since I have updated this....bad Chris.
Things have been....well...challenging and new. So any free time goes to the fam and not to the web. Im on the silly computer all day as it is.
So, I am sharing a bunch of pics and videos that hopefully will be fun for everyone.
Of course there is a story with almost everyone of something new or crazy. But your saved from having to hear them.. Hope you enjoy.
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| Berlin Fun |
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| Belles Birthday |
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| First Day of Shcool |
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Hello from the Berlin Black Hole!
Well I have been wanting to update our blog for weeks but just now found some time to get er done.
There is so much to share with what has happened over the last 3 months. I dont think I could possibly share everything.
I wish I could share everything in a way that would take you thru the experiences like we had them. Like being trapped in my living room and forced to watch our slide show.
But, Ive been there and I hate that. So I'll just toss some pics with a few stories and the rest is ours to know and yours to find out!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Hittin the road
Well I bought my ticket!
I am leaving for Berlin in March for a week to check things out. Then we all leave as a family the beginning of April.
This has been a hard week. We realized we have about 6 weeks left to sell/plan/store and get ready to move out.
We will stay with Kate parents for a couple weeks before we leave so they will have a little time to get the home ready to sell.
Well please pray for smooth planning and that even during the craziness we remember to have a good time!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Berlin, here we come!
Well we spoke to Jeff and it looks like we all agreed on a date!
Jeff was concerned that if we came any earlier he would not even be there to help us if needed. Katy was concerned if we go to late then we would not have time to settle in before Noah goes to school. Soooooooooo.....
We are planning (tentative) to arrive in Berlin around the first of April.
I am planning on leaving the month before for a week visit to find us a place to live. We are looking for a furnished apartment for the first couple of months. Then we will look for a more permanent place to rent that will be near Noah's school. That will give us some time to get used to living in Berlin. I was not looking forward to having to arrive and then go buy silverware and chairs and a bed and well, everything! So having a furnished place gives us some extra time.
So now we have to start packing, and selling and giving away everything that will not go in a suitcase. It will b nice going in April since the weather will not be as cold.
Noah is sad that there will be no snow when we arrive. He will have to wait a while for any snow fights. I'm a little bummed because tickets will cost more but we will have more time to save so it should balance out. I just wish the exchange rate was better. We know God will provide exactly what we need. He always has.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Friday, November 9, 2007
Still Going
Well we have prayed and prayed and really feel led to trust God in all the matters of moving and finances and all the little details. God is a God of details and I know He will work it out or show us how to manage all we need to. I am still excited.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
Meeting with Serio
Well we have heard from Jeff and he is coming into town on the 29th so we will get together and go over the million questions we have for them then.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Germany Timing
Well Kate and I have prayed about when we think we should leave and we really feel a peace about leaving at the end of February. So that means I will most likely leave sometime in January for a week or so to find us a place to live, get a lease signed and pay a bunch of money up front to move in and then come back and get the family. So we will see how things turn out.
We had a garage sale last weekend to get rid of stuff and make some cash for Germany. It was so hot! I think it was 95 with 99% humidity. Anyways we made a little money. We will need to do it again though, we did not sell everything we wanted to sell. Kate and I think we will have giant blow out sale right before we leave.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Germany
Yes it's true, we are moving to Germany!
I will try to answer all the questions I have been getting from everyone.
Where:
We are moving to a suburb in Berlin called Zehlendorf.
Here is a map of Berlin with the location of the School Noah will be going to.
Also here is a link to the schools website in case your interested.
We will be renting an apartment there and plan to stay 2-3 years unless things change.
I will continue to keep my job and work over the internet.
We will be helping the Serios as much as we can. (see What: section below)
What:
We are going to support Jeff and Barbara Serio.
They have started a ministry called European Initiative.
Here is a link to EI.
The site has a video and information on what is going on there.
We are not sure of all that we will be doing there. I do know that I will be helping Jeff handle logistics of teams entering and leaving the country.
There will be alot of coming and going and we will need to get people to the right place at the right time. There are alot of churches and church leaders that Jeff has relationship with and we will be helping them with whatever we can.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
New Baby!
We are so excited to have a new member of the family!
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| KristiAnn Belle Allen (Born-8/22 |
Friday, July 13, 2007
Chick_Fil-A
Dress up like a cow and get free Chick-Fil-A.
The things we do for free food sometimes.
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| chic-fil-a |
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
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