Widis Newsletter No. 9

Details: Published: 19 August 2020

Hello Folks

A newsletter not being focused on Corona: Is that possible these days? We try it - at least most of it! Enjoy.The photos can again only be found here on the website.
-> By the way: If you find yourselves on a picture here and you would like to not have this, please contact us quickly and we will remove the photo!

Still a bit Corona

Because of the lockdown the children had home-schooling, where Ursula was challenged quite a bit, and David had home-office, where he to master the challenge to work concentrated against the noise made by the kids. Despite these circumstances that time had also its good in it: As a familiy we grow closer. Looking back, this time was really challenging, but it also went very good - thank you God!

Also because of Corona, our travel plans to Hong Kong and Manila did not work out. If possible, we would like to do it later - currently it tends to become fall 2021. We will get back the money for the flight (it's confirmed, even the money is not on the bank account yet...).

Homeschooling-project Nayara (baking a bread):

Familyproject water-rocket

Further impressions lockdown

Here two videos from the rocket (the prove that it worked):

But now to some other topics

Ski holidays of another kind with a surprise

Ursula and the kids took a bit of a Ski holidays: They were invited to live for some time at Ursulas aunt and then they went to Sörenberg for skiing, where the skii school of Marbach had their programm: There was simply not enought snow at the place, it usually is (well in fact: NO snow). All enjoyed that time very much and the children made real progress in their skills of riding the skis!

But then on the second last day the big shock: while driving home, the car lost its grip on the street and instead of driving, the car slithered, crashed into a wall and slid further down the road: nobody is able to explain how a 60° turn with opposite traffic went just smoothly. A ski school teacher - attention advertisement: "Ski school Marbach" - stopped and organized, that the whole family came back to the aunt. Thank you very much again!

As if that would not be enough yet: At the end, you could see, that the tires weren't good anymore - late in winter, very warm temperatures - but the only damage was a crooked steering link. Costs of approximately 160 Swiss francs: It was just a miracle.

But the even bigger miracle was, that nobody got hurt and all just were shocked a bit but nothing severe - also a huge thank you here!

Hatched butterfly

During spring time we became witness of one of the biggest miracles of nature: Last fall we took a caterpillar to us. It made a cocoon and then nothing happened anymore. During winter we put it down to the cellar and sometime during spring we took it back into our living room.

On Good Friday then the miracle and big joy: A swallowtail hatched and after some concerns and tremble it suddenly flew quickly away - wow, very impressive!

(-> And just last Saturday we could send the next one onto its journey )

After a long winter

This summer

Camp time - parents time?

During summer holidays we had now the possibility to fill it differently. In the first week Benaja and Nayara went into a camp of the Salvation Army. Matthja could go a few days to his grandmother. In the week after, Ursula and the kids went all into an ADONIA-camp: Ursula for cooking, Matthja helped her with it. Benaja and Nayara joined the program.

And what about the parents time now? Well, in the first week Ursula and David went camping for a few days. Bought the equipment and off they went to the Ägerisee: It was marvelous and very relaxing! This time was overdue for already a log time, where we could be just the two of us. "Plan spontaneously" (is there something like that??? ), eat with not a lot of noise and permanent interruptions, enjoy the quite time in the evening, because there were no kids coming up all the time again, drive by car with deep and long talks - wow, that is so nice! It was so good and we really could invest into our relationship.

Conclusion: If everything works out, we can have a bit a longer holiday next year, what we plan very much (all three kids go to that camp)! This time just the two of us is so precious! We do that from time to time - we think, it is important and necessary - but not having to organize a baby sitter is very convenient!

During the other camp, David was on his own and enjoyed it not to be driven by the time and the needs of others! That was so relaxing. Visit people, to play computer games, walk (from Zofingen to Huttwil, 30km), sleeping in... Also Ursula and the kids enjoyed it! The kitchen team was great and very good integrateds into the camp. The children enjoyed it and except for some minor complaints or heartaches they could handle that time very good without their mother Such a camp is impressive for all always again.

The tent must be peoperly tested

Ursula and David camping

ADONIA-camp

Our moskito protection is gone

During more than two months we had bats, which had their nest at our house. That was great! Even though we haven't really seen a lot. They are very shy. in the evening we have seen them flying away from time to time and we heard them (sound similar to crickets - but not in the grass ). The nice side effect, as mentioned in the heading: We had no moskitos. NONE! But if you know, that a bat eats every night a third of its own weight - the ones we had eat around 1000 every night - and we had for sure around 30, you are not surprised too much anymore. It is lovely to give a home to a wild animal.

Beginning of August they then went further and the moskitos were back: Luckily we didn't get rid of our Moskito plugs before!
(And as bats also love to eat wasps, we only discoverd our huge wasp nest just only in August)

Also here two additional videos (Attention, so barely see it - full screen mode is recommended and you can see them fly away in the first second):

Music of the Newsletters

Already 3/4 of a year David works now at the Salvation Army. Out of that we chose a piece of music of an exceptional musician, which is called the same: "Salvation Army Band" from Phil Keaggy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c5ba3QqSXA.

At the end some additional pictures:

That's how Valentine's Day works at Widis: