DaDa's 7 Month Old

I think my favorite part about having a seven month old is this head of hair.  It might not seem like that much to some, but none of my kids have had this much hair at this age.  So of course



I already stuck a bow in it.  She is sitting up in this picture but she can only do it for a second.  She is in that weeble wobble stage.



Brian's favorite part about having a seven month old is that all she says is DaDa.  Everything is dada, which must mean that he is the favorite parent right?  Someone reminded me that I might not want her to start saying mama because I hear MAAMAA all day long from my older two already.  So we will just stick with DaDa from this sweet little face for now.

Blueberry Picking

Last year we tried to pick blueberries and were not that successful.  It started pouring down rain right after we started and maybe our pickers were just a little too young.  The three little ones did more eating than they picked.



What a difference a year makes.  We picked a sunny day (Germany has finally given us some summer days) and



were able to bring home plenty of blueberries for our house.



Maybe next year I can put Payson to work as well.  Or most likely the cycle will start over and she will do more eating than picking.

American Cemetery and Memorial

Back to our Normandy trip... We started our second day heading straight to the American Cemetery.  I do not think I was prepared for how moving visiting this place would be or



for how many questions the girls would have (especially Carolyn).  Brian and I could have spent hours in the visitors center, where they gave so much information on the men who fought and video from family members on why they chose to bury their loved ones here instead of in America.



After the Visitors Center you are lead to a bluff overlooking Omaha beach.  This section of the beach is called "that embattled shore - portal of freedom".



Brian's grandfather served in WWII, but did not arrive until about 2 months after D Day.  Carolyn kept asking if all these people are in Heaven with PaPa.



The Cemetery sits on a cliff above Omaha beach.  If you look closely you can see the water in the background.



9,387 Americans are buried here.



This is a grave stone of a soldier from South Carolina.





After walking around the cemetery we drove down to Omaha Beach.




It was very strange to be standing on a beach that has so much history.  We had just done the WWII museum the day before which gave many visuals of the places where the war happened. Then the Visitor Center which gave a face to the many that lost their lives here.  This was one of our more memorable experiences we have had while living in Europe.  If it had not been for these Americans we probably would not be living here now.