Kraut, Strudel, Pfeffernusse & More

We spent a few days in farm country over the weekend.  Uncle Keith and Aunt Leanna hosted our family and several other family members for their town's annual German festival.

                                            Joel, wearing his Great Grandpa's German hat

We arrived Thursday evening right around bed time.  I wanted to hit the yard sales bright and early Friday morning.  Many folks in town host yard sales over the festival weekend and I usually get some really good deals.  This year was no exception.  I nabbed a hardly used gas grill, an antique desk (a graduation present for Grace) and a Carhartt coat.  Paul was so excited that I found that coat for him. So was I.  A winter coat for Paul was on my list.

I had hoped to go to the yard sales by myself, as I usually find some good Christmas gifts for the kids amongst the treasures, but I only made it to one sale before the kids found me.  The town is small and the kids know their way around.  Once they spotted me, Lydia said, "Yay!  Now we can ride in the van!"  So I took them all to the next sale.  That sale was in a tiny garage, but we managed to cram in there.  It was an estate sale and there was a lot of stuff at great prices.  I was using all of mental capacities to decide what thing would work for what child as a gift, stocking stuffer, etc.  Matt would hate to be in my mind when I'm mulling decisions such as these.  TOO MANY WORDS.

Anyway, the kids kept coming to me and asking, "Mommy! Mommy!  Can I get this [stupid, useless piece of junk] ?"  They were interrupting my train of thought.  Exasperated, I finally asked, "How did I end up with eight kids!?"  I corrected myself, "I mean, I know how I got eight kids, but why are they all HERE right now?"

I bought each of them a small item.  They were satisfied and then headed back to the home place to leave me and the rest of the yard sales in peace.

Of course, we ate our of fill of German food over the weekend.  Sausage, kraut, kartoffel und kloss, kuchen, apple strudel, pfeffernusse, cabbage rolls and kraut ranzas.  We also enjoyed the parade, seeing the sheep (3,000!) that are eating down my Uncle's fields out at the farm and witnessing some gorgeous sunsets.

The highlight of the weekend for me, though, was getting more information about my Volga German heritage.  A man from Concordia University was in town giving presentations about the Volga Germans. I attended a couple of his talks and after the last one, I asked if he could tell me how to get started finding out how to trace my family's roots back to Germany.  He asked me my Uncle's name and then proceeded to show me a 124 page document following my family back twenty generations to the 1400s.  Alrighty then.  That saved me a lot of work.  I haven't had time to thoroughly comb through the information yet, but I was excited to put some of the bits and pieces I remember my Grandpa telling me about his parents into some sort of context.

I'd like to spend some time talking with some of the townspeople that remember my grandparents before they all pass away.  I wish that when I was younger I had cared about such things.  I have all sorts of questions for which I wish I had answers.  Anyway, I made a very good start.  What neat surprise God had in store for me this past weekend!