Game Night!

Anyone every played Dutch Blitz? Try playing with 11 card decks for 11 different people! That was tonight's game with the ladies. One word. . .INTENSE! Look at the focus on those faces!
My roommate, Emily, and I during one of the lulls.

See that blurry woman? That's Suzanna. She won an awful lot. Look how fast her hand is moving! No wonder! I called her, "Silent but deadly!"

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

(And, yes, I did wear this outfit on the airplane today as I flew back from Zurich. . .I sure made a bunch of people smile, and even laugh outright. This is a little bold for European dressing, and the airport personnel got a kick out of it in Zurich! Sharbi-doll, this one's for you!;o )

And here's a couple pics of our beautiful Christmas tree, 'cause I forgot to show you earlier!

Christmas Eve in Zurich

After a much needed nap, I headed out on the town, where I encountered this skating rink, complete with skates you could rent right there, and it was right accross from the main train station in town. I personally didn't take advantage of this, but another flight attendant who had her family with her, did! It's very interesting. . .this sign translate's "Zurich's Christ-child Market." I thought that was pretty good to get the focus on the right thing for Christmas. AND, I didn't even catch it, but there's a fish right under the sign. Hmm.......
A cool memory. . .last year around Christmas, I went to Sydney, Australia, and saw the Swarovski tree there (view former blog posts!). Now I saw one in Zurich! As pretty as ever. . .
. . .the whole tree was COVERED with these little crystal snowflakes.
You can see how big it was compared to everything else in the train station.
After I had wandered around a bit, I found a church having a Christmas eve service. Although they didn't do exactly everything the way I like it, it was great to take a moment to worship.
Finally, I'll share a little bit of what an organ sounds like in a large cathedral building. Priceless!

Another BFA Passenger. . .or Two!

Billy and Ellen were on my airplane today. . .more pictures and the story to come when I get back home from ZRH!

So, I was walking to my gate to get on the plane, and this guy gives me a funny look, then starts grinning at me. I yell out, "BILLY REED!!!!" Passengers look at us all funny as we hug, and I tell him I get to be his flight attendent and take him home for Christmas! When he got on the airplane, he told me there was ANOTHER BFA alumnus, Ellen, who came to BFA the year after I left on staff. So, I introduced myself to her, and the three of us literally spent about 4 hours chatting it up in the back kitchen during services. It was super fun!
When we got off the plane, I was EXTREMELY tempted to hitch a ride with Billy's parents and go to BFA for the afternoon and evening, but decided against it. But I did give Mary a big hug, though, and we chuckled at the God-moments like this in our lives. :o )

Christmas Projects

'Tis the season! Puzzles come out at Christmas at my house.

I'm also knitting myself a new scarf. I bought the yarn at Walmart.

I recommend both activities be accompanied by either Christmas Music, or a good Christmas movie. :o )

East Coast Blizzard

Although I was only here for the start of it (and then was stranded in Chicago while working, trying to get back), I got here in time to shovel out our driveway afterwards. Unfortunately, because we weren't parked there, that's where they piled all the plowed snow!! We had a lot of work to do. Thankfully we have friendly neighbors to help us out!

After we dug ourselves out, we helped, and thereby met, a couple more neighbors. We could have had a party! It was fun. :o )

Another Trip to Frankfurt

I found myself in Frankfurt again this week, playing tour guide to flight attendants who couldn't speak German and wanted to experience the Christmas Market. This week was MUCH chillier than the last week, so that made it a little harder to stay warm.
They're off to see the Weihnachtsmarkt!!!!

Even the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) was decked out for the holidays.
The most famous buildings in Frankfurt with regards to tourism. And the Christmas Market is right in front of them. For those of you who know this store, the "Kaethe Wohlfahrt" booth is the one with the pyramid on top of it. VERY fun!

Christmas Visit with Chiara and Co

Yet another visit with my favorite niece. Here she is doing some of her favorite things. . .

. . .playing on stairs. . .

. . .playing peek-a-boo. . .

. . .accessorizing. . .

. . .and looking in the mirror.

And this is the view from her beautiful new house on a clear day!

Weihnachtsmarkt in Frankfurt

My last layover in Frankfurt, I had the priviledge of enjoying a Christmas Market with the rest of my crew during our layover. Here are a couple memorable pictures of the event. I wish you could put the smells and sounds in with this! Oh, and this first picture is of a cool hotel in Frankfurt. Wonder how much it costs to stay there?!!

This Christmas tree is on all the postcards at Christmas time.

A very cool booth that actually had Swiss Chalet items in its attic that lit up every so often so you could see them! Click on the picutre to make it bigger.

A Thankful Thanksgiving

So, on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, I looked at the available trips for the next day, and thought, "Oh, man. Looks like another day at home. That makes 12 in a row!" But, knowing that I had things to do, I settled for not working. That evening, my roommate and I were discussing plans for Thanksgiving, and I told her, "I better check my schedule just to make sure." I was SHOCKED to find a trip to Zurich in my schedule! And, this guy is partially to blame. . . . . You see, he meets with my dad on Monday mornings for prayer meeting. And, if I understand the story correctly, when dad mentioned that I hadn't been flying this month, David said, "I'm flying out of Zurich on Saturday on United. Do you think Shawna will be my flight attendant?" Dad started praying about it, and his prayers were answered! I got the trip on Thursday going to Zurich, and came back on Saturday. David sat right by where I was working, and I was able to sneak him little treats throughout the whole flight.
Now, if you think that's great, get this: mom and dad are coming to Canada for Christmas and mom was planning to spend a little extra time with me and the Wilcox clan before that. So, she was hoping to fly back from Frankfurt sometime this week. Well, when I arrived home from Zurich this evening, there was a flight working to Frankfurt tomorrow, coming back on Tuesday. That's what mom was praying for! NEVER underestimate God's work, even in the littlest things. PRAY about them. It's so very worth it to see how He answers!!!

It's Beginning. . .

. . .to look a lot. . .

. . .like Christmas!

Fall in My Neighbourhood

It was a beautifully sunny day today in Fairfax. I'm sure the temperature was in the 70's. I took advantage of the beautiful day and blue sky to take pictures of fall in my neighbourhood. Enjoy!

This little tree was my favorite. In spite of only having about 10 leaves all together, LOOK at those colors! A beautiful specimen of what God can do with whatever you have to give Him.

A Rocky Trip to Zurich

And it wasn't just the turbulence, although there was that. . .the worst I've ever sat through. It all started when on Thursday, sometime between the security check and our crew offices, my Crew I.D. fell off my lanyard, and ended up ?????? I still don't know where it was. Two hours later, I got on the plane without it and headed to ZRH. . .

It was a beautiful, warm fall day there, and the mountains were OUT! I didn't get a good shot of them because of the similar colors of the sky and the mountains themselves, but if you look REAL close, you can see them.

This building is right in the old town center. I think it's a museum now for Swiss history.

A local hotel/restaurant gearing up for Christmas with the beautiful lights.

One of a few churches right along the river through the middle of town.

Finally, looking over Lake Zurich, a bit better picture of the Alps.

Oh, and did you know this clock really tells time?

Dad was able to sneak up and spend the evening with me. . .mom had to cook for the drama team. Good thing he has long arms, huh?!

When flower boxes can't be used because of the cold, why not lights?

Ahhhhh.....'tis the season. :o )

A Swiss "baking" tree for Christmas.

So, I left Zurich on Saturday morning, and came back to the airport here in IAD. I promptly went back to our offices to check if my badge had shown up. As soon as I walked in, the coordinator said, "SHAWNA!! I got a phone call only 5 minutes ago, and your badge has been found! Here's the number to call to go pick it up!"

So, I talked to the person on the phone, and, as it turns out, the badge was turned in at the United ticket counter two days previously, and it had been sitting there waiting for me to show up. In fact, the people asked me, "Where have you been? This has been here for two days!" I told them I had just gotten back from Zurich. ANYWAY, the badge is back in my possession, and I'm going to attempt to figure out a way that this WILL NOT happen again. Too much drama to start a trip out, that's for sure! Thanks to all who prayed about finding it.