A quick trip to Indiana to visit my brother Ted provided an opportunity to go to a minor league baseball game. Read more…»»

Time out for some serious quality time with my grand kids! Read more…»»

This time it was grandson Adrian who got his Opa out to the ballpark. Read more…»»

My five year old grandson Adrian asked if Opa could bring a Lego castle for brother Sean. Read more…»»

I have arrived in Mobile, Alabama to spend Thanksgiving with family, including daughter Rachel and her three children. Granddaughter Maia is keeping Opa humble! Read more…»»

Our grandchildren’s visit to Oma’s house in Mobile is over for this summer. Read more…»»

My grandson Adrian has a thing about turtles. Read more…»»

We had an interesting theological discussion with our grandsons today. Read more…»»

Oma and Opa don’t have exciting electronic games at their house in Mobile. Read more…»»

That was my grandson Sean’s answer to my question this evening about whether he missed his mom. Read more…»»

Actually my oldest grandson’s name is Sean, not Thomas Edison. But for part of one day he was Thomas. Read more…»»

Granddaughter Maia had her 2nd birthday today, on St. Patrick’s day. Read more…»»

Our daughter Rachel has been given an "all clear" on her health following post operation examinations. Read more…»»

That’s the thought that crossed my mind today when I heard about daughter Rachel’s upcoming radioactive iodine treatment. Read more…»»

My babysitting became more challenging today when granddaughter Maia decided she wanted to go on the trampoline with her brother. Read more…»»

With Rachel now home, Opa has the job of taking the grandkids to the nearby park in the afternoon. Read more…»»

Our daughter Rachel was discharged yesterday at noon, and she is glad to be back home. Read more…»»

With Rachel in the hospital, Opa (me) is looking after granddaughter Maia in the morning. Read more…»»

It was the same time of year 30 years ago when we waited for Rachel – to be born. 30 years later we waited for her today to come out of cancer surgery. Read more…»»

After writing last time about my oldest grandson, his younger brother deserves equal time. Read more…»»

When you first see a boy just days after his birth, it is hard to imagine what he will look like later. That’s the way it was with my grandson Sean. Read more…»»

Slowly but surely I am making progress with my granddaughter Maia. Read more…»»

At the age of 13 months, granddaughter Maia already seems to know what a camera is. Read more…»»

The day before my flight back to Germany I received an unusual letter from my grandson Sean. He sent me "Flat Stanley" who was to accompany me on my trip. Read more…»»

She isn’t the "little old lady from Pasadena," and she wasn’t driving a fast car down Colorado Boulevard. Instead, Oma Monica ran the Dallas White Rock half marathon today. Read more…»»

I guess that’s correct grammar. That’s the question when my brother Ted comes for a visit. Read more…»»

This is not an autobiographical post. Instead, it is about my nephew Lon Kieffer. Read more…»»

That seems to be an appropriate comment while watching granddaughter Maia wanting to reach out and grab something. Read more…»»

It’s back to Dallas for some time with our children, our two grandsons and our newest grandchild. Read more…»»

Grandson Sean now has someone to test his reading skills on. Read more…»»

Some weeks ago my grandson Sean predicted that his mom would have her baby on March 17th. Read more…»»

25 years ago we moved to Großburgwedel, which is a small town on the A7 Autobahn about 15 miles north of Hannover. Our children really liked Großburgwedel, especially the large furniture store near the Autobahn exit. Read more…»»

Only one of our two children is "well-rounded." We aren’t disappointed, though. Read more…»»

Our grandson Adrian had his third birthday today. Read more…»»

Grandson Sean had his first day of "school" yesterday. Read more…»»

That’s the description that came to mind when I watched grandson Sean’s T-ball practice. Read more…»»

When you have a younger – and smaller – brother it can be helpful to realize that he might not always be smaller. Read more…»»

Now you probably think I misspelled this title, eh? Well, not if it is German, which let’s say it is. ("Kids" has become a German slang word!) And it matches the two Ks in my daughter-in-law’s name and my son’s last name: Katie and Kieffer. Read more…»»

Getting a grandson to eat can be a challenge. Sometimes you have to lead by example. Read more…»»

Need a new cabinet but can’t find one you like? Why not try making your own? That’s what Monica did in Mobile. Read more…»»

At age 4, grandson Sean has started playing soccer. He is on a team of 4 year olds in a league of six teams. His first game was quite an experience for him – and those who watched him! Read more…»»

No, that’s not a typo. It isn’t supposed to say "google" – the reference is to "goggles", as in the kind you wear when you go swimming. They saved the day for grandson Sean. Read more…»»

The youngest human in my daughter Rachel’s family is my 2nd grandson Adrian, who is one year old. The youngest animal is Sam, a 3 month old puppy. Sam has been part of the household for about one month, and he is already having a big influence on Adrian. Read more…»»

Opa had a chance to take grandson Sean to a ball game, continuing a family tradition of three generations. Read more…»»

When my daughter Rachel gave birth to her first child in 2001 about six weeks prior to my 50th birthday, a friend in Germany said, "You are a young grandpa." Well, actually I am a young "Opa", the German nickname for grandfather. Read more…»»

To paraphrase an idiomatic expression, the last two days I have been "on the rail" visiting church members. Whenever possible, my means of transportation is the train, which enables me to make good use of my time. (Whether writing for my blog while on the train is a good use of time is another matter.) Yesterday the speed display on one ICE train I took inched up to 302 kmh (189 mph). Not bad, I thought – my grandson Sean would really like this! Read more…»»