Wiebke and Paul

Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace February 12, 2008

Congrats, Foos, on your two Grammy wins!

ROCK ALBUM
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, Foo Fighters

HARD ROCK PERFORMANCE
”The Pretender,” Foo Fighters

It kinda sucked that I missed the Grammy performance on TV. After blanking out on getting tickets on time for any of the shows at the beginning of the year, I really feel like I’ve been sloppy with my support lately. Hm.

Worst moment in my Foo Fighter fan-being history: My friend Nita got invited to see a show of the recent ‘Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace Tour’ in Oakland, CA. Unknowingly, she stabbed me right into my heart when she told me that she didn’t care that much about their music. But what really felt like someone grabbed my heart and pulled it out of my body was when she confessed that her friend actually had another two tickets - just in case. Aaaarrrggghh! Did you not see that I was bleeding when you told me that, Nita??? ;-)

K, I’m over it now. But for the records, if I had to pick one band I’d have to listen to for the rest of my life, it would be the Foo Fighters. So, friends, take a note of that and remember me when another friend offers you free tickets to see a show. Yes?

To Charlotte… January 31, 2008

So, here’s what I have decided and no, you won’t have a choice here. Because recently you started making very bad decisions. Such as leaving Riney. So no choice for you here.

People like to say “Hey, let’s stay in touch!” or “No, really, I mean it, let’s definitely catch up soon!”. Then, months later you stumble across that last goodbye email to groupEveryone with their private email address and exactly those words.

And? Did you stay in touch? How often did you actually connect? Any plans made to meet up for lunch? How often did you pick up the phone to just say “Hi, it’s me. What’s new?”

Yeah, exactly.

But I’m not that kind of people, you know? I value solid relationships. Especially, those mentor-style relationships. ‘Cause that’s what you are to me. An inspiration. Or as per definition of the modern use of the word mentor: a trusted friend, counselor or teacher, usually a more experienced person (=older). Basically, someone I can look up to. Someone I want to be accountable to. Someone who has values and sticks to them. No matter what.

Someone like you, Charlotte. That’s why I have decided that we will stay connected.

“Suddenly, I see, this is what I wanna be. Suddenly, I see, why the hell you mean so much to me.” (KT Tunstall)

Stay young & sexy & in touch! Your kids and husband can be proud to have such an amazing mom and wife.

All my love and dedication,

-Wiebke

Real Good Food. October 31, 2007

We like good food.

I mean, who doesn’t? We always try to explore in and around town to find (new) restaurants, bars, diners, etc with real good food. Then, a few months later, we forgot about that place, can’t remember the name, or just passed a nice restaurant that we want to try later and then forgot the name, or we’re trying to arrange a birthday party and need to find a nice restaurant with cheap meals, strong drinks and enough space to host an army of friends.Why not simplify (y)our lives and share what we’ve found? We thought it’s about time to create a new section on our website - one about real good food.

Stay tuned - and make sure to join us for dinner or drinks soon!Oh, and this is me in Sydney (on our honeymoon), anxious to bite into delicious beer battered green asparagus on kangaroo steak with sauce hollandaise. Yes, I’ve indeed eaten meat of one of these cute, furry marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning ‘large foot’).

And it was some of the best steak EVER!

Wiebke’s at Encounter today. September 22, 2007

It’s been a lot of work since we’ve gotten married. Times have been tough and times have been really good. I just wanted to take the time out to say that I’m very proud of both of us for how much work we’ve put into this relationship.

Wiebke has been such an amazing partner. We’ve both come into our marriage with faults, (too many to count, really) but the one thing that has gotten us through it all is talking things out. It’s really tough when you’ve been living your life your own way and then putting yourself in a situation where that doesn’t really work anymore. You have to make changes to nearly everything you do.

Luckily, both Wiebke and I have adopted the biggest thing that will always keep us working on it, believing in each other, and truly wanting to see things better for the both of us. Our spiritual beliefs have had such an impact on us both, way more than just being married. It’s shaken up everything we believe in and very much changed what we hope for. So when we find each other stuck arguing about the wrong things or doing things that could be harmful to each other, we know that there’s a bigger reason to get things right. It’s not just for us or for each other.

And so Wiebke is at Encounter this weekend putting this all into practice. Wiebke is an amazing woman that any other woman (or person) could look up to. But she knows that she can do better and she’s out there with the belief that she can. And she will. Not by her own strength, but by the grace of God. He’s the one that has put more faith in us than we have ourselves. He’s put us in our place countless times and has seen us though many issues and it’s been an amazing trip to see all of this happen in real-time. I can see Him working in us both and I can’t imagine where we would be without Him. Wiebke’s out there matching her faith to His and I know that she’s going to come out on the other end in a better place for it.

So, good on ya’, Wiebke! I love you, babe!

Last Night As A Single Woman… August 22, 2007

And this link shows you how hilarious my bridal shower was.
http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/WMcAtee/events/WiebkesBridalShower

Joy and the girls had the whole Hawaiian-surfer style totally nailed down. It was a great surprise and I was very touched about how much thought and love everyone had put into my bachelorette party.

It was an awesome night! With a little less alcohol consumption than experienced by the boys. :-)

A Day To Remember.

Is it too late to show wedding photos…not that I’m getting tired of it!

I’m not sure if we ever shared this link with all of you. Our dearest friend Whitney, an insanely talented photographer, shot our entire wedding. Although, we wanted her to enjoy our wedding celebration as a guest, we surely didn’t want to keep her from taking photos. Knowing what a wonderful artist she is, we were thankful that she always travels with her camera. ;-)

http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/WMcAtee/events/WiebkeandPaul

I’m not sure if you can actually order prints online from Germany. But, if you like any shots in specific, just let me know and I’ll get them for you.

The Best Work Place In The World… June 29, 2007

(…besides Dogster, Inc.)

This is me and Beane working like dogs.

God Is With Us! May 24, 2006

You make me feel so loved. I can’t believe I lived my whole life without you. Every day is an adventure, every day I’m shown God’s joy through you. I thank you for sharing God’s love with me and I know that we are truly blessed!

For Wiebke. April 12, 2006

I may fail at times but my love for you will always be strong. Have faith in me, as I am committed to serving and loving you forever. May God guide us and protect us as we live for His glory! You are an amazing woman and I am looking foward to sharing my life with you. It’s gonna be fun!