Christmas Revisited

As soon as Lauren's school was on Christmas break, we headed back to the good ol' USA to celebrate with our family. We were only home for two weeks and one of those weeks was spent skiing in Colorado. We had six different family Christmas celebrations, so we stepped off the plane and hit the ground running. Straight from Intercontinental airport, after a 10 hour flight, we headed to our first Christmas celebration. The rest of our holiday followed pattern and we had no down time. Despite being extremely busy, we had a great time seeing all our family, visiting our friends at church, and spending New Years Eve with our friends and their children. We are so blessed to have so many loved ones in our lives to share our time with.

Choo Choo, Look Who's 2!

A lot has happened since my last post, and that is probably why I have been putting this task off. I will first start with the most important and then over the next few days I will work back and cover all of Christmas.

My little baby boy is 2 years old! It is very hard to believe. He is a little boy now and not a baby anymore. It is amazing how much he is learning and doing. His vocabulary and speech has taken off and he spends all day letting you know exactly what he wants and belting out songs. He will also make it very clear if he is not happy, what a temper! There is definitely a big difference between he and Lauren, and I love it.

Since Justin's birthday is so close to Christmas and we would be traveling during the Christmas break, I felt really bad that I would not be able to throw Justin a real party. I know he doesn't care and doesn't know the difference, but I do and I love giving the kids birthday parties. However, instead of 1 party, Justin had several celebrations. We tried to celebrate his birthday with different families during our Christmas celebrations. We also had a cake here in Assen on his actual birthday and a party with our Mums and Tots group.

Right now his favorite things are Thomas the Tank Engine and Lightning McQueen. I think we thoroughly covered these bases with his Christmas and birthday presents. Justin loves building his train tracks and racing his cars. What a boy!

Before we had Justin, I never thought anyone or anything could compare to Lauren and the love and sheer joy that she brought to our lives. I was so wrong! Justin's smile and giggle are pure joy. We have been blessed with two amazing children who's love for us and each other completes our family. Thank you Lord.

White Christmas

We awoke to an unexpected sight this morning. Everything was covered with snow! Even though it stays very cold here during the winter, it rarely snows. And since we don't watch the local news (we couldn't understand it if we did), we did not expect the weather that blew our way. It started snowing very lightly about noon on Wednesday, but then it stopped a few hours later. I thought that was all we were going to get. It gets dark here by 5pm and all the stores also close around that same time, so after school and work, we really don't see what is going on outside. Apparently it snowed all night! Traffic was very slow this morning since this is not common and therefore most people here are not used to driving on snow covered roads. But that is relative I guess, because there really is very little traffic here anyway since the majority of the locals ride their bicycles everywhere, even in the snow! However, many people where walking their bikes today instead of riding them.

Justin loves the snow and he told me that Bruiser (his puppy dog) likes it too! The pictures below are of the pond next to our house that is almost frozen over. The first picture is Wednesday morning and the second one is Thursday morning after all the snow.




Our street and the view from front of our house

A Beautiful Angel....

Lauren and I were making Christmas cookies together the other afternoon. I told Lauren that my favorite ones to make were the Christmas trees and stars. Lauren said "I like the angels because they remind me of how much God loves me." Oh how I love her!!! And speaking of angels...

Yesterday evening was the Christmas program at Lauren's school. The students' practicing and preparing was obvious and they did amazing. Of course, I was partial to the beautiful Angel! Lauren makes me proud everyday, but I think last night was one of my proudest moments as a mother so far. Lauren's class program was titled "The Sleepy Shepard". She was the angel and the only student in her class' program with a solo. Watching her on the stage I could not have stopped smiling if my life depended on it and I had tears in my eyes at the same time. I always call her my angel girl and she was the perfect angel last night. She was so poised and quite the performer, which doesn't surprise me since we see her putting on some type of performance everyday at home.

On another proud note, Lauren received the Head Teacher's Writer's Award this term for her class. Also, at our parent-teacher meeting for this term, Lauren's teacher had nothing but wonderful things to say. We really love the school and teachers and are so proud of how great Lauren is doing.

Silly Justin

Justin entertained himself with his stickers this afternoon.

Dag Sinterklaas!

Tonight was the big Sinterklaas celebration and the end of the treats. One of the families from Lauren's school threw a big party for all the families of the school with an appearance from the "real" Sinterklaas, or at least the real one of Assen. A great time was had by all and it was wonderful for them to open their home up to all of us. The evening started with entertainment by a clown for the children until it was time for Sinterklaas to arrive. Then it was singing, joking and presents for all. Lauren got to sit on Sinterklaas' lap for a long time while the Zwarte Pieten were making jokes and doing magic and she really liked that. Justin received a Dutch bus and Lauren received a Littlest Pet Shop Set and they were both extremely pleased.

After a great evening of partying, we came home and the kids were getting ready for bed when the doorbell rang. Outside the door was a sac of presents from Sinterklaas and the kids were ecstatic. Tomorrow Sinterklaas will get back on his boat and travel back to Spain until next year. This is another Dutch tradition that the kids have really enjoyed.

I am so thankful for.....

...my faith, my family, my friends, and my health.

I am thankful for Jason, an amazing husband and best friend. I am thankful for the love and support he gives me everyday.

I am thankful for Lauren and Justin who fill each of my days with smiles, giggles, hugs and kisses. They make my heart overflow with joy and love everytime I look at them. I am thankful for their health and happiness.

I am thankful that I have a wonderful family of parents, grandparents, siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins that all truly love each other and know the true meaning of family.

I am thankful for our friends who are there for us whether we are next door or across the ocean.

Thank you Lord for my life and everyone who enters it and shares a part of themselves with me.

Josh Groban is one of my favorite singers and "Thankful" is one of my favorite songs. To those of you reading this, thank you for being in my life. Happy Thanksgiving!

Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet

Let me start off by saying the following pictures may be offensive to some, but apparently not to the dutch. This is definitely a tradition that would not be accepted in America without a little tweeking. However, we had a lot of fun joining in the festivities!

And the story goes....
In Netherlands they celebrate Sinterklaas, the patron saint of children. He arrives each year in mid-November by steamboat from Spain. He is then paraded through the streets, welcomed by cheering and singing children. His Zwarte Piet assistants throw candy and small, round, ginger bread-like cookies, either "kruidnoten" or "pepernoten," into the crowd. The children welcome him by singing traditional Sinterklaas songs.

Sinterklaas carries a big book that tells whether each individual child has been good or naughty in the past year. He is said to be very rich, he lives in a castle in Spain, and likes to give presents on his birthday rather than receive them. He traditionally rides a white horse named Amerigo.

Now this is where it gets a little questionable....
Black Pete (Zwarte Piet) is Sinterklaas’ helper. According to tradition, there are many Zwarte Pieten who all have their own specialization (much like the smurfs). There is a Zwarte Piet for writing the poetry that accompanies Sinterklaas presents, one that bakes, one to care for Sinterklaas' horse, one for everything you can think of. There is also always one Luie Piet (Lazy Pete) or Domme Piet (Stupid Pete). These are people dressed in bright medievel costumes with their faces painted black (never in America!). The explanation parents these days give to kids as to why Zwarte Piet is black is because he climbs down dirty chimneys to put presents and candy in kids shoes.

In the weeks between his arrival and December 5, before going to bed children put their shoes next to the fireplace chimney with a carrot or some hay in it and a bowl of water "for Sinterklaas' horse," and sing a Sinterklaas song; the next day they will find some candy or a small present in their shoes, supposedly thrown down the chimney by a Zwarte Piet or Sinterklaas himself. On the evening of December 5 Sinterklaas delivers a sack full of presents. Presents are often accompanied by a simple poem, saying something about the child or containing a hint to the nature of the present. Sinterklaas often uses these poems to reprimand and tease children about bad habits or behavior.

So...
We went to the town center today and joined in the festivities which included a lot of singing, dancing, and about a hundred Zwarte Pieten running around dancing and passing out pepernoten to all the children. Before the kids went to bed this evening they put their shoes by the fireplace and sang a Sinterklaas song in hopes that they will wake up with a treat in their shoe in the morning. We shall see!

Happy Sint Maarten!

Today is Sint Maarten Day. In northern Netherlands this means that once it is dark, the children go from house to house carrying a lantern and singing songs and they are rewarded with candy to put in their backpack. Similar to Halloween, but no costumes.

From Wikipedia:

St. Martin's Day (or Martinstag or Martinmas) is November 11, the feast day of Martin of Tours, who started out as a Roman soldier. He was baptized as an adult and became a monk. It is understood that he was a kind man who led a quiet and simple life. The most famous legend of his life is that he once cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snowstorm, to save the beggar from dying of the cold. That night he dreamed that Jesus was wearing the half-cloak Martin had given away. Martin heard Jesus say to the angels: "Here is Martin, the Roman soldier who is not baptised; he has clothed me."

All the children at Lauren's school made lanterns (lampions) and learned 3 different songs to sing. Justin and I also made a lantern for him at Mums and Tots. Lauren's best friend from school and her younger brother came over and once it was dark the kids put on their jackets and backpacks and headed out carrying their lanterns. The street we live on is all expats and several of the children from school are our neighbors. As we progressed along the street, our group grew in size as the other children joined us. They all sang beautifully and were rewarded with plenty of candy! Even Justin joined in and quickly caught on to what was happening. He was running from house to house keeping up with the bigger kids and he made sure he got his candy before he left each house. The kids had a lot of fun joining in this local tradition.

Family Trip to the Alps

Lauren had a half term break at her school so we spent that week on an eight day road trip through Germany, Switzerland and Austria. We left Friday when Lauren got out of school and we drove to Heidelberg, Germany. The next morning we toured the castle ruins there and explored the town a little.

From there we made our way to the Black Forest High Road (scenic drive) and drove to Triberg in the middle of the Black Forest were we stayed the next night. This area is know for its cuckoo clocks, so of course we bought one! I don't think we will take it out of the box until we move back to Houston. We just don't trust Justin too much around it. It would be very tempting to play with. In Triberg we hiked to the Gutach Waterfalls and ate some yummy Black Forest Cake.

We then drove to Switzerland, stopping near the border to view the Rhine Falls. After enjoying that we drove to the Lake Luzern area were we spent the next two nights. This is at the foot of the Swiss Alps and some of the most beautiful land we have ever seen. The lakes are amazing and there are sheep and cows wearing bells on all the hillsides. We rode a cable car and train to the top of Mt. Rigi where you can see several lakes and mountains for miles. It was amazing, and also cold with a lot of snow. At the peak we were above the clouds and the sky was clear blue. The tops of the mountains were covered in snow and then it suddenly changed to green lush vegetation, so beautiful. We also toured the town of Luzern and bought a Swiss watch and Swiss army knife.

From Luzern we headed back to Germany. On the way we stopped in Liechtenstein (the smallest German speaking country in the world, only 61.7 square miles) and had our passports stamped. After that brief stop we drove to Hohenschwangau, Germany where King Ludwig's castles are located. That was such an amazing little place. Our hotel room had a balcony with a view to the castle which was King Ludwig's childhood home (Hohenschwangau). At the end of the road was the most serene lake, Lake Alpsee. The water was so clear and it was surrounded by the mountains. I think it is possibly the most peaceful place I have ever been. It was loved by the whole family and none of us wanted to leave. After staying the night there, we spent the next morning touring Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein Castles.

We then drove to Oberammergau, Germany. This charming town is know for its painted buildings and the passion play that is performed there every ten years. We spent a couple of hours here walking around and getting some yummy icecream. From there we drove to Innsbruck, Austria where we stayed the night. After seeing the sights in Innsbruck, we drove to Salzburg, Austria where we spent our last night of the road trip.

I think Salzburg was my favorite city of the trip. I loved the squares and the narrow streets lined with shops. My main interest for visiting Salzburg is that it was the primary filming location for one of my favorite movies, The Sound of Music. So, of course we tried to visit most of the monuments that were featured in the movie.

At this point in our trip we were all exhausted and ready to get home. We left Salzburg about 3 in the afternoon and Jason drove us all the way home. We arrived home about 2 am and all got a peaceful nights sleep in our own beds, aahhh. We all had a great time and saw the most beautifully amazing scenery. We have some great memories!

Heidelberg and the Black Forest in Germany
Luzern, Switzerland

Liechtenstein, Hohenschwangau and Oberammergau in Germany

Innsbruck and Salzburg in Austria