spring projects

spring is arriving here in Holland! i bought some little easter egg ornaments at a local garden center and the kids helped me gather some sticks to put in a vase so i could hang the eggs. (i will post a picture of the final project soon!)

a few saturday's ago - the boys helped me plant some pansies in pots. they carefully selected the different color flowers for each pot.

graham date

this photo is not part of our date .... but it's a photo in the museumplein in amsterdam near the van gogh museum

my handsome graham after his haircut!

we biked in to town for our date and saw these cows in the forrest near our house! graham wanted me to take a picture of them.

a few saturday's ago - graham and i had an afternoon date. i took him to get his haircut and then for some ice cream. we enjoyed our time together!

bounty - plenty

the last roll of paper towel from "home"

the "new" paper towel is a little smaller :)

this is my last papertowel roll from "home". not sure how i ended up with a 1 year supply of

paper towels from home .....

the dance project!

i signed helen up for a little dance class late last fall.... at the time i had no idea it would lead to a professional performance of Swan Lake! on april 10th -helen will take the stage (along with about 200 other dancers) to perform Swan Lake. the 3 year old classes will be either flowers or lady bugs in a small portion of the overall performance. i volunteered to make 16 lady bug costumes and here they are!!

the first photo is a quick shot of helen's class trying on their costumes last saturday and getting ready to take a picture for the performance program. helen's group will be dancing flowers :)

i will be helping back stage next sunday!!! can't wait to see how my little flower does on stage!!

rose colored glasses

isn't there a saying about looking through rose colored glasses? well, anyway... the glasses in these photos are anything but rose colored... they are my dad's old safetly glasses and let's just say they have been very "loved" by my kids. my dad gave them to me because i have often been referred to as a nerd (and proud of it!) and had one photo taken as a teenager wearing these glasses (no - i WON'T be posting that photo!!!)

anyway - yesterday my post stated that we have been living in the Netherlands for 1 year. phew! and while the post was very upbeat about our overall experience - i wanted to be honest and say that it has not been all "rosey"... "peachy"... however you want to say it. don't get me wrong - it's been a great overall experience.

.... but there's those times in the last year where i have wondered... when we first moved here - we did not have internet, telephone, bikes, or a car so for almost a week i wondered if ross would come home in the evening to his crazy family? would he bring us some food from the grocery store because we were bored all day and ate all the food? how am i going to keep all 4 kids quiet while we stand before immigration? how many trips will i need to make to the town hall? why do i have to go to the grocery store 3-4 times a week? why do i have to remember to bring my own shopping bags.... or pay 50cents per bag to buy some at the register? why do i have to go to 3 different stores for toilet paper - light bulbs - trash bags? wouldn't it be so much easier to do a 1-stop shop at wal-mart!?! why do i have a flat tire on my bike AGAIN? what in the world is the person yelling at me in dutch when my big van is taking up too much space on the road AGAIN? does that truck need to just randomly stop and unload - right in the middle of traffic? i wonder what that sign says in dutch? is that person staring at me because i have 4 kids or because we are speaking english? why do i have to remember a 50 cent piece to rent a grocery cart EVERY time i go shopping? why ME?

but there is one answer i am sure of - it's a different way of life and different is GOOD! it's a chance for me to look at things in a different way and i'm glad for that opportunity. taking things as they come and surviving day by day is how i've done it!

i still can't stop laughing at the pictures above!!!!! by the way - while capturing these photos - one side arm of the glasses actually broke! will this be the end of the glasses? i hope some tape and glue will keep the glasses alive :)

365days ago....

365 days ago we loaded up the rental van with the last of our belongings....and our 4 children.... and drove to O'Hare

look how tiny jillian is in this picture!

my crazy helen!

..... and here we are today.... 1 year later :)

i have thought about this blog post many times over the last year.... what would i write? - how would i feel?... would i even be here after 365 days?

the many times i've been riding my bike around town or running through the forest.... or lying in bed unable to sleep.... what would i write? - how would i express my feelings?.... oh the stories i could type.... oh the crazy "adventures" we've been on....but as i reflect back on the past year - it's gone by so fast! almost too fast for me, really. maybe it's because it was jillian's first year of life.... such a busy time..... i hold on tight to each of her milestones since she is our last baby....or maybe it's just my life trying to keep up with the other 3 kids too that made the time fly :)

as a result of our experience - my kids know so many things about people from different countries and cultures. jayden even speaks with slight British accent! they've seen the Eiffel Tower, watched Lance Armstrong buzz by in the Tour de France (Helen to this day - when she sees someone on a road bike - says.... "oh - it's a bike racer!!!), made friends and played with children that speak other languages, participated in swimming - dance - and soccer spoken completely in Dutch, visited more museums in 1 year than i have in my entire (almost) 35 years of life (thanks to a special Museumkaart that allows us for one set fee to visit every museum in Holland), seen windmills - tulips - wooden shoes - roundabouts - motorways - the list could go on.....

for me - this experience has taught me a big lesson in patience - or should i say i have learned to be much more patient with life. .... patiently waiting in line at the butcher.... patiently waiting at the local government town hall.... patiently waiting for my flat tire to be fixed..... patiently waiting for a 3 year old to push a small shopping cart around the store for the 3rd time in a week (yes - we go to the grocery store at least 3 times a week!)... patiently waiting for the baby to sleep through the night....patiently trying to figure out if my big van will fit down a street or in a parking garage...

i have learned to live in the moment and not worry (ok - well not worry AS much) about what tomorrow will bring. life is really about the "adventure" - not the destination.

i'm not sure this is the direction i wanted my post to go...... but there you have it! 365 days!!

road-trip to oberhausen

the whole gang!

news articles of the predictions

paul the octopus has predicted the outcome of all of germany's football matches and even the world cup matches. there was a display in the Sea Life Aquarium. pretty cool!

henri is going to touch a starfish

jillian loved seeing the fish!

henri plays outside the Sea Life Aquarium

last sunday we drove to oberhausen, germany to meet our friends - Kai, Anja, Alex and their kiddos. we ate lunch at a brauhaus and then went to the Sea Life aquarium.