We are here. In Holland. Our home for the next two years.

We had a loooong trip out here. I definitely advise traveling non-stop when you come to visit. While we enjoyed a 3-day cruise from Vancouver to L.A. with my parents, it was basically a nice break between the chaos of Brad's thesis writing and the chaos of traveling. We chose the cheapest route to Holland - flights from L.A. to New York, New York to Dublin, Dublin to Amsterdam. When we were finally on the train to Groningen, I checked my watch to find it was just about 24 hours from when we left L.A.

Our brief stop-over in Ireland allowed us to experience the airport version of "a full Irish breakfast". Sausage, beans, mushrooms, roasted tomato, white and black pudding (you'll have to google that one), egg, toast, hash browns. The sausage was soooo yummy, but at that point we were happy to eat something other than airplane food. We also went to an Irish pub for beer :) It was just before 12 noon in Ireland and the pub was packed!

We are staying with Brad's new boss, Gerald and his family, in a small town southeast of Groningen. We'll stay here until we find our own place to live. This town is like Fort Langley if Groningen was Langley. We have loft above their garage which is quite roomy with a tiny bathroom and tinier sink. We aren't sure if the heat works, but the cold air makes it feel like we are camping.

We are happy to be safe and sound. And we are excited about our new adventures. Thanks for praying!