I mentioned last post that my new little nephew and niece were born last week. They are about 5 weeks premature, so they are spending a little extra time in the hospital before they can go home. As you can imagine, that means my family is juggling their schedules to spend time with the babies and give Olivia a sense of normalcy at home*.


Since my dad is still in Nevada working and I am still in Groningen, my sister, her husband, and my mom are taking shifts between the hospital and home. I think my dad and I feel a bit helpless as we count down the days until we get back there to help. I am going back on Thursday for about a month to help as much as I can, but in the meantime, I have a lot to finish up before I can head out.

In fact, right now I'm taking a little break from the hours of Dutch homework I've got over the next few days. Wednesday will be my last class although the course doesn't end officially for two more class periods. I have to finish up my last homework assignment and study for my last test to qualify for the certificate of completion. I haven't come all this way to miss out on that, but it means a couple of late nights between now and Wednesday morning.

Plus, we have only a few more days with our friends John and Suzanne who we've become close with over the past 6 months. John's basketball season ended abruptly on Saturday night when his team lost their playoff game. They are leaving on Thursday as well, so Suzanne and I have to have one last IKEA day and one last shopping day before they depart. It is a sad time for us especially since John's contract wasn't renewed in Groningen, and they will be be somewhere else in Europe next year. I am praying that God will bring me another Suzanne for next year.

Finally, as you can imagine, I have a few chores to do in preparation for departure. Brad will not be joining me in North America until mid-May, so there are a few things that I need to get ready for him such as toilet paper in the cupboard, food in the fridge, and clean clothing in the drawers. After that, he'll have to fend for himself.

And of course, I need to pack which is always a huge process when I'm going to be gone for so long. I've shared before that I find packing a bit troublesome especially since I'm going to be handling my luggage alone on this trip. Lugging heavy bags on and off the train is not my idea of a good time.

Needless to say, the time between now and my departure is moving along quite quickly! Which reminds me, I need to get back to my homework...

*As I mentioned, my family is quite busy shuttling themselves to and from the hospital. To make it easier on them, I was wondering if anyone had the desire and ability to pick me up from the Vancouver airport on Thursday evening and drive me to the border. It would make it a lot easier on them to drive a shorter distance. I get in at approx. 7:00pm, but could wait around longer if necessary. Send me an email or leave a comment if you are interested and able.

April has always been my favorite month for a variety of reasons.

First, April is the month of my birthday. What kid doesn't learn to love the month that contains their birthday? While I was at university, my birthday would fall around exams so I was either studying for an exam or had to write an exam on my birthday. But the campus in April would be so beautiful with the cherry blossoms and the weather would be so sunny that it usually made up for the exam schedule. This year, the April weather in the Netherlands has had record warm tempuratures. What girl wouldn't love to be running around in a tanktop & flipflops on her April birthday?

More recently (actually 5 years now as of the 27th), this month also includes my wedding anniversary. And like many couples, we often take a trip to celebrate our anniversary, so I have spent at least two Aprils in Hawaii soaking in the sun. I always look forward to April because it means another exciting trip. This year we went to Brussels (in Belgium) over the Easter Weekend to celebrate our anniversary. The city was beautiful, and so were the diamonds we looked at to update my wedding ring. Nothing say "I love you" like a couple of new diamonds!

And of course let's not forget Easter! This special time of year, we celebrate Jesus' victory over death, and have a time of reflection on God's Gift to save the world from sin. April is such a joyous month!

Another thing is that it seems that in April spring is actually here to stay. The cherry blossoms are out in full force and everyone is excited about summer. April is like the liason between spring and summer weather. I find in May that it often starts to get rainy again before the hot weather of the summer starts. That might only be a figment of my imagination because I see April purely through my rose colored glasses, or it could actually be true. Either way, I love it when it is finally April!

There is one other thing that has made this April quite wonderful - the birth of my new nephew and niece. Yes, it is true, the twins have finally arrived. They made their way into the world yesterday although sadly, it was not on my birthday. I will get to meet and help care for these sweet little ones next week when I go back to N. America.

So anyways, you can see why I love the month of April and I am sad that it is ending so quickly.

On Saturday (my birthday), the weather was a record high tempurature of 27°C (that's 81°F), so Brad and I decided to go on a bike ride around a nearby lake. In the Netherlands, there are always convenient bike paths to nearly every scenic location, so what started as an enjoyable and easy afternoon ride ended up covering over 15 kilometers! It was great, but a little hard one's backside after a while.

In the past I've shared a few stories about my biking experiences. I have to admit that biking has actually become my preferred method of traveling. I often ask myself "why would I walk when I could bike?" Now that I've got some photos to post, I'll explain a bit more about the bikes in the Netherlands.

First of all, note the style of bike. You are probably thinking "it looks like the bike my grandma has". Actually, it is pretty unusual to see a racing bike or mountain bike here in the Netherlands. That's partially because those types of bikes tend to be expensive and therefore more likely to get stolen. The other reason is that the bike paths and roads aren't made for racing nor are there any mountains to bike down.

So my bike is pretty typical for the Netherlands except that mine is nice and new. Usually the bikes are quite old and rusty. It is not uncommon to hear a person biking before actually seeing them. It is amazing, the creaking and clanging noises that some of these bikes make! Sometimes people like to paint their bike in all kinds of bright colors to make them "unique" but I think this usually only succeeds in making them look even worse.

Secondly, note the pink saddlebags on the back. You'd be surprised at how much stuff a person can fit in those bags. I know from experience that pretty much anything I can stuff into one of IKEA's yellow shopping bags can be fit in my bike bags! Approximately half of all bikes will have bags although usually the owners are women because they tend to have more stuff to cart around. Most people do not have pink bags however, but these were the only color I could find in the price range that I was looking at. Plus it makes it really easy to find my bike in the bike parking lots.

Finally, my bike is really easy to ride and quite comfortable. The high handlebars prevent me from getting a a sore back when biking longer distances. You often see people with one or more child seats on the bike (one in front and one in back) to carry around their kids. The bike trailers we have in N. America are seen here, but not with kids in them. The trailers here are used to carry around stuff!

And biking has successfully prevented me from gaining excess weight (in fact, I've lost weight since I've moved here). Here is a photo of my bike and my typical biking attire. Note the high heeled boots I'm wearing while riding my bike - the boots are courtesy of my Aunt Julie!

This past winter season required a wool coat, hat, scarf and gloves when biking, but now that spring is here, I'm starting to adjust my biking wardrobe a little. However, I still regularly wear a scarf and gloves to prevent getting chilled as it always seems to be a little windy here. And I usually wear comfortable boots for walking around the city, but high heeled boots are fine to wear on the bike too.

Just for interest's sake, here is a photo of the bike parking in from of the University building. This is a good illustration of the bike parking lots and how full they usually are. Some day I'll post of photo of the huge multi-level parkade at the train station.

Happy 30th Birthday to me!



Saturday was my 30th birthday. Over the past few months I've been thinking a lot about turning 30 and the person I am and the person I want to be. There seems to be so much stigma when the birthday takes you into the next decade. Brad has been especially teasing me because he is still 29 for two more months. But despite what anyone says about turning 30, I resolved to make the most of it as well as treat this birthday with the dignity it deserves.

I think birthdays are a better time to re-evaluate your past year and make new resolutions than New Year's. In the case of this 30th birthday, it is a chance to improve on some things that I did in my 20s and leave behind a few things that I'd rather forget. I will share a few of my resolutions here, but some things I will keep to myself because it might take a while for them to be implemented.

First of all, I've heard heard and read about women who really become comfortable in their "skin" after a certain age. I think some of that has to do with maturity, some of it with facing the reality that they aren't getting any skinnier or less flabby, and some with plain old common sense. I've decided that now at 30 I'm not going to wait any longer for that "comfortableness" to develop - I'm going to embrace it!

I'm going to be "less modest" with my necklines, wear capris even if they make my legs look short and chunky, and not be so concerned about what other people think about my wardrobe. Besides, I'm not going to look this good forever, so I'd better "flaunt it while I got it"! I may even wear leggings again now they've come back in style.

Secondly, I'm going to try harder at being that industrious Proverbs 31 woman. If you haven't read Proverbs 31 lately, this is a good time to do so. You'll notice that she is very organized, which is a characteristic I've generally had in the past, but have let slip since I've moved to the Netherlands. So I'm hoping to retain that characteristic and then some to be a better woman, wife, and someday a mother, to my family, church, and community.

The first and most practical step in this direction is organizing my daily activities to get the most done throughout the day. Even a simple list of activities will help me get more accomplished. Plus, organizing my day will also allow me to schedule a regular devotional time. That often gets lost in the shuffle. And I will have to be disciplined to say "no" to something if it conflicts with my daily priorities.

Finally, I'm going to try and reign in the anxiety that sometimes plagues me. This process may take a variety of forms of which I haven't figured out yet. This might be a challenge since it has both physical and mental ramifications. However, I want to be more bold in facing this problem head on especially as we hope to get pregnant in the next year or so and having a child will probably only add to the anxiety.

The first step is to put again to memory Phil 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything..." The verse goes on to talk about being filled with God's peace after talking to Him about the anxieties and cares in my life. This verse was a real comfort to me at university when I was really struggling with anxiety. I encourage you all to memorize it also.

Other than that, I hope to blog and email more, waste less time surfing the net (because I can't purchase anything online here anyways!), spend less time shopping, more time reading, and keep my house a bit cleaner so I can invite guests in who randomly ring my doorbell on Sunday afternoon (that's an upcoming post).

I'm sure I'll think of more things along the way, but for now Happy Birthday to me!