Oh No!!

So I posted my most anticipated pictures - the ones of tulips - and somehow the pictures got out of sequence. Not to worry, I'll post some more here...and there are even a few hyacinth fields also. Oh, the smell was spectacular driving down these streets! Anyway, scroll down on the posts and you'll see more tulip pictures. By the way, the tulip is not native to Holland. Does anyone out there know the country from which it originates?

A Few More Pictures

Today I'll post random shots of what I've been doing. The first pictures are shots of typical front windows. I find it so funny that the Dutch are so symetrical in their decorating. This odd notion of symetry is most notable in the front windows of their homes. I don't want this to be taken as a criticism. I find it charming, and I also find it to be a good example of the orderliness of the Dutch culture. Notice in these pictures how two of the same item appears:

The next few pictures are of Bill's sister, Janny, and her husband, Johan. They live in western Holland on an island. Johan drove all the way to pick me up (about 75 miles) and I spent a wonderful day with them.

Janny took me to a quaint little city on the island called Goedereede. It was begun in 1312. Notice the orange flags? The whole country is gearing up to celebrate Koninginnedag on April 30. This is a celebration of the Queen's birthday and the whole country is awash in orange.

I'll post more pictures tomorrow. It's very late and time to turn in for the day.

Tulips Galore

Tell people you're going to Holland and the first thing they think of is tulips. I admit, I wanted to see tulips. I love them. In fact, they are probably my favorite flower. I would pick a vase full of tulips over a vase full of roses any day. So,I knew that when I came to Holland, I might see tulips. What I was not prepared for was how many, many, many tulips I would see. Nor was I prepared for the breath-taking beauty of the fields of tulips. So here are some of my pictures, but my camera (and limited photo skills) can not begin to capture the awe-inspiring beauty of this flower. Enjoy!

More Pictures

I have a gazillion pictures, but I haven't posted many of them. I also haven't kept up with my blog. My days have been so full and at the end of the day when I could post something, I'm just ready to go to bed. Every day has been beautiful weather - blue skies and about 65 degrees. So far I have seen Anne Frank's hiding place, rode my bike to church (the church where they think Rembrandt is buried), visited Rembrandt's house, visited my husband's sister in Zeeland, walked through the Red Light District, rode over the Afsluitdijk (a dike), climbed on the inside of a windmill, saw Corrie ten Boom's home, walked the beach of the North Sea, saw a bulb grower cutting off the heads of his tulips, stood in a field of tulips, took a canal tour, and so much more!!! So today I will just share random pictures. The one above is a tile found on the entrance wall to Alice's apartment. It is from the 1920's and it is telling people that it is forbidden to place certain items in the entrance.

This is an outdoor cafe. They are located on almost every street. People come here and sit and have a drink after work. Or they eat lunch or dinner outside.



This is Alice and her 18 yr. old daughter, Emma. The window behind Emma overlooks a beautiful canal.
This is me sitting in a crowd of people at an outside cafe...can you find me? I took this picture because it is of the Three Sisters Restaurant, a cute name that my sisters will appreciate.

A Dutch "coffee shop" where they don't sell coffee.

The fella that welcomes you to the coffee shop.

This is a brick on the street that tells you where to place your garbage for pick-up.

A typical Dutch canal...beautiful!!!

Tulip bulb farm. The worker is cutting off the tops of the tulips so that the bulb will produce more bulbs - up to six more bulbs - a good dividend!

Alice and I in front of a field of tulips.

Supper in Haarlem.

The infamous "Happy Hooker" lives in Alice's neighborhood. This is her home and bed and breakfast. She is the only one that has a red door for her home and also for her garage!

I hope to attend this church on Sunday. The services are in English. I believe the Pilgrim's attended this church before they left for the United States.

Well, that's all for now. I will post more pictures tomorrow.

Doorn Huis

Doorn Huis

On Saturday we drove to Doorn. Alice lived here for 8 years while her husband was the director and curator of the Doorn Huis, the last home of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. Audrey Hepburn's mother spent most of her childhood growing up in this home. It was purchased in 1919 by the Kaiser for his resident-in-exile. He really hoped that one day he would be able to return to his country and to his former days of glory. Instead, he died at the home in 1941 and lies in a mausoleum which was built on the estate.

This is the Gate House.
Alice and her family lived here.

Intricate design on a gate

Alice and I with Kaiser Wilhelm II

Castle ruins Wijk bij Duurstede

Alice driving us around

Me at one of the many windmills I saw on Saturday

Same windmill...see the arch on the bottom that a car can drive through?

I took this to show the strange places one sees
the famous "Dutch Lace" curtains...these appear in the back of a van!

Home Alone

I had a beautiful Saturday in Amsterdam. Right now Alice and her daughters are attending a birthday party, so I am home alone. Yikes! I don't speak a word of Dutch, so even logging in to my blog account is tricky for me without Alice here. I had to guess what my "Gebruikersnaam" was, then my "Wachtwoord" and then what do do when it said "Aanmelden". Somehow, I landed here!

Here are some of my first impressions of Amsterdam: It is a city alive with the colors of Spring! Blooms are everywhere and people take great pride in their lawns and gardens. These are just a few of the sights that I see as I walk throughout the neighborhood. These flowers were just along the sidewalk. Sorry they are so blurry!

This one is for Laura. Here are the tulips you requested. Aren't they gorgeous!?! I took this picture at a flower market in the city. You can buy a huge bouquet of tulips for about $5.00.

Wisteria for Karen and Harv. Does this remind you of your wedding?

This couple is planning for their wedding. We met them on Thursday and their wedding is today (Saturday). They were purchasing these tulips for their big day. The tulips they selected were a very delicate, soft pink. The funny thing is, the couple isn't even Dutch!

Alice and I take long walks every day. Here is Alice beside one of the many trees that are in bloom this week.

Here I am, next to one of the many canals.

Today we were in the city of Doorn and I took my first pictures of windmills. I will post those later and share all the fascinating new historical facts that I learned.

Amsterdam

I'm here! I arrived safely on Wednesday morning. When I got off the plane, I searched and searched for Alice. She is the friend that I am visiting here in Holland. We were college room mates in 1974 and haven't seen each other since then. I waited and waited, sat on a bench, paniced, wondered if I should call Bill...then I retraced my steps. I saw a woman talking to a camera crew...she sort of looked like Alice from the back, but I couldn't see her face. I called, "Alice?" It was her! She was being interviewed for a TV show called Hello/Goodbye. They hang around at the airport looking for interesting stories. They caught our first encounter on film, so now we may be on TV in the Fall!

It was wonderful to see her again after so many years! We have been have so many long walks down memory lane, and now we are making new memories.

Yesterday, she took me on a LONG walk through the city, pointing out areas of interest. I see many tour groups on the streets, and I'm so thankful I get to see the city of Amsterdam through the eyes of my friend.

Today is Friday and I woke up very late. I think the jet lag kicked in big time! The weather is much cooler today, but I think I will walk to the Van Goegh museum and take in some more sights. I've taken many pictures, but need to figure out how to unload them. When I do, I can post some of them here. More to come....Hugs to all!

Great Singer!

I just watched an inspiring video. The "powers that be" will not allow it to be embedded, but you should be able to access it through You Tube if you click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-KiGva9dV4 I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Lima Beans In Paper Cups

How many of you have ever done this project...or have had kids that have had this project? I was reminded of planting seeds when I taught this week. My student, Valeria, proudly came home with her little paper cup which housed a developing lima bean. It reminded me of a favorite story of mine...a story that seems particularly good to remember as we celebrate our Savior's resurrection.

Someone once said, "The only difference between burying and planting is the expectation." When Valeria planted her lima bean, I'm sure she fully expected it to sprout. I remember planting a seed in a paper cup with one of our children and encouraging the little seed on a daily basis. We would faithfully stand over the paper cup and shout, "Come on little seed! You can do it!" (What we don't do for our kids!) We fully expected that seed to grow when we planted it.

We have also buried things with our kids. When our cat, Max, that we had forever, finally breathed his last, we had quite an elaborate ceremony in our backyard when we buried our beloved pet. When we buried Max, none of us expected him to come back. None of us (that I know of) stood over the burial spot and said, "Come on, Max. You can do it! Come back!" Nope, we knew he was gone and that we would never see him again.

That is what's meant by the difference between burying something and planting something...it's the expectation.

And that's why the resurrection gives hope to the believer. Because of Christ, we have the expectation - no, the certainty! - that we will rise again. And so will our loved ones, if they are believers. Death can't keep us in the ground.

My daughter, Laura took a test on Facebook. It was meant to find out what theologian she was...she turned out to be Martin Luther! She was soooo disappointed! She wanted to be John Calvin (like her mother!). But I like Martin Luther. I especially like what he said about the resurrection. He said that everyday is a resurrection day...to the believer, everyday is Easter. I like that. That gives me hope!

He Is Risen! He Is Risen, Indeed!

Tomorrow is Easter. My life has hope because of what was accomplished on Easter! What wonder, what awe! What a joy to be able to say, with certainty, "I know that my Redeemer liveth!"

God Is Great, God Is Good

I just got an email five minutes ago. It was from Blue Cross/Blue Shield. They were informing me that they were unable to cover me for an insurance plan. No reason given - "details will follow", they said. (It must be they found out about my chocolate addiction) Normally, I would be freaking out at this point. It was bad enough having pneumonia and not being covered. So why am I not freaking out, you ask? Today Bill was asked if he would be willing to join the company. That speaks very highly of his work. They like his drawings and his work ethics and want to keep him on. That means that I will have insurance again! That means that I won't have to search for my own policy again! That means that when there are holidays, Bill will get paid. I know that God is good ALL the time, but things like this just melt my heart...God, once again, graciously met my needs before I even knew I had a need.

Another thing I am thankful for is my precious husband. He is 69 years old! 69 and he still faithfully gets up every morning and goes to work. He doesn't want to. He's tired. He's 69. But he does it because that's what it takes to meet the needs of his family. Katrina wiped us out. We have no retirement anymore. And Social Security isn't looking so secure these days. So he faithfully goes to work everyday. Somedays it makes me so mad. Somedays I want to shout, "This is unfair!!! Why can't Bill just retire? Why can't he just relax and take trips like other 69 year old men??!!!" Until that day happens, I get to witness a man of character; a man that faithfully provides without complaining. Thank you, God, for insurance, and thank you, God, for Bill.

Autism

Today is Autism Awareness Day. Many families struggle with this diasabilty on a daily basis. Please take a moment and pray for those of us that live with Autism and please ask God to give researchers wisdom to find a cure.

This video sheds such joy and hope into a world that can be very ugly and dark and discriminating. Enjoy!

Unbelievable!

Our oldest daughter was worried about me. She said I hadn't written on my blog or on Facebook for a while. Well, now you know why! Quite honestly, Bill and I are in a state of shock and we are still trying to process this unexpected news. We hope you will understand now, why you haven't heard from us and why we are laughing so hard because....... it is April Fool's Day!!!!

Sorry, I couldn't resist! Here's two cute April Fool's Day pranks that were played on tv. The first one is a classic. It was first shown on tv in 1957. This has always been one of my favorites.


And here's a newer prank that appeared on tv.



Happy April Fool's Day everyone!