Oh, Holland, I love you so....

Last year, for our 25th anniversary, the Soldier surprised me with a trip to New Amsterdam.
See the story here . ( I still tear up a little, remembering how wonderful it was)

This year he took me to Old Amsterdam. And some of my favorite places in the world.

We headed out on a Thursday morning. The drive was pretty and it always strikes me how different the landscape is immediately after we cross the Holland border. As usual with most borders in the EU, there was no stopping-just driving on through past customs. Our plan was to go to our favorite cheese farm on our way to Haarlem.

We stayed at the Clara Maria Cheese farm in Amstelveen wayyy back in 2005 and were happy to discover it hadn't changed at all, which made it very easy to find!

This is a picture from 2005!

I have been waiting 10 YEARS to get more of that cheese and it did not disappoint!

curing cheese that will be ready in 2 months

Can you have too  much cheese? We have been enjoying different varieties of farm-fresh gouda with nearly every meal since we've been back!

One fun thing about visiting Clara-Maria again is that even though we were not able to stay overnight there (they don't run a B and B anymore) we got to meet one of the "little kids" we watched last time, swinging wildly from the ropes their parents had hung from the ceiling in the gigantic barn. 

He's all grown up now and has a wife and a baby and has even deployed with the marines. Time flies...

And here's a visual of that flying time...

2005....

 2015...

Joshua got to make his own wooden shoe and then his name was burnt into it. What a great souvenir!

We hopped back in the car, hoping to make it to Haarlem in time for the final english tour of the day of the Ten Boom House. We got to town in time, but spent quite a while driving around looking for a place to park. We found out to our disappointment that there was a big carnival going on in the market square, which accounted for some of the extra traffic. 

But we found a place and hurried to the house. We had missed the tour by just a few minutes. There was one tour left that day, starting in 30 minutes, but it was in Dutch. We were the only people waiting so we came up with a plan. We would hang around and if no Dutch -speakers came up we would appeal to the tour guides to give us a tour in English. So we waited. And a few minutes later another couple came up. Momentary disappointment, but then we heard them speaking English, with American accents! We struck up a conversation with them (which proved to be very beneficial on our Amsterdam day...) and invited them to go in on our plan with us. So now we were five. We waited a little longer and a young lady came up. Same disappointment, followed by same excitement! She was visiting from DC! So now we were six. 

The tour guide opened the door and I explained the situation to her. Much to our surprise, though, she was one of few Dutch who didn't speak english. She did admonish us for being late (that is a European attribute--both the punctuality and the admonishing) and said she would see if it was possible. 

To make a long story short (we waited at least ten more minutes) we were told we could join the tour already in progress, as that was the only english speaking guide available. What seemed like an unfortunate situation (we didn't get to hear the whole family story, which includes sharing the Gospel. We know the whole story but I love hearing it and I especially love that they have honored Corrie's wishes of sharing Jesus with every visitor) turned out to be a wonderful circumstance. 

We toured the house, such a wonderful follow-up to reading the book, which he and I had just finished reading together (The Hiding Place) and Joshua was selected to demonstrate the entrance and exit to the actual hiding place. 

We took a picture of him standing inside--both times I have visited I have been struck by the tiny size and ingenious construction of the place. The false wall in Corrie's already small bedroom was built with bricks so it would not sound hollow if it was banged on by the Gestapo. After they were betrayed and the house was raided, 6 people hid in there, standing up, in the dark, for 47 hours until they were rescued. It is believed that Corrie and her family helped save the lives of over 800 Jews during the war. Have you read her story? If not, I highly recommend it. 

The hiding place in 2015:

This is the signal that was placed in the window to alert Jews and other resistance workers to the safety or danger of entering the Beje. Placed in the window in the home above their watch-maker shop, the Alpina logo was turned facing in or facing out, depending on the happenings inside.

The best part about being late to the tour was that we had gotten noticed by our tour guide, a wonderful woman with bright eyes and a fun spirit. She apologized repeatedly for us having to miss the beginning of the story (our fault) and we reassured her we knew it already. We struck up a conversation after the tour was over and ended up staying an extra 30 minutes or just talking with her about the Ten Boom family and her own life during the war! 

She was a child, then, and described her experiences (they were forced to eat tulip bulbs to avoid starvation the last winter of the war) and gave us her thoughts on what effect war has on children as they grow up.

And most wonderfully, she shared that she had been saved after reading one of Corrie's books. Her parents were Christians and then her husband was, too, but she had no interest in things of God, let alone Jesus Christ. She had an American friend who recommended reading one of Corrie's books (she didn't know anything about her, other than she was Dutch) and she read it. She was intrigued by what Corrie said about Jesus and the Bible and decided to get out the Bible her husband had given her, that she had never read, and see if what Corrie said was really in the Bible. It was and she believed. And now she's giving tours and telling others of the love Jesus has for each of them and the way they can know that love and understand the ability to forgive as Corrie has, because of knowing how much we've each been forgiven. 

It turned out to be such a blessing that we were late, because it gave us the opportunity to get to know this wonderful woman and hear her story, which we probably wouldn't have done if we had just been on a regular tour and hadn't caught her notice. 

After our wonderful visit (we all agreed we wish we could have talked to her all day!) we headed back to the Grote Markt and grimaced as we walked past the blaring music from the games and screams from the rides that obscured the beautiful old buildings and church. 

We made it over to St. Bavo's, the Grote Kerkt, in the square, at 5 minutes to 5. It closed at 5, but we were allowed (the Dutch are so much more gracious than the Germans...) to peek inside. Oh my, SUCH beauty. It was consecrated a Catholic cathedral but quickly changed to  a Protestant church in the late 1500's.

That incredible organ was played by Mendelssohn, Hanedel, and even a 10-year old Mozart. It began to play while we were inside and the sound was so powerful and overwhelming and majestic. I could have listened for hours.

But we only had five minutes and it flew by (are you sensing a trend?). It was time to go on to the North Sea to find our hotel....

the rest of the story is coming tomorrow....

Get out while the gettin's good

The weather has been so lovely the past week or so. It's ALMOST warm out. And I confess to sitting outside one day in a patio chair reading a book and, gasp!, rolled up my pants so my pasty white legs could get some sun. I figure we are probably so Vitamin D deficient after the winter that we need to soak up as much as we can!

The kid and I had a great adventure with some friends this week. We went to a ropes course nearby. Have you heard of ropes courses? I know they are pretty popular everywhere. We had never been before, but had SUCH a great time we will definitely go back! We had help getting into our harnesses and had a brief introduction to hooking ourselves up to the static lines and learned the rules of the course, and up we went!

It was spring break here so it was REALLY crowded. We only made it through 2 of the 6 courses we could have done (well, 3 if you count the intro course). There are up to 16 courses to try and I think it's going to be quite some time before I'm ready for those "higher" ones but I'm game to working our way "up!"

There is also zip lining involved which made the whole experience even cooler....

We also had a great time bowling with some homeschool friends last week! 

I think this is their "pensive" look....

And the best thing of all for enjoying this great weather, the Soldier got himself a new ride! 

I've heard a rumor that those doors are coming off soon....

We went to a flea market last weekend. I didn't buy anything, BUT our pastor and dear friend knows a couple of the things I am looking for and he showed up last night with this beauty for my table!

It's just on loan and I am still debating whether or not I am going to keep it. It's a little more money than I wanted to spend, but it certainly has charm....what do you think?

Oh, and this guy called me this week. (kiss kiss kiss smooch)

Up From The Grave He Arose!

I love the songs we typically sing on Easter morning. I wonder sometimes why we don't sing them throughout the year. They just fill my heart with wonder and awe at the kind of LOVE that would do what Christ did for me.
Maybe I'll start playing them more throughout the year. And at Christmas time. Wouldn't that be awesome to sing songs of Christ's Resurrection while we are remembering His birth? The one was the reason for the other!

We had a lovely, quiet Easter here. Dinner with our church family and an egg hunt (with rules and this year a time limit-thanks to the Soldier, who likes to keep things interesting. (-;  )

We used natural materials to dye our eggs this year. Shown here are onion skins, cabbage, and tea simmering...

I made a hummingbird cake for the church dinner. There was nearly a stampede to get some. Everybody loves hummingbird cake!

Thelma Lou was unsure of what to think of Joshua's newest friend, whom I'm calling "Juanita." (get it?)

This is what I got when I told them to stand over there and look cute while I set up the camera.

And finally a nice picture. :)

Happy Easter, dear friends and family. Christ the Lord is risen today! Hallelujah! Sin hath no power over the Cross on which the Prince of Glory died. Praise the Lord for evermore!

A little foolery and some royal homesteading

I don't always play April Fool's jokes-that way they are unexpected when I do. ;)

This year was simple. One drop of blue food coloring deep in the bristles of his toothbrush (I held it horizontally for a few seconds til it dried). Then wait til the next morning for the shriek. 

APRIL FOOL'S!!! 

                   (No, it wasn't permanent...)

Thursday night I got to watch my Soldier re-enlist someone. When this part of our life is over, that is one thing I will miss the most. Watching him encourage and teach other soldiers. And he's SO GREAT at that. He cares about them. He has impacted so many lives. And he looks pretty good in his uniform. ;)

And yesterday, on a beautiful, sunny Good Friday, we went to what is making a pretty strong argument for being voted our favorite castle so far. 

Burg Eltz.

The castle has been in the same family for 34 generations! Apparently the current family members visit from Frankfurt every couple of weeks. "Hey kids, it's a long weekend. We are going to our castle." "Aw, mom, again?" The three branches of family that have lived there have held various titles such as Lords, Counts, Councillors, Erbmarschall, and one Imperial Arch Chancellor Prince Elector (whew!!).

We parked and had a 15 minute or so walk around the hills to get to the castle. The little tributary was flowing along below us and the boy had a lot of fun exploring above us..

No photos were allowed on the tour, but we took some in the courtyard. 

The tour was great! We got to see several rooms-so many interesting details like the slate in the fireplaces, little window seats/benches in every room to maximize light, gorgeous wooden beams and painted ceilings, family crests everywhere, and a kitchen largely untouched since the 1500's. The castle is built in an out of the way place and that, combined with the obvious care the family took of it, has it in beautiful condition for being so old. 

We enjoyed a drink and a snack on the terrace in the courtyard after the tour and visit to the treasury, and explored the grounds a little before heading back.

And on our drive back we passed a medieval walled city and another castle....

It was a beautiful day for a drive and a wonderful time with two of my loves. 

And as we get ready to celebrate the Savior's resurrection tomorrow, I am reminded anew of the love of our Father we see every day, in every hour. Every spring blossom is a glimpse of new life, every chirping robin is the hope of fresh beginnings, every whispy cloud is a promise that there is more beyond the beauty He has given us here. 

This word was not made to satisfy us, but to give us a tiny peek at the beauty He has waiting for us if only we accept His gift. THAT is love.