The 12 Days of Christmas

That's what we fondly called my mom's visit in December.  This is one of the longest stretches that we have gone without seeing family, and I have really felt it!  The reality of being so far away from loved ones has weighed heavy on me this fall.  So, it was really special to have my mom come .  And since it was during the holidays, we got to do lots of fun, festive stuff:

The Ktown Christmas Market

 

Swimming at the German Schwimmbad

 

 

Christmas Market at Valkenburg Caves, Netherlands

Going for walks

Alethia showing Granny her school

Seeing Santa

Alethia's dance recital (more on that later)

We also had a little early Christmas celebration so the kids could open their gifts from Granny.  I'm so glad that my kids get to know their Granny even from such a distance!  We had a great time together, and it was sad to see her go.  We are hoping for more extended family time in 2012!

Happy Birthday Mom!

For my mom’s big milestone birthday this year my sister and I decided to pair our talents and make her a quilt.  I have been quilting for about 8 years now…mostly self-taught, so I’m no pro.  And my sister has really gotten into it in the last few years.  My mom has made it no secret that she wished we would make a quilt for her.  So in celebration of her 60^th year we did it.  

My sister chose the pattern and made the quilt top.  The pattern is fashioned after the Tokyo subway map.  The bright colors are perfect for my mom and the theme of international travel fits her.  Little did we know that as I would quilt it, Japan would be suffering mass devastation from the earthquake and tsunami.  Many prayers were sewn right into the quilt as I worked on it.  

  

Once my sister was done putting together the thousands of tiny squares, creating a gorgeous quilt top, she sent it to me.  I put together the backing, quilted it by hand, and binded it.  It was a lot of work, but totally worth it and I LOVE how it turned out!  

 

Off in the mail it went…I nervously waited, hoping it would make it on time.  My mom received it before her big day and got to enjoy it on her vacation.  She really loves it, knowing all the thought, effort, and love that we put into it.  

36 Hours in the Netherlands

My sister and her boyfriend flew into Amsterdam for a week of vacation.  We were able to get away for two days to drive out and visit them.  We got up early on Thurs with the intention to be in Haarlem by 12:30.

Unfortunately Jay came down with a 24hr flu, so we had Alexis to ourselves the first day.  She met us at our hotel in Haarlem.  Our innkeepers were quite hospitable, serving us coffee, tea, and oliebollen (Dutch doughnuts) upon our arrival. 

We headed out to grab lunch and hit the Corrie Ten Boom house/museum.  It was pretty cool to hear Corrie's story while standing in the house where she saved so many.  Now I want to go read "The Hiding Place" again...it's been years.

We spent the rest of the day getting settled and Alexis and I got some sister time.  When we ventured out for dinner, many restaurants were already packed.  We found a snug Italian restaurant that seemed kid-friendly, though busy.  Alethia had fallen asleep in the stroller on the way over...exhaustion from a long day with no nap.  So, upon waking, she wasn't the most pleasant child on earth.  Even so, both kids did pretty good waiting for their meal the first hour or so.  Then, Alethia started asking every few minutes where her food was.  And Masami was trying to climb out of the highchair.  When we finally tracked down our server, we found out that he hadn't put our order in yet.  Anthony walked the kids around a bit, we let them play games on our phones...trying to keep them happy a while longer.  The entire dinner experience took nearly 4 hours.  My sister was worried that she would miss the last train, it had gotten so late!  We walked Alexis to her train and Masami was asleep by the time we got back to the hotel.  The rest of us rapidly followed. 

The next morning, we got up and drove into Amsterdam and met Jay and Alexis to celebrate Alethia's birthday.  They were really great playing with the kids and giving-up a whole day of their vacation to do the kid thing.  Our kids felt very loved-on by them!

After dinner, we said our goodbyes and parted ways.  It was a great way to spend the last two days of the year.  We are so grateful to have gotten that special time with Alexis and Jay!