Sometimes You've Just Got to Stop and Smell the Roses

When I was younger I always wished I was older. If I was older then I could have my own cell phone, drive a car, buy my own beer, move out on my own, and just do whatever I wanted. When I was 15 I finally got my own cell phone, by 16 I could drive by myself, at 18 I was living away from home, and I even got to buy alcohol when I was 19 since we lived in Holland. 

Now that I am older, I sometimes wish that I spent a little less time wishing my years away when I was younger. Of course, I still have my own cell phone, car, house, etc, but now I  have to pay for all of those things which can make them more of a headache than anything else!

I often joke with Rob that I feel like I'm going on 35 instead of 25. After all, I have dealt with and accomplished more things in my 24 years than some people in their 30's. But lately I've realized that I don't need to feel like I'm old, or wish I was young. I've realized that it's okay to take time to stop and smell the roses. To enjoy being the age that I am. To enjoy the ages that I've been. And to look forward, but not rush, the ages that I will be. 

So with those, ahem, very wise words of wisdom I welcomed my birthday last Wednesday with open arms. The last 24 years have been fun, challenging, crazy, and have shaped me into the woman, wife, mommy, and student that I am today. I'm sure this next year will bring more excitement, things to celebrate, and obstacles to overcome. And let me tell you, I am going to enjoy every single day of it!

With that being said, I celebrated my 24th Alabama-style with a family BBQ!

The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been.
Madeleine L'Engle

How to Make a House a Home 101

For weeks I have been missing our bed, couch, etc, but when our container finally arrived last week I begged the movers to stop unloading it halfway! I swear those boxes mated and multiplied during their 4 week containment, but the movers promised me that everything in that container really did come from our old house!

As if we didn't have enough junk, the movers in Holland were nice enough to pack up a box of their trash and old coffee cups...

Since the doors were open all day, we turned the air conditioning off while the movers were here. Needless to say by the middle of the afternoon Rob and I were hot, sweaty, and not amused!

Our house has looked like it regurgitated cardboard, but after a week of unpacking a home is starting to appear under all of these boxes!

We've also been up to more exciting things than opening boxes lately. After Max's first week of school he came home with these cool papers:

We were pleasantly surprised to see how well he can colour within the lines!

He also received the Good Attitude Award his first week! (And yes, Miss Amy has changed his last name from Greenen to Geenen!) We are so proud of him and how quickly he is adapting to his new school :)

And even though Rob and I haven't been enjoying going through all of these boxes, Lucas sure has!

                              

                               

Happy Birthday Olivia!

After Max's big day at school we went over to MiMi and Opa's to celebrate Auntie Olivia's 13th birthday! We had a yummy spaghetti dinner (Liv's favorite) and a delicious ice cream cake from Smoochies. Next week the birthday girl will be treated to a massage with her big sister!

The Birthday Girl! (The knife was for the cake, really...!)

Liv's Auburn ice cream cake

Lang zal ze leven!

13 candles took two big blows!

Family picture :)

Lucas could have eaten the whole cake!

Double trouble!

Max's First Day!

Yesterday Max started his first day of school at Wiregrass Christian Academy. Rob and I were curious how his day would go since he mostly only speaks Dutch, but it didn't surprise us at all that he fit right in with the rest of the class. His teacher, Miss Amy, even said he was the best behaved in the class!

Unfortunately he wasn't in the mood for pictures before school, but I did the best that I could!

All ready to go!

Showing off his new backpack

Finally at school after a million pictures!

He even has his own desk!

...Wishing Mommy would hurry up and leave!

Lucas wanted to stay and play

Max and Miss Amy :)

Hopefully Max will continue being so enthusiastic about school for the next 20 years!

Playing Catch Up

The last two weeks have been slightly insane, a bit wacky, and are thankfully over! We've been living in our new home for a week now and are absolutely loving it here. And despite the fact that we've been running errands all day everyday, we have definitely gotten enough pool time in lately!

Since so much as happened in the past couple of weeks I'll tell our story through pictures. Because I know how much you guys love my photography. Because I'm too lazy to write a 10 chapter book!

After our house was emptied we went to Het Vennenbos. It's a bungalow park filled with activities for familes and kids. While we were there we:

Played air hockey

Went bowling

Celebrated Oma's birthday (for more pics click here)

Took a short trip over to the Efteling

And enjoyed cotton candy because Max Mommy insisted!

After a few days in Het Vennenbos we headed over to Schiphol airport where we stayed a night in The Sheraton and enjoyed a nice view from our room.

The next day we boarded our plane after some tearful goodbyes. Thankfully the kids were fabulous the entire trip, though I guess that can be expected from a 3 year old who has been on 30+ flights and a 7 month old on his 5th flight! And no, our sweet boy isn't crying in this picture-- he just didn't appreciate a large flash in his face! Too bad for him, he'll have to get used to having the camera in his face! ;-)

We were all ready to crash when we landed in Dothan (a town right outside of Enterprise), but even after more than 20 hours of traveling, there was no stopping this water rat from springing in the water!

Three days after our arrival Rob and I took a road trip to Tennessee to pick up our new car:

After we picked up the Passat we headed 2 hours East to pick up our second car- a '66 mustang. 

Unfortunately the car wasn't exactly in the same condition the man had described and we decided not to buy it. Rob was a bit disappointed that we didn't go home with 2 cars, but I know he is secretly thankful that he didn't have to drive 8 hours home in 100+ degree weather without air conditioning! 

Aside from taking care of the important things, there has been plenty time for swimming, mowing the lawn (that only took my poor husband 4 hours!), and Rob's new interest-- the hummingbirds around our house. 

Tomorrow begins a new day, and a very important one for Max- it's his first day of school! Today we went for orientation and he got to meet his new teacher and classmates. We are quite impressed with the school and Max can't wait to start! But that's for another post...

We've Come a Long Way, Baby

When I was 19 I waved goodbye to my parents and boarded a plane to Holland. With only 2 suitcases in my hands, a small Max in my belly, I sat in that plane for hours hoping I was making the right decision. But once you are hanging over the Atlantic Ocean at 35,000 feet, there is no going back. So off I was to start my new life with my, then, boyfriend of only 10 months.

After living with my in-laws and getting off to a rocky start in Holland, we finally got the keys to our house in June of 2006. I was a bit shocked when we walked in our house to see that there were no floors, bare concrete walls, and no toilet in the bathroom. With only a little bit of money, quite a bit of debt, and only a few months until Max was scheduled to make his grand entrance, I had no idea how we were going to make that house a home.

For months we ate from his sister's patio furniture in our bare living room, we sometimes struggled to make ends meet in the middle of the month, and sometimes when everything came pouring down on us, we also struggled to work things out without screaming at each other. But thanks to some pretty amazing people, we did it. By December of that year we had a house filled with second-hand furniture that I loved, a stronger relationship, and a beautiful baby boy.

Although 2007 was easier than 2006, we still had our trials, and most importantly, tribulations. After Rob's first deployment that Spring we finally tied the knot in August. Our (very tightly budgetted) wedding was one of the best days of our lives. I don't think I have ever laughed, danced, and ahem drank so much in my entire life. As with everything, all good things come to an end and Rob was back in Afghanistan 4 months later.

2008 through 2009 is a blur of deployments. Between the deployments we made a couple of trips to America, I finally found a job, we took an amazing trip to Italy, Rob got a job offer in Alabama, and we expanded our family with the birth of our little Lucas.

And now, after 10 long months of preparing for our move to The States, WE MADE IT! The next few months, as the next 100 years, are sure to promise more trials, tribulations, and a whole lot happiness. But for now, we're taking it one day at a time and hoping our container gets here soon!

It all sounds a bit crazy looking back on it, but falling in love with the most wonderful man in the world was worth every bit of...well... everything.

PS- More updates on our last week coming soon!