See you later, Alligator (Leaving Holland)

It has been nearly one month since we moved from Leiden; so this post is a little delayed but with good reason as we were without internet connection. The past month has been very full of boxes, Ikea trips, language struggles, church callings, paperwork (banking, residency etc.), navigation and exploration. Thankfully, most of the things we have needed to do we have been able to enjoy the time together – and that is including a 4 hour trip to Ikea on a Saturday with two tired children in tow! We are saving all the details of our settling into Bremen for later posts. For now, it’s time to close off our time living in Leiden…

We can’t believe we lived in Leiden for two years – it went by so quickly! It feels as though we were just visiting Holland for Valentines Day (while Laura was still pregnant with Atticus) when Laura said “I love this place! I could definitely live here. Look, there are swans just hanging out along the canals! How beautiful.” Well, it was not even a month later that the possibility of moving to Holland came into discussion and soon we were planning our move…

Visiting the temple

Our first encounter with the bakfiets. We were so intrigued - who would have ever thought we would soon be the proud owners of one!

A swan, just chilling out at the intersection...

Boy, did we luck out as far as apartments go. We looked a few places that were complete dives. One particularly memorable apartment had been broken into so many times that there were 6 different locks on the door. Sure makes you feel safe, doesn’t it? The last apartment we looked at was more out of curiosity than seriousness because we were dying to see the incredible view from the apartment which looked out over very green fields, canals and trees inhabited with cattle, sheep, horses and birds of all types; those beautiful swans even gracefully floated by regularly. After getting lost multiple times while trying to find the apartment we showed up late and almost thought it was not worth the bother, but we prevailed and we sure thank our lucky stars that we did.

After only a few moments of being in the apartment, we were both convinced this was it. Despite the not-so-lovely pink carpet and peeling wall paper, we were in complete awe of the view and were already dreaming of the summer nights to come that we would enjoy those long days out on the balcony. After taking the matter to prayer we said ‘yes’ and signed on the dotted line.

Being lured by the incredible view turned out to be a huge blessing as living in that apartment was the source of so many more blessings. We did indeed enjoy many nights out on the balcony (when it wasn’t raining), playing Uno tournaments and chatting. We enjoyed two lovely New Year’s Eves watching the fireworks  out our living room window (you can read about our second New Year’s Eve here). There were countless sunsets that were so stunning that we would watch them rather than a movie we had planned on watching. We learned about different species of birds and agriculture techniques (Atticus loved getting a front row seat during harvesting time). It was not uncommon for us to wake up in the morning only to look out the window and fall in love with the view all over again. That view was an unexpected source of late night conversations, learning and growing together. Who would have thought?

Morning photo...

Evening sunset

on the street where we lived...

The blessings of the apartment extended far beyond the view though. For starters we had some great neighbours. They were the kind of neighbours who not only took the time to say ‘Hello’ but to help you with the groceries, to find out how things were going, to speak Dutch slowly so we could try to understand and to help in many ways. We could not have asked for better neighbours. They were always there to talk to, to help and to be friends. Atticus sure got spoiled by the attention they gave him – and is likely never to forget all those comments about how handsome/cute/smart/grown-up he is. And we will definitely never forget the kindness our neighbours showed to us while we lived there. There were times when they brought in the weather cover for our bike that had blown down the street, or when we needed help translating, or when Laura injured her back while she was pregnant and needed to go to the doctor but could not find anyone to watch Atticus (that particular neighbour, in addition to watching Atticus, even lent us her car so that Laura could make it to the appointment), or when they brought us packages from family in Canada, or when they came over after Milayla was born to congratulate us and give some very thoughtful gifts….we could go on for some time but we’re sure you get the point – they were pretty awesome. To close off our time in Holland they all pitched in to put together a “dutch” gift for us to remember them and our time in Holland by. While the kids may be too young to remember them, we will certainly enjoy telling them all about them when we read their special Dutch book. We will certainly never forget them! Whether they knew it or not, they were the source of many answered prayers. We loved sharing baked goods with them and taking the time to get to know them better.

Of course it came wrapped in Delft Blue paper

Our network of wonderful friends extended far beyond the walls of our building. There were friends from the neighborhood, from swimming class, music class, church, work and play group who helped to enrich our lives by creating lasting memories with us and sharing their culture and traditions with us. We cannot say enough about how grateful we are for their role in our lives. They truly spoiled us with kindness and friendship. We will never forget them and hope that we will see many of them again soon!

Our time in Holland was filled with so many sweet memories. We fell completely in love with Holland - the people, the culture and the country. It made a lasting impression on us and it was so difficult to make the decision to leave. We grew so much as individuals and as a family and will always treasure the time we spent there.

Our last photo in our apartment...

And just so you can get a better glimpse of Milayla