Weekend in Holland

We had the lovely opportunity to head to Holland the weekend before Easter. Our trip served a dual purpose - one, to visit the temple and two, to visit the Prins family. Typically we would head to Holland to celebrate Easter, however, this year we felt we needed to stay in Bremen for Easter so we followed that feeling and planned accordingly which put us on a last minute trip to Holland the weekend before Easter. And even though it was last minute, we sure had a lovely time; the temple was incredible, as always, and we had so much fun catching up with the Prins family - egg hunts, kids playing, trips to market, dutch church, talking into the night. It was a nice break from the daily routine. 

Of course, I took a lot of pictures. Yet, somehow, Leah escaped all of them despite the fact that she was certainly there. The Prins family were great hosts and we are excited to visit them again soon.

Due to the volume of pictures, I figured I would let the pictures do the talking for the most part. 

Reading on the way to Holland

First stop was The Hague Temple from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints so that both Jason and I could attend a session. The kids got to spend some extra time with the person who was not in the session.

The kids posing outside the temple. The wind was so cold and very strong - they were such great troopers!

Atticus and Milayla got to go into the visitor waiting area inside the temple and they sure were excited about that. It led to a lot of little questions about when they will get to go inside the temple. I love their questions!

Jason and I took turns doing a temple session while the other person (not doing the temple session) spent time with the kids in the little pedestrian area of Zoetemeer (the small city where The Hague temple is located). Walking those streets and visiting some of the little shops sure brought back a lot of lovely memories.

After the temple we headed to the Prins' home. Man, those kids have grown! The kids picked up right where they left off and went about playing - nonstop.

I love this series of photos with Milayla. She was so excited that she was finally getting a turn riding the little Bakfiets and then watch what happens...

first there was one...

then there were two...

and then there were THREE!

 Oh man. I love that girl. Bless her very patient heart. She is a continual sweetheart. On Saturday morning we headed downtown to market (at the Birthday Boy's request, Jason, - we headed down to reminisce and let Jason indulge in some market treats).  The kids loved the bus ride.

And Atticus and Evia were back to their little dynamic duo. 

Milayla, who did not sleep well the night before (new bed + new room = very little sleep for most everyone..), was pretty quick to fall asleep in her little wind-protected bubble.

I love downtown Leiden!

Jason got his fill of Stroopwaffel, pomme frittes, and raw Herring. The raw Herring thing is something I will never understand - I'm sure of it. Atticus even gave it a try - and LIKED it! At least Atticus showed a little bit of hesitancy before he went in for seconds.

 Then the kids played the afternoon away. Well, actually, Atticus napped (which surprised us) and Milayla (who slept the whole morning) loved getting to play with Evia. Milayla may look to be playing a little strange in this photo, but these two sure had a big case of the giggles.

 Then we headed out for an Easter egg hunt. Milayla had fun trying to put her bunny ears on (the bunny ears are still making repeated appearances around here!)

I handed the camera over to Jason after I took the first couple shots so that I could sneak into some of the photos as well.

 And the kids wasted no time, once we got inside, opening their eggs to check out what was inside. Thankfully, Leah did a really good job of picking small candies so there were no sugar-overloads.

 Then there was more visiting. Good meals. More chatting. And lots of praying that a certain little girl would sleep better that night (which she did!). We headed to church Sunday morning and loved catching up with everyone there. It worked out that we were able to stay long enough after to visit with some people from our old branch that also meets in the building - what a treat that was! It was a big reminder to us that we need to make another trip back and be more dutiful in setting times to meet with everyone and catch up. We know a lot of wonderful people in Leiden :).

 And, all too soon, it was time to load into the car and head for home. See those smiles down there? Those are the smiles of two tired children who have absolutely no intention of falling asleep on the way home. It worked out just fine though, because they danced, sang and conducted to The Lamb of God cd (from Rob Gardner) for a good portion of the journey anyhow.

 Before we officially hit the road we stopped by our old apartment to see if anything had changed. It hadn't. Except that our old apartment is for sale. The building is still the same. The view is still incredible. The windmill is still as quaint as ever. And the neighbours are as lovely as ever. As we were driving by two of our neighbours happened to be arriving home and we ended up having a great conversation with them. We sure were blessed with great neighbours!

And with that it was time to officially head for the high way. It was hard to resist the urge to shed a few tears about leaving Leiden again. We love that city and the people who live there. Our brief weekend there was so nice and relaxed, everything was so familiar and it felt like we had never left. but despite our love for Holland we know that we are where we are supposed to be right now and that was a hard realization for me to remember (and yes, I do mean remember because it was something we knew waaaaayyyyy back when we first made the decision to move to Bremen). It was certainly a reminder that I need to be more present in the place that we live now, work harder to build relationships and do more to serve. Not to mention all the things on my list of stuff to take the kids on adventures to explore :). Bremen has been a hard city for me to learn to love, but it has it's own unique charm that can be quite endearing and I am determined to love it for all it's quirks and charm because I am sure the day will come, all too soon, where it will be time to say goodbye and I am certain I will miss this city and, most importantly, the people who live here (because we have come to know some awesome people here!). Of course, I have no idea when/if that day will come, but I will be keeping that prospect in mind as I put forth the effort to be present, to serve, and to enjoy the moment of living here.

POST EDIT:::

Just realized I missed adding this comical photo of us trying to get a picture of all four kids on the couch as we were heading out the door for church. Poor Aeonia was feeling sick and just happy to be hanging out in her pyjamas. And Milayla was falling over in her snowsuit. We took a few photos and this was the only one we managed to get without any blurry children. Sure hope we can get these kids all together many more times to come.

Vrolijk Pasen (Happy Easter - Part II)

For the last two years, we have opted to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior by going to a garden on Easter Monday as a family. Fortunate for us, the nearby garden that we selected at the time was the famous tulip gardens in Holland -  Keukenhof. Seeing that we still live relatively close to where we used to live in Leiden, we decided to continue tradition this year and drive to Keukenhof for Easter Monday. And as a lovely bonus we were also privileged to celebrate Easter with some good friends of ours, the Prins Family. 

Following church services on Sunday we hopped into the car and headed for Leiden with two very excited children. 

Shortly after we arrived, Atticus and Evia were reunited and it did not take long for them to pick up where they left off. Leah set up a lovely egg hunt in the garden and those two happily held hands as the marched off in search of eggs.

They shared the eggs they found and showed one another where to find more.

It was rather nice to not be the only one with a camera permanently attached to her hand as Leah was happily clicking away as the events transcribed as well (which also meant more lovely pictures to select from of Keukenhof). We enjoyed a good laugh as Evia began transferring all her eggs into Atticus' bucket; much easier to have someone else carry them :).

Despite the chilly wind, the kids had a wonderful time!

Daddy and Milayla came out to join in the fun, but unfortunately could not stay for long as it was a tad chilly for Milayla. (We had very responsibly brought a snow suit for her but as we pulled out of the church parking lot we said those infamous words "I hope we didn't forget anything". We did. The snowsuit. It's still sitting in the church foyer, waiting for us to finally remember to get it. Unfortunately, we did not discover this forgetfulness until it was time to put her snowsuit on for the egg hunt...in Holland).

Once Daddy and Milayla headed in, the kids only wanted to sit and check out their eggs before heading in anyhow.

Then there was more planned. Leah had hidden a picture of every family member in their own respective egg. When the egg with their picture was opened, that person received a gift (and Leah picked those gifts perfectly).

The kids enjoyed playing together until dinner time. Milayla loved exploring and was eager to join with the "big" kids and play with all the pretend kitchen items.

We enjoyed a delicious Greek dinner before sitting down to open one, final egg. Inside this special egg was a picture of the Savior which stemmed a spiritual thought about the gift that the Savior gave to us. It was a great continuation on the idea of "gifts" and definitely helped those precious little ones of ours to understand just a little bit more what Easter is truly about.

The kids were then tucked away in bed while the adults enjoyed some greek desserts and some very funny animal encounters.

The following morning, a very eager Atticus and Evia woke up the adults and we all staggered around to begin getting ready. In a surprising feat, even Jan was ready to go by 8am, and we were all off to Keukenhof.

Despite it being a rather gray and rainy day, the gardens were spectacular - as always.

We really lucked out that so many of the flowers were already in bloom, and the tulips fields were already bursting with color.

A nice close-up from Leah's camera

Atticus and Evia certainly did not waste any time making the most of all the puddles that were around either.

This last one is from Leah's camera. LOVE having the advantage of shots from different angles at one time!

To say this place is stunning would be a serious understatement. Between the gardens and greenhouses, there was no shortage of beautiful flowers to see (and smell).

There are always some creative displays to check out in the green houses, this year that even included fashions from nature...

...tree horoscopes...

...and a beat-up, old car set up for picture posing that we all took our turns in.

Leah even caught a couple of Jason and I taking a turn.

We ran, played, explored and posed for plenty of pictures.

The little kids enjoyed some silly time.

And Jason enjoyed making some silly faces to keep our ever-patient babies entertained.

Even the big kids were able to squeeze in some play time.

another catch from Leah :)

The vibrancy and beauty of the flowers were certainly unaffected by the gloomy weather.

Nor did that gloomy weather affect the good time that we had walking the gardens together.

Adore this photo that Leah snapped of Milayla. 

To wrap up our morning at the gardens we headed to a nearby Pannenkoekenhuis (Pancake House) to enjoy some Dutch Pancakes and some more catching up. 

Then, far too soon, it was time to say goodbye and we were on the road again to head back to Bremen. Though we would have loved to stay longer, we were very grateful for the time that we did have to spend with the Prins Family while in Holland and even more grateful for the efforts that they put into welcoming us as guests in their home. It was a wonderful time.

How great it is to remember our Savior, how he died for us, and rose on the third day that we, too, may live again with Him and our Father in Heaven. I am overwhelmed with gratitude that the tomb was indeed empty on that Easter morning so long ago. I am grateful for the words from The Living Christ that touch my heart and soul deeply as I work to recall the words we memorized last Easter.

"...He was arrested and condemned on spurious charges, convicted to satisfy a mob, and sentenced to die on Calvary’s cross. He gave His life to atone for the sins of all mankind. His was a great vicarious gift in behalf of all who would ever live upon the earth.

We solemnly testify that His life, which is central to all human history, neither began in Bethlehem nor concluded on Calvary. He was the Firstborn of the Father, the Only Begotten Son in the flesh, the Redeemer of the world....We testify that He will someday return to earth. “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (Isaiah 40:5). He will rule as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords, and every knee shall bend and every tongue shall speak in worship before Him. Each of us will stand to be judged of Him according to our works and the desires of our hearts.

...We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son."

As I do my best to rededicate myself to His service each and every day I pray that my children will be touched by the reality of our Savior. That their hearts will be filled with comfort, peace, love and gratitude for His selfless sacrifice and what it will mean for each of them. That they will welcome Christ into their lives to be with them through every day. That they will accept and use the gift of the atonement. That they will look forward to the blessing of the resurrection with hope and joy. That they will know that it is through Him that our family can be together eternally. Because it's all true.
Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He lived for us. He died for us. He rose on the third day. He is always there for us. And I hope they will never forget,

He lives.