Flashback to High School

This past weekend we had a great church activity with a High School Reunion theme.

Everyone was to dress up like they would have in high school. We realized that we don't dress all that different than we did in high school which either means we have classic taste in clothing or that our wardrobes are terribly out of date. Oh well!

The evening consisted of dinner, "prom" photos, games and karaoke. Jason even joined in the karaoke fun. Atticus kept us on our toes by running around the whole place - nonstop. He was pretty tuckered out by the time we got home. We also were in charge of decorating a table with a 90s theme. We brainstormed together and then Jason took the reigns of making it a reality. Jason did a great job!

This weekend we also got to borrow a friend's bakfiets to see how we and Atticus liked it. Well, we all loved it! They are just brilliant. You can fit four children inside and still have a little room for groceries. Just in case you are wondering, this is a bakfiets:

{Think you would like to ride one?}

This week has a few more classes starting up and we are all getting over colds, so it should be a fun week for all of us. Atticus has had a tough time with his cold and didn't want to eat, sleep or play, but he was much chipper today which was a huge relief. If you could keep him in your prayers that he will keep improving, we would greatly appreciate it.

Before we sign off, here are some photos for you all to look at. 

These first couple are our "prom" photos from the church activity.

And of course, how could we update our blog without sharing some photos of Atticus? Jason likes to wear the Duplo bucket as a hat when he is playing with Atticus, so Atticus thought he would give it a try. As you can see, his head is just a little bit too small for that.

Lately, Atticus has taken to helping tidy the apartment. He will walk around the apartment with his Activity Walker, pick up his toys, place them in the back of the walker then take them to the recycling bin. He thinks it's the greatest thing ever! He is always doing things to make us smile, walking over just to give us hugs, and snuggling up to read a book. What an incredible blessing he is in our life!

 Hope you all enjoyed the update and the photos!

Love and miss you all.

-The Clog Crew

There and Back Again...

Amsterdam.
Calgary.

Abbotsford.

Houston.

And back again...

We're home!

It was a fantastic three weeks. We loved spending time with so many family and friends. Thank you for helping to make the trip so wonderful.

Our first week home was a week of adjusting. Atticus had a hard time with jetlag this trip, so as a result, we did too. After a few nights of very little sleep, things began to get back into a routine.

It was rather rainy and windy our first week back, so we were grateful that we brought back all sorts of new books to read with Atticus. Atticus loves reading books with us on the couch while eating raisins, it is an excellent way to spend a rainy afternoon.

Walking seems to be another great way to spend a rainy afternoon. Atticus took his first solo-steps our first week back and we are very excited. He is still a little nervous and seems to prefer holding on to one of our fingers and especially loves it when he has both our hands and gets to swing - what kid doesn't love that?

Here are just a few photos of our time in Canada.

Our time in Houston was a lot of fun. While Jason worked, Laura and Atticus visited with some friends, went to the zoo, the park and the pool. Jason was even off early enough to join us at a few museums in the evenings. Atticus loved the Children's Museum and the zoo!

Here are a few photos from our time in Houston.

This past week, Atticus and Laura also started their preschool music class. It's in Dutch and Laura is really looking forward to learning some children songs in Dutch. Jason is hard at work, as always, and we are just enjoying every moment we get to spend together.

Thanks again for a wonderful trip to Canada.
Love you all!

-The Clog Crew

The Packing List

Passports.........check!

Boarding passes.......check!

After procrastinating the packing for a few days in favor of dejunking the pantry and Atticus' room we are finally all packed up. All three of us have nestled our items into a smaller piece of check-in luggage; it's nice how light summer clothing is. We're just hoping that it is actually Summer when we arrive in Calgary. Canadian weather, particularly Alberta weather, has been known to do some funny things; however, we are packed for summer so we are hoping for summer.

Laura and Atticus were able to visit with some friends today who will be moving while we are gone, so it was the last chance to see one another. It was sad to say goodbye, but we are sure our paths will cross again. We picked up a few items at the grocery store which will hopefully allow the flight to go smoothly with Atticus. He has been very active the last few days, so we will certainly get our exercise on the flight as we walk up and down the aisle. It's a good way to meet all the other passengers!

We head to the airport in the morning. Please pray for a smooth, problem-free flight.

See you soon.

Love,

The Clog Crew

Day Trip to Haarlem

 

Hello Haarlem!

Beautiful, isn't it? We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather.

We started off with walking the cobble stone streets and admiring all the little shops. Then, it was off to tour the Grote Kerk (Great Church), which sits on the main square.

(oooooooo, ahhhhhhhh)

This is not the original church; a fire burned that one down. This relatively new church took 150 years to build and was finished in 1540. Take a close look at the tower; the tower was classified as part of the town's defense since Napolean used it as a lookout.

Our favorite feature of this church was inside...

That gorgeous organ behind Jason and Atticus dates back to 1738 and is 100 feet high. We had the pleasure of listening to its song echo through the church, however, we couldn't help imagining how amazing it would have been to be there when Handel, Schweitzer or 10-year-old Mozart were at the controls.

Of course, there were other neat things to see and learn about in the Grote Kerk, but we will let Atticus take centre stage for a moment.

"Hi, everyone!"

After the church, it was off to enjoy the ambiance of the market, to eat lunch and wait until our next tour.

We love going to market (Leiden has a nice one as well). It is fun to see how many new things we can try while we are there. Herring is a particularly popular item and Jason is definitely a fan. Here is a family photo in the market, with Grote Kerk in the background.

The town hall is also on the square, but we are facing it so you can not see it in the photo. 

In the afternoon, we went to a tour at the Corrie ten Boom House. You may have heard about the book (or the movie) called 'The Hiding Place' which tells about the Ten Boom family's experience protecting Jews from the Nazi's. The Ten Boom family allowed their home to be a place of hiding for Jews and others who needed a safe place from the Nazis. When necessary, those staying with the Ten Boom family would crawl behind a small door in the linen closet to hide in a very small room behind a false wall.

Here are Laura and Atticus in front of The Hiding Place. Part of the wall has been torn away so that visitors can see inside the room.

If you would like to know more about the Ten Boom family story there are a few reliable sources you could check out. Bishop Keith B. McMullen relayed a wonderful story about Corrie Ten Boom in April General Conference (click here for the text and here for the video). You can check out the museum website (click here). Or, you could always pick up a copy of the book or movie (click here or here).

We are so grateful for the experience to see and hear about the sacrifice that the Ten Boom family made for others. Their courage is inspiring.

After chatting with some of the other people in our tour (there was a couple from Acme, Alberta!) we headed off to enjoy some Gelato and wander back to the train station.

It was a great day. We saw and experienced some wonderful things and met some good people. 

To add to the blessings; Atticus was a trooper.

Looking forward to our next adventure!

Love and miss you all.

-The Clog Crew

Quality Time in the Kitchen - Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

We love spending time together in the kitchen. Laura loves experimenting with recipes and creating new ones. Jason, well, he loves to taste-test. And Atticus is following in his Daddy's footprints on this one.

Since we spend so much time together as a family in the kitchen, cooking, baking and eating, we thought we would share some recipes with everyone from time to time so you can have a closer look at our little family's life together. 

One of Jason's favorites is Peanut Butter Cookies, as he is a lover of all things Peanut Butter. So, Laura found this tasty looking recipe, made it vegan and tried it out with ground oats in place of flour (which makes the recipe gluten-free if you buy certified gluten-free oats). 

In case you are wondering, the picture was taken of a batch we made with Spelt flour. And for those of you who are not keen on turning on the oven in the warm summer months, we have some tasty oven-free suggestions following the recipe. If you have any questions about the recipe, let us know!

Love and miss you all.
-The Clog Crew


Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

3/4 cup ground oats, spelt flour or wheat flour

3/4 cup oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup natural peanut butter *

1/2 cup agave **

2 teaspoons vanilla
1 medium sized mashed banana

Preheat oven to 180C. Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients then stir into dry ingredients. Mixture should be wet; allow to sit for about 10 minutes and the ground oats will absorb some of the moisture. Roll into 1.5 inch balls and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Press cookies down with dampened fork. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until bottom edges begin to turn a slight golden brown.

*In theory, this recipe should also work with almond butter, but I have yet to give it a try. Will let you know when I have.

**If you are not worried about making the cookie vegan, you can use honey. Honey will also give you a slightly softer cookie.

Some Oven-Free Alternatives! 
We really like eating this as a cookie dough, especially on top of  Ice Cream (Vegan Banana Ice Cream to be exact). You can also leave it as cookie dough, shape into balls and roll in cocoa, carob powder or icing sugar (if you are not worried about the sugar). Cool finished balls in the fridge for roughly 3 hours before eating (or however long you are able to wait). Then enjoy!

Lest We Forget

We had a really neat experience today. Our neighborhood was having a fair, so we went and explored the festivities. There were games, rides, food and plenty of people selling their goods. We began talking with one of the men running a stall and when he found out we were Canadian he had this to say...

"Thank you."

He told us how much he appreciated all of the efforts of the Canadian soldiers in Holland during the war; that he was grateful for our ancestors that bravely fought. He had a particularly fond memory of receiving chocolates from the Canadian soldiers following liberation. It was inspiring to hear him express appreciation to a generation that has not known war of that kind. 

After introducing us to his wife, neighbors and friends that also experienced the war he asked us to tell all of our friends and family in Canada that we met someone who will never forget the kindness and sacrifice of those Canadian soldiers.

We are so grateful for those who fought for the freedom of others, especially those in our own families. 

Thank you.

Atticus + Kisses = Attikisses

Little Man is constantly making us laugh. While reading a book with him the other day he leaned forward and gave the picture in the book a kiss. He continued to do this on each page. Cute!

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Meanwhile, we are nearly adjusted back to the time change after a great trip to Canada. Thanks again everyone for making it such an enjoyable trip. We loved being able to spend time with you all and introducing Atticus.

Hopefully the weather has begun to turn to summer for everyone!

Love and miss you all.

-The Clog Crew