Settling

Much has happened since we said goodbye to the 203B. I am starting to feel like we are actually settling now. After 3.5 months of being here...about time.

-I have made it through most of the boxes and found places for most of our things. I can finish once we get closets. Isn't it strange that many houses here don't have built-in closets or cabinets? Check out our fancy dining table and chairs.

-In case you were wondering, mattresses can be folded and as far as we can tell no damage was done. Horray for sleeping in the bedroom!

-Below are a few of my tips when shopping for large household items without a car. And yes, I smiled like this the whole time! It was just so much fun to go back in the store 3 times because wiggly baby lost a mitten and then a shoe. :) (click on pic to see larger)

-I downloaded Skype and talked to my family for the first time in 3.5 months. We talked for 3 hrs 4 min & 8 sec. It made me miss them more. I wish I was eating Thanksgiving turkey with them right now.

-For the first time since being here I ran into someone I knew at the grocery store. It was wonderful. The settling is beginning!

Just for Jimmy

Dear Jimmy,

This post is just for you. Approximately three years ago you made me something wonderful. Something so spectacular. Something I had dreamed of all my life (all 22 years of it). Something that would bring me the most joy I had ever experienced. Something that could make me cry or laugh at any given moment. Something I will always cherish. Something I look forward to every day of my life. Something miraculous. Something heavenly. You made me a Mommy. Yours.

I couldn't be prouder of you, my little man. You are such a sweet little boy. You were given challenges when you were so tiny and yet you have always shown such patience. You are such a great big brother. I love hearing you encourage your brother, even if it is opening the safety gate to the stairs and egging him on the entire way up, "Go baby, go baby, go! Almost there. You made it!" (And thank heaven he did. Apparently you forgot how crazily dangerous these Dutch stairs are?) Please watch out for your little brother. Keep him safe. Be his best friend. Love him. He loves you so much. I can see it in his eyes and hear it in his squeal when you enter the room. He adores you.

Thank you for being so quick to forgive me when I'm wrong. Or when I'm not so nice. Or when I mess up. I'm learning too. I've never been a mommy before. But I promise you that I'm trying so hard. Thank you for always loving me. For giving me hugs, kisses, and tickles. I promise you that I will always love you no matter what. Because you're my little guy. And you always will be.

I love you more than I can possibly describe. You have officially won my heart little boy and part of it will always be yours. Thank you for making me something so wonderful, spectacular, miraculous, heavenly...Thank you for making me Your Mommy! I love you.

...And for the record, you had an awesome birthday!

A Long Awaited Day

Today our new house is full of boxes! Boxes of clothes, toys, books, dishes, decorations...it felt like Christmas day. We finally got cleared through customs so our shipment of things from the US could be delivered. We've been telling Jimmy his things were coming on a boat and I think he was a little disappointed to see merely a large truck in front of our home. The disappointment didn't last long. From the metro to our house all I heard from him was, "I excited! My bike. My vacuum. My lawn mower. My couch. My tee-wee (TV). My bed. My tools. Yay, Mommy!"


Can you stand the excitement? :)

We will now be up to our ears in boxes for a while but I couldn't be happier about it. Can you believe the movers even set up our beds, dressers, tables, and the highchair? The sad thing, I don't think there's any way we can fit our king size mattress up the stairs. They just don't sell them here, as far as I know, because they don't fit through the staircases! Three grown men couldn't get it to fit so we're thinking we may have to sleep in the dining room and eat in the bedroom! Anyone know if it's bad to fold a mattress in half in order to fit it up the stairs? :) So how do you get a king size mattress here in Holland...purchase two twin beds and push them together...no joke, that's what we have here in the hotel room. Then you get the lovely crack down the middle which can be nice because there can be no disputes about where the middle line is. This may have been handy when I was sharing a bed with my sister and we'd "draw" lines down the middle of the bed. Not so useful now!

Oh and the first things pulled out (besides the toys) were our winter coats. We've been cold and are so happy to be warmer now! What a happy day. Amidst all this joy I almost forgot it was Jimmer's big day tomorrow...the #3 big day. It should be another fun one tomorrow.

Halloween in Holland

So Halloween isn't really celebrated here in Holland. Thankfully our American friends (The Pecks) living here in Holland invited us over for a Halloween party. Before getting the invite we were just planning on staying home. It was a little tricky to come up with costumes for four people in four days when no stores are selling costumes & considering I don't have a sewing machine let alone even a good pair of scissors, but I had fun with it! One thing easy to find here is punk clothing. Thus the little boys and I were rockstars and we'll see if you can figure out what Jarom was. I really enjoyed handstitching the skull & crossbones onto Glade's onesie. Jimmy loved his "tats" on his hands. And I have worn my 5 euro "punk" shoes every day since I bought them (except to church). They are just so comfy!


The food and treats were yummy and some were gross looking! The first prize winner for scariest treat was brought by a Dutch family...Poep Met Wormen (poop with worms). I couldn't get past the look of it to try it! There were also chocolate rats with gummy worm tails and my Peanut Butter Fingers won second prize.

The Rocker Boys won first prize for funniest costume. Sadly I don't have many pictures of Jimmy. He was busy running around with the kids and having fun!
The Pecks went all out. They had awesome decorations, Batman greeted us at the door, cookie decorating, a giant spider web for the kids to crawl through and get candy, decorating pumpkin faces, bobbing for apples, make your own slime, and I'm sure I forgot something. We had a blast!
Btw, do any of you think the lady holding Jimmy resembles my mom? This is Lucy. She's in our ward and she's the only one I've left the boys with since coming here. She is the sweetest lady and I can't help but think of my mom when I see her. I don't know if she noticed but Jimmy said to her, "C'mon Grandma" at the party. Apparently he has noticed the similarities as well. They have become fast buddies!