Teacher Appreciation Week!

Two weeks ago was Teacher Appreciation Week at Cameron's school. The PTA was responsible for planning and implementing the event and, since I signed up for the PTA to get involved and meet people, I volunteered to organize the events. I was nervous because at the start of planning I really didn't know any of the parents, but I decided that this would be a great way to force me to meet people. I think the week went well and I got to know many of the parents much better! Here are some pictures and stories from the week.

We started out the week by decorating the school. 

 

We also asked all the children to bring in a flower for their teachers. We ended up having a bunch of flowers, so we were able to make really nice bouquets for everyone. Once we collected all the flowers, we made bouquets and handed them out to the teachers, volunteers, and staff. 

Making bouquets 

Ready to hand them out

Giving Miss Sonja, the headmaster, her flowers

Tuesday, we prepared breakfast for everyone to enjoy.

Wednesday, we asked each child to make a card to bring to the teachers by tracing their hands and decorating them.

Thursday, we gave the teachers and staff pictures of the classes that we had taken earlier in the week. It was much more difficult than I expected to get a picture of Cameron's class. I guess I should have anticipated that we would have trouble getting 15 three to six year olds to be still, look at the camera, and smile at the same time! In the end, the picture to the right is the best one we could get. Cameron did not want to take a picture! 

Friday was, by far, the most interesting day of the week. Not because of what we had planned, but because of an unexpected injury in Cameron's class. We planned a lunch for the teachers and staff and had many parents volunteer to prepare delicious food!

All set up!

Before lunch even began, we were informed that one of the students in Cameron's class had fallen and that Miss Corine (teacher) felt the boy needed to go to the hospital. Since his mother speaks mostly Spanish and a little English, Miss Corine decided to go along (she speaks fluent English, Spanish and Dutch). We were bummed she couldn't be at the lunch, but we had parents to cover her class during the lunch hour so she could go to the hospital. Unfortunately, Miss Corine was not back from the hospital by the time lunch was over, so several parents, myself included, along with a staff member at the school took the kids for the afternoon. Let me just say that watching the kids for a few hours was a great way to cap off the week and help us REALLY appreciate the teachers who are with our kids every day! 

Because it was a nice day, we decided to take them to a park across the street from the school. 

(10 minute walk)

 I was a nervous mess because we had to walk the kids across a busy street and it was really hard to keep all of them together...there were times they were just running a muck and went off course!

Trying to get back on track

Off course...once one child ran, all the others followed!

Once we arrived at the park, the kids had a great time until it started to rain...we made a mad dash back to the school!

It stopped raining once we were back at the school, so we let the kids continue to play outside. Even though it was a little chaotic, we returned to the school with all the kids in one piece!

Buddies!

Needless to say, we were all exhausted by the time Miss Corine was able to come back and take over.

After watching the kids, I can honestly say that all the teachers are saints! Miss Corine is so good with the kids and they love her too. I am very thankful for such a great teacher for Cameron. I'm also thankful that I was able to meet and connect with so many parents during the week. I am looking forward to getting to know these ladies better as the year goes on!

Belgian Residents!

If you've talked to me at all about this journey to Belgium, you already know that one of the most frustrating things for us to deal with has been trying to become Belgian residents...bureaucracy, paperwork, bureaucracy, police visits, and more bureaucracy!! Because Cole has a work visa, he was able to obtain residency status quickly, but the boys and I have had such a difficult time for some reason. As a disclaimer, I'm sure it's difficult to do something similar in the U.S...ever been to the DMV?! But this process has been such a mess for us! I don't really care that much about being considered a Belgian resident, although I love it here...more important to me is the fact that we are now allowed to travel! We were not supposed to travel outside of the country until we received our national numbers and the residency cards that go with them. We were able to get around the travel issue a few times to go to France because we did not have to have our passports checked anywhere, but it was going to be nearly impossible for the boys and me to go to the U.S. and come back to Belgium without these cards! We had planned to go home for a visit back in July, but July came and went without any luck getting our cards. So, after 8 1/2 months, 8 visits to the immigration office, at least 10 hours of waiting at the immigration office, and an immigration lawyer, we all finally have our cards!!!!!! That means, in a little over one week, we will be going home to visit! I am so excited to see all our friends and family and to catch up on all the exciting things that have happened since we've been gone. New babies, houses, jobs...you name it, I can't wait to hear all about it! I am also looking forward to our small group couples retreat as well as attending services at our home church! I am so thankful that this process is over and we are now free to travel wherever we want to go, including the U.S. Can't wait to see everyone!

Visit to Walraversijde and the Atlantic Wall

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to spend the day in Oostende with some friends. We visited Walraversijde and the Atlantic Wall. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time exploring with great friends! 

Walraversijde: 

Walraversijde is a little fishing village situated by the North Sea.  It was was built at the beginning of the 15th century, but destroyed several times by flooding and fire. The information below is taken from http://www.west-vlaanderen.be.

The missing fishermen's village is one of the most important archaeological sites in Flanders and one of the best studied medieval fishing communities in Europe. In the four reconstructed fishing houses you get to know the inhabitants of the medieval village. The buildings were rebuilt with original medieval bricks, which were unearthed during archaeological investigation of the site. In the archaeological museum you will see the basis of numerous and well preserved medieval objects as well as more about life in the village and archaeological research.

Reconstructed houses

Foundation of a house that was unearthed during reconstruction of the village

Watching videos about 15th century weaponry

After walking around Walraversijde, we ate a picnic lunch outside.

Atlantic Wall: (info below taken from http://www.visitoostende.be)

This open-air museum is a unique historical site of modern fortification. The around sixty German constructions from both World Wars – underground trenches, bunkers and remains of the German coastal batteries of Aachen (built in 1915) and Saltzwedel neu (from 1941), observation points and gun sites are among the best preserved along the Atlantic coast and are the showpiece of the museum. Some of the bunkers have been reconstructed in their original state and furnished with authentic objects. The atmosphere is definitely that of ‘The Longest Day’.

The Atlantic Wall originally stretched from Norway to the French-Spanish border and had a length of 5,300 km.

The boys loved running through the trenches and tunnels!

Walking to the Atlantic Wall

Torpedo

Great friends!

Hanging out in an escape tunnel

High-fiving a guard on our way out!

After walking through the Atlantic Wall, we decided to walk over to the North Sea to sit and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Beautiful day!

Geoffrey telling me how to get to England

 Of course the boys were exhausted from running around all day. They passed out about five minutes after we got in the car.

We had such a nice time exploring and learning more about the history of Belgium. It was a long day with a lot of walking, but it was great to spend time with awesome friends!

Another Fun Day at Puyenbroeck!

About a month ago, we had a  fun day with some friends we have met here. We went back to Puyenbroeck and spent the day riding the train, playing on the playground, eating lunch, and mini-golfing. Here are some pictures from the day.

Getting ready to ride the train around the park

Needless to say, with four adults and four little kids, it took forever to finish our game of miniature golf. It didn't help that this was one of the most difficult miniature golf courses I have ever seen! However, the boys had a ton of fun!

 The hole below actually had a sand pit!!!

We are so thankful for the friends we've met here and for the time we were able to spend together! Other than Harrison getting stung by a bee in his mouth, we had a great day!

Zonked after playing all day!