This past week has been a busy one for us. Although we have had busy weeks since we've been here, this one was different. It was different because it was filled with events and get togethers with friends. Instead of being busy with running errands related to moving, registering with the city, etc, we were busy doing things we love - playing music, getting to know people, learning, and spending time with friends and family! I thought I'd give you a rundown of the week.
Monday, as I wrote in a previous post, we had out first Dutch lessons!
Tuesday, we had the opportunity to take a meal to one of the families in our church who just had a baby. Pieter, Mariale, Pieter Alejandro, and now baby Santiago Adriaan are such a sweet family and we have really enjoyed getting to know them! Pieter is from Holland and Mariale is from Venezuela, so it's very interesting for us learn about their families, lives, and how they even met each other! We were so happy to take them the meal, but we learned once we arrived at their house that taking a meal to a family who has just had a baby is not customary in Belgium or Venezuela. Mariale told me that no one had ever taken her a meal before and that, normally, she would cook a meal and give us food when we came to see her. She did give us a customary treat called Muisjes. It's basically an open faced sandwich with colored sprinkles on top...blue for the boys and pink for the girls. It was tasty!
Mariale also told me that having a baby in Venezuela was very different than her experience in Gent. She told me that, when someone has a baby in Venezuela, everyone comes to the hospital...and I mean everyone! And it sounded to me like the family having the baby was responsible for cooking for and entertaining everyone, all while recovering and adjusting to life with a new baby! I couldn't believe what I was hearing. When I had my two babies, people brought us meals for weeks and boy was I thankful! Mariale told me that, yes, it was a little tiring to have all that responsibility, but that she loved it and missed being away from her friends and family for this birth. It's very interesting to learn about different cultures and their customs!
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| Muisjes |
Wednesday, we had the opportunity to go to worship team practice at church together! We were able to find one of the college students from church to watch the boys for us so we could go to practice together! It's nice to start getting involved with the church here and I definitely enjoyed the opportunity to have some adult interaction and conversation! Plus, we always love playing music!
Thursday, as I wrote in a previous post, was a nice family day for us because it was a public holiday here. We had a great time swimming and spending time together!
Friday was Cole's 30th birthday! He decided to stay home in the morning to have breakfast with us and then run a few errands before heading to work. After breakfast, the boys and I went to the grocery store and then to our favorite bakery for baked goods, Julie's House, to get a birthday cupcake (or cake cup as Cameron calls it) for Cole. Of course we got some goodies for us to! Anyways, we then walked over to Cole's work to take him his cupcake. As soon as we walked in the door back at the loft, the phone rang to tell me that there was a package for us down at the door. I was soooooo excited!!! I loved getting mail back home, and I love it even more now because it's not quite as frequent! We have gotten several packages from my sister and brother-in law (Jessi and Jack) and it's the best feeling!! So we ran downstairs and grabbed the package. I saw on the box that it was from some of our amazing friends, Nate and Rachel. When we opened the box, I was so touched to see that, even though Rachel just had a baby, they remembered our boys' birthdays and sent them presents! The boys were so excited and loved the gifts! What great, great friends we have back home!
When Cole got home that evening, we went to dinner to celebrate his birthday...just Cole and me!!! I can't remember the last time we went on a date?! Our friend, fellow American expat. and co-worker, Jamie, watched the boys for us! We went to a restaurant called Kaai 14.
It was an interesting experience. First of all, people don't eat dinner here until later, maybe starting at 7:00. So when we arrived at 6:20, we were the only ones there! It made us a little nervous that maybe this place was not very good, but by the time we left, it was packed. We sat downstairs in a lounge and ate snacks while we waited for our food to be prepared.
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| It's a little pink for my liking, so I just ate around the edges! |
Saturday, we finally took our bikes to a store to be checked out and hopefully fixed. They were damaged in the move and we haven't really been able to use them since we arrived. It would make our lives much easier to have bikes, so hopefully they will be ready to go soon! Saturday night, we went to an Indonesian festival near our house. One of our friends from church, Aimi, is from Indonesia and invited us to come experience his culture.
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| Friends from church...Inge, Aimi, and Willem |
They had food, music, dancing, art, etc. Aimi tried to get us to try cow intestines and fish and eggs...I was not about to eat that stuff, but Cole tried it and was not bothered by it. I loved the spring rolls with sauce! Cameron ate a lot of the food and liked it. He also loved the music and dancing.
On Sunday, we had a relaxing day here at home. The boys walked to the flower market down the street to get some pretty flowers for Mother's Day.
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| So blessed!! |
We were both scheduled to play on the worship team at church which is a bit tricky with the boys right now. We have to get to church at 3:00 to practice, the service starts at 5:00, and then with the service, clean up, and fellowship, we don't usually leave until 7:00 or 7:15. It's a looonnnggg afternoon/evening for them. Thankfully, Cameron usually sits with Cole and watches him practice. We normally put Harrison in a pack and play to play while we practice. It has worked in the past, but yesterday, he had a dirty diaper that covered his pants, shirts, and socks. I happened to throw an extra pair of pants in the diaper bag before we left, but nothing else. Thankfully, our friends Pieter and Mariale live just around the corner from the church and were able to bring and shirt and socks for Harrison so he wouldn't be too cold! We made it through the service which, at the moment, is a feat! The first time Cole and I tried to play on the same day, I ended up having to leave the stage after the first two songs to calm Cameron down. In his defense, we did not really have a conversation about what would be happening when the service started and he FREAKED OUT! The church building where we meet is small, and if the children are at all loud, they can be heard throughout the whole building! Needless to say, Cameron was screaming at the top of his lungs, so I had to leave to calm him down. I managed to get him calmed down so I could go finish up the songs before the sermon. However, during the sermon, Harrison started to lose it and would not stay with anyone except me without screaming his lungs out!! Needless to say, I could not go back up to sing/play for the rest of the service. I was frustrated, but I try to remind myself that these are big changes for our sweet boys as well and I need to be patient with them! So, we were happy to make it through the service this week with two happy boys! Before we left, Cameron made sure to get some practice in on the drums!
Like I said, it was a busy week, but we are thankful for busy weeks because it means we are starting to get involved and make more friends! Life is certainly different, but we are thankful for community and the love that flows from all of them!
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