A reminder to wait for the rainbow

I'm not going to lie. Yesterday was a rough day. It was raining by 9 am, but I had to get some things at the store that I had tried to purchase several times before but couldn't because I couldn't find it or the store was out or the store was closed or the store didn't open until noon on Mondays. Ok you get it. So I was determined. I hooked up the cover on the bakfiets (getting it downstairs with boys was another story) and got the items at the store. The boys seemed fine in the bike. They were totally covered.

I forgot my rain gear. I'll get it together soon. ;) Unfortunately the bike ride in the rain was so much fun for Louis that he did not want to get out. I let them stay in for a few minutes, but I was just standing there in the rain so

I decided we really needed to go in.  It took about thirty minutes for Louis to calm down after that.  I was exhausted from the trip and the water and the crying/screaming. I seriously started doubting every reason we should be here. Not in a throw in the towel sort of way, but enough to be sad and grumpy.

This morning I woke up with grace to wipe the slate clean and try, try again. I took out the little booklet where I've gathered ideas of things to do from different publications I've been reading and decided to take the boys to a kids petting farm. Yep, right in the city. It was awesome!! I found it, eventually, but the great thing is when you're lost on a bike, you're just logging in more exercise.  So we found the Kinderboerderij Westerpark. The boys loved it, I loved it. It was such a pretty day and we thoroughly enjoyed exploring together. We got to chat with other families. We picnicked there and I bought a coffee from the refreshment area. There was so much to do there! It was a fabulous reminder that even though there's so many adjustments to make (like not being able to find cumin!), there are also great little adventures to be had. I must not let those tough days ruin my spirit. There is grace. Look!

From Feets to Fiets

Long gone are our days of walking. Wait, that's not a true statement. Let me try this again.

No longer are we limited in our city travel. We now have a fiets, pronounced "feets"! That's Dutch for bike. And it's not just a fiets, it's a bakfiets!! Not sure what the "bak" is for, but that's what the wagon bikes are called. And here she is...

Ok, maybe I should have taken the picture before we went to the park because someone's obviously a little exhausted.

We bought the bike last night! We found it second hand which is a beautiful little miracle that saved us about € 1000.  Used bakfiets are nearly impossible to come by, but our prayers were answered when we were led to the European eBay site to find the exact one we wanted that had been posted just a few hours before. Praise God for his faithfulness, even in the little ways.
Now that we have our wheels, we set out to the amazing Vondelpark!  Here's some of the fun we had!  You can see our bakfiets again in the background of the Louis close up.

Bateman found a stage to perform his VBS songs in his best outside voice!

Venturing out photos

Venturing Out

We've already been here a week and a half.  We are pretty comfortable getting around the city now. We have taken a few little excursions to explore the city.  The first was a pizza and ice cream canal cruise!  We got on the boat near central station and cruised through the Ij (pronounced "eye") River before entering the canal system. This year marks the 400th anniversary of the start of the canal digging. It's pretty amazing how this was all done!  We got to ride by all the houseboats that are docked on the sides of the canal. All the houseboats are hooked up to utilities and have actual addresses. The rode by the oldest houseboat that was from 18-something. It looked like it would be the oldest houseboat as it had lots of rotted wood and holes. Anyway, we saw some great sights and enjoyed our dinner and dessert while getting our bearings. At the end of the cruise, we rode back into the Ij and got a look at Daddy's work!

On the canal cruise

Shell office in the brown brick building with the yellow shell.

On Saturday, Richard Carey took us on the ferry he rides to work everyday and we had lunch at the very modern Ij museum and then walked closer to his work building.  The food has been really tasty. I'm pretty inclined to order goat cheese (geitenkaas) if it's on the menu. I've had it in sandwiches, in little medallions on my salad, and in my pizza. It might be my chick fil a fix for now. ;)  

Right across the ferry we found this cool boat bench. That's for Barndog Mill/ (our friend Michael's awesome handcrafted furniture and such)!

To update on the washer, I figured it out that night around 12:30 that a button was pressed for no spin so when I thought the cycle was finished, it was really just stuck and the door doesn't unlock until it has spun and the water is out so, I unselected that button, and our 'Mt. Washmore' is now finally leveled. On the bike front, I'm still deciding. We've been able to walk to the park and run some errands easily by walking so we're doing fine without. I'm hoping to make a decision by the weekend though. 

Tot ziens!

The New Place!

Here it is...

 We're moved in... And pooped!  The boys didn't nap today because of the excitement and the fact that their room has floor to ceiling windows and no blackout curtains. No blackout curtains until now that is. RC ran/rode his bike to ikea (40 minutes one way!) to get blackout curtains so they could get some much needed rest.  That also means we can rest or unpack or do something other than asking them to stop getting into everything.  I know they're little and they need to figure out their surroundings, but I need to organize and decorate to make it our own!! :) Right now I'm on the floor in the laundry room waiting for this wash cycle to stop. I've washed this batch three times now because I can't figure out how to unlock the door at the end of the cycle. It would probably be easier if it were in English...

This is the living room. The windows open inward to let in the breeze. This is the 5th floor and we can see into the canal in front of us and we can also see the steeple of Westerkerk, a beautiful old church.

This is the other side of the living area: dining and kitchen. We have a full size refrigerator!!

Our great balcony, except it didn't come with this hammock. We get great sunlight here! We also need to get used to everyone else being so close to us on their "private" balconies! :)

And yes, I've tried to press the orange "Deur" button, but nothing happens! :) hopefully it will miraculously open following this cycle! 

On the bike front, RC did some research and found a bike for me, but the store is having to check its city wide inventory for a shorter stemmed bike for my non-Dutch stature. ;). They will let me know tomorrow if they have anything. Hoping it's resolved soon as I'm feeling a little cooped.

Tot ziens! (Goodbye) I'm off to pray for our washing machine sitch.