Birthay Dinner

Homemade pasta – a very special treat!

The birthday twins!

Group Art Project

A fun activity for a dreary, wet afternoon.

This painting was transformed…
(Upper Right: Elizabeth; Lower Right: Liselot; Lower Left: Sarah; Upper Left: Noi)

…into this when hands were introduced!!

Bicycling Solo

Elizabeth’s birthday gift from us is a two-wheeled bike that we will go to buy when we get home. She was excited to try out biking on her cousin’s little bicycle when we visited J’s brother to celebrate their joint birthdays on 22 December.  Many thanks to Oom David for his teaching efforts!

We are proud of her success!

Birthday Party #2

We are spending the Christmas and New Years holidays in Holland wtih J’s family. This means that Elizabeth was able to have a second birthday with her Dutch family!

She shares her birthday with her Oom David.

Elizabeth loved her Christmas Tree birthday cake (her second cake request for her 4th birthday!).

Happy 4th Birthday - Party #1

Today we celebrated Elizabeth's birthday with a few neighbor friends. It was a fun and very special afternoon for our sweet almost 4 year old!


Elizabeth requested a snowman cake. I was very pleased with my efforts!



Sweet sisters.










We are off to Holland in the morning. Party #2 with our Dutch family will be on Sunday!

Sarah's Big Bed

A few days ago we removed the side of Sarah’s crib. She is so excited to be able to get in and out of her bed by herself! She is doing great with staying in her bed until Nijntje (her alarm clock) wakes up - even during her afternoon nap/rest time. We enjoy listening to the girls in the morning discussing that the can or cannot yet get out of bed. It has been a cozy experience to have Elizabeth and Sarah come and crawl into bed with us. A very nice way to wake up!



I do feel a little sentimental about saying goodbye to the traditional crib. Our girls are growing up!

Baby Jesus

By Elizabeth, Age - almost 4.

Merry Christmas from Bethlehem

Our morning errands took us to Nativity Square. The tree is decorated and ready for the official lighting tomorrow evening.

Good Morning, World!

Sweet picture of our sweet Sarah taken this morning after sending Elizabeth off to school on her school bus. I love the hat…and her grin!

A Moment to Remember

To begin the celebration of Advent, this evening we gave the girls a new Christmas book. Elizabeth asked me "Mama, did you buy us this book?". After I said yes, she responded with a heartfelt "Thank you, Mama" and a big hug. These sweet moments of motherhood are special treasures to remember forever.