Goodbye, 2017

This past week was not quite what we expected. It started out well though. Had a really fun Christmas with great presents and delicious food. As the sore throats and runny noses started to get better, Amélie spilled a hot cup of tea all over herself. They sent a couple ambulances our way and even scrambled a helicopter. Naomi cooled the burns down right away, so the damage wasn't too bad in the end. After some treatment at the hospital in Zwolle I went to pick them up. We had a nice time with my parents although we tried to eat at the castle again and it was closed! Yesterday I got to play squash for the first time in a while, so that was fun. Hopefully it will become a more regular thing again...

This has not been the year we had expected either. I lost a job, lost a kidney, and lost the chance to do a lot of the things I had planned on doing. Naomi has had a rough time dealing with some of her issues. The house has been coming along, but not nearly as quickly as we had hoped. We got a great car. I am happy with my new job. My business has slowly been gaining momentum. Even tried playing soccer for a bit. Abigail and Amélie are growing up so quickly! Happy and healthy girls. At the end of it all, our plans have just been postponed by a year. We hope 2018 will be full of the rest and fun we had anticipated for 2017!

Christmas morning.

Not our idea of the trip to Zwolle we had been planning.

Beautiful hospital in Zwolle.

Opening up a fancy bottle of wine for Christmas.

Another failed attempt to explore the castle.

Happy Grandpa.

The last story. 

Second Christmas from Aunt Kalia and Uncle Joshua.

New Beds

I didn't get a chance to write this morning because Claire is sleeping in this room, and she didn't really get out of bed before mid-afternoon. She is sick. Mom has been really sick. Naomi is sick. Amélie had a double ear infection. Abigail and I have had a cold too. Even Dad had a runny nose! That is like anyone else getting pneumonia!

In spite of all that, we had a really productive day yesterday. Dad and I finished up making the beds for the girls. They were done right before dinner. Mom and Naomi put together some blankets using some wool ones we got from Naomi's mom. The girls were really excited! They did have a bit of trouble sleeping last night though. Being so high up made Amélie a bit nervous.

School went well this week. Naomi was able to arrange things so that she will be teaching less now, freeing up some time for a bit of therapy. She is getting better already, but isn't out of the woods yet. I had a really nice couple days. It helps a lot to be a part of such a nice school now!

Time to wrap up a few presents and get the girls to sleep. I am in a bit of a hurry since Mom made two pumpkin pies that are cooling down right now!!

Watching Sesame Street.

The last night in the old beds.

First night in the new beds!

Helping Grandma make the pies.

Dancing to Christmas music by the fire.

More Snow!!

We got a massive amount of snow (by Dutch standards) this week. Lots of fun! Luckily, it didn't interfere with travel plans, although Naomi did get to stay home on Monday. On Tuesday it took a while for me to brush off the car though!

My parents made it without any trouble. We have been having a nice time so far. Slogged through the rain and slush on Wednesday to pick out a really heavy Christmas tree. Luckily nobody slipped on the ice. For some reason, they still had a few roots and mud in a bucket. It turned out nicely though!

Started on the bed project for the girls. Hopefully it can be finished up on Friday. Even got the coolest light for them! It will be a dream come true for Amélie! Lots of buttons to push...

Claire also made good time last night. He snow tires slowed her down though. The sun actually came out yesterday. It comes through the front window and hits the back garden wall of our house! Strange to see blue skies again...

A chance to try out the snow gear!

Our snowman collapsed after a few hours in the rain.

Lots of work to get to work!

Naomi found a sled to borrow.

Snow!

Never expected it this early, but we got some snow! The girls had a lot of fun with a little snowball fight yesterday, and I managed to avoid beaming Amélie in the eye this time. They both warned me not to do it again! Now there is a big storm marching across from England. Some parts of the Netherlands are supposed to get 6 inches, which is rather unheard of here. The whole country will shut down.

We had another nice week with Susan, apart from everyone being sick. She was supposed to head out today, but not sure if she will be able to travel with the storm...

I have a meeting this afternoon with some nice new neighbors we have - they just rebuilt their house and are looking for some new furniture. Hopefully I can help them out!

Unwrapping their new mattresses - Grandpa and I promised them a bed.

Too tired to stand in the kitchen - still made a yummy supper though!

The first taste of snow.

Christmas present to ourselves.

Susan

We have a friend staying with us this week. Fun to have her here! The girls took a little while to accept her, but now that they have, they are happy too! Now they finally call her 'Susan' instead of 'somebody'.

We had a nice dinner last night in Epe and ordered some new pans for the kitchen. Seems like we found a nice deal - almost half off the individual sticker price! About time, as our current ones are held together with electrical tape...

I finished up a bed project that was started a year ago. Now that it is done, the boys brother is really jealous, so the next one will have to happen pretty quickly!

Ready for Sinterklaas and his horse!

Making a Christmas present for Mommy!

It was a cold walk into town for groceries yesterday.

The bed.