Merry Christmas!

It has been a very busy week. Strange to combine work/school/family visit. Everyone has settled in, and the Covid that Mom and Dad brought with them hasn't spread. Or at least the rest of us don't have symptoms. School wrapped up for me without much trouble. Amélie stayed home feeling sick (mostly tired) on Monday and both girls got sent home with a tummy ache on Thursday. Other than that we stuck to the routine. Sure is helpful to have Grandma and Grandpa around to pick them up!

We went for some nice walks, ate some good food, and on Thursday, Mom, Kalia, Joshua and Claire all went out to a three star restaurant in Zwolle. One of two or three in the whole country. It was quite the experience! They didn't make it home until after midnight.

Friday felt like a Saturday as I didn't have to go to school so we had some professional pictures taken in a greenhouse. Christmas program with mentors in charge. So glad I haven't needed to be a mentor. Naomi was able to get out of her program as well. The grocery store was a madhouse though. One of my least favorite things to do in this country. One of my most favorite in France. Guess we are in the wrong country. Yesterday we played lots of games and had pizzas for dinner. Opened some presents as well because there are so many! 

Pictures in the greenhouse.

Unwrapping presents on Christmas Eve.

Our traditional Christmas Eve dinner.

Pretending to be Evi.

Fun with the Christmas Tree.

Safe Arrivals

Everyone got here in one piece! Mom and Dad made it on time on Wednesday, but soon after found out they have Covid. They aren't too sick, so that is good, but it limits some of our options. Claire and Matt had a delay because Claire got sick, but she is starting to feel better, and they are now settling into the Bosrand. Kalia, Joshua and Evi made it yesterday after a very long trip. They have a really nice spot right in between our house and the Bosrand. 

Yesterday we picked out a Christmas tree together. The rest of the time has been spent on settling in, getting groceries, cooking food, and catching up. Strange to have to go to work tomorrow!

We have also been working on our immigration paperwork. Rather frustrating, but we are slowly chipping away at the latest steps. It has been a really good, but really intense week. It has been nine years since we were all together for Christmas! 

Beautiful hike - it has been cold! 

Welcome package for Claire and Matt.

I-130 Approval

After a four month delay, Naomi finally got approved for the first step toward getting her green card! Only twelve more steps to go. The second step is moving faster than expected, so that is a plus. I guess that makes sense as step two is another payment. We are on track for a July 2023 immigration if all goes according to plan. 

This has been a busy week. Doctor appointments, lots of things to take care of before the family visit, and we got the damage on our car fixed! They didn't do a great job of matching the paint color, but I guess it was a difficult one. The car does look brand new though, so they did a nice job of getting the scratches off and buffing everything. Even managed to get the rims clean! I wasn't able to.

On Sunday we had a lot of fun with Jan and Heleen unpacking the Sinterklaas presents. The idea was to get a small present, make something to hide it in, and write a poem. Also enjoyed my two weekly hikes into the forest. It was beautiful on Tuesday. The sun actually came out. A rare occurrence this time of year. Making some progress on the novel too. Cover design is almost finished and so is the manuscript! Just running through the text for the last couple times to make any final adjustments. Not sure how much time the actual publishing process will take. 

Sinterklaas suprises!

Forgot what sunshine looked like.

The last day with Heleen for the year.

Finished up some projects in the workshop and got it cleaned out. The girls are beyond this 'practice board' now!

It's Cold!

That means it has dipped below freezing once or twice this week. Not by much though. Sure feels cold to us! Haven't seen much of the sun in a few weeks. Depressing time of year. Also far too busy. We are all ready for a break! 

The girls have been working hard on their Sinterklaas presents. They get a small present for someone, and make a craft and a poem to go along with it. I think Naomi worked harder than they did. Abigail really got into it but Amélie wasn't so interested. Later today we will celebrate with Jan and Heleen. 

We watched the World Cup game yesterday between the US and the NL. It was a lot of fun! The US played better, but the NL ended up winning 3-1. It was nice to sit by the fire together. For some reason I always seem to get a headache after sitting by the fire though. Not sure why.

The forest is looking darker these days. I hike back there twice per week.