A Visit from Friends

We had a special visit from Kristina's college roommate, Tracey, and her family over Labor Day weekend. Tracey and her husband, Sam, and their two kids, Caleb (8) and Ema (5). Tracey is Kristina's bosom friend from their days at The Master's College. They are missionaries to Portugal. We hadn't seen each other for six years! So it was a sweet visit - a chance to catch up, share ministry and Europe experiences, and see each other's school-aged kids.

All of our kids -- from left, Jack, Mariana, Ema and Caleb

Both families

Holland Trip -
Part 3
Jack's Birthday

We started out Jack's birthday with opening presents from Opa and Oma and one we brought from home. He scored on an awesome playmobil castle, complete with knights, horses, and weapons













We had fun assembling all the parts, and Mariana even got a present.



Later in the afternoon, we went to Jacoline and Paul's house for a kids' party. Our cousin Sam's birthday is a week after Jack's, so we had a joint party with other friends and relatives, and then a BBQ. Thank you, Paul and Jacoline!









Christiaan and Jacoline







Jack and Maurice (Paul's nephew). A bonus -- Maurice speaks English!!

The cakes - straight from a real Dutch bakery - #6 for Jack, #7 for Sam. They were delicious cake, fresh fruit filling, and loads of real whipped cream on top, and, as you can see, lots of goodies on top. YUM.

Sam's ready to blow out her candles!

Opening presents in Jacoline's living room. Oma is in the middle by Maurice, and Paul's sister, Patricia is on the righthand side, holding Lies.




Paul, the muscle man and master bbq-er!

Holland Trip -
Part 2

OUR FIRST DAY in Holland was great! The weather was warm, and we enjoyed several hours outside in Christiaan's parents' garden. They have a huge yard, and it was in full bloom, full color.









An American flag, special for our arrival. That's Jack and Sam next to it.








We had a delicious BBQ for dinner with the whole family: Christiaan's parents, us, and Christiaan's sister, Jacoline, her husband, Paul, and their two daughters, Sam (7) and Lies (3-1/2).