Monday, March 30, 2009

My fabrics arrived!!!

If anyone knows me at all and have been to my house, you know I am a shabby chic fanatic!! I just ordered a load of fabric from and it came today!! Super fast shipping! It is all gorgeous! I can't wait to make curtains for my lovely kitchen window! On a different note, my parents arrived a day early-YEAH! but I am at work-oh well, more time for them to bond with the grandkids:)
Their selection and prices are unbeatable!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Keukenhof and Haarlem

I am dying to show you all pictures of my new kitchen! It is gorgeous! However, I want it to be 100% complete and we still have one small section of backsplash that we need to hang since we had to order 1 more box!! It took 3 days to do, but this company was so meticulous. I purchased an antique chandelier when we first moved to Germany and I never hung it--until now! It is perfect. We went to France yesterday and bought lampshades that match perfectly! I promise, pictures to come shortly!

So my parents are arriving on Tuesday. They have been in Europe for 1 week already doing their own traveling and then they will drive up to our house. We then leave on Friday for the Netherlands. This will be our 3rd trip to Keukenhof and every time my breath is taken away by God's glory displayed throughout the fields. It is a 5 hour trip to Leiden, where we will stay at the Holiday Inn-it is quite beautiful for a chain hotel. The breakfast buffet is totally worth the trip.



Keukenhof is in the village of Lisse. Check out



Either before of after the gardens we are going to pop in to see the life size replica of Noah's Ark that Dutch Creationist Johan Huibers built as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible.

for information on where the ark is being docked as they move it from place to place since it was built on a barge.

We are then going to spend some time in Haarlem, home to Corrie Ten Boom- "The Hiding Place"

http://www.corrietenboom.com/

During the Second World War, the Ten Boom home became a refuge, a hiding place, for fugitives and those hunted by the Nazis. By protecting these people, Casper and his daughters, Corrie and Betsie, risked their lives. This non-violent resistance against the Nazi-oppressors was the Ten Booms' way of living out their Christian faith. This faith led them to hide Jews, students who refused to cooperate with the Nazis, and members of the Dutch underground resistance movement.

Finally we will be stopping in the Clara Maria Cheese Factory and shoe makers.

They not only make their own cheese and wooden shoes, they have a wonderful farm with friendly animals for the kids to play with. They also have a large restaurant.

Check out http://www.claramaria.nl/

for more information.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Sneak peek at my kitchen makeover

So here are a few highlights from out kitchen remodel over the last 6 weeks. Our kitchen will be here on the 24th-25th March-just 5 more days!!!! It has been long, but so worth it, the changes are amazing!
ENJOY!


Before demo

After the kitchen was guttedThe entry prior to walls out
After the doorway and pantry wall OUT!

The floor heating laid
Cement poured over the floor coilsThe arch way being crafted
The backsplash put in (we had to order 1 more box-hence the empty space)
The backsplash and floors laid
View from inside the kitchen looking into dining/living area-the walls are freshly painted white!

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Surprise London Trip-all in 18 hours

So the day of SURPRISE finally arrived!! Scott and I have been planning a special trip to London just for Micah!! What a whirlwind-but totally worth every moment!! Micah didn't have a clue. This is how the time line went:
11:30am-After dropping off Trentan and Chloe-we grabbed some lunch @ the Fly Away Bistro
12:20pm-Check in at Ryan Air in Zwiebrucken
1:45pm-Plane leaves for London
14:00pm (Time Change)-Arrive in London
2:25pm-After going through Customs, catch the Stansted Express train to London
3:00pm-Arrive @ Liverpool Station-catch Tube to Kilburn Park
3:35pm-Arrive @ the Marriot and check in
4:00pm-Catch the tube to Piccadilly Circus
4:30-Locate 'Her Majesty's Theater' for The Phantom of the Opera
5:00pm-Eat at the Spaghetti House for dinner
6:00pm-Shop around on Haymarket Street, buy souvenirs for Micah, Chloe and Trentan
7:00pm-Go to 'Her Majesty's Theater' and find our seats
7:30pm-THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA begins
Exciting, exciting, exciting!!!!!!
10:00pm-Show is over (tear)
10:15pm-Catch tube back to the Marriott
11:00pm-Arrive at the Marriott and fall asleep

15 March 2009
3:30am-Wake up after 4 glorious hours of sleep!
4:00am-Catch taxi to Liverpool Station
4:45am-Catch Stansted Express to London Stansted Airport
5:25am-Arrive at airport and check in
6:00am-Shop around and find gate (get coffee!)
7:20am-Depart beautiful London
9:20am (after time change)-Arrive in Germany
9:50am-Get Home!!!!

18 hours to London and back!! What a fantastic adventure! Another reason that I love it here so much!!



The Fly Away Bistro
Micah still unaware of the day ahead
Zweibrucken to London!
Heading to the plane
Exiting the plane in London

All smiles on the Stansted Express
Catching the Tube to our hotel
Arriving at the Marriott
Micah changed into new outfit that I brought for him! Another fun surprise
Piccadilly Circus
Dinner at the Spaghetti House
After a yummy meal
Micah took this shot infront of the famous Red Telephone booths

Her Majesty's Theater where The Phantom of the Opera is performed

Micah infront of The Phantom Sign
Haymarket Street-lots of theaters and shows on this road!
Scott, Andrea and Micah getting ready for the show
On the balcony of Her Majesty's
We were in the Royal Circle, F6,7,and 8-Good seats!
Getting ready for the show to begin
The stage
The famous chandelier!
A view from Her Majesty's Balcony looking onto the famous red double decker bus
Catching the tube back to our hotel off of Kilburn Park
Arriving back to Stansted just 13hours later!
Andrea loving this Chocca Chocca drink
Micah in his bobby hat!

We had an awesome time and we are so blessed to have a wonderful Lord to thank for all of these adventures that we get to go on!!! Until next time!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Silver Plates

One of my favorite things to do is collect silver pieces for picture frames. They don't have to be real silver and I even like them slightly tarnished as it gives them the feeling of age. One of my favorite shops around here and in France is called TiTi's, and they are a consignment shop where you can find anything from antiques to glassware, electronics, and anything in between. I go there specifically for the silver pieces. I went on Friday and found a silver egg dish for 0,50 euro. I try to never pay more than 2 euro for one piece, I just have to be patient and shop around!! The egg dish has 12 slots, so I thought it would make a perfect frame for 12 years of school. I (well my husband) takes the picture that I want and photoshops it to the correct size and sepia or antique color, we print it and either tape or glue it inside the plate!
You can see a picture of my dining are where I have taken several pictures from our travels here in Europe and put them on plates! Instant art-and much cheapr than a real frame!