What?????

One of the most impressive things I have learned while living in Belgium is how beautiful it is to watch the Belgian people eat. It is an art! They wield a fork and knife like a skillful baton twirler and carefully and very neatly cut and eat their food. I sit and wonder how they can make something as simple as eating dinner look so fascinating. I want to be able to do that! However. . . that all changed one night. For our combined activity we had a very special dinner where they couldn't use forks and knives. Instead, they had to use crazy kitchen utensils.

I didn't hear one complaint!! They were all very good sports!

I just LOVE 'em!!!

Hopefully, it was an evening they will remember fondly for a long time!

Belgium Cooking Lesson

Meet my good friend, Marleen. We spend time walking the back roads, paths, and cow trails, of Belgium. As we walk, she patiently helps me with my Flemish and also with my life here in general. She explains how the schools work (since she is a teacher, she knows everything about them), she donates her childrens' "outgrown" toys for my childrens' entertainment, and she helps me find the best bakeries, dentists, hair dressers, (not that I have been brave enough to call them yet), etc. We both enjoy cooking and talking about food and since I really want to learn some authentic Belgian dishes, she suggested that she teach me how to make witloof. It was a very enjoyable afternoon! The witloof was yummy.

London

One more visit to London--I'm starting to appreciate them more each time.

We walked until our feet ached and our ears rang with the highly British accented words, "Please mind the gap between the train and the platform", over and over and over and over and over.

What to watch?

Have you ever had one of those days . . .

. . .the only thing fun to watch . . .

was the. . .

Washing Machine!?

Or the dryer, in this case.

Emily's Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Emily!

As I watched Emily during the week before her birthday--the excited comments about how many days until the big day, the jumping up and down for no reason, the big smile on her face--I couldn't help think that this was the perfect age. She is so excited about everything!!!! And she is not afraid to show it. When does that end? At some point, children stop being so excited--or at least showing it. Not this year! Emily showed it every day and when it was finally here, she was grinning from ear to ear all day.

One Perfect Day!

Wanna know the recipe for a perfect day?

Skipping school + going on a business trip with dad + beautiful piles of leaves = hours of perfectness!

Eric had to drive to the Netherlands to pick up some equipment for an upcoming show and asked us to come along--how could we refuse! Emily was more than happy to miss a day of school to oblige. We enjoyed driving along the highway framed in yellow, gold, red, and brown leaf colored trees and visiting with each other. The ordinary work around the house tried to get my attention, but I quickly dismissed any thoughts of laundry and dishes, and enjoyed the time we had together. While Eric worked, we found a park where Emily and Caleb had plenty of entertainment.