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... it has been a while since I posted an update here, but hey - it is holiday time! Or at least, it was for me. I have been off for four weeks, enjoying holidays with family and friends and doing all sorts of things that we have not found time for in previous months.One of the things I did was refurnish my study. After Annemieke left in July, I gained back this little space in our house, and I am enjoying it thoroughly. We turned it into a very nice place, and I had three posters made of the kids (sized 50x70 cm each) for on the wall. Looks really fancy. See Flickr for the other pictures.
Anyway. It's late at night and I have to finish my sermon for tomorrow. Come back soon for more spectacular updates!
Sara was in the mood yesterday: she sang for almost an hour while playing in the inflatable pool in our backyard. Transcript: "Kendra, Rosa, Sara are girls; Joran and Johan are boys; Johan is naughty because he bullies Mandy-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y, Ma-a-a-a-a-ndy-y-y-y-y-y-y-y"
Watch and enjoy!
Watch and enjoy!
A special birthday, and an evenly special present. I've been traveling all day to arrive at the beautiful chalet in Findeln, Switzerland to celebrate my birthday with cake and wine in the company of 10 international friends. But the most original present is to be given later this week by Mira: a revision of our piano! Like a car, a piano needs an update every now and then, but it is a costly thing. Mira has been saving for it since months... and I'm really looking forward to it!
The good news: we're back from a super-holiday in Spain. Five days of sun, beach, good food, family time etcetera. It was good to spend time with Ruben and Lydia and with Javier and Gema. For the kids the highlight was the visit to the Barcelona Zoo, with a dolphin show and horseriding. For Mira and me it was probably the dinner on Friday night in Hostal de la Plaça in Cabrils.
We returned early yesterday morning, leaving us tired for the rest of the day. Rosa and I went to the Award ceremony of the 'most failed picture of the year' ("De Misluktste Foto van 2007"), for which we were nominated with this picture. We did not win, but it was fun to go there and see all these silly pictures exhibited. We took the large scale canvas of our picture home, which was a nice price after all.The bad news: on the way back, the car broke down. Not a bit, but really... And not only that, it turned out I did not have the road assistance service I thought I had. But fortunately we have dear friends who helped us out by taking us home and even towing the car to the mechanic. Thanks, Bart! Now we have to hope and pray things are still repairable.
Anyway. Have to get back to work...
It has been silent on this blog, and it probably will be for another while. Last week I was at Mallorca, attending the Agape Europe Leadership Forum. Yes, one of those suffering for the Lord occasions... but seriously, it was hard work. We had a two day intensive team training followed by a three day leadership forum. Great stuff altogether, but I was quite exhausted when I got home.And tomorrow morning we're off for Spain again, this time for a spring holiday with the family. We have the opportunity to stay with Ruben and Lydia Fernandéz, our colleague National Directors from Agape Spain. The girls are really excited about flying tomorrow. Rosa asked today how many nights we will be on the plane...
And if you're bored because I'm not blogging a lot, why don't you join LinkedIn for a business & professional network or Facebook for a social network... Facebook is really hyping in Agape right now, so this is your chance to make many friends ;-)
Or: take a look at this site and start wondering why I am linking to it. (Tip: see the archives...)
Labels: agapè, family, leadership, travel
Easter 2007: matzes, dishwashers, and pirates
0 Comments Published by Mark on Monday, April 09, 2007.
Maybe you think (from the title) it was a very unspiritual Easter this year. Well, we did not sit down in utter devotion for three days, that's true. But we had a fantastic small group celebration on Good Friday, in which we celebrated the death of Jesus Christ - in perspective of his Resurrection on Easter Sunday.While taking Holy Communion together, we thought of the fact that Jesus established this ceremony on the last day of the Jewish feast of the Unleavened Breads. At this feast, the Jews were supposed to take out the yeast off the dough, as a symbol of the annual taking away of sin through the Atonement by the High Priest. Instead of 'stopping to spread sin', a negative and never-ending cycle, Jesus offers us to 'start spreading life' by taking part in his new covenant!
As a family we enjoyed this long weekend together. On Saturday I bought a dishwasher to replace the one that broke down (after I had repaired it a dozen times already). I found this one through the internet for 30 euro, took it home and installed it - it works perfectly, and we see it as a little gift from God that we could replace the old one so easily.
Today Rosa and Sara wanted to visit the pirate ship a little further on in Almere Buiten - a new playground for kids that has been flooded with people since it was opened. And so it was today, but they liked it a lot. Even Tomas liked it; he got up the stairs and down the slide himself, the little guy....
Rosa had an art-project at school which ended last Thursday with an exhibition. Together with Fleurine she was the live artist that made this beautiful painting. It's running in the family...
Labels: family
It's spring! Unofficially, that is. Yesterday we went for a Sunday afternoon walk to the Oostvaardersplassen, the unique nature park next to Almere. The kids loved it, since we were with their best friends Rick and Lianne. Of course Mira was so clever to take the blanket, some drinks and cookies so they picknicked halfway. I love the light in the park on a day like yesterday: stark blue sky, bright colours and wide views. (Click the pictures to enlarge)
In the office we have our weekly devotional on Monday morning; this time we went out on a 'spiritual journey' - to the forest next to our office. Fun to see an entire office population on a stroll through the forest on Monday morning. Most of us went up the fire tower with great view over the area. A good start of the week!
Huray, it's Tomas' birthday! Already 1 year old, time flies.And as always, Tomas enjoys everything: the attention, the presents, grandma and grandpa, friends, his sisters dragging him around the room. And yes, we enjoy it too, every single day with this little man. He is an absolute joy: always cheerful and smiling. The last couple of months his energy level is rising. Was he in his first months sitting happily in his chair looking around, nowadays he makes sure he is where the action is. When we get him out of bed, he starts to shake his body and his legs, and that kind of continues until we put him back at night.
So, Tomas: happy birthday, and may God bless you in the new year ahead!
Labels: family
Rosa is taking swimming lessons since two weeks. She enjoys it very much. When Mira took her for the first time, she started showing off her under water skills to the teacher. This time, she made friends with Anna and showed her dad how well she could swim. And indeed, she has made progress already. Last summer she could hardly stay in the water without somebody that she could hold. We're very proud of her!Click the image to see a YouTube clip of Rosa exercising under water swimming.
Happy Newyear and Gods blessing for 2007 to all of you!We celebrated New Year's Eve with the two of us - the first time in many years without others. We got Rosa and Sara out of bed at 12 o'clock to watch the fireworks, and they enjoyed it, but it took a while.
After midnight some friends came by, so we ended unexpectedly with a full house.
And today we took our traditional New Year's Day walk in the forest, the 'Kotterbos' next to the Oostvaardersplassen here in Almere. Some pictures below, the rest on Flickr.
Labels: family
Time for a change... not only to the blog but also to our living room. We re-arranged some furniture, painted a wall and are very happy with the results.Labels: family
My parents celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary this Friday. (It is actually our wedding day as well - 28 years later). The De Boer clan gathered for a nice weekend in Diever, former home of the Oracle of Diever (now Oracle of Heeze) Hans Wiegel. Nice place, but very rainy, so we had to be indoor most of the time. That was no punishment, as the place we stayed was brand new. It was fun to do some spiritual stuff like worshipping, praying and devotionals as a family.
Enjoy some pictures from Flickr.
Enjoy some pictures from Flickr.
Labels: family
A tribute to Sofie and Reynaldo. They don't know eachother (who knows, in the future :-)) but they already share a life story. Sofie comes from South-Africa and Reynaldo from the Philippines, but both will grow up as Dutch kids. At least I know they are litterally adopted in loving families, and I pray they will be blessed and be a blessing.Labels: family
... that's how I feel these days. It seems like Christmas stress has hit me early this year. Not even time to blog! Anyway. We just had a great family weekend in Drenthe, for my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. Hope to blog a bit more about that later.Mira went to a 'painters workshop' to Antonio Pouiomen today, on the picture something I found in the mail this morning. I'm not sure what it is. I'm not even sure Mira painted it, since I'm still in the office. It looks nice, but is it good enough to hang over the couch?
Following the stunning success of earlier performances, here is another of those videos starring Tomas. Watch and enjoy...
For more movies go to my YouTube page
For more movies go to my YouTube page
