Dutch- bezig English- BUSY!

Ik ben bezig!!!! I cannot believe that five days have passed and I have not updated this blog! I wonder if anyone will still check on us? The weekend went by so quickly, as they always do! Vrijdag night we went, by bike, for dessert. There is a cafe in the woods that has a wonderful patio and is neighbor to a horse ranch. We had drinks and treats then, checked on lessons through this place. We learned that it is a pretty low key ranch for lessons and/or trail riding. By low key I mean in comparison to alot of the riding stables here that are training for competition, very traditional and disciplined. This ranch is run by a mother/daughter team. The daughter, Olga, thought that it would be fine for Olivia to take lessons, as well as go on trail rides on her own horse. We now need to contact her mother to arrange lessons. Hopefully there is space available for us. YEE-HAW, GIDDY-UP!!!!
We drove to Amsterdam Zaterdag, returned the car and took the train into the city. We had lunch then shopped most of the day. Matt got some new shoes and a wallet, I got some new shoes and a purse. Olivia got a new stuffed dog which she named "Buckets" because Anne always says, "love you buckets!". He is very cute and Buckets is a suitable name for him as eh looks like a St. Bernard.We decided not to do a canal boat tour since that would be something fun to do when we have visitors. Speaking of which, Anne and Pete (great friends of ours) are coming over in October!!!!! Pete has a conference in Paris, Anne will travel with him and we will meet in Paris!!! How cool is that? Just so happens that Olivia is on autumn holiday that week AND it's Anne's 37th birthday! Also, Sharon and Cal (Matt's parents) were planning to come in early November, but since Olivia is on holiday that week in October, they are considering what it would take to arrange coming over to Holland joining us to Paris!!!!! Wouldn't it be something if it all works out? Anyhow, back to Amsterdam..... we ended up taking the 7:30pm train home, so that we could see some of the landscape before sunset. Wasn't long after that Olivia zonked out for the rest of the ride. Long day!!!
Zondag we visited an english speaking church. It was no Westwood!!! Very traditional. Stand, Sit, Stand, Sit... They alternate from traditional to contemporary weekly. We will go again this week to check out the contemporary service. Hope it is more what we are looking for. I said to Matt the other day that it is really something that God placed us in a home that is the half way point between an english speaking church and a ranch that we can ride at. Both within walking distance, church one direction, riding the other. Praise Him!!! We biked to the neighboring village called Valkensvaard. They were celebrating their annual flower festival. We made it in time to see the parade of floats that were decorated entirely with flowers! Very impressive.
Maandag we had dinner with Matt's boss, Mason and another colleague named Paul. It was very fun, they were very good to Olivia and I. Also, nice to be with remotely familiar people!!! A welcomed visit anytime!!! Thanks for coming and for a fantastic dinner!
Dinsdag Olivia was late for school because I did not know how to get the car into reverse!!!!!!
Today, Woensdag is Olivia's early release day. We have renamed it "Mac and Cheese Day". This is my attempt at rationing out the limited supply. Needless to say, this is one of the highlights of her week!!!
I have a request for some prayers to go out for Tony and for my Mom. They are both struggling with their health a bit. Tony has some swelling and pain in his neck and his face, went to Urgent Care, they tested for Mumps and something else??? Not sure how he is doing as I have not been able to get a hold of him. My Mom has been without a voice for three weeks and has undergone some tests as well. I will be praying that they both find answers and resolution. It's pretty hard to be over here whem my Boy and my Mama aren't well!!!!
This has turned into a marathon post, that's what happens when I don't do a little every day!!! Just like laundry.
Love you guys, God bless you and yours.
Jen