Our House!

We had an interesting experience looking for a home here in the Netherlands. We had done some research on the market and homes that were available prior to arriving in Holland so we felt we had a pretty good idea of what to expect. However, when our broker picked us up at the hotel and told us we would be looking at 4 houses, we at first responded, "you mean simply for today?" At which we he replied, "no, in total."

The reality is that in the Netherlands, people simply don't rent out homes. There are a ton of homes on the market for sale but VERY few that are actually available for rent. After looking at the first three homes, we were starting to get a bit discouraged but thankfully, our broker had stumbled across this house the day before we arrived that the family was planning to sell but when they were informed about our situation, they were willing to rent it out instead. Our house is located in a small village. It is situated between Eindhoven (the nearest large city) and Venray, which is where Travis will be working each day. This house has 4 bedrooms, so room for visitors, plus a great kitchen and even a seperate play room for Kman and Colette. The main house itself is actually quite old but the current homeowners expanded and built a new space all around it back in 2009 which provided for a lot more living space. We were sold!

Pictures of our Village

Nearly every village's "city center" can be located by finding the church steeple and walking toward it. In our case, our village has a population of less than 25,000 people so you can easily find the church and our "city center." It's an old village with cobble stone walking paths everywhere...VERY cute! You can easily walk from one end to the other in less than 10 minutes.

A view looking down the cobble stone roads.

Where we stopped to have some coffee and hot chocolate after walking around to familiarize ourselves with what will be our future home.

Maastricht

This photos is taken from Vrijthof square looking back at the Basilica of Saint Servatius.

The cafes were absolutely packed with people anxious to soke up the first rays of the summer. We ended up giving up and working our way down the cobblestone roads to find a place we could sit to have some lunch.

Kaelan simply being cute at our table before lunch!

Detour to Maastricht

Over the weekend, we decided to take a road trip to Maastricht. Maastricht is located in the south of Holland and is considered to be the oldest city in the country. Of course, as with any road trip involving young kids, we had to make a couple stops to settle the kids. Travis pulled over to work his "bobble head" magic on Colette while Kaelan remained passed out in his car seat.

Kaelan was SUCH a good sport as we hunted for house that we thought we'd take a little detour and stop at Fort Willem and let him burn off some energy. There were forts, slides, rope swings, and all sorts of fun things for Kman to play on. He seemed to most enjoy the giant tunnel slide. Up and down he went multiple times before we finally had to leave.

Down he goes...

And back up again....

Hours Before Leaving

Camille and Pierce came to visit us Wednesday evening, just a few hours before we needed to head to the airport to catch our flight to Holland. Therefore, what better time to take a bath right? Camille texted us later that night while we waited at the airport sharing with us how sad Pierce was to understand we were leaving Singapore for good. She wrote in her text,

Tonight for bed he said the prayer and it went like this, 'thank you lord. please gaurd k-man and if you do, it will make me happy and if you don't, it will make me sad. Amen.' He went to bed and 30 minutes later he called me back in the room to say he was so sad that you guys were leaving. And then we talked about going to Holland and he asked if it was an island. And said ok.

K-man is sad to leave too Pierce so you better come visit our "island" of Holland very soon! =)

Goodbye Claymore Home

Images of our home in Singapore for the past few years. It's really sad to say goodbye but we're excited at the same time for what adventures await us in Holland.

Leaving Singapore

Auntie Belle moved into her new home on Friday and left today, Monday, for a 3 week home leave to the Philippines. Friday was a very sad day for us all, kind of like leaving a sister and not knowing if you will ever see her again.

Our Favorite Auntie Belle in the whole wide world.

We are all really going to miss this girl.

MOPS

I attended my last Singapore MOPS last Tuesday

And Kaelan did too.

Coco and Mommy Sunday before Moving day was the busiest day we have had as a family! Auntie Belle came by until nap to keep the kids busy and happy while Daddy and I sorted, cleaned and packed ALL DAY LONG! It is nice to move every five years, then you really have to go through your stuff! I hate unpacking boxes on the other end of unnecessary things!

Grandma Brenda is going to take Kaelan in the morning tomorrow to help keep him away from the traumatizing moving site. The Unruh's had him all day today.

As most of you know by now, we are leaving Singapore and moving to Holland. Today is packing day, Monday, and we fly out on Wednesday. It has been INCREDIBLY sad saying goodbye to our friends and of course Jonabelle, our helper for the past couple of years. She has been so wonderful, as many of you know first hand after visiting us. She and Kaelan have formed a very special relationship so it was really tough for her and us to say goodbye. I think the hardest part about this move is uprooting the kids from the only home they have known and leaving friends Kaelan has had since birth. This has made the entire experience a bit more emotional for us this time around. We decided it would be better for Kaelan not to see any of the packing process since we have been warned how hard it is for kids since they don't fully understand what is going on. Kaelan is staying with the Unruh's today and couldn't be happier about it. Since the majority of the day yesterday was spent packing our suitcases for the trip, we now have a quiet day with Coco while the packers work some magic! Travis and I found ourselves getting a bit sentimental last night as we put Kaelan to bed in his room for the last time. He didn't know it of course but we were sad for him! Tonight we will stay in a hotel as there will be very little left in our house after a full day of packing. Going through this process has made us realize how special our 4.5 years in Singapore has been. We are really going to miss it here and feel truly blessed to have had such a wonderful experience. Here are our Singapore favorites (in no particular order!): Wonderful Friends that are willing to take care of Kaelan ALL day! Jonabelle- best thing that happened to the Custer family! Traveling- easy, national geographic like trips to all of Asia! Hosting visitors- something that RARELY happens in Boise! Dr. Paul- delivered both of our beautiful babies Chicken Rice- all Asian food really IBC- Church, MOPS, Bible Study, great friends Baby Group- Girls I have been with since we moved to Singapore in 2006 Swim Lessons- Something we can do year round Singapore Airlines! Weekend trips to the Zoo The guy who invented air conditioning Convenience- Anything you want 24/7 Sharing the road with Ferrari's, Lamborghini's, Maserati's and anything else you can dream of. That's all I can think of at the moment but I know there are many more!