Oma'S TriBUte VidEO

Below is a link of a video my Uncle Dan made for my Oma....we miss her so much but glad to have these great photos of her to look back on.

Oma's Video

NeW YEaR!! 2013!!

So so late with the first of the year post but HAPPY 2013!!!!! Hope everyone had a great holiday season, even though we weren't home in Florida we had a great holiday here together with some good friends. Christmas morning was just Darin and I. I let him open his few gifts that were under the tree and I opened mine. I had a secret gift for Darin that he had absolutely no clue about, a surfboard!! He's been dying to have this surfboard, so with some friends in Orlando helping me get the board from a surf shop, down to Miami and on a plane to Barbados! I had it a week before Christmas at a friends house and I was so proud of myself for keeping it a secret and for going through customs and that big mess all alone! I'm such an awesome wife, haha!! So Christmas morning was over and I had breakfast on the table, Darin went in to grab a shirt from the room and real quickly I went to the guest room closet and grabbed the board and put it leaned up against the wall next to our 4ft tree. When Darin came out he didn't see it at first, and I was just sitting at the kitchen table. He saw the board and was in complete shock, shook his head and just said "no way", "babe, you didn't do that".....I just said "ya, I did". He was so stinking happy, I think the picture says it all :)

For New Years Eve, or Ole Years...as they call it here. We had a big get together at our place, it's a great feeling to know we already have enough friends here that we can host a party! We ordered sushi, hung out in our condo with the doors open and the breeze blowing, music on and people were everywhere. After the sushi came and everyone ate, we headed up to the rooftop of our building where we had a stereo set up, tables with more food, drinks, candles and the perfect weather to be outside as we waited for the stroke of midnight for the fireworks. So glad to start the new year here with Darin, we are really enjoying our life here and are so grateful and thankful for everything God has given us in life, that lead us here on this awesome adventure. 

As for New Years resolutions....we didn't really make any, we would like to start a family, so that can be one :) other than that, we like the way things are and nothing really needs changing. 

AlmOsT ChriSTmAs

I am such a slacker the last few weeks. December has come and pretty much gone, can't believe Christmas is in a little over a WEEK! We aren't going home this year for Christmas so it will be our first one alone with no family. Tickets are so expensive and Darin can't really leave the shop to someone yet. We were going to get a real tree so it smelled like Christmas in our home but we were a little late on purchasing one so all of the smaller ones were gone. I wanted one that was around 5ft so I didn't have to get on a ladder or anything like that, plus it would have to fit in the elevator. I was sad they were all gone but the next day I was in a store and they had a promotion on fake ones, so I caved and got a fake one. It's the perfect size and it makes me smile when it's night and the tree is all lit up. I did white lights and silver decorations. I also am super excited about our stockings!! I ordered some from the Hallmark here and had them embroidered with our initials. We also have a few presents from my parents, my mom was sure to shove some in my suitcase last time I was home so now with the tree, stockings and presents it feels like Christmas. 

We also have a new little niece named Joss who was born Dec 7th. Drey and baby are both doing well and Joss is so so cute! 

Oma

When I was younger I thought that was her name, Oma. I always thought it was cool that she found someone named Opa and they got married......kids. It wasn't until a car ride leaving their house when I found out that Oma and Opa were dutch for grandma and grandpa, their real names are Rita and Dan. I was born in NH and lived there until I was 11yrs old and moved to Florida. We saw our Oma and Opa often as they didn't live very far. Some of my best memories were, every Sunday going to Howard Johnson (a hotel that may not exist anymore) and we would all meet for breakfast, I had a thing for bagels and tons of cream cheese. I remember them always getting coffee as well as my mom too and thinking that was so gross. Christmas was always fun because it was only us 3 kids so we got a lot of presents, also because we had 2 uncles and an aunt too. My Oma was an artist, a writer, a musician, a muti lingual woman, courageous, helpful and kind. I didn't get any drawing skills from her but she did teach me how to play the piano on her organ down in the basement....if I close my eyes, I can hear that 1 button you pushed to play one specific beat the whole time and my Oma would play along to it. I did take lessons years later in Florida and picked up on piano really quick. I could remember a song and play it with out the sheet music so easily, play it from memory just like she did. Unfortunately I stopped playing.....and lost that wonderful talent, Laura picked it up and still knows quite a few songs from memory. As a writer, which was one of her most accomplished and well known talents, she started writing a memoir years and years ago. She had one of the most amazing and interesting lives as a teenager, disguising herself as a boy during WWII in fear she would be used as a "comfort woman", this disguise was so she could go with her mother and siblings to a POW camp and be safe. Her book goes on to tell her amazing story and adventures and having kids living in Amsterdam. She started to work on book 2 and slowly lost the energy to write when she became sick. She used to send me rough copies on her books so I could read chapters at a time but her second book i've never seen anything from it, she did tell me I was in it and we had a tea party together......I can't wait to read that part, I know she'll have such detail about that memory as she does all of the ones she writes about so it will be special to read. Her last few months she was just like how I remember her being, chatted up a storm with you, was trying to finish her book and write a journal of her last few months, busy woman she was. She wanted to be sure to leave her legacy to all of us and future generations of our families, always thinking of others was her specialty. We haven't had a chance to see each other in the last few years except some facetime and written some emails, she was more of a hand written letter person so we did some of that too....her hand writing is beautiful! Laura and I recently went to Amsterdam and went to Madurodam (a miniature city in Holland she took my father to as a kid). We made sure to take lots of photos for her because she so badly wanted us to see it. She loved the pictures and knowing that we've seen pieces of her past and our fathers was very special to her. Wednesday, November 21, 2012 she passed away peacefully and happy. She had everyone around her she loved and i'm so glad my dad made it up there in time as well as my mom and Laura. Breaks my heart I couldn't be there, but I know Laura did a good job telling her good-bye for me. She will forever have an amazing place in my heart and i'll cherish every memory and every conversation I got to share with her. Thank you so much for your legacy and all the stories, Love you always and forever Oma! xoxo

Top left is the first book but second publishing, top right is a few weeks ago (you can still see the love), lower right is the first book, first publishing, lower left is Oma, me, Opa and Craig

BacK tO rEALitY

Can't believe it's been a MONTH since Europe! I've gotten to know Sarah (my first friend here) really well. She says lets do something and sets it up, she keeps my free time busy and active. Unlike Nassau when I had days off I sat at home and did chores (no fun), but here Sarah and I have signed up for a gym membership and we go EVERY morning, needless to say i've been sore the last 3 weeks, but it feels kinda good. Two days a week we take a spin class at 9am, I like to call it "sweat fest" because i'm soaked of sweat after. I've realized how necessary it is for me to exercise these days and at first I couldn't make it through the warm up, but once I figured out the resistance and the beat to ride to it's become a lot easier...I still haven't made it though a whole class but i'm close! Yesterday's class I bumped up the resistance and WHOA does it make a difference, talk about jello legs! Sarah and I've also went paddle boarding on the west coast where the water is flat (most of the time) and so clear that we found a few turtles swimming! I signed up for surfing lessons, yes I know my husband surfs but would you rather learn to do something from a friend who does it or by a pro? I think pro. Darin doesn't understand but I told him after I get the "real basics", i'll go out with him and he can give me pointers and stuff like that. I've been twice and the first time I did awesome! Top of the class too! Sadly the second time I went, I can't count....my first time standing up on the board, I tweaked my hip/groin area and couldn't even lift my leg to step, I kinda dragged it. I was a little nervous but took some Advil and didn't work out the next day and rested on the couch. That's all I needed and now I feel so much better! Sarah and I talked about volunteering at the local RSPCA here and the next day she set it up so we went. I thought we'd go for a little bit every now and then but thanks to my "go big or go home" friend,  she started going every day, so I requested we make a schedule lol.....now we go Tuesdays and Thursdays. We walk all the pups, feed them, bathe some, love on them and have "chats" (what Sarah likes to say I do, when I sit in the grass with them). While I have lots of active stuff to do, I still help Darin with lots of stuff at work which keeps me busy on the other days. Life so far is great here, we've made friends and enjoy our home on the beach. Things are so close we can walk and we're constantly adjusting and learning new things about Barbados every day....hopefully someone will visit us soon :)