Since we don’t have family nearby, we figured we would have “a few” friends over for Easter after church. “A few friends” turned into a BBQ with 25 people, which was great fun. We have a large house and garden, and we loved having it full of people. Our friend Anthonius took most of these pictures. He thought it was important to show all the cars crowded in our driveway, so we have visible evidence that we actually do have friends here.
Anthonius and Bobby brought their barbeques and the men tended the fires. Actually, we struggled to get the little BBQs going, and we needed Pastor Francis to take charge (on the left). Although we already knew that he is a gifted Preacher and Teacher, we discovered that his real spiritual gift is Grilling.
The weather was nice, so we could eat outside.
Our back garden is large enough for a small game of football.
Emily wants to play football, too.
But it looks like Saith is going to throw Emily INSTEAD of the football. I'm not sure that's what she had in mind.
By the time we got around to taking a group photo, several people had already left. But this is most of us. The 21 friends here are from 11 different countries. We’re the only Americans.
The Monday after Easter is a national holiday, so Josh did not have to go to work. We had another day of beautiful weather, so we headed to the Hoge Veluwe park, about an hour’s drive north. The park has wooded areas, meadows, and white bicycles that are free to use within the park. The park was donated to the country’s government by a wealthy couple in the 1920’s. Here is Josh with his white bicycle in front of the couple’s palatial hunting lodge.
In the center of the park is a top-notch art museum with one of the best collections of Van Gogh works. The museum is surrounded by a sculpture garden.
After a fun-filled weekend, Josh is back to work and life is back to “normal.” Springtime is lovely in the Netherlands, and I’m writing this on our laptop outside on our patio because it is so warm and sunny. The tulips are up, there are birds flirting in the garden, and nearby farms are full of spring lambs.
