A couple of weeks ago on a TV Show I was watching the topic of church came up. It really started me thinking...What are churches for? A question that was broached on the show was, "Is church a place where questions are to be asked or is it just a place where people go to get answers?" I think that if we only have churches to get answers... how can we get answers if we can't ask the questions? It seems to me that in some churches people only go to make sure that they are putting in their weekly attendance and then they are good. No one goes beyond the surface of finding out how people really are. We do our church thing and say, "Hi, how are you?", "I'm fine Thanks", and "I'll be praying for you". But are we really praying for those people or are we just putting in the lip service because that's what Christians do? Church should be a safe place where questions can be asked, where we can learn more about God and grow in our personal relationship with him. If we can't ask our questions at church where can we go or more importantly what happens to those searching for God if we can't give them a place to learn about God at church of all places. I believe that we are called to be vulnerable with those around us who are fellow believers. We as Christians are called to go beyond the surface questions and find out how people really are doing, what amazing things God is doing in their lives and find out what trials and tribulations they are suffering so we can be their prayer warriors and encourage them in ways we only can if we really know how someone is doing.
So are we "playing" church and putting in our time, or is church just another thing to cross off our weekly to do lists?
We had a guest preacher last Sunday that preached from the passage in Matthew 16:13-20 where it talks about Peter's confession of Christ. Jesus asked his diciples "Who do you say the Son of man is?" Peter answered "You are the Christ, the son of the living God" Do we truly believe this statement as well? I hope so! But the other quetion is do we act like we know that answer, in not only our every days lives, but especially at church? The pastor also talked about masks we wear in our daily lives. Do we act like one person at work, a different person at home, and a totally different person at church? We need to get rid of our masks, and act like the people that God created us to be. Yes, we are not without sin, because we live in a sinful world, but we were also made in the image of God, so we should behave as though we are images of him.
At the end of Matthew in the great commission, Matthew 28: 18-20- it says- "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age. This is what Jesus asks of us, but how can we accomplish this if we keep all of our different masks for all the different parts of our life. We will be sending people the wrong message about what it means to be a follower of Christ.
So, my challenge to you, let's throw away those masks, let's stop "playing" church (if that's what we are doing) and let's change what Church is for. Let's make it a place to learn about God, to ask those questions we are wanting to know, and let's truly become brothers and sisters in Christ by dropping the act of pretending that everything is fine and dandy, when we all know that is not always true. There are hurting people everywhere, even in our churches. Let's make church a place where it is okay to hurt and bring that hurt to God, so he can help those in need of his tender loving care. You don't to be perfect to be a Christian, and it's a good thing, because we'd all be in trouble. So, let's change what Church is really for and get beyond sitting through a church service (No offense to anyone who is a Pastor, including you Dad!) and delve into meaningful relationships and ask those questions you've always wanted to ask!
Friday, May 9, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
A Weekend in Normandy, France
The last weekend of April I once again got to travel and see more of Europe! I've been here two months and I have been blessed with the opportunity to see quite a bit in that amount of time. We left on Friday afternoon for Normandy, France. I learned something new on this trip. I learned that Normandy is not a city in France (which is what I had always thought) but rather it is a state of France. It covers a whole big region. Boy scouts from all over Europe were coming to camp for the weekend and learn about WWII, and so we drove down as well, since Collin is in Boy scouts and stayed in a Bed & Breakfast. Collin and Richard stayed at the campground with the rest of the Boy Scouts.
Our first challenge of the trip was that we had to drive a very tiny car to Normandy. Richard had taken the mini van the day before down to Normandy, and his car was in the shop getting fixed. We had a rental car to drive but it was super small, and we had to fit two car seats, plus all our luggage in the very minimal storage space this car had to offer. We had to bring Emarie in the car as well to Shape where we were meeting Kym's Friend Michelle and her kids. We had such minimal space that Emarie had to sit in Jackson's seat with Jackson on her lap.
Our second challenge of the trip was that when we got to Post at Shape they wouldn't let us in because the rental car did no have the right stickers and plates on it, and they wouldn't let us just turn around so we had to sit right inside the gate (in the car) while Kym had to go to the office to get a pass, but the funny part about the whole thing is that they didn't even check to see if I had a current pass (which I didn't) and they didn't pay any attention that we had kids sitting illegally in the back. So, for all they knew we could have been smuggling illegal things in but the car was marked properly! Once on Post we met up with the Zorns and Emarie went in their car. We finally hit the road around 2 o'clock. Within the first 15 minutes we lost our music because the battery for the I-Pod thing ran out and we didn't have any AAA Batteries.
A little ways into France we stopped at a gas station and we got out and stretched, changed diapers, got food, and took bathroom breaks. We were there for a good long while. Michelle gave us apples to eat and when we got back on the road Michelle texted us on the cell phone and said that her apple was gross and asked us how ours were. I wrote back Mine was home instead of Good!!! I tried to delete home but hit send instead. It was funny! We texted back and forth all day. I'm really slow at it though!
The interstate on the way there was much like American ones, maybe a little narrower. We had lots of tolls to pay on the roads that we were taking. Sometimes it felt like we were driving down the highway in Iowa or Michigan because much of the scenery was countryside, but then all of sudden we would come upon sights that were very much European. It was kind of cool! The closer we got to Normandy the hillier it got. We had these two Crazy/ Amazing bridges to cross. If you hate bridges you would have dreaded going over them! Before the first one, Kym was trying to comfort me about crossing it, and I said to her I'm not scared, I like bridges. She said to me, "Well, I hate them." So I replied back, "Well then I should be the one comforting you!" Right after the first bridge Jackson threw up just a little, but we had to quick find a spot to pull over because the next bridge was coming up fast.
This is the First bridge we crossed
The second bridge we crossed
The scenery on our drive was absolutely amazing. There were lots of cool cliffs, valleys, and many cool churches. A couple of the churches we saw had hollow steeples, with intricately cut designs in the steeple. We saw a hot air balloon after we stopped the second time. At the second stop Jackson dumped a whole bucket of popcorn on the floor of the car. That made a nice little mess. When we got closer to the bed and breakfast we had to get off the beaten path and onto country roads that had very narrow roads. We drove through a little village comparable to Brugge, and through the French countryside, where we saw lots of cows. When our GPS said we had reached our fnal destination we couldn't find it, so we had to turn around and we found it then. It was a cute little French cottage/ Farmhouse in the middle of nowhere in the French countryside. It was SO cool! The sun was setting when we arrived. We stayed outside just a little while and enjoyed the wonderful view and that gave the kids a chance to run around in the yard. Since we had 5 kids, plus a little baby that was a good thing to do!
Lily Zorn, Brady, Kathryn Zorn, and Jackson
Beautiful Sunset in the French Countryside
The View from the front yard of the Bed & Breakfast
Once inside the Bed & Breakfast we saw the rooms we were staying in and decided which rooms everyone was each going to have. I had my own room with my own bathroom right off it. The inside was really cool! Very quaint and cozy. A very inviting and homey place. Francis the lady that runs the place was very nice. She was oringally from the UK. The bed & Breakfast is called the Haven. Once we figured out where everyone was going to stay we got the kids settled for bed and Francis made Michelle, Kym, me & Emarie soup, salad and had bread & brie cheese for us at like 10 o'clock at night. It was so good! The place we stayed at was over 400 years old. That is pretty amazing! We had a wonderful time of eating and fellowshipping and then off to bed we went with more adventure awaiting us the next day!
Saturday morning Francis had breakfast ready for us at 8:00. She had gone to the bakery that morning and gotten fresh croissants and bread. Some of the croissants had chocolate inside them. After we got everyone all ready to get out the door and buckeled in the cars we headed for the camps where the boys of our two families were at for the weekend. We left the bed and breakfast just after 9 A.M. We were following Michelle and she kept turning the opposite way that our GPS was telling us to go. I think we took a really round about way to get there. But we did get to see lots of the beautiful countryside of Normandy. There were amazing houses, churches, and chateaus all around. I wish I could have taken pictures of all the cool buildings we saw but we were just driving past and didn't have time to stop.
We finally got to the campground at 11:00. I stayed at the camp with Michelle, her kids, Emarie and Jackson, while Kym took one of the guys to get bread for the campers. We hung out for a good while and then we took a walk with the kids to the camp playground so that the kids could play. We hung out for another long while and then finally they had lunch so we ate with the campers on site.
Lily Zorn at the camp site
Jackson at the camp site
It was 3 o'clock before we even started to do any sight-seeing. We first drove to Omaha Beach which is one of the D-day beaches for WWII to see the memorial there. We just walked down there for a moment to take a look. Then we went to a WWII museum that was just down the road. By the time we got done at the museum it was 5 o'clock but we still wanted to see Pointe du Hoc, another place along the ocean side that they invaded on D-Day. But this place was up on cliffs above the ocean. All the bombs and explosions from the invasion made huge craters and there are still some old ruins left from what was there previous to D-Day. The view was amazing and the craters were very cool. The 4 older kids of our two families loved running around and checking everything out. It was well worth going to.
The Memorial at Omaha Beach for D-Day
These sculptures were at Omaha Beach
The Ocean from the European side - Omaha Beach
The 3 boys sleeping in the back seat while we went and saw Omaha Beach
Collin down in some old ruins at Pointe du Hoc
The 4 big kids traipsing through the craters
Me & Kathryn Zorn at the bottom of a crater
Looking out over the ocean
Me at Pointe Du Hoc
Will & Kathryn Zorn and Emarie and Collin
Me on top of a lookout spot
By the time we got back to the Boy Scout camp it was about 7 o'clock and all the scouts were heading out to a bon fire. We pulled up to a gate near where our group was camping and were trying to figure out what to do when all these big busses and cars were leaving and trying to get past us. Kym ended up parking our car in a one way street the wrong way, because we thought it looked like no one would be coming down the road, but cars kept coming right at us and thankfully had enough space to get passed us. By the this time everyone was really hungry, so we decided to get some food at the camp restaurant. We waited an hour for our food. While we were waiting Emarie and I took the kids outside to the playground to play. We finally left to go back to our Bed & Breakfast at like 9 o'clock. We got back just fine but Michelle didn't follow us and left after we did and she ended up getting lost. What a day! I got sunburned, but not too badly. It was a beauiful day! We couldn't have asked for better weather.
The next morning we got everything packed back up and ate breakfast and then we headed back towards Omaha beach and we met up with our guys at the American Cemetary for WWII. We took our time walking around there and seeing the sights. We did get a little bit of a downpour, but the rain stopped as quickly as it began. After checking out the American Cemetary we headed back on the road and began the trek towards home. It was a good weekend! I was excited to see another part of Europe and learn more about our history at the same time.
The view from the window of the room I slept in
The Bed & Breakfast we Stayed in
Jackson in the car with his buddy on his head
Brady in his car seat
Me at the American Cemetary
The American Cemetary
Our first challenge of the trip was that we had to drive a very tiny car to Normandy. Richard had taken the mini van the day before down to Normandy, and his car was in the shop getting fixed. We had a rental car to drive but it was super small, and we had to fit two car seats, plus all our luggage in the very minimal storage space this car had to offer. We had to bring Emarie in the car as well to Shape where we were meeting Kym's Friend Michelle and her kids. We had such minimal space that Emarie had to sit in Jackson's seat with Jackson on her lap.
Our second challenge of the trip was that when we got to Post at Shape they wouldn't let us in because the rental car did no have the right stickers and plates on it, and they wouldn't let us just turn around so we had to sit right inside the gate (in the car) while Kym had to go to the office to get a pass, but the funny part about the whole thing is that they didn't even check to see if I had a current pass (which I didn't) and they didn't pay any attention that we had kids sitting illegally in the back. So, for all they knew we could have been smuggling illegal things in but the car was marked properly! Once on Post we met up with the Zorns and Emarie went in their car. We finally hit the road around 2 o'clock. Within the first 15 minutes we lost our music because the battery for the I-Pod thing ran out and we didn't have any AAA Batteries.
A little ways into France we stopped at a gas station and we got out and stretched, changed diapers, got food, and took bathroom breaks. We were there for a good long while. Michelle gave us apples to eat and when we got back on the road Michelle texted us on the cell phone and said that her apple was gross and asked us how ours were. I wrote back Mine was home instead of Good!!! I tried to delete home but hit send instead. It was funny! We texted back and forth all day. I'm really slow at it though!
The interstate on the way there was much like American ones, maybe a little narrower. We had lots of tolls to pay on the roads that we were taking. Sometimes it felt like we were driving down the highway in Iowa or Michigan because much of the scenery was countryside, but then all of sudden we would come upon sights that were very much European. It was kind of cool! The closer we got to Normandy the hillier it got. We had these two Crazy/ Amazing bridges to cross. If you hate bridges you would have dreaded going over them! Before the first one, Kym was trying to comfort me about crossing it, and I said to her I'm not scared, I like bridges. She said to me, "Well, I hate them." So I replied back, "Well then I should be the one comforting you!" Right after the first bridge Jackson threw up just a little, but we had to quick find a spot to pull over because the next bridge was coming up fast.
This is the First bridge we crossed
The second bridge we crossed
The scenery on our drive was absolutely amazing. There were lots of cool cliffs, valleys, and many cool churches. A couple of the churches we saw had hollow steeples, with intricately cut designs in the steeple. We saw a hot air balloon after we stopped the second time. At the second stop Jackson dumped a whole bucket of popcorn on the floor of the car. That made a nice little mess. When we got closer to the bed and breakfast we had to get off the beaten path and onto country roads that had very narrow roads. We drove through a little village comparable to Brugge, and through the French countryside, where we saw lots of cows. When our GPS said we had reached our fnal destination we couldn't find it, so we had to turn around and we found it then. It was a cute little French cottage/ Farmhouse in the middle of nowhere in the French countryside. It was SO cool! The sun was setting when we arrived. We stayed outside just a little while and enjoyed the wonderful view and that gave the kids a chance to run around in the yard. Since we had 5 kids, plus a little baby that was a good thing to do!
Lily Zorn, Brady, Kathryn Zorn, and Jackson
Beautiful Sunset in the French Countryside
The View from the front yard of the Bed & Breakfast
Once inside the Bed & Breakfast we saw the rooms we were staying in and decided which rooms everyone was each going to have. I had my own room with my own bathroom right off it. The inside was really cool! Very quaint and cozy. A very inviting and homey place. Francis the lady that runs the place was very nice. She was oringally from the UK. The bed & Breakfast is called the Haven. Once we figured out where everyone was going to stay we got the kids settled for bed and Francis made Michelle, Kym, me & Emarie soup, salad and had bread & brie cheese for us at like 10 o'clock at night. It was so good! The place we stayed at was over 400 years old. That is pretty amazing! We had a wonderful time of eating and fellowshipping and then off to bed we went with more adventure awaiting us the next day!
Saturday morning Francis had breakfast ready for us at 8:00. She had gone to the bakery that morning and gotten fresh croissants and bread. Some of the croissants had chocolate inside them. After we got everyone all ready to get out the door and buckeled in the cars we headed for the camps where the boys of our two families were at for the weekend. We left the bed and breakfast just after 9 A.M. We were following Michelle and she kept turning the opposite way that our GPS was telling us to go. I think we took a really round about way to get there. But we did get to see lots of the beautiful countryside of Normandy. There were amazing houses, churches, and chateaus all around. I wish I could have taken pictures of all the cool buildings we saw but we were just driving past and didn't have time to stop.
We finally got to the campground at 11:00. I stayed at the camp with Michelle, her kids, Emarie and Jackson, while Kym took one of the guys to get bread for the campers. We hung out for a good while and then we took a walk with the kids to the camp playground so that the kids could play. We hung out for another long while and then finally they had lunch so we ate with the campers on site.
Lily Zorn at the camp site
Jackson at the camp site
It was 3 o'clock before we even started to do any sight-seeing. We first drove to Omaha Beach which is one of the D-day beaches for WWII to see the memorial there. We just walked down there for a moment to take a look. Then we went to a WWII museum that was just down the road. By the time we got done at the museum it was 5 o'clock but we still wanted to see Pointe du Hoc, another place along the ocean side that they invaded on D-Day. But this place was up on cliffs above the ocean. All the bombs and explosions from the invasion made huge craters and there are still some old ruins left from what was there previous to D-Day. The view was amazing and the craters were very cool. The 4 older kids of our two families loved running around and checking everything out. It was well worth going to.
The Memorial at Omaha Beach for D-Day
These sculptures were at Omaha Beach
The Ocean from the European side - Omaha Beach
The 3 boys sleeping in the back seat while we went and saw Omaha Beach
Collin down in some old ruins at Pointe du Hoc
The 4 big kids traipsing through the craters
Me & Kathryn Zorn at the bottom of a crater
Looking out over the ocean
Me at Pointe Du Hoc
Will & Kathryn Zorn and Emarie and Collin
Me on top of a lookout spot
By the time we got back to the Boy Scout camp it was about 7 o'clock and all the scouts were heading out to a bon fire. We pulled up to a gate near where our group was camping and were trying to figure out what to do when all these big busses and cars were leaving and trying to get past us. Kym ended up parking our car in a one way street the wrong way, because we thought it looked like no one would be coming down the road, but cars kept coming right at us and thankfully had enough space to get passed us. By the this time everyone was really hungry, so we decided to get some food at the camp restaurant. We waited an hour for our food. While we were waiting Emarie and I took the kids outside to the playground to play. We finally left to go back to our Bed & Breakfast at like 9 o'clock. We got back just fine but Michelle didn't follow us and left after we did and she ended up getting lost. What a day! I got sunburned, but not too badly. It was a beauiful day! We couldn't have asked for better weather.
The next morning we got everything packed back up and ate breakfast and then we headed back towards Omaha beach and we met up with our guys at the American Cemetary for WWII. We took our time walking around there and seeing the sights. We did get a little bit of a downpour, but the rain stopped as quickly as it began. After checking out the American Cemetary we headed back on the road and began the trek towards home. It was a good weekend! I was excited to see another part of Europe and learn more about our history at the same time.
The view from the window of the room I slept in
The Bed & Breakfast we Stayed in
Jackson in the car with his buddy on his head
Brady in his car seat
Me at the American Cemetary
The American Cemetary
Do You Believe in Miracles??
God is the same God he was back in the time of the Bible, but do you believe he still performs miracles like Jesus did in the Gospels? There are many examples in the Bible of Jesus healing sick people, even raising people from the dead, and many more miracles. People are always praying for miracles to happen when someone they love is terminally ill or if they are in a tragic accident. Sometimes God does perform the miracle we are all wanting and other times we don't get the miracle we are looking for. But either way God is still answering our prayers, it just might not be the answer we had hoped for. I would like to share with you that I have seen with my own eyes this past month that God is still in the business of miracles.
About a month ago, on a Friday afternoon Kym was at the groccery store shopping and she gave me a call at the house saying there had been an emergency and she wasn't sure what time she would be home. Michelle (who is a very close friend of Kym's) her five year old daughter Kathryn had fallen out of the window and been taken to the hospital. At that point we didn't know many details. Later we found out, that she had fallen out of the second story window, which was about 18 ft. above ground onto cement and hit her head. Later that night we heard the amazing news that she had no broken bones. She did have a crack in her skull and some minor bleeding around the brain and she was in stable condition. God definitely spared this little girl. One week and two days later she came home from the hospital and about 1 week later she traveled with her family and the Wampler family to Normandy, France. A 5 hour drive from where we are in Belgium. She is back in school and when we were in Normandy it was so great to see her running around and playing like a 5 year old should be doing. Praise God! He does still do miracles, so just keep that in mind. I was witness to one!
About a month ago, on a Friday afternoon Kym was at the groccery store shopping and she gave me a call at the house saying there had been an emergency and she wasn't sure what time she would be home. Michelle (who is a very close friend of Kym's) her five year old daughter Kathryn had fallen out of the window and been taken to the hospital. At that point we didn't know many details. Later we found out, that she had fallen out of the second story window, which was about 18 ft. above ground onto cement and hit her head. Later that night we heard the amazing news that she had no broken bones. She did have a crack in her skull and some minor bleeding around the brain and she was in stable condition. God definitely spared this little girl. One week and two days later she came home from the hospital and about 1 week later she traveled with her family and the Wampler family to Normandy, France. A 5 hour drive from where we are in Belgium. She is back in school and when we were in Normandy it was so great to see her running around and playing like a 5 year old should be doing. Praise God! He does still do miracles, so just keep that in mind. I was witness to one!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Perfect Paris Day!
Hi Everyone!
I haven't forgotten about posting, I've just been super busy. I have some down time since it is nap time so I thought this would be a good time to tell you about my day in Paris. On the 2nd Thursday of Spring break (which was 2 weeks ago now), I was able to go to Paris with Kym and the 4 kids. I was so excited! We were a little nervous about the weather, but God had it under control. We could not have had a better to go to Paris!! It was the perfect day. :) We left at about 9 or so and headed to Paris. We drove the van because we are only just over 2 hours from there. We were planning on driving to the outskirts of Paris and then taking the train to where we wanted to go. We got to Paris just fine, and then once there we could not find the train station we were looking for. We ended up driving around the streets of Paris for a good hour and 1/2. We definitely got to see more of Paris that way then if we had taken the train. It was a stressful situation because we had no idea where we were going, but I felt very peaceful about the whole situation because I knew God was in control. We were trying to find a place to park but we weren't finding any. But the God moment in all that for was that on the Ipod that was playing were all these praise songs. I was singing along with them and it was a cool God thing for me!!
Finally after driving deep into the city we found a parking garage close to where we wanted to go after we would have taken the train, so it ended up we didn't need to take a train at all. Another cool God moment was in the parking garage we found, there was a spot big enough for the van which is a big deal in Europe because they do not make the parking spots big enough for American vehicles, but God knew we needed a spot so there was one waiting for us. Once we got out of the car, we found a map on the street telling us where we were. We were near the Hotel De'Ville which was one one of the stops of the BATO Bus we were going to take. The BATO Bus was a boat taxi that stops at all the main places off the Seine River that you would want to see while in Paris. You can get on and off at each spot and take your time. We headed off to the location where we needed to get on the boat. On the way there we stopped outside the Hotel De'ville at this two decker merry-go-round and the kids and I rode it. That was fun, I can't remember the last time I was on one.
Walking down to the Hotel De'Ville
The Hotel De'Ville (Now the home of City Hall for Paris)
You can see the tip of Notre Dame from the Hotel De'Ville
Emarie & Brady on the Carousel
Collin on the Carousel
Next we walked to the stop for the BATO Bus, only to find out that half of their stops were not working because of the flood levels of the Seine. There was good and bad news to that bit of information. The bad news was we had to do a little bit more walking to get to the stop where we could get on, but that wasn't a very big deal. The next place we could get on was at the Louvre. The good news was that we didn't miss out on seeing anything we really wanted to. We were close enough to the Notre Dame Cathedral we could walk there, so it all worked out very well. We then headed to Notre Dame and stopped at a couple little shops on the way there. We did not go inside the Notre Dame Cathedral which is something I would like to do the next time I'm in Paris, but the Outside is absolutely amazing! Every little detail is just so cool to see.
Front of Nortre Dame Cathedral
Notre Dame
Me in front of Notre Dame Cathedral
Right on the corner by the Notre Dame Cathedral there was a food vendor, and it was well past lunch time. We decided to get food there. While in Paris we wanted to have some real french crepes. I ordered a chocolate/ bananna one, and it was soooo good. I made a little bit of a mess of mine, but it still tasted yummy. After we finished eating we headed on our walk to the Louvre to get on the BATO Bus. It was about a 20 minute walk, which wasn't bad and we got to see more of the streets of Paris. We walked along the Seine River to get there.
View along the Seine River as we were walking to the Louvre
View of Eiffel Tower as we were walking
Once we arrived at the Louvre we just walked around outside a little bit, and then we walked around the inside in the parts that we didn't have to pay to get into. The Louvre is huge and there is no way we would have had time to look at the exhibits and still have had time to do everything else we wanted to do while we were here. You could easily spend a whole day just in the Louvre, if not more than that.
Me in the back court-yard of the Louvre
Back Courtyard of the Louvre
The Pyramids in the Front of the Louvre
Inside the Louvre looking up through the Pyramid
After the Louvre we found the BATO Bus and we rode the BATO Bus to the Eiffel Tower. It was definitely a cool experience riding a boat down the Seine River in Paris. We didn't get off at the stop for the Arc de Triumph because of time restraints, so when I come back to Paris [because I'm definitely coming back sometime :) ] I would like the see the Arc de Triumph. The closer we got to the Eiffel Tower the more excited I got. The Eiffel Tower is definitely very cool! It met my expectations and surpassed them. It was an impressive site to see. We decided to wait in line to go up the Eiffel Tower which made my day! The line actually moved really fast. We went up to the 2nd level and not the 3rd because of money reasons (with so many of us) and lack of time as well. I was happy enough going up that far. There were some gift shops up in the Eiffel Tower that we stopped in while we were walking around.
The first good view of the Eiffel Tower from the BATO Bus
Close-up of the Eiffel Tower
Standing under the Eiffel Tower
Me up on the Eiffel Tower
Little Tiny me by the Eiffel Tower
When we were done at the Eiffel Tower we went to get on the BATO Bus to take us back to the Louvre. Right as we were getting to the dock the boat was ready to load passengers so we got there just in time and didn't have to wait for the next one. On the ride back we stood in the very back and watched the Eiffel Tower fade away. The BATO Bus had a glass ceiling and windows, except the very back was open air.
The Eiffel Tower fading in the distance
Looking back after we had gone under one of many cool bridges on the Seine River
Can you tell I love the Eiffel Tower?? Because I do! :) After we got off the BATO Bus we walked back from the Louvre to our car. It was a 20 minute walk back to the Hotel De' Ville, plus a little further to our car. On our way back to the car we stopped at another street vendor to get some food. I got another crepe but this time I got a chicken and cheese one. Hot off the press! We were all exhausted by the time we got back to the parking garage, and then we had to remember which elevator we had taken and where we were parked. We took one elevator and it ended up in this really weird location that looked like it was a place we weren't supposed to be, so we quickly got back on the elevator and went back out to figure out which one we were to take. The next one still wasn't the right one, but it got us closer to where we needed to be. We wandered around the parking garage a little finding our car. Kym decided to use her panic button and the noise led us to the car. The kids were very cooperative during the whole time, so that made it a lot less stressful. Jackson (the 3 year old actually walked ALL day) we had him on a leash hooked to the stroller. I can't imagine how tired he must have been. I was exhausted and his legs are much shorter than ours, and he kept up with us. Walking from the street vendor to the parking garage we really were booking it, because it was getting close to 8 and close to the sun setting and Kym wanted to get out of the city before dark. We just barely made it out of the city by dark, but we found our way out!! That was much easier than getting to where we wanted to be in the morning.
The Phrase that came to mind while we were in Paris was God is Good...ALL the time! He was so evident in the small details of the day. It was so cool to see that! I have heard many people say that Paris is not a friendly city, but I would have to say from my observations that it wasn't true. Maybe we just came across all the friendly people in the city. :) One guy walking down the street even let Jackson pet his dog. The whole day I was in Paris, I kept thinking, I can't believe I'm in Paris!!!! It was so amazing! I can't wait till I can go back again. What a day it was, definitely one for the books!!! What a faithful God we have that he would watch over us and keep us safe, especially in the moments where we had no idea where we were or where we were going. So, once more I have to say God is Good...ALL the time!!!!
I haven't forgotten about posting, I've just been super busy. I have some down time since it is nap time so I thought this would be a good time to tell you about my day in Paris. On the 2nd Thursday of Spring break (which was 2 weeks ago now), I was able to go to Paris with Kym and the 4 kids. I was so excited! We were a little nervous about the weather, but God had it under control. We could not have had a better to go to Paris!! It was the perfect day. :) We left at about 9 or so and headed to Paris. We drove the van because we are only just over 2 hours from there. We were planning on driving to the outskirts of Paris and then taking the train to where we wanted to go. We got to Paris just fine, and then once there we could not find the train station we were looking for. We ended up driving around the streets of Paris for a good hour and 1/2. We definitely got to see more of Paris that way then if we had taken the train. It was a stressful situation because we had no idea where we were going, but I felt very peaceful about the whole situation because I knew God was in control. We were trying to find a place to park but we weren't finding any. But the God moment in all that for was that on the Ipod that was playing were all these praise songs. I was singing along with them and it was a cool God thing for me!!
Finally after driving deep into the city we found a parking garage close to where we wanted to go after we would have taken the train, so it ended up we didn't need to take a train at all. Another cool God moment was in the parking garage we found, there was a spot big enough for the van which is a big deal in Europe because they do not make the parking spots big enough for American vehicles, but God knew we needed a spot so there was one waiting for us. Once we got out of the car, we found a map on the street telling us where we were. We were near the Hotel De'Ville which was one one of the stops of the BATO Bus we were going to take. The BATO Bus was a boat taxi that stops at all the main places off the Seine River that you would want to see while in Paris. You can get on and off at each spot and take your time. We headed off to the location where we needed to get on the boat. On the way there we stopped outside the Hotel De'ville at this two decker merry-go-round and the kids and I rode it. That was fun, I can't remember the last time I was on one.
Walking down to the Hotel De'Ville
The Hotel De'Ville (Now the home of City Hall for Paris)
You can see the tip of Notre Dame from the Hotel De'Ville
Emarie & Brady on the Carousel
Collin on the Carousel
Next we walked to the stop for the BATO Bus, only to find out that half of their stops were not working because of the flood levels of the Seine. There was good and bad news to that bit of information. The bad news was we had to do a little bit more walking to get to the stop where we could get on, but that wasn't a very big deal. The next place we could get on was at the Louvre. The good news was that we didn't miss out on seeing anything we really wanted to. We were close enough to the Notre Dame Cathedral we could walk there, so it all worked out very well. We then headed to Notre Dame and stopped at a couple little shops on the way there. We did not go inside the Notre Dame Cathedral which is something I would like to do the next time I'm in Paris, but the Outside is absolutely amazing! Every little detail is just so cool to see.
Front of Nortre Dame Cathedral
Notre Dame
Me in front of Notre Dame Cathedral
Right on the corner by the Notre Dame Cathedral there was a food vendor, and it was well past lunch time. We decided to get food there. While in Paris we wanted to have some real french crepes. I ordered a chocolate/ bananna one, and it was soooo good. I made a little bit of a mess of mine, but it still tasted yummy. After we finished eating we headed on our walk to the Louvre to get on the BATO Bus. It was about a 20 minute walk, which wasn't bad and we got to see more of the streets of Paris. We walked along the Seine River to get there.
View along the Seine River as we were walking to the Louvre
View of Eiffel Tower as we were walking
Once we arrived at the Louvre we just walked around outside a little bit, and then we walked around the inside in the parts that we didn't have to pay to get into. The Louvre is huge and there is no way we would have had time to look at the exhibits and still have had time to do everything else we wanted to do while we were here. You could easily spend a whole day just in the Louvre, if not more than that.
Me in the back court-yard of the Louvre
Back Courtyard of the Louvre
The Pyramids in the Front of the Louvre
Inside the Louvre looking up through the Pyramid
After the Louvre we found the BATO Bus and we rode the BATO Bus to the Eiffel Tower. It was definitely a cool experience riding a boat down the Seine River in Paris. We didn't get off at the stop for the Arc de Triumph because of time restraints, so when I come back to Paris [because I'm definitely coming back sometime :) ] I would like the see the Arc de Triumph. The closer we got to the Eiffel Tower the more excited I got. The Eiffel Tower is definitely very cool! It met my expectations and surpassed them. It was an impressive site to see. We decided to wait in line to go up the Eiffel Tower which made my day! The line actually moved really fast. We went up to the 2nd level and not the 3rd because of money reasons (with so many of us) and lack of time as well. I was happy enough going up that far. There were some gift shops up in the Eiffel Tower that we stopped in while we were walking around.
The first good view of the Eiffel Tower from the BATO Bus
Close-up of the Eiffel Tower
Standing under the Eiffel Tower
Me up on the Eiffel Tower
Little Tiny me by the Eiffel Tower
When we were done at the Eiffel Tower we went to get on the BATO Bus to take us back to the Louvre. Right as we were getting to the dock the boat was ready to load passengers so we got there just in time and didn't have to wait for the next one. On the ride back we stood in the very back and watched the Eiffel Tower fade away. The BATO Bus had a glass ceiling and windows, except the very back was open air.
The Eiffel Tower fading in the distance
Looking back after we had gone under one of many cool bridges on the Seine River
Can you tell I love the Eiffel Tower?? Because I do! :) After we got off the BATO Bus we walked back from the Louvre to our car. It was a 20 minute walk back to the Hotel De' Ville, plus a little further to our car. On our way back to the car we stopped at another street vendor to get some food. I got another crepe but this time I got a chicken and cheese one. Hot off the press! We were all exhausted by the time we got back to the parking garage, and then we had to remember which elevator we had taken and where we were parked. We took one elevator and it ended up in this really weird location that looked like it was a place we weren't supposed to be, so we quickly got back on the elevator and went back out to figure out which one we were to take. The next one still wasn't the right one, but it got us closer to where we needed to be. We wandered around the parking garage a little finding our car. Kym decided to use her panic button and the noise led us to the car. The kids were very cooperative during the whole time, so that made it a lot less stressful. Jackson (the 3 year old actually walked ALL day) we had him on a leash hooked to the stroller. I can't imagine how tired he must have been. I was exhausted and his legs are much shorter than ours, and he kept up with us. Walking from the street vendor to the parking garage we really were booking it, because it was getting close to 8 and close to the sun setting and Kym wanted to get out of the city before dark. We just barely made it out of the city by dark, but we found our way out!! That was much easier than getting to where we wanted to be in the morning.
The Phrase that came to mind while we were in Paris was God is Good...ALL the time! He was so evident in the small details of the day. It was so cool to see that! I have heard many people say that Paris is not a friendly city, but I would have to say from my observations that it wasn't true. Maybe we just came across all the friendly people in the city. :) One guy walking down the street even let Jackson pet his dog. The whole day I was in Paris, I kept thinking, I can't believe I'm in Paris!!!! It was so amazing! I can't wait till I can go back again. What a day it was, definitely one for the books!!! What a faithful God we have that he would watch over us and keep us safe, especially in the moments where we had no idea where we were or where we were going. So, once more I have to say God is Good...ALL the time!!!!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Rainy Day in Brugge
The first Thursday of Spring Break we went on a day trip to Brugge, Belgium. It was a rainy and cool day, but we went anyway. We took the train to get there. We left from Enghien which is about 10 minutes from us. We missed the train we wanted, but we waited for the next one to get there. It was Kym, myself, and the 4 kids. We took the double stroller which Kym carried on and off the trains, and I carried Brady. The first train took us about 20 minutes to Brussels where we got off and we had missed that train as well, so we had a little wait for the next train. There was a nice little food court in the train station where we got Belgian Waffles, hot and fresh! They were delicious!! The 2nd train we rode on was about an hour trip to Brugge from Brussels.
Brady on the Train
Jackson on the Train
When we arrived in Brugge since it was raining instead of walking we took a taxi from the train station to the chocolate museum. After the chocolate museum we walked to the Grand Place, which wasn't very far. We found a cute little restaurant to eat at for lunch. The food was wonderful and the atmosphere was very quaint and cozy. We sat right by the fire place. It was a Flemish restaurant so I wanted to order Flemish food. I ordered cheese croquettes as my starter and they were like little cheese sticks, but 10 times better than any cheese sticks I've ever had. They were amazing! My main dish was fish and chips (french fries) and the dessert was Amazing as well! I ordered the Profiteroles! SO yummy! They were little cream puffs filled with icecream and covered with the best chcolate sauce I've ever had! And inbetween each cream puff was a dollop of this whipped cream topping with the chocolate as well! I would definitely have that again! :)
On our walk to the Grand Place
The Grand Place
The Grand Place
The Grand Place- Our Restaurant was right along this row
Emarie at the Restaurant
Me at the Restaurant
Inside of the Restaurant
Brady at the Restaurant
The top part of the front of the Restaurant
After we got done eating we took the taxi back to the train station to go back home. I would love to come back to Brugge when it is nicer out and I can walk around somemore and see more of the city, and check out some of the shops. Brugge means bridges which is what the city is known for so I would like to take their canal tour and see some of their bridges. Next time I'm there I'll get to see more.
Brady on the Train
Jackson on the Train
When we arrived in Brugge since it was raining instead of walking we took a taxi from the train station to the chocolate museum. After the chocolate museum we walked to the Grand Place, which wasn't very far. We found a cute little restaurant to eat at for lunch. The food was wonderful and the atmosphere was very quaint and cozy. We sat right by the fire place. It was a Flemish restaurant so I wanted to order Flemish food. I ordered cheese croquettes as my starter and they were like little cheese sticks, but 10 times better than any cheese sticks I've ever had. They were amazing! My main dish was fish and chips (french fries) and the dessert was Amazing as well! I ordered the Profiteroles! SO yummy! They were little cream puffs filled with icecream and covered with the best chcolate sauce I've ever had! And inbetween each cream puff was a dollop of this whipped cream topping with the chocolate as well! I would definitely have that again! :)
On our walk to the Grand Place
The Grand Place
The Grand Place
The Grand Place- Our Restaurant was right along this row
Emarie at the Restaurant
Me at the Restaurant
Inside of the Restaurant
Brady at the Restaurant
The top part of the front of the Restaurant
After we got done eating we took the taxi back to the train station to go back home. I would love to come back to Brugge when it is nicer out and I can walk around somemore and see more of the city, and check out some of the shops. Brugge means bridges which is what the city is known for so I would like to take their canal tour and see some of their bridges. Next time I'm there I'll get to see more.
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