Rachael's First Day of School

I can't believe the day is finally here!!! Rachael, our little miracle angel, is going to school!! We've been talking about it for months since we arrived here. At AF North International School, children who will be 4 years old before October 31 get to attend IY1 (International Year 1), or Pre-Kindergarten! Rachael just makes the cut having an October 8 birthday. She's so smart and outgoing and social and willing to learn. We know she'll just love the new setting, no matter how hard it is for me to give her up during the day (sniff, sniff).

Poor thing. Her backpack is almost bigger than she is! We don't have her real lunch box yet, so she has to carry a much bigger insulated bag for right now. Hopefully Amazon will have that to us soon! =)

Adam was able to go with me to drop her off for her first day. Walking into the school, we ran into 4 different NPC families all dropping their kids off as well (it's a big school, so this was unexpected =). Rachael was stopped on the sidewalk by a teacher. See the red apple on her dress? They give those to the little kids to help direct them to where they need to go. We were sent to Rachael's new classroom and introduced to Mrs. Sarah Geilen-Rosenberg. She's great!! Rachael found her cubby, put her things in it, and was just as excited as she could be. Then, we had a small, awkward moment. Apparently, Adam and I had not communicated clearly enough to Rachael that going to school meant that she would be there, and we would not. I was already struggling to hold it together as we were sending off our first-born child into the big world (dramatic much?). I gave her a hug, and moved to leave (as fast as I could so I wouldn't start bawling). She gave us three adults a quizzical look, almost scared, and we had to explain to her quickly what was going on. She sobered up for a minute, and wanted to give me another big hug (Don't lose it!!!!). Adam got his squeezes in, too, and we left while Mrs. Geilen-Rosenberg took her hand and walked away from us. I didn't cry walking to the car, but it was hard leaving her behind. I know this is going to be such a good experience for her, and I just need to focus on that =)

Whether she struggled with us leaving or not, we don't know. But, she came home on the school bus smiling, though very tired. After a quick snack from leftovers in her lunch box, she perked up and answered questions about her day. She loved it! Just like we knew she would!

In the 'bus.' It's a big taxi van, actually. All busing to the school is done through charters. Some kids arrive on luxury motor coaches, some in taxis =) Rachael is going to hate me for this picture when she gets older, though =)

What a sweet little girl our Rachael is. We love her so much. She has been through way too much in her very short years, yet she continues to smile and light up our lives. No one ever told me how hard it was going to be watching my kids grow up, the overwhelming pride I would have, the bittersweet passing of one phase to welcome the next. Rachael, we love watching you grow and learn. You are beautiful. We have fought so hard for you, and you have fought even harder for us. We love you and feel so blessed to be your mom and dad. Have fun at school!

Rommelmarkt

What a beautiful day! The sun was shining, the skies were blue, and the temperature was just right! Adam and I got the kids together and we went for a little drive, running errands, looking to buy a bike, and just enjoying our time in beautiful Belgium!

The major purpose of our drive today was to find me a good second-hand bicycle. The one I have I was given as a kid. It is old and is a mountain bike, not a street bike. When in Belgium, do as the Belgians do, and they ride bikes everywhere. And, everyone rides them, too. Not just kids and young adults. Even the old folks still get out and pedal around. =)

I've told you about the Kringwinkels before, the second-hand stores around here that work with the trash system and Belgium's version of the Salvation Army or Goodwill (see my post: Garbage). Adam researched addresses for four Kringwinkels in Maasmechelen, Genk, Hasselt, and Bilzen. Though the only bikes we found were absolutely fugly and not at all worth getting, we had a really great time driving around our local area. We have created certain paths that we take to travel to the few places we go. It was nice to break free of these ruts and dive into the many little villages hidden out of view of our normal day-to-day passings.

Along the way, we actually found a Saturday Rommelmarkt! Almost all of the antique and garage sales around here on set for Sundays, which is the day we spend going to church. By the time we are done with church, so the rommelmarkten are done as well. (Since most of the population here is Catholic, when do these people go to church themselves?! =) Anyways, we stopped in to see if someone might just have the bike for me. Alas, no one did, but I found something even better!!

These antique markets are not much different from the ones they have in the States. People come selling their junk, expecting too much money for it because it's 'old.' There are the collectibles for sale: vinyls, toys, etc. People sell their homemade crafts and baby stuff. It's all the usual. I was walking past a big blanket laid in the grass. It was covered with old, worn out silver and bronze vases, cookware, and similar items. I was so bored with it all that I almost missed seeing my new prize!

Amid the silver and bronze were these two beautiful, colorful vases. I wanted them! BUT.... only for the right price. My Nederlands language skills being what they were, I still tried to talk to the owner about the pieces. I picked up the small vase and said "Hoeveel? (How much?)" His reply sounded like "Fijftig (50Euro)." I raised my eyebrows and repeated the word. I wasn't going to spend 50Euro on this little vase. "Nee, nee, nee, nee! (That actually sounds like "Nay, nay, nay, nay!) Fijf-tien! (15Euro)." "Ahh, much better!" We both started laughing. With some halting language, I learned also that he was asking 25Euro for the bigger vase. About halfway through the transaction, when I struggling to ask about buying them together ("Kopen samen?"), the man finally asked me if I spoke English, and we finished the transaction in English. I ended up paying 35Euro for the pair, getting 5Euro knocked off for buying them together. I didn't think it was too bad a deal; the prices were decent to begin with. Now, I have a beautiful set of vases I display proudly on top of my curio cabinet in my living room. They are cute, and I think they make the place just a little bit more homey, and a little bit more Belgian =)

After driving around, seeing the towns, buying my vases, and finding no bikes, Adam brought us to Lanaken, a town we drive through almost every day. We found, just off the main road, a beautiful, wonderful, vibrant shopping center, full of people and shops and goods and foods. They were obviously setting up for a party. The bandstand was out, roads were blocked off. (They're always having parties in Belgium!!) We found a cute little chocolate shop -- Leonidas Pralines -- and stopped in. They obviously ran a good business because they had tons of pralines (molded chocolates) ready to be sold, different kinds of candies all over the shop, cutesy stuff all over. It's definitely a place most women would like to visit =) We bought a 250gram box of mixed chocolates and some waffles. Zach had his first waffle, and he loved it! =) We headed back to the car and continued with the rest of our day.

Some of the Americans at the NPC had suggested that they all get together and go out for a movie. We met up several of them and their families at a huge theatre. The best part of this theatre was the concession store (Yes, I said 'store.'=). The usual Belgian favorites were for sale: Hoops, bottled beverages, chocolate bars, sweet popcorn (yuck!!). They also had a bank of candy bins like you'd find at the store filled with all kinds of gummy candies. Fill the bag, weigh it, and go! That was fun (though their gummy candy here, for the most part, is really just tasteless and hard to chew!). The best part (to the Americans, anyways) was the offering of fountain drinks and salted popcorn!!! We all grabbed what we wanted, filed into the showing room, and enjoyed Captain America.

These are the kinds of days I like best. Spending Saturdays and Sundays with my wonderful husband and kids, going out into our world, experiencing things together, and making memories. These kind of days make all the other days, the struggles and frustrations, melt away and help us truly enjoy the goodness we have been given. I can't wait for the next one.... Ta ta!