Naomi's first ballet lesson

Lets dance

Daily ritual after dinner, the girls love to dance. Really daddy's excuse to feel young!

Naomi's first day at school!

ready to go and very proud of her princess rugsack


last cuddle and kiss

dad in hospital

from happy times to sad one, life can suddenly take you by surprise.
Last friday Leonore's dad suffered a heart attack whilst cycling, he had to be resuscitated and shccked twice. He has been in coma on ICU over the weekend where he was still in critical condition. The cardiologist informed us that his heart will get through but it's waiting to see how his brain responds. Sunday he was taken out of his coma and whilst still being intubated he now has his eyes open and is recognising us! He is not responding to instructions yet and we are living day by day, having to be patient as this process in slow. We are grateful Pa is alive and are longing to have him back. It has been an incredible sad and shocking experience especially as Pa has always been a very healhty and active person. We are very strong and full of hope, trusting God and praying for a full recovery. As a family of eight children although it's a sad time it is also bringing us even closer together and it has been very special spending the weekend at the hospital and my sisters house nearby, laughing and crying together in the uncertain waiting hours.
We are very grateful for your thoughts and prayers which are a big help in this difficult time. I will keep you updated.

Esther walking and Naomi cycling!

May wedding in UK

Early May we had a trip to the Uk for the wedding of Chris' cousin. Naomi had the privilege of being flower girl and we had a lovely day! She was so gorgious and got quite used to all the attention after posing for so many photo's. It was a great to have a family reunion and catch up with everyone for a whole weekend. Of course we had to have a trip to the supermarket and we realised how we miss the massive stores with so much choice, large pack sizes and just everything you need! Crunchy nut cornflakes and baked beans were one of the things we stock up on!

Italy trip

Chris and I had the opportunity to spend 4 days in Tuscany together whilst my family looked after the girls. One of the advantages of having a big family and having them nearby! We had a fab time visiting Florence and Lucca, enjoying every minute and not missing the sounds of small people....well maybe a little!

Esther's first babywalker steps

Ski holiday Switzerland

three girls in the snow!



spending time together skiing


warm inside enjoying the views


breathtaking views from Hotel

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unwrapping presents

Esther's first birthday!

Christmas and New year

little girls getting bigger!

Esther is nearly one years old! She is crawling, standing, walking holding on to our fingers and generally doing everything an 11 month should be doing I think! Here a few pics to show you!

Happy Birthday!

I enjoyed a very special birthday as we had a night away in our wedding Hotel! It brought back very happy memories and it made us realise how blessed we have been since that day 8 years ago! I must say it's doing our relationship good to have these moments and great to have family close by to enable it!

K3 fan

Naomi has become a big fan of a girls band called K3. They are a all singing and dancing belgium/Dutch girl group. Chris got some free tickets to a live show so Naomi was in her element as you can imagine (Mama secretely loved it too!)

Autumm UK visit

We had a great time visiting family and friends in October. We enjoyed some lovely sunshine and loved catching up with church friends during a daytrip to Manchester. It was strange popping into our house whilst there but must admit we didn't miss it but we do miss our friends of course!

Brussels break

we had a lovely little break to Brussels last weekend. Chris had a factory visit nearby so we made the most of it with Naomi going to opa and oma (Leo's parents). The square was beautiful and we enjoyed some last bit of summer sunshine and great beer! Esther who is such an angel is quite happy to go without a nap all day but unlike her was subsequently very unsettled all evening! Definately getting the breast pump out next time!

Esther first crawling attempt!