Brian the Great!

I recently discovered I am related to one of the greatest visionaries of our time, Brian the Great... he's an amazing visionary of the future.... I got the chance to meet this amazing guys today... I'l post pics soon but really... google this guy!!!

Spring is Here!

Hey There!

Hope everyone is having a very good week so far.. These past two weeks I have been working different days than normally so that kind of threw my whole schedule out of whack but it really is so nice to work a job that is flexible. So for a quick recap of life lately...

Last week my parents celebrate 25 years of marriage.. (really they are adorable together and the best example and support for me and des) and they were here in NL! So of course we had to go and see them.. I mean... they were on the other side of the country but that's like... not even 3 hours..

Marsha was so nice to arrange everything so my brother and I could come and surprise them.. and such a sweet memory.. because there are some big changes for my family coming up....

My brother is going to be moving back to the states. 

yep.. next month. And while I have SO loved having him close and I hate the thought of him not being a short car ride away, I'm so excited for him in this next chapter of his life..

(and I'm going to have a place to crash when I come visit! :))

I'm just going to miss him a whole bunch.

the hard part is that we aren't really sure when the four of us will be together again... with all of us living in different countries. 

and that's why the days we got to hang out last week are extra special... 

duck face!

I also got a visit from my bestie Miss P and her baby Jesselyn.. 

I'm so thankful that she comes out here when she can... I know I really need those days of girl time :) talking, shopping, talking, anything chocolate, talking... 

via
this reminded me of us...

 AND Desmond and I have been in spring cleaning mode! On one of my free days I threw away 2 boxes full of stuff! I don't know how I get it all or why I keep some of it.. but I was amazed considering we moved in less than a year ago! But it feels so good to get a fresh start on things! 

We also had a team of people from Schiedam to help us last Saturday.. and I made lunch for them... 14 people.. had lunch.. in our living room! thankfully it all went off without a hitch and the food tasted good.. I'm so thankful that people will give up a free day of their weekend to come out and help us! 

And we had an amazing evening with them.. They put on a drama and we had about 10 teenage guys come out for that! They stayed talking for a long time afterwards too and so we are really excited to see what God is going to do in their lives!

And one last thing, a little update on the visa process... Desmond was able to get the new contract at work that we needed so we can apply again as of April 1st, this time hopefully with NO problems!! :) please keep praying!

I hope you are having a wonderful week! 

xoxo Carly

Weekend update

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Here it seems like spring has arrived and we spent a lot of time outside enjoying the sunshine. Here's a little recap of the weekend with some things I loved!

... spring! waking up slowly to the sun coming up and birds singing!...

... my hubby making me french toast for breakfast...

... our assistant pastor and his wife coming for dinner Friday.. I was kind of nervous before hand but we had a great time and the evening flew by... 

... that one of the teens we talked to downtown Saturday remembered us (and our names*) from about a month ago.. and have actually been thinking about what we talked about and said him and his friends might come to the Bible study this week...

... eating french bread with yummy stuff for lunch...

... "springifying" the livingroom...

a gift from my pastor's wife!

It was so nice to get to relax a bit too before a busy week.. But I'm really looking forward to it since tomorrow I get to see my parents and brother again in Zwolle! 

What did you love this weekend?

xoxo Carly

*i'm so bad with names so that totally impressed me :)

Sometimes and Always #1

While I'm not the best at posting on my own blog I absolutely love reading other people's! and Megan's is one of my favorites! Every week she hosts a link party and today I'm joining in for the first time.. here goes nothing! 

Sometimes: I get frustrated when my nephew cries and cries while I'm babysitting him...

Always: I love how cute he is, the time I'm getting to spend with him, and when he calms down and snuggles up to me I don't actually mind that much...

Des and the little mel on Christmas.. I mean...
 how could I not like the little guy :)

Sometimes: I miss my friends in Zwolle so much it hurts

Always: I'm so thankful they are just a phone call (or a couple hours) away (AND I'm thankful for the new opportunities God has given us in Rijwijk!)

Sometimes: I love to dream and come up with amazing ideas for the future

Always: I'm so blessed with my husband who makes plans so that someday they can be a reality!

Sometimes: I wish my mom lived closer so we could just go out for coffee

Always: I love SKYPE! virtual coffee dates are fun too!

Sometimes: I oversleep (like this morning....)

Always: I still go to bed late... 

Sometimes: I try to do a lot on my own strength

Always: I'm so thankful God uses me even though I'm like that... and is so patient with me!

So there we have it.. What do you think?

and do you have a sometimes/always?

Have a wonderful day! xoxo Carly

Happy March everyone! I know I have been kind of m.i.a. the past two weeks so here I am with a quick recap :)

Two weeks ago Des and I were away for a week at the Bible Conference our church hosts in Zwolle.. it was an AMAZING time.. here are some pics from the week.. [but unfortunately my camera is being a little funky so a lot of the pics didn't come out so great.. need to deal with that..

but here are some that did!] 

out with the girls!
miss P, me, Rachelle, Mo, Hermien, Jen and Anne
this is right after Mo announced that she had just gotten engaged.. earlier that day!

my family! it was so good to be all in one place...
more on that in a future post..

isn't Zwolle gorgeous!

my insanely lovely and crazy parents!

here they are being sweet

them and Bri

brian, mom and me

so there you have it! the week was amazing as I said.. so good to see everyone and the preaching was just SO good.. God really did so much in my life! and then the week ended on a really special high note with the announcements of new churches that are going to be started.. including friends of ours from Zwolle, who will be moving to a city not far from here! 

Then this week I have been recovering (fighting off a little bug), getting back into "reality" mode and dealing with a mountain of laundry.. glamorous right? just keeping it real :D

Lets just say I'm ready for the weekend! :) I hope you all have a great one! 

xoxo Carlyrae