Thanks "Mr. T"

I just received a call from a friend in South Bend. She had some sad news to pass along to me. My principal in South Bend, passed away at school this morning, much too young. (www.wsbt.com, www.southbendtribune.com, www.sbcsc.k12.in.us)

Many of you have heard me talk about Mr. T, and what a wonderful person he was. During my time in South Bend, he became somewhat of a "father figure" to me. He told me during my going away party, that he would never forget my face on the first day of school- "Deer in Headlights!" He was always around for me to vent, bounce ideas off of, or just chat about ND Football. No matter how busy he was, he always had an open door.

I remember the first time I was getting observed by him, I spent so much time preparing the room, so I was all organized. That morning, his daughter went into labor, and he sat in the back of my room, and barely wrote a thing down. He was SO nervous. Then, the relief on his face, when I went into the office and he announced a "healthy baby girl" as his first grandchild.

I'll never forget watching the TV in the office on 9/11 and the terror in every ones eyes and him delivering the news to us.

Then there was the famous Staff vs. Student basketball games- and he was the referee. He sure was in his element then!

Mr. T was a busy man. He was a hardworking principal. He had a family. He worked at Notre Dame as a score keeper for the basketball and football games. Yet, he was there with me, when one of my student's mother was killed. I was headed to the funeral, in the ghetto, by myself, and he wouldn't let me. He drove me in his car, and made sure I got home safely by dropping me off at home.

I could go on and on about memories of "T" and what a difference he made in my life. I'll think of him every year on January 26th, because that's his birthday. The day I always called to talk to him, since I moved away. I'll remember him every time I step inside ND Stadium. I'll also take a lot of his kind words and advice and keep them close to my heart. I'll miss Mr. T. South Bend lost a great man today. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Play Park

Yesterday after school, Lynne and I took the kids to one of the many indoor play parks in Holland. It's a great place to let them run around, while we sit and drink our coffee/tea. Parents are also welcome to climb around, and jump on the trampolines. I usually hit up all of the areas of the park....except the BALL PIT! If you are a "Curtis" and you remember when Kennedy and Callan were at Hardee's about fifteen years ago, then YOU KNOW WHY!

The weather here has been SO mild. It's been consistently around 50 since I've been back. Today I started to notice that I can smell the grass starting to grow. The flowers are starting to come up, and the apple blossoms already have buds on them. Can't believe it's only January. Spring is just around the corner! (Easy for me to say, when I'm not freezing my BUTT off in the Midwest!)

I'm looking SO forward to Friday, because it's Curtis' 4th birthday! We are having a party for him after school on Friday with some of his friends from school. I've been in TOTAL teacher mode, and have the whole thing planned out! We have a dinosaur theme and I'm not sure who is more excited, me or Curtis! I'll post lots of pictures from our special day!

Bits and Bops!

Johnny bowling for the first time! He LOVED it!
Curtis and Emma off to a "Fancy Dress" party this weekend at a friends house. I e-mailed the mom and said, "Go ahead and call me a stupid American, but does "Fancy Dress" mean he has to wear a dress, or a shirt and tie?" She laughed and said, the only other Americans going to the party called and asked the SAME question. It means "Costume Party!" (Thanks to Mimah and Tim, Curtis had the coolest Spider man costume there- because it lit up and had muscles!)
Curtis and his little "girlfriend" Kotomi!
When Colleen and Anna were here, my friend Lynne offered to watch Johnny, while Curtis was at school one morning. As Lynne was watching him, he disappeared upstairs to play in her daughters room. We usually let them play up there and check on them every few minutes or so. Lynne said it was unusually quiet and he was the only one upstairs. So, she went up to check on him, and this is what she found! Johnny had gotten into Lynne's daughter's make-up case! Little Stinker!

Miss Us Yet?

Quick question for Anna and Colleen-Do you miss this yet or are your naps a bit more peaceful back at school?

Back to Life...

Colleen (my "little" sister) and me, outside the Queen's House.
I ordered two German sausages, sauerkraut, and mustard. This is what I got. We were DYING of laughter. I was in HEAVEN! It's no Kwik Trip though!
Anna holding our assorted "Kaas (cheese) Platter. Yum!
Megan, do you recognize this "beautiful" shawl? This is my friend Lynne's little boy, Callum! The kids are LOVING Megan's "re-gifted" Christmas gift that she sent for Emma.

This morning, the two college travellers were off, and back at the airport for a long day of flights. We had a GREAT time with them. I'm sure they'll be sleeping for a few days, before they head back off to college. I know I will have to catch up! That's a sign of a great time!

On their last day, we found ourselves going to the Queen's House to take some pictures. Then we bummed around in Centrum to try to find X-Long pants for my sister Colleen. When you have long legs like her, you know that it was a successful trip to Europe, when you fly back with 6 new pairs of pants! (Most are for her business internships, ect.) Anna, found some "overly-friendly" swans coming to visit her, and she was a bit scared. She kept telling us, "They BITE." Later we found out that she got them mixed up with geese! Finally, our day ended with a trip to the bowling alley- Dutch Style! While the girls packed, last night, Erik and I took advantage of it and went out for a quick date.

I'm sure the girls will have plenty of stories, and hundreds of pictures to share with everyone back in the States! After 9 weeks of being with family, it's "Back to Life, Back to Reality" for me!

Adventures

This weekend brought a lot of adventures. Erik and the girls hit up Belgium on Saturday. I took the girls with my friend to Amsterdam on Sunday. Today, after we picked up Curtis from school, we headed out to Kinderdik, home of the 19 working windmills!

Bailey's Mistake!

When my cousin Bailey was visiting, she broke this faucet in the Delft bathroom. Two 1/2 months later, and the faucet is still broken. We were dying when we went into the bathroom! We took a "moment of silence" in honor of Bailey and how we wish she was with us! I can hear her laughing now!