More photos with George & Ria...

with Mrs. Ramirez

happy couple with Enna-Marie

picture with Oom George, we're both half Dutch!

the Dutchamacallit group photo...

Family Schoot with the Costants, when can I have a playmate oom and tante??

Persian dishes that Maarten prepared for all of us (10 points for you sweets!)...and yes they're yummy!

Upcoming Visits...

This month our dear Mama Ineke is coming for a visit. She came last year when Enna-Marie was just one month old. She has been following Enna-Marie's development through our blog, opens it regularly and always excited to see some pictures and updates about her grand-daughter. Now that Enna-Marie has grown so much in the last year, she is definitely excited to see her again. Here are two old photos of her and baby Enna...

















And guess who else are visiting the Holy Land soon?? see some more old photos...

the three little ones

uncle Santana with Enna-Marie and Rocco

two daddies (Santana & Shingo) with their babies (Rocco & Shiori) ready to go for a walk...








Yes our friends Evelin, Santana and Rocco Villa are coming in May for a three day visit, and we look forward to having them stay with us. The last time we saw Evelin and Rocco was during the July-August war of last year, and Santana came back after some months then. We are excited to see you guys!

Here's a recent picture of Rocco with mommy Evelin:

George and Ria are here...

We had dinner this evening with our friends George and Ria Costant who are here for pilgrimage. It was so nice to see George again who left the World Centre a year ago. Although the dinner was late, we all had a great time, catching up with this couple, talking about their community and the cluster they are presently in and also about married life (they got married last year April). Martijn and Eric, who are also close friends of George, came as well. Enna-Marie was quiet and shy at first when they arrived, but afterwards she went active and moving all around the house. She usually points to Oom George in the picture we have in our kitchen cork board when asked. We have a picture of the three of us there with George, taken at his farewell night. Enna-Marie was just 2 months old then. Ria is originally from the Philippines, her parents are both Filipinos (her mom is from Ilocos while her dad is from Manila), but was raised and grew up in the States. She speaks fluent English, speaks a little bit of Tagalog, but understands everything when someone speaks the language.

De Graafschap Kampioen!

This weekend De Graafschap won the Jupiler League Championship! Fourteen points clear of number two, RBC Roosendaal, and with only four games still to go, the Zebras are now well beyond the reach of their rivals! Massive celebrations ensued after claiming victory against FC Emmen only one minute from stoppage time. Oh, how I wish I could have been there myself to see it! Next year, De Graafschap will be back in Holland's Premier League, playing against Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV!

Here are some pictures and impressions of the celebrations afterwards.

Jhon van Beukering scores the winner in the 89th minute!
The celebrations begin!!
With the silver championship platter...
This is what we did it all for... :)
Superfarmers are back!!
Grande Celebrations at Simonsplein in Doetinchem, my hometown...
Less grande celebrations in Haifa...













If you can read Dutch, you can also check the following links:

De Graafschap op alle fronten de sterkste
Van Beukering schiet De Graafschap op valreep naar de titel
De Graafschap Kampioen!


You can also check the videos on the right for more impressions :)

Toddler Entertainment...

This video is a bit older, but is quite funny. It was taken with our cellphone, and we've only just figured out a way to upload those videos on our computer. Enna-Marie is sitting in her high chair, and has discovered a way to amuse her parents :) Of course, trying to grab and play with the phone is much more interesting than entertaining your parents...



This video is of Enna-Marie after taking her bath, and was taken about a month and a half ago. We're asking her first how to extend her lips as if she's smelling something bad. Its called "Nguso" in Tagalog. After that we're asking her to comb her hair, and then what sounds Elmo (the Sesame Street character) makes. Enna-Marie has a book with sounds wherein Elmo laughs and giggles. When we ask her what Elmo says, she also giggles... Last but not least, when we ask her what her friend Shiori says , she will say "Enna"... :)

In daddy's footsteps...

Enna-Marie is fond of shoes!! No surprise considering that her mother's name is Imelda... :) In any case, she loves wearing mommy and daddy's shoes and walking around the house with them... This video was taken last week. As soon as dad was home from the office, Enna-Marie put on his shoes, and took a few steps... "Wow, those shoes are heavy!!"

These are a Few of My Favourite Things...

Here are my favourite things to do these days...

putting on papa's shoes

sitting on the push cart tray in the dining room

walking in the garden almost everyday at lunch time(I love the stones, flowers and grasses)

playing with mama's keys

and reading books...(currently fav. ones are Runaway Bunny and Bingo, not in the photo though)...






Also here are some new English words I learned to say recently:

shoes (with emphasis on 'sh' sound)
keys
eyes
okay
turtle
girl ('l' is barely heard)

Birth of Ariyanna Afaridan...

Our friends Pash and Ulviyya just had a baby and her name is Ariyanna. She was born on 26 March 2007 at 9.30 am in Australia and weighs 4.350 and 57 cm. What a huge baby!

We remember Pash and Ulviyya being so fond of dear Enna-Marie when they were still serving with us at the World Centre. Ulviyya would take and bring her to their table at lunch time in the dining room and play with her. The dining room is a place where staff usually eat lunch. Now they have their own bundle of joy.

Congratulations to Pash and Ulviyya! Below are few photos of Ariyanna.

More on Sleep Training...

Today is Enna-Marie's one-month anniversary of sleeping in her own bed. We are still amazed at how easy the transition was for her. With the exception of only a few nights, she has fallen asleep less than five minutes after we put her down. The last two nights she hasn't even cried at all...!

We've developed a routine that she seems to like and is now used to. After bathing her, Menchie will breastfeed her, then we brush her teeth, say prayers, and put her sleeping bag on. The last part of the routine is saying good night to all the animals in her room (yes, it's a real zoo in there :)). At this point Menchie leaves the room and Maarten does all the goodnight's with her. First they say goodbye to the safari animals (giraffe, zebra, elephant and hippo) on her wall-border. Then to the turtle, bunny rabbit, baby tiger, and a couple of other stuffed toys. Last are two paintings on the wall. One we call 'baby-mik-mik' (a mother nursing a baby) and the other is of a girl with a bird. By the time the ceremony is over, usually no more than a minute and a half, she is indeed ready to go to bed and falls asleep right away!

Here's our little angel fast asleep at dawn time taken few days ago...

Naw-Ruz Celebrations...

The Schoot family celebrated Naw-Ruz on a few different occasions this week.

First of course was the "official" Naw-Ruz Holy Day celebration where all staff, pilgrims and other visitors at the World Centre attended a programme with some readings, prayers, and devotions. Thanks to auntie Vanysha for this beautiful outfit she gave Enna-Marie when she was just a newborn baby, now it fits auntie...!



















In the evening, we dined out with our good friend Martijn (his wife May is presently in South Africa doing a film project, we missed you May!) in a restaurant called Fattoush. Menchie had her favorite halumi salad while Martijn and Maarten had meat dishes. The dessert was of course the Knafi, a typical Israeli delight that is soo good. Here are few pictures of Enna-Marie drinking from a glass with the assistance of oom Martijn...















On Friday, we were invited for lunch at Tazien and Arjang's place together with some other friends. The food was scrumptious with a combination of both Persian and Hindi dishes...

Enna-Marie with cutie Lillian

reading time with auntie Ghazala

Menchie and Tazien

Arjang with baby Lillian, look at those beautiful and expressive eyes!















Last celebration was a dance party with the Filipino friends at the place of the Burias family...

Manang Reming and Arnold enjoying the dance

Tahirih Ondam who's ending her services soon is having a dance with Noly

a group dance with Enna-Marie

Happy Naw-Ruz!

"Praised be Thou, O my God, that Thou hast ordained Naw-Ruz as a festival unto those who have observed the fast for love of Thee and abstained from all that is abhorrent unto Thee."
- Bahá'u'lláh

"Happy the one who entereth upon the first day of the month of Bahá, the day which God hath consecrated to this Great Name. And blessed be he who evidenceth on this day the bounties that God hath bestowed upon him... Say: this day, verily, is the crown of all the months and the source thereof, the day on which the breath of life is wafted over all created things."
- Bahá'u'lláh

One last fast dinner we had...

Our last fast dinner was hosted by auntie Rhea and uncle Franco. They made a delicious Persian dish khoresh bademjan, while we brought baked spaghetti. Uncle John brought dessert, oh this cake was also delicious. Nanay Nene was there too. Pictures below of Enna-Marie were taken by auntie Rhea...