Mother Goose Class with Oma...

We brought Oma to our Mother Goose class yesterday, we all had fun!

she joined us in the singing as well...

it was just a small group...

we welcomed Rumi and mommy Minoo in their first mother goose class
Shiori happily dropped Humpty dumpty on the floor...

Happy Ridvan!

"Arise, and proclaim unto the entire creation the tidings that He Who is the All-Merciful hath directed His steps towards the Ridvan and entered it. Guide, then, the people unto the garden of delight which God hath made the Throne of His Paradise. We have chosen thee to be our most mighty Trumpet, whose blast is to signalize the resurrection of all mankind." ~ Bahá’u’lláh

Having some drinks at the Ridvan Celebration in Bahji

Oma is also tall eh!

Saying hello to my friend Melody

Nice family photo

Enjoying the walk with Papa and Oma

Excited...!

and happy...! Thanks to Auntie Leila for sharing these two photos with us.

close-up shot

Oma is here...

Here are some photos with Oma Ineke:


Watering the plants together...

Just relaxing...

...and enjoying the warm weather

Another Holy Places Visit

Here are some photos of our staff visit to the former Western Pilgrim House at no. 4 Haparsim and the House of the Master.

In the garden at the Western Pilgrim House

The former Western Pilgrim House behind us...

This is Haparsim (Persian) Street. 'Abdu'l-Bahá walked and rode a donkey here in the early times.

The entrance to the Master's House. Enna-Marie is enjoying the warmth of the April sun...

What a bounty to be visiting this Holy Place with our dear daughter.

Family photo before we leave.

Mom's Gathering at Home...

Today some of the mothers with young children came to our house to watch the BBC series "Child of Our Time". This project started in 2000 and is recording the story of the lives of 25 babies born around the millenium, and who represent the widest possible range of genetic, social, geographical and ethnic backgrounds. It will take 20 years for this project to complete and during this time, experts will conduct numerous series of experiments.

We started watching the first episode which is about the introduction of the families and birth of the babies.

Enna-Marie with friends Lillian, Sheehan and Rumi

babies being entertained by their moms just for this photo to be taken

group photo with our happy faces (L-R: Menchie, Cllyv, Sheehan, Enna-Marie, Minoo and Rumi, Tiffani and Brennan, Selvi and Lillian, Carole and Naim)

Easter in the Philippines...

Last weekend was Easter in the Philippines... Easter is part of Holy Week. It is like a Christmas atmosphere. It's a time for family reunion. Some people take days off just to visit their families and relatives. Holy Thursday and Good Friday are holidays in this country where 80 percent of the population is Catholic. Easter traditions in the Philippines are focused on faith. Following the Stations of the Cross is among the rituals observed. The stations of the cross are 14 prayers said before a series of 14 images representing Jesus' path to his crucifixion and death. On Thursday people go and visit the church, they begin to meditate on this day. On Friday, the Passion play is re-enacted. In rural areas, some people use crowns of thorns and are beaten or "crucified" to show their devotion to Christ. It's crazy but it's true. This is not common though in the cities.

In my family, we are all Baha'is, and as such we don't participate in the Holy Week observance. But some non-Baha'i relatives do and also my friends and their families. One custom Filipinos do is the Easter egg hunt, the Americans influenced us with this. Some stores offer or sell sweets and goodies that come with an Easter Egg Hunt and Easter baskets. And the kids love these...See photos below of the Easter goodies.

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!!"