Love story - Chapter I: The beginning

In celebration of Valentines day tomorrow I thought it would be fun to share our love story.

It's pretty long so I'm splitting it up in three chapters. Chapter I today, II tomorrow and III on Friday

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Chapter I : The beginning

It was the summer of 1999, I had just turned fourteen and my family had moved from a small town to the big city.

Knowing nobody in the city, my sister and I happily accepted an invitation from the church youth group to hang out in a nearby park and get to know some kids our age.

me at fourteen

And that's when I saw him, a boy with beautiful blue eyes, dark hair, a really good tan and big but slender hands( yep, that's what I wrote in my diary that evening...). 

The boy I would eventually end up marrying.

He had a somewhat awkward and nerdy vibe but that didn't stop my fourteen year old, boy crazy, self to fall head-over-heels for him right then and there. 

By the end of the summer we had gone on a few dates and were calling each other 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend'. 

happy and awkward

cute little kids


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And then school started again. 

We biked there together whenever we could. We held hands and stole kisses on benches in the park on our way to school, so adorably innocent. 

At school things were different, I had just made new friends and they did not approve of my geeky boyfriend. They would laugh at him and his 'fashion sense' (in their defense  he was still wearing clothes his mother picked out, so yeah, he wasn't voted best dressed ), and pressured me not to hang out with him.

And he was to shy to even speak to me at school. 

With all the peer pressure I finally caved and broke up with him, I told him that I found our relationship to much of a 'hello-goodbye' relationship, meaning that I thought we didn't spend enough time together. 

And just like that I broke his poor heart.

My mother-in-law still, to this day, talks about it and tells me how deeply hurt he was. And it makes me feel guilty all over again... typical...

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Years passed, in which I dated and kissed and obsessed over one boy after the other. But I always kept a soft spot for that dark haired, blue eyed boy.  

And he could not forget me either, he had some crushes and little flings in between, but he didn't date or kiss another girl in all of those years. 

Twice he even asked me to be his girlfriend again, after I had probably led him on, 

and twice I declined. 

I was evil.

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And then two years after that summer we had first met, I finally accepted that I was still in love with him. 

But was he still waiting?

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Stay tuned!Tomorrow Chapter II.

Love, Maria

28 weeks

Micha, 

At 28 weeks you:

- can finally roll from your back to your belly

- have two teeth (front bottom)

- had a little breast feeding strike for a day

- also had a pooping strike for 3 days, and slept horribly because of it (and thus so did we)

- learned a new game called 'throw everything off my play mat', 

at first I thought you did by accident 

but papa realized that you we're really methodically throwing everything off

- are still such a happy little guy

- have a papa and mama who are so obsessed by you :)

Love you so much!

Mama

Lately loving...

Lately I'm loving...

- This book:

Again, just like my last book love an amazing and extraordinary story!

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- This music

This was actually a tip from Mackenzie, and we love it!! It's folk-ish and really sweet and fun, it makes listening to songs for kids more than okay!

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-This shirt for Micha from Zara (on my wish list :) )

Actually any of their little boy's clothing will do, or womens clothing for that matter. 

Rumor has it that Zara is coming to my town, I'm so excited!

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- These blogs:

Dear Friend

Rage against the Minivan

Young House Love

Dear Baby

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- This show:

We just started watching season 1 and it's so good! I love Claire Danes in it, she's such a good actor!

It is a must-see!

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- And of course this baby:

Who now has two little teeth. And no, it's not been fun! But his cute looks totally make up for the drama :)

Have a great weekend!

Love,  Maria

Papa and Mama

Today I want to highlight my parents.

 I've mentioned it before on the blog, they live in Benin, Africa, and are there to help out the local churches with advice, training and education.

the wild things in Benin

They've been there for over a year now, luckily with a few visits to Holland in between, and they've done some really good work, but it hasn't been all fun and adventure. 

They've been through some difficult and scary moments. 

Moments that when I heard about them all I wanted was for them to come home. 

And of course they miss their children and grandchildren so much. 

Especially when hard things happen Africa is so far away! 

And sometimes it makes them feel like they shouldn't be there, but here with us, their children.

But I believe that they're there for a purpose. That God has placed them in Benin because he has great plans for them! 

And that doesn't mean that they should stay there no matter what, even if their hearts tell them to go back. No, it means that their time in Benin how ever long or short it will be will have meaning and will matter.

And that belief only gets stronger when I read my parents blogs about their life in Benin. 

My moms blog is in Dutch (which most of you probably don't understand),

but my dad blogs in English and I promise you it is well worth the read.

I'm just so proud of what they're doing and I love them so very much! 

And I know that God is there, right beside them, 

to help them and to give them what they need to do this special work. 

Will you pray along with me for my parents?

Love, Maria

me and my dad doing what we love, cooking and baking

my mom meeting Micha for the first time

Micha's first visit to my parents house here in Holland

What I Wore Wednesday

I really enjoyed participating in the Mama Fashion link-up last week. 

It was so much fun to connect with all those other mama's out there, 

I even made some blog friends ( hi! ). 

But the part I loved best was the inspiration these other mama's gave me. 

Since becoming a mama I've been struggling a bit with what to wear 

because of some changes to my body due to growing a human in my belly for nine months and a breastfeeding baby.

I'm a bit self-conscious of my 'jelly belly' as I like to call it. 

There's a bit too much left-over skin for my liking. 

So tight fitting shirts are out of the picture. 

And because a certain little monster is eating me alive (a.k.a. nursing) 

I've lost so much weight that I don't fit into my pre-pregnancy pants anymore, 

so I've needed to purchase new ones on a hardly existing budget.

I used to love wearing dresses, and I have quite a few, 

but they don't really go well with nursing. 

Pulling up your dress in public is only acceptable in kindergarten, yes?

As you see I've been kind of stumped in the fashion dept. lately 

and it was so helpful to see how other mama's dress and what their must-have pieces are. 

So I thought it would be fun to participate with an other fashion link up, 

What I Wore Wednesday, to be inspired and maybe even inspire others too! 

I know I'm supposed to have photo's of all the outfits I wore in the last week, 

but I didn't have time to do so. So one outfit it is!

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(Sorry for the awkward photos and the gross mirror...I need to clean it, I know!)

Lately my favorite pieces are flowy shirts. They hide the lovely muffin top perfectly! 

I have a few different ones, but this one is my favorite. 

 It has polka dots, hello!! 

And it's a fun twist on a button down shirt, with buttons on the back instead of on the front.

I think the little guy approves :)

So, how are you dealing with getting dressed since becoming a mama?

Any advice?

Love, Maria

Linking up with the Pleated Poppy today

27 weeks

Micha,

This morning we went for a walk into town, 

I carried you in the Beco because you love being high up and part of everything.

my lovely little town

All of a sudden we found ourselves in the middle of a hail storm.

Little pellets of ice fell on our heads. 

We quickly found shelter in a sweet little coffee place.

I ordered a cappuccino and you, my dear, found yourself in the middle of a group of cooing fans.

You're little face lit up and you started to work the crowd like only you can.

Smiling and giggling and batting your long eyelashes, quite the charmer!


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I love that so much about you, Micha. Everywhere we go you manage to get a smile out of everyone that lays eyes on you. 

You love interacting with others and are so generous with your smiles. 

People are always commenting on how happy you are and how beautiful and bright your eyes are, and it makes me so thankful to be your mama!

You are my little sunshine baby! 

Happy 27 weeks!

but sometimes you can look very serious as well!

Love, Mama

His name

- this week it's all about Micha, who's 6 months old, hurray! -

I've always seen myself as a girls mama. 

Whenever I imagined life with a baby it would be with a little girl. 

She'd have my blue eyes and fair skin and her papa's dark brown, almost black, hair. 

I would dress her up in the cutest little dresses. 

Her name would be beautiful and feminine and sophisticated. 

I couldn't wait for her to happen.

We waited and prayed and went to hospitals and clinics for almost four years, and then, on a November day in 2011, it finally happened. We were expecting a baby.

But from the very first moment I had a feeling, you can call it a mothers instinct or just a guess, but I knew with my whole being that I wasn't carrying a baby girl.

This baby would not be a daughter but our son, and I was so excited.

All the dreams of pink and ruffles were swept aside and in their place came thoughts and visions of our son.

And his name would be Micha.

We agreed on that almost instantly. 

It was like we didn't even have a choice, 

that was his name, and that's what we would call him.

His name means 'Who is like God?' And it is so right and fitting for our situation. 

The doctors and specialists could only do so much to help us conceive a child, and we are so grateful for their knowledge and help, but they couldn't give us life. 

Only God could give us what we longed for, and he did. There is none like Him!

We experienced first hand how great and powerful our God is.

My prayer for Micha is that he may experience it in his life as well. I pray that his name will not only be just that, a name, but will be a constant reminder to him and to us that he has a great God who loves him so much!

And that little girl? She's so very welcome, if and whenever she decides to come. And her name will have a great meaning as well. I'm sure of that!

Love, Maria

p.s. If you have kids, what are their names? Do they have a special meaning?

Linking up with Casey