Here are Lisa and Charles standing in front of their new home:
Here is the part I will NOT miss...all their stuff piled up in my dining and living rooms!
Monday, May 19, 2008
HAPPY AND SAD...
It is with very mixed emotions that I give you my latest news -- Charles, Lisa, Faith and Jack are moving into their new home the weekend of May 30th. For those who don't know, they sold their condo in South Orange county last spring, and have been living here with us since then. They purchased a new home in the Sacramento area; in the city of Lincoln, to be exact. It is a beautiful new home, 3200 square feet, 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. They have a nice big backyard, and are in a really nice neighborhood. It is hard for me to see them go, but I know this is a good move for them. I will probably become a share holder in Southwest airlines. I have a feeling we will be making frequent trips!
Here are Lisa and Charles standing in front of their new home:
Here is the part I will NOT miss...all their stuff piled up in my dining and living rooms!
Here are Lisa and Charles standing in front of their new home:
Here is the part I will NOT miss...all their stuff piled up in my dining and living rooms!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Miss you, Bill
I can hardly believe that is has been three years ago (yesterday) that my brother Bill went home to Heaven. I miss the relationship we once had, and wish (so much!) that things could have been different for him. His life was full of struggles, yet God's grace was there for him. Bill walked for years in the light and goodness of God's love. That knowledge was still deep within him, despite his shortcomings, and despite the problems he had at the end of his life. The Sunday after Bill died we sang this song in church, which really touched my heart regarding Bill's salvation: "Your grace is enough, I'm covered in your love, Your grace is enough for me!" Thank you Lord, for Your grace -- for forgiving us all when we don't deserve to be forgiven.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
My mother and I...so cute!
My cousin Bill has assigned each first cousin the task of preparing a presentation for our Sonnemaker cousins reunion in June. I have spent a few hours going through old family photos, and found this picture of my mother and I, which I don't remember seeing before. I really liked it, and decided I would post it here to share with you. I think it must have been about 1960, so I would have been three years old. 
AMSTERDAM (SORT OF) ONE LAST TIME!
BE SURE AND READ TO THE END FOR A NICE SURPRISE. The last chapter of our trip to Holland will be a visit to Haarlem, a small town about 15 minutes by train from Amsterdam. Here is a picture I took from inside the train station. I thought it was pretty!
My primary reason for wanting to visit there is because it was the home of Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch woman whose family hid Jews in their house during World War 2. Her father was a clock maker, and their house was above the clock shop on Barteljoristraat in Haarlem. Here is a picture of me standing in front of the ten Boom clock shop, and in Corrie's living room:
Corrie, her sister Betsy, and their father opened their door "to anyone who knocked". They were deeply devoted to God, and to sharing His gospel with anyone who listened. Part of that included caring for the Jews that were being tortured and murdered by the Nazis. They built a secret hiding place in Corrie's room, which was at the very top of the tall, narrow house. Most of the Jews that were in Corrie's house were only there a short time, waiting to find a more secure place to live outside the city. At any given time, there were between 5-7 Jews hiding in their home. One of the more difficult parts of the task was to provide food for all those people. Since ration cards were in use at that time, they had to obtain them from a sympathetic provider, and they kept them hidden in this small space under a stair step:
Here is a photo of Corrie's room, and the hiding place against the back wall. The hole in the wall was put there so visitors could see inside the hiding place more easily.
The false wall was constructed out of brick, in hopes that anyone searching for it would think they had uncovered the outside wall of the house. It worked, as you'll read below. The space behind the false wall was only about 18 inches deep, so it was a very cramped space, with only minimal water and supplies stored inside. Here are pictures we took of the hiding place, one of me standing inside, and one of Mike crawling through the original entrance to the hiding place.
The day they were raided, there were 6 Jews in the home. They all made it to the hiding place safely. The Gestapo found the ration cards under the stair, but not the Jews in hiding. Corrie and her family were arrested for having illegal ration cards, and sent to concentration camps. The Gestapo suspected there were people hiding inside, but could not find them. The house was locked and put under watch for 4 days. During that time, the people inside the hiding place had to remain completely silent, and as still as possible, to avoid detection. At the end of the 4 days, the guard watch was taken over by two "SS" men that happened to be working for the underground. They helped the Jews to escape safely, and they lived out the rest of their lives.
Corrie's father died ten days after arrest, her sister died later, and Corrie was released as a result of a "clerical error" just a week before all women her age were sent to be exterminated. Corrie spent the rest of her life sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, and talked endlessly of her time in Holland, and of her time in the concentration camp.
Here is the surprise! Corrie eventually moved to the US, and lived out the remainder of her days in Placentia, CA, the same small town that Mike and I both lived in from the time we were 12. As it turns out, the mother of a friend of ours, Sharon Lightfoot, lived directly behind Corrie and spent time taking care of her (Sharon was a nurse) during the last months of her life. What a small world!
The photo below is the Dutch Reformed Church in Haarlem where Corrie and her family worshipped. It was beautiful inside!
We really enjoyed Holland, and I hope that you have enjoyed this armchair visit along with us! Next trip we take will be to a cousins reunion in Minnesota. All my first cousins from my mother's family will be there -- it should be a fun event! Then, Alaska and the Arctic! It will be a fun summer.
My primary reason for wanting to visit there is because it was the home of Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch woman whose family hid Jews in their house during World War 2. Her father was a clock maker, and their house was above the clock shop on Barteljoristraat in Haarlem. Here is a picture of me standing in front of the ten Boom clock shop, and in Corrie's living room:Corrie, her sister Betsy, and their father opened their door "to anyone who knocked". They were deeply devoted to God, and to sharing His gospel with anyone who listened. Part of that included caring for the Jews that were being tortured and murdered by the Nazis. They built a secret hiding place in Corrie's room, which was at the very top of the tall, narrow house. Most of the Jews that were in Corrie's house were only there a short time, waiting to find a more secure place to live outside the city. At any given time, there were between 5-7 Jews hiding in their home. One of the more difficult parts of the task was to provide food for all those people. Since ration cards were in use at that time, they had to obtain them from a sympathetic provider, and they kept them hidden in this small space under a stair step:Here is a photo of Corrie's room, and the hiding place against the back wall. The hole in the wall was put there so visitors could see inside the hiding place more easily.
The false wall was constructed out of brick, in hopes that anyone searching for it would think they had uncovered the outside wall of the house. It worked, as you'll read below. The space behind the false wall was only about 18 inches deep, so it was a very cramped space, with only minimal water and supplies stored inside. Here are pictures we took of the hiding place, one of me standing inside, and one of Mike crawling through the original entrance to the hiding place.The day they were raided, there were 6 Jews in the home. They all made it to the hiding place safely. The Gestapo found the ration cards under the stair, but not the Jews in hiding. Corrie and her family were arrested for having illegal ration cards, and sent to concentration camps. The Gestapo suspected there were people hiding inside, but could not find them. The house was locked and put under watch for 4 days. During that time, the people inside the hiding place had to remain completely silent, and as still as possible, to avoid detection. At the end of the 4 days, the guard watch was taken over by two "SS" men that happened to be working for the underground. They helped the Jews to escape safely, and they lived out the rest of their lives. Corrie's father died ten days after arrest, her sister died later, and Corrie was released as a result of a "clerical error" just a week before all women her age were sent to be exterminated. Corrie spent the rest of her life sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, and talked endlessly of her time in Holland, and of her time in the concentration camp.
Here is the surprise! Corrie eventually moved to the US, and lived out the remainder of her days in Placentia, CA, the same small town that Mike and I both lived in from the time we were 12. As it turns out, the mother of a friend of ours, Sharon Lightfoot, lived directly behind Corrie and spent time taking care of her (Sharon was a nurse) during the last months of her life. What a small world!
The photo below is the Dutch Reformed Church in Haarlem where Corrie and her family worshipped. It was beautiful inside!
We really enjoyed Holland, and I hope that you have enjoyed this armchair visit along with us! Next trip we take will be to a cousins reunion in Minnesota. All my first cousins from my mother's family will be there -- it should be a fun event! Then, Alaska and the Arctic! It will be a fun summer.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
GOING HOME....sigh
Amsterdam Chapter 5 is going to have to be written from Moreno Valley. I am leaving in the morning for Zurich, and will catch a 10:00 a.m. flight to Atlanta, then another to Ontario, CA. I should arrive home about 9:oo p.m. California time. Just in time to get a few hours sleep (I hope!) and then get up and go to work at 7:00 a.m. the next day.
I has been a wonderful, relaxing vacation. I hate to leave Mike here, it is going to be a long time before we see each other again. We have taken lots of long walks in the mountains, spent a lot of time talking, eaten some GOOD Swiss food :-), and have really enjoyed this time we have had. I will be busy, so the time will probably go by quicker for me. Hopefully the weather here will warm up soon, so Mike can get some hiking done in the evenings when he is finished at work. It's COLD out there!
He will send pictures now and then, and I will post them on the blog.
Thanks for clicking in and taking a peek now and then. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.
See you (?) when I get to CA!
I has been a wonderful, relaxing vacation. I hate to leave Mike here, it is going to be a long time before we see each other again. We have taken lots of long walks in the mountains, spent a lot of time talking, eaten some GOOD Swiss food :-), and have really enjoyed this time we have had. I will be busy, so the time will probably go by quicker for me. Hopefully the weather here will warm up soon, so Mike can get some hiking done in the evenings when he is finished at work. It's COLD out there!
He will send pictures now and then, and I will post them on the blog.
Thanks for clicking in and taking a peek now and then. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.
See you (?) when I get to CA!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
NIGHT NIGHT, EMMA
We had some very sad news today. Lisa called this afternoon to tell us that our sweet dog, Emma, died this morning. Lisa heard her cry out, and went to see what was wrong. She stopped breathing just a few seconds after Lisa got to her side. It's just a guess, but she must have had a heart attack, or an aneurysm, or something else that took her quickly. From first cry to her last breath -- it was a matter of seconds. She has been a very healthy dog, active and energetic. She was SO attached to Mike, her best days were when he came home from work and threw tennis balls for her. It was a real shock. She was just 11 years old. Thank goodness Lisa and Charles were home so she didn't have to die alone. They took good care of her. Charles tucked her safely away in our yard, in the shade of the orange tree she liked to lay under. We'll miss you SO much, Ems. You were such a good dog.
AMSTERDAM Chapter 4 - Keukenhof Gardens
Our next stop was Keukenhof Gardens -- which would have been MUCH better had we been able to wait 2 or 3 more weeks! Mike's job schedule seems to get in the way of our vacation plans. :-) 
There's not a lot to write about...so you can just browse our gazillion pictures of flowers. Here, though, is Mike posing reluctantly for me in an oversized pair of wooden shoes. I am actually surprised I got him to do this!
The weather was really strange the day we went to Keukenhof, first it was a beautiful day, then it snowed, and then we had blue sky again for a bit. By our pictures, you would have thought we were there two different days!
The weather has been so cold that most of the flowers have not bloomed, but we still got some pretty pictures of tulips, hyacinths, crocus and daffodils. Poor little flowers, they were trying SO hard to bloom! It just wasn't warm enough for most of them.
Most of the garden still looked this (yes, it is snowing):
But some of it looked like this! 
They also had some pavilions where flowers were growing inside; like these gorgeous orchids, tulips and freesias: 
Everybody knows that tulips come from Holland, right!? ....wrong. Actually, Tulips are native to Central Asia and Turkey. In the 16th Century they were brought to Holland from Turkey, and quickly became widely popular. They became so popular, that "Tulipmania" occurred in Holland in the 17th century. People traded tulip bulbs for literally a fortune, some bulbs cost more than an Amsterdam house at the time.
There's not a lot to write about...so you can just browse our gazillion pictures of flowers. Here, though, is Mike posing reluctantly for me in an oversized pair of wooden shoes. I am actually surprised I got him to do this! The weather was really strange the day we went to Keukenhof, first it was a beautiful day, then it snowed, and then we had blue sky again for a bit. By our pictures, you would have thought we were there two different days!The weather has been so cold that most of the flowers have not bloomed, but we still got some pretty pictures of tulips, hyacinths, crocus and daffodils. Poor little flowers, they were trying SO hard to bloom! It just wasn't warm enough for most of them.
Most of the garden still looked this (yes, it is snowing):
But some of it looked like this! They also had some pavilions where flowers were growing inside; like these gorgeous orchids, tulips and freesias: Everybody knows that tulips come from Holland, right!? ....wrong. Actually, Tulips are native to Central Asia and Turkey. In the 16th Century they were brought to Holland from Turkey, and quickly became widely popular. They became so popular, that "Tulipmania" occurred in Holland in the 17th century. People traded tulip bulbs for literally a fortune, some bulbs cost more than an Amsterdam house at the time.
Last, but not least, there was a transplanted windmill at Keukenhof, with a MUCH smaller ladder than the one at Zaanse Schans. So, I was brave and went up. 
Mike joined me, and we coerced someone to take our picture. You can tell it's COLD because Mike has a hat and gloves on!
Here is a photo of a field of daffodils that Mike took from the top of the windmill. I imagine that by the end of April, all the fields will be filled with color.
Next stop on our journey is Haarlem, and the Corrie Ten Boom Museum.
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