You know you're Dutch when...

You Know You're Dutch When..

• The temperature is so low in your house that 2 sweaters is a bare minimum if you want to be remotely warm.
• During the winter it's warmer outside than it is inside.
• You open the freezer and are excited to find a container of ice- cream, only to open it and discover it's full of homemade soup or stamppot.
• When looking in the fridge, you never trust that the yogurt or margarine containers contain what the label says.
• You were green before it was popular. Why recycle when you can just reuse!
• You have a pair a wooden shoes in your house.
• Your china cabinet is filled with Delft.
• You like pickled herring.
• You've eaten oliebollen at New Years.
• You enjoy chocolate sprinkle (hagelslag) sandwiches.
• You have cousins who wear size 14 shoes and are over 6'4"
• You wash and reuse plastic cups and plastic cutlery.
• You have soup and open-faced sandwiches for Sunday lunch.
• The most frequent phrase uttered growing up was "Turn off the lights!"
• You get a chocolate letter every year for Christmas.
• All the tables in your house are covered in tablecloths.
• You like croquettes.
• You know that Vla is better than regular old pudding.
• You drink tea with breakfast, coffee at 10 am, tea at 3 pm, and coffee again at 8 pm (with cookies or biscuits of course!)
• You have an afghan knitted by your Oma.
• You collect coupons like they're going out of style.
• Your Oma had a calendar with everyone's birthdays & anniversaries spelled out in capital letters (bonus points if it hung in the bathroom!)
• You've been known to recycle aluminum foil. And ziploc bags.
• You own a special utensil that is only used for cutting cheese.
• You know that Gouda is the best cheese ever.
• You have at least 5 relatives with the same name (and somehow you always know which one is being talked about).
• You reuse teabags

• When you hear all the "new ways to save energy" you yawn and say "I've been doing that all my life!"
• You eat your sandwiches open-faced. "What? You want another slice of bread? I'll make you another sandwich."
• You rarely have both meat and cheese on the same sandwich.
• You have never met half the relatives at your family reunion
• You have 100 roles of toilet paper in your house because they were on sale.
• You put a little water into the jar of tomato sauce and shake it to make sure you got it all out.
• You have trouble shopping for hats. There should be at least two sizes: 'one size fits all' and 'dutch'.

• You wipe the last of the butter out of the container with your bun.
• All your cookies taste like almonds.
• You make the bed in your hotel room.
• You have lace on your windows but not on your underwear.
• You like dubbel zout drops, and have occasionally tricked a friend into trying one.
• You've put mayonnaise on your french fries.
• Your kitchen is filled with milk bags drying, waiting to be reused in the freezer.
• You drink Heineken out of pride.
• You have a front room but nobody sits in it (or it's only used for special occasions).
• You have a spoon collection.
• Your favourite mustard comes in jars that can be reused as drinking glasses.
• You leave a window open year round to get fresh air.
• You eat stroop waffles.
• You love the colour orange.
• You have a vegetable garden because there's no way you're paying that much for veggies at the grocery store.
• Your fridge is always stocked with leftovers. Throw out food? Never!
• You go to the "Dutch Store" because the smell brings back so many childhood memories.
• You have pictures of windmills around your house.
• Everything is Do-It-Yourself - it's cheaper than hiring someone.
• You use "washandjes" (facecloths that you can put your hand into).
• You have to explain what 'om' and 'tante' means when you're discussing your relatives with non-Dutch people.
• You own tea towels and oven mitts patterned with windmills and dancing women in clogs.
• You call it "MELK" not "milk".
• All your cousins have the same names as your brothers and sisters, because everyone is named after Oma and Opa.
• And finally, you know you're Dutch when..
• You're laughing along with this list because you can relate to most of it!

Friends

Somehow my friends on here all got deleted and I can't remember how to add them again. I clicked on add a page element but I'm not sure which selection I need to choose to add my friends. It appears to be more confusing than what it used to be.

In Loving Memory of Oma

Tomorrow (March 21) it will be 4 years since Oma passed away. I'm sure it will be a hard day, but she's in heaven now - pain free - no more strokes for her. I'm sure she's having a party up there and looking down on us from above. I'm sure it will be a sad day, but I was never that close to her, but still sad to have her gone. I love her, and miss her but never did a lot of things together. She was a great mother, and grandmother - she had 10 kids, and lots of grandchildren (LOL) and 4 great grandchildren (is whad she would of had had she still be alive today.) I never went to visit Oma while she was in the hospital. Do I regret it? Sort of yes, sort of no. You ask why do you not regret it? Well, I don't regret it because Mom told me that she didn't look the same as she always did, and that isn't what I wanted my last memory to be of her. I do regret it because well...she's my grandmother and I feel like maybe I let her down (or the family) by not going to visit her, or that maybe I didn't love her enough, which isn't true at all. The amazing thing was that all her 10 children were at the hospital the day she died in that hospital room, praying and singing "My Jesus I Love Thee". I wish I could of been there to see that precious moment. As soon as they were done singing - she had her final breath. What a memory!?! Some of the grandkids said this about Oma at her funeral:

What is an Oma?

An Oma is someone who can make a mouse out of a hankie.

An Oma is someone who visits me so she can attend Grandparents Day at my school.

An Oma is someone who sings with me.

An Oma is someone who chases me around the kitchen because I called her grandma instead of Oma.

An Oma is someone who has a pet spider on the ceiling named Frederick.

An Oma is someone who tells me stories about Frederick.

An Oma is someone who will dance with you at your Auntie Nelly’s wedding – even if it means a sore back the next day.

An Oma is someone who loves to play games with you – dominoes, yahtzee, kismet, or pass the ace.

An Oma is someone who visits you so she can help celebrate the special occasions with you like your birthday, your grad or your wedding day.

An Oma is someone who loves to knit dolls and sweaters for us.

An Oma is someone who takes you camping.

An Oma is someone who pretends to be a pirate when she is wearing a bandana.

An Oma is someone who makes you the supper you like best = spinach and potatoes.

An Oma is someone who gives you tea and chocolate when you come over after school.

An Oma is someone who laughs at all your knock-knock jokes and other funny stories.

An Oma is someone who buys you gifts that you don’t always like, but it’s okay because you know she loves you.

An Oma is someone to love, to send letters to and to pray at bedtime for.
Oma, we love you and will miss you lots.

So, I'm trying to picture my Oma being a pirate - kind of commical really if you think about, but *sighs* these are all great memories of her.

Oma, we love you and we miss you!

We sang these 2 songs at her funeral:

My Jesus I Love Thee

1. My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine;

for thee all the follies of sin I resign.

My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art thou;

if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

2.I love thee because thou hast first loved me,

and purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;

I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow;

if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

3.In mansions of glory and endless delight;

I'll ever adore thee in heaven so bright;

I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;

if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

How Great Thou Art

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,

Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.

When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur

And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;

Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;

That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,

He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,

And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.

Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,

And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art

Psalm 121
A song of ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life;
8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Life is fragile

This past saturday, I attented a funeral for a young man, some of you may even know who he is - Matthew Gensorek. He was only 22 years old, he attended Calvin Christian school. His life ended very tragiclly on the 17th of January. He had overdosed. There were alot of Calvin staff there, and lots of wet eyes. I was looking at all his friends, dressed in black, honouring a friend, and I'm sure ALL of them were crying. I was thinking to myself that I've never seen so many young men crying at one time. It's okay to cry - to grieve. To Matthew his friends were his life, his family as his father put it in the eulogy. I don't know Matthew at all but it's still sad that he's gone at such a young age. I guess God called him "home" for a reason none of us will really know or understand. His father said that "he needed another angel in Heaven".

I got to thinking how fragile our life actually is, and any one of us could get called "home" at any time.
Life is short.

Live out your dreams.

Live life to the fullest.

Tell your stories.

Be there for one another.

I am reminded of a chorus of a country song:

Life's a Dance - John Micheal Montgomery

Life's a dance you learn as you go,

Sometimes you lead,

Sometimes you follow,

Don't worry about what you don't know.

Life's a dance you learn as you go.

They played this song a few times at the funeral as well, and thought I'd share it with you all.

I Can Only Imagine - Mercy Me

"I can only imagine what it will be like, when I walk by Your side...

I can only imagine, what my eyes will see, when Your Face is before me!

I can only imagine. I can only imagine.

Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?

Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still?

Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?

Will I sing 'Hallelujah!'? Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine! I can only imagine!

I can only imagine, when that day comes, when I find myself standing in the Son!

I can only imagine, when all I will do, is forever, forever worship You!

I can only imagine! I can only imagine!

Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?

Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still?

Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?

Will I sing 'Hallelujah!'? Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine! Yeah! I can only imagine!

Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?

Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still?

Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?

Will I sing 'Hallelujah!'? Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine! Yeah! I can only imagine!

I can only imagine! Yeah! I can only imagine!! Only imagine!!!
I can only imagine.

I can only imagine, when all I do is forever, forever worship You!

I can only imagine."

They played this one at the funeral as well.

Welcome to Wherever you are - Bon Jovi

Maybe we're all different

But we're still the same

We all got the blood of Eden running to our veins

I know sometimes it's hard for you to see

You cought between just who you are and who you want to be

If you feel alone and lost and need a friend

Remember every new beginning is some beginning's end

Welcome to wherever you are

This is your life, you made it this far

Welcome, you got to believe

That right here right now you're exactly where you're supposed to be

Welcome to wherever you are

When everybody's in and you're left out

And you feel drowning in a shadow of the dawn

Everyone's a miracle in their own way

Just listen to yourself not what other people say

When it seems you're lost alone and feeling down

Remember everybody's different, just take a look around

Welcome to wherever you are

This is your life, you made it this far

Welcome, you got to believe

That right here right now you're exactly where you're supposed to be

Be who you want to be, be who you are

Everyone's a hero, everyone's a star

When you want to give up and your heart's about to break

Remember that you're perfect, God's make no mistakes

Welcome to wherever you are

This is your life, you made it this far

Welcome, you got to believe

That right here right now you're exactly where you're supposed to be

Welcome to wherever you are

This is your life, you made it this far

(I say welcome) Welcome to wherever you are

The 12 Days of Winnipeg Christmas

I've been hearing this song on Hot 103 lately and I thought it was so funny, and so fitting for us Winnipeggers. I hope you get a good little chuckle out of it as I did. Merry Christmas to you all. God's blessings for a prosperious 2008!!


The Lyrics:
On the First Day of Christmas
I got this from my bro...
A Sign saying Go Jets Go!

On the Second Day of Christmas,
Winnipeg gave to me
Two rivers meeting
And a Sign saying Go Jets Go!

On the Third Day of Christmas,
My buddy gave to me
Veee Jays French Fries
Two rivers meeting
And a Sign saying Go Jets Go!

On the Fourth Day of Christmas,
minus 40 gave to me
Four stalling cars
Veee Js French Fries
Two rivers meeting
And a Sign saying Go Jets Go!

On the Fifth Day of Christmas,
my true love gave to me
Five Golden boys
Four stalling cars
Veee Js French Fries
Two rivers meeting
And a Sign saying Go Jets Go!

On the Sixth Day of Christmas,
construction season gave to me
Six massive potholes
Five Golden boys
Four stalling cars
Veee Js French Fries
Two rivers meeting
And a Sign saying Go Jets Go!

On the Seventh Day of Christmas,
Mother Nature gave to me
Seven months of winter
Six massive potholes
Five Golden boys
Four stalling cars
Veee Js French Fries
Two rivers meeting
And a Sign saying Go Jets Go!

On the Eighth Day of Christmas,
Winnipeggers gave to me
Eight Slupree titles
Seven months of winter
Six massive potholes
Five Golden boys
Four stalling cars
Veee Js French Fries
Two rivers meeting
And a Sign saying Go Jets Go!

On the Ninth Day of Christmas,
St Vital gave to me
Nine Gabes a dancing
Eight Slupree titles
Seven months of winter
Six massive potholes
Five Golden boys
Four stalling cars
Veee Js French Fries
Two rivers meeting
And a Sign saying Go Jets Go!

On the Tenth Day of Christmas,
my bombers gave to me,
Ten Grey Cup Titles
Nine Gabes a dancing
Eight Slupree titles
Seven months of winter
Six massive potholes
Five Golden boys
Four stalling cars
Veee Js French Fries
Two rivers meeting
And a Sign saying Go Jets Go!

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas,
Photo radar gave to me
Eleven Red light tickets
Ten Grey Cup Titles
Nine Gabes a dancing
Eight Slupree titles
Seven months of winter
Six Massive potholes
Five Golden boys
Four stalling cars
Veee Js French Fries
Two rivers meeting
And a Sign saying Go Jets Go!

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas,
My Baba gave to me
Twelve Cheese Perogies
Eleven red light tickets
Ten Grey Cup Titles
Nine Gabes a dancing
Eight Slupree titles
Seven months of winter
Six massive potholes
Five Golden boys
Four stalling cars
Veee Js French Fries
Two rivers meeting
And a Sign saying Go Jets Go!

12 Days of Christmas

My Aunt emailed this to me and I thought it was quite interesting and gives a new meaning to this song. Enjoy!

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me.What in the world do leaping lords, French hens,swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come outof the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

Today, I found out.From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics inEnglandwerenot permitted to practice their faith openly. Someoneduring that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaningplus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Eachelement in the carol has a code word for a religious realitywhich the children could remember.


-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching,Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness,Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.
-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol...so pass it on if you wish.

"Merry (Twelve Days of) Christmas Everyone.....

Why Jesus is better than Santa Claus / Christmas of My Dreams

I had this sent to me, and thought it was worth sharing. Enjoy!

Why Jesus is better than Santa Claus

Santa lives at the North Pole ... JESUS is everywhere.
Santa rides in a sleigh ... JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.
Santa comes but once a year ... JESUS is an ever present help.
Santa fills your stockings with goodies ... JESUS supplies all your needs.
Santa comes down your chimney uninvited ... JESUS stands at your door and knocks, and then enters your heart when invited.
You have to wait in line to see Santa ... JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.
Santa lets you sit on his lap ... JESUS lets you rest in His arms.
Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, what's your name?" ... JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.
Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly ... JESUS has a heart full of love.
All Santa can offer is HO HO HO ... JESUS offers health, help and hope.
Santa says "You better not cry" ... JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you." Santa's little helpers make toys ... JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.
Santa may make you chuckle but ... JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.
While Santa puts gifts under your tree ... JESUS became our gift and died on a tree.

It's obvious there is really no comparison. We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about. We need to put Christ back in CHRISTmas, Jesus is still the reason for the season. Yes, Jesus is better, he is even better than Santa Claus. Merry CHRISTmas!!!
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I read this in a book called "A Chicken Soup for the Soul Christmas" and thought it was worth sharing.

Christmas of My Dreams

The Christmas cookies are all frosted,
the gingerbread men have purple hair,
And 'cause little hands can only reach so high,
the top half of the tree is quite bare!
But the bottom half sparkles with tinsel,
and foil stars and paper chains,
And along with the gifts the Wise Men bring
are three nickels and two cand canes.

Although it's true our money's tighter than ever,
our love just keeps on growing, it seems,
And I couldn't ask for anything more,
this is the Christmas of my dreams.

I used to have such great expectations
about Christmas and just how it should be,
With the picture-perfect table of goodies
and lots of presents under the tree.
Although I still love the tinsel and glitter,
the scent of pine and songs in the air,
When all's said and done, what matters most
is the Christmas love that all of us share.

Although our Christmas may not be very fancy,
like the ones you see in magazines,
I wouldn't trade it for anything
this is the Christmas of my dreams.

So let's each count our blessings,
and thank our God above,
As we celebrate this season
of the greatest gift of love.
Our Christmas may not be very fancy,
like the ones you see in magazines,
But I couldn't ask for anything more,
this is the Christmas of my dreams.

- Cheryl Kirkling