The Stevenson Ohana

Feeling pretty in love with our new home! Amsterdam has been great so far.  I have to keep pinching myself we live here!  It’s so good. I was on a run the other day and couldn’t run even a block without wanting to stop and take pictures. It’s so beautiful it brought me to tears just taking in the empty streets in the morning and canals and feeling very blessed. Also, let’s talk about the grocery stores. So many more options and more familiar foods. We have substituted our rice based diet and now lots of breads and pastas. They also have the worlds best peanut butter we have been going through a jar weekly and should probably pace ourself. We just found our future apartment too  (eek!).  We will move into it in September, so have a few more months of temporary housing which is nice. Basically the adjustment is way easier than Japan. I do miss the daily comments about my cute kids in Japan though :)

The temporary house we are at reminds us of a museum. The reason we picked this place though was because of the location. Actually let me rephrase that, the reason Riley picked our place was because of the location. I had my eyes on a place with a gym and spa but Riley wears the pants (hah) JK he just cared a lot more and was right the location you cannot beat and glad we got this spot! It really is so fun to be right on the canal and look out the window to these views. Picture overload from the last few weeks in our new home. 

This is our temporary house, the one hiding behind the tree a bit above.

Unposed. I was getting them in the bath and they decided to check out the new washing machine swirling around.

I spy Luke

say hello to our NEW BIKE! After a few weeks of research and some test riding we settled on this beauty. 

photos from test riding

pulled up spooning peanut butter

also found some flammin hot chettos and learned Clay loves things spicy too

One big stress about moving here is schools. In the netherlands school starts and 4 and not ready for him to go to school! Doing lots of research and think we will send him to a public dutch school. 

photos from a primary activity!  

our picnic spot one day!

This past week we experienced one of God's tender mercies that I wanted to write down, it really was a miracle. After a long and exhausting flight across the world, literally, we touched down in Amsterdam from Tokyo. We had both our kids and 9 checked bags and 5 more carrying ons. Everything we owned, a TON of stuff-- more than two people could carry across the airport to find our taxi van. 

At first, we couldn't find any carts to put our stuff on and when we finally found carts there was three of them and we didn't want to leave out stuff because was worried about it getting taken and Riley was trying to talk to arrival information and see if there was a service to help but there was for sure moments of dread and 'how are we ever going to do this' and get out of the airport with all our stuff. 

Out of nowhere it felt like, a workers asked if she could help and just grabbed a cart and we all did the same and started following her through the airport. We started chatting through the airport and I told her we were moving, hence the million bags. She asked where I was from and I told her we came from Japan, but originally from the US... She asked what part of the US and I told her I was from Idaho and she asked what part of Idaho, and told me she was an exchange student in Jerome, Idaho! It was so cool and random!

She then told me she knew a family that had moved her from Tokyo too but just left, in my head was thinking do you know how many people live in Tokyo! But then she recalled the name "Karissa Stone" and I knew exactly who she was talking about and she said they were Americans family in her church that also came here from Tokyo but moved a month ago to London. We overlapped with the Stone family in Tokyo and met her and actually I chatted with her on the phone just weeks before about moving here.

I then told her we are also members of the church too! She was so excited and I started getting emotional telling her she really was heaven-sent helping with our bags. She told us about the Amsterdam dutch ward and how it really is bilingual and told us to check it out Sunday. She also said she was the Relief Society President and we exchanged information. Her name is Maureen! It was SO COOL how it all worked out and honestly a miracle. I found out she wasn't even suppose to be at "arrivals" but they moved her last minute randomly, not so randomly! She had also prayed to see who she could help today. 

God is there and real, working through others to accomplish so much good. It was through Maureen's act of service that we were first able to get our bags across the airport (a truly impossible task on our own) and also we went to the dutch Amsterdam ward (we kinda thought the English ward is the one we would attend) and met lots of people and even had two play-dates this week with kids close to Luke's age and has made the transition so good here. It has almost been one whole week living in Amsterdam and has been so good! Lots of big decisions ahead figuring it all out and where to live-- but we are excited for this new chapter in life.