Nice, France was just what I needed. The educator conference I attended there the weekend before Thanksgiving included a multitude of sessions and keynote speakers, but my favorites centered around service and language.
One of the most impactful speakers was Mark Cook who started his organization, Hope & Homes for Children.
When Mark retired as a British UN Commander, he decided to
dedicate his life to children. Mark shared his journey and how he originally
began trying to better orphanages around the world. He saw horrible conditions
for children. We watched a short video showing these conditions and I can
honestly say that I was quickly moved to tears and almost to the point of
vomiting. Horrific conditions so devoid of love for children.
After some time, Mark soon realized that fixing up the
exterior and interior of the orphanage didn’t really better the care of the child.
Instead, he had what he calls an “epiphany” that he could just get rid countries
of orphanages in the first place. He introduced the idea of foster homes in
countries like Rwanda, Romania, and Sudan to name a few and was responsible for
the closing of hundreds of orphanages across the globe. Here’s a quote from his
website, "When we began work in Romania in 1999 there were 100,000 children trapped in institutional care. Today the figure is approximately 9,000 and the Romanian Governments has committed to working with us to close every state run institution by 2020."
I am in awe of this man. I am so moved by hearing stories
from people, like Mark, who a truly making a difference in thousands and
thousands of lives. Utterly inspiring.
And then there’s Bruges,
Belgium. Wow. First let me say that we have found many things in the U.K.
to be more difficult than we every imagined. Somehow, driving our car onto the Eurotunnel and over to an
entirely different country was as easy as pie!
The kids were happy and comfortable and we were excited to
drive on the right side of the road for a change.
After only 36 hours in Bruges, Dave and I decided that we’d
like to retire there. Seriously. Kind of. It is an idyllic city that seems to
be a cross between Amsterdam and Venice but more laid back than both. The kids
loved all the Belgian chocolate treats that were passed out at the Museum of Chocolate and that we
felt compelled to purchase simply because of their beauty. We indulged on a
boat tour on the canals and a horse-drawn carriage ride through the city the
morning of our departure.
I highly recommend this travel spot to any and all. If
possible, rent a bike and spend time biking around town and to the nearby
village of Damme.
Dave and I lucked out and each got a bike ride in while the kids were napping.
That how it works when you travel with young kids…you take turns sitting in a
dark room while children nap! At least that’s how we do it and it seems to work
well.
Please find the rest of our pictures at the end of this post.
And finally, it is K2’s birthday today.
Our beautiful and
bright boy is now 5. He celebrated with 5 friends from school. Each boy was
given a cape and mask upon arrival. We then walked to a nearby park and the
kids took turns flying through the air on the zipline. It was awesome and nice
to do something so simple and easy at home. No bells and whistles, just
star-shaped PB & J’s, a park, chocolate cake, and a few minutes of
Christmas Kung-fu Panda on Netflix. The sunshine helped the low 40 degree temps
feel more like 50 and the whole thing was over and done by 1pm. A win for
everyone!
And now for the picture roll...
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