It's been a while!

Well folks, it certainly has been a while since our last blog post - sincere apologies for that!  We've been in a bit of a transitional stage as far as moving and our wireless went out.  Luckily today we were able to put our minds together to figure out how to re-set it...phew!!

Since it's been so long since our last post, this will be more of a list/synopsis of what has happened since then!

-We have moved!  We used to live quite a bit south from town.  It had a really nice view of the sunset every night, which was awesome.  However, it was a studio hotel apartment and not a place anyone would really want to live out of for 2 years.  We now have a nice place much closer to the city center and much more convenient over all.  The commute  to work is much shorter and one side of the apartment overlooks a canal.  Here are few pictures:

 

- Last week we had the "Freaky Friday," which was a lot of fun.  The last week of every month, the company rents out 2 bars right across the street from each other for 3 hours.  They are open only to Booking employees during that time and it's just a really great chance to socialize with everyone!  We've both started to make some really great friends.  We've discussed with each other numerous times that one of the things we like best about living here is the culture of the company.  So many of the employees are not native to Amsterdam and much like us, don't have a lot (or none) of their family members here, so the company has a very family-like atmosphere and energy.  It's been a great comfort talking with colleagues who have left their "homeland" as well and that has made the transition for us very smooth.  

- Many people from home have asked us how the weather is here.  Don't let the above picture fool you...it's not that sunny most of the time!  About 1 week ago the weather was quite nice and sunny.  Still a bit chilly, but at least there was sun!  The past week or so however, it's been a bit dreary and rainy, which is very typical Amsterdam weather from what we have heard.  We make sure to bring our umbrellas with us every time we leave the apartment!

-We haven't really gone sightseeing much, but hopefully we will get some of that done in the coming weeks, now that we are getting more settled.  In the meantime, here are some pictures of the city, as we have had many people ask for them:

Rembrandt Square:  This is a great area for people to get together.  Abby's work is right around the corner and the Freaky Friday is in this square as well.

Just down from Rembrandt Square is the clock tower:

Here is a collection of pictures that we took of the city, just walking around:

And of course, we must put up pictures of Centraal Station:

Even though some of you may not believe it, Abby is getting much better at navigating her way around the city.  (It is still a work in progress though!)

Well, that is all for now.  Since we have our wireless up and running, we promise that it will not be as long between updates any more!

We love you and thank you all for your prayers and encouragement!