Athens, Georgia and back to Zeeland, Michigan!

The Bears at the Athen's Zoo Playing in the water

Hello Friends,

We had such a lovely time in Georgia. We visited a cute little zoo near Bethany's house, that they call "the sad little zoo" because it only has a few animals, but it has baby bears, which are the cutest thing ever. So we were perfectly happy visiting it and watching the cute bears play.  We got to visit the university campus too, and see Bethany's office and some of her classrooms.

A picture I took of the  Microphone at the Rymer Auditorium.

On our way home, we stopped in Nashville to visit the Rymer Auditorium. It was fun! We got to stand on the stage, and look around at how uniquely it was built, and hear some of the history.  Plus Nashville is filled with Guitars, and Violins!  I felt right at home.


In other news, I have joined an Alumni Dutch Dance group.  For our friends who are not familiar with Holland Culture, Tulip Time is the May Festival that celebrates our Dutch Heritage. There are thousands of dancers that dance on the streets in the wooden shoes and in costume.  I was a dancer in high school, and for my job at the windmill, and now I am an alumni dancer.  (Dancing must be in my blood).  The tricky part was that I joined the group officially on Saturday, and costume inspections were Wednesday.  You had to have your entire costume all set to go, so they could pass you to dance on the streets. Otherwise, there is a fine you must pay to be inspected at a different time. Well, I did not have a costume that was in good enough shape (or that fit me right) to wear.  I mentioned this to a friend at the church last night at 7:40, and she said "I have a costume that would fit you..." I went to her house, put it on (perfect fit!) wore it straight to the inspection and passed! So now all I need is a new pair of wooden shoes and I am good to go!  What blessing to have that fall right into my lap-- and what a blessing for my mom and grandma who were going to help me make a costume that would work (its a headache, because they are so particular!)

Micah has been playing lots of piano- he played with Ron Reinstra (a friend of ours) at 14th Street Sunday night, and he played at Chapel at Calvin on Monday Morning. I think he has really missed it, and has been glad to play more. He did great too!

Next week is Spring Break here in Zeeland.  Micah and I are looking forward to a more relaxed time.  We do not have any church classes we need to lead, so its a great time to catch up on the work we need to do, and the housework we need to do. (My Laundry pile is starting to fall out of the closet into the bedroom, yikes!) 

Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers,
Meredith (and Micah)