Today was a great day. My greatgrandson was born this afternoon. Frederick James. He was 8 lb. and 12 ounces. One special note on this date. My Grandmother was born on May 27, my mother was born on April 27, I was born in 1927,my daugther Louise was born onn Dec 27 and today is Feb.27. Just a little coinsedent.Today brings me back to when my girls where born.Nancy the eldest was born in the Netherlands. She was born homeand I had to stay a week in bed after she was born. Then 3 years later Evie was born in the U.S.A. I had to get up the next day, also with Louise. Believe me I felt a lot better to get up sooner.Thinking on a lot of things and ideas have changed. Some times for the better, but not always. I believe in that mothers if possible stay home with there childeren. I remember the times when my girls would come home from school and we sat by the kitchen table with a cup of tea, they where the times you could bring up your problems or happy things. I always looked for those times. Tea time in the Netherlands was every afternoon ar 3 o'clock. Now I special miss that get together. When you live alone you do not feel you want to make the fuss for yourself. But I have wonderful memories.

School day

Today is my day to work at school. I have a couple of nice first graders and help them to read. It makes me look back at my years of school. I went to kindergarden,our Kleuterschool in Oosterwolde where I was born.Then my Dad became oversier on road works and we went where ever he had to work with him as a family. So when I was 12 years old I had gone to 9 schools. Looking back it was hard. Your family was everything, because you had no time to make friends One day on Februari 22 I came home from school with my older brother and the Dr. was in our house. Come to find out I had a new brother.No-4. That same year I do remember on my birthday I brougth cookies to school. Otherwise my only friend that I do remember was in kindergarden, Trijntje Nijholt. We stayed friends for all our lifes. She died a few years back. When I was 12 years old we moved to Assen, Provincie Drente. A year later the Germans took over the Netherlands. From then our lives where not our own anymore. I always wanted to go in to nursing, but if you had a degree you never knew where Hitler wanted you. So our lives stood still for 5 years. My teenage years. Always afraid what would come next. But I did wanted to learn a little more, so I went to home economic school and took different classes there. But you could not do everything you wanted. All books in English where verboden. They took our radio's so we had no contact with the outside world. I missed 5 years of my live. O bright moment came in 1944 when I met my future husband. It also was the worst year of the war. We did learn do with all the problems we had we apriciated everything more the rest off our lives.

The meaning off Sunday

Today is a sunny Sunday. Later mabey some snow, but it is Febr. I am looking back on Sundays when I was young. My Mother was a faithfull reformd church goer. She was brought up with no religion. While my Dad was brought up with religion, when he was grown up he did not believe anymore. But to obey my Mother we had to go to church every Sunday. The best part for me was singing. I think when I was young I was going to be a singer. When I was a teenager I did belong to a mix choir. I sang Alto. Al that was gone when I came here. We had to start all over and singing was not on my mind. My husband did belong here to a special singing group at Kodak. He worked there most of his live. Go back to my church, when I came here I was suprised what the churches here do. Meals and Dancing. In Holland I could not Dance our play cards from the church, I could not sew a botten on my shirt. So I was brought up verry strickt.My three daughters all went to Sunday school here, but I never felt at home in the church. I have my believes. I believe in people and Love. I do not think the church will me a better person.I have loved what I have done with my live. 13 years of Girl scouts. Work in the P.T.A. and 38 years volunteer in the Cancer Center in Rochester General Hospital. Did has been my church. Now I have started to work in the scool of my town with helping first graders toread. Here I am did not speak one word of English when I came here, and now help others. This is a great country, if you are willing to help , there is a place.

I was sitting tonight thinking of the new great grandson who is on the way. If he is here I am goingto sing the Dutch Birthday song to him. So I am going to set it on paper so every one can learn it.Er is weer ''een jarig hoera, hoera, Je kunt het wel zien dat is hem. Wij vinden het allen zo prettig ja,ja En daar om zingen wij blij. Hij leve lang hoera, hoera. Hij leve lang hoera .Then there is a other one. O wat zijn we heden blij.Lucy is jarig, Lucy is jarig O wat zijn we heden blij. Lucy is jarig en vieren wij.

Today I was talking to a friend about ourCountry. How bad it is and he said we are going down and never come out it again. That made me thinking and I told him look at it this way. After world war 2 was over and I was in the Netherlands we did not have anything. Hitler took our food and money. We all where poor.Then thanks to the MarshalPlan, we had a beginning. Every one got a amount of money and verry slowley things got better. But when I left the Netherlands in 1949 it still was not much better, But then when we came back for a visit in 1955, we could see a lot difference in 10 years .I think what Obama is doing almost like a Marshall plan. I hope it works.Thinking back on those years of the war makes me some times sad. Thinking on my parents, Not have much food and not knowing how to dress the kids.I still see my mom mending socks over and over the same spot. No knitting was showing anymore . all mending. Going with my Mom when it was getting dark to a farmer to get a little milk. We had the bottles between our legs under our skirt. You hope you would not meet any soldiers ,our people who collaboratingwith the Germans.Then I think what a great live I had here. How blessed I am with my little great grand children. I do enjoy them so much. Also my grandchildren are a joy. I often say how can one person have so much love

I also had 4 brothers. The first born was Fokke-Gerrit. Then me , then Gerrit , then Jan en the baby Luutzen. Gerrit and Luutzen are stil alive in the Netherlands. We spook Fries in our home, but at school it was Dutch. It is amazing how you can seperate that in your early years. When I was a small child my Father was a carpenter. Later he was a overseer at road work. And after world war 2 he start his own business. Contractor for roadwork. He started it with my money what I had in the bank. After the war no one had any money. Hitler took it all. We had to start from the beginning and looking back I was glad I could help my Dad.Also there was noting left in the Netherlands. Hitler took everything. On the train it was posted a Gift from the Dutch, but he stool it. I got married April 15 1948. We already had made plans to go to the U.S.A.But had to wait for a visa. Witch came in 1949. For me it was all new, but My husband had lived in the U.S.A. from his first birthday until he was 13. It was bad in the U.S.A. and the family said why don't you come back. My husband always said when we where going together I want to go back. So here we are.

Now I am getting older I often think of the past and have so many great memories that I want to tell it to some one and this sames to be the way to do. I hope you have patience with me and forgive my mistakes.My live has been great, but I have some bad memories also. My greatest acomplement was to married Hermanus Bodenstaff. And having three great daughters. My whole live has been around them. I had a live as a young girl, my name was then Trijntje Blaauwbroek. I was born Januari 12 1927.in the town off Oosterwolde, Friesland . Fries..land is a one off the 11 provences in the Netherlands. My father was Harm or Harry Blaauwbroek and my mother was Ebeltje Vonk My father was born on August 30 1901 and my mother born on April 27 1903. So this is the begining of my blog.