100 % Dutch!

Not many people can say they are 100 % of anything. You hear the expression, "I'm not 100 % sure..." often in conversations. Another way it is used... "You got 100 % on a test! Way to go!" I've also heard that the letters in ATTITUDE add up to 100% when assigned number values in the alphabet.

I am 100 % Dutch. This means that I am fully of Dutch descent, or from the Netherlands, aka Holland. My mother's parents spoke some Dutch, and I can sing "Happy Birthday" in Dutch (see below). I've always enjoyed all things Dutch- wooden shoes, Dutch desserts such as bankett (sp?) and Jan Hagel cookies, as well as Delft painted pottery from the town of Delft, Holland. I own some Delft pottery, and love the beautiful blue paint and designs. I am proud of my heritage, and enjoy celebrating it in any way I can. Rebekah and I made a Holland lapbook once, and I really enjoyed learning about the country. I do not look like a typical Dutch girl though, with long blond hair, but I have several cousins who do!

My collection of Delft pieces on my kitchen windowsill...

Another Delft piece and a Dutch girl cross-stitch that I made...

 Here are the phonetic words to Happy Birthday, in Dutch, according to my grandpa...

Oh what sign vhy hayden bly

Ji--ll is yaardaag

Ji--ll is yaardaag

Oh what sign vhy hayden bly

Jill is yaardaag is own-za rye

Hip hip hooray!

Hip hip hooray!

MY WOODEN SHOES AND MORE DELFT... 

Here are some old photos of my great-grandfather...

My great- grandparents immigrated from Holland to the United States. My Dad's grandfather (in the pictures above) carved wooden shoes in Holland and in Illinois. In Holland, he was a "Klompenmacher" or Wooden Shoe Maker. My father has pictures of his grandfather carving wooden shoes, and in front of his shop in Holland. He also owns one pair of my great-grandfather's hand-carved wooden shoes. When one of my friends went to Holland on a business trip several years ago, he purchased a pair of wooden shoes there for me. I have worn them, but they are a tad small.

I've always wanted to go to Holland, especially during the tulip blooming season in the town of Keukenhof. There are over seven million tulips planted in the park there, and they bloom between the end of March and mid-May. Tulips are once of my favorite flowers, I'd love to see thousands upon thousands of them! Someday...maybe for my birthday!

Here is a little information about Keukenhof Gardens from the wikipedia page:
The idea was to present a flower exhibit where growers from all over the Netherlands and Europe could show off their hybrids – and help the Dutch export industry (the Netherlands is the world's largest exporter of flowers). Keukenhof has been the world's largest flower garden for over fifty years.


My Grandpa went there with my aunt and uncle about 10-12 years ago. the pictures were amazing!

You can also see a gallery of photos on the page, found here.


One of my favorite recordings that I ever got from Focus on the Family is a tape of Corrie Ten Boom, who was a Dutch woman whose family hid Jews during the First World War in Holland. She sounds like my Grandma a little bit, and I LOVE her story!


What kind of heritage do you have? Are you a little of several nationalities, like my husband? Are you partly Swedish, like a good friend of mine? It is fun to discover!