Which Queen do you serve?  Clearly in this house we all serve Queen Marissa!  As posted in the past, our little "Miss" has leap frogged over the Princess category and has earned the nick name "Queen".  This fact has had me pondering about heritage.  With Mark it was simple...he is Chinese so it is easy to relate to him as the "Emperor".  With Marissa it is more difficult.  We have been told that she has come from a family of fourth generation Canadian on her Mother's side.  She has to our knowledge, a bit of British, French and Middle European in her background.  This Momma is one hundred percent Dutch (with perhaps a bit of raiding Viking), in her heritage.  Daddy has a background of German and Mohawk!  Technically we have a bit of the United Nations going on here.  So what do you do when you have a mixed bag of heritage?  We have tried to encompass it all to some degree.  Daddy has given the symbol of a bear to Marissa's for a protector and Mark has an eagle.  Both kids have dream catchers in their bedroom windows to ward off bad dreams at night.  Momma tries to keep some Dutch and Chinese cooking traditions going.  These are a few little things that help the kids honour their heritage.  Recently I sent this photo of our little "Queen" to her former "Dutch" Foster Mom, saying "I say she is Dutch...that's my story and I'm sticking to it!" 
                         If the shoe fits...wear it!  A Dutch Cinderella!
After all...who would not be proud to be Dutch!  A strong nation which has made a huge impact on the world despite being a tiny half submerged country known as the Netherlands.  I remember fondly the stories that my Mother told me of the Dutch Queen Wilhelmina who fled to the United Kingdom during WWII.  She was loved by the people of Holland for her humility, dedication and service to her people.  Her third daughter Margriet was born in Ottawa, Canada, far from the turmoil of the war. Everyone knows that Ottawa is covered in tulips during the spring as a gift of gratitude to the Canadian people for their support of the Dutch people during the war.  I even named my first beloved Great Danes Wilhelmina and Margriet (Willie and Margo) after Dutch royalty.  I nearly met Queen Beatrix (Wilhelmina's daughter) when I vacationed on the island of Bonaire in the Dutch Antilles years ago as she stayed at the same hotel as me, but alas, I missed her by one day!  So imagine my surprise and awe when I got this photo back from Marissa's Foster Mother and Father...meeting the King and Queen of the Netherlands!!! 
Now that is "touching the robes of royalty"!  Not only did they get to meet King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima; Daddy Alex was able to tell them that he was named after him (King Willem-Alexander) and his brothers.  Apparently his mother was so smitten with the Dutch royal family she named her son Alexander Friso Constantijn after all three of the royal sons!  What an honour and a memory that I wanted to capture for our Queen Marissa.  "Yes Marissa your other parents have been invited to be in the presence of the royal family".  You cannot get much closer than that! Wow, I'm impressed.  Not many know or remember that Queen Maxima the much loved and very classy Dutch Queen is in fact from Argentina.  This is a true love story where the well educated woman (Economics working for the Deutsche Bank) meets a man named Alexander and falls in love.  She had no idea that he was the future King of the Netherlands and in fact was very much surprised when he revealed his true identity.  This common woman was elevated to the status of Princess and then made the Dutch Queen with the abdication of her Mother-in-law Queen Beatrix and the coronation of her husband King Willem-Alexander.  She is a true "Dutch" woman in every sense of the word and cheers for the Dutch teams during international soccer or Olympic games.  The people of the Netherlands have "adopted" this woman and embraced her as one of their own and she in turn has accepted that Holland is is now her home, her country, the land of her husband, the King and the birthright of her three daughters.  An amazing story with an even more amazing and nearly unbelievable link to our Marissa.  So Marissa, "I adopt you as a little Dutch girl".  This is my story and I'm still sticking to it.  You are strong, fiercely independent and as tenacious as a bull terrier.  You are loyal, kind, gentle and more beautiful in face and heart than words can express.  You are everything that is fine, in a Dutch kind of way.  Marissa, you are my "Queen", my adopted little Dutch girl and I will serve you.  Truly you wear the robes of royalty with grace and style.

Dream away Queen Marissa...one day you may become the royal Princess! All things are possible...we got you after all!  Unbelievable!!!