All about us...

Walk Like an Egyptian

2011-03-02T11:13:00.003Z

Today was Sophie's Egyptian Day at school. She has been learning all about Egypt and since we were there just a year ago she has become quite the Egyptian expert.

Do you see the side-way's glance...

Sisters Walking Like an Egyptian

I remember 3 years ago when Brittney was the Egyptian, now it is Sophie's turn and Brittney is the WWII expert (will post after our visit on Friday to the bomb shelters)...

Egypt ~ part 4

2011-02-16T12:22:00.014Z

Now, for the last post on Egypt. We spent Tuesday in the Red Sea. We took a boat ride out to 3 different reef locations to do some snorkeling. When we signed up for this adventure I envisioned snorkeling in knee deep or maybe a little deeper water, not the middle of the sea. When I jumped off the back of the boat & felt just how cold the water was and realized how deep it was, I had second thoughts. Both Brittney & Sophie decided that the snorkeling was not for them, so once I knew they were safe on the boat I decided to give it a second go but with a little flotation help ~ hence the picture below with me in a yellow tube. I obviously couldn't go down into the water to see some of the things that the guide was showing us, but I never had to worry about how choppy the water was or how tired I was getting; I could just float along & enjoy the beautiful scenery under the water. The girls stayed on the boat and played cards. They were really good sports!

After our 3 stops on the reefs for snorkeling, we headed off to 'Paradise Island' along with all the other tour boats...
The water was absolutely beautiful, and now the girls could enjoy it as well.

Remember me talking about the choppy water while snorkeling... from the picture below you can tell it is windy by Kevin's windblown look

The Duffy's in Paradise...

On Thursday the family enjoyed a day in the Sahara Desert. It was so much fun. We went 4-wheeling, dune-buggy driving, horse/donkey/camel riding, visited a Bedouin village, and ended the night with an entertainment show. Before we could go out in the desert we had to get a proper head covering...

Duffy girls with our heads covered & our faces protected

First off was dune-buggy riding. Kevin drove first while Sophie & I sat in the back seat. You know how they say if you aren't the top dog the view never changes...

In the reflection you can see Kevin & Brittney in the front tearing up the course

I did get to drive near the end of the track, but Sophie & I enjoyed our time in the back seat; it was less sandy back there...

This was our view of the Sahara Desert; the Red Sea is in the horizon.

Next came the animal rides; I didn't post any pictures of the girls riding the horses & the donkeys because you have seen tons of those types of pictures on other posts. However, the family did enjoy riding the camels... The worst part about riding a camel is when it gets up and when it goes down. It can be very rough and is definitely not for the faint of heart.

Below is Brittney's camel getting up

She is now up & ready to go for a little ride

Sophie, Madison, Kevin, and Brittney

Sophie enjoyed riding the camel so much, she took a second ride as well

SMILE for the camera (even the camel smiled)

Sophie asked if she could go for a third ride...

Sophie & I did not go to the Bedouin camp... the Egyptian stomach bug had made its way into poor Sophie's tummy. We stayed back at the main camp sight & actually considered going back to the resort. But Sophie got some rest and some Sprite to help settle her tummy while the others went on the 45minute bumpy jeep ride to the Bedouin camp.

The night ended with a variety show. At one point they asked all the girls to come up on stage to share time with the belly-dancer. Below is Sophie & Christina on stage...

Madison & Brittney preparing to belly dance

After the Belly Dancer came a guy who twirled & turned for 10 minutes straight without stopping. I was getting dizzy just watching him...

Where did he go?

Oh, there he is... he took off his skirt, while continuing to twirl (I'm still dizzy)

Last up was a fire-eater

Gives a whole new meaning to spicy-hot food

Looking back on all the pictures & updating the blog with experiences from Egypt helps me remember just how much fun we had. The Duffy's really enjoy playing in the water, but I think the highlight of this trip was getting to share the adventure with the Shaffer family. Until next time...

Egypt ~ part 3

2011-02-03T16:15:00.015Z

A huge advantage of going to Egypt with a friend is the ability to babysit for each other, then we could both enjoy a date with our hubbies... plus Jeanne found the fabulous resort that we stayed in and since they had been to Egypt before, they were a great source of information. On the Wednesday Kevin & I took a tour into Cairo to see the pyramids and the Egyptian Museum. However, our first stop was a Muslim Mosque (didn't get the name of it - sorry). I wasn't expecting this stop but enjoyed learning about the traditions and seeing the inside of the Mosque.

The heat was so intense that a head covering became a necessity.

don't know if you can see, but in the horizon past Cairo are the pyramids

motorway in Cairo with the pyramids in the background

Once we got to the pyramids I was blown away with how big they are. The individual blocks used in the base are taller than I am and the cuts are perfectly straight, even after all these years. Amazing...

Kevin is such a clown - he loves doing these type of pictures but of course I join in as well

Kevin decided to go into one of the pyramids. I had been warned that it would probably be too much for my asthma due to the heat & the dust. Kevin did emerge from the pyramid, but after his trip in he agreed it would not have been good for my asthma...

One of the locals tried to get Kevin to buy a turban. He even went so far as putting it on Kevin & taking a picture but Kevin wasn't in the buying mood...

Our next stop was the Sphinx. The detail & the size are just breathtaking.

I love how this picture shows the huge size and detail of the Sphinx's feet stretched out in front

Not only are there orange carrots in Egypt, but they grow red carrots...

Lastly we visited the Egyptian Museum. We were running very short on time with our tour so we had to quickly go through the museum... but we were amazed at the artifacts inside. Again a very surreal experience looking at things that I have only read about in history class or seen on the History Channel.

Egypt ~ part 2

2011-01-31T17:24:00.021Z

On Sunday morning we had to wake up very early so we could be loaded onto our shuttle bus (home for the day) by 5am. Now in the world of Cathy there is only one 5 o'clock and it doesn't have an 'am' in it... but we had a long drive in front of us & lots of exciting things to see. We were off to Karnak Temple, the Valley of the Kings, and a ferry ride on the Nile River.

Our first stop was Karnak Temple. The sight is a huge open-air museum that has not been completely excavated. It is one of the largest ancient religious sites in the world and a must see when visiting Egypt.

The first picture below is of the entrance area to the sight, notice all the lion-sphinx statues...

notice Pink Baby even got to visit the Karnak Temple...

Ok, you need to know the story here... first it was really hot & we were all getting a little tired of walking around so Kevin bribed us with ice-cream. Next, according to tradition, if you march around the object immediately behind me 20 times counter-clockwise you are to be granted a pregnancy within the year (it is a fertility statue/god). So I was determined to prove it wrong & proudly marched around it counting with a very loud voice (hence the picture with my mouth half open). Ten months later there is no baby in the Duffy future - HA, I proved it wrong!

After a very long morning we were glad to enjoy a nice lunch buffet overlooking the Nile River.

We then took a short ferry ride on the Nile River.

Next we visited the Valley of the Kings. Now most of these pictures are actually from the internet because no pictures are allowed. And don't you dare think that you can sneak a picture because security is on you like stink on poop ~ no chance! (Now we didn't try to sneak any pictures, but it was interesting to see people try & some even loose their cameras for trying)
In the lobby area there was a display that showed how the tombs have been found...

and the underneath of the display showed how the tombs went deep into the caverns

entrance to a tomb

example of inside of tomb ... a lot more roomy than expected and very colorful decorations

We did not go into King Tutankhamen's tomb, because it is an extra charge. Also, we have previously visited the traveling museum artifacts for the tomb so we weren't sure that we would learn anything more by going into this tomb ... plus it was on the other side of where we were & it was really, really hot - too hot for the extra walking

Our last stop in the Valley of the Kings was to a separate location to see the Queen Hatsheput Monument. This was built by a Queen who was able to obtain Pharaoh status based on her statues having beards. Below is a picture of our shuttle ride from the buses to the actual monument; you know they say that Caterpillar equipment is durable & useful ~ leave it to someone to decide that a fork lift can be converted to a tram/shuttle engine.

The lovely Shaffer family pictured above

The girls & I were hot & tired so we sat in the shade while everyone else toured the humongous sight :-)

After this last stop we all piled back onto the bus for the return journey ~ most of us feel asleep on the way. Then we stumbled back to our hotel rooms in hopes of getting a good nights sleep because Monday was a day for swimming, eating, and more swimming ~ well, Cathy & Kevin also worked in a massage each.

Egypt ~ April 2010

2011-01-30T17:55:00.007Z

In April of 2010 we had the privilege of traveling to Egypt with one of our favorite families here in the ISE UK world - the Shaffers. They are a family of 5 (Jeanne & Scott are the fabulous Christian parents, Bryce is the awesome teenage son, and Madison & Christina are their two girls close in age to Brittney & Sophie). It was a great time had by all! Considering all the current unrest & violence in Egypt it is almost unreal for me to believe that we were there less than a year ago... It wasn't the cleanest of places but never once did we feel unsafe.

We flew into Hurghada and immediately noticed the difference in temperature. The excitement was growing as the hotel shuttle bus got closer & closer to the Aqua Jungle Park. We knew that there were 21 pools and 35 giant water slides waiting for us! Now that is fun...

Picture of front area

This is just 1 pool; there were 20 others to swim in also!

View from the top of one set of slides

Kiddie pool area (which I really enjoyed because you could lay in the water easier)

We arrived at the hotel Friday evening - too late to swim but it gave us plenty of time to get familiar with the grounds, check out the 5 different all inclusive restaurants, and then off to bed for some rest. We would need that rest because we had lots of swimming to do as well as a few other activities for the week... Saturday would include swimming & eating while the dads scheduled the outings for the week; Sunday was a long day that included Valley of the Kings, Karnak Temple and a ferry ride on the Nile River; Monday was for swimming, eating, & massages; Tuesday was a boat ride to the reefs with snorkeling and swimming in the sea; Wednesday the girls stayed with the Shaffer's and swam some more while Kevin & Cathy went to Cairo to see the pyramids; Thursday was a very full day ~ 4 wheeling, go-karting, horse/donkey/camel riding, Bedouin camp, 45 minute jeep ride, and ended with a variety show...

Now, you can't go to Egypt without attempting to 'Walk Like an Egyptian'

along with a few goofy ones as well...

One of the 21 pools was in the 'cul-de-sac' area of our hotel rooms. Our rooms were on opposite sides of the pool so our neighbors never stood a chance for peace-and-quiet ... not that you would come to the Aqua Jungle Park ever expecting peace-and-quiet. In our pool there were these fabulous stepping stones that went from one side of the pool to the other. Of course the girls loved walking those stones (even when they weren't dressed for swimming). However, if you are going to pose while on the stones, expect the unexpected :-)

(doesn't Brittney look so innocent in the picture above)

The girls kept a really good attitude towards each other. I don't remember them ever getting cross with each other, even when they played tricks on each other. They were just enjoying the sunshine, the warmth, the pools, and the great company.

notice my beautifully pedicured toes in the bottom of this picture

There were a lot of things about this holiday that made it feel kinda like a cruise - the food & drink was almost non stop, it was really good food, and all of the activities. But an unexpected fun thing was the towel decorations that were waiting for us each day.

flower with actual flowers & leaves to enhance the beauty

alligator reminding us we shouldn't be watching tv when there was so much to do outside...

Well, now you have an idea of how we spent our time at the water park. I will blog separately about the pyramids, Valley of the Kings, and our adventure day. Until then, I hope you can tell from the above pictures just how much fun we had - (in the words of Sophie) it was awesome!

Sophie and Bomber

2011-01-23T21:12:00.003Z

I have heard people talk about horses picking their riders, but I had never seen it in action. Bomber is a young horse at the stables where we ride that has only had a rider on his back for a little over a year. In the spring when Sophie's first horse Misty starting having problems with laminitis, the suggestion was made for her to try out Bomber. I wasn't too keen on the idea at first because I had seen Bomber be true to his name (bombing off), but I decided to let her give it a try. WOW, the two of them are a match made in heaven.

First off, Sophie is a very confident rider with plenty of skill to go with it, but to watch her ride Bomber is an absolute joy. Even other people have commented on how much the two of them get along. There are even times it looks like Bomber is smiling when she is riding him. For the most part, Sophie can get Bomber to do just about anything she asks of him. He has learned to be a pretty good jumper with her and going fast is never a problem for the two of them.

Sophie has no fear riding Bomber, and it is funny to watch her competitive side come out when she goes against other riders while on Bomber. The two of them are almost unstoppable...

Sophie does ride other horses at the stables for lessons and sometimes I even let her ride my horse Lulu, but when all is said & done she would prefer to be on Bomber.

Brittney & Polocrosse

2011-01-23T20:36:00.004Z

When we started horse riding here in the UK I was taken back by the difference between English riding and what I had done in the past. It took me quite awhile to get used to the idea of possibly falling off (had never done that before), trotting, cantering, correct leads, etc, and then to 'advance' to dressage, jumping, and cross country ... man, I thought I was something else. Then came Polocrosse, and I fell in love.

Polocrosse is a combination of the sports Lacrosse and Polo. You don't have to be a 'good' rider to participate, but it does help! However, I found my riding actually improved as I started playing Polocrosse, because I am concentrating on the game so much my riding just starts to happen. After about a year of me playing I finally got Brittney interested in it. Below are some pictures of Brittney on Issi during one of the weekly team practices. Brittney is wearing the light pink jumper.

Warm up includes sharpening communication between you & your horse. Because you are holding a racket in one hand, the reins in the other hand, and the game is very fast paced, you & your horse have to be 'intune' with each other.

In the pictures above they were riding around without stirrups in canter, 20 meter circles, etc, making sure the rider had a good seat and the horse was listening.

Brittney is leaning over Issi to pick up the ball with her racket so she can then throw it to a team mate. It can be a long way down there to pick up that ball when you & the horse are in a canter...

Brittney getting ready to throw the ball to her team mate.

This spring and summer before we move back, I hope to enroll me and Brittney in some training courses for Polocrosse. These are usually weekend retreats with camping, no showers, port-a-potties, lots of junk food, and all weekend riding - as long as the weather holds out they are usually quite fun. Currently there is no riding school in the Peoria area that plays Polocrosse, but I am hoping that we can change that when we move back. Hence even more of a need for us to improve our riding & playing skills.

Mediterranean Cruise - part 1

2011-01-19T20:18:00.008Z

While living in the UK we have been taking advantage of the easy travel options. In the beginning we tried to go somewhere at least once a month; thankfully we have cut back our travel time (I can't keep up with the laundry & we girls enjoy our riding too much). However, one tradition that we haven't given up on is a cruise during the October mid-term break week. It allows us all a chance to see the sunshine, enjoy the smell of the ocean, and see a bit of the world.
This year Kevin had researched and thought he had found the deal of the century... The MSC Magnifica was a new boat commissioned in the beginning of 2010. It is a huge boat with a good number of swimming pools. The big deal with MSC cruises is that kids go free so we thought that was a good deal for the pocket book. The family room we stayed in was huge with plenty of storage for all of our clothes, so it definitely looked like we were off to a good start.

Our boat is bigger than yours!

Our cruise started and ended in Venice, and our ports of call were Bari, Katakolon Olympia, Izmir, Istanbul, Dubrovnik. We had been to a few of these places before so the girls & I were planning to stay on the boat, let dad do the excursions, and we would enjoy the pools, the sunshine, and the relaxation. For the most part things went according to our plan except the food on the cruise was not very good and the weather was awful. We saw more rain than sunshine, but it did not deter the girls from swimming. Most of the time I would sit by the pool, under the canopy, wrapped up in towels ~ but at least I was getting fresh air and catching up on my reading.
Also, most of the people on the cruise were not English speaking so when announcements were made it would take forever to go through the 5 different languages (with English being the last one) ~ Russian, German, Italian, French, English, and something else.... And as you probably guessed, with all these different languages came quite a few different cultures and people skills. Let's just say we found ourselves biting our tongues a lot and holding the girls close to us at times.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Sophie. I love her smile while she's running!

This cruise had two nights of dress up. Unfortunately since we travelled with Ryan Air we didn't have the luggage or space to bring variety per say... but the girls looked excellent none the less.

Brittney all dressed up!

Sophie dressed up with one of the many towel creations...

another fabulous towel creation - rabbit

We had a really good time on the cruise; the main objective was met ~ good family time coupled with relaxation. We played lots of cards in the game room. Kevin had an excellent time in the casino. Both, Kevin & I enjoyed the spa, and I got my usual pedicure treatment. The girls and I were regulars in the ship library checking out books and reading one a day. I think it is safe to say, the Duffy family nows how to relaxe in style!

(I'll add some posts for the ports of call that we went to...)

Kevin just doesn't change...

2011-01-19T09:50:00.006Z

In December Brittney had to complete a school project that was all about her, so she did a scrapbook with a page for each year plus a few extras to include Issi (her horse), travels, family, etc. On several of the pictures of Kevin she would write the caption 'dad never changes; he always looks the same.' Well if that ain't enough to rock your confidence ... she didn't write that about me! But I guess I really shouldn't be offended; since moving to England I have had a new hair color every few months and have gone from wearing makeup & 'corporate' clothes to smelling like horses & definitely looking like I live with them. But for the month of November Kevin didn't look the same. His work group did a fund raiser for cancer research, and so the participants had an entire month to grow the 'best' mustache. Well bless his little heart, the best mustache was never in his future, but I am proud of the effort he gave it....

Of course when the day came to shave it off, it was a huge family event. We all gathered in the bathroom for the momentous occasion and had plenty of fun as Kevin was shaving it off...

Now this is the 'Kevin that never changes & always looks the same.' The one we love so much!!!!

Heroes in the Horse World

2011-01-18T21:00:00.004Z

The girls & I love to ride horses. We even enjoy mucking out the stables, because then we are at least around horses. But we also love to watch the professional horseman and horsewoman in the world. It gives us a chance to learn from watching them and to see what 'it' looks like when 'it' is done right.
One of my favorite tv shows is Horsemanship Essentials, which is the tv version of the online website for Intelligent Horsemanship. It is based off of a partnership between Monty Roberts and Kelly Marks. They work with 'troubled' horses and teach the owners how to communicate on an equine level. It is absolutely amazing to watch Monty or Kelly get a horse to 'join up' with them in such a short amount of time; then once that happens, they can then work with the horse to correct almost any problem.
Anyway, in November we got to see it all up close & personal when we visited a show outside of London. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! They really do it all in a short amount of time, just like you see on the tv show...

This is Monty Roberts. Some people call him a Horse Whisperer... I don't know if that is a proper title, but I can tell you he has a way in that round ring with a horse.
Sample of the Round Ring that Monty or Kelly work in. We were sitting just a few feet away from the ring so we could see everything. It was awesome!

Kelly Marks autographed the books we bought and spent some time talking with the girls. On the following Monday I made a comment on her Facebook page about the show & she responded back in a personal manner, even remembering the girls. I was so impressed by her 'personal' touch.

I so enjoyed this experience & cannot wait to put it into practice with my own horses once we move back to the states.

Back in September, we all went to the Burghley Horse Trials. We enjoyed the shopping and watching the Show Jumping finals, but for the girls (especially Brittney) the highlight was meeting Mary King. She is such a nice person; I have a new respect for her after watching her interaction with so many fans & knowing that she needed to be getting ready for the Show Jumping finals. She is a class act!

You know the funny thing about the Horse Trials, when we first moved here I would go to the Horse Trials each year with the other American wives, not for the horses but for the shopping. The last two years, I have enjoyed the shopping but I have gone for the horses. Funny how time can change things...

Fox Hunt ~ New Year's Day 2011

2011-01-18T16:36:00.005Z

What a fabulous way to start the New Year - Kevin was off to Lincoln for an all-day antique auction while the girls & I spent the day around horses. Everyone in the Duffy household was happy!

First came in the Master of the Fox Hounds (MFH) and the Whippers-In with all the hounds. What a fabulous sight & sound. All these dogs make plenty of noise...

Next comes the Bird of Prey & his handler. In November of 2004 the UK introduced a hunting ban, therefore the group uses falconers to bring in birds of prey to the hunt. I should probably point out that the hunt follows an artificial laid trail, so the hunt is really a recreation of past traditions.

The one thing I love about the hunt, is seeing all age & ability in the riders. I have seen entire families ride - children to parents to grandparents. What a fabulous way to spend a day!

Once the entry parade has finished, the riders and the dogs prepare for the day. The riders receive their mince pies & shot of Brandie while the dogs mingle with everyone around, especially girls with sticky hands and food hidden in their pockets.

Sophie thinks these hounds are the most beautiful dogs she has ever seen. Please don't tell Duke & Daisy; they might be a little jealous.

At this point the Master was checking with the Whipper because they had received word of a hound escaping. Sadly the dog had wondered off and was accidentally hit by a car, but thankfully nothing was broken and there was no permanent damage... he just couldn't hunt for the day.

Once everyone had finished their drinks, the wandering dog was recovered, the Master made his final speech, they were off. In a way it is anti-climatic once they trot off because there is so much excitement while the horses & the dogs are around, then us spectators just quietly go back to our cars & head home. However, we girls went to the stables and rode our own horses for the afternoon. It was a fabulous day - yucky weather but good riding.

Now, Kevin had plenty of fun at the antique auction. We won't talk about how much he spent, instead we will share a picture of a portion of what he bought. The furniture had to be delivered and the baseball items had already been stored for safe keeping (yes, you read that right - here in England, Kevin bought US baseball items).
When all was said & done it was a pretty good day ... until the flu hit Kevin & Cathy hard later that night. I won't blog about the flu, just use your imagination.

London after Christmas 2010

2011-01-18T14:00:00.001Z

Since we opted to stay in England for our 'last' Christmas in England and because Kevin cannot stand to sit still for any length of time, we decided to spend 3 nights in London during the Christmas break. The weather was warmer than it had been before Christmas and all of the snow was clear, which was a really good thing considering how much walking you do in London. We stayed at a Hilton next to the Wimbley Stadium. We had a family room but that only included a double bed (smaller than a queen but bigger than a full bed) and a single bed. The first night I tried to sleep on the double bed with the two girls... nope didn't work, I ended up sleeping on the floor. The next two nights I made Kevin sleep on the double bed with the girls; now don't go feeling sorry for him because it has already been proven that he can sleep through an earth quake so sharing the bed with two wiggly girls was no problem for him.

We went with the girls to two shows: 'Go, Go, Go' (think Wiggles combined with High School Musical) and a pantomime of 'Snow White.' Both were pretty good, but we forgot to take any pictures.

One day we went to the History Museum. Now I am not a museum person, but the museums here in London are pretty cool. However, it is safe to say that Kevin enjoys them way more than me and the girls.

Sophie with 'Aslan'

Next day we rushed to Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guard. Now 18+ years ago when Kevin & I first visited London we thought this was one of the coolest things in the world. This time, it was pretty lame. We waited outside the palace, in the growing & quite rude crowd, for a 5 minute walk by ~ no line ups, no formations, nothing. We saw a better Changing of the Guard a few years back at Windsor Castle. Oh well, at least the girls can say they saw the event at both locations....

The Mounted Guard

The Band

We went to the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. Excellent family event, but very expensive - approximately £5 per person for a ride (£5 is around $7.50), so we let the girls pick two rides each and had a family ride on the Ferris Wheel.

Sophie is not too fond of Ferris Wheel's, but lucky for her we had brought Pink Baby along. It isn't quite as big as the London Eye, but it gave us a good view of what all was available for us in the park.

Next we visited the Talking Tree

Sophie enjoyed the swings (used to be my favorite until I started getting motion sickness from the round & round & round movement)

Brittney and I rode the roller coaster ~ way fun!

And for their final ride, Brittney and Sophie enjoyed the Haunted House. As they were entering, I told Brittney to watch after Sophie not scare her... that was a mistake because Brittney hadn't thought of it til I put the thought in her head; you should have seen the evil look that came over her face. But I am proud to report, she was a good girl & looked after her younger sister :-) (that's enough to make a mom proud)

After a two hour wait, we entered the London Aquarium for a fabulous experience. There is just something very calming about watching fish & being around water... Kevin & I found ourselves enjoying the peacefulness of it (sounds like we are getting old).

This is as close as I care to come to a shark. They were huge!

Sophie wanted this picture because it looks like 'Dum Dum' from Night at the Museum

stingray waving hello to us

The 'last' walk back to the tube for our 'good nights sleep' in our family room; it wasn't as late as it looks in the photos but we were well & truly tired after walking for miles & miles the last 3 days...

London Eye & House of Parliament with a few rain drops added

Brittney is either holding Parliament or squashing it ~ either way not a comforting thought

This is the same Pedestrian Walkway that is destroyed in the Harry Potter film

We visited Hamley's Toy Store, ate some great food, and made some wonderful memories. You know, sometimes I am very ashamed of us for not spending more time in London while living so close, but oh well, life is too short to fret over that...

New Year's Resolution ~ NOT

2011-01-18T13:00:00.000Z

First off, no promises on the regularity of the posts but I am hoping to catch up on some of the previous trips and ultimately back into blogging on a fairly regular basis. With less than a year left here in England I feel I need to document as much as possible so we can remember the fabulous times we have had. Our last Christmas as ISE's in England, we actually spent in England; we didn't go skiing as usual but based on the amount of snow we got here in Peterborough, you would of thought Mother Nature was bringing it to us. So, I'll make a list on the side of the blog and check it off as I update the blog. Keep checking back to see what I post :-) Talk to you soon! Cathy

London Weekend ~ Bon Jovi & Antiquing

2010-06-27T21:01:00.008+01:00

For Valentine's Day this year Kevin & I purchased tickets to the Bon Jovi concert at the O2 in London. It was an awesome concert. Bon Jovi played straight through from 8 til after 11. But as it got closer & closer to the end of the concert I was worried that they weren't going to play 'Livin on a Prayer' ~ you can't go to a Bon Jovi concert and not hear that song, so I was getting a little frustrated... then at the end of the encore performance it happened...

****sorry folks**** clip was deleted by program ****

Ain't it just awesome... Sorry for the short clip but Kevin's phone only records for a few seconds but it does give you a quick glimpse. Awesome concert!

On our way down to London we stopped at an Antique Fair. We are constantly on the look out for items that we can integrate into our home back in Illinois (I will post some updated pictures soon of the construction). This was not a typical Antique Fair; it was more of a DIY with Antique items. There were vendors with beams from castles in Germany & all over England, garden items, nuts, bolts, you name it.

On Saturday we looked at everything & bought a few items but knew that the 'real bargaining' wouldn't happen until Sunday afternoon (time for vendors to pack up plus England was playing in the World Cup at the same time). So we went back on Sunday & started bargaining for the door & windows below. The items came out of Bats Hall in Solihall ~ not a very impressive name for a 'castle' but none the less we will take it :-) Kevin won the bidding war, & we are now the proud owners of a beautiful stain glass door and 16 stain glass windows.

Duffy's "new" front door

you gotta love the lion knocker

Inside view of door
sample of the stain glass that matches the door

I still can't believe we got it all, but I can't wait to see it installed in our home back in America. We have been able to find some amazing items to help keep the memories alive of our time here in the UK.

One Day Event

2010-06-14T10:36:00.019+01:00

Last year this time the girls had only been riding for a few weeks and the One Day Event was their second competition. A year later, a few more competitions under their belt, and the girls were more than ready.

Sophie & Bomber

Brittney & Jacko

Dressage was the first part of the competition. It is held in an enclosed arena. The girls and their ponies work together riding a sequence of school movements while in walk, trot, or canter.

Sophie & Bomber were first up. Now Sophie was able to manage almost this entire test without my help. I only walked beside Bomber just in case he didn't want to listen to the boss...

Mom is getting very tired trying to keep up with Sophie & Bomber

Next up is Brittney & Jacko. Now this year Brittney went up a test ~ she had to complete some of the moves while the horse was in canter and she did the entire test without a leader. According to the judges, Brittney made the test look easy on Jacko...

To start the test, the rider must give a salute while keeping their horse still

Brittney & Jacko completing a 20metre circle in canter

Sitting tall & proud as she comes to the end of her test. Brittney & Jacko did brilliant!

Next for the day was the Show Jumping portion. There is a course of 10 jumps varying in height and difficulty. The ultimate object is to have a good time but to clear all jumps with no refusals and no dropped poles. Both of the girls did really well on this part as well

Sophie & Bomber have become quite the Show Jumping duo...

Brittney & Jacko getting ready to start the Show Jumping portion of the day...

what started out so well...

ended up very frustrating for Brittney

However, I think it takes a really big person to know their limits & ask for help.

Jacko just didn't want to listen to Brittney so Chris had to help her out some...

The last portion of the day was the Cross Country Jumping. The riders lead the horses around a large course of 'natural' looking jumps. The idea is to simulate what a rider might experience while out on a hack (downed tree, stream, etc). Also, this is the time that the horse & rider can go all out with their speed ~ walk, trot, canter, and gallop are all allowed.

Sophie & Bomber had lots of fun on the Cross Country Course. First time around dad went with them, but on the second lap Chris bailed daddy out & took Sophie around.

Bomber & Dad jumping the first one...

look at the determination on Sophie's face

look at the height & beautiful form by Bomber

By the end, Sophie & Bomber were very proud of their efforts.

Now as you will remember from the Show Jumping portion, Jacko & Brittney were having some communication problems by this time.

Brittney more than had her work cut out for her when it came to Cross Country. Jacko was more than done & ready to go back to the stables for a rest. It took 2 other helpers to help influence Jacko to finish the course ~thanks Jodi & Chris!

Dad & I are SO proud of Brittney & Sophie. They have progressed immensely in their riding abilities, and their performance at the One Day Event showed it to everyone else. It was a fabulous day and we look forward to many more like it :-)

Wind-tunnel experience for entire family

2009-10-19T20:36:00.007+01:00

Do you remember for Kevin's 40th I bought him a tandem skydive? Well he has tried 4 different Saturdays to jump, but the weather has yet to cooperate. This past Saturday was no better, so instead he thought the entire family should take a turn in the wind tunnel. I was a little hesitant at first (of course I didn't let anyone think that) but in the end we ALL had a blast. Ms Lee was our instructor. She was Brittney's teacher last year, and you can tell she really enjoys her weekend job as well. She was all smiles with everyone & an excellent instructor. Kevin & Brittney had the most time in the wind tunnel ~ 4 turns approximately a minute each with me & Sophie having 2 turns. We were exhausted when we finished, and Ms Lee said that our time equalled between 4 to 6 jumps. WOW, not to bad for an old girl :-)

Ms Lee showed us what the proper form looked like. She did some flips, turns, and some knee flying. It was so cool!

Kevin was first to go, and he got some good air.

You can't skydive or wind-tunnel without funny faces being created. The video is even better, but it is 15 minutes long (too long to upload).

Brittney had natural form so Ms Lee was able to go 'no hands' quite a bit with Brittney

I'm not sure who was having more fun, Brittney or Ms Lee...

Look at all the air Brittney is getting...

Brittney's funny face :-)

Sophie walked right into the tunnel & got herself some air. She was so brave!

Here Sophie is all by herself ~ 'look mom, no hands from the instructor!'

Sophie never had any funny faces captured on film, but she had plenty of airborne pictures

Even I was able to get some air...

Not too bad for an old, out-of-shape girl :-)

Funny face by me...

When all is said & done, we had a blast and will probably do it again!

Visit to home in Peoria ~ August 2009

2009-10-10T19:59:00.018+01:00

Our visit to Peoria in August 2009 was full of mixed blessings... At first we weren't planning on going but God provided some excellent cheap tickets that we could not pass up. Through-out our entire time home I felt this 'cloud' of sorts hanging over me (not necessarily a 'bad' cloud but a cloud is the best description)... we had just moved house in the UK & the transition was not completed before we headed home in August... all those loose ends were bugging me the entire time not to mention the fact that I still had plenty of unpacking to do once we returned to the UK. So let me apologize now for my absence mindedness while home & my constantly changing mood (I know that one is a full can of worms but I'll say it for you & apologize none the less).

When we arrived in Peoria I realized that we had left one suitcase behind - it was sitting at the top of the stairs waiting to come down & be loaded in the car. This suitcase included all of our shoes and Kevin's camera. The shoe thing we could deal with - just go shopping :-) but the camera meant not that many pictures on our trip. So again, I will apologize...this time for not that many pictures of the various events & visitors.

We arrived at our farm in the middle of the night after 24+ hours of travel. To say we were exhausted is an understatement. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Randy, our contractor, had set up the beds in the house so we quickly put those to good use. The next morning Kevin & the girls were up early, raring to go. After some coaxing, I got up as well & we headed off to The Flame for an American breakfast - yum, yum, yum!

The girls had tons of energy from the start so we decided to take them on to VBS at our church (originally I wasn't planning on them starting on Monday, I was going to give them a day of rest - boy was I wrong, they didn't need that). Them being at VBS gave Kevin & I a chance to make the infamous Walmart run so we could stock up on the necessities. VBS was excellent this year (as always) and I was so glad the girls got to be a part of it; it made the transition feel like home again. We enjoyed returning to our familiar friends at church.

Pappie was the first grandparent to visit. He took the girls to Chuck-e-Cheese (kind of like a casino for kids) where Brittney & Sophie stocked up on the winnings. Toys 'R Us was a must visit for more Barbie Pony stuff (we had to buy an extra suitcase just to bring home all the ponies purchased during our visit). Pappie cooked some good ole spaghetti & lasagna, and we were able to visit with our good friends Pam, David, Leah & Hannah who were on their home leave from Japan.

Next to visit was Papa & Nana Couey. The girls were able to enjoy some cooking time with Nana Couey making Chicken & Dumplings. Papa & Kevin enjoyed lots of fishing time but at Brittney's request, they did do the 'catch & release' program :-)

Nana & Grandpa Jim took the girls for a little adventure away from Peoria :-). They used the one-bedroom apartment in Champaign as their 'home base' and travelled with the girls to Chicago one day. While there, they were able to see the Harry Potter exhibit (way cool & mom is very jealous). They also went sailing another day at Clinton Lake. Everyone had a blast.

The girls & I spent quite a few days swimming at the Metamora Pool and one day, thanks to Nana Downs, we went to Splashdown. Wow, am I feeling old when I say, Splashdown seemed way too crowded & over priced for me. We only stayed about 3 hours so we left before the big crowds came, but even the girls preferred the Metamora Pool over Splashdown. We had hoped to swim a few days in our lake, but the weather was not warm enough & the lake was not clean enough... oh well, we had plenty of fun otherwise.

The last grandparent to visit was Granny. She is always such a huge help keeping up with the laundry & closing the house down before returning to the UK. We enjoyed shopping (the girls maybe not as much as we had hoped), cooking, and visiting with Granny. We went to the zoo one day and had some friends over to play with Brittney.

Whitney visited with me & the girls many, many times, but it is never enough if the truth be told - I just wish I could put her in a suitcase & bring her back with me. Whitney has been such a blessing to our family. She helps us so much & her presence is always a sweet experience. The girls stayed one night with Whitney & Micah at their new home. Brittney asked me if she was going to babysit Whitney's children when we moved back to Peoria in 2 years. Hmmmm, I'm hoping so.

We also got to spend a few days with Randee. It was Randee's family that introduced us to NeeNee almost 10 years ago. It has been really cool to see her grow up & turn into a girl that makes all of us proud - but NeeNee would be the proudest I'm sure :-)

Randee & Sophie

Brittney & Randee

Can't go to Peoria during ice-cream season and not visit Emo's

Also during Granny's stay we visited the Peoria Zoo. It has recently been refurbished to include an Africa section. It is now an excellent place to visit in Peoria...
This guy is the first thing when you enter the zoo. He was constantly posing for pictures & if he didn't feel like he was getting enough attention he would stand up & start barking. He is a little pre-madona who is perfect for the entrance...

Brittney was practicing with her new camera that Pappie got her. She was so excited to be able to use it...

Sophie is always anxious to read a map & give instructions. She kept us in line while at the zoo.

This guy reminded us of 'Dum-Dum want Gum-Gum' from Night at the Museum...

Well, as I said at the beginning of this blog, we forgot the main camera so I warned you that there wouldn't be lots of pictures... sorry about that. There were lots of memories about our home leave that I haven't blogged about, but I think the most interesting thing about this home leave was just how anxious we girls were to get back to England. I find it ironic that the UK has become such an important place to us. We have awesome friends here, the girls love school, we have a great house, and we have horse riding. Please do not feel like we don't want to see our family, we would just like for you to come visit us over here...

St Ives, Cornwall UK ~ July 2009

2009-10-08T09:34:00.008+01:00

I can remember my granny asking me this riddle when I was a little girl; I was constantly trying to keep up with number of '7s' in my head so I could give the right answer...

As I was on my way to St Ives,
I met a man with seven wives.
Seven wives had seven sacks.
Seven sacks had seven cats.
Seven cats had seven kittens.
So, kittens, cats, sacks, and wives...
How many were going to St Ives?

Well, this summer I finally went to St Ives myself, and let me tell you, it is not an easy place to get to. St Ives is near Lands End of Cornwall, and there is one road in and one road out, sooo that can make for a long ride. The girls passed the time on the road yelling hello to all the cars we came across, singing at the top of their lungs, and counting all the sheep on this 355 mile, 8+ hour journey.

We went the week after school finished with our good friends Claire, Grandma Linda, Hannah, and Emily. They go every year and sometimes multiple times a year. They were the perfect tourist advisers, but unfortunately I wasn't in the exploring mood. The roads are the narrowest & busiest I have experienced since moving over seas, it rained every day, and the girls just wanted to play at the beach.

Claire, Gma Linda, and I took 1 hour shifts huddled up on the beach with our rain gear on, layers-upon-layers of clothing, umbrella, and blankets while the girls played in the water. We should receive an award for braving the weather in the name of our children. You may ask how the kiddos stayed warm...well I'm not really sure they were warm but they would have never admitted otherwise, but never fear, (remember we are going for Mother of the Year Award here...) they had wet suits on.

Sophie didn't like hers too much because she felt like it was choking her. We tried to explain it had to be tight so the cold water wouldn't get into it. There were several times we had to bring Sophie back to the room because she was turning blue in the water (I'm guessing there went my Mother of the Year Award). We would shower her off and then let her take a warm bath...she was singing the entire time with a huge grin on her face...even if her face was a little on the blue side :-)

Brittney & Emily were unstoppable when it came to the water. They were fearless in the waves and loved every minute of the holiday.

On the last day we finally had sunshine. Gma Linda went out real early to stake our claim on the beach. We were in the back, up against the wall with our wind guard marking our territory. It was kinda ironic, within a few hours we were sweating hot. We tried to brave the cold water, but without a wetsuit (& who wants that image of me in a wet suit) there was no way.

The girls on the other hand, loved it...

Regardless of how cold the Atlantic Water was, sun or no sun, the girls were like fish. There were several different beaches the girls could swim at, and the waves were different based on which beach we were at ~ some waves were surfing size, almost all waves were body surfing size, and there was plenty of splashing for all.A couple of afternoons the girls went crabbing on the dock. It is a tradition on the island and people line up with their pails of crabs. First you go to the bait shop and ask for the leftover fish (another way of asking for old, stinky fish guts), then you fill a small bag with the bait, dangle it in the water, and catch some crabs. You don't kill the crabs; you just put them in your pail to see how many you can get ~ kinda like a catch & release mentality.

Brittney, tired of catching crabs, decided it would be fun to catch a sea gull. She threw her line out and a sea gull thought about eating it, instead he found himself entangled in the line. We weren't sure how to get him off because he was trying to fly away while screaming at the top of his lungs and the girls were screaming on the dock. Claire tried to drown him in the water but his 'Fight or Flight' syndrome kicked in and he was able to free himself from the line.

Two different times when we were out on the docks a seal came up to the girls. They were able to feed him some of their fish guts and watch him do a few twists and turns in the water. Everyone was squealing for joy (even us adults). Unfortunately we didn't have our camera with us due to the rain and the water.

We finished the days off with ice cream from Kelly's. We would walk around the shops and spend Daddy's hard earned money.

Sophie's Pony Birthday Party

2009-10-05T10:42:00.012+01:00

Sophie's birthday was in July but I am very behind on posting... so just pretend the date is right :-)

Is it just me, or is every little girls dream birthday party a pony party... Sophie kept asking so after talking with the riding center we decided to take the plunge...

do you see Sophie's cheesy smile (middle girl in purple hat)? She had a blast & kept telling me it was the best day of her life...

Hats & Boots - check... cheesy smile continues with Sophie (see her in the purple hat)

Big sister helped with lead reign

Everyone receiving instructions for the various games, as well as a few quick horse riding tips

Sometimes we need help to mount these ponies :-)

But in the end, we will succeed

Nina is mounted & ready to go

Sophie rode Rupert - her favorite pony

First group of riders is ready to go

Smiles all around

Smiles from the birthday girl

Birthday girl is in the lead ~ thanks Charlotte for your help!

Brittney is learning just how difficult lead reign can be...

...and sometimes it takes more than one person to a lead a horse

everyone loves Rupert the pony

saying goodbye to Misty

Ponies are in their stables so they can have a rest

When the day was done, everyone still had smiles & lots of stories to tell their parents.

Sophie, you are my little princess who brought 'grace' into my life. I will always cherish you and these fabulous memories we are making. I love your smile, your giggles, and your non-stop cuddles. You have brought many blessings to our family, and I can't believe how big you have gotten...

Le Trec

2009-10-04T20:54:00.016+01:00

Today was the final competition for the season at Moorfield Riding Center. The girls and I have had a blast putting our new found 'skills' to the test. The competition today was to complete an obstacle course with 12 different stations in the fastest time possible but the points actually came from the difficulty level chosen to complete each obstacle (walk, trot, canter, etc). We had two goes at the course with two different horses.

List of Obstacles:

Mounting horse without help in 15 seconds (very difficult for an old, fat girl but I did it)
Bending pole ~ walk the horse through two bends without touching the poles
Canter through zig-zag but must keep the horse at a steady pace. If you lost the pace you started at, then there was no score
Slow walk ~ again, if the horse did not stay at a steady pace you did not score any points
Move block from one barrel to another ~ this seems easy enough but some horses don't like going near barrels
Canter along a path while keeping horse in steady pace; if pace changes or horse stops cantering there are no points scored
Walk across a bridge without stepping off the sides
Open a gate, walk through, then close the gate while mounted on horse
Zig Zag poles in a circle while in canter ~ steady pace or no score
Bring horse to full stop & then back horse up without stepping out of bounds
Go through limbo poles while mounted on horse ~ the old woman actually did this :-)
Zig Zag poles at steady, fast pace to finish line

Picture summary of Brittney's day.... she did fabulous!

Ben was her first ride of the day

Then Timmie

Sitting tall & proud on Timmie

Open that gate

Gate is closed - success!

Cantering on Timmie

Backing Timmie up

...after finishing the Limbo Poles Timmie decided to take Brittney on a full-out run. No Worries though, she got him under control, brought him back, and finished the race.

Do you know what happens if you don't compete in these events? Just ask Kevin, you get to be the parent lead reign runner :-) So here is Sophie's store:

Sophie gettting ready to go

Sophie loving on Rickie

Mounting Rickie without help

And...she is up

Kevin doing the lead reign dance :-)

Preparing for the next obstacle, but do you see how tall she is sitting in that saddle

Slow & steady walk

Closing the gate while on Rupert

Backing up Rupert

Do you see the judge in the background? She should have given Sophie extra points for her next move...a front flip off of Rupert when he decided to stop & eat grass.

But never fear, Sophie got right back up on that horse with tears streaming down her face. She was determined to show Rupert who was boss :-)

No pictures of me, but that is ok. I had a blast riding Lulu and Cindy. I was able to get both of the horses to canter when necessary but neither horse were too keen on the idea of backing up. Oh well, you can't win them all...

Weekend Get-a-way in Norway

2009-09-27T21:08:00.026+01:00

Kevin & I were unable to celebrate our anniversary this past August so we planned to take a weekend once we were back in England. Ryan Air is an airline in England with unbelievable rates to some excellent places. We were able to fly round trip to Norway for £20 (approximately $40). Now that is where the 'cheap' prices ended because it can be very expensive to eat in Norway, there were very few restaurants, car rental & petrol prices (gas) were ridiculous, but does price really matter when it was for our anniversary :-)

On Thursday we arrived in Haugalandet, Norway. We decided to drive around for a little while, pick up a few groceries, and then look for our cabin. Our landlord for the weekend had started a fire in the wood burning stove, so the cabin was perfect for a snuggle :-)

this is the living room with small wood burner in the bottom corner. The tv was full of American television shows ~ who'd of thought that...

They actually had a '7 Eleven' I was so excited I had to take a picture of it. I don't think you can see but the price of petrol was 11.85 per liter and diesel was 10.89.

Here are some of the first views of the fjords we would be exploring over the weekend

...and the waterfalls...

Friday morning we decided to sleep in, fix a big breakfast, and then head off to see waterfalls & go hiking. It was a fairly clear day with temperatures in the mid 70's.

This was the first waterfall we saw that we could walk around. This picture is near the bottom of it, but we were soon to learn that this was nothing compared to the size, volume, & number of waterfalls Norway has to offer.

We were unable to get a complete picture of the Svandalsfossen Waterfall. The mist coming off of the waterfall caused the picture to be blurry & after hiking around it for an hour we were both sopping wet (we looked like we had just stepped out of a shower). The pictures do not due justice to the force associated with this waterfall.

Langfoss Waterfall is a world famous site that is popular with Norway Fjord Cruises. There are no words that can sufficiently express how magnificent this site is.

Saturday we were up early because we had to catch 2 ferry rides. As we travelled through the day we realized nothing much was open, but there were still beautiful & breath taking scenes ahead...

The water was smooth as glass on the ferry rides & the views were awesome.

'Island of Calm' ~ this is a perfect house for me in the middle of a fjord... I would like to know when I can move in?

The 'Old Church' in Ardal is from the 17th Century. We learned it is a typical example of the decorations seen in Renaissance churches. The alter piece scene is a depiction of Golgatha.

One of the last stops for Saturday was in Jorpeland. We hiked parallel to a beautiful waterfall that Kevin felt the need of climbing to the middle of...

Sunday - after cleaning up, travel back towards airport, everything closed, Viking village, return flight

On our way to the airport we were quickly reminded that not much was open in Norway, but we found a true gem hidden in the ruff...a Viking Village. We had about an hour to tour the little village replica before heading off to the airport.

Look out for the Viking coming out of her bedroom. Oh my she looks grumping in the morning...

Once we were home it was time to start the laundry, cook the dinner, play a quick game of Ticket to Ride with the girls, & off to bed to start the normal routine of daily life.

My best memory of the weekend is the realization that Kevin & I were able to renew our love & commitment to each other! What an amazing blessing that is...

I know, I know

2009-09-27T21:05:00.002+01:00

I know it has been forever since I have updated the blog... you know it is bad when Kevin asks if I am going to update it :-) Well, it can get a little overwhelming when you realize just how far behind you have gotten & know that you will never catch up, so here is my plan. I will start updating with the last few weeks & then will slowly back track some of the bigger items - Sophie's birthday, August home leave, and horse riding. I will force the dates so that the post shows up on the top, and after a week I will replace the date with the correct date so the post goes back in its proper place. We'll just see where it goes from there.

She's back... or at least on her way to getting back

2009-05-18T13:03:00.003+01:00

When Kevin & I first moved to the UK we had three things we did right away... 1)purchase TV, 2) Internet, House Phone & Cell Phone setup, and 3) Join the gym. Yep, that is the rating that Kevin assigned to our tasks :-) TV first, communication with world second, and our exercise & physical health second.

Over the last 2+ years I have enjoyed my time at the gym, from swimming with the girls; to participating in various classes - kickboxing, body combat, body pump, yoga, etc; to having a personal trainer for a few months; to enjoying the perks of massages and pedicures. Some of my best memories at the gym were when I was working out with friends ~ Janice & I used to take 2 classes a day...man was I in shape then.

In January, Kevin & I decided to cancel our gym membership & purchase home gym equipment. This would eliminate the regular membership fee, the travel time and would enable Kevin & I to work out together. We got a fabulous deal on gym quality equipment from a shop here in the UK and had a great location for it here in our home. We even got a TV for the workout room. We were set.

Almost every morning you can here Kevin in the gym at 6am. He has really enjoyed the home gym & benefited from it. Me on the other hand, I hate it. I feel like I spend so much time at home already that I really missed going to the gym, seeing other people, and basically just getting out of the house. I could always find an excuse to keep me from getting on the home equipment - laundry, cleaning, or basically just laziness.

Last Thursday I decided to take things into my own hands, and I rejoined the gym. I love it. My goal is to go to the gym 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes, but once I get in better shape I plan on rejoining the classes and spending a few hours there. So, here's to weight loss, better conditioning, better health!

There is no place like home...

2009-05-16T20:58:00.002+01:00

We have been trying to decide whether or not we are going back to Illinois in August. There have been many factors - money, time, family, friends, etc. But my biggest concern has been whether or not going home would amplify our homesickness. Now don't get me wrong, living here has been excellent, we are enjoying our time, making fabulous & life-long friends but as the saying goes "there is NO place like home."

When we are here in England we seem to be fine - we really enjoy ourselves & our daily routine. The girls enjoy living in a subdivision where the neighborhood kids can come over, they can ride their bikes, and take the dogs for a walk. The school is within in walking distance as well as a convenient store which allows for regular walks for ice-cream or lollies.

But when we return to Illinois and stay at our farm, well that is just home and words can't describe how much we enjoy it. We have our lake, our land, the home construction, the memories, the friends, our church, the big-kids visits (my former youth group), and the family visits. Each time we go home we find it gets harder & harder to come back to England... so we were thinking maybe we wouldn't go home this summer.

We planned a week vacation at Cornwall here in England the week after the girls get out of school. It will be a girls only vacation shared with our best friends the Hunters. We have booked an apartment right on the beach and the Hunters know Cornwall like the back of their hand. I anticipate this to be a fabulous holiday.

Next I was planning to fill the time with daily outings here in England - safari parks, farms, horse riding, water parks, etc. There also is a Christian Family week called Grapevine which includes camping, music, and lots of friend fun time. And before you know it, I figured summer time would have ended & school would begin again...

Each night it seems that Kevin asks me if I'm sure about not going home in August. He was constantly searching for cheap flights but finding ridiculous prices instead. Finally, today I said just book it - we'll go home for the month of August. Well let me tell you - God is good! Kevin booked our flights, we got the last 4 seats on the plane, and the girls were free. Can you believe that - the girls were FREE. When does that ever happen - especially during summer travel time.

So family & friends, mark your calendars now... we will be home Aug 3rd through the 25th. I plan to eat plenty of Mexican, drink lots of Diet Mt Dew, and visit with as many people as possible.

I told Brittney tonight that we were going home in August for a visit - you should have seen the huge smile that came across her face; it was priceless!!!

Gymkarna - Girl's First Horse Competition

2009-05-15T21:31:00.009+01:00

Mother's Day Sunday was spent as a family enjoying our first horse competition. We have been taking lessons for a little over a month, and the competition is really just a chance to spend family time together enjoying the horses. Gymkana is a sports day type event with horses. There were multiple races with Kevin or I holding the lead rein, and the girl's rode a different horse for each race.

Pole Weave ~ in this race the girls had to weave their horse in & out of the poles

Do you see that confident look on her face...
Brittney's turn...
Brittney was riding Marco & he wasn't too impressed with Kevin's lead rein skill. He kept biting Kevin during the race...
Cup Race ~ while trotting, the girls had to grab a cup on one pole then place the cup on the next pole

Flag Race ~ the girls would collect a flag at one end, trot to other end & place it in cone while continually moving, then repeat

For this race, Sophie rode Rupert & based on his size she had a bit of an advantage don't you think... BUT let me say she had great hand/eye coordination & dad kept Rupert at a steady pace.Look at how tall & strong Brittney is sitting on this horse. She looks really good when she rides & very comfortable!

Sack Race ~ the girls will trot on the horse through 2/3rds of course & finish via the sack. I took over the lead rein on this race so that Kevin could get some much deserved rest.

Potato Race ~ the girls will collect a potato that has been placed on top of a drum at one end , trot to the other end & drop it in a bucket at next end, then repeat. I was 'scheduled' to run this race with the girls. It was starting to get much windier & cooler, but we are still having a ton of fun!

Do you notice on the picture above that Sophie's right hand is free (she is holding the reins in her left hand). That is so she can pick up the potato, but the only problem this time...mom was actually running half way fast & Sophie had started to get a little too comfortable with this race. She fell of the horse half way through (we were in first at that point) - quite a few tears were shed, BUT she got back on that horse & finished the race. I was so proud of her for that.

After Sophie's fall, I really needed a rest so Kevin ran the last race with Brittney. Brittney did excellent - she came in first. She has excellent hand/eye coordination & is very comfortable on the horse. She was able to maneuver the course with skill & handle her horse with confidence. She definitely deserves to be proud (mom & dad were so proud of her!)

In the end, we had a blast! The girls did fabulous. They collected a rosette for each race they were in which is really good considering they have been riding for such a short time (and no, everyone did not get a rosette; the rider had to actually place in the top 4 to get a rosette). Excellent day!

My 3 daughters...

2009-04-30T09:17:00.005+01:00

These are my 3 favorite girls in the world. Whitney has been a strength to my family since Brittney came along. It seems as if in some strange way Whitney was my first daughter... she and Brittney have so much in common, all the way down to a mole on their big toe ~ go figure. While I was pregnant with Sophie, Whitney was our support & life-line many times. I can remember calling her in the middle of the night due to contractions & she came over to sit with Brittney. When we moved to our farm while I was 9 months pregnant, she loaded her car with all my clothes (and that is a lot of clothes) to take them to the new house. Whit was one of the first visitors in the hospital to hold Sophie (there is a copy of that picture in a post from July of last year). When we have travelled back to Illinois for our home leave Whitney either meets us at the airport or at the house, and she has even been known to stock my house with the necessities - Diet Mountain Dew and Ramen Noodles :-)

Now that we are back in the UK I am missing Whitney a lot and the girls just keep asking when they will get to see her again. I guess I wanted to make this post so everyone can know just how wonderful Whitney is & how much we can't wait to see her. Oh I know, she should hop on a plane and come over here...shall we take a vote-

Love ya Whitney

Horseback Riding

2009-04-27T18:24:00.007+01:00

Our farm back in Illinois is going through many changes ~ we are modifying the house to look like a British Barn conversion, and we plan on bringing horses back to the farm land. Since Kevin & I know so little about the taking care of horses, I have actually enrolled in a two year course that will certify me to board horses at the end. Boarding horses is not my entention, but it will give me the skill set to take care of our horses.

On Sundays Brittney, Sophie & Kevin take horse riding lessons (I take during the week). Here are some pictures of the girls riding English style of course :-)

Sweetwater Bend

2009-04-27T12:23:00.013+01:00

While we are living in the UK we have decided to completely re-do our house back in America, to say that we have been influenced by the British countryside is an understatement. We have added a tower which will contain the spiral staircase that will take you to the loft in our new master bedroom. The new master replaces the original 2 car garage (which was torn down last year). A new garage will be added this summer; it will be 2 levels so that an exercise room can be added along with a hang out area for the girls. We will be taking the brick off the house & replacing it with stone. In addition the arches in the front will be taken out (I've always disliked them), two additional dormers will be added, and the roof line readjusted some. The roof on the tower will be covered with a copper look-a-like. Now, the funny thing... all of this started by me wanting a new kitchen. I guess the saying 'be careful what you ask for' has been taken to an extreme by us :-)The garage will be added to the side of the house here. Kevin has decided that we 'need' a four car garage. It will be built so the middle two garages will have one door but will jut out from the other two garage doors on either side (I'm told this is to add more architecture detail).
This is the view in the tower. It will have over 18 windows between the two levels and will house the spiral staircase. The staircase leads up to the loft in our master bedroom. The loft will be a library, reading area.
We have lots of views out over the countryside from up in the loft. The downstairs of the master will have a corner fireplace with a sitting area as well. I'm wondering if Kevin has designed it with the idea of never leaving the room...

The back of the house (before the garage is added to the side) will have stone instead of the siding, and a deck will be built at some point.

So far, the only thing that hasn't been added or accounted for yet is a motte and a dragon. What do you think will happen if I ask for those as well :-)

Werrington Community Day

2009-03-30T20:48:00.005+01:00

Werrington, the village where we live in Peterborough, has 3 primary schools (usually a village only has one primary school), and the girls attend the largest primary school, William Law (it also happens to be one of the largest schools in the Peterborough area). This past weekend the village had a community day in hopes of making everyone aware of the various activities going on in our village. All of the school choirs performed as one group. William Law is in the green ~ the dominate color in the pictures :-).

Listen to the British accents in the Shrimp Song... the video quality is not the best because it actually was recorded on my little camera (not a video camera). Also, try to ignore the kids bouncing behind the screen - there was a trampolining class happening at the same time :-)

Happy 40th gifts for Kevin & Cathy

2009-03-25T13:17:00.004Z

While we were skiing in December I turned 40, but Kevin was unable to give me my gift. You see, he wanted to give me a cuckoo-clock but this year the area we stayed in Switzerland had no cuckoo-clocks. Not to fear, we went to Germany in March - cuckoo clock heaven! We found a wood-cutter who hand makes cuckoo-clocks, and he taught Kevin all the ins-and-outs of the clocks. His shop was full of so many clocks - traditional, big, small, everything you could think of. We fell in love with the clock below (I know it is huge) but it reminds us of skiing and the great outdoors.

For as long as I can remember Kevin has talked about wanting to go sky-diving or parasailing or parachuting or something to that measure. I was looking on line for some gift ideas and came across the perfect gift for Kevin...for this gift, if the receiver is age 40 or over a doctor's examination & clearance is required. How excellent!!!

Kevin will need to schedule his jump from a real plane, but once he gets the nerve up Brittney's teacher, Ms. Lee will be going on the jump with Kevin to video tape the experience. I will post the information once we have it ready :-)

Happy Mother's Day UK style!

2009-03-22T19:28:00.007Z

One of the perks of living in the UK is that I get to celebrate 2 Mother's Day - the good ole, standard Mother's Day celebrated in the USA during the month of May and Mothering Day (also known as Mum's Day) here in the UK. Today at church I learned that Mothering Day is actually a church celebrated occasion dating back to the 16th century. The date is determined by the 4th Sunday of Lent or approximately half way through Lent. Another tradition is to eat a Simnel Cake (fruit cake with marzipan, an almond paste, in the middle with 11 balls on the top). I was also reminded that scripture is clear that God loves us with a mother's comforting love ~ "as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you..." Isaiah 66:13a.

Today started with Sophie bringing me breakfast in bed (cereal with yogurt), followed by her proudly presenting me with her school-made card. Then Brittney produced all of her beautiful hand-made cards. An excellent way to start the day!

Kevin was 'struggling' for gift ideas so I suggested he take me to the antique centre where I had some ideas freshly prepared to share with him :-) I wanted a picture of a British Fox Hunt. So we looked through the numerous pictures while the girl's patiently entertained themselves. The picture we got is of a fox hunt taking place at Belvoir Castle (which we have been to). Way cool! The girls also found a small King Charles Spaniel Dog for me which I will proudly display on my desk. Afterwards we drove to a local Equestrian Centre and signed me and the girls up for lessons. I can't wait to start!

I had an excellent day and am reminded of just how much I love my Momma and all the women who have been a 'mothering' comfort to me in my years... God is so good!

Week in Germany ~ birth place

2009-03-18T20:58:00.005Z

My dad & his wife are visiting from Georgia. During their two week visit we traveled to Germany for a week and spent the last week traveling all over England. I will slowly blog about our travels...starting with our week in Germany.

Our first trip was to visit my Birth Place. Yes, I was born somewhere other than the good ole USA. During Vietnam, my dad was stationed outside Frankfurt, West Germany (of course now just known as Germany). This fact has been a good piece of trivia for me in the past, but now I feel like I know more. It was really cool walking the streets that my parents walked when they were younger than I currently am...

Mom & Dad lived on the third floor apartment ~ up where dad & I are pointing

Dad was curious to see if Helga still lived in the apartment complex. She was the landlady who took mom & dad under her wing - made sure they were treated right, not over charged, etc. Well dad checked the listing by the front door of the apartment & saw that her name was still listed. We tried to call up to her apartment but there wasn't any answer.

After looking around awhile, we decided to walk to the local bakery, enjoy some treats, & head off for our next adventure...

School Pictures

2009-03-05T16:27:00.003Z

I love this picture!!!! It is the girl's school picture. I have copies for all the grandparents next time we see you!

Very Quick Update

2009-02-25T13:54:00.003Z

I know it has been a really long time since I have posted anything of substance on this site. There are many excuses as to why so let me fill you in... yucky weather, feeling blue/down, crashed laptop, yucky & extremely slow desktop computer, half-term break, etc. I promise to blog about the exciting stuff, but for now - wahoo, I have a new laptop. It arrived about an hour ago, I have it most of the way setup, and now I can reconnect with the world! FINALLY!

It is really snowing

2009-02-05T10:08:00.004Z

Last night I was up most of the night so I was able to watch the accumulation of snow. I couldn't believe it; we actually have between 4 & 6 inches of snow...and it's still snowing. But the best part of all, they are rationing the salt because they have almost run out. The girls were up & outside by 7am playing in the snow. The dogs loved it too.

After an hour or so, Sophie came inside because she was soaked to the bone. The snow is a wet snow & of course they are rolling around in it. I bundled her up infront of the fire with a cup of hot chocolate and marshmellows. Brittney & Emily headed off to the park for some sledding (of course over here they call it sledging).

I'll update more as the day progresses, but here are a few pictures of the snow.

Pink Baby

2009-01-19T17:35:00.011Z

When Sophie was a newborn she was given a pink baby from one of my mom's friends. Very quickly it became evident to everyone that the pink baby was very important. It was so important that I searched online until I was able to buy 2 extra pink babies (for the just in case backup). Pink baby has gone everywhere with Sophie - every holiday, doctor visit, bed time, nap time - you get the picture.

In fact, on our visit to Cyprus in 2006 Sophie had "Pink Baby" and 1 of the extra pink babies. We were looking at some new hair bands so Sophie had to put Pink Baby down. You guessed it - we walked away with Pink Baby still on the ground. After an hour or so we get back to the apartment & Sophie is getting ready for bed. She starts frantically looking for Pink Baby but can't find her anywhere. So being the good mother that I am, I lock the girls in the apartment (Kevin is in bed sick) giving them strict instructions to not open the door for anyone! I retrace all of our steps only to find Pink Baby in the garbage can next to the hair bands. She was lucky that trip; however, the extra baby did go missing on this trip never to be found :-(

Pink Baby has been with Sophie through so much. Sophie even has a special way of holding Pink Baby - upside down, by her right leg, so she can smell Pink Baby while sucking her thumb.

Pink Baby eventually became known as brown baby or dirty baby, but she was very important to Sophie! Well, after returning from Switzerland Sophie still had Pink Baby (5+ years and counting). But about 2 weeks ago, Pink Baby went missing. We think she might have been packed with the Christmas decorations; if not, we have no idea...

Pink Baby, we will miss you greatly but always remember you! Love you Pink Baby!!!

Lordy, Lordy look who's 40!

2009-01-18T20:55:00.004Z

I know it has been A LONG time since I have blogged. I would love to have some great excuse but the truth is I just haven't felt like it (or to borrow from my British friends "I just couldn't be bothered). Please don't be too mad at me...I will try to catch up. I will start with the easiest post.

You know I remember my parents being 40. I never thought of them as old at that age, but I didn't think of them as young either :-) (sorry guys). I wasn't looking to forward to turning 40 because there were goals that I knew I would not be meeting. Well, I guess you just keep trying.

So here is the run down of the celebrations - while we were skiing Sarah made me a cake (while I snored on the couch) and gave me slippers & a book which became my newest obsession (TWILIGHT - awesome read & movie). Kevin promises to buy me a clock during our trip to Germany in March & the girls keep reminding him so that one should be good as well.

But the best surprise of all came from my wonderful friends in the Thursday Bible Study group. I was hosting the 2nd session for this book and had no idea that they had connived behind my back. Deena shows up dressed like an old lady, scooting along very slowly, and asked was this the old ladies study group. And then the others continued to show up. They gave me purple balloons, a purple plant, an awesome cake, a gorgeous set of pictures of Stamford (I was so wanting one of these too - yea!), and tons of laughs. I was so surprised & honored. THANK YOU to all the wonderful friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sarah being the scrapbook-er that she is put the following together for me. I hope you enjoy!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Almost double digits - Brittney is 9!

2008-12-15T09:58:00.006Z

Saturday was the big day for Brittney. The count down had been on for quite some time but when the day finally came she couldn't believe it. She kept telling me she didn't feel 9! So I felt of her ribs and then my expanded tummy & told her she was definitely 9. Her birthday party won't be until January; that is one of the joys of having a December birthday - no one is ready for an additional party in December but come January people are begging for a party. We have rented out Activity World as usual so she can bring all of her friends, the other ISE families, and some of Sophie's friends.
But back to THE day... It started with Brittney opening her gifts which included the Harry Potter game for the Wii (I'll blog about the Wii a little later) and a 2nd Harry Potter wand. Evidently if you have 2 H.P. wands you can play a duelling game & cast "spells" on each other. Brittney spent the first part of the morning playing on the Wii. Then Emily came down & Kevin took all the girls to see a movie & lunch at Frankie & Benny's. He had the restaurant do the traditional embarrassing song & dessert for Brittney, and of course she absolutely loved it.
Then the night included Kevin's work party so we were gone, but Brittney & Emily had a sleep over, stayed up until 2am, and ate lots of cake & ice cream. On Sunday Brittney gave me a thank you card saying it was the best birthday ever...who knew!
But for a trip down memory lane I have included a few pictures below...

2nd Birthday - Brittney & NeeNee

Brittney as a Wooden Puppet

Preschool Graduation

Sarah & Brittney Summer of 2007

Need I explain this one!!! summer 2007

Brittney, Sophie, and Emily

Ireland Nov 2008

2008-12-14T13:04:00.010Z

As a thank you to Granny for taking care of the girls & Kevin while I was in China we had booked a family trip to Ireland. It was a jam packed weekend with freezing cold temperatures. I am not sure that we did Granny any favors by taking her to Ireland but we did have the best of intentions... First off, the weather was FREEZING. I was colder than when we go skiing. We were bundled up in our winter jackets, scarves, hats, and gloves but it was not enough to conquer the cold. So, if we Illinois transplants were cold just imagine how cold Floridian Granny was... It is interesting, as I have talked to other people, the consensus is that Ireland is cold pretty much every month except July/August. Wish I would have known that before Kevin went to all the work to book us a trip, because I would have suggested something like the Canary Islands instead :-) Oh well, lesson learned!

The first day we visited the Waterford Crystal Factory. We were able to learn a lot about the process, & I have to admit it was pretty interesting. Then we walked around the on-sight "gift" shop. Much to Kevin's delight, I am not that much of a crystal girl so I wasn't interested in any of the really expensive items. That is not to say they weren't nice, just not quite my style.

Ok, I'll take this for a Christmas/Birthday combined gift :-)

A tribute to the 911 Firefighters

A replica of the New Year's ball dropped in New York

We then drove to our next destination but it was too late to get into the castle so we went on to the B&B. It was a quaint village with a great Italian restaurant. However, the B&B we stayed in did not have central heat and by midnight the pipes had froze - did I mention earlier that it was COLD! So the next morning when we woke up, we couldn't go to the bathroom and couldn't take a shower. To be quite honest, I just wanted to stay under the covers where I was warm.

After breakfast we were off to see the Blarney Castle & kiss the famous Blarney stone. Boy was the Blarney stone a let down... we were all expecting this stone that you go up to and kiss. Nope, it is part of the castle. You have to lay down on your back, lean your head through an opening at the top of the castle, and then kiss the "stone" while some stranger is holding you secure. Yeah right - not this girl! But Kevin & Brittney kissed the stone & have a certificate to prove it (sorry no pictures aloud - I'm guessing it is in case they drop you, they don't want any evidence).

See, Granny really did come; she just doesn't like her picture taken so you have to sneak it in. Did I mention it was COLD!

One of my favorite memories was skating/skiing across the icy bridges with the girls. I would pull them while they held their legs stiff. They thoroughly loved it & I did too until my back started hurting. Man it is tough getting old :-)

Next we were off to have a medieval dinner at the Bunratty Castle. All of the servers are the entertainment as well. In between the meal courses they provided a little show, and Kevin was dragged into it. He was to be the outlaw that had snuck into the event & had to beg for mercy. He did a good job of getting everyone to sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" as his punishment. I kept having to reassure Sophie that nothing bad was going to happen to daddy - she was quite worried & upset...

Kevin begging for mercy...

You eat the dinner with only a knife - this could have proved to be dangerous. The soup is drank/slurped from the bowl, the chicken is eaten with your hands, and the potatoes are stabbed with the knife. Each person is provided a little bowl with water & a lemon in it to wash your hands periodically during the dinner. It was quite the experience.

The next morning we came back to explore Bunratty Castle before returning to Dublin.

Don't you think Brittney might be asking for trouble looking into a canon with her sister next to the trigger :-)

We spent the last day in Dublin and the morning at the Guinness Factory. Again, I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable the tour is. The kids loved running around, Sophie took tons of pictures in the beginning, Brittney took video for awhile, and Dad got to drink a few "free" pints. What's not to love...

Sophie in front of one of the trains used in the earlier days...

Brittney & dad enjoying lunch at the factory

As I blog about the trip I realize just how much we were able to see, how much fun we did have (when we weren't freezing), and I remind myself of just how precious time is & valuable family is. I love you all! Thanks for putting up with my moods :-)

China (Day 10) ~ So Close, Yet So Far Away!

2008-11-24T03:15:00.004Z

Gloria & I didn't sleep much tonight... we were too excited about going home. We were up, showered, and packed almost 2 hours before our driver was due to pick us up. We went downstairs for our last breakfast in the hotel restaurant. The breakfast bar is scattered with different kinds of bread, chinese breakfast items (don't ask me what they are...), cereal, some type of yogurt (again, don't ask), various types of juice, and the possibility of an omlete. I say possibility because in most instances the chef doesn't speak English so you are reduced to hand jestures that sometimes is cleary communicated. However, I must admit I never knew you could fry an egg and/or an omlete with chop sticks. We then took one last trip through the gift shop and were then reduced to "patiently" waiting.

Finally we were off to the airport. On our way we noticed an increase police activity on the motorway. Mr. Lee explained that in an hour or so the motorway would be closed due to a convoy of some important people - wow, just in time we were heading home.

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch" is what my mom used to say when I was little. I guess I was getting way ahead of myself because we were in for a huge shock... when we arrived in Amsterdam we found out that KLM had cancelled all departing flights due to weather ~ other airlines were still flying but we had to get through the huge wait at the KLM Information line before we could find out our options. After more than 3 hours, I don't know how many different people, walking almost the entire airport, a complimentary water bottle, receiving our "care package" of personal items for our troubles, we were left to wait for 30 minutes outside in the snow for the shuttle to our hotel. Upon arriving at the hotel we find the lobby full of all the other KLM customers in the same position - now we have an additional hour wait just to get to our room.

No phone, expensive internet, and no one from home communicating, we were forced to wait & hope that back in the UK they knew more than we did. This morning (2:30) when I finally forced myself to get out of bed (I wasn't sleeping anyway) I see an email from Kevin stating he knew what was going on - glad someone did :-)

Well, we are off in an hour to start again. Here's hoping that we actually get home this time. We will be smelly, dirty, and wanting a shower but how good it will be to finally be home!

China (Day 9)

2008-11-22T12:03:00.006Z

Today was our last day in China, and the plan was to visit a few historical sites, complete the last minute shopping (not that we have room for any shopping in our luggage), and back to our room for packing & a good night sleep. Our first visit was to Tian'anmen Square to fly a kite. I have always loved flying a kite so I jumped at this opportunity. Next to me was a guy flying a kite that looked like a hawk. Instead of the normal string & holder used to fly a kite, he had a wheel of some sort. He could make the hawk do all kinds of things; through his skill, it flew in a life-like manner (I wasn't able to capture his kite in flight - too fancy)

We then walked through the square to the Forbidden City. Gloria and I were jealous of the fact that the F.C. has 9,999 rooms (not that we would want to clean them or anything like that). The Chinese believe the number 9 is lucky and the numeral 9,999 sounds like everlasting in Chinese; it seems like there was another reason for 9,999 but I can't remember right now. At one time there were approximately 70,000 eunuchs; 100+ concubines; 9,000 female attendants; plus the emperor and his wife ~ that's a lot of people in one place...

Picture of the Harmony Garden deep inside the F.C. walls.

This is where Gloria & I are going to need to spend more time :-)

We took a Petty Cab ride to the Bell Tower, but made a "pit-stop" on Beer Alley.

notice the Budweiser sign - I thought that was so weird to see in China...

not that I thought a "Coors Light" sign was any less weird...

While David & I climbed to the top of the Bell Tower, Gloria did some shopping in the gift shop. The tower has 75 very, very steep steps (not the standard size step we have in the US). I practically ran up them because I knew if I stopped I would never finish it. When I got to the top David said that was the fastest he had ever made it to the top of the tower. He asked me if I were an athlete - I just laughed & thought to myself, did you not notice the fat jiggling while we were going up the stairs :-)

After enjoying a tea ceremony at the Bell Tower, Gloria & I were back to the Pearl Market for that last minute shopping and then Pizza Hut for dinner (I know, it is our last night in China but we have had Chinese food almost every day - plus we did have it for lunch), and then back to the hotel to pack. We have packed everything & as long as no one opens our suitcases, we have it all in :-)

Now, we are off to bed for a good nights sleep before our 20 hour journey to get home. I cannot wait to get home & see my family!!!!!!!!

In Case You'e Curious...

2008-11-21T15:37:00.003Z

Just in case you are curious - it is 11:38 here in China, I should be asleep but I am wide awake (which seems to be the norm this trip). I am sooooo home sick & ready to give Brittney & Sophie the biggest hugs, kisses, cuddles, and play time. I started my "China" blogs with the question why... I thought the reason for being here was to bring the orphans of China closer to my heart; I do believe that is/was one of the reasons for this trip... but for me, the biggest lesson has been just how much I take my family for granted. So here goes...

Kevin ~ thank you for supporting me even when I am bad tempered, foul mooded, and tired of being home all day. Thank you for working hard to make these fabulous opportunities for your family. You are an awesome daddy and a great hubby. I know I don't tell you that enough, but I mean it and I love you!

Brittney ~ you are my big girl, growing up way too fast. You are an awesome big sister and a tremendous help to me when I am home. You are becoming independent and smart beyond words. I am so proud of the beautiful girl you are both on the inside and the outside. I love you!

Sophie ~ you are my bundle of energy that is constantly bringing a smile to my face. I love your smile, your constant singing, and your giggles. You are a ray of sunshine in our family. I love you!

Granny ~ I could not have gone on this trip without your support & help. Thank you! Thank you for everything... I promise, Duke & Daisy really are good dogs :-) and the stomach bug will go away eventually. I love you!

Friends in the UK & US ~ thank you for your emails and comments to the blogs. Your support before we ever touched down helped to make a difference in so many children's lives, but your support while we have been here has been extremely needed. We rush back to the hotel each night to see what you are saying... Thank you!

I need to quit now because the tears have started & I don't want to wake up Gloria. I love you all

Pictures by Sophie

2008-11-21T15:08:00.005Z

While uploading my photos from the trip I noticed that Sophie had gotten a hold of my camera. The pictures were actually too cute not to post...

Notice dad is in the room while this is happening but is totally oblivious... why is he oblivious

because he is on the computer ~ notice his hand...

Photo of the picture on the wall in the study where dad is on the computer completely oblivious to Sophie having control of my "non-expensive" camera I am about to take on my trip to China

Oh, there is the culprit - she hasn't learned about hiding the evidence yet

Close up of that beautiful face...

... of that beautiful smile (notice the missing tooth)

Here she is taking a picture of herself with one hand and holding pink baby with the other hand ~ that is determination & talent I must admit :-)

Brittney's Class Assembly

2008-11-21T14:51:00.004Z

Friday the 7th Brittney had her class assembly on the Celts. I kept meaning to blog about it but was actually waiting for a video clip she & her dad are putting together. I finally decided I will make the post without the video & can always add the video later...

Brittney & her class did an EXCELLENT job. The assembly covered what they have been studying in class as well as highlighting a recent trip to Flag Fen. I must admit I sat there with tears in my eyes watching as my "little" girl made me so proud!

Brittney a Celt from 2000 years ago

The Celt warriors

The Celt woman with 2 chorus girls :-)

China (Day 8)

2008-11-21T13:39:00.011Z

A picture of our group for the week (minus the driver) ~ Me, Linda (I keep calling her Laura so she needs to change her name...), Gloria, and Michael. We have made some awesome memories.

We spent all day at New Day Creation Learning Center. It is a fabulous facility approximately 1-1/2 hours out of the city. It has a school for English skills (all ages), a cafeteria, a small manufacturing business, a gift shop, a preschool, and the foster facility. Obviously we were there to visit the foster facility - the children are special needs with the majority of the "issues" being some form of heart disease. After touring the facility we played with the preschool age children first. We got to help them water color paint; one of my favorite activities!

These were pictures of the children hanging in the facility. Hannah, the one picture is for you - can you tell which one :-)

Later in the morning we went upstairs to see the babies. There are approximately 10 babies upstairs but more than half of them are in the hospital for surgeries or for winter bug (since they have heart problems even the common cold can be serious). We were able to see the therapy room and the baby bedrooms.

The therapy room had such an inviting and comforting feeling; actually you could say the entire facility had that "home" feel to it...

I was able to spend my "baby" time with a little boy named Noah. He is 3 months old and has downs syndrome and a heart condition. He has more surgeries to go, but he was an absolute delight today. He would cooo at me and hold my fingers really tight. Of course I sang to him, rocked him, played on the floor with him, and walked around with him. His favorite song seemed to be Itsy-Bitsy Spider; he would just laugh when the spider crawled up him... He did take a short 10 minute nap in my arms, and I just melted. The Ayi brought him to me when he woke from his afternoon nap; I felt really privileged by that plus she let me feed him his bottle (oh I so remember how difficult those days can be & I don't long for them to come back). Before we left for the day (and this trip) I sang one last song to him ~ Jesus Loves the Little Children ~ and promised him that there was a plan for his life. I silently cried as I left.

I do not like to hear myself sing and would not normally upload a video of myself, but I wanted to share with you Noah's smile. As the day progressed he would smile the minute I started the song...

While Noah was napping I played with a little 7 year old girl named Leah Hope (I love that name). She is a dwarf but sharp as a tack. She kept leading me around by the hand. Her english is excellent, and her coloring skills were top notch. She reminded me how much fun it can be to be a kid... so girls, when I get home we are getting the painting out, the play-doh, the coloring, you name it!

We had dinner at the Beijing Hotpot. The best way to describe it is a chinese version of fondue. It was excellent... except for when I went to put the noodles in my pot. The noodles weren't sliced and they were all tangled...so when I picked them up, they all came out, they wouldn't go into the pot, they were going everywhere...everyone came running over to try to keep me from making a huge mess; of course, I made a huge mess, felt like all eyes were on me, and was embarrassed beyond words. Oh well, have I mentioned how much I don't like change, embarrassment, or feeling like everyone is watching me. Anyway, the meal was very good. The oil I was cooking my food in was extremely spicy, so now I have heartburn :-( Hopefully I can get a good night sleep.

Tomorrow is our last day in Beijing. We are off to see the Forbidden City Palace and the 450 years old Bell Tower. Gloria promises it will be a great day of shopping as well. Not sure how that will work since we have no luggage room, but we'll deal with that later. I'm off to sleep for now ~ good night & sweet dreams...

China (Day 7)

2008-11-20T13:39:00.006Z

In the morning we visited BICCO (Beijing International Committee for Chinese Organization). This is a fabulous program facilitated by a mom & her son from the Philippines. They work with children that have CP. They provide physical therapy and hygiene training for moms and their children. They have families travel by train to spend 2 weeks at the facility; some travelling over 10 hours. The success stories they share are amazing - children unable to even respond when they first arrive, able to walk out of the facility 2 weeks later ~ who says miracles aren't still happening!

This little girl is autistic as well as having CP. I worked with her in the morning. She would follow the movement of music & sound. She had a fabulous smile & I called her the closet talker. I would talk to her or sing to her, then after I would "walk" away she would start repeating me. When we would catch her at it, she would just smile. It was a kind of game I guess :-)

After lunch we had an additional 2 hour delay before we could visit the next place so our guide set up a foot massage for me and Gloria. Oh my, it was really relaxing. It started with a hot soak in tea water, followed by a foot, knee, and leg massage. There were times that they really got in there but it felt great in the end. (you can see Gloria's blog for pictures...I was enjoying it too much to worry about pictures)

Then we were off to Amazing Hands. Oh to have the energy of this house mom. She was so good with the children. All of the workers had tons of energy but the house mom made you tired just watching her; she was constantly able to play with all 10 children, separately.

This little girl just loved to coo at you. She would try to mimic your "aaa" and "ooo" mouth and sound. It was really sweet!

We finished the day in our hotel room - catching up on emails, homework, and naps. I had a PB&J for dinner ~ it really hit the spot :-)

China (Day 6)

2008-11-19T14:05:00.003Z

Today we were at Children Hope. The orphanage is smaller with less than 20 children and has a 1 to 2 ratio. All of the children have varying degrees of disabilities.

This little baby had just arrived with a cleft palate that will eventually be repaired. She was tiny, tiny, but it was so cool to watch how tender the other little ones were with her...

These two little boys met us at the door with the antiseptic gel. They definitely know the routine :-) They squirted into our hands and showed us that we needed to rub it in. Watching these two little boys play through out the day was a hoot. They were so interactive with everyone - other children, the ayi, and with us. They would just run at full steam, with the biggest grins on their faces. At the end of the day when we left, they gave each of us a hug, kiss, and hand shake.

This little boy was one of the one's pictured above with the gel. He has just had his cleft palate surgery. When you take his picture he opens his mouth to show you ~ it was a glorious sight!

These two boys are future engineers. They lined up boxes from the toy shelf (straight line of course) and then would walk in & out of them. After doing that for awhile, they then started stacking the boxes but only after realizing with the help of a long rod they could spin the boxes around on the floor real easy. It was fun to watch them come up with different ways to play with these boxes...

The little ones with us and their Ayi's rolling the ball around.

The boys loved playing with David. He would tote them around, talk with them, play with them on the ground. He was definitely a favorite with the boys...

Gloria played with this little girl most of the afternoon. She came to this orphanage from another orphanage only a month ago. When she arrived she was basically unresponsive; they believe she has some form of CP and possible brain damage. She now walks around, plays with you, has the hugest smile as you can see above, and seems to really be enjoying life.

Wei Xi is 3 years old. I originally picked her up because she was sitting in a bouncy seat (just like the one Brittney & Sophie had when they were little). She was getting really tired & was starting to get a little fussy. I asked if I could pick her up, & then they told me that she was blind, deaf, and unable to sit up on her own. She was really starting to fuss, so I held her tight against me at first with her head resting on my throat. Then I started to sing to her - almost instantly she stopped fussing. She would push her head up against my throat. After awhile she actually started smiling. Eventually she feel asleep in my arms, so I continued to rock her & sing to her. Now her Ayi (nanny) had 1 other child she was responsible for (though they all share working with all of the children); this other little girl was 1 year old & had just had a shunt put in her head to drain the excess fluid. She also was a little girl unable to move, but she was very responsive to everyone around. I enjoyed watching the ayi give this other little girl infant massages through out the day to stimulate her movements.

After lunch when we returned, Wei Xi was on the couch and starting to get fussy. Her Ayi was working with the other girl, so I again asked if I could pick her up. At first Wei Xi was fussy, but eventually she & I settled into a routine again. I would walk with her, sing to her, play with her arms, etc. She was really beginning to smile & respond. She makes beautiful sounds with her voice, and there were times that I would have said she was repeating the sounds I made to her. I learned that she really enjoyed feeling the sunshine on her face. Whenever a sun-beam would come across her face she would just marvel in it. I took her for a short walk in the courtyard, but it was too cold to stay out long. Again, she seemed to enjoy the fresh air & definitely she enjoyed the sunshine.

Even as I type this I just keep singing over & over again, "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world."

China (Day 5)

2008-11-18T12:58:00.006Z

Today was an early morning because we were traveling about an hour's drive out of town (made longer due to traffic and direction issues, but we made it non the less). In the morning we visited Langfang Children's Village; it is part of the Philip Hayden Foundation. The land was donated by the government, and they have been able to build a large & beautiful facility. They only take in children with special needs from other orphanages and then work towards corrective surgery followed up with therapy. They have three different therapy rooms to accommodate the work for physical (walking), occupation (working with their hands), and speech therapy. The therapy programs are run by local chinese woman who have been trained by the staff therapist. This obviously provides multiple benefits - for the women and the children.

Art work in the pathways connecting the buildings

Below are pictures of some of the children's work. The work has been completed at the preschool, kindergarten, and primary school which is taught on sight by local chinese woman. You could see how much the woman enjoyed their jobs & how much the children enjoyed learning. What a great start these children are getting...

Rainbow made from their hands & a spelling test

After lunch at a local restaurant we were off to a foster home right around the corner. This program is specifically for disabled children, most of the children have brittle bone disease. We learned a lot about this disease and the amazing work that has been done for these children. The family provide wheel chairs for the children and physical therapy; the corrective surgery is performed at a hospital in southern china. We heard stories and saw evidence of children who were not even able to get out of bed at some points in their lives, now up & about, either through wheel chairs or walkers.

Also at this foster home they have taken in older, disabled children and are teaching them a skill. They are teaching them to bake. They have started a bakery to sell the goods they make, but most importantly, are teaching these disabled children how to be self dependent. They provide them with a home and the skills - how excellent is that!

Room Service

2008-11-18T12:43:00.006Z

Be careful what you ask for is a statement I am constantly saying to myself, Brittney, & Sophie. Well, Gloria & I experienced that last night. We had dinner at Pizza Hut - fabulous, never knew pizza could taste so good :-) - and decided we would finish the night with dessert from room service. Gloria ordered a Banana Split and I ordered Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream. Here is what we got...

Do you notice the blue & green ice-cream? It was supposed to be vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. The banana split had the same blue & green ice-cream in it as well. We have determined the green ice-cream is green-tea flavored (yumm ~ not) and no one has a clue for the blue. The kicker, we asked for vanilla only ~ oh well, the chocolate cake was really good & I guess I didn't need it all anyway. Lesson learned - be careful what you ask for; you just might get it & more...

China (Day 4)

2008-11-17T10:34:00.005Z

Today was our first day visiting the orphans, and what a great day it was. We had Laura join our group; she is a college student from Sweden, fluent in Chinese, studying social services. She will be with us the rest of this week.

The place we visited is part of Shaohannah's Hope, the foundation created by Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman. It is a wonderful facility providing a home for sick and physically disabled children (see their website http://www.hopefosterhome.com/index.html). They have been able to help so many beautiful babies. After the babies are deemed healthy, they work towards adoption or local foster care. Below are some pictures highlighting the day. There is no way I can share with you through mere words how awesome this was ~ to see the eyes light up of children with cleft palates when you would sing to them, to see children who looked "normal" because of life saving surgeries that had been given to them. It was a day to remember (and I have 4 more similar to it).

China (Day 3)

2008-11-16T10:53:00.009Z

After a fairly restless night we got up early to meet our new guide Michael. He & Gloria have worked together in the past through OCDF so they enjoyed catching up on each other's lives. We then attended worship at Beijing International Christian Fellowship (you can check out their website at http://www.bicf.org/). In order to attend the service the government requires you to present a foreign passport, so Michael was forced to wait for us outside. The service was refreshing. The music was great & the message was about giving to the poor ~ how appropriate for me & Gloria :-).

After church we headed for lunch at a local restaurant. While waiting for lunch, Gloria suggested I sit in one of the older chairs that would have carried the emperor or empress. I'm thinking this is the way to go - assuming the people are strong enough to carry me :-)...

The fried corn is one of my favorite dishes...

In the afternoon we spent a few hours doing Cloisonne. Zhonghua Chen opened up her home and shared with us her talents. She had slippers waiting for us at the door, and then showed us her studio. She demonstrated the delicate work of forming the gold filigree which will then be filled with the colored minerals. She had some templates ready for Gloria and I to fill with the colored minerals. It was extremely relaxing and something I could really enjoy learning to master.

The small bowls are the colored minerals that you put in the very small places - not an easy task.

Ms Chen with some of her own work (which was breath taking).

Gloria's artwork

My artwork

Upon returning to the hotel I felt the need to sweat & de-stress... Yep, I actually went to the gym and worked out. I didn't skimp on my program from Sue (of course that doesn't count the 3 weeks I haven't been too faithful). We then enjoyed some good old cheese burgers in the room for dinner. I guess I will need to stay faithful with the workouts - between the rich chinese food and the options in the hotel, I do not want to gain weight on this trip; Sue would not be very happy with me. Gloria & I are now going to rest & relax before the start of the real mission trip. Tomorrow we are off to Hope Foster Home. I am not sure what all to expect.

Today I have been really struck by the fact that I am in a Communist country. I have been noticing the guards every where we go, the hotel gives us notes each day to alert us to the scheduled water & power outages (mandated by the government), but the kicker was church this morning. To see how worship is a freedom not extended to everyone was very humbling. But after the service this morning, my personal reading time, and being out today, these are the thoughts going through my mind ~

I was reading out of the book of Joshua this morning and it starts with the command to be strong and courageous, not to be discouraged, but to remember that the Lord my God will be with me wherever I go. I would think on this today as I would be overwhelmed by the limited ability to communicate with others, the complete inability to read any signs, and the constant feeling of being in the minority and like everyone was looking at me and talking about me. But the "Ah Ha" moment for me was this morning when the pastor said something that has been replaying over & over again in my mind, "sometimes God brings you to China so the poor can become more real." I knew instantly that statement was the answer to my why question.

Then in looking over what he had preached and pondering on it more throughout the day, the following two verses really hit me: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27) and I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. (John 14:18)

Isn't it comforting to know that God will not leave us as orphans. He has adopted us and made a way for us if we will only accept it. Then He calls us to help each other & spread His love. God keeps confirming to me the truth behind when I gave Sophie a kiss on the cheek and told her God wanted me to share that with the orphans in China. I am humbled even as I write this...

And God said, "whom shall I send?" And I answered, "here am I, send me."

China (Day 2)

2008-11-15T11:14:00.009Z

It is amazing how much better you can cope with the world when you have a good nights sleep! Today is to be shopping and more shopping, also known as “Shop ‘til You Drop Day.” We started in the Panjiayuan Flee Market and then the Pearl Market. These were like the Stamford Market on steroids. There was so much stuff. I am glad we had David along. He would tell us if something was of a good quality or not. He also taught us to bargain, and Kevin, you would be proud. I never paid full price, and I usually got the price I wanted. Two times I got a better deal than David thought I would. It was a little overwhelming to have people constantly calling out lady, lady want a purse, or tell me your price, I make you good deal. One woman even took my arm in an attempt to get me to buy a purse from her. Again, Kevin, you would be proud – no purses bought by me!

Before lunch we visited the Temple of Heaven. It is a beautiful place symbolizing so much of the belief system in China. It was built in 1420 AD during the Ming Dynasty to offer sacrifice to Heaven. The Temple is circular and surrounded by a circular wall which symbolizes the belief that heaven is round. The outer most wall is square which symbolizes the earth being square. Very interesting in deed.

Gloria & I in front of the Temple of Heaven

The colors on the Temple were beautiful

One of the pictures below is a symbolic representation of the calves offered during the ceremony at the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. The other picture...that's Gloria and me in front of the Temple :-)

When you first enter the gates to the Temple of Heaven you are greeted by many entertainers. They are not looking for donations, they are just there to exercise and to entertain. We saw everything from rhythm dancers, chinese aerobics, tai-chi, opera singers, musicians, etc. It was a great insight to the Chinese culture. David was a good sport and participated in Tai-Chi wrestling.

We had lunch at the Old Beijing Noodles Palace. It was awesome. I had David give me a quick lesson on using chop sticks. Then Gloria & I practiced on tooth-picks and napkins until our food arrived. I was feeling pretty confident… even enough to try eating the corn with the chop sticks. Believe it or not, I was successful. However, I figured out why most Chinese are skinny… it takes them so darn long to eat there food with chop sticks they can actually tell when they are full, plus they use the tiniest plates for eating off of.

Notice the corn on the chop sticks (yes, it made it to my mouth)

David our guide showing us how to mix the noodles & notice the decorations on the back wall

Tonight was dinner at the Peking Roast Duck. We were escorted upstairs to our own private room. Again the food was excellent. We had beef & mushrooms, duck (of course), broccoli, rice, lotus root, and bing.

Front of restaurant

Menu with pictures to help us dumb Americans...

LESSON FOR TODAY: This morning while reading out of Isaiah I was struck by how appropriate and comforting the following is for me on this trip: “Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart. (Is 7:4)” So every time I would start to feel nervous, anxious, or claustrophobic I would think of these words. I am sure the lesson from Isaiah will prove to be very important to me.

China (Day 1)

2008-11-14T12:09:00.003Z

We are here… but why am I here. Am I supposed to learn something? Probably! Am I supposed to show God’s Love to the orphans? Obviously! Is it supposed to be this difficult? All things worth having take work of some kind… So let me back up & give you a little detail-

Almost a year ago I asked Gloria if she would be interested in doing a mission trip. I was really missing the annual mission trip Kevin & I went on with the youth. There is something really amazing about letting go & letting God, about coming out of your comfort zone for God, going places you never expected, doing things you never dreamed, and seeing His works in awesome new ways… I figured we could go to Africa or something, but Gloria asked “what about China?” Well that really threw me. I never dreamed I would go to China (not that I thought Africa would be easier, but China, hmmm). I am too picky of an eater, there is a huge language divide (written & spoken), and China is a long-long distance to travel.

Gloria started sharing with me about an organization that she works with called OCDF (Our Chinese Daughter’s Foundation). It is a non-profit organization based in central Illinois. OCDF has many different venues, but we would use them for sight seeing & working in orphanages. I was intrigued, but the fears starting pouring in. Gloria eased some of my fears by explaining that OCDF will provide an English speaking guide who will be with us all the time (except when we are in our room of course); plus she had been 3 other times. So I agreed, but one day I will learn the truth behind the saying ‘be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.’

To say my trip started 2 days ago is really an understatement because that seems to ignore all the prep work Gloria & I have done, all the knitting done by various donators, the money raised by the ISEs to be used for vitamins for the orphans, my mom’s trip over with all the prep work associated with that, all the prayer support offered by friends & family, the behind the scene work of OCDF, and the list goes on & on. But I will start documenting from travel day forward.

Gloria nor I slept on Wednesday/Thursday night. For me, the biggest hurdle was poor Sophie getting a stomach bug – she was burning up with fever & vomiting. If it wasn’t for Granny I don’t know if I would have left. Also I learned our departure was moved up from 2:30pm to 11:40am. It takes 2 hours minimum with no traffic issues to get from Peterborough to Heathrow, so that meant we needed to be on the road fairly early. When Gloria called the driver to reschedule, the earliest he could pick us up was 8am. So Gloria, Kevin, and I spent the first part of the night trying to come up with options – take the train, drive ourselves, or trust the driver. In the end we decided to trust the expert and you know what, he did it. In the middle of rush hour he was able to get us to the airport in plenty of time. So far so good…

We waltz up to the ticket counter to check in, only to have the clerk say you are 14kg over your limit. You can either pay an overage cost of 25GBP per kg or choose to store some of your stuff here in the airport at 7GBP per day. While I am deciding what to do, Gloria puts her bags up on the scale to discover she is 30kg over the limit. We talk to management, plead our case of more than half the luggage is made up of donations to the orphans, discuss how NOTHING on the ticket alerted us to this strange weight limitation, all to no-avail. After half an hour of talking to a wall, we realize that we are going to have to store a suitcase a piece. We leave the donations (we’ll figure that out later) and half our clothes behind. We go back up to check-in, get a different person this time, and now have 2kg to spare each – I guess that means we can shop after all (but more about that later).

We fly from Heathrow/London to Amsterdam, have a fairly good lunch, and then board the plane for China. The plane is packed full (Gloria & I are in the minority), we have two of the seats next to the window but are “end-capped” by a sleeping, farting Chinese guy. We sat on the run-way for almost 2 hours ~ they needed to change the tires. To appease everyone during the wait they give us a cookie & juice; I guess they didn’t want us to act like kids J. Once we are off & in the air Gloria and I plan on sleeping – when we get to China we will hit the ground running in an effort to overcome jet lag.

Remember the Chinese guy sitting on the end of the row, well he was nothing compared to the guy sitting behind me. Everytime he got up he would pull & push on my chair; he was constantly putting the tray up & down; he had the loudest voice & felt the need to talk almost the entire flight; he had a very annoying habit of clearing his throat & hacking loudly; he asked Gloria to shut off HER air conditioner vent (it was making him cold), and the list goes on. The TV was tiny and about 8 rows in front of us. We tried, we really tried but there was to be no relaxing & no sleeping on this flight. So after 10 very long hours we landed in Beijing, and the tires worked (so I am glad they changed them).

We got through border control & customs without a hitch, our luggage was waiting for us, David & Mr. Lee (our guide & driver) were waiting for us, I got money easily, we ate at KFC – hey, things are going really well! We went to the Great Wall of China. What an awesome sight! We took a cable car up to the base of the Great Wall but still had to climb many steps & walk a very steep incline.

It was now time for the eyes to shut & the body to relax. No matter how much we fought it, we decided it was time to check into the hotel & get ready for bed. Besides, we have a whole day of shopping tomorrow. Remember those 2kg we have to spare in our luggage, might get those filled up :-), and as Gloria pointed out in her blog (see "Gloria & Jim" in my Friend's Blog list to view her blog) we can ship most anything over that doesn’t fit into our luggage.

These first two days of sight seeing & shopping promise to be great! Then it will be off to hold some babies, paint some walls, and clean some rooms. So far the thing I have learned… God is in control even when Satan starts medaling, He will provide, and He is enough!

Somethings missing~

2008-11-07T18:40:00.005Z

It has happened - Sophie has officially lost her first tooth.

It was very loose on our trip last week in Greece. She was telling everyone that she had a loose tooth, and she kept asking Brittney was it going to hurt when it came out. She was determined not to pull it but to have it just fall out...and that is exactly what happened this afternoon while watching Homeward Bound 2 (for who knows how many times), eating popcorn, and then I hear her scream...

Well I wonder how much the tooth fairy will give for a first tooth lost in Jolly Ole England

Athens, Greece & Greek Cruise

2008-11-03T21:09:00.011Z

I'll try to summarize our awesome 9 day Athen’s trip (Oct 26 – Nov 2)… We saw so many beautiful things & experienced things I had previously only read about. The weather was fairly nice ~ not too hot, not too cold, just warm & sunny. The Aegean Sea is absolutely beautiful. The colors are exquisite – deep blues and aquas. It is also a fairly calm sea so made for wonderful lazing about when we were in Athens.
You know how our family loves dogs (& cats at times). Well Greece has a program to take care of the stray animals; they are fed, watered, and not seen as a nuisance. That is a good thing since there are so many. The girls will probably remember the dogs more than anything else from this trip. There was even one night that Sophie had made a real friend – he followed us everywhere we went on the island; she shed quite a few tears when we told her she could NOT bring it home. It was a beautiful dog, but we already have 2 in the UK and 1 in the US J
Saturday – Travel Day
We arrived at our hotel (Best Western) Saturday afternoon to see it surrounded by police dressed in riot gear… only to find out it was because the hotel was next to the Archaeological Museum which holds artifacts worth millions of dollars ~ the police are there to protect the museum (not us). We took the rest of the day to familiarize ourselves with Athens and to get some dinner. We tried to get to bed early so we could start the touring with a full tank of gas.
Sunday – Day in Athens
Sunday was a big hiking/walking day in Athens. We made our way to the Acropolis, knowing we would spend most of our day here. It was a long, steep hike but we made it! It was amazing to see all the history and beautiful sights. However, I must admit the Parthenon was a bit of a disappointment to me since we have seen an intact replica of it in Nashville. Regardless, we enjoyed walking around all the ancient grounds.

We were able to find a play park in the middle of the city so the girls could let off some steam. We then walked past Hadrian’s Arch, took the pictures to prove we were there, and headed off for dinner at the Hard Rock Café ~ the girls weren’t too impressed but Kevin & I enjoyed the familiar food & classic rock music.

Monday – Start of the Cruise
We had an early start to the day (only to find every day on a cruise starts early) so we could get on the ship. We then stood in the freezing wind during the safety instructions – learning how to put on the life preservers, get into the boats, stand in straight lines with men in back, ladies next, and kids in front. There was no ceremony of waving goodbye to the shore or streamers blowing in the wind – just freezing passengers waiting for the captain and the safety officer to give their approval to our “formation.”

"This Picture is for Whitney"

The girls attempted to swim in the pool but between the breeze and the cold salt water it didn’t last too long ~ they were troopers but it wasn’t very kid friendly either. Everyone was asking Kevin where we were from – a polite way of asking why we were letting our kids play in the freezing wind & water. Oh well. Next the kids were excited to start the kids’ club activities but quickly determined they were the only 2 kids on the ship. It actually worked to their advantage – they were able to have the sole attention of the staff plus every where they went they were the center of attention. All staff members knew their names & all the passengers knew who our family was…
Tuesday – Kusadasi, Turkey and Patmos, Greece
Tuesday was our first excursion day, and it was awesome. On the upper island of Kusadasi there is a home believed to be the final place for the Virgin Mary; she lived there the last 15 years of her life. It had two rooms, a beautiful view, and has been preserved wonderfully. Tradition holds that John had it built for her & would visit her 3 times a week to bring her & her servant food.

Halfway down the mountain is the ancient village of Ephesus. We were able to walk the marble and cobblestone pathways. Standing at the entrance gate to Ephesus while looking down into the village gave me a different perspective on life during biblical times ~ through the visual experience and the guide’s leadership, you could almost see life happening…

The entrance to Ephesus...

Then, for me, the climax of the day’s trips was visiting Patmos where John received the vision for Revelation (Grotto of the Apocalypse). We were able to see the cave were he heard God speak. There is a crack in the rock believed to have been made by the voice of God; the crack split the rock into 3 equal parts which is to honor the Holy Trinity. Again, they have kept it in original form but preserved it wonderfully. There is the St. John’s Monastery approximately 1 mile up the mountain from the cave. Within the monastery museum I was able to see a manuscript for Mark, Job, and Revelation.
I felt like I was living what I am studying in school. It was so cool…
Wednesday – Rhodes, Greece
We spent the whole day on the island of Rhodes. We started with a tour of the Old City which had some great history (not that I can remember any of it now…). We then took a bus ride to a family owned ceramic factory. The guide explained what made the Greek ceramics unique, the family traditions involved in the business, and of course gave us all an opportunity to purchase some ceramics. The amazing part was when he showed us how practical the ceramic was – he scratched on a plate with a coin (no marks were made & no damage to the painting on the ceramics) and then he slammed it down on the counter – scared us all to death, but again no damage. Of course, I still was not too comfortable with the girls running around the shop when the average price per piece was 60+ Euros.
Next the tour took us to the village of Lindos. We passed beautiful white-washed villages along the way which contrasted wonderfully against the deep blue sea. This is a place we would definitely considering coming back with the girls. There was a fabulous beach in Lindos with private villas on the waterfront… Ok continuing with the story, Lindos has a castle on top of a mountain. It is a steep climb, but the girls enjoyed a donkey ride while Kevin & I walked behind. Once we arrived at the castle/fortress we realized just how dangerous it could be – there were no walls or safety barriers up on the castles edge, just sheer drop-offs. I am glad the girls weren’t too excited to be near the edge, because I was clinging to the sides.

After the guided tour ended we had a few hours left on the island so we attempted the beach. To find a “clean” beach was about a 20 minute walk from the cruise ship. The girls attempted to swim but again the water was freezing. Also the beach was all rocks so it wasn’t the easiest or most comfortable to walk around.

This was to be our “fancy” night for dinner, so it was to our advantage to get back to the ship as soon as possible. The girls enjoyed dinner and dancing afterwards. Later the girls & I headed off to bed for a good nights sleep and Kevin headed off to play some black-jack.
Thursday – Herakloin and Santorini, Greece
Thursday morning we visited the Knossos Palace and Herakloin City. This was one of the most boring tours we took. The palace ruins are massive, but in the UK we can see real castles just as big & still intact (that sounds kinda snobbish doesn’t it).
the kids were literally climbing the walls with boredom :-)

Future movie star

Future model...

...since the palace ruins were sooo exciting we took more family pictures...

Between the two islands we had some time on the boat. The girls enjoyed kids club where they got to tour the bridge and learn about daily life on the boat. Kevin & I headed off to the Black Jack tables.

She doesn't even have a driver's license yet...

Santorini is definitely a place Kevin & I will return to – but without the girls. It is a volcano island (still active) with the various layers of lava visible on the coastline. There is a volcano climbing tour, but there wasn’t enough time & not sure the girls could handle much more strenuous walking. The views are breathtaking… We learned that Cathedrals or churches are owned by families and have the circular blue dome ~ a beautiful sight against the white-washed houses with blue shutters and the stunning blue sea. The most peculiar sight though was seeing the dogs sleeping on the curved roofs of the houses. I guess it does keep them off the streets.
While coming down in the cable car we learned that in April of 2007, the Sea Diamond (a boat by the same cruise line) sank in this sea right off the shoreline. It was determined the maps used for vessels was incorrect on the depth of the volcano rocks & the cruise ship ended up being the proof after it hit the volcano rocks under the sea and sunk within a few hours… That explains why our cruise ship parked so much further out in the sea than the other cruise ships.
The main memories for me from the cruise will be watching the girls dance each night in the ballroom – twirling, swinging, and boogying down to the various music; Sophie’s face when she realized that she would also get to sleep on a top bunk (since the room had 2 bunk beds, we all had our own bed – Kevin & I on the bottom two beds, the girls on the top); Sophie’s giggles and Brittney’s crazy faces.
Friday – Early Disembarkment & Day in Athens
After an early disembarkment from the ship, we checked into the Marriott – it was nice to be in a familiar hotel where they speak fluent English. After determining that the pool closed the week before, we knew we were going to need to be creative to entertain the girls (they were tired of walking & only wanted to be in water). Sooo we decided to do more sight-seeing… since there is no double-decker tour buses, we took the Happy Train tour through Athens. It was a great way to see some of the sights & pass some time.
We ended the day in an Amusement Park with rides, games, and the traditional greasy food. We rode the log flume, extreme log flume (we got very wet), roller-coasters, trampolines, you name it. It was a great find by Kevin :-).
Saturday – Beach Time
Saturday we decided to rent a car so we could drive to a beach. First of all driving in Athens is a little easier than Italy but very similar to New York (horns honking, no real lanes – just go wherever, whenever). The only “difficulty” in driving was the Greek signs ~ there was English but it was in small print and lighter color font ~ a whole new meaning to the phrase “it’s all Greek to me…”
The beach was beautiful. It didn’t have white sand but it was clean & relatively speaking was rock free. The first part of our day on the beach was hazy, so the cold water was extremely cold. But as the day progressed the haze burned off, the temperature continued to rise, and the calm sea was a calling. Brittney was disappointed that she couldn’t do any body-surfing, but we all enjoyed the water non the less.
After lunch Kevin & the girls built an awesome drip castle with a draw bridge, moat, swimming pool, stone reinforced front wall, completed with a surrounding stone wall for protection. I’m not sure who had more fun, Kevin or the girls… We had dinner watching the sunset over the Aegean Sea ~ an awesome ending to a wonderful day.
The night ended with Kevin returning from the rental car drop off with a black eye and a gash under his eye. He told Brittney and I he got in a fight with a local guy on the street, but the truth is he got in a fight with the rental car driver’s door…he lost. We all know how well I deal with blood – NOT! So fortunately it had quit bleeding when he returned to the room. We don’t think he needs stitches, but he did get plenty of attention in the Marriott from security ~ I called them to ask for a small band-aide & ice but they sent their security officer with the first aid kit to take care of it all J.
Sunday – Last Day & Travel Home
Since this was to be our last day in Athens, Kevin wanted to make the most of it. After a long uphill hike we were able to then take a cable car to the “high” point in Athens. The view was great, but the girls & I were too exhausted to enjoy them. Kevin took plenty of pictures that we can look at later… We then headed back to the hotel to pick up our bags & off to the airport for the final leg of traveling. Home Sweet Home!

World Conker Championship

2008-10-13T16:01:00.010+01:00

Yep you read the title right... World Conker Championship. Conkers are the British version of acorns. The roads to Brittney & Sophie's school is lined with Conker trees, so in October we spend our walk time to & from school picking up Conkers. And supposedly spiders do not like Conkers, so if you line your window seal with conkers the spiders won't come into your house. Now I am no fan of spiders, but I am not lining my window seals to find out if this works.

Sunday the roads in our village were closed due to a marathon so our church service was cancelled as well. Kevin & I were determined NOT to be stuck at the house all day so we got up early (well early for a Sunday morning) and headed off before the roads closed at 10:30am. We were off to the World Conker Championship in Ashton UK.

Last years winner paraded around with a huge conker necklace and a conker cane which came complete with a beer holder.

The participants and their supports dressed in some pretty interesting fashion (keep in mind this is a country that doesn't celebrate Halloween...)

We even got to see the Incredible Hulk

To participate in the event you have your own conker threaded onto a string. You then take turns striking the opponents conker with your conker. The winner smashes the other's conker (of course the MC kept talking about nuts and smashing nuts, etc...). Since the actual conker event can be a little boring to watch (oops, I shouldn't have said that) the girls found some other activities to fill their time. They had archery, bouncy castles, and a guide dog demonstration.

Brittney is actually pretty good at archery

Sophie following in her sister's footsteps

The guide dog demonstration was all of our favorites. The trainer talked to us about how they train the dogs, how they pick the dogs, and how they introduce them to their owners. Then he allowed the girls to take turns going through an obstacle course with the guide dogs while the girls were blind folded. He then talked to the girls about what it is like to be blind and how important the dogs are... it was really cool.

All in all it was a wonderful day! Oh, the winner of the conker championship was a mechanic dressed as something...

Sunday naps... or NOT!

2008-10-05T19:26:00.003+01:00

Today was Kevin's first full day back in the UK. He is still on the wrong time zone (8 hours ahead); so this morning very early he was up watching last week's Pittsburgh game. The only problem with that, the girls heard him get up & wanted to be up with him... I was able to get them to stay in bed until 7am. Now we all know if this was a school day they would have slept as late as possible. Oh well, they were excited to see their dad.
Church was really good today. The main Vicor gave the message today. George is from Canada & has a wonderfully familiar accent! At the end of the service, much to my surprise, the music leader had me sing the final song as a semi- solo. At first I thought I wasn't supposed to be singing & then he looked at me & said go ahead. It felt like I was home again; I am so thankful for the opportunity this church is giving me!
Surprise, Surprise ~ this morning it was raining & a little on the cold side so we drove our car to church versus walking or riding our bikes. After church ends the congregation stays around for coffee, tea, and biscuits. The girls love this time because they get to play with their friends; we get to meet more of the members, etc. Well as this time came to an end today I told Sophie it was time to go - so she headed off for the front door. Brittney was sitting near me with some friends so I made eye contact with her. About that time someone comes up to Kevin & I to introduce themselves and get to know us. Well, about 10 minutes later I realize I haven't seen Sophie... I head to the door to see some of the older women in the congregation standing by the front door talking about the girl "who is going to catch her death" ~ yep, you guessed it, Sophie had been standing in the rain this whole time. She was soaked! I tried to explain to the women who were starring at me but I gave up. Instead, I went back & told Kevin to deal with his daughter!
Once we got home I was ready for a nap. Isn't today supposed to be a day of rest. Well someone needs to teach that to my daughters. As normal, Kevin & I were napping on the couch and the girls were playing around us. I guess we all got to do what we wanted :-)
Okay, that is enough of an update for today. I don't want you all to get too used to me updating the post :-) Besides, the kids need baths, spelling words reviewed, and final bed time stories read. Sweet Dreams Everyone!

So much time, yet so little time...

2008-10-04T19:04:00.004+01:00

So much time has passed since my last post but yet in the scheme of what we have actually been doing... so little time has passed. Some have speculated the reason for no posts is because I have dropped off the side of the earth, others figure I am too busy for a post, and others just haven't even noticed the lack of posts... well the truth is I just haven't been in the mood. Ever since returning to the UK a month ago I have just been feeling blue - not for any particular reason just blue. Oh well, enough about that, let's get down to the facts of the last month.

The girls started school without a hitch. Brittney is in year 4, and Sophie is in year 1 ~ wow, these girls are growing up soooo fast. I am helping in Sophie's class once a week regularly and whenever else the teacher needs a helping hand. Sophie's class is made up of 30+ VERY rambunctious kids. Surprisingly I am really enjoying working in Sophie's class. I get to do all kinds of different stuff - listen to reading, help with projects, art time, toilet patrol, and basic crowd control. It is amazing to see how much the kids appreciate you being in the classroom. I would never won't to be a teacher full time but it sure is fun for a few hours a week.

This past week I spent a day with Brittney and her class at Flag Fen. This is a local sight that was home to the Celts and then the Romans 2000+ years ago. There are artifacts on sight from that long ago; I was amazed to see that the museum lets the kids handle actual artifacts. It was really neat to watch the light go off in the kids eyes - we got to walk on an actual Roman road, make some pottery, listen to a story in the round house (made from Waddle and Cow Poo). The weather was pretty good most of the day - it didn't turn cool & wet until the end of the day.

Speaking of weather, just within the last week the weather has turned quite chilly. We were enjoying a really pleasant Indian Summer but somewhere along the line we changed straight into winter. We got out our winter coats, gloves, hats, fleeces, etc. The heater has been on and I even had a quick fire last night to take the chill out of the air. Brrrrr

Back to the girls, on Tuesdays after school they are going to gymnastics. They are both really enjoying this. Interestingly the main teacher & co-owner is American. He and I joke periodically about the differences between the US & the UK. Sophie is a natural on the balance beam. She loves it, and most of the time they can't get her off of it. Brittney's class is a little longer than Sophie's but she doesn't seem to mind. She is constantly practising.

Brittney is continuing with her piano lessons and doing well. She has also started flute lessons and has her own flute. She practices every night for about 15 minutes, and believe it or not, it actually sounds pretty good. I was so shocked (that sounds awful of me doesn't it). Sophie likes to watch Brittney practice her flute - she just sits there kinda mesmerized.

Otherwise, the girls have stopped all other activities (swimming & trampolining) so they can enjoy time playing with local friends. They like to take the dogs on a walk to the back of the neighborhood where all their friends congregate. It is a safe location, and I can easily check on them. They can ride their bikes, play tag, you name it... The minute Brittney gets home from school she is out the door - Sophie doesn't always go down; the Barbies are just too appealing :-)

Kevin has been in Japan the last 10 days. Most of the time was spent with work obligations, but he was able to spend some time with our friends Pam & David. They moved to Japan 6 weeks ago and are currently going through culture shock. Don't think I could be as brave as them... According to Kevin he has eaten sushi, cow tongue, and cow intestines during his Japan visit but since he won't touch hardly any vegetables I'm doubting his claims. I am still searching for witnesses....

Last week I started singing with the Praise Band at our church. I didn't realize just how much I missed it until I got the chance to sing again. We practice on Friday nights for a few hours and then sing on Sunday morning. Some of the songs I have never heard of (time to sharpen my sight reading skills) but most of them I am familiar with. The band reminds me of Right Turn back home. I really, really enjoy singing!

My classes start back in a few days. I was really questioning whether to continue with school after meeting with my pastor back home in August. It seems like I may need to do this all over again with a Methodist Seminary (particularly Garrett-Evangelical) once I return home, but I will cross that bridge then. I also started questioning the whole thing because it seems more & more unlikely that I will be able to work in the capacity I was originally planning - oh well, I guess I don't need to know all the answers to the question(s) "why" yet, God will reveal them in due time... So until then, I will (with much less stress) continue on the path I am on and learn as much as possible. Besides, how often does someone get to hang a degree up that is written in Welsh & have the Queen of England come to their graduation (of course I am getting way ahead of myself).

Well, I guess that is enough for now. Please pardon the long delay in posting and the lack of information regarding our trip home in August. Sometimes it is just easier to keep moving forward.... Love you all & I will try to write more often!!!

Day two back in the UK

2008-09-02T05:06:00.002+01:00

Everyone in the family, but me of course, seems to have adjusted to the time change so since I can't sleep I'll start trying to update the blog (patience please because I have a lot of posts to add...)

Well, the trip home was good. The girls did a fabulous job again. Virgin Atlantic is an awesome airline & I will be flying them home as much as possible. I started the flight by giving both of the girls some Benadryl. It was a night time flight so I was hoping to help them get adjusted to the time change & also get some sleep myself. Well, Brittney slept the first few hours but Sophie didn't shut her eyes for longer than an hour the entire flight. She was a good girl, but needless to say I couldn't get any sleep if she wasn't sleeping.

We landed at Heathrow to be greeted by RAIN, not a gentle rain but a down pour. Kevin flew home a different airline, landed about 20 minutes ahead of us, and was getting the rental car - which meant, I would need to take the luggage & the girls out in the rain to meet him. For those of you who have never flown into Heathrow, there is no covered drop-off & pick-up curbs...nope, you get to walk out in the weather, across 4 lanes of traffic, to your companion. Needless to say, I wasn't the friendliest person to be around! But, I slept for the ride home while Kevin dealt with 2 very energetic girls!

We arrived home to a clean house & dogs happy to see us. Claire had stocked the fridge & pantry with the basics - milk, fruit, carrots, bread, etc. That was an awesome treat. After greeting Duke & Daisy, seeing the treats from Claire, I stumbled up the stairs to MY BED & fell asleep. Sophie and I slept for about 3 hours. After forcing myself out of bed, I came downstairs to find Kevin snoring loudly on the couch (remember, he slept on the plane ride over), Brittney was playing with her friend Emily, and Claire had left a note... A little disturbing to think that 2 different set of visitors had entered our house without Kevin or I even knowing (glad to know we have 2 watch dogs...). Oh well, it was the rest we all needed.

Later in the evening Claire & Paul brought dinner over so we could catch up. It was a great time. You know, it is a lot easier to come back when you have such awesome friends. THANKS A BUNCH for everything Claire.

Monday was a good day for everyone. Brittney had friends over to play while Sophie chilled in front of the tv (still a little tired from the travels). Tonight Brittney & Emily have had a sleep over (I can hear them upstairs - yes, at 5:15 in the morning the girls are trying to keep quiet but not sleep). Claire & Lynn came over for tea and visiting time. It was just enough time to catch up before we had to worry about dinner and getting ready for school (it starts on Wednesday for the girls).

I have unpacked 4 of the 6 suitcases, done 3 loads of laundry, made 2 quick trips to Tesco, tried to catchup on email, sorted the mail (not paid any bills yet - yuck), and actually fixed dinner. I think I am doing pretty good... so why can't I sleep! Oh well, I better try to get some rest in before the family wakes for the day. I will post more later since I need to update everyone on the wedding, family visits, etc. Until then, sweat dreams everyone!

First Week in the Good Ole USA

2008-08-16T02:55:00.002+01:00

Well we are here & we hit the ground running... The girls were absolutely fabulous on the trip over. They travelled so well that they made it a breeze. Kevin met us in Chicago & we drove home together from there. Whitney was waiting for us when we got home; she had diet coke & milk in the fridge and the air beds inflated and waiting on us. It was an AWESOME treat.
I left Saturday morning for Florida to spend a few days with my mom. You know, it hasn't rained in Florida in months but guess what I brought... yep, rain & quite a bit of it. We were able to get plenty of shopping in (don't need sunshine for that) and a trip to the beach. We connected with family and visited the "little" church I grew up in (now it is a campus with a mega-church feel to it).
The girls went camping & rafting with Nana & Jim. They got to spend the night in Walle (camper), have smores by the camp fire, and stay up really late. They came home covered in mosquito bites but had tons of memories to talk about.
Kevin has enjoyed spending some time with Randy, our contractor, working on the house. I am pleased to say that construction is moving along very smoothly & speedily. Randy has done an excellent job of keeping the work site clean & the house very liveable. It is pretty cool to see the outline of the finished project (still many years away though). I will post some pictures later on to show the progress...
Today, we have been fishing with my dad in our lake - everyone, and I mean everyone, but me has caught a fish. Our dock is covered with wasps & no amount of wasp spray has cleared them, but I seem to be the only one brave enough (or stupid enough) to fish off of it -not that it has given me any advantage. We hope to catch enough tomorrow to have a fish fry for the family & the construction workers, so I hope my luck turns.
Well, as Sophie just pointed out, I am the only one not laying down, watching the Olympics...so, I am off to bed. Hope everyone is enjoying this last month of summer. The Duffy's are glad to be back at Duffy Dunes!

It is sooooo hot

2008-07-29T14:35:00.003+01:00

The weather here in the UK has been extremely warm. Remember, I grew up in Florida, so to a large degree I am used to HOT weather and high humidity. But over here, it isn't so much the heat as it is the lack of AC; you have no where to cool off. There are times it is hotter in the house than it is outside, and the night time... oh my, that is really uncomfortable & makes for not so good sleeping.
Last summer I did purchase a portable AC unit, but let's just say it doesn't do the job. Kevin decided it was my placement of the unit so he readjusted it - still really warm in the house.

Oh well, so we need to find creative ways to cool off... hence the visit to the Burghley House Water Garden. It is a small garden that has lots of water fountains and water walks through out. I bought a season pass for the family. We have been once (& I will post some pictures once Holli puts them on her blog :-) ), and we will visit more before returning to the states in 9 days. It is the perfect set up. There is only one way in & one way out. There are benches and grassy places that I can sit with a book while the girls run around & play. Sophie loves to "wash" her hair in the fountains, & Brittney just runs around like crazy.

Last Day of School

2008-07-23T19:52:00.003+01:00

Well, here we are in the middle of July and it is finally the last day of school. Here in the UK the schools are broken down into 2 categories - primary school (Reception to Yr 6) and secondary school (Yr 7 upwards). Brittney's friend Emily was finishing year 6 and will be heading off to secondary school in the fall. Tradition is that the year 6 kids get to leave school in a limo - pretty nice huh. So enjoy some of the following pictures...
Sophie with her teacher Mrs. Conkey

Firetruck Lemo - how cool is that!

Brittney wants the Hummer lemo though...

Emily & Tia ~ the year 6 girls in their limo

Can't decide...

2008-07-22T13:08:00.002+01:00

I can't decide if I am just homesick, overwhelmed with school, getting sick or what - but I could really use more sleep than normal and a magic happy pill would be nice :-). No mom, I am NOT pregnant so all of you (including mother) put that one out of your mind. I'm just feeling a little blue I guess. School is a lot harder this semester. The class is really pushing my limits, and I find it very intimidating. Kevin's work is very, very hectic right now, and I think it would be accurate to say it is pushing his limits right now as well. Most of my close friends are away for the summer so no Bible studies, no lunch dates, and no gab sessions. Gloria is here for the summer so I have been monopolizing her time but she has visitors for the next few weeks. The weather has been okay, but not a real summer - no shorts or extreme heat. I guess that is a good thing since there is no a.c. to speak of. It rains almost every day; I know, I know it is England but man, didn't someone tell mother nature that it is summer!
The girls get out of school tomorrow. They are so excited. Claire & I are going to take all the girls to Alton Towers (the place Brittney broke her arms last summer), but we are going to the water park not the theme park. I believe it is an indoor water park (let's hope) so it should be warm enough to enjoy.
Then I think the girls are going to be part of a soccer/football camp next week in the mornings. Brittney is a natural athlete and is begging to do it. Sophie wants to do it because Brittney is... Hopefully the camp will have room for the girls. Then we are off to America - YEAH!!!!!!!
I am really looking forward to spending some time with my mom & Bill. I get to be there during mom's birthday; I don't think that has happened since I got married. I am sure we will spend some time shopping, walking, talking, and eating; maybe even take a trip to the beach one day. I cannot wait! Plus, I will get to see my newest cousin and all the other cousins. It has been way too long!
The girls get to spend some quality time with all of the grandparents. They are really looking forward to it. Sophie keeps asking if she can go fishing (hint-hint dad) and make a cake with Nana Couey. Brittney is looking forward to those hikes (hint-hint Nana Downs). They want to swim in the lake, visit with friends, and enjoy the farm. I hope there is enough time :-)
Ok, I feel a little better now. Typing it out, thinking about the trip back home, it makes me smile. Sooooo I am off to do some Hermeneutics on Matthew (yeah, now you see why my class is intimidating... just try pronouncing the class).
Love to all!!

Sophie is 5 ~ WOW, time sure does fly!!!!!!

2008-07-16T21:07:00.001+01:00

We had Sophie's birthday party in early July at Activity World (sorry no pictures from this event). Activity World is an awesome place here in the UK that is like McDonald's playland on steroids - but it is clean and adult friendly. I rent out the place so both girls can invite their school class mates and then all of the ISE families as well. We get to have the place to ourselves for 2 hours. And, since we are the only ones there the adults get to play as well. Pretty awesome.
But for the big day, Sophie had school... So after getting dressed for school we set off for Tesco to get Sophie some birthday badges. Of course I offered a lot of restraint and only purchased 3 (no neon flashing lights or siren sounds). We promptly put them on & headed off for school. While the girls were in school I was off to do that last minute party shopping.

Sophie's first gift was a new scooby-doo lunch box & drink bottle that she took to school (packed with her favorite junk food of course). After decorating the house & wrapping a few little gifts, I then made her favorite meal for dinner - fettucinni alfredo. Her birthday cake was of course...a frog cake.

And, as if you need any reminders...

BRAND NEW SOPHIE... just minutes old :-)

Sophie just one day old :-0

First babysitters

Did I mention Sophie likes frogs??? this was for halloween - created by NeeNee

Saturday, July 12th

2008-07-12T20:35:00.001+01:00

This Saturday started like most any... my pathetic attempts at sleeping in :-) Now, Brittney & Sophie have become fairly self sufficient in the mornings. They have learned to let me sleep as long as possible; they come downstairs, get themselves something to "snack" on for breakfast, close the living room door and watch tv. Also if need be, Brittney will let the dogs out in the morning as well. However, the early rising of the sun (4am) makes the morning rest fitful at best, so the lightest sound or disturbance has me up. But this morning we all needed to be up early because Kevin was going to attempt to be "young" again. The younger guys asked him if he would like to join them in a game of b'ball. He got up early, had his shower, ate some breakfast, and got dressed for the event. Of course getting dressed includes lacing up ankle braces, considering weather or not to wear "hot" pants to protect the hamstrings, etc. Once this was over, he was off. He returned about 3 hours later, sopping wet, and limping... but he had a big ole grin on his face. He had a good time so the limping is worth it.

Later in the day we met several other ISE families at Burghley House for the Battle Proms, a reenactment of the British against the French. Jenny & her family got there first to save our place, and we were the next family to arrive. We then proceed to spread all our stuff out and place kids in various positions, all in hopes of securing a "place" big enough for us ISEs to enjoy our food and fellowship for 6+ hours. We had KFC, chips, desserts, basically just plenty of junk food. It was a blast...

Burghley House (how would you like to clean that house...)

Dad & Sophie looking cool (watching the fighter jet)

Brittney looking TOO grown up for me :-)

Canons going off

Perfect Ending to a GREAT Day!

Brittney is growing up...

2008-07-12T18:54:00.001+01:00

I know that July should be Sophie's month since it is her birthday month, but I just needed to share this. Brittney will "hate" me one day for this but... Friday night was one of our friend's birthday party. The parents had rented a huge bouncy castle so the kids & the parents could enjoy some time jumping around acting crazy, but mother nature had other plans. Most of the day was beautiful but of course as time approached for the party, the heavens opened. This did not stop the kids from playing on the bouncy castle which was okay until the rain got so hard you could hardly see outside.

Well, let me back up some. The Kieser's had a party last year at their house for Drake when he turned four (this year he was turning 5 (of course)). They invited their ISE friends and their British friends from church. So last year there was one British family that we kinda connected a little with, since at the time we were all going to the same church. The family has two boys about the same age as Brittney & Sophie. So this year while this British family was on their way to Drake's party, Jacob (the one in the picture above) asked his mom if that nice American girl was going to be there again...

Brittney & Jacob were inseparable. They played together on the bouncy castle, in the rain, everything. It was so sweet to watch the two of them; they are so "innocent" right now. They sat under the table while it poured around them. Jacob got a towel to wrap around Brittney so she could warm up, and the 2 of them ate some food (hoping the rain would stop).
Brittney of course is VERY embarrassed by the attention from everyone else. Her dad (& me a little) teased her at first about it, but she got so upset. After seeing how this upset her I tried to explain why we adults were talking about it so much. Then I talked to her a LITTLE about the birds & the bees and how we adults love seeing friendships between boys & girls stay innocent. So I write this hoping no grandparents will tease her, but will just enjoy the warning that our little girl is growing up way too fast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Italy in June

2008-07-07T21:33:00.002+01:00

I know I am really late on this writeup but you know how it goes... the further away I get from the vacation the more I don't want to write about it... I will write a little now & keep updating this particular post. I also need to upload pictures from Kevin's camera.

Italy was by far one of the families favorite holidays. Italy is a great place to visit - so much history, beautiful scenery, and a very friendly place. We spent over a week touring Italy. We flew into Venice and rented a car for our adventures. We tried to balance every other day with a beach break - you can only take in so much history at a time.

VENICE: is a beautiful place. You get from place to place either on foot or by water taxi. We did take a private taxi ride through the beautiful place but the smells and the rocking of the boat got a little much for me. I can't image what it must be like in the middle of August (peeyu).

Water, water, and more water

Brittney & Sophie feeding the pigeons (notice the pigeon on Sophie's head - yuck).

Talk about taking recycling to an extreme...

--- Brittney Head ---

--- Sophie head ---

This was on our "travel" day between Venice and Florence. We stopped in some small town in Italy while trying hard to find a place to eat on a Sunday afternoon - very difficult. But I was distracted by TAZ, my favorite cartoon character :-) Who would have thought he was to be on a cruise ship; guess what one of our next vacations will be...

Pisa: this is definitely a one-day place; it is beautiful and all the attractions (and shopping) are in one central location. Kevin & Brittney hiked to the top of the tower while Sophie & I enjoyed our pizza and Galatea (Italian ice-cream).

Hold it - hold it - don't let go or it might fall on you :-)

Dad & Brittney climbed to the top of the Leaning Tower

Rome: we spent two days in Rome and could spend many more days. Rome is a amazing - words do not do the city justice.

This is how you entertain a 4 & 8 yr old in Rome - let them get wet!

Sophie fell in love with the Pinocchio story while we were in Italy. We found this Pinocchio store & had to drag her (& me) out of there. It had a little bit of history about the story and some awesome wood carvings. We of course bought some stuff :-)

The girls entertained themselves in the Colosseum by coloring on scrap paper I had in my back pack. It was real tricky to find somewhere to sit and to stay out of the sun. It was hot-hot-hot this day (close to 100F).

Kevin on the other hand loved almost every minute of the Colosseum. He was very into the history and the engineering mindset of the Romans.

And this is the perfect ending to a wonderful holiday. Kevin & I got up at 3:30 so we could be to the airport by 5am to catch a 6am flight that was cancelled. Of course, we didn't know it was cancelled until the driver had left & we were all in the tiny airport. After much discussion with airlines we were able to secure a spot on the next available flight (4 hours later). So, we set up camp. The girls played for a little while but soon all the Duffy girls were sleeping on the floor of the airport - it was cold, noisy, but we got an hour+ of sleep. Once we got back to the UK, life picked up right were we had left it ;-)

LONG, Long time...

2008-07-06T07:11:00.003+01:00

I know, I know - it has been a long time since my last post. Well, I won't bore you with all the excuses and details of daily life; I will just say that I did FINALLY finish my first class. The final assignment was a mini-dissertation and without the help of my friend Gloria and my hubby it would not have happened. I finished the writing portion of the paper almost a week early (and for anyone who knows the procrastinating side of me you can close your dropped jaw) but the technical formatting side took a lot longer than expected. I learned things about Word that I never knew existed. I also learned that when I go home in August I will be purchasing Word 2007 (it has some pre-existing templates that would have made my formatting woes a lot less woe-ey...). I haven't got my final grade yet but I have moved on to semester 2. Originally I had signed up for 2 classes - Bible Hermeneutics and Theology of the Old & New Testament. But within the first week I dropped the Theology class - way, way too much work for someone trying to keep up home & social life. When I emailed my advisor she told me those were the 2 toughest classes & to put them together was almost impossible unless you dedicated your life solely to school. Again, I won't bore you with the specific details of the classes I will just say there is tons of reading, lots of lectures, and plenty of weekly writing. I spend almost all of the kid's school day in front of the computer & then try to sneak in study time through out the remainder of the day... oh the joys of "adult" school life :-)))))

The girls are almost through with school; they have 2-1/2 weeks left. The kids & teachers are getting ansy & ready for school to be done; not sure what we parents are thinking. Claire & I have decided the day after school gets out we are going to take the girls to a water park in Birmingham. It will be about a 2 hour drive away and the park is inside. The kids got wind of the idea and now cannot wait for school to end. Otherwise I'm not sure what I will do with the kids the remaining weeks before returning to Illinois for the month of August.

Hmmmm, can't think of much more to write. I promise to write something about our Italy trip & upload some pictures...

I'm legal - finally!

2008-06-04T18:51:00.004+01:00

Yes, it is true - the pictures above prove that I am finally legal to drive in the UK and EU plus I get a 50% discount on my car insurance now. Whoo-hoo!
I won't bore you with the details but let's just say it is a miracle that I passed. I was so nervous I thought I was going to throw up on the poor instructor (remember my blogs from before the holiday - the lurgy stories). She only marked one wrong, but I think she was being generous. Mainly, she is retiring in a month & we spent most of the time talking about traveling :-) You all know how I love to talk; I think it worked for me this time. Now let's just pray that Kevin has success as well - his is in 10 days & his first lesson is Saturday.

Wacky Wild Wednesday

2008-05-21T09:42:00.003+01:00

In a previous post I talked about the girls school and the 20th anniversary program for the school. Well, the head master promised (bribed) the kids if they were on their best behavior they could have a crazy day - wear whatever they wanted to school, do their hair crazy, and have a relaxing day... Today is that day.

Brittney & Sophie have been begging me to let them dye their hair and I must admit I have never been able to stand up to peer pressure. So notice below that the girls have green & pink hair. It is only the hair spray color so I am hoping that it washes right out like it promises. If not, they will have some funky hair when we go to Italy...

Kevin said he felt like he was looking into the future - approximately 10 years into the future when the girls are in high school, wearing crazy clothes and doing who knows what with their hair. As I always say, you have to pick your battles (and you have to let them win a few here & there).

Spoke too soon...

2008-05-19T19:54:00.002+01:00

I spent today pre-packing for Italy and purchasing new shoes for the girls (none for me...yet). I got quite a bit of homework done & was ready to actually start on the final project. I took Duke to the vet and got him some new medicine. All was going well until at 5pm Kevin came home. Since I would be cooking for only me, I decided to take the girls to McDonalds and by 7:30 tonight everyone besides me is in bed... you ask why, well remember those 2 people with stomachs of steal - well they melted. Need I say anymore-

Silent Night ... All is Calm

2008-05-19T09:31:00.002+01:00

Yes I know it isn't Christmas even if the UK weather has forgotten that it should be spring/summer time. Oh well, what I wanted to say is we all seem to have settled tummys. We have had 2 nights of restful sleep so (finger's crossed) I think we are out of the woods & will be able to leave for Italy on Friday - assuming I can get everything packed, dogs to the kennel, homework done, etc, etc, etc... of to work I go :-)

Even the dog...

2008-05-18T09:07:00.003+01:00

Now even the dogs have the lurgy... Poor Duke has an ear infection from h*e@l*1 and now he has the lurgy. This house needs some serious disinfecting. And did I mention, I'm not feeling too good right now :-(

the Lurgy vs Feeling Poorly...

2008-05-17T20:18:00.002+01:00

In the UK when they say "Sophie is feeling poorly today" that means that Sophie is sick or under the weather, but if you say "Sophie has the lurgy" or "Sophie is sick today" that means that Sophie has the stomach bug... can you guess which one is right for the Duffy household today - you guessed it, Sophie has the lurgy.

It started last night about 12:30. Sophie crawled into bed between Kevin & I. She proceeded to moan, groan, and whine that her stomach hurt. In my most sympathetic way, I asked her to be quite or go back to her bed. After 5 minutes of continual whining I decided I could at least feel her forehead and to my surprise she was burning up with a fever. Before I could get myself turned around & the light on, Sophie emptied her stomach of everything she had eaten.

I will spare you all of the details but will just say, it was a really long night and day. The poor child couldn't keep anything down - water, juice, tea, ice, you name it. She actually got to the point that she couldn't even lift her head off the pillow. I had decided if it didn't get better soon we would have to visit the A&E (the UK way of saying ER).

Once morning came she was feeling better, but we weren't out of the woods yet... She had a few more mishaps, but by 2pm today (almost 14 hours after the start) she was successfully able to keep juice & toast down. I can report that Sophie is almost back to normal - she is perky but still not 100%. She does have her appetite back but we will take it slow...

Now, I am just washing & washing & washing sheets, towels, clothes... I have 2 sets of sheets done but we will have no blankets tonight (they won't fit in the gigantic washing machine we have, so I guess I will take them to a laundromat tomorrow).

Of course, Brittney & Kevin haven't been too affected; they have stomachs of steal I guess :-)

Update on School

2008-05-14T21:36:00.002+01:00

Well I am more than 7 weeks into the 12 week course, and I am so glad that I only took one class this semester. This first class is a research class that all Master's students must take. It is to help us prepare for our dissertation and teach us some basic skills that we will need in our other classes.
This past week has been a little frustrating. I was starting to feel comfortable with the class and the research process. I have been successfully finding articles and books on my topic, and I was actually starting to put the paper together in my mind. Then the professor posts the next assignment, the lectures, the handouts, and announces he will be gone for the next two weeks. At the time of his posting we only had 2 more weeks of class time with the final 4 weeks being for the research paper. His posting sent me & the class into a panic. The info had little to do with the previous weeks, did not correlate together, and actually gave us another assignment as big as the original mini-dissertation we were already working on. We all started panicking. After 5 days of frustration and the starting of a migraine, I finally sent out a plea for Dr. Mark to respond. Well I opened the flood gates - everyone starting replying to my post & requesting his help. Finally Dr. Mark realized what had happened & tried to put our minds to rest... he had posted the wrong information. I do feel better after he responded, but the pessimist in me is thinking, yeah but we lost a week of class time.
I have signed up for 2 classes starting in July - Biblical Hermeneutics (can't even pronounce it...) and Theology of Old and New Testaments. My books came on Monday so they are stacked on my desk next to all my research & current text books. You could say they are taunting me...
Well, I better get back to the lectures and the research. :-)

Weekend in Wales

2008-05-14T20:56:00.008+01:00

We spent the first weekend of May in Wales. It was a long weekend for both the girls and Kevin since Monday, May 5th was a bank holiday. We decided to take the dogs with us and were able to stay in a B&B that took dogs. When we first got there it was well past bedtime and pretty dark. The temperature was warm and the rooms were stuffy so I opened the windows... and PU the smell that permeated mine & Kevin's room - wow, it would take your breath away. My first question was how much did we pay to stay in the place... I found myself walking around the room smelling the bedding, the carpet, the towels, everything trying to find the source for the smell. Finally I was so tired I didn't care anymore. I turned the fan on, checked on the kids, the dogs, and Kevin & turned out the light (while trying to hold my nose).

The next morning I woke up to a beautiful sunrise and a roaster crowing in the near distance. I looked out the girls window & knew immediately what the "smell" was... the B&B was a working farm. Ohhhh, now it all makes since - and funny how the "smell" no longer bothered me once I knew for certain what it was... Once we got dressed we we took a quick look around the B&B. It was really nice - there were horses, dogs, cats, chickens, sheep, you name it.

One of the first things you will notice in Wales is the language... The road signs are in 2 languages (Welsh & English), and the village names are unpronouncable. The Welsh language is very different than the "normal" English you expect in the UK. Kevin kept trying to find a shirt that read "I spent the weekend in Llanfarpwllgwyngyli." We did learn that "Llan" is translated church, and "Ll" makes a "cl" sound. Hmmm, I'm thinking they don't want to play Wheel of Fortune...

We spent the days at the beach, walking the shore line, hiking the water falls, looking at castles, and basically relaxing. It was one of the best vacations we have been on. Having Duke & Daisy with us was a wonderful bonus - we all had fun! The weather was fabulous most of the time - fairly warm & sunny. The girls and the dogs (& Kevin at times) were in the water every possibile chance.

The girls had to return to school on Tuesday, Kevin returned to work, and I started the long stretch of washing clothes, cleaning the car, and catching up on school work. Duke & Daisy on the other had slept for 2 days straight. They only moved from the couch to go to the bathroom & to eat; we wore them out :-)