Florida Trip

New England Beaches!

We decided to only spend Saturday in Boston, and take Sunday to drive up the coast a bit to play on the beaches of New Hampshire and Maine. We also spent Monday afternoon on a beach in Cape Cod. We had perfect weather, and altogether a perfectly delightful time. Tide-pooling, sand-digging, frisbee-throwing, rock-clambering, shell-collecting, and lots of running and laughing in fresh salty air and sunshine.

February Pics

Pics top to bottom:
The kids visiting their great-grandma in Pennyslvania; playing foozball at a community center's Family Fun Night; college friend Barb visiting from London; and making Valentine cookies together that we gave out to neighbors and the local librarians.

Edinburgh Trip -- Days 5 & 6

Monday, July 27, found us on a train to North Berwick, a village just east of Edinburgh. Friends Kate and Hugo had recommended the beach there and offered us birthday money to pay for the train (and ice-creams and sand toys!) We were grateful to be on a very short train journey instead of a 5 hour one!

Though it poured rain for the first few minutes after we’d arrived, the rest of the day was clear and beautiful. We were all so excited to be by an ocean again! Josiah ran right into the water, cold as it was. Naomi and Ethan began digging in sand.

I was able to find a hardware store and buy some gardening shovels, some different-sized plant pots, and a utility bucket. I figured these would all last longer under the kids’ play and abuse, plus I’d be able to make use of them once we got back to Oxford. I also got a long-handled net and a beach ball (both of which we’d lost by the end of the day – sigh…)

We started at the western beach, and after 1 ½ hours, walked through town to get to the eastern beach. There we found lots of tide pools, as well as a “paddling pool” (a walled-in bit of sea water for kids to play in). Naomi, Josiah and I went off to see what we could discover in the tide pools. I told them about doing the same thing with my grandma when I was their age. It’s one of my favorite memories of her.

We saw lots of hermit crabs, caught a few small crabs and fish, and saw some red sea anemones. Naomi and Josiah were amazed to see sea creatures right there in the wild! We ate baguette sandwiches for supper, lingered ‘til past 6 and finally walked back to the train station. I really really didn’t want to leave. If we hadn’t made plans to have friends come over for coffee that same evening, I would have been tempted to stay on the beach until past 8!

As it was, we got home around 8:30 and our friends came by for a “cuppa.” Inke was the secretary in the Edinburgh Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies when Steve studied there. She and her husband James were missionaries in Egypt for years before settling in Scotland. It was nice to catch up with them in person, just before they were leaving for a holiday of their own.

Tuesday, July 28, was pretty boring! We needed a day to relax at home so we didn’t go anywhere special. I took the kids to the nearby park, just a 5-minute walk away. Naomi preferred to stay at home, looking at her new seashells, though. Josiah wanted to stay home and watch the crab (the token animal we brought home).

At supper time, we caught a bus into town and enjoyed a nice dinner and visit with our friend Maristela Lima-Napier and her three boys, Jonathan (5), Andrew (2), and Daniel (newborn). We’d known her from church, and though we missed her husband Gary due to his being on a work trip, had a nice time talking with her and watching the kids enjoy each other.

Only two more days before it was time to head home…

Edinburgh Trip -- Days 3 & 4

Saturday, July 25, we headed to the Edinburgh Zoo. My parents had given us money to pay for it and we all had a great time! The sky was blue and the air was fairly warm – a perfect day to be outside.

Our first stop – and one of our highlights – was feeding the lorikeets in the aviary. We bought two servings of nectar, which Naomi and I held out in our hands. The birds were a bit cheeky: they wanted to stay on their rails and not make the effort to fly to us. But we stood firm and eventually they came.

I was proud of Naomi. Though sometimes shy among people, she showed no fear with birds! She bravely let the lorikeet come sit on her hand, tickling her a little with its talons.

The birds were brilliantly colored. My biggest reason for liking any zoo is the reminder of how awesome God is. What a creative mind He has, to come up with such diverse, beautiful creatures, each species uniquely designed to thrive in their own habitat.

Naomi and Josiah excitedly ran from exhibit to exhibit, thrilled to be seeing monkeys and lions, hippos and zebras. They could hardly wait for the 2:15 “penguin walk,” when zookeepers open the penguin gate and let penguins walk down the pavement in front of onlookers. We’d gotten there early and staked out a good spot. We were not disappointed as we saw cute little guys waddling right in front of us.

Naomi also bravely tried a turn on a trampoline/bungee jumping gizmo. It wasn't quite as fun as she expected, but we were impressed that she gave it a go!

At the end of the day, our friend Kate picked us up and drove us to the home we’d be staying in for the rest of our holiday. Kate’s friends from our old church were away for the week, leading a Scripture Union camp, and had offered to let us stay in their flat. It was so nice to have a 2-bedroom place to crash each night after long days out. I especially appreciated having a dishwasher, and the kids enjoyed the Legos.

On Sunday we worshipped at Gorgie Parish Church, close to where we used to live. I was amazed at how many people greeted us, as though 3 years hadn’t gone by. It was a blessed morning.

From church we went to the home of our friends Quintin and Fiona Bradshaw. They are both medical doctors, prior missionaries to Thailand, and parents of 4 teens. We had been blessed 4 years ago by their youngest two kids (twins Rory and Kirsten) befriending Naomi and Josiah, and also by their sweet hospitality as they had us for meals and let us use their home.

Fiona made an amazing spread of Thai dishes for our Sunday dinner. It was all very yummy! Our kids enjoyed the spacious yard, bouncing on a big trampoline, climbing and sliding, and playing with the Bradshaws’ springer spaniel Tia. They also got to go on a countryside romp, through woods and farmland, while Steve and I played a game of Settlers of Catan with Rory (14) and Chris (17).

We had so much fun playing Catan that we decided to do another round of it, pausing for tea-time. Fiona had baked homemade scones and served them with jam and clotted cream, along with tea and biscuits. Our Sunday gave us the best of two cultures’ cuisines!

Grateful for friendship and fellowship, we reluctantly returned to our flat. Our tummies and hearts were full. Thank you Lord for friends!

Trip to Edinburgh: Days 1 & 2

On Thursday, July 23, we left Oxford by train, heading first to Birmingham (an hour away) and then to Edinburgh (another 5 hours). We were going “home” to where we’d lived during the school year ’05-’06. Steve and I were excited to spend time in a city we love, as well as catch up with old friends. We also looked forward to re-acquainting our kids with places and people that used to be important to them.

The trip there was fairly uneventful. Ethan was thrilled to be on a train! This was his first long-distance train ride. We had a 3 hour layover in Birmingham, during which we explored the city a little bit on foot, and got caught in a rainstorm. The kids liked chasing pigeons in a grassy square we found.

The 5-hour ride to Edinburgh was trying on our nerves. By the end, the kids were stir-crazy and tired (we didn’t arrive ‘til after 9 PM) But we survived! At least the train was almost empty by the time we were in Scotland, so the kids’ noise wasn’t bothering loads of people. Naomi and Josiah spent the last 20 minutes of the journey picking up rubbish from throughout our car, and filling a bag with it. At last, a useful way to expend their energy!

For our first two nights, we stayed with good friends, Kate and Hugo Allan. Their daughter Rebecca is Josiah’s age and was one of Naomi and Josiah’s best friends. They also have a 2 year old foster son. It was a delight to see the kids play together, as if three years hadn’t gone by since they last saw each other. Rebecca and Naomi even had a “sleepover” together on Friday night in Rebecca’s room.

On Friday, we took the kids to see our old cottage. We didn’t see the inside, but took pictures of the outside. Two big changes had occurred in the last three years: 1) the car park that used to be completely empty (and available for tricycle riding) behind our house was now full of cars; 2) the huge derelict building that used to be such an eyesore from our kitchen window is gone, and in its place is a huge Sainsbury’s (grocery store).

We made the walk down our road to nearby Saughton Park, where I used to take the kids to a Winter Garden on cold days and the playground on

warm days. We enjoyed the goldfish in the greenhouse, the beautiful rose garden, and the huge sandpit in the playground.

From there we crossed the street to our old library. Balgreen Library had seemed so small to me when I first arrived from the Chicago suburbs. It’s only one room and has no bathroom. It is much bigger than our current local library in Marston, Oxford, though! We checked e-mail, read to the kids, colored

unicorn and dragon coloring sheets, and waited out a brief rainstorm.

We began the 40 minute walk back to Kate and Hugo’s, passing the McDonald’s we ate at every now and then, and discovering that a brand new Aldi grocery store was in our neighbourhood. It would have been only a 5 minute walk from our old house – a bit farther than the Sainsbury’s across the street, but not much!

At home we enjoyed the Allan family. Kate served the kids their own supper, we bathed them all, and then Hugo made a special meal for us adults. It was very nice to catch up in person with good friends!