A wise friend told me that I should think of writing my blog like I am writing to just one friend, so today i am writing this post like I were writing to my good friend Patti in Annapolis, Maryland.
We are coming up on our first Easter here in England! It has been so exciting to see all the changes that have come with spring. Many of the parks and green spaces have daffodils planted in large quantities, so its like looking at a blanket of yellow! Its wonderful on a grey, rainy, chilly day to see all the yellow. In our back garden we have a small garden pond that is home to an enormous frog and many, many tadpoles. Our boys love to check on the frog, and have tried to feed it worms. Beside the pond is an area that is covered in small pebbles and stones, with a slide. The boys spend many afternoons digging in the stones and pouring them down the slide. this is also followed with a pitcher or bucket full from the pond. Losing all track of time, they live so completely in the present when they are back there. I find myself enjoying cleaning out the flower beds, scraping moss off the bricks and stones and preparing the garden for the spring.
Todd has been in a very busy season with his work. He recently hosted the school Bible exhibition week at the church, where over 250 students from local schools were able to come and learn about what the Bible says! Todd led a group of volunteers to be actors for the various Bible stories, prepare food and offer hospitality to these school groups. Many students were eagerly asking questions and showing some understanding of the presentation. My friend who had played the role of Mary with her own baby playing Jesus had a student ask, "So after the fairy came to visit Mary..." and she was able to say, "well it wasn't a fairy it was an angel..." What an amazing week it was! In follow-up to this week he was invited back to 2 schools, at one school he gave a 45 minute discussion and follow up, and the other he did a presentation about the message of Easter using the "resurrection eggs" activity.
After a 3 month bout of not making it to Bible study due to illness of the boys or myself, or being in the states, or Christmas holidays, I have been able to attend regularly recently. We are studying the book of Hebrews and it has been most encouraging. The group is called "Mum's the Word". Between 15-20 mums faithfully come and study the word together. Most of these women are from the church, but one or two have been coming from the community. We have wonderful helpers for the children. Todd and I were humbled to be asked to lead a session on raising a godly family. It was quite interesting putting our thoughts together, and many times we thought of you and Chris and all the wisdom that you had shared with us in our small group!
At times we pop in for a bit to the weekly play group called "Little Laughs". There is a gate that opens to a small parking area and the glass doors that lead to where the group meets. When I open that gate for Little Laughs, the brick-lined parking area is completely filled with push chairs, prams and buggies (what Americans would call strollers) from all the mums/care givers who have brought their little ones for a play. There are a few faithful ladies who set up this area with toys in an inviting manner--teddies with books and teacups, train tracks with the trains ready to make their journeys, dinosaurs facing one another for a battle, playdough ready to be cut and molded. I stay for a few minutes, then Timothy stays with Todd while I take Ethan to the cafe (There is a cafe in the lower part of the church where anyone from the community can come and enjoy a cup of tea and a bite to eat) to have some time for home school. We will read books or play games while Tim is enjoying playing.
Often after one of these mornings we will have lunch in the cafe and then go walk along the River Thames, feeding the geese (Canadian Geese here!) swans, ducks, pigeons. We might go to a play ground if the weather is okay or head home and stop at our local library. The libraries aren't the same as the ones in Annapolis, but we can always find something exciting. When Ethan gets home with those books, he will sit for long periods of time looking at the pictures and noticing every detail. Tim has really just begun to listen to stories and he will request books again and again. His attention to the story has really grown and he is able to sit and listen to every page now!
On Thursdays we enjoy getting together with some other friends who are home schooling. The children are playing together quite nicely and it is always encouraging to be with other moms who are doing the same thing. When the weather allows we have been able to get outside more. A couple weeks ago we went to a park and while the kids had to have their sticks and do their pretend sword fighting at the beginning, by the end, they were all completely enjoying themselves digging in the dirt, being creative and full of life. We had to pry our selves to leave that sunny warm afternoon!
All in all, I do feel like I am adjusting more to the culture here. I know I am not fully there but certain things are not so noticeable as they first were. I even have started thinking in terms of centigrade, not Fahrenheit! Though I do think I am still a long way off from really understanding people from another culture, and I find I have my blatantly obvious American moments. I still miss having a dryer, but the warmer weather means that even inside my house the nappies (diapers) will dry within 30 hours. Sigh....
We are coming up on our first Easter here in England! It has been so exciting to see all the changes that have come with spring. Many of the parks and green spaces have daffodils planted in large quantities, so its like looking at a blanket of yellow! Its wonderful on a grey, rainy, chilly day to see all the yellow. In our back garden we have a small garden pond that is home to an enormous frog and many, many tadpoles. Our boys love to check on the frog, and have tried to feed it worms. Beside the pond is an area that is covered in small pebbles and stones, with a slide. The boys spend many afternoons digging in the stones and pouring them down the slide. this is also followed with a pitcher or bucket full from the pond. Losing all track of time, they live so completely in the present when they are back there. I find myself enjoying cleaning out the flower beds, scraping moss off the bricks and stones and preparing the garden for the spring.
Todd has been in a very busy season with his work. He recently hosted the school Bible exhibition week at the church, where over 250 students from local schools were able to come and learn about what the Bible says! Todd led a group of volunteers to be actors for the various Bible stories, prepare food and offer hospitality to these school groups. Many students were eagerly asking questions and showing some understanding of the presentation. My friend who had played the role of Mary with her own baby playing Jesus had a student ask, "So after the fairy came to visit Mary..." and she was able to say, "well it wasn't a fairy it was an angel..." What an amazing week it was! In follow-up to this week he was invited back to 2 schools, at one school he gave a 45 minute discussion and follow up, and the other he did a presentation about the message of Easter using the "resurrection eggs" activity.
After a 3 month bout of not making it to Bible study due to illness of the boys or myself, or being in the states, or Christmas holidays, I have been able to attend regularly recently. We are studying the book of Hebrews and it has been most encouraging. The group is called "Mum's the Word". Between 15-20 mums faithfully come and study the word together. Most of these women are from the church, but one or two have been coming from the community. We have wonderful helpers for the children. Todd and I were humbled to be asked to lead a session on raising a godly family. It was quite interesting putting our thoughts together, and many times we thought of you and Chris and all the wisdom that you had shared with us in our small group!
At times we pop in for a bit to the weekly play group called "Little Laughs". There is a gate that opens to a small parking area and the glass doors that lead to where the group meets. When I open that gate for Little Laughs, the brick-lined parking area is completely filled with push chairs, prams and buggies (what Americans would call strollers) from all the mums/care givers who have brought their little ones for a play. There are a few faithful ladies who set up this area with toys in an inviting manner--teddies with books and teacups, train tracks with the trains ready to make their journeys, dinosaurs facing one another for a battle, playdough ready to be cut and molded. I stay for a few minutes, then Timothy stays with Todd while I take Ethan to the cafe (There is a cafe in the lower part of the church where anyone from the community can come and enjoy a cup of tea and a bite to eat) to have some time for home school. We will read books or play games while Tim is enjoying playing.
Often after one of these mornings we will have lunch in the cafe and then go walk along the River Thames, feeding the geese (Canadian Geese here!) swans, ducks, pigeons. We might go to a play ground if the weather is okay or head home and stop at our local library. The libraries aren't the same as the ones in Annapolis, but we can always find something exciting. When Ethan gets home with those books, he will sit for long periods of time looking at the pictures and noticing every detail. Tim has really just begun to listen to stories and he will request books again and again. His attention to the story has really grown and he is able to sit and listen to every page now!
On Thursdays we enjoy getting together with some other friends who are home schooling. The children are playing together quite nicely and it is always encouraging to be with other moms who are doing the same thing. When the weather allows we have been able to get outside more. A couple weeks ago we went to a park and while the kids had to have their sticks and do their pretend sword fighting at the beginning, by the end, they were all completely enjoying themselves digging in the dirt, being creative and full of life. We had to pry our selves to leave that sunny warm afternoon!
All in all, I do feel like I am adjusting more to the culture here. I know I am not fully there but certain things are not so noticeable as they first were. I even have started thinking in terms of centigrade, not Fahrenheit! Though I do think I am still a long way off from really understanding people from another culture, and I find I have my blatantly obvious American moments. I still miss having a dryer, but the warmer weather means that even inside my house the nappies (diapers) will dry within 30 hours. Sigh....
We miss and love all our friends and family, and Patti my house is full of signs of your imprint on my life! We have the quilts you made for the boys, the quilt our small group gave us. I think of you when I set out my one or two Easter decorations, and how you always had your house dressed up for every holiday. Miss you dear friend, Happy Easter!
