Our Girls

Elaina

Naomi

Deanna

Our Boys

Daniel

Nicholas

Jeremiah

The Beautiful Colors of Autumn

We are so blessed to live right next to the Rothwell's local park. We spent some time there over the weekend and were able to fully appreciate the beauty in the colours of the season and acknowledge the One who created them all.

Yes! That really is blue sky you see. Honestly! It really doesn't rain in England all the time!!!

Pictures of the kids at the park to follow....

Michelle

Ouch!!

A game of leap frog between Nicholas and Naomi ended in tears!!

Somehow Nicholas landed on her neck, made her lose her balance and she ended up putting her teeth into her bottom lip and scraping her chin across the floor.

The screaming told me she was hurt!!

It took a while to discover how much damage was done because she bled so much. It could have been much worse and we are grateful that she didn't lose any teeth during in the accident.

She is slowly healing, and can bite her food again although her bottom lip is still swollen and it certainly doesn't look too pretty at the moment!!

A Challenge ....

Anyone who knows us knows that our hearts are for the orphans. Obviously we cannot adopt all 147 million that are in this world BUT we can plead to you on their behalf.

Not all are called to adopt (although I personally think many are called but choose to ignore God's voice because of fear. Fear of the unknown - fear of lack of finances etc) But throughout Scripture we are commanded to act on behalf of the fatherless - SO here is my challenge to you (actually it's partly a challenge from Linny that I want to pass on to you)

Please continue to read ...

Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering towards slaughter. If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?
Proverbs 24:11-12

Which group of oppressed people does the Lord want you to get involved with?

the poor?
the widow?
the slave?
the hungry?
the prostitute?
the prisoner?
the orphan?

As Christians we do not have the right to sit back and do nothing.

Yes, we are saved by grace, but Scripture say "If you love Me you will obey what I command" (John 14:15) - and what are the two greatest commandments? "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it 'Love your neighbor as yourself." Matt 22:37-39

The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) shows us clearly who our neighbor is - the one who is in need.

the poor!
the widow!
the slave!
the hungry!
the prostitute!
the prisoner!
the orphan!

So then how does Scripture say we should love them? AS OURSELVES. Have you really given this much thought before? - how do you love yourself? - we feed ourselves, cloth ourselves - actually in the western world we SPOIL ourselves! Think about it - what are all the things we call 'necessities in life' while 1 billion other people will go to bed hungry tonight!

Again, please read 1 John 3:16-18

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.



My Challenge

To meditate on these scriptures for a month.

Ask the Lord how He wants you to love others and PLEASE BE OPEN to WHATEVER direction He leads.

DO NOT FEAR.

What He calls you to do may be harder than anything you have done before BUT nothing is more precious, rewarding and satisfying than being obedient to our Heavenly Father and following - WHEREVER HE MAY LEAD.

Reunion

Su is a friend that I went to school with 22 years ago (now that makes me feel old!!!) We never kept in touch once we had left school but, over the last few years I have often wondered where she was and what she was doing. I had tried doing internet searches for her but each time with no sucess.

Then a couple of months ago I decided to try facebook. I didn't find Su as she has now married and changed her name. But I did remember her sister's married name and found her.

I sent Su's sister (Wendy) an email to ask if she could put me in contact with Su. Imagine my surprise when Wendy replied and told me that Su was now living in Leeds (the same city as me). I was amazed as Leeds is about 250 miles north from where we grew up.

When I finally made contact with Su we agreed to meet. She asked where I lived in Leeds (which is a large city with a population of over 700,000). In her email she informed me she lives in ROTHWELL!!!! I was shocked as that is the area I live in too. When we were living in Swindon we lived less than a mile apart now, 22 years later, 250 miles further north, we again live with less than a mile between us!!

We met on Friday evening and had a great time catching up on the journeys that the Lord has taken us on over the last 2 decades. We are grateful that God has given us this opportunity to renew our friendship.

Michelle

What is Love?

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

1 John 3:16-18

Family update

Last Sunday I wrote that the Lord was planning to increase our family and I would let you know the details in a few days.

I had hoped to give you all the information by now, but am still not able to do so. Sorry to keep you waiting in suspense but I promise to tell you as soon as I can.

We would appreciate it if you would keep this situation in your prayers - the Lord knows the details. Thank you.

Michelle

North Yorkshire Moors

On the second Wednesday Gary's Mom was with us we traveled to the North Yorkshire Moors to ride the steam train through 18 miles of picturesque scenery.

The kids really enjoyed riding on the steam train. To hear the sound of the train as it chugged through the hills and see a tunnel fill with smoke was just two of the things they enjoyed. The trains stopped at very old stations and the carriages on the train seemed just as old. We felt like we were Peter, Edmond, Lucy and Susan just waiting to be magically whisked off to Narnia!!

One of the stops along the way was a small village called Goathland. We had two hours there to explore the village (which didn't take long)and to enjoy the views. We stopped at one of the village stores to get an ice cream. One of the flavours were Blackcurrant and licorice. Sounds interesting doesn't it? I wish I had tried it, but defaulted to the boring and chose mint chocolate chip - it was good though.

The sheep roamed freely throughout this village. If you look carefully you can see sheep on the grass verge. Consequently we had to watch carefully where we walked!!!!

Michelle

Two Birthdays

Grandma planned the timing of her visit very well as we were able to celebrate two birthdays while she was with us.

Elaina turned 10 and Deanna, 4.

We had a great time celebrating Elaina's birthday with Grandma and some friends who came over for dinner that evening. We are so grateful to God for making Elaina so healthy and strong after weighing only 1lb 6oz at birth.

We celebrated Deanna's birthday by going swimming at Doncaster Dome (a large leisure facility not too far from here). The local homeschool had organized a swimming trip there. We had a great time riding on the slides and even swimming outside!!! Yes, outside in England during the month of October does work if the water is heated well - which it was!!

Deanna has such a strong, confident personality that she rarely meets a stranger and she is never shy to express her opinion!! Again, it's amazing where the years have gone. How can our baby now be 4?

But will she be our baby for much longer - God has planned to grow our family again!!

Details to follow in a few days!!!

Michelle

Legoland

Since arriving in England the children have become great fans of Lego. They are often bringing me new creations that they have designed. Therefore, since they discovered (some when back in the Spring) that there is a Legoland near London, they have wanted to go. BUT at over 25 pounds (approx $40) for each child it was not going to be in our budget!! Then, after perusing the Legoland website one day I noticed they had special rates for schools. Hmmm. maybe they would allow homeschoolers to enter on school rates. It certainly wouldn't hurt to ask.

YES! we could claim the student price, which also allowed one teacher in for free. So we were all able to get in for 50 pounds (approx $80) instead of paying 220 pounds (approx $350). Of course we also had the advantage of going during school time so there were hardly any lines to wait in for the rides.

We kept this trip a secret until the evening before. It was wonderful to see the children's faces light up with great excitement when we told them we were going to Legoland.

As we were driving up to the park there were large lego creations lining the road and Jeremiah said "Mom, this is so cool!!"

The Lord blessed us with beautiful weather. We were even able to go on one of the water rides without suffering too much afterwards from being cold!!

The kids loved the rides. I think one of the favourites was driving the lego cars. It was fun to watch these American/English kids drive on BOTH sides of the road. I couldn't make my mind up whether they had no clue about driving or were just 'country' confused!!

The statues made out of lego were absolutely incredible. Even if you don't like the rides - Legoland is certainly worth a visit just to see their creations from Lego.

The only disappointment of the day was the drive home. It took 6 hours to drive the 200 miles from Legoland to Leeds!!! I have been told that I should have known better than to try and leave London around 6pm on a Friday evening expect to get home in 3 hours!!!

Michelle

London

Another of Grandma's goals was to visit London and see the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace.

We tried to see it, but had a better view of the back of heads than any guards. We could not believe how busy it was outside of Buckingham Palace. It was a beautiful day and thousands had the same idea as us. This was the best picture we got. We couldn't actually see it but raised the camera above the heads and hoped for the best.

By the time this was done, hungry stomachs were calling for lunch so we walked down The Mall and found a McDonalds on Whitehall. Following lunch we planned to go to Trafalgar Square to give some pigeons their lunch. BUT WHERE DID ALL THE PIGEONS GO? We found a few, but nothing like we were expecting. There used to be so many because there were actually vendors who sold food for them and the birds would flock and land on your head, shoulders etc. But the vendors were gone, and so were most of the birds.

Grandma was given an assignment (by a grandson in the States) to see Big Ben and get a picture for him. So our next stop was Westminster to see the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.

By this time Grandma had hurt her hip (I think from all the stairs etc on the underground) so we decided to make our last stop the London Eye, but while we walked over Westminster Bridge we managed to lose Nicholas! Thankfully we had spent time that morning discussing what you should do if you get lost in London. Nicholas remembered what we said and we were able to find him in less than 10 minutes. But, as any parent knows that was a very long 10 minutes!!!

The London Eye is like a huge ferris wheel that goes so slowly that it takes over half an hour to go all the way around. There are some beautiful views of London from the top and it is certainly the easiest way to get a view of that great city.

With most of the family exhausted we headed out of London during the evening rush hour. Try being on a crowded underground train and then being informed by one of your children that they need the bathroom - and soon!!! Oh the joys, and inconveniences of young children!!! (but you know we wouldn't change a thing ;-))

Michelle

Bath

Well, Grandma has now gone back to the States. I wanted to put posts up each day about where we have been, but by the time we got home - we were all too tired!!!

So, over the next few days I will catch up with pictures of Bath, London and a few other places.

One of Gary's Mom's goals during her visit was to ride a double decker bus. We were able to meet that goal as soon as we arrived in Bath as we parked outside of the city and got on a double decker bus to take us into Bath.

The weather wasn't too great, a little cool and light rain, but it could have been worse - after all we do live in England.

One of the most beautiful sights to see in Bath is the Abbey which was founded in the 7th century and rebuilt in the 16th century. The details in the architecture are absolutely incredible.

The front of Bath Abbey

The organ pipes were very impressive.

Bath is built in a hilly area so the easiest and quickest way to tour the city is by a bus tour. We all enjoyed this as we listened to the history of the city while seeing the important landmarks - the easy way!!


Michelle

Bath - Part 2

Here are a couple more pictures of the Abbey.

The details in the ceiling were amazing - I could have sat and stared at all the intricate work for a long, long time, but of course the kids wanted to keep moving!!

Stained glass window.

Grandma and the kids in Bath.

Tomorrow - pictures of London.

BTW - Blogger only lets me load 4 photos per post - can anyone tell me how to change this? Please email me or leave a comment. Thanks

Michelle