Ahhh - I don't understand the dialect

I am a Brit, and while I know the language I certainly don't understand every dialect. This was so evident last week.

Gary was trying to book the mini bus to pick us up from the airport in England and couldn't figure out what the man was saying. He handed me the phone, assuming I would understand but I didn't have a clue!! It took four or five attempts before I finally caught on to what he was saying.

This move will really be an adventure!!

Michelle

Chaos and Tears

The packing has not been going quite as quickly as hoped. Tuesday we spent most of the day on the phone sorting out flights (which took about 4 hours longer than expected!!) so yesterday we resumed the packing with Gary packing his tools and the boys and I tackling their toys.

Every toy was looked at and they had one of five options for each. To put it in the shipping box (which they won't see for 4-6 weeks); put it in their suitcase; or their carry on bag; to place it in a box to give away or the trash. We got on well until they found toys they hadn't seen for a while, then they got distracted and wanted to play!!

Deanna had a very tough time when we placed an old broken rocking horse in the trash.

Today we attack the girls room!

Michelle

The Flights are Booked

Today the visas arrived and we booked our flights.

We will be leaving St Louis on February 3rd. Our plans include renting a 15 passenger van to take us to Chicago for an overnight flight to Dublin, Ireland. At Dublin we will have a 3 hour layover before catching a flight to Manchester, England. From Manchester we will be renting a mini bus to take us to our destination in Rothwell, Leeds.

Lord willing we should arrive in Rothwell by early afternoon of February 4th.

Michelle

It is 3:40 am ...

... and I cannot sleep. How is it possible for so many emotions to be running through our bodies at the same time? We are all excited ... sad ... nervous ... amazed ... and experiencing many other emotions that I cannot even name.

It is almost unbelievable that the day has come when we know (for sure) that we are going to serve the Lord in England. He has led us on a journey over the last few years to prepare us for this and we've been anxiously anticipating the approval of the visas, yet I struggle to believe they have finally been approved and we are really leaving. Leaving friends and family that have meant so much to me over the last 15 years, not to know when I will see them again.

To pack up our lives so that no trace of us remains, except for photos and memories, is a daunting feat. Yet, the excitement of the adventure that God has in store for us is indescribable. Intertwined with the excitement are many questions tinted just a little with fear. What challenges lie ahead? How will the children settle in England? What does life look like as an English wife and mother?

But, through every emotion I know God has directed our steps and I know He holds our future. With that knowledge comes peace.

I'm going back to bed, praying for sleep ... good night

Michelle

28 Days to enter England

This afternoon we received notice from the British Embassy informing us that Gary's and the children's visas have been approved.

We should receive our paperwork either tomorrow or Wednesday. Then we will book our flights.

Check back here in a day or two for further information.

Please keep us in your prayers as our goal for this week is to get everything ready for shipping. This is a hard process for all of us - especially the children.

Thanks

Michelle

Our Boys ...

Below are some recent pictures of our kids. I know I am biased, but I think the Lord has blessed us with some beautiful children.

Daniel (10)

 

Nicholas (7)

 

Jeremiah (5)

 

... And Our Girls

Elaina (9)

 

Naomi (7)

 

Deanna (3)

 

Where do I find my security?

The Lord has been faithful and has always provided everything we have needed. Over the last few months trusting Him in the area of our finances hasn't been too hard as we have managed to reduce our bills enough so that a check that we receive each month covers the majority of our bills. But last month the Lord started to ask us where we placed our security. Was it in Him or the monthly check. We believed He asked us to give away our check and totally rely on Him for what we needed.

Both Gary and I struggled with this decision, but slowly we are learning to obey and agreed to give away our check. Once we had committed to do this we were amazed at how clearly the Lord led us in where to give.

We were prepared to give it all away, but once we had parted with just over 60% of it Gary had a peace that we had given enough. So the month of December continued and we had no idea of where the money would come from to pay the bills. We told the children what we had done, not to worry them but so they could see God's goodness when He did provide.

There were a few occasions that we would look at the bills that were due and start fearing, but once we focused back on God we were at peace again. Thankfully we were given 3 gift cards which helped, but still we waited for the Lord to provide for all the bills.

Then, on the day after Christmas we received a letter from the Federal Government stating that they had miscalculated our economic stimulus check which we had received in May and were now refunding us what they owed us - just 7 months late!! Amazingly the total of the stimulus check was $20 more than the amount we had given away.

Immediately I checked my bank account to see if it had been deposited. It was placed into our account on December 19th, the same day that I had written the largest check that we gave away. We didn't know about this until December 26th as it was deposited into an account we don't often use.

God is so good. Not only did He provide for our needs, but he also gave us the blessing of helping others in need and, most of all, seeing that He is faithful. While I still have a long way to go, this month God helped me put my trust and security in Him just a little more.

Where do you find your security?

Michelle

Out of the mouth of babes...

Recently our family has committed to pray for a 10 year old orphan boy (Emmanuel) from Liberia who is waiting for his adoptive family to bring him home. The family is located in Illinois and already have 7 children (2 biological and 5 adopted). They are eager to bring Emmanuel home as they have already adopted his cousin and they miss each other alot. You can read more about their story here.

Anyway, we have been praying that the Lord would provide the money ($8,000) to bring Emmanuel from Liberia to America. Naomi has particularly been eager to pray for him, but I think she's a little confused on the details. Her prayers have been going something like this "Dear Heavenly Father I pray for Emily who is going to adopt Emmanuel who is in the library and waiting to come home. Help them get the $300 to bring him home.

I know the Lord knows her heart and it is encouraging to see her pray with such enthusiasm for another child.

Please pray with us that Emmanuel will be in the arms of his adoptive parents soon.

Michelle

Please Pray for the Kids

 

While we still don't know our date for departure we beleive it is getting closer so we have started sorting through the children's toys and clothes etc.

Please pray for them as this is proving a difficult task. It is so hard to decide what to keep and what to give (or throw) away when we only have a little room to ship things.

Thank you.

Michelle

Double Digits

I can hardly believe our oldest son, Daniel is now 10 years old. Where do the years go? As I was packing last week I came across several boxes of photos. Not much packing was accomplished but I did spend a few hours reminiscing over the days when my children were so small. Several of Daniel's baby pictures were in the boxes. What a cutie he was, and how he has grown!

Before I know it Daniel will be a man and his childhood just a memory. I pray the Lord will equip us in raising a boy who, we hope and pray, will become a God fearing man.

Michelle

Singing for Tickets

 

Last week our local Christian Radio Station sponsored a stage show of Veggie Tales Live and they were giving away a few tickets, but you had to sing for your tickets. So on Friday morning I called the station and Nicholas was able to sing a veggie tale song on the radio. He won 4 tickets and a copy of the DVD "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything". Obviously with 8 in our family we all couldn't go so we decided to allow the boys to have a night out with Gary.

At the last minute we decided that Naomi could also go as a reward for excellent behaviour. We had planned to purchase her a ticket (which were half price at the door), but as Gary was picking up the tickets Nicholas had won a woman handed him an extra ticket that she had. So all of them got in for free.

Please forgive the poor photo, it wasn't easy to get a good picture in the dark. Apparently it was a fun evening for them, they were even given a bag of candy on the way out.

God is so good for providing such special treats for my children.

Michelle

A Day at the Zoo

 

We have recently been enjoying an Indian Summer here in St Louis, so we planned a family outing at the Zoo. We had a wonderful time. One of the benefits of homeschooling is the ability to take the field trips during nice weather and when the crowds are low.

During the day we saw many monkeys but, I'm not sure who was the biggest, the gorillia the kids were sitting on, or Jeremiah (take a close look at his face!!!)

Michelle

Our Home in England

 

The picture above is the best we have of where we will be living in England. This is the Training Building at Springhead Park House, Rothwell, Leeds. Our home will be the middle floor of this building.

We have not asked for anything for our new home, but back in the Spring my sister let people know that we would be moving to England and many offered items that they no longer needed. So she and my brother-in-law have been collecting for us and a couple of weekends ago they delivered it all to our new home.

Below is a list of what has been given to us.

Microwave
Toaster
Slow Cooker
Brown Casserole dish
brown soup dishes
cereal dishes
weighing scales
Cheese grater in box
2 jugs
toast rack
Jelly mould
3 x veg dishes
3 x large / medium small
Large glass dishes
Teapot
Butter dish with lid
6 x hot & cold mugs in box
Large Pyrex mixing bowl
Large green thermos
Container with lid
Pizza dish
Polyester cup with lids
Hand held grater
Ice cub tray
Potato peeler
Ladle
Large fork
2 x small saucepans
Cutlery - 11 forks, 9 knives, 9 steak knives, 8 desert spoons, 10 or so tea spoons
Dinner service set all matching (all round unless otherwise stated)- 6 x large plates, 6 x small plates, 6 x large oval plates, 5 x small coffee cups with 6 saucers, 5 x bowls
4 x white tubs - good for herbs - I guess
1 x small plate
4 x bowls
3 x large cups (mug size) with 5 saucers
Plastic cutlery tray
1 x fridge (medium size - half way between a small English one and large American single one)
1 x washing machine
Double bed with mattress
Double bed with mattress
2 Chest of Drawers
Small trunk / chest
1 single bed with mattress - adult size
1 single bed with mattress - 4 foot size - ok for Deanna (never used)
1 single mattress
Wardrobe - single - with 2 drawers
Small Chest of Drawers
2 x set of king or double (will need to check size) duvet covers
1 x laundry basket
2 x bedside lamps
1 x lamp shade
2 x set of single duvet covers for kids beds
2 x Sofas - 1 is 2 seater and 1 is 3 seater - both with removable / washable white covers
tons of cushions
Display cabinet
Coffee table
Large Chair
Hoover
TV - 14 inch
VCR
Up display spot light - really nice
Round table (was the one in the kitchen at Vicarage)
Toothbrush holder
2 x large towels

As you can see we have most of the stuff we will need and I have been told that since this list was compiled in the Spring more items have been added, including more beds, tv and other things. We really have been blessed by God's provision through the generosity of others, especially my sister and brother-in-law.
THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!

Michelle

Saving Money

About a year ago the Lord led me to a blog called Money Saving Mom from which I learned a lot about saving money and being a better steward of the money that God has given us. So during this year I have been refining my skills with finding the deals!

One of the places I have really been able to save is at Walgreens. The pictures below show just some of what I have been able to purchase there last month.

3 large boxes of Kleenex
2 12oz bottles of Sunlight Dish liquid
4 toothbrushes
Alka Seltzer cold medicine
6 bottles Pert 2-in-1 shampoo
Loreal Cleanser
6 bottles of Dimetap cold medicine
Rimel Liquid Foundation
9 bottles hair product for the children
12 AA Energizer batteries
3 Skippy peanut butter
4 48oz Breyrs Ice Cream
2 Scrubbing Bubbles Bath Cleaner
3 Aqua Fresh toothpaste
7 jars of Ragu sauce
1lb Spaghetti
3 78oz Laundry Detergent
2 10oz Dawn Dish liquid
2 large box Puffs tissues
5 18oz Softsoap Bodywash
1 Softsoap hand soap
1 11oz Palmolive Dish liquid
2 packets Ricola cough drops
4 bags of Chocolate candy



Before sales and coupons the total of the above items came to $267.64
After sales and coupons the total came to $83.22
Then I had a Walgreens gift card (from deals I had done in September) which was for $57.19. So I only ended up spending 26.03 in cash for all the items above plus I have earned over $40 for my November gift card.

That was what I call a deal.


It has been a treat to be able to purchase good quality items for my family, but the Lord has reminded me that while it is good to receive, there is so much joy to be found in giving. I have found much joy in being able to share many of these items with others. I was first introduced to this idea of shopping wisely and sharing from Shop, Share and Save by Ellie Kay.


So, if you haven't been saving money at Walgreens ... you might want to give it a try. You will find all the details on how at www.moneysavingmom.com

Michelle