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

Grandma Arrived

Grandma(Gary's Mom)arrived yesterday after surviving her first cross Atlantic flight. This was a hard journey for her as it was the first time she had travelled outside of the States and she also did it alone. Thank you to all who prayed for her. She is now getting to experience jet lag!! Hopefully she will adjust to English time soon as we have a busy couple of weeks planned for her.

Today we travelled to WEC Headquarters just outside London. We will be staying here for 3 nights and exploring some of the tourist attractions in the South of England. Tomorrow we will journey to Bath; Thursday will be London and Friday is a surprise for the kids.

Pictures to come.

Michelle

Cefn Lea

Wales is an absolutely beautiful country; the incredible views; the vast amount of sheep (more sheep than residents!); the peaceful atmosphere and the winding road over rolling hills (which sadly causes motion sickness!!)

We really enjoyed the 5 days we spent in mid Wales. One day we journeyed up a hill to see the views. We marveled as we took in all of God's beautiful creation, including Snowdonia which we could see 20 miles away. That was only part of the blessing of our vacation. We really enjoyed the time we spent with 66 other Christian homeschooling families. Unlike the States, not many homeschool here and of those that do few are Christians. So this week was wonderful to spend with like minded families.

One day the Moms all gathered and shared how long we had been homeschooling and how many children we had. I was delighted to hear the average number of children was 6!!! For once I felt 'normal' instead of the odd one out!!

The kids had a brilliant time too. Cefn Lea is a secluded Christian holiday resort, so knowing that all on the campus were Christians, we were able to let our children have a great deal of freedom. They left us soon after breakfast and came home for meals. They had a wonderful time playing with other kids and scootering around the hills of the campus. I have never seen so many scooters in one place. Unfortunately, most of them looked alike and Gary spent several hours (each day-Gary's bit) hunting down scooters that had been mistakenly taken by someone else.

We are so grateful to the Lord for allowing us to enjoy this week and for providing the finances for us to do so. We had committed to the holiday as the Lord really seemed to open the door for us to do so, but we weren't quite sure how we would pay for it. Then just a week later someone placed an envelope under the door with a card and some money. In the card was a note asking us to use the money to take the kids on some days out over the Summer. The amount of money in the envelope was exactly enough to pay for the holiday. God is so good.

Michelle

Changes

Where has the time gone. I can't believe it has been almost 3 weeks since I have posted anything. I will try to catch up with some posts over the next few days.

As you can see the blog is undergoing a transformation. Jill has been working on sprucing up our blog over the last week and will make a few more changes over the coming days. I hope you like the changes.

Jill has kindly donated her time to do this for us. All she asks in return is to make a donation to one of her chosen orphan charities. We gladly donated to Amazima. I really suggest you check out Katie's blog. She is a 20 year old woman who has obediently gone to Uganda and now is responsible for feeding 400 children along with the full time care of 13 girls who call her Mama. It is awesome to see the Lord work in such an incredible way through someone who was willing to be obedient to her Heavenly Father. May we all be as obedient as Katie.



Michelle

Grandma is Coming to Visit

Gary's Mom has talked for a while about coming to England to visit, well a few weeks ago she finally booked her ticket. She will be here for two weeks in September/October.

When we told the kids they screamed with excitement. They are truly looking forward to seeing Grandma again. An added bonus is that she will be here for both Elaina's and Deanna's birthdays.

To make this trip she had to get a passport - her first ever, as she has never left America before.

Please pray for her as she is a little (actually very) nervous about making this, her first international journey partly because she will be traveling on her own.

Thanks

Michelle

Letters from Home

What a surprise we had today when Daniel and Elaina received a large envelope from St Louis. It contained many letters from children in their Sunday School class.

I wish you could have seen their joy as they read that their friends, not only remembered them but also took the time to write.

Thank you Katie and Lori for doing this for them. Through blessing my children, you have blessed me also.

Michelle

Cool English Summers

English summers are a lot cooler than summers in St Louis. There is no air conditioning here - there is no need for it. But you can imagine how cool it is when I tell you that today Jeremiah found a blanket, one of the dining room chairs and dragged them into the kitchen. He positioned himself a couple of feet in front of the oven and wrapped up in the blanket - just to keep warm!!

Michelle

The Gospel and the Poor: A Case for Compassion

Tim Keller: The Gospel and the Poor: A Case for Compassion from Here's Life Inner City on Vimeo.

Following Christ

"God isn't looking for people of great faith, but for individuals ready to follow Him" -- Hudson Taylor

Are you ready to follow?

Michelle

Proverbs 30:7-9

Jeremiah is 6

Last weekend we had another birthday to celebrate. Jeremiah turned 6!

I think he had a wonderful birthday. It started with a video greeting from his best friend from St Louis. Matthew played and sang "Happy Birthday". As he did this huge smile appeared on Jeremiah's face and lasted for a long time.

We then took a picnic lunch to Temple Newsam and the kids saw the farm animals there. We finished by having dinner with friends who helped us celebrate Jeremiah's special day.

We are so grateful the Lord saw fit to place Jeremiah in our home. One day I should write about the way he was placed with us ... it was definitely an act of God. But for now, we just thank the Lord for him.

Michelle

Out of the mouth of babes

A couple of weeks ago Deanna, Jeremiah, Naomi and myself were riding the bus home after church. We were on the top deck of the double decker bus and were all alone up there. After a while the bus pulled over to pick up passengers. They made there way upstairs and as they were finding their seats Deanna said to me (pointing and in a very loud voice) "Mom are those people sinners?" (She already knows she is!!) After the initial shock that my daughter would say something like that I was able to respond - but not as loudly as she asked!! I told her that they were, that everyone is a sinner. So she proceeded to look out the window and started pointing to people as she asked "Are they sinners, Mom? What about those people?"

I hope, as she grows, she will continue to be bold and won't be embarrassed (like most of us are) to share her faith with others.

Michelle