A Day in Markeaton Park

The first day that we arrived, we discovered Markeaton Park right across the street from our apartment.  It's probably the biggest park I've ever been in: huge open fields, a wading pool with sprinklers, bouncy bounces, carnival rides (this month), snack bars, a cafe, hiking trails, and I'm sure we haven't seen it all.  The cab driver from the airport told us it's "massive."  So on Sunday after church we decided to spend the afternoon there.  Alexa had been talking about swimmiing in the wading pool for the previous 2 days, so that was our first stop.  The water was a bit cold, but she and Avery had a great time playing.  It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon...probably in the upper 70s.

From there we went to the bouncy-bounces, which is what Mia really wanted to do.  The kids enjoy a nice long time bouncing around.

And then we went over to the playground area where they had one of those spider web rope jungle gyms.  Avery quickly made a friend and discovered that one thing that boys have in common between the US and the UK is Pokemon.  Apparently they spent the whole time talking about this game that I think I may never really understand.

It was a wonderful afternoon.  We will likely be spending lots of time at this park during our time here in Birchover Apartments.

Day 2

Today we relaxed in the morning, let the kids sleep in, and then later went out to run some errands.  Our first stop was Best Buy where we were pleasantly surprised that they had free facepainting there today.  The girls were thrilled, but Avery was happier just playing games on the Demo Iphones instead.  From there we went to a couple other stores and then got a few more groceries.

The grocery store is still an interesting place for me.  We usually find something there that is quite comical.  Today it was cheese.  We went to the deli counter to order lunchmeat, just like in the States, though in the UK it's sold in grams instead of pounds.  A good conversion estimate is 400g per pound I guess.  So we ordered our lunchmeat sliced thinly, and then went down to the other end of the counter to get some cheese.  Sean ordered the amount we wanted and the woman behind the counter took a square block of mild cheddar cheese and cut it in half.  He then asked her to slice it for us and she looked at us like we had 3 heads and said," we don't slice cheese."  Interesting.  We didn't have time to look around to see if there is any prepackaged sliced cheese, but I'll have to check that out next time.  For now we'll have to just cut our own cheese!  OK, I'm laughing way to hard at that last sentence!

We finished our day at our friends' house, Ed and Marcia's, where we enjoyed a nice spaguetti dinner and some comforting conversation with some fellow Americans. 

Safe Arrival

I just want to let everyone know that we arrived safely this morning.  The flight went smoothly and on-time.  We're all adjusting to the time difference in our own way.  Hopefully we'll get a good night sleep and feel better tomorrow.  It's a little bit stressful right now as we figure out our transportation and get food and supplies that we need while taking care of sleepy, cranky, and hungry kids.  Please pray that we will get everything under control tomorrow. 

At the Airport

We made it to the airport! Security was a bit stressful, managing all of our bags, but we went through smoothly. The kids are off with Sean to find a snack before we board.  The kids are really excited about flying on an airplane.

Feeling the Love

With the craziness of a life with three young children, I don't think that I truly appreciated how many friends I really have. I was so caught up with my busy schedule which did include seeing so many of you, but I didn't realize how full my life is with wonderful people.

Of course, my family has been a constant blessing throughout my life and a source of unfathomable love. What is surprising to me though is how over the course of only a few years I have met and grown close with so many great people who fill my days with joy and contentment.

Until a few years ago, I was never one to have many friends. Some are shocked to discover that deep down, I am an introvert...meaning I am quiet by nature and prefer alone time over social settings. I do think that I have become less so with age, thankfully. I've been fortunate to discover creative and spiritual passions that have drawn me to discover so many of you.

Moving Day

Today was moving day for us...well at least for our stuff! It took 3 moving men 6 hours to pack and load 82 boxes into the big moving truck. From here, our boxes will be transported to a warehouse in Connecticut to be divided between 2 cargo boxes, one for air and one for sea transport.

We don't get transported until Thurday evening. So for now we are living with my parents and getting the house cleaned up.

Saying Goodbye

I can't believe the week of our move has finally arrived. It's been a sad few weeks as we've been saying "goodbye" to so many of our friends and family.  Today was a tough one, as it was our last day at our church.  We were so blessed to see so many of our friends there.  What's making it a lot easier for me is that we will be home for Christmas, and that's not really too far away.  A few months seems so much shorter than 2 years. 

Our plans are to come home at least once a year, perhaps twice.  Fortunately, Sean's sister is coming to visit in November, we'll be home for Christmas, then we hope to have both Sean's and my parents visit in March and April. We would love for friends to visit too!

I'm sure the time will fly by.  I'm really looking forward to staying connected with all of you through this blog.  Please comment on the blog or stay in touch with email.  We are so blessed with technology that can allow us to so easily and affordably stay in touch with each other. 

We will miss all of you so much!  Well, I'd better get some sleep, the movers come tomorrow and we fly out Thursday afternoon.  It'll be interesting to see how the kids adjust to the time delay.  I'll keep you posted!