Kensington Palace

I, Sutton, went to London on Saturday with a lady from the church. Her name is Elin and she's an actress. She's really awesome and fun. We took a train to London, but the guy that sold us our tickets told us that we should take a different train to London than what we originally planned, but of course he was wrong. It went to Victoria, and that wasn't were we wanted to be. When we got there Elin said it would be ok, we could take the tube. We got to the tube and went in, but the line we wanted was closed for the weekend. We got the next best one and then took a bus to our final destination, Kensington Palace.

We got there and found her friends that we were meeting. We decided to eat before seeing the palace, since it was lunchtime. There was only 2 places to eat in the palace park. A pretty, over priced cafe with a wait, we opted out on that one, or a little sausage hut place. It might not have been a bad option, but Elin's friends were vegetarian, so that didn't really work. We decided that a walk was worth some better food. We found a cute little cafe and got lunch there. It was delightful!

We then went back to the palace to see the exhibit. They gave us a pamphlet with a map and a bit of info for each room. They had a section to write the names of the seven princesses that were mentioned in the exhibit. If you got them all, you got a great prize! A sticker... We then set out into the palace. In one room there was this weird throne called the seat of power. It was made out of pieces of knited sweaters. A lady that worked there made me sit on it and then had my court (my friends) bow. Then I had to make a wish. It was that I could see my dog. She stuck her head into the next room and shouted "The Queen wishes she could see her dog!" It was great. Another room, the Room of Enlightenment, had crazy hats hanging from the ceiling. My favorite room was the Room of Palace Time because it had some statues on the walls of a few of the Greek gods. It was great.

I figured out why you only got a sticker if you got the names of all the princesses. They had the answers in the Gallery of Dancing shadows. They also had a projection of shadows dancing together on the ceiling. It was really cool, especialy when I went and twireled in front of the projector so that my shadow twirled on the ceiling too! Over all I had tons of fun! These are pictures I took of the garden and the path leading to the cafe.

The Crate and A Car

Sorry I haven't posted on the blog much this week.  We have been busy!

One of the most exciting things that happened this week was our crate from the US came on Thursday.  It seriously was like Christmas around here.  I had forgotten what we sent, so it was really exciting opening all the boxes.  The only bad part of getting all of our stuff is trying to figure out where to put everything.  I haven't taken any pictures yet, but we have some really full closets and drawers, and there is lots of things still on the floor.  We still have to buy some more furniture (especially for poor Sloane - she doesn't have any sort of closet in her room).

Now that all of our stuff from home has arrived, we all have blankets and coats.  It is starting to get cold here (especially at night), and we were all happy to be warm again.  Our house is starting to feel a little more like home now that we have familiar things around.  Surprisingly, it did make me a little homesick also - wasn't expecting that.

On Monday Keith and I went car shopping for a used car, and we actually found one.  Unlike the US, you can't just drive off the lot in your new car, so we picked it up today.  Our plan was to by a practical, small, reliable car, and we did it.  We bought a little Toyota Yaris, and it is actually kind of cute.  I thought it would be funny to buy the ugliest car we could find (seriously, most cars over here look exactly the same - small, boxy hatchbacks).  Our Yaris isn't exactly ugly, but it is tiny.  Now I just need to get brave enough to drive it.

Sutton has been sick this week.  She started feeling bad on Sunday, and it just got worse as the week went on.  She missed school on Wednesday and Thursday, but she went back today.  I took her to see the doctor on Thursday, and that was an interesting experience.  So far, I love the NHS - we saw a great doctor quickly, and our visit and prescription were free.  Let's just hope none of us has any serious illnesses.  Our neighbor just had a surgery that she was waiting a year to have, and she had to go to Oxford to have it.

Keith started looking for a job this week, so please keep him in your prayers.  It would be nice to have some pounds coming in, so we don't have to keep converting dollars.  It is really depressing having to nearly double everything because of the exchange rate.

Now that we are a little more settled, I am starting to try to sort out what I am going to be doing at the church.  On Sunday our family stayed after church to help work on prepping an old church hall at GPBC for a face lift.  We are going to be using the space a lot for youth activities, so our youth pastor, Dave Perrins, wants to give it a good cleaning and update.  We spent most of the afternoon sanding and cleaning, so the room could be repaired and painted.  I went back on Wednesday and did a little more sanding and painting.  I was really wondering where my McKinney team was to help me.  It is not the same painting in England without you guys!

I was also able to go with Dave P. on Tuesday to a meeting at one of the secondary schools to discuss a mentoring program they are doing at the school.  Last year was the first year of the mentoring program, and they are going to expand it this year with more students and mentors.  This mentoring program may be the perfect project for me (remember my Big Brothers Big Sisters days?), and Dave wants to talk more about the possibility of me running it.  I am really excited about the possibilities, and I am just praying for God's direction.

This Sunday is a very exciting day.  It will be the first time Gloucester Place Baptist Church and Florence Road Baptist Church meet together as one congregation - One Church Brighton.  It is going to be great, and we can't wait to see what God has in store for all of us!

The Show is Over!

Yesterday we came home from buying a car (more on that later), and I happened to glance up at our upstairs bathroom window and notice that I could clearly see the towels hanging on the wall.  The strange thing is that window is frosted, and you are obviously not supposed to see in it.  I know for a fact I can't see out of the frosted window, and I just assumed no one could see in it either.  That is reasonable right?

Keith volunteered to run upstairs to see if we could see him through the window.  The girls and I stood in the middle of the street looking up at our window while Keith went inside.  Of course, Keith couldn't just go to window - he had to take off his shirt.  He said he was sure we wouldn't really be able to see him, but I think he just likes that kind of thing.  Sadly, for so many reasons, we could see Keith clear as day.

Oh my goodness, my mind began to race trying to think how many times I have stood in front of that window in states of undress.  It is usually chilly when we get out of the shower, so I am usually wrapped in a towel, but it is a bathroom after all.  It is a very small bathroom, and it is quite hard to be in there and not be near the window.  I have started brushing my teeth and washing my face with the lights off at night, and I have been very careful about how close I am to the window. 

Keith thinks that someone may have put the glass in backward.  How does that happen?  I think it is a trick window.  I guess it could be worse - we might never have noticed our "showy" window.  So now we know.  All right neighbors, move on, the show is over!

Sloane's Double-Digit Birthday

Wednesday was Sloane's 10th birthday, and I am feeling old. I can't believe my baby is a decade old. Sloane is a birthday lover, and I was a little nervous that her birthday (a milestone birthday at that) wouldn't live up to her high expectations. You know, we just moved, we still don't have most of our stuff, and I don't know where to shop for anything. Of course, there was no need to worry because once again people were so kind and helpful, and Sloane had a new and exciting birthday in her new country.

Sutton and I went shopping on Monday, and we found Sloane a birthday button that had a cupcake and a 10 on it. We just thought it was cute, but apparently they are quite common for people to wear on their birthdays because everyone recognized it and wished Sloane a Happy Birthday. Of course, Sloane wanted to wear it to school and the entire day.

When Keith took Sloane to school on Wednesday, he said she was mobbed by all her new friends wishing her a Happy Birthday. We had told Sloane that we were going to take her to the park to meet some friends after school, but instead we walked her down to the main shopping area. We got some ice cream, and then we were going to surprise her by getting her ears pierced at Claire's (yes, they even have Claire's in Brighton). Sloane was game to get it done, but unfortunately, it was too close to closing time for them to do it (this was despite the fact that I had checked with them on Monday to make sure they could do it, but that is a whole other blog on the poor customer service in the UK).

Sadly, we went home without pierced ears, but we did get to ride the bus home. This was the first time Sloane had ridden an English bug, and she was so excited because it was a double-decker. Sutton wasn't quite as impressed because she rides one everyday to school, but Sloane thought it was great riding on top. I heard her tell Sutton, "This is so exciting!" The stop where we got off the bus was right by the park, so Sloane got to go to the park after all.

For dinner Sloane wanted to eat at our neighborhood pub that is around the corner. The pub is called the Chimney House, and the food is excellent. The Chimney House, like a few traditional neighborhood pubs, has changed from serving traditional pub fare to becoming a gastro pub serving fancier (and pricier) food. We had a delicious meal, and Sloane polished off an adult-sized burger by herself.

At home we had our own dessert and present celebration. Thankfully, a friend of ours from church offered to make Sloane a cake for her birthday. Bukky is a caterer, so of course her cake was as delicious as it was beautiful. Also, our friend down the street, Becky, made Sloane some cupcakes, and their family gave her a bag full of English candy. We all ate well and felt a little sick after our sweet feast, but Sloane loved it all. She told us this was her best birthday ever!

Even though it was a day late, we took Sloane back yesterday to get her ears pierced. She was very brave, and her ears look beautiful. It is a little sad to me because having her ears pierced makes her look older. Ugh, before we know it she will be a teenager. Of course, she already thinks she is one.

No More Air Mattresses!

It is official - we finally all have real beds. After a month of sleeping on air mattresses, we are finally off the floor and on a proper bed. Yesterday was a big day of deliveries for us. Keith and I finally got our bed and mattress delivered, and I think it was one of the happiest days of my life. We spent the morning putting it together (of course), and by the time we were finished, Sutton's bed had been delivered and it was time to put that together too.

As you can see from the picture, our bed barely fits in our bedroom. In fact, it takes up the entire room, but we don't care because we are so happy to finally have a bed. We tried all different ways to angle the bed, but because of the fireplace and the doors, we didn't have much of a choice. Oh well, at least it will be cozy.

The Precious

We received our first package from the States this week. My sweet Mom sent us a package with kitchen knives, and thankfully, they made it through customs. I was quite excited to get some new knives because the ones I had (and sold) in Austin were terrible, but I was most excited about what she packed with the knives.

My Mom also sent us almost 2 boxes of Carnation Instant Breakfast. She stuffed as many of the little individual packages of it between the wrapped knives, and it actually made it without getting sliced to smithereens. You might not think that Carnation Instant Breakfast sounds that exciting, but Keith has had it for breakfast almost everyday for around 35 years. Of course, I got hooked on it before we moved, and now we are both sad because we can't buy it here in England.

Now you can see why we were so excited to get our package. When I opened it, I immediately put the packets on a high shelf where the kids couldn't reach it because I have no intention of sharing with them - they just wouldn't appreciate it. I really did feel a little like Gollum protecting the Precious in Lord of the Rings. Keith and I are already rationing our stash, and we are hoping my Mom has to mail something to us again soon.

Even though we can't get Instant Breakfast over here, we do have all kinds of great new foods to try. Last week Keith and I helped make lunch for a group of church leaders meeting at GPBC. We worked with several great people, but we especially enjoyed meeting Julie (a member of Florence Road Baptist Church - the church we are joining with). Julie was kind enough to tell us about all the new sandwiches we were making, and she filled us in on the new condiments we were using that we weren't used to. Needless to say, we had a good conversation about food and grocery shopping.

On Sunday, our new friend Julie surprised us at church with a gift bag filled with all kinds of English condiments. She totally stocked our pantry for us, and we can't wait to figure out exactly how to eat all of our new treats. Julie's thoughtfulness is just another example of the amazing hospitality we have encountered at our new church.

We haven't really done any real cooking because we are still waiting for all of our stuff to arrive from the States. We sent some cooking stuff over here, but I can't really remember what I sent so we haven't wanted to buy a lot of new stuff yet. Everyone wants to know about our refrigerator. It is definitely smaller than what we are used to, but it could be worse. Some of the refrigerators in the rental properties we looked at fit under the counter and weren't any bigger than a dorm refrigerator. Yikes! We feel blessed to have our "big" refrigerator and even more blessed that it actually has food in it.

Sutton's First Day of School

Today is Sutton's first day at her new school, Hove Park. I am not sure who was more nervous me or Sutton. OK, I am pretty sure I was more nervous than she was. Sutton seemed pretty calm. I think she was definitely ready to go back to school - any school. It has been the longest summer she will probably ever have.

We picked up Sutton's schedule yesterday, so she had a good idea about what her day would be like today. Her year, year 8, has 300 kids in it, and those kids are divided into 3 groups of 100 (Hove Park is one of the biggest secondary schools in town). Somehow they are divided based on what languages they are studying. Sutton is going to be studying French and Spanish.

Unfortunately, Sutton's school is a pretty good distance from our house, and it would take too long for her to walk there. Luckily, Keith was able to take Sutton to school this morning. Our neighbors left town yesterday, and they left us their car to use while they are away. Sutton will eventually ride the city bus to school, but we are still not positive which bus she needs to catch. Actually, we think we know the bus #, but we are just not sure about which stop she has to catch it. We need to figure that out. Hopefully, she will meet someone from school who lives around here, so they can tell her exactly what to do.

Speaking of driving our neighbor's car, we had quite an adventure yesterday. We took our neighbor's car out for the first time, and Keith did great! He was very brave because we decided to go to the Marina across town to go to ASDA (like Wal-Mart). It was a pretty straight shot on main roads, but they were busy roads. The most difficult part was maneuvering a round-about by our house. Our neighborhood is called Seven Dials because we live near a round-about where seven roads come together. It is a little scary (even worse than the Circle in Waco), but Keith handled it like a pro. I am still not sure I can handle this driving thing. I think I prefer to just be Keith's navigator.

Sloane is doing great, and she loves her new school. She was so excited to finally have some friends to play with. In fact, she had a friend over to play on Monday (her second day of school). Some things never change. Here is a picture of Sloane and her new friend Izzy drinking tea in our garden.

I should have known Sloane would be the first to assimilate. She (and Sutton) already insist on drinking tea everyday. I am just waiting for their accents to change. It shouldn't be long.

Worshipping at GPBC

I love our new church! Worshipping at Gloucester Place has been the highlight of our time here. Everyone has been so friendly and welcoming that it already feels like we belong. I love that about the Church - it really is a family.



I also love believers here in England. They are so REAL - that is the only word I can think of to describe it. Keith and I noticed this difference the first time we went on a mission trip to London. Maybe it is just the churches we have been to and the believers we have met, but faith just seems more real here in the UK. I think it has to do with the fact that being a Christain here is not really that common, and it certainly isn't popular or cool. At home, it seems a lot of people go to church on Sunday to "do the right thing" or they say they are Christian because that is what everyone says (especially in the Bible Belt of the South), but this claim hasn't really changed the way they live their life on a day to day basis. Here, when you meet a believer, their faith seems more genuine and deep, and they are committed to the church and the community. It is very encouraging.



I was also encouraged this morning when I looked around the congregation and noticed how diverse it seemed. Not only were there people from every generation, there were people from many different backgrounds and even countries. After talking with some people after church, I realized that beginning in our row and going back 3 rows we represented the United States, Eritrea, Latvia and Poland. How cool is that!

We Are Still Alive!

I knew I was going to be a bad blogger, but I never expected to be this bad. I am sure some of you were starting to wonder if we ever even made it to England. Well, it has been a long week and a half, but we are still here. I am blaming my poor communication on the crazieness of moving in to a new house (in a new country none the less) and our lack of internet service at home until yesterday.

For the 11 days we have lived in England a lot has happened. I am not sure even where to start, but I know you want details. Here are the major things I can think of off the top of my head.

• Our flight began in Houston, we changed planes in Charlotte, N.C., landed in London at Gatwick, took a train to Brighton, and sqeezed ourselves and 7 enormous bags into a taxi to get to our house from the train station.



• The Steells, our friends who live around the corner, were away on holiday in Spain, but they left us the keys to their house. Unfortunately, we couldn't figure out how to turn on their tv.



• Even more upsetting was the fact that it took a week for Virgin Media to come to our house to set up our home phone, tv and internet service. We just got all these services yesterday, and we are thrilled to have reliable technology again.



• Because we didn't have a working home phone, we needed to get UK cells phones as quickly as possible. Sadly, we found out that because we don't have a UK credit history we can't get a mobile phone contract. No new phones for us! We are all on a pay-as-you-go plan and have the most pitiful phones you have ever seen.



• On the bright side, people from our new church have been so kind and considerate. Last weekend, we had several people stop in to bring us cards, flowers and food. One couple even brought us printed google directions on how to walk to church on Sunday. After church on Sunday, we ate lunch at the house of a couple from the church, and then another family took us to do a little shopping.

• The girls' school situation has worked out great. At the last minute, Sloane got into the school we wanted, and it is right behind our house. She was not able to start on Thursday with the other kids, but she started on Friday. She had a great day and loves her new teacher, friends and school. We met with Sutton's school on Friday, but she won't be able to start until next Wednesday because they have to work out her schedule and figure out where to place her.

• Our next door neighbors are both great (thankfully, because we are VERY close). On one side is a family with a teenage daughter and a 13 year-old son, and on the other side is a retired couple. We thought we were in trouble when our neighbor, Rose, told Keith that she didn't like Americans. I guess she has come around (or at least likes us) because she has already taken Sloane with her to her cat rescue job, lent us tools and a heater, and she and her husband have offered us their car for 2 weeks while they are away on vacation.



• Our neighbors have lots of cats and they wander through our garden and try to get in our locked cat door. The good thing about the cats is they entertain Sloane and keep the seagulls away for the most part. We will see what they think about Lucy when she comes.

• We are all still sleeping on air mattresses, and this is getting really old. Keith and I took a train to London last night to go to an Ikea. We spent about 3 hours gathering a house full of furniture. A guy from our church who has a large van met us at Ikea, and helped us get all of our boxes home. We were unloading all our stuff last night around midnight. It is probably going to take about 2 months to put all of this together. Unfortunately, the bed and mattress Keith and I picked out was out of stock, so we will be sleeping on the air mattress for a little while longer.

Well, that is all the juicy details I can think of right now. We all love it here, but it will be nice when we are a little more settled and our house feels more like a home. It is a little strange not celebrating Labor Day weekend, and we are all missing the start of college football (really just Keith and I care - we did see some of the Michigan game on ESPN America). We know we have new things in store for us here, and we can't wait to experience them. I promise I will be better about blogging, so you can experience them with us. Happy Labor Day weekend!