So, Why Did You Move Here?

Since moving to Brighton, this is the question I get asked most often, and to be honest, I don't ever really know how to answer the question.  There isn't really an easy answer, and recently I usually end up sort of laughing and saying "I don't know."  Isn't that the worst answer ever?

I mean, I do know why we moved to a different country (even though we were perfectly happy where we were), but just try explaining that to the grocery clerk who is checking your groceries.  She is looking for a simple answer like "because of my husband's job" not because "we felt called".  Don't get me wrong, I have had the "calling" conversation many times, but it is certainly not always appropriate and it is a long story.

To be perfectly honest (and isn't that what this blog is all about), there are some days when I ask myself, "so, why did we move here?".  We actually really like it here and we hope we are making a difference in our church and community, but couldn't we be making that same difference at home in Texas?  It certainly would be simpler and make a lot more sense.

My friend Kim from Austin asked me a few days ago whether I had figured out why we were here yet.  I had to tell her no and I wasn't sure I would ever know exactly why we were here.  The thought of that sort of bothered me until I was talking about the same thing with my new friend Elin over cream tea (isn't that so British).  Elin asked me if I really needed to know the answer to the big question of why we were here.  She offered that sometimes there are questions that just don't get answered and that is OK (of course, she said it more eloquently than that, but you get the picture).

I think Elin was right.  There might not be a simple, obvious answer to why we are here, or there might be a million different answers.  Maybe the main reason is because we felt like we were being asked - maybe it was just about obedience.  I don't really know, but I do have a peace about it.  I know it was the right thing for us to do even if I am not sure exactly why.

So maybe someday I will have that lightning bolt moment, and I will be able to write a brilliant post about the big answer to the question "so, why did you move here?".  More than likely, I will have to write a really long blog listing all the small reasons why I think we moved here.  For now, I will try to just enjoy each new experience here in England and  remember that God is sovereign.  He knows all the answers, so I don't have to.

It Was a Happy Christmas!

After church at Florence Road Baptist Church.

Even though we were far from family and friends back in the States, we had a really wonderful and relaxing Christmas here in Brighton.  God has provided for us so much this year, and our Christmas holiday was no exception.  Things were definitely different - like our fake Charlie Brown Christmas tree vs. our real, fully decorated tree at home, but it was a good different!



Our Charlie Brown Christmas tree.


The girls got out of school for the Christmas break on December 17th, and Sutton was supposed to go to a youth lock-in at our church on that Saturday.  Unfortunately, she wasn't feeling well and the weather was bad, so she decided to stay home.  Because it was snowy, icy and cold that Saturday night, neither one of our girls joined us for our church's Community Carol Singalongs. 

Despite the bad weather, we had a great turn out singing carols in front of the Basketmaker's Arms Pub near Gloucester Place Baptist Church and the Open House Pub near Florence Road Baptist Church.  Keith and I quickly discovered that for the most part we sing different carols in the US, but luckily we had song sheets.  After caroling at the Open House, Keith and I stayed and ate dinner there with Bob Hartman who was staying with us again before his last Carol performance on Sunday.  It was a big night out for us.




Ian, Mark and Steve leading the carols.



The cold carolers.

The next morning we had to walk to church because the roads were so icy we couldn't drive.  I am not sure walking on the sheet of ice that was the sidewalk was any safer, but we did make it to church and home again.  That evening we (again!) walked to church - this time to Gloucester Place -  for a candlelit carol service.  It was a really beautiful service, and our family even did a reading.  After church, we grabbed a bite to eat with Joe, Abby and Mark from church.

Walking home from church in the snow.

The rest of that week before Christmas we did a lot of baking and watching movies.  I tried making some "Texas Trash" (a Malaise holiday tradition), but it totally didn't work because the cereals here have sugar in them.  Let me just say sugar and chili powder are not a good combination.  Luckily, a package came from my Mom right after my Trash disaster, and it was full of three bags of Trash.  I quickly threw mine away and dove into my Mom's perfect Trash. 

Our family also loves Willam Sonoma's Peppermint Bark, so we decided to try to make our own.  It turned out really nice, so we made enough to give to our neighbors.  The girls couldn't have a Christmas without decorating cookies, so we did that also.  Somehow the recipe made a million cookies, so we were up half the night decorating them.  Needless to say, our neighbors got some of those cookies also.

Peppermint Bark.

Decorating Christmas cookies (a lot of Christmas cookies).

Sloane and I were lucky enough to get to spend some time with our neighbor Rose over the holiday.  On Wednesday before Christmas, Sloane went with Rose to the cat rescue where she volunteers.  Rose tells us Sloane is a great volunteer, and she loves helping out with the kittens.  We were just relieved that Sloane didn't come home with the dwarf rabbit Rose has been telling her about.  Rose is retired and does a lot of volunteering, so on Christmas Eve I joined her on her Meals On Wheels run.  We delivered hot meals to about 10 people on her usual rounds.  It was great, and I really enjoyed visiting with Rose and meeting some lovely older people in the community.  I don't anticipate having my own route anytime soon (that would involve a lot of driving and parking), but I can't wait to go with  Rose again soon!

On Christmas morning, we woke up and opened our stockings.  We didn't have time to open any presents though because we had to get ready for church.  Our church had a short service on Christmas morning.  It was very kids friendly with carols and a short message.  Sutton and Sloane even participated in a reading.  The kids in the church even bring a gift they received that morning and they get to go to the front and show everyone.  It was really sweet. 

Keith actually held the camera up in church to take this picture.  So embarrassing!

Our family took really good care of us this Christmas.  Despite a scaled back Christmas and learning some valuable lessons - like don't claim a lot of value when shipping things from the US because then your family will have to pay a lot of Import Duty and VAT - we were definitely not lacking for presents.  As you can see, hats and things to keep us warm were the popular gifts this year, and they were very much appreciated!

Sutton's new hat and gloves.

Sloane's very furry hat and gloves.

After spending so much time in the kitchen all week, it was a real treat not to have to cook Christmas dinner.  Our friends the Steells invited us to have a traditional English Christmas meal with them.  They also invited a few more people from church who didn't have any family here, so it was a nice group for dinner.  Becky and Dave are both really good cooks, so dinner was amazing.  We had turkey, beef, roasted potatoes, red cabbage, bread sauce, brussel sprouts, dressing, parsnips, and pigs in a blanket (sausage wrapped in bacon).  Becky even had Christmas Pudding, but apparently no one really actually likes Christmas Pudding.  We ended up all eating the pies I brought. 

The end of our Christmas meal.  Notice the hats from our crackers - so fun!

After the meal, we played Trivial Pursuit.  It was the most pitiful game of Trivial Pursuit I have ever played.  It probably had something to do with the fact that the game was a British version, and Dave and Becky were the only Brits playing (everyone else was from America, Malaysia and Africa).  Trivial Pursuit is always hard, but this was ridiculous!

For New Year's Eve, we spent the afternoon at our friends', the Nuhus, house celebrating Othniel's birthday.  Bukky and her family are from Nigeria, and she made us an amazing Nigerian meal.  That night we went to the marina and got some pizza for dinner, and then we saw the "Voyage of the Dawn Treader".  We made it home in time to play some games and watch the amazing London countdown and fireworks on TV. 

On New Year's Day, we joined the Steells for a walk on the Downs.  It was a dreary, drizzly day, but the Downs are so beautiful it really didn't matter.  We even took Lucy, and she and Baxter (the Steell's dog) had an amazing time.  Lucy was covered in mud when we brought her home, so Keith had to throw her in the shower.  It was a pain, but it was worth it to see her so happy.

The gang (you can't see the dogs - they are way ahead).



Seriously, how beautiful is this?





Michelle and Becky - the moms.



I am not sure how 2011can top 2010 for our family, but we are all looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us here in England.  Let's just hope it includes a job for Keith.  Please be praying for him as he starts to really look for a job here in the UK.