redeeming my honor

After that Peanut pasta pastas. I knew I had some redeeming to do.

All this time I've been married to my darling husband, I thought the only pasta he liked was angel hair. I knew he would tolerate other kinds but only when he felt it needed to be eaten out of respect for the host. While we were in London, at the grocery store, I learned that he likes Penne and spiral pasta. I was excited to learn this because it opened up a whole new category of foods to add to my repertoire. I searched allrecipes for some pasta dishes and I landed on this one Southwest Vegetarian Pasta .

We tried it last night for dinner and it turned out very good. We are going to finish off the leftovers for dinner tonight and I think it will taste even better tonight. It had chili powder and cumin in it and those seasonings always taste better the next day.

Here's the picture courtesy allrecipes!

you know you've had a long night

If you haven't read the previous post- start there first.
Emma woke up at 7am; Ryan awoke at 8:15 and Peter slept until 8:30am. I have emphasized with the parents, all morning, whose children are constantly over tired. It is not fun!

You know your two year old is tried when at 11:30 am he has a breakdown because you get a drop of water on his arm, he wants a kiss for it, takes a dish towel to wipe it off and then decides that it would just be better if he lays down on the kitchen floor with the dish towel and take a "nap".

At that point, I decided it wasn't worth trying to give him any lunch! It was nap time.

Peter and Emma made it through an early lunch and are both having a "closed eyed" nap that started at 12:30pm.

A late night is fun for every once in a while but it definitely won't become routine in our home.

Night at the DBAP

That stands for the Durham Bulls Athletic Park! Our family along with others from the church went to the Bulls game last night. I knew it would be a long night so I insisted that everyone have a "closed eyed nap" in preparation. After our first DB game two years ago we decided that the $2.00 it cost to park in the deck is beyond worth it! The walk in much shorter on the way home and there is practically no chance of getting lost.
The kids know that going to a Bulls game means- Snow cones. Again, the $4.00 price tag on the snow cone is beyond worth it! We had front row seats on the second level. So all the people selling food walked by us. Ryan learned pretty early how fun it was to yell, "Snow cones", "lemonade", and "cotton candy". He was helping the guys sell their products!
After much patience, we purchased our cones. The thing that is the best about snow cones is they take about an hour to eat and they are liquid so you don't have to buy a drink. It's the treat that keeps on going!
By the time the snow cones were finished, it was 9pm and the game was in the 7th inning. There were going to be fireworks at the end so we were motivated to stay. Within an unbelievably small number of breakdowns, we stayed for the entire game and fireworks. I think it was around 10:45 when we finally made it to the van.
Emma was the first to fall asleep followed shortly by Ryan. Peter was certain that he wasn't a "drop" tired and wouldn't fall asleep. About 15 minutes from Roxboro, he started to fall asleep. By this time, I was starving and agreed that I wanted to stop at McDonald's for a burger and fries. I told Peter if he stayed awake he could have a burger. That did the trick. At 11:45pm, we were going through the McD's drive through and Peter was wide awake. He hasn't mentioned anything today about that special late night treat so I wonder if he even remembers.

Failure

Failure would be one of the words I would use to describe dinner tonight. You see the "beginning of the month" comes for us on the 25th. That's pay day in other words. Since the 25th was on a Sunday, Monday was a holiday and Tuesday we were out of town until the evening, I haven't made it to the store yet. I guess I could have gone today but I wasn't ready. I didn't have any meals planned and I just wasn't in the grocery mind-set. So at 2:30pm I realized- dinner- oh no!! I searched allrecipes.com for something I could fix with what I have on hand. I decided on Chicken and Pasta with a peanut sauce. This is very very out of the box for me. I'm not (typically) an out of the box person. I am married to an incredibly out of the box person and well he's been rubbing off on me. So I thought, this is crazy but I'm going to try it. We all love peanuts and peanut butter maybe it will be great!

Not Great! Edible mostly but not good. I threw away the recipe and the left overs. I am now motivated to do some major menu planning. I imagine I will be fixing a rather large breakfast for us tomorrow!

Emma is 4

Today is Emma's birthday. My little girl is 4. I won't go into all the reminiscencing of her delivery, being shocked to have had a girl....It's been so fun to have a daughter. We went all out for her big day. The day actually started last night when we had a cookout with some old friends and my parents.Since we had cake last night, we had to have candles and sprinkles in her requested banana pancakes.
She was blessed to recieve several gifts this year. I am thankful that her summer closet is now fully stocked, she has some new toys (girly things), summer shoes and a swimsuit. Oh, and an umbrella- she's officially a big girl! As soon as we came home, she put all of her new things away. (With out me asking her to do it!)
Peter took this last picture-

Blackcaps

There is an undeveloped lot across the street from my parents' house. When we were in London, they discovered "blackcaps" growing. Peter talked nonstop about these berries. He thought it was just the coolest thing. I was glad to finally see what he had been describing.I would describe them more as wild blackberries.

Fun times

When we arrived on Sunday afternoon we immediately changed clothes and headed to the beach. I knew everyone would be a bit crabby because of the lack of a good nap. What better way to burn off some energy than go to the beach! The kids had been talking about swimming in the ocean and I choose not to discourage them. I figured they would find out soon enough that the water was really cold and not want to swim. I was WRONG.



Ryan and I stayed sand-side for the the hour or so we stayed at the beach. When it was time to go home, the kids were seriously shivering. Emma had a blue tint to her lips!

Beach side

Now with our vacation to London completed, we begin the rest of our summer vacation. Since Philip is a Pastor and his job requires weekend work we don't have the opportunity to see much of family during the school year. We like to take advantage of his summer schedule to make trips to the beach to see my parents and trips to Charlotte to see his. This weekend we'll leave following the worship service and head to the beach. We will only be able to stay until Tuesday afternoon b/c of a building committee meeting. The van is packed with suitcases, swimsuits, a trolling motor and bikes! I aways wondered about the cars I saw on I40 carrying bicycles. Did you really have to bring bikes? YES- bikes are great inventions. They burn off energy, allow for exploration, are fast and something you can do independently! We will be bringing ours everywhere.

Emma's birthday is on Tuesday and she's excited about spending it at the beach! I haven't gotten her a present yet so I better get prepared.

Birthay tribute

Someone taught Ryan how to sing Happy Birthday. Let's just say he's getting really good at it! I have a friend who works in the music industry in Nashville. Michelle- he's coming your way and I'll give you a good commission of whatever he makes!

Camera

Peter has been asking persistently for the last few weeks if he could have a camera for his birthday. Until yesterday, we did not allow the kids to use our camera. Recently, I noticed a friend of mine allowing her children to use her camera and it got me thinking, "why don't I let them use my camera?". So Philip and I decided that upon instruction and guidance, they could start using our camera. I believe they took about 60 pictures in the span of like 10 minutes.
I think we might need a little work on the technique side!!

School days

Emma has been very interested in having her own "school time" this week. I have tried to be receptive to that and spend some time with her reading and doing things. Yesterday I introduced the word "my" to her. Today we made a "My" book with animal stickers. She wrote the word "my" and I wrote the animal names. I put Ryan down for his nap and found these two at the school table. Emma was reading and Peter was writing a story. I guess we won't be taking a summer break!

A birthday tribute

Birthday Bash

My compliments to the chefs! They put on a killer party, a great dinner and a wonderful clean up job. I could live like this everyday! We ended up with quite a crowd for dinner. After everyone left, we realized that we had more teenagers over than "grown-ups". I wonder what that means about our relationships! I have to admit that dinner was much better than the cake. I made the cake so I can say it!
If being 31 one will be as fun as the party, I'm in for a great year!

Birthday news

Tomorrow is my birthday. The big 31. I am officially in my 30s.

Having come back from a wonderful trip to England, there's not much a girl could ask for. However, I didn't want to leave Philip completely empty handed. I did ask that he plan, prepare, shop, cook, and clean up for my birthday dinner. I didn't think that was too much to ask and NO he couldn't take me out.

We had a hot dog lunch at church and Philip was sharing with some folks about my request. They were kindly giving him some advice about what to serve. Hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, hamburger helper- gross things. I kindly informed them that he wasn't allowed to prepare me anything prepacked or processed- nothing that I wouldn't serve for him.
Branden our friend that eats with us every Tuesday then came up with what I think was the winner. Steak Fajitas! Sounds yummy to me. Philip proceeded to invite all who were at the table with us. So now we are having a full fledged party. It is making me a bit nervous!

A full days work

I was ready and motivated when I woke up this morning. I had an agenda and I was sticking to it. The first on my list was to remove Ryan's crib and get his twin bed ready for sleeping. We removed his box spring mattress and replaced it with Peter's box spring. Peter now has Ryan's box spring mattress and is therefore on a "high bed". It works great because Ryan can crawl onto his bed with no trouble. The problem is Emma wants a high bed like Peter's. Urgg- can't you please everyone?
After Philip helped me, he was all Peter's. Peter has been listening to a book on tape about a Native American boy. He's been wanting to build a fort and I have handed that over to his father. This is the fort they created. Peter wants to have a fire and make his own bread too.
While the fort builders were constructing. I was doing some much need closet and dresser reorganization. I was able to get all the kids clothes in order for summer! That was great. I was even able to find a box of Peter's summer clothes that should work great for Ryan. They are washed in his dresser. I was thrilled when I found a pair of sandals in a bag from my niece. Emma has been wearing sandals from last year and her toes are over the edge. She doesn't care for the "crocks" I bought her. These are great. Thanks Charlotte!
This is Ryan's big boy bed. I hope to find a new comforter or blanket if for him. So far he's done well. He got out of bed twice before falling asleep for his nap. I just put him to bed and I haven't heard anything from him yet. I believe the transition will be smooth.

A video

When we were in church last Sunday, a Swedish youth choir was visiting London and participating in the worship service. I was really blessed by their music. Since we were sitting in the front row, I had a great view of what was going on and remembered that I do have a video feature on my camera. This was a really cool thing for me and I am glad I was able captured part of it. Because it was Pentecost Sunday, we were all walking to the alter at the front of the church and lighting a candle. While the parishioners were walking to the alter, the Youth choir sang.

I was so moved by the practical way that the body of Christ was being seen here. Here we were Americans visiting in England. The Swedish youth choir were singing songs, that were composed by Americans, in English (their second language) while at the same time we were all in London. Added on to that, to be in the church were John Newton (composer of Amazing Grace) had preached and where William Wilberforce (leader in the work to abolish slavery) was a part of; it was just amazing. Throughout the service, the Priest called on the parishioners to respond in their native language and to call out their native country. Apart from one huge mission conference I attended in college, this was by far the most diverse church service that I have ever been too.

This was definitely one of my top 3 favorite things we did!

The suprise revealed!

I realized that I left you all in the dark as to the surprise we picked out for the kids. The reaction was a bit mixed! Emma has been wearing her backpack ever since I gave it to her. She thinks it's really cool.Peter's excitement for the pack is growing. His initial reaction was one of defeat because he wanted the red one.

Ryan- well- he's just a ham!

All the kids in London have backpacks. The packs are really cool because they have all the compartments and such that an adult pack would have. I haven't seen them like that over here. I know it's something that they will grow into and I will appreciate more than they will and I'm ok with that!

Home sweet home

We arrived home yesterday around 8pm. It was a long day of traveling and I'm thankful that it went as smoothly as it did. This time Philip and I splurged and bought a pair of head phones on the plane. I can't believe they are now charging you for the head phones. It was definitely a nice to get to watch a movie or tv. I watched the movie "August Rush". I had never heard of it but it was a real good one.

The kids were much bigger and more talkative than I remembered. They acted like they really missed us and talked non-stop for about an hour. I know they enjoyed their time with their grandparents.

It's good to be home and it's great to be in America!

Oxford

We decided to spend our final day in the UK in Oxford. We were most interested in visiting Christ Cathedral. Christ Cathedral is connected with Christ Church University. Charles and John Wesley both attended this University and Cathedral. C.S. Lewis taught at a University in Oxford. The person who discovered the microscope and then the single cell lived here. The list goes on but I don't know any others right now. I am sure that Philip will give you more info when he updates! This Pub is around the corner from the Cathedral. It is thought to be the Pub that C.S. Lewis frequented often. Unfortunately, we found it after we had already eaten lunch.
This was one of our final tube stop experiences before we head over the big pond.

Closing days

It's hard to believe but our trip is about over. Yesterday was our final day in London. Convenientlly for us they were all together and free! We enjoyed the morning wandering around and were able to join up with a guided tour of the Wesley house. I excused myself after that was over to find a cup of tea. I had about as much of Wesley as I could asorb for the morning and I knew Philip wasn't near full. I had great cup of tea and a chocolate crossaintThen to lunch at a place the grounds keeper recommended. He likes this place because it's not the one the minister likes to frequent! It was a pub of course. I tried something new and wasn't too impressed. Philip had a meat pie and that was indeed yummy
After lunch we headed to our last stop on the list. A walk around Big Ben and Parliment. I think the building was much more like a palace than Buckingham. I can honestly say, we did about everything I wanted to do. Londoner's are really good at charging for things. For example, they even charge for the use of toliets.
Today- we are off to Oxford.
Cheers

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Stroller Envy

OK- so one of the things that I have consistently enjoyed during my time in London has been the strollers! I should say 'buggies'. I can't get over how cool they are. Instead of just observing them from afar, I figured out that I needed to get close enough to figure out who the maker is. I discovered two of my favorites.
My number 1:
Quinny
Seeing how this particular stroller is like $ 200, I don't think we'll be picking one up before we leave the UK.

My number 2:
Maclaren
This one is about $230.00. I am still trying to figure out where these moms find these strollers because I haven't even seen any stores that sell baby stuff.

The coolest stroller that I've seen (from a distance) is a double decker stroller. Seriously, there's one baby on top and one directly under! That's cool. I haven't found out the manufacture of that one yet but I know that I definitely am not in the market for one of those!

A day without church

I made a confession to Philip that I was tired of being at church and doing churchy things. Everyday that we have been in London we have gone to a church or cathedral. Don't misunderstand, I have completely enjoyed the cathedral and church experiences but I needed a break. So we headed out to Buckingham Palace this morning. I wouldn't describe it as breathtaking. From the drive, it was just another building. Maybe it's because It'm partial to the White House!

Then we headed to the British Musuem. The really exciting part about this trip was we stumbled upon the gift I was searching for for the kids. I won't tell you what it is because they might be reading the blog! I am totally excited.

We stayed at the British museum for about 3 and half hours. Philip and I have completely different paces when it comes to a museum. He stayed in the Enlightment section the entire time. I on the other hand bounced through all of Africa, Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Ethopia and a bunch of others that I can't remember! If my feet weren't so tired and I wasn't so hungry we could have stayed their even longer.

We headed to the SoHo district for lunch and a 'walk about'. We stumbled upon another Morrocan resturaunt. We had a sampler platter. It was amazingly delicious! I have no idea what we ate exactly but it was good.

Finally, we bounced over to the Millenium Bridge and walked it both directions! We headed for home before the evening rush hour and stopped for groceries. I fixed dinner tonight!
Tomorrow we go back to church.

Speaker's Corner

Yesterday we spent the afternoon in Speaker Corner and then attempted to walk the park to see Kenningston Palace. Our trusted tour guide, Mindy, assured us it wasn't a long walk. After walking for a good 45 minutes we were only half way there. I'll admit I did direct us down the not so direct path through the park. We abandoned the walk in search for the tube stop so we could meet Mindy in Chinatown for dinner. Mindy did admit that she had only run the loop around the park....
You can see some pictures from the day on Philip's blog.

Great Conversations

This is from our Moroccan dinner last night!

I am beginning to learn the fine art of conversation from my husband, who is an expert and takes after his father! On the plane, we were sitting in the middle seats. On my right there was an older gentleman who was dressed like a Londoner. On Philip's left, was a woman. I engaged this gentleman in conversation and was treated to some great stories. He indeed was born and raised in London and moved to the States after marrying an American in the 70s. He shared with me a story from his childhood. During the war, his parents chose to evacuate himself and his older sisters and brother. Fortunately for his family, he had maiden aunts in Ireland. He was 3 months old at the time of his evacuation. He stayed with his siblings in Irleand until he turned 7yrs old. He recalls only seeing his mother twice during those 7 years. WOW- I can't imagine the plight of his parents having to live without their children. He told me that they were very lucky because many families were forced to evacuate their children to the US or Canada. These children were put on the plane with a name tag on and fended for themselves when they arrived.



On our train ride to Canterbury, e sat next to a mother and her 11yr old daughter. We engaged in conversation. They were from Wales and on their way to a Madonna concert. The mum updated me on what happened on Dancing with the Stars. She informed me on who got the boot and what happened to the man who injured his arm. It was great. We also talked about American Idol, universities, colleges and great stuff.

All in all it's been 'lovely'!
Oh- happy mother's day.

We went to this awesome. church this morning. We came back to the flat and I fixed pinto beans, rice and sausage. We're freshening up and preparing for an afternoon in Kensington Park, Speaker's Corner and China town for dinner.

Holy Trinity Church

Canturbury, UK

Here we are in Canterbury, UK. This was day 2 of our time in England. We took at train outside of London to go to Canterbury Cathedral. Here is an old wall of the Cathedral. A Cathedral that was built in 602 ad. On the train --- of course the paparazzis were trying to get a cameo --- we had a lovely time reading the London Telegraph and drank Americanos.
This is the main section of the Cathedral --- hopefully we will be able to show you some of the great pictures of the gargoyles later.
Below you can see the picture of Saint Anselm --- how this guy is famous is from the Atonement Theory. He was an Arch Bishop in Canterbury and it happens to be one of Philip's favorite theologians.
Tomorrow we are going to the Holy Trinity Church of Clapham. They are having a Swedish Gospel Choir coming for Pentecost. Talk to you all soon.

36 hours

We've been here for a little more than a day and a half. It has been amazing. There are so many things that have been making an impression on me.

First and foremost, I have been so interested in seeing all the different strollers. The strollers here are completely different than in the US. They are awesome. I've seen lots of babies but they only use carriages; No infant carriers. I finally figured it out. No cars = no need for infant carriers!

Secondly, there are SO many people here. There are SO many different ethnic groups. Every where we go you hear so many different languages. There are so many different ethnic food choices also! We've already enjoyed Italian, Thai and Moroccan. They have all been amazing.

24 hours

Here I am with 24 hours and 30 minutes until we hope to be heading down the driveway on our way to the airport. Am I packed...the most popular question? Not even close. So what have I been doing while my suitcases remain in the closet? This morning we headed to Walmart at 8am. I spent more than my weekly goal on groceries on stuff. Then we headed to a strawberry farm to pick strawberries and celebrate the 4th birthday of our good friend. Then we had lunch, are making a birthday cake and printing out all the things I need to bring along. Oh- and most importantly posting a blog! I have one more load of laundry in the dryer then I hope to begin packing. The weather channel is predicting temp. in the upper 60s-70s. That's warmer than I expected so I'm going to have to rethink my clothes....

Emma discovered only yesterday that she likes strawberries!

3 days to go

In about 72 hours Philip and I will be on our way to Greensboro to begin our trip to London. I can not believe that the time has come for this incredible trip. I feel so honored to be able to take such a grand trip. I don't really picture myself as the kind of person who travels overseas for vacation. God has truly blessed us with this great opportunity. We are ever grateful to Mindy, (Philip's sister) who is opening up her flat to us as well. Without her, this trip would just be an imagination.

So finally, we sat down Saturday night with our travel books and laptop. We have sketched out our itinerary.
We will arrive Friday morning to London.
After finding Mindy's flat, it's no stopping us! We are going to head to central London. We are going to try out the double-decker buses and tour the city like a local!

Saturday: We are going to take a day trip to Canterbury. We hope to visit the Canterbury Cathedral and St. Augustine's Abbey

Sunday: Worship like a local- somewhere yet to be determined. Check out Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens and Speaker's corner

Monday: Westminster Abbey, Royal Opera house for a free lunch time concert, and perhaps finishing off with a trip to the theatre.

Tuesday: Aldersgate, John Wesley's home and museum, St. Paul's Cathedral (another free lunch time concert)

Wednesday: Buckingham Palace, National Gallery or British Museum with lunch on the river

Thursday: Day trip to Oxford.

Friday: Depart for home!

As you can see we have purposely not filled our schedule to the max. We wanted to leave ample room for exploring, relaxing, and discovery. We are so excited about this trip and can't wait to post pictures when we return. Pray for us, our parents (who are graciously watching our kids), and the kids!