Clotted Cream, Cornish Pasties, Wedding Bells, and All That

A few weeks ago we went to our first British wedding. It was in Cornwall, which is just an absolutely amazing part of the UK. Here is the happy couple, posing for pictures after the ceremony.

Here is Iain "reading" the program.

The best man was our good friend, Anthony.


Here I am with Maria, our pastor's wife.

And with our friend Christina at the reception. She carpooled with us out to the wedding and kept us in stitches the whole time. I'm still waiting for a collection downloadable noises from her. "Sausages!" and "Haaaaaaaaaanbaaaaag" being the most popular.

The day after the wedding we explored Cornwall a bit before heading back home to Brighton. Here we are in St. Ives, which was beautiful.





Then we drove down the coast towards Land's End. This is Sendon Cove.

And here is Land's End. It is ridiculously tacky. You have to pay to enter the "village" which consists of tourist shops, a hotel, and a Dr Who "Experience" all in a little compound.


But the view was worth it. It was so cold and windy out there on the coast. It felt wild and exhilarating. I can't imagine what it must feel like in a winter storm. The Cornish coast is one of the most beautiful places in the world. God is so amazingly creative.

Eastbourne Minature Steam Railway

We recently visited the Eastbourne Mini Steam Railway and we had a great relaxed family day. It was a rare sunny afternoon and we rode the trains, played on the playground, and watched model trains. Iain thought it was amazing, but he took it very seriously. We didn't know that he even liked riding on the train until we got off and he started crying because he wanted to ride again!



Here's a shot of the boys riding the train around the park-- you can see what I mean about the seriousness. It was a really big track all around a lake, over a bridge, under a tunnel and past multiple playgrounds. It was great!



Mama enjoyed the pretty spring flowers!



They also had a couple of Thomas the Tank Engine train tables set up, which kept Iain enthralled. I'm hoping that Brian can build him something like this-- it was pretty simple really, and these tables cost a lot!



Enjoying some of the model trains set up in the park.



Iain thought this slide was a little scary-- it was much faster than the one on campus.

What a great day.

More about Iain

This may not be terribly interesting to the general public, but from time to time I like to record developmental milestones here on the blog, so that I can look back at these posts when my baby is a grown man and remember what he was like when he was small. He is 21 months now, and is talking a bit.

Current Words:
dada
mama
yeah
up
woooow = wow (he says this so enthusiastically-- it's adorable)
dah = down
duh = dog
ree = read
mo' meese = more, please
truh = truck
ah pin = airplane
augh = Uncle Austin
mmf = woof
mmm = moo
ish = fish
shhh = hush

He also likes to "count" things now. He'll point his finger at random objects and say "wee, wee, wee, wee."

There are other words he used to say that we don't hear anymore like Papa, that, go, amen. Who can say why?

Favorite Toys:
Trucks! I have a little box that I keep his Hot Wheels trucks in, and nearly every morning that is the first thing he pulls out. He gets so excited and when he opens it up and sees all the vehicles inside, he beams with delight. So precious.

His ball. He loves to kick or throw balls around. Our friend Christina came over last week and she and Brian kicked the ball back and forth in our living room, and Iain was giggling and grinning the whole time.

Books. He loves to bring us books to read. His favorites are Happy Dog, Sad Dog; The Very Hungry Caterpiller; Goodnight Moon; Dear Zoo; and Wobble Bear Says Yellow. Brian and I are so pleased that he likes to read.

Favorite Films:
It's gotta be Pixar's Cars, hands down. Not that Iain has seen a lot of films, but he gets so excited about that one. He also likes The Snowman, which will always carry special memories of life in England for Brian and me. Lately we've been watching a lot of Idaho Outdoors videos from Pete Zimowsky, who is a reporter for the Idaho Statesman. Iain especially likes it when Zimo brings his dog along for the adventure!

As far as music goes, Iain like action songs like The Itsy Bitsy Spider; Wind Your Bobbin Up; or Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

Iain can run now and hardly ever falls while walking anymore, unless he is tired. He can climb up the slide and slide down all by himself at the playground. He is trying to learn to jump, but hasn't quite got that yet, as you can see from this highly entertaining video. :)

My beautiful boy

How I love my son! I pray that God will give me wisdom as I try to raise him. I'm so imperfect, and this world is so imperfect, and his own little nature is imperfect-- there are so many things that could go wrong. So many things that I can't protect him from. He will know sickness, rejection, pain, and death in this life. These things are common to man, and no one can protect us from them. But how will Iain react when things don't go according to his plan? When there are no easy answers, and when life seems insurmountable? It's my job as a mother to equip him to handle these things, and that's scary.

He's getting older now, so much more a boy than a baby. Time for growing interaction, independence, and serious parenting. My love grows with him, and loving a child has opened me up to a new level of vunerability. No matter where he goes, or what he does, part of my heart will be there with him. I hope that he always knows how much I love him.

Dear Jesus, Please protect my son. Nurture him with your everlasting, redeeming love. Help him not to worship himself or money or status or anything but you. Be his reality, dear Lord. Help me to show him your ways and wisdom. I want the best for my son. Help me to remember that you love him more than I do. Help me to teach him the right things and to make good choices for him while he is small. Help me not to be lazy, but intentional and diligent in my care for him. I give my son to you, Lord. He is yours. You only gave him to me for safekeeping. Help me to utilize my talents and steward him well. Bless him and touch his heart. Help him to call on you from the earliest of days. In your name I pray, amen.