Here are some videos that we've taken since we've been in England. I know we've previously linked to some of them, but I thought it would be nice to have them all in one place.
From the Battle of Hastings reenactment on 14 October: clip number one and clip number two. Click here and here to read about the reenactment, and for the record, it was more lively in person than the videos communicate.
A Remembrance Day parade on 11 November: click here. Turn up the volume for full effect!
Videos of our adorable son: one from 31 October, one from today, another from today, and yet another from today. Just so you know, I saved the best for last. :-)
Monday, November 13, 2006
Sunday, November 12, 2006
I'm a Rolling Stone
That is to say that I'm gathering no moss. The flat, on the other hand... Let's just say it is better not to ask. :) Friday Iain and I went to Alfriston. Alfriston has been inhabited for over one thousand years. Isn't that crazy? It is a very small place and quite the quintesstial English village, though I'm told it is much bigger than many. It has houses, some bed and breakfasts, a bookshop, a post office, a tea room, a chocolate shop, two pubs, and a few other little gift shops. We saw the whole village in less than 5 hours.
We had "elevensies" and lunch both at the Singing Kettle Tea Room. (Elevensies is tea and a little snack at around 11 am.) It was lovely, but very cramped! The building has been there since the 16th century! Elizabeth I was ruling at that time. Incredible. 
You can see a little bit of the village outside the shop window too. I'm afraid I forgot to get a picture of the whole thing!
Look at the lovely cakes! They are all freshly made. Don't they look yummy? I actually didn't have a slice because I hadn't really had much to eat and I knew it would make me feel sick. :( I must say that English cakes, pastries, and biscuits (cookies) are quite nice. Good thing I'm walking a lot these days!
Iain and I went to Alfriston with Sophie, one of our new friends from the University. She is 23 and working on her master's degree in history. She lives with her boyfriend, Darren, who is 41, in Lewes. She is quite fond of Iain. She recently had all of us over to her house for dinner and somehow we both got to talking about Alfriston. She really wanted to visit the bookshop there, so we made a date to go together and had a nice time.
We also popped over to see the church, which is also quite old, being built in 1360. Britons take all this history as a matter of course, but I just can't get over how old stuff is here. The oldest building in Fort Lauderdale is the Stranahan House, which was built in 1902. Being kind of a history buff (Since I'm a girl, can I be a history puff?) I really love all the old stuff here.
This is outside the church. I just thought is was pretty. Notice how dark it is? It is only about 2pm. I can't get over how early the sun goes down this time of year!
On Saturday the whole family went up to London. I'll post about that soon, but this post is long enough!
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Living in Thankfulness
Thank you Jesus for my two boys. Both are gifts from God. They are double gifts: gifts that please me and gifts that allow me to serve. The world sees the latter as foolishness. How can it be a gift to serve? But my example is Christ, "who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."
And I'm thankful for the dear mother-in-christ who reminded me of this today. God is so good. He knows just what we need. And I'm thankful for the dear sisters (especially you grace girls!) who continue to pray for and encourage me.
"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus..."
Dear Lord, help me to remember this and meditate on this. Preserve me from the temptation of grumbling and selfishness. Forgive me for my discontent and help me to accept each day from Your hand with joy. Help me to see the needs of others and to serve them for Christ's sake. Amen.
And I'm thankful for the dear mother-in-christ who reminded me of this today. God is so good. He knows just what we need. And I'm thankful for the dear sisters (especially you grace girls!) who continue to pray for and encourage me.
"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus..."
Dear Lord, help me to remember this and meditate on this. Preserve me from the temptation of grumbling and selfishness. Forgive me for my discontent and help me to accept each day from Your hand with joy. Help me to see the needs of others and to serve them for Christ's sake. Amen.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Cold weather has come!
Brian here again: Considering that we arrived in England at the very end of September, it has been atypically warm for most of our time here. But this past weekend witnessed quite a cold snap. The stated low temperature on Friday night was 37 degrees, but when I woke up early Saturday morning to go to our church's men's prayer breakfast, it was 29 or 30 degrees. The result was a frost on the ground as I walked across campus to the bus stop:
Those pictures are, in order: the Meeting House, the library, Arts C, and across from the Falmer Station bus stop. If you want to see where those places are in relation to our home in Park Village, consult the campus map! This is just the beginning of the cooler weather--I'm told it will get quite a bit colder over the next few months. It's not the temperature here as much as it is the dampness and, since we're in a seaside town, the wind. Most of England gets snow in winter, but it rarely snows here; I'm not exactly sure why, except that it's somehow because of our proximity to the Channel.
This past weekend was Bonfire Night, which is held every 5 November in rememberance of Guy Fawkes, et al. Many cities have huge bonfires, burn people in effigy (traditionally the Pope, but they've expanded in recent years to include a whole host of other famous people), and shoot off bunches of fireworks. It was odd for us to experience fireworks on a cold, damp, foggy night--we're more used to July 4th celebrations, where everyone's in shorts and enjoying an ice-cold drink. But it was perhaps even more enjoyable to see fireworks in the damp fog as we walked through the streets of Brighton. The Lewes bonfires in the town just to the east of us are considered to be the best in the world. We didn't get to go to any bonfires because they're absolutely packed with people and it's a very bad idea to bring the boy. We tried to get a babysitter, but none was available. Maybe next year. The old poem tells it best:
Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The Gunpowder, Treason, and Plot.
I see no reason why the gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, 'twas his intent
to blow up the King and Parliament.
Three score barrels of powder below,
to prove old England's overthrow.
By God's mercy he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
A penny loaf to feed the Pope.
A farthing o' cheese to choke him.
A pint of beer to rinse it down.
A faggot of sticks to burn him.
Burn him in a tub of tar.
Burn him like a blazing star.
Burn his body from his head.
Then we'll say ol' Pope is dead.
Hip hip huzzah!
Hip hip huzzah!
Those pictures are, in order: the Meeting House, the library, Arts C, and across from the Falmer Station bus stop. If you want to see where those places are in relation to our home in Park Village, consult the campus map! This is just the beginning of the cooler weather--I'm told it will get quite a bit colder over the next few months. It's not the temperature here as much as it is the dampness and, since we're in a seaside town, the wind. Most of England gets snow in winter, but it rarely snows here; I'm not exactly sure why, except that it's somehow because of our proximity to the Channel.
This past weekend was Bonfire Night, which is held every 5 November in rememberance of Guy Fawkes, et al. Many cities have huge bonfires, burn people in effigy (traditionally the Pope, but they've expanded in recent years to include a whole host of other famous people), and shoot off bunches of fireworks. It was odd for us to experience fireworks on a cold, damp, foggy night--we're more used to July 4th celebrations, where everyone's in shorts and enjoying an ice-cold drink. But it was perhaps even more enjoyable to see fireworks in the damp fog as we walked through the streets of Brighton. The Lewes bonfires in the town just to the east of us are considered to be the best in the world. We didn't get to go to any bonfires because they're absolutely packed with people and it's a very bad idea to bring the boy. We tried to get a babysitter, but none was available. Maybe next year. The old poem tells it best:
Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The Gunpowder, Treason, and Plot.
I see no reason why the gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, 'twas his intent
to blow up the King and Parliament.
Three score barrels of powder below,
to prove old England's overthrow.
By God's mercy he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
A penny loaf to feed the Pope.
A farthing o' cheese to choke him.
A pint of beer to rinse it down.
A faggot of sticks to burn him.
Burn him in a tub of tar.
Burn him like a blazing star.
Burn his body from his head.
Then we'll say ol' Pope is dead.
Hip hip huzzah!
Hip hip huzzah!
What Papa loves most of all
This is whas Papa loves most of all: watching his boy sleep first thing in the morning. I have a bunch of pictures of him from that time of day--Mama doesn't care for them because she can't see much in them, but I love them.
I was thinking as I watched him today about how he gets more and more beautiful as time goes on. I thought he was very beautiful when he was first born, but then when he was a couple months old, I looked back at those first pictures and thought, he's even more beautiful now! And now when I look at pictures from before we moved to England, I can't help but think that he's even more beautiful now. Watching your baby become a little boy is more delightful than I'd ever imagined. I'll enjoy watching him even more, I think, as he transitions from little boy to big boy to young man.
He's waking now! I'd better go change his 'nappy', as they're called here.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
God's people are everywhere
Brian here again: One thing that has been among our biggest encouragements since we've moved to England has been discovering that God's people can be found everywhere. We knew that leaving Knox and Covenant would be difficult for us--would we be able to find similar fellowship in England? While we're still in the process of making friends, it has been a tremendous encouragement to get to know people here.
We have been blessed to find a church that is committed not only to outreach and teaching truth but also to fellowship and community. In fact, the people at this church are so hospitable that we have been asked to someone's home for dinner every Sunday we've been there. You can visit our church's website by clicking here, and we'll post some pictures of our church and the people there in time.
We have also become involved with the Christian Union here on campus. We're older than most of the students in the CU and we're hard to miss at the meetings as we're the only ones there with a baby, but it has been a real blessing to get to know some of the people there. We've had a few up to our flat, and here are some pictures (notice how popular Iain is here on campus--everyone wants their picture with him!):
This is Beki, the CU president. She is studying geography and development studies and is from the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.
This is Becky, who has offered to babysit whenever she's available. She is from Weymouth in Dorset and is studying music. Beki and Becky live together, so they are often referred to as 'the Beckys.' Strangely, their respective boyfriends are both named Dan, and while they were at our flat, they discovered that they both wanted to have a son and name him Ruben.
This is Paula, who is from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and is studying molecular medicine. I think there are few things more pleasant than an Irish accent. Paula has a wonderful testimony of becoming a Christian despite the fact that there are no other Christians in her family.
This is Charlotte. She is also from Kent and is studying drama and cultural studies. Paula and Charlotte also live with 'the Beckys.'
We've had a couple other people up to our flat as well, but we forgot to take pictures of them. You'll get to 'meet' more of our friends as we'll post more pictures from time to time. For now, praise God with us that his people truly are everywhere!
We have been blessed to find a church that is committed not only to outreach and teaching truth but also to fellowship and community. In fact, the people at this church are so hospitable that we have been asked to someone's home for dinner every Sunday we've been there. You can visit our church's website by clicking here, and we'll post some pictures of our church and the people there in time.
We have also become involved with the Christian Union here on campus. We're older than most of the students in the CU and we're hard to miss at the meetings as we're the only ones there with a baby, but it has been a real blessing to get to know some of the people there. We've had a few up to our flat, and here are some pictures (notice how popular Iain is here on campus--everyone wants their picture with him!):
This is Beki, the CU president. She is studying geography and development studies and is from the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.
This is Becky, who has offered to babysit whenever she's available. She is from Weymouth in Dorset and is studying music. Beki and Becky live together, so they are often referred to as 'the Beckys.' Strangely, their respective boyfriends are both named Dan, and while they were at our flat, they discovered that they both wanted to have a son and name him Ruben.
This is Paula, who is from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and is studying molecular medicine. I think there are few things more pleasant than an Irish accent. Paula has a wonderful testimony of becoming a Christian despite the fact that there are no other Christians in her family.
This is Charlotte. She is also from Kent and is studying drama and cultural studies. Paula and Charlotte also live with 'the Beckys.'
We've had a couple other people up to our flat as well, but we forgot to take pictures of them. You'll get to 'meet' more of our friends as we'll post more pictures from time to time. For now, praise God with us that his people truly are everywhere!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)