Happy BIRTHDAYS!

I have been neglecting this blog pretty badly since being back...in the last month and a half, we have had two "groups" of people come to see us and I haven't blogged anything about it (mostly because I was determined to finish England photos before doing that). My family came to see us July 10-14th! We had an incredible visit with them and here are some photos of our birthday celebrations. Kristin turned 21 on the 25th of July and Leigha turned 22 today, July 31st!

I really enjoyed my time with Kristin while she was here in Maryland. The whole family went to Mount Vernon, bowling for a "kids outing" (while the grandparents babysat), and on a couple of shopping trips. Marilyn and Kristin took me on a shopping spree so I could get a new outfit. Kristin was a tremendous help. (Since becoming a mom, I feel like I have lost any fashion sense I once had. My brain has turned to mush and I don't know what looks good anymore!) It was a lot of fun to have Kristin and Marilyn pick out different things for me to try on while I did the modeling! I love my new clothes and have already worn them several times! : ) Kristin is at OSU and is an officer in her sorority and is getting ready for rush right now! We miss you Auntie Kristin! Happy Birthday!

Aunt Leigha came from Omaha, Nebraska to be with us for our family reunion! She has been doing fantastic in school and was honored this last Spring at Sam Houston for having the highest GPA in her entire major of International Business! But my really fun story to tell about Leigha today is that my sister is the miracle baby of our family. The doctors discovered that my mom was pregnant while she was in a surgery. The doctors were concerned about the well-being of the baby and advised my parents to have an abortion. They choose not to have an abortion and instead entrusted their baby to the Lord. My sister was born (without being induced) on my mom's 28th birthday. The doctor counted all of Leigha's fingers and toes and said she was absolutely PERFECT. She is and was an incredible gift from God to all of her family and the BEST birthday gift my mom ever received. I love you little sis! And am super excited that you will be attending Texas A&M in the FALL! WHOOP!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

My Baby!

I feel like in the last month Faith has grown so much! She has gotten her two bottom teeth and is crawling awesome now! She is getting all over the place and is fast too. She is growing up so quickly but still has lots of cuddles left in her. She absolutely loves being held in my arms and getting raspberries and kisses all over. She has the most contagious laugh and has the softest, squishiest skin. I am just loving this time with her. :)

A funny thing Faith has been doing recently is putting her head to the ground and extending her arms and legs as much as she possibly can (Brad calls it the bear crawl, but we are really suspicious that she is trying to stand up). She still has a difficult time taking her naps. She is such a social baby, she doesn't want to be missing out with what's going on. But overall, I think we are all really beginning to find a good rhythm in America. We recently bought a used double stroller and have loved taking walks around the neighborhood with it and we have had a lot of fun exploring the many things there are to do in Maryland (carousels, butterfly gardens) with some old and new friends.

Our Little "Miss"

AMAZINGLY GREAT NEWS!

Jillian has finally become interested in using the potty! For the longest time, I think she was afraid to use the potty because she was afraid of making a mistake. But we have really been trying to focus on making it fun and praising her even when she tries and nothing happens. She has gone poopee on the potty every day but one for the last week and a half and has gone pee-pee several times a day too! Jillian is so proud of herself and tells everyone the good news!

Also, she has been very excited to be having "school" with mommy during the day. We sing our ABCs, do a Hooked on Phonics program (for Pre-K) game, and have been reading lots of new books from the library.

Coloring on the Wall

The events of Yesterday....



Our friends were coming over for lunch/ play date and I captured these cute photos of Jillian helping me stir the brownie mix.



Jillian made a beautiful piece of art on the staircase wall. When Brad came home and I told him what happened (Jillian wasn't in the room) his first question was, "did you get a picture of it?". My husband is absolutely crazy! LOL! But perhaps even crazier is that I DID take a picture. I thought I should capture this moment because this hopefully will be the one and only time this happens.

TIP OF THE DAY: A sponge with baking soda does the trick to removing crayon from the wall.



Jillian watching Veggie Tales with her friends Simran and Boston.

Homesick

My husband rode his bike through beautiful English meadows with cow pastures. I picked berries and apples from orchards to make crumbles with yummy, creamy custard. It was a beautiful LIFE.

I have been very homesick for England these past couple of weeks. The excitement of getting to eat at Chick-fil-A again, buying a gallon of milk, and not having to walk to the store in the rain is wearing off. And now I just want to go back to England where our lives were so "simple". I know that I am idealizing England and our way of life a little bit, but I am feeling our loss even more now that we are beginning to get settled again.

I am tired of getting into the car for the upteenth time and having to comparison shop. I just want to walk into town to Sainsbury's and the farmer's market to get food for our dinner that night. I don't want to worry about which store has the best specials, if I should drive to Sam's and spend the extra money on gas to save a $1 on milk prices, or think about which stores double my coupons and which ones don't. ( In England they don't even have coupons like we do here.) I feel like my life is so much more complicated in the US, nothing seems simple.

Our lives in England were the epitome of simplicity. It wasn't perfect; Brad had to eat his breakfast in the bathroom every weekday morning so as not to disturb our sleeping baby. But even with that small annoyance and other inconveniences, it was a beautiful life!

Our "world" was a little smaller because we couldn't get around with a car, but it also was so much easier. There were less decisions to be made, we just made the best with what we had. I love that. In America, we are just bombarded with so many decisions, and there is so much pressure to have more and more. In contrast, I feel like the English people I knew from our church were content with so much less materially. They worked less and spent more time with their family. They were a great influence on me, I feel like my priorities were changing for the better.

Its hard to leave that. For the longest time, I didn't even blog about us moving back to the US, because I wanted to wait to tell our blogging friends/ family when I was really excited about it. I am not sure I ever got really excited about it, but I knew that our time couldn't last forever in England and it was our time to come back to the US.

On the last day there, right as we prepared to make our journey to the airport, I sat on a bench and nursed my baby and looked at the place that had been my home for nearly two years. I had brought my baby home from the hospital to this little flat, had my first conversations with my first-born, heard her tell God her first prayers, served "biscuits" (cookies) with tea to friends on my pretty English rose tea cups, as well as wept many tears of sadness and joy in this home.

Our loss in moving from Cambridge was multi-faceted. I said "good-bye" to a special season of my life that I shared with my children and husband, good-bye to an incredibly unique life-style in the UK, and good-bye to some of the dearest people I have ever come to love. I miss it. Please keep praying for my heart. I thank God for blessing us with that time, and want to be content in all circumstances, I am just sad our time is now over.

Good-bye to Brad's Lab

Brad had an incredible experience with his lab in Cambridge. He got on "brillliantly" (a British term) with his boss/ PI (Primary Investigator) and they would have long one-to-one conversations about science. Every day the lab would have lunch together and they would always tease Brad about his peanut-butter/ jelly sandwiches (Brad's favorite) and his obsession with American cookies Nilla wafers. Lunch included for Brad many cultural lessons in the differences between England and the US. They were a really nice group of people that Brad enjoyed getting to know.

They were very kind to have a good-bye dinner in his honor that the girls and I were invited to attend, but because of the hour of the dinner I thought it best that we say good-bye during the day. So Brad's last week, we brought Chelsea Buns and lemon cake from the infamous Fitzbillies to share with everyone. Jillian had a little crush (and I think it was definitely reciprocated) on Ian (Brad's boss). The pictures are adorable. I know Brad is missing his work there but he is also excited to be progressing with the next steps that will allow him to complete his PhD!

The Baptism of My Friend

Yesterday, I answered the phone and I was delighted to hear a British accent on the other end. It was my sweet, sweet friend Jess. She is such an encouragement to me, and I am so thankful for her faithful prayers as we continue to make this transition. :) Talking to Jess has also "inspired" me to continue my quest to blog our last days in England (even though it makes me home-sick for England)!

The Sunday before our last at Eden, my friend Jess got baptized. (I was so happy that she was able to schedule it before we left to come back to the USA!) It was beautiful to witness her profession of faith in Jesus Christ. The person who is being baptized shares their testimony of how they came to know the Lord Jesus. He/ she also chooses all the songs that are sung for worship that day (Jess picked some of my favorites...Be Thou My Vision, Blessed be the Name), as well as the Scriptures that he/she wants read, as well as the person he/she wants to read the Scripture! I was very honored that Jess asked me to read the Scripture at her baptism and our friend Jen held her towel as she came out of the baptism pool. It was a special day and one I will always remember.