Our Fun Day Together!!!

This was the day we took Shane to the airport for Edinburgh. We all wore our Edinburgh shirts! I was trying to get the kids to do the "I love you" sign, but it ended up like this... They're so cute and funny!!The day before Shane left, we had a Family Fun Day and went miniature golfing. It was SO much fun!!!.....

Shane did great, as usual... (I think I had more hole-in-one's though!)

The kids were adorable playing... Paige couldn't quite figure out how she wanted to hold the putter...

Maddox got it down pretty quickly... Seriously, the kid is such a natural--he had 3 hole-in-ones! No joke!!!....

Zion did awesome too--like a pro!!!

This is how the kids stood when Shane and I would take our turns--"on the bricks!"

What a fun day we had together!!! We sure miss you, Daddy, and can't WAIT for you to get home!!!! We love you!!!!

Zion's First Day of School

Well, it hasn't been our longest period of time of no blogging, but it has been a while... We are finally somewhat settled. And we are SO glad for that!!! This past week was Zion's 2nd week of school. Here are some pics from his first day... What a day that was!!!

Ready and excited!!!

The boys

The siblings

One of the many hugs from mommy that morning...

A big excited smile!!!

Gathering everything to get out of the car...

Daddy helping with the backpack... (This is where I started crying!)

One last smile for mommy!

The walk into school with daddy... (This is where I lost it for just a minute...)

Zion did great on his first day, and has continued to look forward to each day of school! We are so proud of him, and thankful for his smooth transition... (As this has been a long transition back home for all of us!!) He's doing awesome, and we are all getting more and more settled each day. We appreciate all of you who have encouraged us and prayed for us along the way.

Quick Update

Dear family and friends... We are home and doing pretty good. The transition is starting to wear on us a little, I'm afraid. But the end is in sight!! We found a house, and will close on it December 14. It needs a little work, but will hopefully get done in a quick and orderly fashion (it always happens that way, right?!)....

We have been bouncing around a little--between Joplin and Kansas City for the past 2 weeks. Shane is getting back into the swing of things at OCC, and the kids and I are actually in St. Louis right now. I do have some Scotland pics to post still, and want to keep up with posting... Our transient lifestyle of late doesn't exactly lend itself to that, I suppose. However, we should be getting settled before we know it (that's what we're telling ourselves anyway...). I will do my best to keep this updated until then!

Thanks for all the prayers and welcome home's from everyone! We are glad to be back!!

Cheers!!

We Are Home.....

Hello everyone! Well, we lost our internet the last 4 days we were in Scotland. So silly!! Anyway, we are home. Safe and sound. Just trying to rest up and get back on CST!!! We have the most amazing kids in the whole world!! They did just awesome. We are so proud of them!! I have more pics to post, and more stories, I'm sure... So, I will try to get those on here soon... And also, I hope to have internet whenever we finally get settled back here in the States (which we're still not sure where that is, but we're working on it). So, keep checking and hopefully there might be something interesting on here for you to see!!

We want to thank you all for your prayers and encouragement--especially during our time in Scotland! It means so much to us to have such supportive family and friends!! And thanks for the extra prayers during our traveling time. We love you all and are so thankful for you!!

Her Name Is Rebecca....

To know how wonderful it is to know that, you must know the story... She is our friend. I have no idea why she is in Scotland or how she got here. But she has been a consistent joy and light to us in this crazy city. Her smile is toothless, yet beautiful. Her face is always beaming with gratefulness--even when we have nothing to give her. And most of all, she has enjoyed my children, which warms my heart to her even more... Paige has been the most open to her--Paige is, by nature, our most social and relational. So, Rebecca must have picked up on that too. Plus, Paige likes to drop the coins in her beat up Starbucks cup--so, Rebecca has made the habit of kissing her little hand--(even when those sweet little hands don't drop any coins in...) Even when we're all the way across the street--and it's a large, busy street!--she still seeks us out with her sweet, grateful smile....

Maybe it's because neither of us truly belong here. Maybe it's because, in a sense, we're both sort of homeless right now--(which is ridiculous for me to say when I have a roof over my head). Or maybe it's because God in His infinite wisdom and kind nature has knitted our hearts together... I really don't know why, but she has become our friend. And she is what I will miss the most about Scotland.

You see, she doesn't speak English--except for "thank you" which comes out "thank ye." And I can't even figure out what language she speaks! I have asked her what her name is before, but to no avail. Today, all that changed. Zion and I ran to the store this afternoon. It was a rare day, and Shane came home in the afternoon to take a mental break and get ready for one more final push on the 'ol Ph.D.! So, since Paige and Maddox were sleeping, Zion and I headed out to get some milk and bread. When we came upon "our friend," as we've called her for the last 2 months, I could tell she was doing something with her fingers. I realized she had cut herself somehow and was bleeding. She had managed to find a tissue, or maybe some other kind soul had at least offered her that much... I asked her about it, and she knew what I meant. She asked me about Zion then... I spoke his name and she wanted to hug him. Then I asked a few times what her name was and patted her leg--and she said, "Rebecca." I wanted to jump for joy to know her name. Finally! Well, we wanted to help her--we always have--and she had a very practical need today. So, we dropped our coins in her beat up Starbucks cup, and Zion and I determined to help take care of her.

There was a pharmacy just a couple doors down, and we popped in there to find the necessary bandages and some wet wipes to clean it off. We headed on down further to get our milk and bread. When we came back by Rebecca, we stopped. I pulled out the bandages and wet wipes and she couldn't stop her smile or stop saying "Thank ye." I cleaned her up, bandaged her finger and then gave the stuff to her so she could keep taking care of it. She just beamed at Zion and me, and kept giving us hugs and kisses. It was precious.....

I started praying a while back that God would help us understand each other whenever it came time for us to leave. I want her to know that I will never forget her, and that even though we're going back to America, we will pray for her... How do you say this to someone who speaks another language?? I pray we already have in some ways... But I still also pray that God will let her ears hear me when I tell her, "God loves you and so do I."

Another Celebration!!

Many of you already know this, but I wanted to blog about it anyway--mostly because we are SO excited about it!!! This past Wednesday, I found out that I have officially been excepted into the Nursing Program!!! This journey started several years ago, actually. I started taking classes a few years ago--just 2 or 3 a semester. Now I have all my prerequisites completed, and this is the next step. So, this is big news in our family. Not only because it's something we've prayed about and waited for, but because this means some changes coming soon in our family. So, while we're excited, we're also a little nervous about what this will entail over the next two years of my program. All the while, we are trusting that God has his hand on our family, and that He is guiding us each step of the way.

So, to celebrate we went to McDonners. It is Indian cuisine, and they say, "Our motto is your satisfaction!" Well, you can't beat that, right?... The place was pretty small, and full, of course. So, we got "take-away," as they say here in Scotland. We had fun! Oh, and Shane bought me a chocolate cake--the same one he got for my birthday! (He knows me so well!!!) Here we are celebrating!!!...

Waiting patiently for our great food!! (I had a vegetarian calzone the size of a watermelon!! It was AWESOME! And it took me four meals to finish it! Leftovers are great, right?!)

What a life with this handsome, wonderful man!! I am quite blessed!!

Thank you to everyone for your encouragement and support along the way. Especially to my wonderful, sweet family--Shane, Zion, Paige and Maddox--you guys have been understanding and supportive at all times! Not to mention you've been a light in the dark times of the semester and never cease to put a smile on my face! I could not have done it without you!! Here's to the next two years! I praise you Lord for going ahead of us. We are your faithful followers....

Halloween 09

Well, this year Halloween was interesting for us. We did find some costumes, no problem. Halloween is totally celebrated here in Scotland. (Maybe not quite as commercialized...) However, because we're smack in the middle of the city, and our particular apartment complex is small--we didn't have anywhere to actually go trick-or-treating. So, our plan was to dress up and head downstairs to Kenny's newspaper stand, and let the kids buy some candy. In fact, it was funny, because another customer asked us after seeing the kids dressed up, "You know you have to buy the candy in here, right?" So, here was our Halloween adventure....

2 Buzz Lightyear's & 1 Dora

Attempt #1 at a picture of all 3 of the kids....

Attempt #2.....

"Little Buzz"

"Pretty Dora"

"Big Buzz"

This is the hallway to leave our building.

Scoping out the candy.....
Found something!....
Waiting for Kenny to ring it up... (Notice Paige's bucket--she just hated the thought of not having a trick-or-treat bag! So, she grabbed one of Maddox's toy buckets.)
Attempt #3... Adorable, huh?!!

So, we had a fun Halloween! Interesting, but fun. The kids were good sports about it all--they're pretty amazing!