If you look closely enough, Emily also wrote her first name in the top left corner! She's been practicing that at school and surprised us with that last week! It is faint, but you might be able to see it. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Friday, November 30, 2012
Thanksgiving Art by Emily
Emily made a picture for Thanksgiving too, using some Thanksgiving stickers she'd gotten from NaiNai (thanks NaiNai!). We traced her hand and made a turkey and she did everything except the outline of the hat and the eyes and then I filled in the wattle under the chin so it was easier to see.
If you look closely enough, Emily also wrote her first name in the top left corner! She's been practicing that at school and surprised us with that last week! It is faint, but you might be able to see it. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
If you look closely enough, Emily also wrote her first name in the top left corner! She's been practicing that at school and surprised us with that last week! It is faint, but you might be able to see it. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
An Oxford Thanksgiving
Last week was Thanksgiving, and I have to say it was a little strange that it was just another Thursday here in England. There are enough Americans here that people know about it, but the British just don't celebrate it.
Actually, several British friends mentioned to me that they think it is a great idea for a holiday and said they wished they had a similar holiday.
We certainly missed our family during this time, but we made the most of it. We did not have our Thanksgiving meal on Thursday because of Amy's class schedule, but we did go to a "Thanksgiving Tea" with some new American friends. It was fun to be with new friends and celebrate British-style with finger foods and tea and coffee. There were several kids there too, so Emily had a lot of fun.
Then on Saturday we had our family meal. I had gone to the local butcher down the street and found a turkey for us - topped with bacon for some good flavor - so that was a fun cultural experience. We put together the rest of the sides, but were not able to pull together ingredients in time for a pumpkin pie or pecan pie. But, we still managed just fine as you'll see below.
When I look back on the past year, it is easy to see how much we have to be thankful for. It was a year ago that the Lord began to nudge and encourage us to take the first steps in this journey of faith to be cross-cultural witnesses. Since then we have seen His faithfulness and provision at work in our lives time and time again, and it is humbling to sit here at this desk in Oxford today and know how far the Lord has brought us on this journey. The most exciting part is this is still just the beginning and we are thankful for what is on the horizon, and most of all for Who is with us every step of the way.
Actually, several British friends mentioned to me that they think it is a great idea for a holiday and said they wished they had a similar holiday.
We certainly missed our family during this time, but we made the most of it. We did not have our Thanksgiving meal on Thursday because of Amy's class schedule, but we did go to a "Thanksgiving Tea" with some new American friends. It was fun to be with new friends and celebrate British-style with finger foods and tea and coffee. There were several kids there too, so Emily had a lot of fun.
Then on Saturday we had our family meal. I had gone to the local butcher down the street and found a turkey for us - topped with bacon for some good flavor - so that was a fun cultural experience. We put together the rest of the sides, but were not able to pull together ingredients in time for a pumpkin pie or pecan pie. But, we still managed just fine as you'll see below.
When I look back on the past year, it is easy to see how much we have to be thankful for. It was a year ago that the Lord began to nudge and encourage us to take the first steps in this journey of faith to be cross-cultural witnesses. Since then we have seen His faithfulness and provision at work in our lives time and time again, and it is humbling to sit here at this desk in Oxford today and know how far the Lord has brought us on this journey. The most exciting part is this is still just the beginning and we are thankful for what is on the horizon, and most of all for Who is with us every step of the way.
Here's Amy preparing her family's famous brown rice for our meal...
Here's our table with the turkey, gravy, asparagus, brown rice, bread, and smashed potatoes...
This was dessert...
Here's our first attempt at the family picture, but, as you can tell, Emily was ready to eat not take a picture!
So we tried it again...
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
One Step at a Time
Emily just asked to go to bed at 6:20pm, so this gives me a chance to write a blog post! Ah, the benefits of dropping the nap! Maybe it is also because it starts getting dark here at 4pm, so by 6pm, her body is telling her it's time to sleep. Actually, mine is too, so maybe that's not so good!
I was reminded the other day of an earlier blog post where I realized that helping Emily through this transition was how I was going to get through it myself, and I am finding that to be true again.
Emily's had a rough start to preschool. It was a bit unexpected considering that she went last year in the States and loved it! But we know that EVERYTHING in her life has changed in the last few months, so leaving her at a new preschool was proving traumatic.
After the first few weeks, she seemed to be improving while she was actually at school, according to her teachers. But the mornings at home were getting harder. As soon as she woke up and asked if she was going to school, she would start crying and wailing about how she didn't want to go. We felt so torn about whether we were doing the right thing or not. Are we missing something? Is there something about her school that is not right? It was very confusing.
One morning, she had started crying and ran back to her room after discovering that it was a school day, so I decided to go in there and lay with her for awhile. Maybe I could figure out what was going on. The main thing that she would say was how she was going to miss Daddy! I think Daddy makes her days at home so much fun that she didn't like the thought of having to leave him!
So through the Lord's wisdom, I said, "Okay, let's just take this one step at a time. Let's not worry about leaving Daddy yet. Maybe we should just get dressed first." So we started going through the "checklist" of what needed to be done before she could leave, and it completely changed her attitude! Suddenly, this was not so overwhelming anymore. It felt much easier!
As I thought more about it, I couldn't help but smile realizing that this is exactly how the Lord deals with me! Johnny's general disposition to the world is "Everything will work out alright!" And mine is to fret and worry and try to figure it all out ahead of time. But through this transition, the Lord has been teaching me that really I just have to take things one step at a time. Just deal with what is right in front of me. Otherwise, it's going to paralyze me, and nothing will get done.
So as Emily and I go through the "checklist" on the mornings of her school days, I am reminded to do the same with myself. Try not to rush ahead. What is right in front of me today that I need to do? No, I don't know how it's all going to work out or get done, but worrying about it is not going to help anything. I can pretty much hear the Lord whispering to me, "Let's just take it one step at a time!"
I was reminded the other day of an earlier blog post where I realized that helping Emily through this transition was how I was going to get through it myself, and I am finding that to be true again.
Emily's had a rough start to preschool. It was a bit unexpected considering that she went last year in the States and loved it! But we know that EVERYTHING in her life has changed in the last few months, so leaving her at a new preschool was proving traumatic.
After the first few weeks, she seemed to be improving while she was actually at school, according to her teachers. But the mornings at home were getting harder. As soon as she woke up and asked if she was going to school, she would start crying and wailing about how she didn't want to go. We felt so torn about whether we were doing the right thing or not. Are we missing something? Is there something about her school that is not right? It was very confusing.
One morning, she had started crying and ran back to her room after discovering that it was a school day, so I decided to go in there and lay with her for awhile. Maybe I could figure out what was going on. The main thing that she would say was how she was going to miss Daddy! I think Daddy makes her days at home so much fun that she didn't like the thought of having to leave him!
So through the Lord's wisdom, I said, "Okay, let's just take this one step at a time. Let's not worry about leaving Daddy yet. Maybe we should just get dressed first." So we started going through the "checklist" of what needed to be done before she could leave, and it completely changed her attitude! Suddenly, this was not so overwhelming anymore. It felt much easier!
As I thought more about it, I couldn't help but smile realizing that this is exactly how the Lord deals with me! Johnny's general disposition to the world is "Everything will work out alright!" And mine is to fret and worry and try to figure it all out ahead of time. But through this transition, the Lord has been teaching me that really I just have to take things one step at a time. Just deal with what is right in front of me. Otherwise, it's going to paralyze me, and nothing will get done.
So as Emily and I go through the "checklist" on the mornings of her school days, I am reminded to do the same with myself. Try not to rush ahead. What is right in front of me today that I need to do? No, I don't know how it's all going to work out or get done, but worrying about it is not going to help anything. I can pretty much hear the Lord whispering to me, "Let's just take it one step at a time!"
Saturday, November 17, 2012
What's Going On...
It's been a busy few weeks here in Oxford, but we've seen the God's hand at work in our lives recently in several ways:
1) Amy has determined what her thesis topic will be! Her working title is "Septuagint Isaiah and its Relationship to the Issues of Alexandrian Jewish Identity." Watch out John Grisham - this is going to be a page-turner! Seriously though, Amy is excited about this research and can fill you in on more details. She'll be working on this paper throughout the year as she completes her other coursework.
2) Johnny has been invited to help with the training of the short-term mission teams that will go out from St. Aldates! Last Sunday was Missions Sunday at the church and more than 60 people signed up for eight mission teams scheduled for next spring and summer. Training will take place from January through March, covering the biblical foundation of mission, intercultural studies, and team dynamics.
3) Emily is really enjoying her pre-school three mornings a week. It has been an adjustment, as she originally struggled with the thought of going to school. We had some rough mornings, and drop-offs were not fun. However, in the last two weeks she has become friends with a couple of the other little girls and looks forward to going! She is learning so much and we are thankful for this breakthrough!
1) Amy has determined what her thesis topic will be! Her working title is "Septuagint Isaiah and its Relationship to the Issues of Alexandrian Jewish Identity." Watch out John Grisham - this is going to be a page-turner! Seriously though, Amy is excited about this research and can fill you in on more details. She'll be working on this paper throughout the year as she completes her other coursework.
2) Johnny has been invited to help with the training of the short-term mission teams that will go out from St. Aldates! Last Sunday was Missions Sunday at the church and more than 60 people signed up for eight mission teams scheduled for next spring and summer. Training will take place from January through March, covering the biblical foundation of mission, intercultural studies, and team dynamics.
3) Emily is really enjoying her pre-school three mornings a week. It has been an adjustment, as she originally struggled with the thought of going to school. We had some rough mornings, and drop-offs were not fun. However, in the last two weeks she has become friends with a couple of the other little girls and looks forward to going! She is learning so much and we are thankful for this breakthrough!
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