Kids say the darndest things...

Emily keeps us smiling and laughing every day. We know three-year olds have a tendency to do that and say unexpected things at unexpected times. Here are some of the things she's said recently that caught us off guard:

Story #1: We're sitting at dinner one night and Emily is eating some bread with the meal. Out of nowhere she declares, "I'm a bread-etarian." She is just like Amy in that she loves to eat bread, but it was too funny to hear her describe herself this way!

Story #2: Emily and Johnny return to our apartment one afternoon after her school, and we can smell in the hallway that one of our international neighbors is cooking as the potent aroma has filled the hallway. Emily turns to me and asks, "Daddy, what is that awful smell?"

Story #3: The three of us are getting on a bus after an afternoon in Oxford to return back to our home and our bus stop at a street named Squitchey Lane. As we step up to show our bus pass to the bus driver, Emily says with great enthusiasm, "Squitchey Lane, please!"

A Fun Family February!

In February, Johnny's mom - affectionately know as "NaiNai" (Chinese for grandmother) - and Johnny's brother Jason came for a visit. NaiNai was here for three weeks and Uncle Jason came for a week, overlapping with NaiNai.

We had a wonderful time with them and are so thankful they came to visit us. Amy and I know that Emily was the real draw as Jason even admitted before he came that he was excited to come see "Emily, Emily, and whoever was around Emily!"

We explored Oxford together, took some day trips to surrounding towns and villages, and introduced them to some of our friends here. Emily loved all the extra attention and loved sharing her room with NaiNai and playing games with both of them.

Here's a few pictures of the great fun Emily had with both of them:

NaiNai came and brought a Valentine's puppy!

 

Walking around Summertown.

 

"ShuShu" (chinese for Uncle) Jason came and we put puzzles together!

 

We spent a fun day in London.

 

Reading at bookstores with NaiNai!

 

Emily walking with ShuShu in the snow one morning to school!

Playing at the Wolvercote playground with NaiNai...



 

...and ShuShu!

 

 

Big smiles on the swings...

 

...role reversal fun!

 

Making pancakes with NaiNai (this was Emily's main request of NaiNai before she came)...

 

...and eating them with sprinkles!

We love you ShuShu and NaiNai!

More about Alpha

So last fall I volunteered to help out behind the scenes at the Alpha course at our local church here in Oxford, and these last six weeks in 2013 I've been a group leader for a second Alpha course.

In case you don't know much about the Alpha course, you can click here - http://www.alpha.org/ - and learn more. It was developed to create a safe, non-threatening space for people to come and explore life's big questions about faith. God has used this course in powerful ways to meet people across the globe who are looking for answers and beginning to search for more in life through Jesus.

This course has been a joy to serve as group leader and I am thankful for the new friends I have made. We have had some honest and challenging conversations about Jesus, the Bible, the church, evil, and the cross and resurrection. Several came with doubts and skepticism (and some still have questions), but several are now beginning to believe. It is exciting to see the Lord moving in their lives!

Because the school term is almost over, this version of Alpha was shortened to only six weeks. We finished on Tuesday night, but I don't see it as the end, but rather as a new beginning for these new friends. Even though we might not meet weekly to discuss spiritual matters at the church like we have been, several are committed to getting together regularly and building these new friendships.

Here's a few stealth photos I took (I didn't want to arouse suspicion) during our Alpha Saturday a few weeks ago:

 

Listening to teaching about the Holy Spirit.

 

Spending some time in worship.

 

The Lord touched several of my friends' lives during the prayer and ministry times.

Our post-lunch walk around one of the parks in Oxford.

 

Having worked in a Christian environment the last 12 years, I had realized how difficult it was to build relationships with non-believers. Participating in Alpha, however, has given me the opportunity to meet more folks who are searching. It has not always been easy in conversations because I wanted each person to feel heard and understood in their viewpoints, even if I didn't always agree with them. It has been a lesson in trusting the Holy Spirit to work in their lives and not trying to give all the answers myself.

 

I trust and belive that Jesus will meet each of these friends where they are in His timing, and it has been exciting to walk with them on this part of their journey. We'll see what happens next!

Snow!

In mid-January it snowed about four or five inches over the course of a week. The temperatures stayed below freezing (usually in the twenties) throughout the week, so the snow stayed on the ground. Things do slow down and even get closed here like they do in Georgia as they are not equipped for snow and ice.

Amy actually realized this the hard way on the Friday the snow started as the buses stopped running that afternoon. Johnny called to send a taxi to her, but the taxi driver declined the request! So, Amy walked home two miles in the snow! Here's what it all looked like:

 Our postbox with the snow...

 

Looking out our living room window to the ground below...

 

 

 

Emily and Amy having fun, but it was cold!

 

Johnny's attempt at a snow angel...no comments please :)

 

Emily had a blast!

 

We all made a snowman!

Emily's favorite thing was to make and throw snowballs. Watch out!

 



 

The sign for our street...

Looking down Banbury Road toward Summertown and Oxford...

 



 

One of the homes along Banbury Road...

 

Finally we made what we called 'Downton Fort' while it was snowy and cold outside! (Yes, we watch the PBS series Downton Abbey. Highclere Castle aka Downton Abbey is only an hour away!)

 

 

Life around Summertown

We live two miles north of the Oxford city centre in a community called Summertown. It is actually a nice area with a number of little shops and restaurants. We know pictures are worth a thousand words, so rather than try to describe it all, just see these pictures below:

 

Here's our main bus stop at Squitchey Lane (we love the name!) above and below going each direction.

 

We usually walk the 7-8 minutes to get to Summertown, but take the bus if we're going into the Oxford city centre.

Here's a shot of some of the shops and stores on one side of the main road (Banbury Road) going through Summertown. There's two grocery stores, a few bank branches, two coffee shops - Starbucks and Costa, several second-hand stores, and then a number of other local businesses.

This is Barefoot Books above, which is a great bookstore for kids in Summertown. They have lots of activities and storytime for the little ones. We go with Emily and read books there regularly.

 

 

Here's Amy and Emily in front of Taylor's which has great soups and sandwiches.

We love their soups and curry!

 

Here's a look inside Taylor's. Emily likes to get a ham sandwich and some juice!

 

There's a Boots pharmacy where we can get our toiletries and any medicines we might need.

 

Oxfam is one of several second-hand stores in Summertown where we have found some discounted items to help furnish our home i.e. mugs and cups for tea!

Here's our favorite restaurant - Mamma Mia's - an Italian place off the main road in Summertown. It is always nice and warm inside and the food is delicious!

 

 

Sainsbury's is our main grocery store in Summertown. It carries the basics so you can stop in each day if you want to get what you need for that evening and the next day.

Here's the view from the entrance down the refrigerated aisle.

 

And then here's the view across the back of the store. It has most of the basics, but it might not have many options of any particular item. for instance, I think it carries only two kinds of salad dressing and two kinds of peanut butter. (Larger grocery stores in the city do carry more.)

 

We usually stop in here and limit what we get to what we can carry as we walk home - one or two bags most often.

 

 

More of our British Christmas experience

Here's a few more from December of the Christmas season...

 

 

Singing Christmas carols with our small group...

 

the animals hanging out for Christmas feasts at the covered market...

 

including all the turkeys hanging high above.

The three of us on the couch one cold evening. (Emily obviously wasn't in the mood for a picture!)

 

But here she is in her Christmas dress and sunglasses!

 

Our Christmas in Oxford

We had a nice Christmas last month even though we certainly missed being with our families. We spent time with friends from church here and with some neighbors from Ghana.

So many of you sent Christmas cards or little gifts and we are so thankful that you remembered us in this way. We also were able to video Skype with our families and open presents with them watching!

 

When Emily opened her Christmas Eve present from Papa and Grammy she said, "Oh, it's baby Jesus!" We later called her 'Baby Girl Jesus.' :)

 

Christmas morning with her new dollhouse from Grandy, Ellie and Will! There's obviously some large colorful frogs in the neighborhood.

 

Emily listening to Papa read to her from the nativity book they sent.

 

Emily excited about the new tea set that she can paint!

 

Emily got new safety scissors and we spent the day carefully cutting open each present. We're sure she'll rip into presents in the future, but it was nice to open gifts at a more relaxed pace.

 

The two of us figuring out the cool Nightlight Ladybug that NaiNai sent works. It lights up in different colors and projects the moon and stars all over Emily's room at night.

 

Emily got some new books, clothes, and this puzzle of animals in the jungle. She loves doing puzzles.

Here's our girl deep in concentration (note the tongue) painting her teapot blue!