London Baby! :)

In January Kevin asked me if I'd like to go to London...  Of course I did!  But that wasn't realistic.  But he insisted that it was.  See, my friend, Rachel, was living there so I would have a place to stay! So we started planning the trip-

I was very nervous for various reasons: 1. I'd be travelling by myself. 2. I hate planes. 3. the flight was 10+ hours there & 9+ hours back-- over an ocean! 4. I would be in a different country than my family! But I committed to going & was very excited (even if I did nearly puke before boarding the plane!)  I had my audiobooks loaded on my tablet as well as one of my favorite shows latest seasons! I was ready. As the plane took off- I had some of my scripture music playing in my earbuds.  The song that happened to be playing was The Peace of God

And just like that I was at peace- I felt close to HIM that night.  Maybe it was being in the air & seeing the moon so bright, I felt small- & realized more than before how magnificent our GOD is.  I was in HIS hands.  I settled it in my heart.

As I flew into England- WOW! It was so green & so beautiful. 

Jet lag was gentle on me - even considering how little sleep I got on the plane.  But I arrived & made my way through customs, baggage etc. I made my way out & found my sweet friend! 

We spent the rest of that day just sightseeing. Here are few of those pictures: 

I believe I went to bed that night about 8ish & slept 12+ hours.  I haven't done that in... I'm not sure I've ever slept so long! It was wonderful! :)  The next morning we headed to see Jane Austen's house! Dream come true! 

The next day we spent in Stratford-upon-Avon.  SHAKESPEARE PEOPLE! Love that magnificent writer! So we visited his birthplace! Then we went to Anne Hathaways cottage. One word- beautiful!

I love how beautiful all the buildings are constructed! I mean it is breathtaking! Such history!

We took Wednesday to just chill.  I really wanted to see what "normal life" was like living there. So, we ran to the grocery store! So cool!  Not near as commercialized as our "A.D.D." mega grocery stores.  We are seriously ridiculous- just sayin.  I loved the simplicity of life.  I really just loved it.

After Stratford we went to OXFORD!!!!!!!!  This was a bucket list item for me- and it is for KB as well :-) Actually, she wants to attend university there... hey I encourage dreaming big!!  You see we LOVE C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkein- it happens that they (and some others) used to meet weekly at a place called "The Eagle and Child" in Oxford.  I wanted to eat there- and so we did! :)

Thursday we went to WINDSOR CASTLE! You know, where the queen's lives!

Friday J took off work to watch all of their kids & Rachel & I spent the entire day in LONDON! She took me to a bunch of her favorite spots & a few new to her.  We also visited the British Museum! We rode the London Eye at night & just enjoyed seeing London at night.  It was beautiful.  I know there are a lot of culture differences when you visit different places around the world, but I love it.  I love the diversity and the multi culture!  

ROSETTA STONE! (the back)

Rosetta Stone ( the frontage)

FROM THE LONDON EYE

TOP OF PRIMROSE HILL LONDON BEHIND US! :) #BIGHILL

BUCKINGHAM PALACE GATES

This trip was so much fun! It's so much fun to be able to say to my kids "I've seen that" or "I've been there" when we read through some of our history. :)  We just chatted about the Rosetta Stone the other day!  We watched "Paddington" too- & I was able to recognize some of the places in that movie! :) So cool!

Such a wonderful experience! I'm so thankful for Rachel showing me around & being so hospitable the whole week long! You guys I had a ton of goodies waiting for me when I arrived! I mean AWESOME goodies. Like a collection of Beatrix Potter books that she had been collecting here and there for me at antiquish places! Talk about speaking my love language--- books--- old books :) 

Coming next... my homecoming to my favorite peeps ;-) 

30 things to be thankful for

1. I'm thankful for my immediate family. They know me on the good & bad days- & love me still.
2. For modern appliances.
3. The opportunity to be home with our children every single day.  It's never easy, but I wouldn't miss all the amazing things I get to witness first hand.  I've witnessed all of their firsts & that is something truly amazing in this day & time. Not just things like crawling, walking, talking etc. But things like reading, comprehending math & watching amazing artistic skills develop!
4. My husband who supports me all the way.  He goes with my crazy ideas, but also tells me when I'm way off.  He offers constructive criticism. He encourages me when I'm down. Most of all he's always there for me.
5. Food
6. Toilet paper--- Just being honest!
7. Amazon PRIME! For reals though I love that thing!
8. Snacky dinner nights with a movie!
9. Knowledge that I'm loved by the GOD of the universe. Period- HE loves me & wants me.
10. Smart phones
11. Friends.  This one is huge to me. (Post coming soon about how the Lord has provided)
12. Beautiful FALL days! (Like today! It's gorgeous!)
13. Ability to relax in our homeschool days. Not feeling pressured by those around me. Or having my kids constantly quizzed by family members.  They are able to live in freedom & not be stressed by tests & quizzes.  We are able to learn at our pace.  There is a lot of pressure that naturally comes with home schooling- I'm thankful that I've learned to lean into HIM & not be so stressed. It's more than getting through- it's about relationships. So thankful I've learned that this year. (doesn't mean it's all gumdrops & roses, but it's better)
14. Health
15. Paper plates! (Honestly- best invention ever)
16. VOXER!
17. Essential oils
18. Floss
19. MomHeart Conference (THE BEST) & Sally Clarkson
20. Books- anyone who knows me knows I have a love affair with books. But not just any books!  GOOD books.  Books with amazing language & beautifying content.  One that I read this year was from Elizabeth Goudge.  I read The Little White Horse  & let me just say it was an amazing AMAZING book.  I can not wait for KB to read this one! :) I plan to read some more Goudge books in 2016!
21. Used bookstores!
22. MY TRIP TO LONDON! :) Kevin sent me on a trip to LONDON in May to see my sweet friend Rachel.  I was there a whole week & it was one of the best times in my life! It was also my first time out of the country & ALONE at that! Anyone who knows me knows how extremely huge this was! So so so glad I did it! It changed me :)
23. Paper- notebooks specifically
24. Sharp pencils!
25. Our Homeschool group
26. socks
27. FUZZY blankets & warm fires
28. Our awesome camping trip this past October- seriously so much fun!
29. This blog- I've missed blogging.
30. I'm thankful for being thankful- it really is a gift.

This was fun- give it a try!  Come up with 30 Things you are thankful for this Thanksgiving! :)

Nature Study

“It is infinitely well worth the mother’s while to take some pains every day to secure, in the first place, that her children spend hours daily amongst rural and natural objects; and, in the second place, to infuse into them, or rather, to cherish in them, the love of investigation...

The child who learns his science from a text-book, though he go to Nature for illustrations, and he who gets his information from object lessons, has no chance of forming relations with things as they are, because his kindly obtrusive teacher makes him believe that to know about things is the same as knowing them personally...

Let them once get in touch with nature and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight and habit through life...

Do children keep tadpoles, and silkworms, and caterpillars in these days? Very few have given us the results of their own observations. We have many capital descriptions from books, and that is better than nothing, but the very essence of natural history is that it should, so far as possible, be drawn direct from Nature."    -Vol 6 Charlotte Mason

Newest addition to the family

We added a new member to our family this past week- Meet Yogi :)

The boys have been really wanting a "boy dog" for a long time- guess they didn't like being outnumbered. We had been waiting on a litter of pups from my hometown, but that didn't work out.  So, Kevin got online & began looking for a brindle Boxer pup! He found one not too terribly far from us!  The kids had no clue when this would happen- so they had no clue that Saturday they would meet a new family member. :)

So far it has been blissful.  NO accidents! AND Honey has done so well with him.  Actually, I think she's the happiest of us all to have a buddy! :)

Operation Christmas Child

This was our second year to participate in Operation Christmas Child Boxes, but our first to actually volunteer to unload boxes at a local drop-off location.  Operation Christmas Child has always been very dear to my heart since I was a young girl.  I had read "Rebel With a Cause" by Franklin Graham & knew immediately that I would implement this with my own children. :)  We now find ourselves in a season of life where this is more possible & we have all thoroughly enjoyed this project.  It's more than just filling a box & turning it in- it's a ministry.  It's an opportunity to talk about children around the world. And an even bigger opportunity to pray for these children to come to a knowledge of Christ.

Here are some photos of our trip to the drop-off location this week :)

  

Beginning Again :)

Welcome to our family blog!

Pull up a chair & prop up your feet! And enjoy watching us as we begin this blogging journey once more :). 

Over the past several years we've been through many changes- I'm finally feeling like I can begin writing again.  This blog will simply serve as a journal of our family.  We like this way of keeping family updated on how we are doing. But we also do this to keep track of our family as we grow into what GOD has for our family story.

So I hope you enjoy your time here :)

K & A