A Day in The Life Of...

I've seen a few people write about what a typical day looks like for them. I thought it might be fun too so, prepare to be entertained. Or not. I know y'all are dying to know what life is like for me in Wales. Ahem.

Here is what Tuesday looked like.

6am- alarm goes off and I get up and throw my hair in a ponytail, get my watch and socks on. (I tend to sleep in my workout clothes, less for me to do in the morning, pathetic, I know.) As quietly as I can, I go down our creaky stairs into the living room and read my favorite little devotional book "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young. I try not to make one single noise, the house is dark and quiet while everyone sleeps. I grab my purse, keys, ipod shuffle, water bottle and sneak into the conservatory where my jacket and shoes are waiting. I sneak out the back door and get in my car to drive to the gym. It opens at 6:30am, I'm usually one of the first few in line to get in. I put my stuff in a locker, run up to the gym, do my 45-50 minute workout and I'm done!

7:30am- Back home. I wake the girls up if Marc hasn't already and get them started on breakfast. Marc takes over while I shower and get dressed.

8:00am- It's a madhouse. All girls are making their beds, getting school uniforms on, brushing teeth, combing hair.

8:40am- We grab lunch boxes and get in the car. Marc and I have to go to Costco to renew our membership, so we all get to drive to school! Yeehaw! We park the car and I take the girls into the school gate and we get in our Year 2 and Year 1 line and wait for the teacher to come out.

8:55am- Last minute hugs and kisses as the girls go into their school. I chat with a few mums and run back to the car to Marc and Addison. Addison has not needed to use the portable potty, thank you Lord! Drive to Starbucks. :)

9:15am- The 3 of us enjoy our Starbucks coffee while it pours down with rain outside. It feels like autumn for sure! We're in sweatshirts and jackets.

10:00am- Make a mad-dash for the front door of Costco since the back side of Hurricane Katia is hammering down on us. Extremely windy and rainy. We renew our membership. Nice lady gives Addison her own card too with her picture on it. We said thank you, how kind of you, and Addie throws it on the ground and shouts "NO LIKE IT". Awesome.

10:30am- Back home. Marc has work to do while Addison and I get a snack and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for the 13th million time. Can we please get some new episodes Disney??? We play and practice going to the potty (her, not me) and have a fun time together.

11:45am- Lunch for me and Addison. I eat my salad. She eats a whole wheat tortilla with hummus on it all rolled up, some yogurt, and an oreo. Then we play again till naptime. She loves the game Guess Who. She says "Who's brown hair? OK!" and slams all the little tiles down. Fun times.

1:00pm- NAPTIME. Whoo-hoo! Addison didn't want her pull-up on for nap, so I let her sleep in panties. I just know she's going to wake up any second and I'm going to have to change her sheets.

2:00pm- My friend comes over for coffee and a chat. I still keep thinking Addison will wake up wet at any second.

2:50pm- Addison wakes up from nap DRY! Praise God from whom all blessings flow. My friend leaves and I get ready to go to school to get the girls. Marc comes out of his office and says he will get the girls for me. Praise God from whom all blessings flow, again.

4:00pm- Girls are home from school. Addison and I cheer, hug, and listen to how their day went while we have a snack. I let the girls watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Again, can we get some new episodes Disney?? Details about their day slowly pour out as the afternoon goes on.

5:00pm- I start dinner. The house is chaotic, loud and everyone's running around talking 90 miles an hour. But I don't mind it. Today at least. :) I'm making grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans.

6:00pm- We sit down to eat dinner. Girls are still talking 90 miles an hour. Marc tells them to stop talking but they keep talking. Marc lays down the law- no more talking till you dinner is gone. Bailey's moaning and gagging over her green beans. Addison's saying "NO LIKE IT" to her chicken. Cerys is concerned that her wobbly tooth will come out if she eats her mashed potatoes. Marc and I make eye contact and just laugh. It's all we can do at this point. :)

6:30pm- Bath time!

7:oopm- We're brushing teeth, tidying up, choosing what we will wear for school tomorrow and reading together. Then we listen to a song and pray. We usually read from The Jesus Storybook Bible, but we forgot tonight. Just keeping it real.

7:30pm- All little girls are in bed. Not asleep, but in bed. I tidy up the kitchen, make lunches for tomorrow.

8:00pm- Marc and I sit down to watch a movie we rented on iTunes called "Fat,Sick and Nearly Dead." A friend told me about it and it was fascinating! I now convince Marc to buy me a juicer and how it nicely fits in to what I've already been doing as far as our eating habits.

9:30pm- I can hardly hold my eyes open. I respond to some emails, check Facebook and get ready for bed.

10:00pm- Bedtime!

So, that was our day yesterday!

School Days

Well, it's that time of year again. School started back last Wednesday! Addison is attending potty training school.

Media_http3bpblogspot_eatco
Trying to get a good picture of all three- impossible!

Media_http1bpblogspot_ddbhn
This is when I said 'Addison, get the paper out of your face and put it near your tummy'

Media_http3bpblogspot_iwgla

Media_http3bpblogspot_abluy

Media_http1bpblogspot_mstvx

Media_http4bpblogspot_cigdb

Media_http1bpblogspot_kcbas
Ok, well we sort of got a good one-

Media_http3bpblogspot_cphib
As you can see from the photos, Cerys started Year 2 (1st Grade if we were in the States) and Bailey started Year 1 (Kindergarten). The good thing about a smaller school is that there is only one class per Year level, so the girls knew most everyone in their class. It helps I think. Cerys has a new teacher, the Year 2 teacher retired at the end of last year. When I asked Cerys about it she said she was a nice teacher. I asked her how she knew she was going to be nice and she says "Well, she was wearing a purple cardi (cardigan) and has blond hair." Alrighty then. Bailey has sort of the same teachers as last year. The Year 1 teacher is still on maternity leave (you can take up to one year!) so there is a job share. It's not ideal in my opinion, but I'm happy for the lady as she gets to stay home with her baby for that long! So, there is a job share teacher for M-T-W and a long term sub on Th-F. We will survive the year, I'm sure.

In other news, you know that scene in 'Cast Away' where Tom Hanks beats his chest and screams "I! Made! Fire!" Well, imagine me screaming, "I! MADE! ROTEL!

Media_http4bpblogspot_qmfig
It was super easy- don't know why I'm just now trying it out after all these years. I found a copy cat recipe on-line and I would say it's pretty close. Mine was thicker than the can stuff, but I cheated and used peeled, chopped toMAHtoes from the can instead of peeling, chopping them myself. I might try that next time, but probably not. So this is several cans (can't remember) of tomatoes and about 12-15 diced jalepenos (wear gloves so you don't burn your eyes!). I let it simmer for over an hour till it kind of broke down a bit and then it was ready! It smelled wonderful and I froze this in one cup portions. I use a cup or two of it in my Pioneer Woman Salsa that calls for a can of Rotel. I must admit, I did allow myself some tortilla chips to sample the salsa and it was mighty good. I could drink this salsa!

Addison is doing so great in her potty training! I stayed home Thursday- Saturday and just embraced it. I was really dreading it, having been through it twice now, but it's actually been super easy. I'm sure having big sisters help, especially when they can reach the Starburst on the counter for you and reward you when you use the potty. Ahem. She stayed dry at church yesterday and I considered that a HUGE success. I'm sure we will have a setback at some point, it seems to be that way I think, but overall I think she's got the point of it. Even walking to school today she was fine and used the potty as soon as we got back home. Speaking of walking to school today, the gale force winds were insane! I got a second workout of the day just trying to push the pushchair and keep up with Cerys and Bailey. At one point I thought we might blow off a bridge. They say it's the remnant of the last hurricane. I had to put some back garden toys in the garage since they were blowing around outside!

Y'all have a blessed week!

Just Some Stuff and An Exciting Announcement! (Sorry, it's a really long post!)

As I came out of the gym Monday morning, a beautiful rainbow was right over me. I smiled. Last week my Mom sent me a CD of devotions by Beth Moore- it was just snippets of some of her Bible studies in like 10 minute segments. Anyway, in one segment she was talking about this beautiful sunset or rainbow (can't remember) that was right over her subdivision as she driving home from the airport. She said that she was sure there were many God-loving people that live in her subdivision too but the cool thing about God is that you get to take it personally when He does things like that. This rainbow on Monday, I took it personally.

I've mentioned it a few times here, but since the end of January I decided it was time to get serious about getting healthy. I needed to lose weight from my pregnancy with Addison, plus our stateside- which DID NOT help matters. I knew it wasn't just about a diet for me, I needed an attitude adjustment. I needed to give this area of my life over to Jesus. In the past I could just eat less for a few days and the pounds would come off. Maybe it's because I'm 34 or have had 3 kids, I don't know. But this time, the weight was not moving! I joined a gym so I could use the treadmill and cross trainers- which are easy on my lower back as opposed to running on hard pavement. Plus I wanted to use weights. I was faithful at going to the gym 3-4 mornings a week at 6:30am, before school...but even after a few months the weight wasn't coming off like I had hoped. So again, it was time to get serious about eating right. I found a "plan" that I liked, agreed with and I got to work. It's basically eating only whole foods. I feel like we ate okay before, but now we eat much better! I also read a few books "Made To Crave" by Lisa Terkeurst and "Reshaping It All" by Candace Cameron Bure. Both are excellent. I lost a few pounds at first and was really excited but then I seemed to plateau for months and months! I was so frustrated and just downright mad. I was working so hard but nothing seemed to "work." One day I was praying and just felt that I needed to cut out all white stuff- flour, sugar, corn, rice, etc. That was the one thing I was holding on to. I kept saying "I can't do that!" But I was serious enough and with God's help I fasted from those things for 30 days. It was tough, we went to London during that time and I did my best to stick to it as I could. I only told Marc what I was doing and he was very supportive and helpful. We even ate at a place called Tortillas (just like Chipotle) and I got a "Naked Burrito" which was all my toppings but on a salad and it was actually pretty amazing! No desserts, no Cokes, no chocolate. And I survived! And I'm happy to report that I've lost 17 pounds since the end of January! I have a few more to go, but the main thing is that I feel like I have a better perspective on eating.

When I saw this rainbow on Monday, it just gave me such encouragement. I just need to keep doing what I'm doing- eating right, exercising and most importantly asking God for daily help to make wise choices. I'm being careful what I allow myself to eat now that my 30 day fast is over. All I know is that the taste of victory over food is better than any chocolate! (I think I got that from 'Made to Crave') I feel great, have more energy and all my clothes are big!

Media_http4bpblogspot_cfopx

Along with that CD, my mom sent bags of her old jewellery for the girls to have. Oh my. It was a huge hit. Here are a few pictures:

Media_http4bpblogspot_ajdjr

Media_http2bpblogspot_fcdtc
Before school was out my mom sent a bunch of crafts to keep us busy. What I think she was trying to do was make me crazy. Most of them were fun, but a few were way more work for me than the girls! Ha. All summer I've been delaying this Tie-Dye kit. Today is the last day of summer holidays- school starts tomorrow! So I finally bought some white T-shirts and jumped in. We woke up this morning and decided we would have lunch out and get a fun "summer is over" dessert and the come home to make Tie-Dye shirts. Just a side note, I was pumped about a Root Beer Float at this 50's Diner in the bay. It was awful. I took 2 sips and was done. Bailey's strawberry milkshake was really good, so she shared some with me.

Anyway, here is our Tie-Dye adventure:

Media_http2bpblogspot_dhnkp

Media_http3bpblogspot_qcpoa

Media_http3bpblogspot_rrfzb

Media_http4bpblogspot_ggqmk
They have to dry overnight and then we will see what our awesome creations are!

One last thing that I'm SO excited to tell you- it's been in the works for a while. We are "launching" a new community of believers in October here in Cardiff. Marc has been talking with our pastor of our local church over the last year and working details out. We have such a desire to reach university students but our church is a bit out of town so to speak- and it's hard to get a bus out there if you are uni student. Our church owns this building called The Gate and it's right in the heart of the city! So, on October 2 we will be starting 'The Well' at The Gate!!! Each Sunday night, with a focus on uni students, we will meet together as a community and worship together and Marc will be teaching the Word of God every week! We are super excited and have a great group of people from our church that are helping. We have seen God's hand moving us towards this for a while. It's a bit daunting to be honest, but ultimately we are just joining God and working where He is working. He's working among uni students in our city like never before! If you would pray for 'The Well' and for us involved, we would be so very grateful. Uni students are starting to trickle back into our city after being gone all summer, so pray for them please. We love uni students! There will be a night soon where Marc and Marc- one of the guys helping us that spells his name the same way- will be going on "campus" to the University of Cardiff to talk to students and advertise 'The Well' so be praying for that please. And October 2! Thanks y'all!

Well Done

Almost 27 years ago, a family living in Orlando, Florida said "Yes" to God and to full-time missions and moved to west Africa. This past Monday night, Marc's parents were honoured at a special dinner in Africa for their years of service with the IMB. They leave in Africa in just over a week and will be "retiring" to the Atlanta, Georgia area. We so wish we could've been there to celebrate them! Marc wrote a letter to them that was read at the dinner and with his and their permission, I'm posting it here for you to read. Get your kleenex.

Dear Mom and Dad,

I guess Jeffrey and I are among the few who have been with you from the very beginning of this journey. And what a journey it has been. I will never forget the day that you told us that we were going to move to Africa. Even as a 10 year old, I remember feelings of despair and excitement all at the same time. I hated it and loved it. You were pulling me away from the thing I loved most at the time. Our new pool in the backyard. Little did I know that while I was giving up my beloved pool, I would be gaining the ocean! And so much more! There were many times over the following years when I seriously thought I was dreaming and that I would eventually wake up in my bed in Casselberry. Now 26 years later, if it is a dream, I don't want to ever wake up. I would not trade a single moment.

Were there difficult moments? Absolutely. Saying goodbye to family and friends long before the days of the internet was excruciating. Being placed in a French public school with very few who spoke any english at all was terrifying. Cobras, spiders and rats! But oh there were so many wonderful moments as well. Being fluent in French after 3 months. (Well, me and Jeffrey at least.) ;-) The many places we have visited and seen on vacations. The people we have met along the way who have become our family. What a journey!

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that, had you not been obedient to God's call on your life, I would not be the person that I am today. Africa wouldn't hold the special place in my heart that it does today. My view of God's world wouldn't be the same as it is today. I am so very thankful for you both and I'm so very proud of you. I know that you have not had it easy all the time. But you have remained faithful to God's call on your lives and I'm a product of that. Just this last week, I heard a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that has always been my favorite song of his. It's called For the Sake of the Call. Here's some of the lyrics from that song:

Once we hear the Savior's call we'll follow wherever he leads

Because of the love He has shown

And because he has called us to go we will answer


We will abandon it all for the sake of the call

No other reason at all but the sake of the call

Wholly devoted to live and to die


Not for the sake of a creed or a cause

Not for a dream or a promise

Simply because it is Jesus who calls

And if we believe we'll obey


Thank you for answering Jesus' call and obeying. I would not be where I am today had it not been for your example. I love you both so very much.

I know that Jesus will tell you this face to face one day, but I'll say it to you now. "Well done!" And I'm proud to call you Mom and Dad.

For the sake of the Call,

Marc


I remember the first time I met Marc at Ouachita Baptist University. He told me all about growing up in Africa and by the way he spoke of this country, I knew he loved it dearly and called it home. He told me of his beloved swimming pool too. Several years ago we had the opportunity to go to Senegal to visit the house he grew up in. It was quite emotional for me (let's be honest, everything is emotionally for me!) standing in his old bedroom looking out (literally) on the Atlantic Ocean. The view from his room was something else! He quite literally gave up his pool for the ocean. His stories of diving off cliffs and spear fishing still give me the chills! "See this scar on my hand? One time this giant hook went through my hand and I was about to pass out on this cliff, it was awesome!" He would without a doubt tell you that growing up in Africa was awesome!

Thank you to Marc's parents for their servant hearts and for saying "Yes" to God's call all those years ago. Thank you for raising such a wonderful man. We're praying for you as you adjust to life in the States again! Just think- air conditioning!

It gives me great hope for my girls. This is no Africa, but it is a different culture and my prayer is that our girls thrive like Marc and his brother did.

London

The week before last we planned a little family holiday for a few days in London. We have quite a few friends that live there so we decided to house-swap with another family. However, they ended up getting really cheap flights to Ireland, so instead of them staying in our house in Wales, they went to Ireland...and I mean really, who can blame them? Ireland is gorgeous! So, our friends still offered for us to use their house while they were gone. We drove over to London and spent a few days with them before they flew off and then we spent the remainder of the time just sight- seeing again and doing some fun stuff with the girls. However, it was London and it was summer holidays which means it was a tad stressful and over populated! If you would like a crash course in navigating the Tube with three small kids plus a pushchair, just ask!

Our friends live on the outskirts of London, about a 45 minute tube ride into the city. It wasn't bad at all because the girls (and their Daddy!) love the Tube. I like the idea of the Tube, but I just can't think about being that far underground or I will go insane. Our first day into the city, we had planned on going to the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum since they are right across the street from each other. Both were so jam packed with people that it was kind of pointless, girls couldn't see or do much and that was a real shame. Good thing they are free entry!

This room in the Natural History Museum was pretty cool. That's a lifesize blue whale. Can you imagine?

Media_http4bpblogspot_yujqn

We also made a stop at the new M&M London store one day. My mom collects M&M things so we took some pictures for her and bought her a surprise. This store was massive, smelled like chocolate and again, jam packed with people!

I thought this sign was really cool-

Media_http1bpblogspot_okbfa

Media_http2bpblogspot_cesna

Media_http3bpblogspot_doagc

There was so much to buy at the M&M London store, it was just ridiculous. Anything and everything you could think of, they sold it with an M&M on it. One huge wall was just dispenser after dispenser of every colour of M&M, so we let the girls choose a small bag. They all wanted the hot pink M&M's and then Cerys says, "I can't wait to taste this hot pink one!" Ha. She comes by that honestly I must say.

The next few pictures are out or order, but that's okay.

It was pouring down rain of course that first day- but we braved it anyway like good Brits. I took this picture about 4pm after we came out of the London Aquarium.

Media_http2bpblogspot_ywmeh

Media_http1bpblogspot_watbf

Media_http1bpblogspot_baviz
There is a Krispy Kreme store not too far from our friend's house and you can watch them make the donuts, so that was a huge hit for everyone. This was in an area of town that was rioted, so most of the windows were boarded up, but they were still in business. I was joking about it, saying if I was a looter, that is one place I'd loot!

Media_http4bpblogspot_scxja

Media_http3bpblogspot_tsgcy

Media_http4bpblogspot_gvxvb
Riding the Tube with friends!

Media_http4bpblogspot_pvpjq
The one day we planned to go to this park it was a beautiful sunny day! Thank you God! This is Princess Diana's Memorial Playground. It's all sand and there's tons to explore. Cerys made a new friend from Belguim and they had fun "jumping ship!"

Media_http4bpblogspot_dgfjb

Media_http4bpblogspot_fmjkc

We had a cookout with about five families on Friday night and by Sunday I think about 20 of us were sick with a stomach bug! We were fine on Saturday, but on Sunday a friend sent me a text saying that they were sick about the same time that Cerys and Marc started saying they weren't feeling well. Well, let me tell you. We cleaned house and packed up so fast- I had to get out someone else's house before we all got sick. I would've felt really awful it we messed something up...so we stopped at ASDA (think Wal-mart) and I bought three plastic bowls, one for each girl. I was paranoid all the way home and kept saying "HOLD YOUR BOWL" constantly. About an hour away from home Bailey started puking, then about an hour after we were home Addison started puking. Then about 9pm that night Marc got it! Somehow Cerys and I escaped and one other friend that was at the party. The drive home wasn't fun, but it's easier to be sick in your own home, so I'm glad we left when we did.

So, I think I need a holiday from our holiday, but I think the girls had fun in what we did get to see and do in the few short days we were there.

Riveting Stuff

First of all, I found this picture of Bailey on an old camera. Two things struck me about this picture. First, Addison is now wearing those clothes. Second, her hair situation was a bit interesting. I was so proud of her pigtails after her being bald for so long. Bless her heart. And mine.

Media_http4bpblogspot_jgaxl
Since we've been back from Texas, a whole year ago, our mattress has annoyed us. Maybe because of my back injury or I just got use to the bed in the house we lived in, but it was really getting to me. And Marc was complaining of his back hurting too after sleeping on it. So, after months of trying all sorts of things- a huge piece of wood from our crate under the matters (in-between the box springs and the mattress), wood slats, old pillows, etc we decided to get drastic.

Marc woke up on day a few weeks ago and said "I have an idea" and proceeded to take apart our bed. I was a bit nervous, but actually if I'm being honest, his ideas usually work so I wasn't that worried. We figured out that since our base was from IKEA and our mattress was not, it wasn't a good fit together and it had caused our good mattress to kind of warp beyond repair. So we decided to do away with the springs and just kind of "drop" our mattress down into the space. We're just hoping to buy some time before having to buy a new mattress.

Here is Marc, removing the springs:

Media_http4bpblogspot_rwgxh

Media_http2bpblogspot_efibd
Exciting stuff isn't it?

Media_http3bpblogspot_erles
At this point we "dropped" our mattress into the space and guess what? It didn't fit! The mattress was a bit longer than the base. So Marc said he would just take the end off. Well, alrighty then.


Media_http3bpblogspot_renub
And now our mattress fits great. He's even so handy as to kind of reupholster the end of the bed! It's firmer now that it's just the wooden slats. Also, it's cheaper than buying a new bed.

Media_http3bpblogspot_btubb
And there you go! Our "new" bed!

Media_http2bpblogspot_jpprx
It's a bit lower than it was obviously, so we are going to either chop those legs off our bar stools that we use for night-stands or save our pennies and buy some cheap ones from...IKEA, of course. We're classy!

The other day the girls were watching an art show called "Art Attack." It's a cute show but they always do these amazing crafts that either, a. I could never do or b. would make a huge mess and I am too OCD for that. This particular day they were talking about how you can just "face paint" on an old picture with markers. It was too quiet, so I should've known something was up, but a little while later Cerys came to me so proud of her newest piece of art!

Media_http4bpblogspot_pgkhj
Y'all, I tried to be so happy for her, but I was fighting tears. This picture of her and my Dad (Big Papa) was taken the night before we moved to Wales in 2007. We went to eat Mexican food of course as our last meal and Cerys was goofing off with Papa. (She was 2 years old). It's been her (and mine!) treasured possession for years. She keeps it in her "special drawer" (which is just a catch-all for anything she wants to keep). Well, after watching "Art Attack" she went up to her room and got this photo and now we have her face-painted art! As you can see, Papa is a "tigre" and she is a clown. When I said, "Oh Cerys..." while I was trying to find the words to say she jumped in and said "Oh, you're right, Papa needs more whiskers!" And ran off. I must be thankful this was only a photo and not on the wall. My mom likes to remind me that I drew a huge picture on my bedroom wall (or was it the hallway?) when I was 3 years old with her red lipstick. I guess sometimes we all get an "art attack!"

Life Overseas

Lately, my heart has softened for this city we live in. I know that may sound strange coming from someone like me, but I have to be honest and say that sometimes living in another culture can be annoying. At first, you have what we call the "honeymoon phase" of culture shock- everything is so great! so wonderful! so fun! Then we move in to what is called the "negotiation phase" this is where things become frustrating, annoying, and could cause anxiety. I often hear it in my own voice when I start a sentence with "Well, in America it's like this..." That is a dangerous road to go down! The last two phases are called "adjustment phase" and "mastery phase." While I would like to think I live in the "mastery phase" because we have settled here for so long, I will admit that sometimes I revert to the negotiation phase.

I am good at complaining. I can list about 20 things that annoy me about the UK, Wales more specifically. I could also tell you how I would fix it if I was in charge. Yes, I do have opinions, I just don't voice them often. But lately, my thoughts have turned to how blessed we are to live here. Even in the midst of annoying/odd/different things, I have to take a step back and look at all the things I love about living here. I've been in the process of rebuilding some patterns of thought that I've held for many years. It's hard work. Instead of keeping a running list in my head of things I'm worried about or things I'm annoyed at, I've stopped and started listing things I'm thankful for. And, amazingly, it changes you! A few months ago I read '1,000 Gifts' and the idea of counting what you are thankful for really made an impact on me.

Not only has this helped change my mood, it has helped me see our city in a different light. I'm seeing things that I haven't noticed before in our city. Some beautiful, some broken. I had the privilege of going with a friend to serve lunch at a homeless shelter a few Saturday's ago. It was very humbling. Most were so grateful for a hot meal. I felt such compassion for the people that were there, whether they were in that situation because of a choice they had made or because of something else. I just felt God stirring my heart while I helped my friend wash and put away the dishes. Older men, younger men, young ladies- from all walks of life, in need of someone to say they care.

The other night I was coming home from meeting a friend for coffee. I was starving because I had not had dinner so I text Marc and told him I could pick up a sandwich at Subway if he wanted one too. It was Sunday night, so not many shops were open as I turned down a familiar street. As I pulled in to parallel park I noticed a homeless man sitting on a blanket right in front of Subway. I don't usually have these heart-pounding moments where God speaks so clear to me, but this night I did. "Buy him a sandwich." Oh Lord, for real? I'm a girl, alone on this street at 9pm, he will think I'm a freak and what if someone sees me handing him food? Marc text me back saying he was not hungry. "Give him Marc's sandwich" For real Lord? I had this little conversation in my head while getting my wallet out and walking past the man into Subway. I kept telling myself I was just hearing things, just order one sandwich for me and get home. "I'll have two sandwiches please" just flew out of my mouth. What in the world. As the Subway man was toasting our sandwiches I thought, well I might as well have him put all the works on it, but surely he doesn't want any crisps or a drink. Wrong. I chose some crisps and got him a bottle of Coke. Even as I was walking out the door, I was thinking well I'll just take this home and give it to Marc even though he said he wasn't hungry. Can you believe how ridiculous this is? Marc doesn't even like all that on his sandwich! Ha! Why are we, or maybe it's just me, so afraid to help people? I walked over to the man, who was sitting with his head down and handed him the bag of food and his bottle of Coke. I said, "Here you go sir, I hope you like it" and quickly got into my car. I was shaking and then looked back at him and he was shoving that sandwich into his mouth like he'd never eaten. Then I started crying. Why was I so embarrassed? Why did I try to talk myself out of this?

I want to be obedient to God. I want to have eyes to see where He is working in this city, and join Him. He's doing amazing things among uni students! I pray that He will open my eyes to see more needs in this city. Buying that sandwich was not a big deal, and I could have said a lot more to him- like "Jesus loves you so much." But there's no sense in beating myself up over what I should've said, I just pray that my heart stays softened to allow me to be obedient.

I'm also thankful we can raise our girls in another culture. Sure, it can be daunting at times and I pray they won't grow up scarred for life. I worry a lot. About our school, the girl's friends, do we do this enough, do we do that enough...the list goes on. Raising kids in a post-modern society is not always easy, mainly because it's very different from how I was raised. I welcome our conversations about their friend's beliefs, about the mosque we drive by, about the way we dress or don't dress, why that guy on the street corner is doing that (inappropriate to say here) the list goes on... It seems that these conversations happen constantly and I just pray we have the right words to say. It's exciting to know that the girls are growing up with this much-larger-than-I-did worldview. And I'm thankful. I might stress over it and sometimes feel like I need to keep them near my side at all times and shield their eyes, but God is bigger! God is bigger. I trust Him with our girls. I have no other choice.

So, I'm pretty thankful for life overseas. We aren't rushing through life from event to event. We are enjoying being together for this season of our lives, experiencing another country. We laugh together a lot- at Bailey's strong British accent, getting our American words and British words mixed up (currently, pants is hilarious to our girls. Trousers are pants and pants are underwear) , and when things are rough and we get homesick, we just think of all the things we are thankful for about life in Wales. And that includes Skype!

Hello?

Anyone out there? Sorry for not updating sooner, things have been crazy for the past 2 weeks especially so there was no time for blogging. The girls are out of school and our interns left yesterday...so while the girls are having "reading time" in their room I have a few minutes to update. Here are some bullet points of things we've been up to lately.

*We had a great 6 or 7 weeks with our interns. They worked hard and we enjoyed getting to know them and invest in them. They did great in leading 37 students for one week all over the city- I was really proud of them. I think they would say they have learned so much about God, themselves and others this summer. I pray they are forever changed. We had a few emergencies during the week- I drove a girl to the hospital that was having an asthma attack and it scared me pretty good, not to mention her! I've never witnessed one of those before and I'd be happy to never witness one again. I think it was God's wonderful blessing that I had met this sweet 17 yr old the day before as I met up with her group and hung out with them at a park for a little while. She also shares the same name as one of our girls, so I remembered her well. I was driving as fast as I could and praying out loud over her, it's all I knew to do. I could tell she was scared and so I just said the name of Jesus over and over when I didn't know what to pray. She was okay after being given oxygen and medicine. Then I played "mom" to her and made her a sandwich at my house and lectured her on leaving the country without her inhaler. All is well now and we are Facebook friends. *grin* Another girl hurt her foot and was taken to hospital as well. Other than that, it was a great time. We ended our time with our interns by taking them to a beach house in west Wales, Port Eynon, to be exact. It was cool and overcast but "warm" enough to play in the water.

*School is out until September 7th so that is great! I'm enjoying having the girls home even if it means more squabbles and arguments. Addison is having fun too I think having her sisters around to terrorise, I mean, play with. Our girls had a blast getting to know our interns, or "American friends" as they've always called them. Our weekend at the beach house was really exciting for them since they were around our American friends 24/7 and had lots of attention! The first night we were walking on the beach and the girls were playing at the edge of the water, all was well until Addison got caught up in the moment and dove head first into the little waves. She was just flapping her arms and legs like it was the best thing ever, then she realised she was in her dress and sweatshirt, not her swimsuit, and began to cry. She was also desperate to throw "wocks" (rocks) in the water and would walk around to each intern saying "Addie frow wocks in water?" until someone felt sorry for her and would oblige.

*August is always a quiet month around here, but we welcome it this year! Students are still off uni and not around so it's pretty relaxing for us a whole family. We have some exciting things lined up for the fall so we have lots of prep for that and Marc is preaching at our church this coming Sunday, so we would value your prayers.

How's your summer going?

Dropping In

Testing, 1, 2, 3.

Tap, tap, tap. Is thing on?

Sorry for being so absent from the blog lately! I read so many other blogs that are so exciting and then I think, well, it's just life as usual here in good ole Cardiff, not much to tell it seems.

Our summer is in full swing. If you can call 60 degrees summer. And you can, if you live here. We have not had much rain lately so that's nice. It's really nice to walk to school without a jacket and wellies. Our interns are working hard and enjoying experiencing life in Cardiff. Since we've had some sunny days lately, people just flock to parks and fields and it's so nice seeing families out having picnics and enjoying the blessing of good weather. However, I would like to say, Ladies of Cardiff, please put some clothes on. Sunny weather doesn't mean you can walk around in barely anything. I have three young girls that stare at you and ask why you are wearing what seems like only underwear. Thank you.

We have one more week of school around here! We are READY. I can tell the girls are tired and not easily motivated so our 7 week break off school will be welcomed next Thursday!

I thought I'd just give you a little update on each little girl that lives in my house.

Cerys is growing up so fast. She is doing so great in school, riding her bike without stabilisers, reading so well, and overall just a sweet, tender-hearted little girl. She takes care of her younger sister while at school on the "school yard" and at home when she reads to Addison or helps her get her shoes on. She is always wanting to help me do things (and I'm learning to let go of my control issues and let her help me!) We are very proud of her.

Bailey is our social butterfly. She has tons of friends at school, even ones in older classes and can tell you everyone's name and if they have any brothers or sisters at school. She also is doing great in school and enjoying learning to read. She also learned to ride her bike without stabilisers (even though still a bit shakey on it!) now if she can just learn to USE THE BRAKES PLEASE, we might stay out of the A&E (ER).

Addison is two. I'm still figuring this kid out. She's my little buddy during the day when her big sisters are at school and sometimes we have fun days and some days we have extremely frustrating days. She is in love with the movie Tangled and can sing the songs. She is talking more and more and I just love how she says things wrong and I hope she never grows out of it. For example, she will say, "I watch Tangled got a dream see lamps?" If you've seen the movie, then you know what she's talking about. Some days I just want to eat her up, freeze time and kiss her a million times. Other days I would like to lock us both in padded rooms.

Y'all want to know how Marc is doing? He's good. We have some very exciting things coming down the pipeline but I'll share more about that later! God is working, leading, moving...it's all very exciting! He is being stretched and learning a lot...especially how to deal with 4 girls in his house. You can pray for him.

Me? Well, I'm doing okay. I've been on a journey the past 6 months or so and God has been faithful. I am not only getting healthier physically by having changed my eating habits drastically and working out 4 mornings (ugh!) a week...I decided it was time to deal with my anxiety that I've had for so long. I'm still not ready to go into great detail but I would love your prayers if you think of me. The enemy has come on strong and hard during this and I know it's because he would rather keep me blinded to the lies I've believed about myself and others for so long. He would rather me walk in darkness. But now is the time, I was fed up and so I reached out for help. God's timing always amazes me.

So, there's a short update from our little corner of the world. I'd love to hear from you so leave a comment if you want. It helps us not feel so far from home when we hear from you!

Lately...

I know the blog has been kind of quiet lately, so I thought I'd update you real quick on what's been going on!

Last week was Marc's 36th birthday! It was a beautiful, sunny day so that was awesome. We had tickets for the X Factor Cardiff auditions so we dropped the big girls off at school while Addie stayed with an intern and headed into city centre to get in the queue. Even though we had tickets that you had to request online, you still were not guaranteed a seat. We thought we would have plenty of time after dropping the girls off at school but that was not the case. They cut off the queue not too far behind us so we thought we were safe until they started handing out raffle tickets and told us that the last 250 of us were in the "standy-by" queue and once they got everyone seated inside the arena they would see if there any left over seats for us. Well, we were number 210 and 211 out of 250 so we were pretty sure we wouldn't get in. It was not a big deal, but it would have been fun too sit on the filming. Since we didn't get in, we got to have a lunch date together and walk around city centre so that was fun. Marc even bought me a pair of shoes on his birthday!

We did get to see an interesting side of TV though as we waited. They moved us through these rows and rows of fences like cattle and every once in a while they would bring someone who was auditioning and plant them in the queue to make it look there were thousands of people auditioning. They were also interviewing auditionees (is that word?) for the extra bits of video that you see before someone auditions. I was feeling really bad for one girl (it's the mercy in me) that did not have a good singing voice. Bless her heart, why do people do this? But you could tell they were going to use all that video for the show because they would have her pose against a wall and anyway..it was just ridiculous so I felt sorry for her because I just know that once they air the show in the fall, she will be one that is shown and not for her good voice.

As we were waiting in the queue these university girls in front of us suddenly went crazy and started shouting. I realized that right next to us was a former X Factor contestant, Olly Murs. He and another girl are the host of the Xtra Factor, the after the show kind of show. Anyway, they were planting them in the crowd and interviewing people and he ended up standing right next to us. I don't even really know any of his music, but you know crowd mentality- I had to start taking pictures with my phone! I'm not sure why, but I felt compelled. Marc was a bit baffled by this whole experience, especially after Olly turned to look our way and one of the girls was about to pass out while screaming his name. Marc rolled his eyes while I told him "It's okay honey, this is what girls do. I'm sorry to admit to you that when my Dad took me to NKOTB back in 8th grade, I was reaching out toward the stage as if I could really touch them." Again, a blank look from Marc. I just love this man. And find it humorous that God gave him three little girls. He's low on drama, that's for sure. Which reminds me that when Cerys was trying to buckle her seat belt this morning and she couldn't get it, she sighs and says "Oh, there's always trouble!" Hahaha. So dramatic. Anyway.

So, here are a few pictures of Olly Murs and the other girl, whom I could tell was annoyed that no one knew who she was because they were all screaming for Olly. Apparently, she was the host of another famous celebrity reality show. She is in the (too) short white dress and Olly Murs was in the brownish/green T-shirt.

Media_http1bpblogspot_yzflc

Media_http1bpblogspot_chhje

Media_http4bpblogspot_nijas

Like I said, not sure why I took pictures of them. At one point Olly jumped out of the fences to head for the port-a potty. Yes, I have a picture of him coming out of the toilet. I'm deleting it from iPhoto, don't worry.

In other news, we've been drinking lots of smoothies around here. The girls love them for an after school snack. Depending on the color of our smoothie, it's either a "Tinkerbell" or "Purple Fairy"- I have no idea why that name, we really should come up with something better. I use plain, live yogurt as a base, with some ground up flaxseed, pineapple, banana, and kale for the "Tinkerbell" smoothie. And for the "Purple Fairy" I just use strawberries, blueberries and raspberries instead of pineapple and banana. They are a big hit and I get some green into them!

Here is Addison and Jesse, enjoying a smoothie:

Media_http2bpblogspot_hijbc

Bailey got the movie Tangled for her birthday, but Addison is the one who LOVES it. I mean, all of us love it, but Addison will ask 50 times a day, "I -watch -Tangled - I -got- a -dream?" It's all one word to her! While her sister is at school, she carries around the Tangled doll and shouts "I gotta dream! I gotta dream! I see lantern glow!"

Someone freeze time so I can eat her up! I think that was like two southern phrases mixed into one right there.

Media_http1bpblogspot_auekm

There's lots going on here so we value your prayers- the Lord knows every detail! Thanks y'all, have a great weekend!
Posterous theme by Cory Watilo