Holiday Recap Part 2

Because of all the rain and gale force winds from Saturday and Sunday- most of the Lakes District was experiencing flooding. Thankfully, the road to our cottage was fine. There was some kind of marathon happening that weekend and many runners were stranded and had to find shelters in old barns, etc. It was pretty serious.

Monday, we drove over to Lake Windermere, this is where Beatrix Potter lived later in life and where she wrote most her beloved stories.

The beautiful Lake Windermere
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Gee, I wonder why Miss Potter wanted to move out of London for this place!

As you can see, major flooding-even park benches were under water.

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First we visited the Beatrix Potter Museum. It was just precious and the girls loved it! There were scenes from each of her stories and life-size animals, along with the history behind each story. It was really cute and the girls just loved it!
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The girls with Jemima Puddleduck

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Because of the flooding, the car ferry to cross Lake Windermere was closed so we decided to come back at the end of the week to see Miss Potter's farmhouse- Hilltop Farm. You can drive around the mountain to get there, but it takes a lot longer and we were low on petrol so we didn't want to chance it. On Thursday, when we made it back to Lake Windermere, the flood waters had receded and we were able to take the ferry across and over to Hilltop Farm. Thankfully we went first thing in the morning and got there right as it was opening at 10:30am. The tour does not take long, but since the BBC aired Miss Pottter the movie, they have been extremely busy with visitors. We were given a time of 10:35am to go inside the house and by the time we came out, the wait was over an hour long to even get a time slot. Thankfully we timed it just right!

The farmhouse was really neat, not much to see, but the tour guides at the door gave us a copy of one of her books to take around the house. Most of Miss Potter's stories were written from here and there are some illustrations from the house in each book so we were able to find each scene inside the house. Her story, The Tale of Samuel Whiskers was the book we were given and we were told that when we bought the house it was full of mice, so she borrowed a cat to get rid of them and that story is based on her trying to get rid of the mice. We were not allowed to take pictures inside, so this is the only photo I have from the outside.

Hilltop Farm
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I would have loved to have seen this house back in the day, of course there were quite a bit of houses near by, but back then it would have been the only one on the hill. Just beautiful.


Holiday Recap Part 1

Our drive was only suppose to take us, at the most, about 5 hours. Instead, it took us almost 9 hours. Not fun. Cerys continually asked when we were going on holiday and Bailey squirmed and fussed. There was no real reason for the delays, just one major motorway to get there and too many cars! I think we drove at 30 mph for about 6 hours. Once we finally did reach our cottage, it was pitch black and I do mean pitch black! It was not until we woke up the next morning and pulled back the curtains that we realized the beauty that we had driven through- we didn't even know we were surrounded by mountains. (No street lights on the motorway)

The first two days of our holiday were very windy and rainy. In fact, there were many floods in the Lakes District and many people stranded. Thankfully our road to the cottage was fine, but we felt it was best to stay in. Since the cottage was a barn conversion, the wind was so loud that the girls thought it was thunder. Thankfully, the cottage was lovely and warm.


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The girls all bundled up! It was fr-fr-freezing! Most nights got down to the low 30's/high 20's.


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We visited a farm one day and although it was super windy, the girls had a good time feeding the animals. Daddy was too slow in feeding the goats, one goat stuck his head all the way through the fence and ate the entire bag of food- paper bag included. Bailey laughed and Cerys screamed and then proceeded to ask 20 million questions as to why the goat did that.

Here is Bailey petting the donkey.

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We have lots of sheep here in Wales, so this is not unusual to see. But the girls still thought it was funny to have to stop often to let them cross the road.

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The rest of the week was COLD, but sunny so we were really thankful for that. We did lots of walking, visited the home of Beatrix Potter and her museum and much more!


Lovely Holiday

We are home from a lovely week in the Lakes District. This has been my view from inside our warm cottage....

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And this has been the view out the window....

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I have lots of pictures to show. I wish that the pictures could truly capture the beauty this place. It just does not do it justice. Yes, that is SNOW on top of the moutian. :)

Holiday

Half term is coming up- schools are out for a week! We decided to take a little holiday to enjoy the fall weather (hopefully not the rain!) and take one last family vacation before Baby Girl arrives in February!

We are headed to the Lake District in the northern part of England. We have rented a small cottage that looks very sweet and cozy as well. We are looking forward to seeing some of the sights up there- the lakes obviously, mountains and one day is set aside to visit the Beatrix Potter Museum and Hilltop Farm- her farmhouse she lived in later in life and from where she wrote most of her stories! I'm so excited. We just recently watch Miss Potter, the BBC aired it a few months back, and I just can't wait to see it in person!

We will also get to visit some college friends of ours that live near there- well about 2 hours from our cottage- but we will get to spend a day with them so we are really looking forward to that.

Which brings me to a funny story. Most Brits we've talked to here think that we Americans drive far for everything. Even just to drive across Texas takes a while- days? One time when we first lived in Pontypool we took a day trip to a town called Aberystwyth. It took a couple of hours but we were back in time for Wednesday night prayer meeting. People were amazed that we took such a trip in one day. Brits also typically take two weeks (a fortnight) off for holidays, sometimes several times a year. Most seem to fly away somewhere sunny and who can blame them? Ha! But in America, it's unusual to take that long for ONE holiday, much less two. Anyway.

I was visiting with my friend the other day that had stopped by the house and was telling her about our holiday. She asked where we were going and when I told her she commented on how far that was. I told her it was only about a 5 hour drive from here. She just laughed at me and said, "Wow, that's pretty far, hope the girls do okay in the car!" Then later that day as I was talking to my mom and telling her about our trip she asked how long we would be gone for and I told her a whole week. Her comment? "Wow, that's a long time!"

Ahhh, two very different takes on "holiday!"

In other news, I saw my midwife today and everything is good. I am measuring right on for 24 weeks and got to hear the heartbeat which is always fun and reassuring! We visited about me changing hospitals- that's a whole other post- and the verdict is still up in the air. We hope to have made a decision in another 4 weeks when I'm able to visit the 2 midwife led units. I know that does not make much sense right now, but I'll have to go into that another time. In the meantime, I will be praying for wisdom and peace about it!

Catching Up

Here is the baby blanket I made while Marc was away. I love the fabric, but it just seems kind of plain to me. I was going to quilt over the blocks but it was too much work and I didn't have the motivation to do it. If I had been thinking, I would have added some ball fringe around the edge. It will be a good blanket for laying on the ground though.

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Marc brought these Spanish dresses home for the girls to play dressing up, they LOVE them!

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I was going to tell you about how I got my American goodies- candy corn, bean dip, ranch dressing and chocolate chips from Spain. Several months ago I reconnected with a girl that I went to elementary, junior high and high school with on Facebook. It's been at least 12 years since I've seen her, so it was fun to catch up on each other's lives. Then she wrote one day and asked if Marc would be at a men's retreat in Spain because her husband would be going to lead worship! Small world! So, Marc and Toby got to meet in Spain and she was kind of enough to send some yummy goodies for us! He has a website if you are interested in knowing more. Who would have thought that after all these years, our lives would cross again- and our husbands would meet for the first time in Spain.

One more week until half term- when school is out for a week. We are headed to the Lake District and we are so ready for a "holiday!" I will be posting more about where we are going soon.

Oh, and how stressed are you? My friend posted this and I thought it was interesting. I took this a few years ago after moving here- cross culturally- and I was off the charts. I'm still "border line high stress" but it's way lower than it has been!

YUM!

SEE BELOW FOR RECIPE-

I've been putting this recipe off for about a year, I know, how pathetic. It always seemed so complicated and I just never had the enthusiasm to do it. Until last night....

I used my bread machine to do the dirty work for me, it took an hour and a half on the "dough" cycle. Then it took only a few minutes to roll it out and fill it. They sat in the fridge overnight and then I made the icing while they baked for 20 minutes this morning.

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They were HUGE this morning, so I had to transfer them to this dish, but we still manage to eat most of them! :)

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And thank you for the name suggestions, we are still trying to decide. We have one that we both like and agree on but we won't announce until we have decided for sure. That could be anytime between now and the birth! Ha. We didn't decide on "Bailey" until the moment we saw her, so you never know!

Cinnamon rolls for breakfast...and my husband just asked me if I wanted to go visit the new mall in Bristol. I don't even have to think about that one!

See y'all later, have a happy weekend!


Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Above is the link to the recipe. I was going to type it all out, but I found it on this site and it's much easier to link it! :) I have the big red-checked Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and this is the same recipe. Scroll down to just the plain cinnamon rolls. This made 2 batches for us, and one I froze and will use later. I used my bread machine, so the dough recipe is slightly different. If you would like to know that recipe, just leave me a comment or email me.

Baby Names

Ok, here's a little survey for you...

When choosing a baby name, did you...or will you....

A. choose a name because of the meaning, origin or what it stands for

B. choose a name just because you liked it and didn't really care about the meaning

Thanks!

Can you tell we are trying to decide on Baby Girl's name? :)

Random Things

*Marc is home from Spain and us girls are happy as could be! He brought back Spanish dresses for the girls to play dressing up, a big hit! He also brought back some American goodies for us- a story which I plan to share soon- a really cool story- but he brought back candy corn! bean dip! chocolate covered oreos! semi-sweet chocolate chips! ranch dressing!

*If any of you followed the story of Eliot at 99 Balloons, his mommy and daddy started a new
blog and you should check it out.

*The sweet couple I mentioned in my previous post who lost their almost 2 year old boy, have some good reminders for us parents and sweet pictures of their boy. If you want to visit their
blog, maybe let them know you are praying for them I know they would appreciate it.

What If?

One thing Marc has always said to me is, "We do not live in a what-if world." Last week marked 12 years since our first date. 12 years? It October 4th, 1996. Sometimes I wonder why he continued dating me, because those years were the height of my worry, anxiety and fear. (You thought I worried a lot right now!)

I probably read too many blogs. I enjoy reading other blogs, it's fun, entertaining and insightful. But there are several blogs out there that I read that have affected me- in good and bad ways. I've never been more aware of the tragedies in life- is it because I'm older now and more aware of things happening? I have come across several blogs in the last few months that have caused me to sit at my computer and sob. Some of you are thinking- then stop reading them! And I do admit that I have to be careful not to become obsessed with these stories- there needs to be a balance for me. Some stories of tragedy have made me wonder how people walk through them without the Lord and the hope that we have in Jesus. Other stories have reminded me how God is so involved in each detail of our life and that He causes all things to work together for good. Even in the midst of deep, deep sorrow.

I'm so aware lately, probably because of reading these blogs and other things that are going on, that I really have no control. Ding, ding, ding. I've known this, but have not let myself think too hard about it nor let is sink too deep into my heart. Because I like to think I have control. There is nothing like pregnancy to really teach a person that you are not in control!

I love my little family so much that I can not imagine a day without them. I have cried over a blog of a sweet couple that just lost their almost two year old in a tragic way. Several that have lost a spouse- one only hours after giving birth to a precious baby girl. You know where I'm going with this, right? FEAR. I've shared before how this is my stronghold and if I let it, it can become all- consuming. This has been strong on my mind this past week. When I put the girls to bed and scratch their little backs, I can't imagine not being able to do that for them.

*What if the Lord calls one of my girls home before me?
*What if the Lord calls Marc home before me?
*What if I die giving birth? What will my family do without me? How will Marc raise 3 girls?


Marc returns today, he's been in Spain for the last 5 days at a retreat. Thankfully, we made it through with no major temper tantrums or break downs- me or the girls! Ha. But it's made me realize how much I depend on Marc and how wonderful he is. I felt convicted during this time that I was not putting the Lord first, even over my family. I was only able to talk to Marc once, which was really hard, but kind of good in a way. I realize that I go to him for everything. The thought just came to me this week that I need to be that way with the Lord- I need to be more dependant on HIM than I am on Marc. I'm not guaranteed to walk through life with Marc by my side. I would certainly choose that, but it's not a promise. That is a really difficult thing for me to even admit in my heart, much less type it here.

I use to say, "I could never handle that" or "Surely the Lord would not ask that of me!" But, you know, He asked it of Steven Curtis Chapman's family recently. And He asked it of these people that I don't even know, but who blog about it. It's encouraging to see that these people are making it. They are heavy in grief and sorrow, but they are making it. I know I will make it too if something ever happened. I don't even want to admit that, but with the Lord alone, I can make it. That is a scary thought, but it's true.

Looking into the future sometimes only causes anxiety for me. Living in my little "what if" world doesn't cut it. I'm thankfully Marc refuses to join me there. :) All I can do is trust Him completely and know that loves my babies and husband more than I ever could, then I have to let go. I've had a tight grip on them, and it's time to release them. And it's so hard.

Posterous theme by Cory Watilo