Just checking...

to see if certain members of my family still read this blog...

Mom, this is what is on the way to you...

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And Beverly, this is what is on the way to you....

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I know it looks like Aunt Beverly is getting a lot more, and she is....they were on sale at Tesco. ;) And she shares my love for these great biscuits. Now Beverly, I want to see a video of you eating them and then rating them. ;)

Beautiful Country

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I'm not sure how many times I've heard people say that living in Wales "must be rough" and oh you must be "really suffering." Nothing irks me more. I know they don't mean it the way it comes across, or at least I hope they don't.

Yes, this is a beautiful country and I'm blessed to be able to see mountains and rolling hills and the sea all within 10 minutes from our home. I'm thankful for the beauty that surrounds me. It's much nicer to look at than Dallas/Fort- Worth, and much cooler. On the days when I want to eat Mexican food, shop at Target and walk through the mall, I try to focus on the things I love about
this country. Here are a few things I love about Wales.
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1. Castles! The Land of Castles! We really enjoy exploring and finding new places to visit. Our favorites are castle ruins. The restored castles are nice, but the ruins are so rustic and raw, it's great!

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2. Life moves at a slower pace here than in DFW. Goodness, imagine that! People are friendly (for the most part) and take the time to chat over tea or coffee.

3. Jaffa Cakes- Now, these have been my favorite biscuit (cookies) since I moved here. I'm not sure how I found them, but I'm so glad I did. My friends Adele and Maria know my love for Jaffas is fierce. Y'all are missing out!

4. GREEN! It's so GREEN here. Maybe just because I'm use to not really seeing any trees and the grass is usually brown in DFW. It's so hot and dry there, especially in the summer. So I just love the Green-ness of this country!

5.You can leave your windows open and no bugs come in! We don't even have screens on our windows. It's great. No mosquitoes!

6. I can walk to most places that I would need to go to- the post office, doctor's surgery (office), the park, the salon, etc. I usually drive to the grocery store, but I could walk if I didn't have much to carry back. I enjoy walking places and not always being in the car. The girls love our walks too!

So that's my list of just a few things I love about Wales. Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Birthday Pictures

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The ladybug cupcakes! (Homemade, can't you tell?
Some more pathetic than others!)

Excuse me while I show some birthday photos. We had a small party for Bailey and invited friends that are like family to us. We had ladybug cupcakes, or ladybird for all my Welsh friends who read this :) ...red icing was not a very good idea for small children, but oh well...they were messy, but yummy!

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The birthday girl digging in! This is serious business!

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Yep, this is good mommy!

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Uncle Josh also had a birthday this week! He turned 18!

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The birthday girl after the sugar high!

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And Cerys enjoyed the cupcakes too!

Happy Birthday Bailey!

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Daddy and Bailey, on your birth-day

Dear Bailey,


You are ONE today. How can this past year have gone so fast? Especially in those early days after we came home from the hospital...in the wee hours of the morning, a year seemed like an eternity away. When the doctor held you up for us to see, you had one arm raised over your head and your hand clenched in a fist- and screaming. In that moment, we knew we would name you Bailey. It means able, fortified.

Your personality is really starting to show, but we did see a glimpse of it when you were a newborn! There is no in between when it comes to your moods. You are either happy as can be or mad as a hornet. In those early days, when you would wake up for a feeding, you would wake up so suddenly with a loud grunt and a scream. It would startle your dad and me right out of bed! There was no easing into it for you. You would be sound asleep, then you were suddenly awake and ready to eat!

You love playing outside with your big sister. In fact, you love playing with your big sister anywhere! You have the cutest chuckle I've ever heard. I love how you have 4 teeth coming in at the moment, and they are all at different stages. It makes for the cutest smile ever!

Sweet Bales, you are a blessing from the Lord. Though you may have surprised us, God knew just the right time to send you to us. We are thankful that He chose us to be your Mommy and Daddy. God used you to bring healing into our lives at just the right time.

We love you,
Mommy and Daddy
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Let's hear it for all the bald one year olds out there!

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Who can resist those eyes and those chins,
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and those cheeks!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Baby Bailey!

9 years

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June 6, 1998- Marc and I said our "I do's" in front of family and friends in Dallas, TX. I can hardly believe it's been 9 years! Really!?! I was 21 and he was 22, about to be 23. I can't believe how young we were! I didn't feel young though, I was sure I was mature and ready to tackle anything that came our way! What an adventure this has been!

We met on campus through mutual friends. I remember our first date. I remember the first time I knew I was in love with him. I remember our first "discussion". I remember the date we had the night he graduated and I still had 2 years of school left... I was devastated to say the least! I still feel like we should be young college newlyweds! But I suppose after 9 years and 2 children later, we don't really count as newlyweds.

I'm so grateful for my husband. God knew exactly what He was doing when He put us together. We have been through so much together and I look forward to many more adventures with him!

Happy Anniversary Honey, I love you more than ever! Thank you for choosing me!

(I had to scan this photo of us, sorry it's not very good quality. Don't you just love the big huge bouquet and the look on our faces! Man, I didn't realize how fair skinned I really am! I wish I could blame it on the scanner, but I don't think I can.)

WAITING. IS. SO. HARD.

One of my little brothers, Josh, is arriving at Heathrow airport in just a few hours and Cerys CAN! HARDLY! WAIT!

The high school graduate, as of last Monday, will be here with us for 2 weeks of fun filled adventures. We told Cerys this morning that Daddy was going to the airport to pick him up and she has not stopped talking since.

I'm quite sure it will be an emotional reunion. I love watching my girls get excited about things, so this will be so fun to see! Cerys loves all her uncles, but she has been attached to Josh since the moment we moved back to Texas when she was 9 months old, so this will be a sweet reunion!

I'll post more about our adventures here, so stay tuned...

Weirdness

Well, my friend Liz tagged me for this...apparently she does not think I'm weird (Thank you Liz!) but my friend Etta obviously does! I just told Marc that I was trying to think of 7 weird things about me and he said, "Only 7?" Oh, hahaha y'all are so funny!

7 Weird Things About Me- in no particular order

1. I am from Texas (no, that's NOT weird!) but I do not consider myself to have a strong country accent, but when I talk to my girls in baby talk I somehow get reeel cuntry. This apparently annoys my husband.

2. When I have an itch in my inner ear, I make a funny, loud noise in my throat. I thought that was a normal thing to do, but it seems it only is on my side of the family.

3. I love blueberries and always tell the girls and Marc when we are eating them or if I see them at the store..."Blueberries are super foods, they are so good for us!" I think they are sick of hearing about "super foods!" I realize there are many other super foods, but for some reason blueberries have stuck in my mind.

4. I think about things a lot, I have an overactive mind...so I will be thinking about something and having a conversation in my head and just say something out loud about what I'm thinking about and Marc will just stare at me and I will say, "Ya, sorry you were not hearing that conversation were you?"

5. Every night when I crawl into bed and my head hits the pillow I say out loud, " Oh, I love bed!"

6. I have been known to talk to animals- like as we are driving and I see something on the road or whatever, one time that Marc will not ever let me forget was when we were driving through a Target parking lot in the States and there was a little bird on the curb and it seemed to me he was looking for food and I said to it, "Don't worry little bird, God will take care of you." You can laugh if you want, but it's Biblical.

7. I think in a Welsh accent, but I still speak with my American accent. Marc and I sometimes speak to each other in Welsh accents at home when no one is around.

Wow, this really looks like I have some issues. :)
I'm now tagging Adele, my Welsh friend, to tell us 7 weird things about her!

Rain Rain Go Away

Actually, it's kind of nice to have a rainy day...after all this is Wales! We've had such unusually nice weather lately that a rainy day seems rather annoying at first. I remember our first few months here back in 2002. We arrived on October 31st and we did not see blue sky till March! I remember the day... it was after lunch and we headed out the door to go somewhere and lo and behold...we saw a tiny patch of blue sky! I shouted, danced, pointed, all to make sure Marc saw what I saw. I was so happy I could have burst!

So, really the rain that has come down steadily all day today is not that bad considering we have seen blue sky a lot since arriving back in Wales in January!

Someone once told me as we were getting ready to move here..."may the rain that falls all around you, remind you of God's presence and grace."

Happy Memorial Day Weekend in the States and Bank Holiday Weekend to the Brits!

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