The calm before the storm

Todd has this week between Christmas and New Year's off of work. Originally we had big plans to travel in Europe this week. Then, we realized we were going to be moving and we started to re-think the travel plans. We finally decided to stay home when the snow came in full force last week. We are so glad we did.

This week has been heaven. It has been so great to be together as a family. We went to the movies, out to eat, and I can't count the number of times we've played Monopoly Jr. and Battleship Jr. with the kids. My absolute favorite though is when the kids go to bed and Todd and I sit down to a match of Monopoly. I laugh because he's the financial guru in our family but I always beat him at Monopoly. I'm the one that loves to read but he cleans my clock at Scrabble. Go figure.

Anyway, I wish I could bottle this week up because I know that things are going to get really crazy after this. Tuesday morning when Todd goes back to work, the kids go back to school and the packers show up at our door, I will want a little taste of this week back.

*Side note: I packed a suitcase of our summer clothes today. It felt weird getting out the sandals and shorts on a cold and foggy day like today. It's strange to think that it will be summer for us in January.

Christmas 2010

My top ten favorite pictures of Christmas day 2010:

Beanie Boos were a favorite for our kids this year.

Mary's princess umbrella and Michael's nerf gun were big hits too.
Mary's first doll house.

The sweet chaos of Christmas morning.

Opening boxes, undoing those twist ties, and installing batteries while anxious children look on.

Luke loves his new airplane.

The boys with their lunar cars.

Mary with her ballerina doll.

It's true. Todd pulled this beauty out for me on Christmas morning. I'm still in shock.

Family DSi's to help us through the upcoming long hours on a plane.

Life is good. We spent Christmas day at home having our traditional brunch, enjoying our new toys, watching movies and snacking. We couldn't have asked for a more relaxing and fun Christmas.

Sunday, December 26th (otherwise known as Boxing Day here), we went to church. Our whole family spoke in church. Mary read her talk with me standing by her side. I only had to help her with 2 words. Our 2 1/2 year old Luke shocked everyone when he decided he wanted to participate as well. He stood and bore his testimony with my help. Benjamin read from the New Testament Reader all by himself. Michael gave his own talk that he wrote all by himself. It was a great experience for our little family. The kids were really happy to share their talks and their testimonies.

Stockings are hung by the bunk beds with care...

Benjamin spent a good part of the day trying to get a loose tooth out. The thought of Santa and the tooth fairy coming on the same night was too exciting to pass up. He succeeded! The tooth came out just after dinner. Ours will be a busy house tonight!
In between Christmas baking, Mary and I slipped away to get our haircut at the salon. I wish I had taken my camera. Our little Mary was so cute in that chair. The women at the salon doted on her. They gave her chocolates, a glass of water and a mince pie. We loved every minute of it.

After our Christmas dinner, we did the nativity. Luke and Benjamin were our shepherds. They were happy to have our stuffed sheep be part of the play this year.

Then we opened our new jammies and set out a plate of goodies for Santa and his reindeer.

Now the tooth is safely tucked under a pillow and stockings are hung by the bunk beds with care in hopes that Michael will soon get to sleep.

Merry Christmas!

Hours of entertainment

I know that Saturday's snow storm in London caused havoc for travelers, but it has provided endless hours of entertainment at our house.

Todd was able to make it in to the office for the first time today since the storm. Here is what the boys created while he was gone today. Meet "Benjamin the snowman" on the left and "Dad" on the right (notice "Dad" is holding a sled). I think they missed their dad pulling them in the sled today.
(In case you're wondering, that snowball Michael is holding ended up being thrown at his brother. The snowball fight that followed was entertainment for me!)

Let it snow!

Before we moved to London we heard that it rarely snows here. This is our third winter here and every winter we've had measurable snow. (I think this country should invest in a snow plow or two... then again it's kinda nice when life stops for a few days).

Yesterday was our biggest snow storm yet! 9 inches according to our measurements.

We set out Saturday morning to do some errands. However, we realized about 1/2 mile from our house that we weren't going to get far with the snow falling as fast as it was. We ended up at the grocery store near our house. We stocked up on food for Christmas because the shelves will be empty soon when the delivery trucks can't get through on the roads.

As soon as the snow stopped on Saturday afternoon, we geared up to play outside.

The three youngest and I lasted outside for a little while and then we went inside for hot chocolate. Todd and Michael stayed outside until dark shoveling the street in front of our house with 3 of our neighbors. Our street may be the only one in town that can be driven on!

Church was cancelled today. Our family was supposed to be the Christmas program in sacrament meeting. We spent a great day at home reviewing our talks for next week!

When all else fails, tickle toes

Luke and I were out doing some Christmas shopping this morning when the weather turned nasty and the snow started to come down really fast. I kept glancing out the shop windows thinking the snow would let up. It stayed nasty for about half an hour before I decided we'd better head home.
As I was walking to my car my phone started to ring. Our first call was from Mary's friends' mom to cancel their play date after school. Then Todd called to make sure we were okay. And finally, the kids school called to let me know that school was being let out early and the kids were on their way home. Turns out everyone headed for home the same time I did because my normal 15-20 minute drive turned into an hour and 10 minutes.
I had a few snacks for Luke but they only lasted for so long. We listened to Christmas music but he got bored of that too. Things were looking pretty dismal in our car.

Thankfully, the snow stopped and the sun came out. The traffic didn't let up but we lightened the mood with some toe tickling. We beat the kids' bus home from school and we got home in time to put Luke down for a nap. All in all the trip was a success. We came away with 2 great gifts for daddy. Well worth the effort.

May your drive home from last minute Christmas shopping be quicker than ours!

Fantastic..exciting..adorable..superstar

I love this time of year. Christmas is fast approaching, the kids are almost out of school, and we get to watch our kids perform at recitals for their various activities.
Here's a peak at what we've been up to for the last few days in no particular order.

Michael had his first piano recital. He played a simplified version of Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy'. Fantastic!
Mary passed her first ballet exam (which means that if we were staying here she would be able to move up to the next ballet level). Exciting!

Benjamin performed in his first grade Christmas music program. Adorable!

We had a darling friend of a friend stay with us for a few days. Delightful! Luke and I went to London with her one day and had a great time exploring Westminster Abbey.

Through all of the activities of the past few days, Luke has done remarkably well. He is really good to go with the flow most of the time as long as I keep the snacks coming. We think he's a superstar!

Home for 2 1/2 years

Our house is on the market and yesterday was our first showing. While I did some cleaning, Luke made some last minute repairs.
I sat in the office while the couple was looking through our house and I heard the agent talking about all the selling points of our house. I started to cry. This has been our home for 2 1/2 years. This is the longest we've lived in a home for the last 6 years. Interestingly enough, this is the only move that we knew from the beginning to be temporary, but so far, it's the hardest to leave.

This started me thinking about our experiences here in England. I remember the first time I dragged my jet-lagged self into the grocery store with 4 young hungry children. None of the products were familiar and I found myself standing in a grocery store full of food wondering what I was going to feed my family. In the dairy aisle I spotted an American brand of yogurt and I excitedly picked it up. As I looked at the date on the carton I was horrified to find that the 'use by' date was 4 months expired. I put the carton down and moved on. As I continued to quickly browse for something I could make for dinner, I remembered that the British write the date differently than the Americans. I should've been reading the date with the date/month/year. I smiled to myself and went back to the yogurt aisle. That was just the beginning of little lessons I've learned that cause me to smile when I think of life as we first arrived in this country.

I love everything about the UK. The history, sites, culture, food, the people and their accents, our children's schools, our ward, the red post boxes, black taxis, green landscape, red phone booths, high streets, and yes, even the weather. Wrap it all up in one big package and I adore this place. To me it is one of the most charming places on Earth.

I've learned so much about myself here. I've been stretched to what I thought was my limit at times, but with the help of the Lord and my sweet husband, I have made it through. Sometimes I think of my present situation and I smile. I am pregnant with my fifth child, the oldest of which is 8, my husband is busy with work and church callings, I am the ward Primary President, the Primary music chorister, Primary pianist, Sacrament meeting pianist, and living in a country far from family. I honestly couldn't do any of it without the help of the Lord. He gives me strength daily and helps me have the courage to do hard things.

I've learned that I can learn to drive on the other side of the road and pass a driving test that involves reverse parking into a tight stall.

I've learned that I can become familiar with new products in a grocery store and learn to cook for my family in a different country.

I've learned that I can sit in sacrament meeting by myself with 4 young kids while my husband is away on church assignments and play the music for the congregation.

I've learned that I can love 20 Primary kids like they were my own and prepare a sharing time and music time for them each week and play the piano for them too.

I've learned that the Lord will compensate for my weaknesses if I have faith. I leave church every week enriched with a strengthened testimony.

Maybe it's because we've known all along that this was a temporary assignment, but we've tried our hardest to maximize our time here. We've seen and enjoyed everything we could in the 2 1/2 years since we arrived. What an adventure it has been too. I think with such fondness about our picnics in the car as we traveled to a new destination to explore. You know, come to think of it, this whole life is a temporary assignment. I'm going to try my best to maximize my time here on Earth with my family. Our children are only young for a short time. These 2 1/2 years have been a lesson that I will remember no matter where we call home.

Bath

The city of Bath in the UK is quite remarkable. The city is founded around natural hot springs that the Romans turned into a bath house when they occupied Britain.
We braved the fog Saturday morning and headed out on a family field trip to visit Bath. I thought it was a fantastic combination of ancient Rome and England. The bath house itself was intriguing. It was interesting to learn how the Romans built pipes to channel the water into different pools. The water is around 115 degrees F (thus the steam rising from the pool).

After touring the Roman baths, we stopped on the high street for fresh hot pasties. So yummy!

We visited the abbey in Bath and joined in a shoppers Christmas carol. I loved hearing the organ in that building. Then we stopped at Ben & Jerry's for dessert.Love that chocolate ice cream face!

I loved the charm of Bath. Notice the lit Christmas trees hung above the stores on the street. This was a day not to be forgotten.

Unexpected long week-end

It was snowing when we went to bed on Wednesday night. I smiled to myself at 5:30am on Thursday morning when I heard the text message beep on my mobile phone. School cancelled! We only received about an inch of snow, but the freezing temperatures have turned the roads into a sheet of ice.

The small amount of snow didn't discourage the kids from getting out and playing in it most of the day. I was amazed that it entertained them for so long.

Meanwhile, Todd and I were in the house de-junking. We usually go through the toys before Christmas to make room for new toys, but this time it was a 'pre-move and pre-Christmas' de-junk. Todd loaded our van to the ceiling with a load for the charity shop in town. It feels so good to have the house in order and the Christmas decorations out. Bring on the holidays!There's nothing better than hot chocolate with marshmallows and a chocolate chip cookie when you come in from playing in the snow.

We're on day 2 of our snow/ice day off of school. Today hasn't been as productive, but it has been relaxing and fun. We're soaking up every minute of winter this year since we'll be turning in our snow gear for beach gear next month. All the hot chocolate you can drink at our house!