Scotland Pictures!

Pictures from England!

Ready to be home

Today has been very low key. We are now staying with the Rahaim family, who are MTW missionaries to Dundee. They are great and have offered so much insight. I am so glad we could spend some time with them this week. We slept in this morning, which was needed, but this afternoon Trace went to a soccer game in Dundee with local pastor, David Robertson. Today has been hard for me, my spirits are low. I am worn down from not seeing my kids and am counting the hours until I'm home. Its evident in my demeanor.

I'm not sure if its homesickness or stress or fatigue, but I'm struggling with my thoughts and decisions about moving. I have been introduced to some of the hard stuff of foreign ministry and the honeymoon is over. I am stressed because we aren't given any time to process this stuff when we get home and its impossible to do that here. One thing Trace and I would like to do is give all our info to our elders and let them pray about and decide what we should do, but I'm not sure that's possible. We have decided we are not coming to Scotland, so for me its Moody or Culcheth. My biggest concern of course is our children. I am struggling with the thought of making this huge decision for them that they will grow up away from family or close church family, that they will struggle to fit in or feel that they belong where ever they go, that their education and life experiences may be more difficult, etc... I don't have enough faith that God will take care of my family and protect my children from all the craziness they will encounter. Is there anywhere to turn that I don't feel like a failure? I heard a story of a Scottish Christian teen(almost unheard of) who visited America and went to a youth group in the South and they compared stories about life for teens in the two areas of the world. She said how there are drugs, alcohol and sex readily available and offered to kids at 11 or 12 and of course you may be the only Christian in your school. The Southern Americans were shocked and the Scottish girl came home depressed by the thought of what she was coming home to and how good she could have in it in the States. That made me think of what we have, as crummy as it seems to us, is better than anywhere else. If we're living in the best case scenario, why am I taking my kids away? Will they later regret living somewhere else when they could have stayed in America? How much am I willing to sacrifice? Am i overanalyzing? Can't God just give me a clear answer?

St Andrews, Scotland

WOW! Trace and I took a bus to St Andrews and that has been my favorite "sight-seeing" part of our trip! I was excited to go because I knew it had a castle and some ruins and shopping, but it was so much more than we expected! First of all, its a smaller town on the North Sea-Trace calls it Fairhope, AL on crack. Prince William went to University of St Andrews-I'm a BIG royal buff, by the way. And, for those interested, its where the game of golf began. We went to the castle which was awesome, too. It was in ruins, but still cool. What we learned that was the sight of the first Protestant congregation! John Knox was at this castle and there was a lot about him in St Andrews. Then we went to the cathedral, also in ruins, but it was incredible. We also saw the Martyr's Monument-I'll let Trace give you the history lesson-I wasn't paying a lot of attention to all that, just snapping pictures in awe. Anyway, fabulous!

We have seen alot and learned alot about the area-please be in prayer for us, for clarity & discernment. Right now, homesickness for my children is really clouding my view. I absolutely can't wait to hold my babies!

I have so much in my brain I want to just write about, but I am also so tired! Its 11:30 pm here and need to go to bed. Hopefully in the morning I can blog again and share more things, thoughts and feelings. Night night...

Chester, England

Yesterday The Kunars took us to Chester, which is an old Roman city from about 200 AD. You know Trace was drooling all over himself at all the history! It was beautiful!! We got to walk on the roman wall that surrounds the city, which was unbelievable and walked to the tower where King Charles stood and watched his army get defeated. We also went in the cathedral where Handel wrote and practiced 'Messiah'. Just craziness! We also shopped and ate lunch at a great cafe', then bought lots of yummy chocolate. I tried Turkish Delight there, too, and it was good, but I wouldn't betray my family for it! (Narnia) On the way home we stopped at a store like WalMart and got to compare grocery prices, which is comparable to the States on most things. Next to it was a old church that was converted into a wall climbing facility! There are others that have been converted to liquor stores!

I knew ahead of time that Western Europe was in desperate need of the Gospel of Grace, but I have learned some more things about the culture that just shocked me! The break down of the family unit is tremendous! The children just walk the streets at night because their parents kick them out after supper. They are not allowed to discipline their children, so there is no sense of respect for anyone or even themselves really. Britain has the highest teen pregnancy rate in Europe,as you can imagine. Economically, its better for a couple not to get married and both parents work (if there are even two parents in the home) and work longer evening hours (typical workday is 9-6 or 7). So, with no way to discipline the kids, you can kind of see why parents tell them to go and not come back until bedtime! The gangs of kids are causing most of the violent crimes lately. Not long ago, a gang of kids were vandalizing a man's home and he came out to run them off and they beat him to death! That is a glimpse of a culture with no discipline. The common thought here is not just 'I don't want to go to church', but 'Church is bad for you'. I'd say that's one step away from persecution.

Tonight, we are meeting with a couple from the church-Paul and Anne-Marie Burchall. They can be a great resource for us because she worked in the school system for a long time, so we have a lot of questions for her! Also, they are members of the local Sports Club, which is apparently hard to get into to unless you know a member who will get you in. If we move here, we'd definitely want in to that club to meet lots of people. Also, Alan (the other missionary)coaches 2 American Football teams, so he'll need help with that!

Tomorrow, we take the train to Dundee to see another team. This site visit has been very helpful! We can't wait to get home and see you guys! Thank you all for your support and prayers! More later...

First Full Day

It has been a great couple of days! Where do I begin? After resting yesterday, we went to a wonderful Italian restaurant for supper! Everything in Culcheth is within walking distance and most people do walk around. Gas here is about $8.00/gallon, which probably has something to do with it, but I think its just part of their culture as well. I liked it!
We had a great time of worship at Grace this morning. We met some sweet people and it was nice. Then, we went to the Waldeckers' house in Manchester and ate lunch. They are the American missionaries here and they have a large family, it was fun! The kids are really sweet with good personalities. Then we watched Manchester United play Manchester City in soccer on tv, which was HUGE today, since we were in Manchester! It was an upset because Man City won, they are the underdog. After coffee, we went to the Trafford Centre. This is the largest mall in Europe! No kidding, its a mile long from end to end. Wow! It was beautiful and we got to shop for a while and eat scones. Fun times!

We are back in Culcheth now and about to go to bed. Jet lag is wearing off slowly. I wanted to put pics on, but I forgot to bring my camera cord. Anyway, I'll do a slide show when I get home. We miss you guys! More tomorrow...

We made it across the big pond! We are really tired, but very excited to be here! What little we've seen so far is beautiful! Very green and lush from all the rain-its raining now! Too bad we can't channel some of it towards Alabama! I can't wait to go out and see more and everyone is so nice! We will keep updating while we're here. More later...

Bowling Party Slide Show!

Fancy Pants

"Look, Mom! I make cupcakes!"(with my oatmeal!) That just added to the insanity of getting Cully for school yesterday!

For those who are interested, my day did get better yesterday. I did escape to Kim's where I swam, talked to Maja, Heather and Kim and ate chocolate. Then we went to hang out at Crissy's, which is always fun! I always eat WAY TOO MUCH at those type of gatherings-just FYI.

Ansy in her new pjs. You can't read it, but her shirt says "Fancy Pants". That couldn't be more right! She's a supermom! Of course, she's just imitating me!

Very annoyed

Today has not been good. Yeah, I know its just 9:30am but I'm not an optimist. We started the morning bright and early with Cullen in a crying fit on the floor. We are all so sleepy. This "early to bed, early to rise..." thing is not working out so far. My motivation for homeschooling would be avoiding school mornings! Anyway, that's another blog!
I am hot and sweaty at 7:30 in the morning after I took a shower this morning, so I'm not a happy camper. We finally made it to school(late, but it is only the second day) and we go in and are stopped by the "hall monitor" who will not let us go to class w/o my hall pass. Why does this annoy me you ask? Because yesterday I go into the office with all smiles to get a hall pass and they look at me like I'm stupid and say "Just go take your child to his class." Today, however, I am looked at like I'm stupid and go get in line for my hall pass. I roll my eyes at the lady, which is probably the principal, and when I have my beloved pass I walk by her and she says in a patronizing voice"Thank you for getting your hall pass." I say nothing and walk passed. Good testimony-I know. I get him to class and we wait forever for his class because apparently I was supposed to take him to the gym-which I do not know where it is! He then decides he wants to stay all day, which YEA!, but I didn't pack him a snack. So we jump over that hurdle.

After we leave, I wanted to go walking, but we forgot drinks. So, I decide to go to AutoZone, because the other day my driver side mirror on the van just blew off. I wanted to get another because I can't drive without my mirror-it stresses me. We spent 40 minutes there after the 2nd person who was helping me got on the phone and ignored me(the 1st one told me they couldn't get the part) we just walked out! So, I went next door to Advance and they helped me quickly and politely, even though Ansley was throwing a fit because she wanted a toy. I drug her out kicking and screaming literally and we went home. What about now you ask? My daughter is in her bed, screaming like a wild puma. Hysterically. And I am venting to anyone who will read this entire blog! I really just want to go swim at Kim's, which is where I go and escape reality. We have planned on going there, but I must wait until the insanity dies down.
Pray for me and my stinky attitude!

First Day

Well, we survived the first day of school! It started off great, getting up bright and early to eat breakfast with my boy. There he is all cuddled up in his blanket eating a bagel. We made it through goodbyes and no one cried-not even me! (I got a little teary last night for a moment.) All morning, Ansy was so confused that we left him there and didn't bring him home("Mommy, where's Bubby?"), but after a while she enjoyed having me and the house to herself. I didn't really know what to do, I knew we would go get him at 11:30. I kind of felt like Forrest Gump, at the end of the movie when Little Forrest gets on the bus and Forrest tells him "I'll be here when you get back." and just sat back down at the bus stop. I just came home and sat down, staring blankly for a moment, waiting for 11:30 so I could go back and get him.

He was very excited, wearing his new SuperMan backpack and toting his nap mat with his name on it (yes, I'm a cheesy mom who loves monogramming and even made a name tag for his packpack out of scrapbook supplies). They took a tour of the school today and he was so excited that he tried to take me on the same tour when I picked him up. He had a great day, very tired now and resting in his room. We're looking forward to tommorrow, except for getting up so early!!!!

The Family of God

This morning Burt preached a beautiful sermon. It was from the passage in Acts 2:42-47, about the early church and how they set themselves apart and formed a true community of believers. Day by day, they devoted themselves to teaching, fellowship, meeting each others' needs, worship, prayer and meeting together to do these things and bond together. I feel like we have those type of relationships at our church, maybe not to the extent of these early folks, but as close as I've ever seen without it being a cult! When I get together with our church family, it is just that, family to me. I love it! And I feel that close to them and open with them and it truly is a work of God. He's let me be vulnerable and honest, while teaching me truths about myself and learning so much from the other ladies he's allowed me to be around.

Just as I was listening and thinking all this in my mind, I thought about how hard it would be to leave this comfortable, loving place of likemindedness(is that a word). I started to wonder if I'd be bummed out to go to a foreign mission field and it wouldn't be the same and could I maintain these relationships I hold so dear. Then he talked about the church in England. He said how those Christians are like this in so many ways, because they truly are all they have. There's no petty arguments and people just leaving their church for one down the street, because there's not one down the street! They are a family and Europe is so dark spiritually. You really know who's sold out for Christ and who's not. That excited me! It gave me hope that I may be apart of a community somewhere else. The family of God is a special thing because I can have more in common with an Somali Christian than a blood relative who doesn't know Christ! Its one of the perks of being a citizen of Heaven-brotherhood around the world!

From the Mouths of Babes

Here's what I'm been noticing lately: Cully is starting to act like such a big boy. He has his moments where acts two, but the 5 year old moments are more frequent. A couple of days ago, we were outside watering flowers and when we were going inside Ansley made a huge mess on the porch. I let them in and told them I'd be in after cleaning up and he came back out and said "Mom, I'll clean this up. You go on in with Ansley so she won't get scared." And he picked it all up and made the porch look so neat before coming in. He's learning to be a little gentleman. We are also amazed at his heart! His prayers are so sweet, better than a lot of adults! He prays for his family and friends, thanks Jesus for dying on the cross for our sins, preparing a place for us in Heaven, for all He gives us, etc.. just bringing me to tears. It just shows me how much these little ones take in at church! Thanks to those teachers out there that tell the story of God's goodness to this generation. They really are learning and God is using it in their little hearts!

Ansy prays too now. You can make out"Thank you much...Beex, Corin, Silas, MiMi and Pops...(dots are for unrecognizable words)AMEN! I really need to get these sweet prayers on tape! She looks around to and tells on Bubba if he has his eyes open-"Momma, Bubba's not praying!" She's a hoot! She is a little person with a big vocabulary!

Today, Cully was asking all these outrageous requests that he knows I'll say "No" to. Why do kids do that? Its just setting themselves up for disappointment and makes me feel like a terrible mother for always saying "NO!". He's asking questions like "Can I eat cake and ice cream for breakfast?" (as if my child needs more sugar to make him hyper) and "Can we go to Alabama Adventure today?" ( he starts asking for that at 11:00am). So after the 50th time of asking for cake this morning and hearing me say this over and over, Ansley looks at him and says (pointing her finger at him and in her deep authoritative voice) "No! Eat breakfast!" She's a little Mommy too. I could go on and on about the funny things my kids say, but you have to be here to see it and no one else will appreciate it as much as I do.

Well, I must go rest now. Tomorrow Ansley moves up to the 2 yr old room. We no longer have a baby in the nursery! No more toddler room. Our babies are growing up!!

Cullen is 5 yrs old!!

Yesterday was Cully's 5th bday. We had a small party on Sunday, but yesterday we made the whole day special. We dropped Ansy off at Mother's Day Out and went to Burger King to eat lunch. Then, the two of us headed to the mall-Build-A-Bear Workshop to be exact. I figure this is the last year he'll want to do something like that. He knew right away which bear he wanted, gave it a heart, stuffed it and quickly found him a SpiderMan costume. When it was time to name the bear, I thought that may take awhile, but to my surprise he already had a name picked too! Scott. That's a cool name, right? So he typed his birth certificate (with a little help) and we had to buy Scott some underwear for when he's not wearing his costume. It was a good Mommy/Son day. Later, we took some friends bowling and ate supper and cake at the bowling alley. You haven't lived until you've seen bowling in slow motion! By the way, the children were beating the adults for most of the game. They had bumpers so the ball wouldn't go in the gutters. That's what we'd keep reminding ourselves, so we wouldn't feel like such losers!

I can't believe my baby is 5 and starts school in a week! I suppose I should be glad that my children are growing and progressing like they should, but I'd rather put bricks on their heads to keep them from growing!