tour of london

Not too long ago we got back from a short trip to London.  In part I was ready (nearly desperate!) for a getaway and it was Andrew's birthday.  My sweet husband is now entering the mid-30s.  Which by association makes me getting older too! :)

We had our share of ups and downs on the trip, but I'll try not to make it too long and post the good pictures.  London is supposedly one of, if not the, most expensive cities to vacation in.  We definitely felt that! Even for dumpy hotels it was nearly $200 a night or more.  Nicer hotels were $500+ night! Anyway, after we got our jaws off the floor and realized planning the week before would be harder than we realized, we started getting creative.  We shifted our dates around and shortened the time we'd be there.  Then we started looking for short stay apartments instead...that would help us so we could cook for a few meals but still enjoy a good location in the city close to all the must-see sites.  AFter several days of scouring the internet we finally found one we could make work and we were pumped.  We booked it and had our train tickets.  Two days later we took a morning train to London and around lunch we got to the apartment.  Only no one was there and we couldn't find out what to do next. After calling a few times, the company informed us that we had only made a request for the stay, though they sent us an email confirmation (or so we thought) and took all our payment info.  Well, apparently that morning while we were on the train, they emailed us to tell us the apartment was booked earlier and wasn't available to us.

So here we are.  Pushing our hungry and ready-for-naptime twins, Andrew with some luggage, standing on a street with no where to stay! Well my thankfully cool under pressure husband began going door to door for hotels.  Praise the Lord there was a small park nearby to keep the boys busy and happy.  A while later Andrew comes back and said every single one of them is booked because Wimbledon is going on. We were in the Paddington area, near the Underground, next Hyde park and not far from where Wimbledon was going on.  The only place he could find was a not so ideal hotel.  But in the end we booked it so we could have somewhere to stay and the boys could get a much needed nap in.  Then we searched for a hotel for the next night and eventually found another one close by, with much better standards, but still for around what we would have paid for the apartment.  Anyway, despite the hotel fiasco in the beginning, it was a great trip.  It made me so thankful for Andrew! What a trooper! He is so great under pressure and held it together for me!  Also, though our boys are a little crazy at times, they too can be super flexible and help keep me grounded in more stressful times with their smiles.

On the 2 hour train from Sheffield to London

After finally getting into a hotel the first day we headed to Big Ben

Westminster Park next to Big Ben, Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey! 

Playing in Hyde Park on Daddy's birthday, our 2nd day, so he could explore his dream of visitng Churchill's War Rooms

Stunning St. James Park

Watching the duck 

Watching the changing of the guards at the Horse Guards Parade...G and J liked the "ho-ses"

Buckingham Palace

We headed to Borough Market for lunch and I found this incredible Paella. It was amazing!

Delicious looking oysters!

So much fresh fruit...of course we got some local fresh blueberries for the boys too!

 

After lunch and naps, we took a boat cruise to see more of the city in a new way

On the Thames...Tower Bridge and an old war ship

The London Eye in from of the former Town Hall

A replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theater from the river

The Tower of London

After the cruise, we ate at a pub Shakespeare frequented and then walked along the river at sunset.  The Capital looking building is St. Paul's CAthedral- one of the only buildings to survive the intense bombings of WW2.  

 On our last day we headed to the nearby Hyde Park for G and J to get some energy out!

My two boys and me at Kensington Gardens in Hyde Park

While waiting for our luggage the boys "played chess" outside our hotel.  Note the black and white pattern and line...they did that by themselves!

After that we were off to the train station and back to Sheffield.  I think taking the bus, the boat and the trains were maybe the boys' favorite things. And of course whenever they go to "wun 'round" in parks.  They did great, but we're all glad to be back after a busy few days!

celebrating + a bit of travel

Celebrating Father's Day was such a fun family day for us this year.  While it's customary to send cards in England, it definitely did not seem to hold even a sliver of importance as it does in the States.  Andrew greeted several friends with "Happy Father's Day" and most of them seemed surprised and often no one in their families had even remembered.  But at our house, we made a day of it! One of the things Andrew and I both value is finding things to make life fun and making traditions for our family for worthy things.  Well, Andrew himself and his fathering are definitely worth a noting.

 

Because of busyness and travel plans we made Saturday our Father's Day.  Andrew has been wanting to run this park 5k for nearly a month now, but it's either been raining or we've had plans every single Saturday morning!  It's at one of the bigger public parks and is held every week in the summer.  You get a chip and timed, but there are no fees (reaping the benefits of other's taxes, I guess!).  Andrew was also determined to run with the boys! We got there a few minutes before the start time and he lined up.  I felt like we were getting the same looks as when we get on an airplane...no one wanted to be near the massive double jogging stroller!

At the start...

...just before finishing

Gray enjoying a lemon during at brunch...proof he's got some of my genes!

Anyway, the race course was smaller so I got to see him and the boys 3 times throughout the race.  It was really fun to watch.  Despite the on and off drizzle (and zero training!), Andrew pushed through and ran it in under 25 minutes.  I was happy to watch and cheer them on from the sidelines.  After the race we headed to a favorite breakfast place and had a big brunch complete with Belgian waffles.  While the boys (and I mean all three of them) were napping, I made magic cookie/7 layer bars for Andrew.  They're his favorite.  I had been looking at American ex-pat blogs for how to use English ingredients for a few things.  They don't have any graham cracker products, no butterscotch and no sweetened flaked coconut.  Anyway, we made it work and they were so good! Then we headed over to the park next door for an all day festival.  It was hilarious to people watch.  We felt so out of place because it was a total hippie-fest.  The park has set up a "healing area," yoga tent, bar tents, lots of bands in different tents and people everywhere.  With the pot wafting in the air and the tie dye shirts, long hair and unique hair colors, we felt suddenly very straight-laced.  Anyway, we spread the blanket and enjoyed some ice cream, but let the boys run around shirtless and they were LOVING it! So at least our kids were a little hippy-fied for an hour or so.  Anyway, we were thankful to be able to spend time together and enjoy a nice, mainly sunny day outside.

at the park

our free spirited two!

The next day, we packed up and after we got back from church and had lunch and the boys quickly napped, we headed to the train station.  We hopped on a made it to Birmingham an hour later.  It was fun to change up our normal routine and get our in a different area. The boys loved running on the balcony of our hotel room and jumping on the hotel bed.  They opened every drawer and door they could- I love that they naturally want to explore everything!

the best part about hotels for these two!

Monday morning Andrew was out in meetings and I got to meet up with a friend Jane.  She has two boys and her husband pastors a local church there.  We enjoyed some tea in a play area so we could actually talk while G and J played.  Then we met up with Andrew for some delicious burgers.  It was crazy, but the hostess actually had family living in Dunwoody, GA.  Wow, small world.  

Anyway, Birmingham is a beautiful and much bigger city than Sheffield, about 1 million people, I think.  We were staying in the "city centre" aka downtown and it was bustling.  It was an incredible mix of old and new buildings.  Modern meeting centuries old with a beautiful hills around it as a backdrop.

Later that night after we grabbed some dinner and explored a few more areas of the city, we stayed up until 1am to watch the USA vs. Ghana soccer/football match.  We never would have even sat to watch it bad we not come here, but the sport is obviously much bigger here.  Plus Andrew knows of the players and he wanted to support him and watch the game.

Oh, and in between A's meetings, he also bought us a temporary car (since getting around has been difficult).  Its a beautiful '99 Ford van! But really, it will help out a ton.  So he drove it back and I took the boys on the train and met Andrew back at our place since we didn't have car seats.  I'm so thankful train rides aren't bad with our guys! So much less hassle than flying! We've just arrived back in Sheffield and are getting settled back in.  I think we're all feeling grateful for a refreshing past few days and all the lavished grace we're gotten.

shepherding this heart

Lately I've seen God's hand molding and shepherding my heart more evidently.  He is reminding me and teaching me so much while here in England.  I am thankful when spiritual things especially intersect so clearly with daily life and truth feels so real.

Since getting to Sheffield, the church we've attended has been going through 1 John.  We hear it preached on Sunday and then in our life groups in the week, we further unpack the sermon and verses.  We've also been encouraged to personally study the verses throughout the week and it's been so good for me.

This upcoming Sunday we will hear about 1 John 2:28-3:3.  As I was studying it this week (such a grace!), I really wanted to understand more about "abide" and it led me to look more into the theme of love throughout the whole book. Essentially, the link between abiding and loving became nearly redundant and clear!

As I looked up abiding, it resounded with words like: endure, continue, stay connected to.  1 John talks about abiding in Jesus specifically abiding in Jesus' love. We are both commanded to love our brothers and love like Jesus while wading in His love for us.  That led me to think more about defining Jesus' love.  It felt fresh (thankfully) to look through a few verses from a concordance about Jesus' love.  The compilation was that Jesus' love involved: dying, laying life down, die for ungodly, give self up for others, be an offering and sacrifice, sacrificing to leave comfort that others might gain and have life.

Wow.  Love IS dying!  I know that.  But I've forgotten it.  It's a grace to be reminded of it!   This is especially real and pertinent because of my stage of motherhood.  With my cute and fun boys now growing up and learning to say "no," to demand, to hit, fight, push, to manipulate, and to throw tantrums, it's been a struggle to feel loving toward them.  It's often the case that I'm frustrated, or just exhausted with breaking up the little fights or calming them down after each lays on the floor crying because they wanted to wear the blue shirt and not the red one. I felt like the Lord was reminding me of the JOY it is to love my boys and the fight it is too.  I want to lay down my life for them.  To set aside convenience and ease and die for them.  I am thankful that Jesus left the perfection of Heaven to come and live a life of humiliation and pain so that I could be His daughter.

God has also been reminding me of truly loving others in marriage as well.  Trudi, who is in our life group (small group) has been so warm and welcoming.  Her husband and family host a lunch every week after church for lunch.  

 I was telling Trudi about how since coming to the UK (or anywhere out of your comfort zone), as we'd be warned, with the subtle load of stresses here, we have reverted to out default tendencies easily.  For me that means, nagging and control.  Oh, I have an opinion about how the boys are fed breakfast and what they're dressed in, and where my purse gets moved to.  Such frivolous things!

As Trudi began to talk about the beauty and weight of two becoming one, I was so struck.  I was so thankful for the Lord to use her to remind me of the blessing of my other half.  Not just the man I married, or my partner, but literally he's a part of me.  She talked about how she's grown to view everything in marriage as an evaluation if something is good for them as a marriage unit.  Not viewing it as good for him or good for me.  To buy a nice bike that would help her husband stay fit, have an outlet, and get around town is good.  And since they're one, she doesn't need to in turn ask for a shopping spree because he gets something and now its her turn.  Oh, that was convicting for me.  I often think something like, "I've been with the boys all day, now I need you to take a turn." I often feel like Andrew owes me something for the gift of being able to care for our kids.  Yes, I do need breaks, and yes, I do need help.  I do not however, want to demand that, even in my heart, or feel entitled.  How distorted things are in my heart!  How ironic that we've been trying to teach the boys that "It's not all about you," and yet that's exactly how I live even with my husband!  A sweet parallel God has put in my life! I realize I often act like G or J who currently in the midst of the "terrible twos" (I hate that saying though), will throw themselves on the floor or immediately start crying, whining and hitting when they don't get their way.  I just do it more civilized...I nag and manipulate.

Oh, how I need Jesus! I am so thankful for Him reminding me of my innate desire to be in control, right and at the center of everything.  That leads me to being superior-minded, mean, and hurting those around me.  What incredible grace that God would call me His child.  That he would invite me into His family even while I throw my own form of tantrums.