happy birthday, maggie!

today our first born daughter turns 3. from the bedrest to the emergency c-section to the many hours of screaming and crying (deputation travels!) to the endless joys of her expressive and passionate personality, we praise the LORD for her. there is so much about Christ that i never would have known otherwise. she loves to be read to, play with her imaginary friends, tell gwyneth what to do, go to the park and just have fun. i think she is officially british because she asked for scones for her birthday breakfast=) she is fully potty trained, knows several verses and catechisms and LOVES TO SING! she also loves the color pink. i'm not sure how that happened. she insists on sleeping with her bunny, molly, the green blanket and sometimes several other blankets. she is extremely habitual. and her communicating skills amaze me.
our prayer is that she will be saved and that all of that passion will be used for Christ and His kingdom.

liverpool...so much more than the beatles!

we took my mom to liverpool last thursday. we spent the morning at albert dock. we visited the slavery museum (maggie LOVED the video of the africans dancing. she is still talking about the "afraguy"). it was especially interesting since steve has been reading about john newton who spent several years there as the surveyor of tides. then we had lunch outside on the dock. we walked around the shops at the dock and bought some souvenirs. walked over to starbucks, of course=) then on to some shopping. they have a small city of stores there so it was fun to be in the hustle and bustle of it all (there's not a lot of hustle and bustle in our little abergele). steve enjoyed the apple store and having some teaching moments with maggie. after that we headed over to the cathedral. it was massive! j.c. ryle was actually a bishop in liverpool before the cathedral was built so that stone statue is dedicated to him. we got a little lost on our way out of town but ended up at a fun "american style" restaurant on the way home. all in all it was a full and fun day.

conwy castle

we took my parents to conwy castle on wednesday. it rained almost the whole time so we didn't take too many pictures.

our trip part i

my birthday started out with beautiful flowers and a "happy birthday" latte from the coffee shop down the street. the barista wrote "happy birthday" on my cup. he usually makes a heart or an "m" w/ the froth on top but since this had a lid he settled for writing in marker. it's kind of a funny little joke we have. anyway, then we headed off to bangor which is a university town. we had some coffee and did some shopping. then we bought sandwiches and drove on to the island of anglesey. we ate in the car along the side of the road with a beautiful view (sorry, no pics!)

our trip part ii

some dear friends in the states wanted us to stay at the LLwydiarth Fawr for a night and made arrangements for us to do so on them. it was absolutely brilliant! we thought our camera battery was dying so we just took a few pics. the living room with the fireplace was great. we had tea and welsh bread in there when we arrived. the breakfast was incredible. we started out with granola, fruit and yogurt and then margaret made a traditional welsh breakfast for us: eggs, mushrooms, sausage, tomato and toast. it is a working farm so we had cows and sheep outside our room. we watched the sheep get herded in by the sheepdogs and the shepherd who was riding a quad.

our trip part iii

after we left the farm we drove to newbrough stopping for lunch on the way. we had a beautiful view of the mountains and the coast of wales. it was raining when we started walking but we were actually hot by the time we went home! thanks to mom and dad for watching the girls!!

a welsh love song for my birthday

on saturday steve preached at an outreach for blind people in llandudno. an irish man who grew up in wales also spoke. he testified to the Lord's saving grace in his life and then sang what he called this "welsh love song." it was so moving to hear it from someone who had really tasted the Lord's salvation (and the irish accent helped). i've heard it to another tune in the states but the tune he sang is a welsh one. it was written by william rees.

Here is love, vast as the ocean,Lovingkindness as the flood,When the Prince of Life, our Ransom,Shed for us His precious blood.Who His love will not remember?Who can cease to sing His praise?He can never be forgotten,Throughout Heav’n’s eternal days.

On the mount of crucifixion,Fountains opened deep and wide;Through the floodgates of God’s mercyFlowed a vast and gracious tide.Grace and love, like mighty rivers,Poured incessant from above,And Heav’n’s peace and perfect justiceKissed a guilty world in love.

Let me all Thy love accepting,Love Thee, ever all my days;Let me seek Thy kingdom onlyAnd my life be to Thy praise;Thou alone shalt be my glory,Nothing in the world I see.Thou hast cleansed and sanctified me,Thou Thyself hast set me free.

In Thy truth Thou dost direct meBy Thy Spirit through Thy Word;And Thy grace my need is meeting,As I trust in Thee, my Lord.Of Thy fullness Thou art pouringThy great love and power on me,Without measure, full and boundless,Drawing out my heart to Thee.

thanks, addie!

last week we received a birthday package in the mail from our dear friends in the states. one of maggie's presents was a doll making kit from adelyn. she couldn't wait to make one with grandma.

snowdon with grandma

The Truth about you is Glorious

“Do not worry about what you feel. The truth about you is glorious. If you are in Christ, rise to it ‘o’er sin and care. Take your full salvation and triumph and prevail.”
- Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdman’s Publishing Co., 2002), 175.

laundry day

in an attempt to answer all of the "what-does-your-every-day-look-like" questions. here's a few pictures from the last time i did laundry. i was very proud of myself for not using the dryer!

happy may day!