our boxing day hike

we've had some illness this week so our "hike" was just up the hill behind the castle in our village. happy boxing day!

photos...take 2

the joy of the LORD is your strength

just a few photos from amelia's 1st birthday party. sarah's birthday was 2 days later so we sang to her as well. when we chose this verse for amelia in connection with her name, i had no idea how much strength and joy i would need! i am very thankful and learning to be more thankful for our sweet little amelia joy and for all that God is teaching me through her. the joy of the LORD is my strength.

train up a child

i can hardly believe that we are already ending week 2 of school for maggie.  i can't say there haven't been some bumps in the road, but i can say that the Lord has helped us.  all of us.  i walked her to school on the first day, the teacher introduced her to a girl named alice and they were off.  i watched through the window as the other girls pointed and stared and then started surrounding her.  then i watched alice take maggie's hand as she introduced her.  and i remembered that God can take care of my little girl however and by whomever He chooses.  the tears have been many and there are more ahead.  we are praying for wisdom and discernment and gospel fruit in maggie's life as well as in the lives of her friends. 

her first tooth!

what happened to my baby???

no turkey on the 4th of july

when steve told a man in our church that we would be celebrating the 4th the man asked if we would be eating turkey! no turkey but it was a fun day with the nicholsons. our patriotism is viewed as just well, very american=)

we let gwyneth and sarah sit at the coveted little table (usually maggie and daniel)

all american desserts!

maggie and daniel having fun!

cute-not-so-little-john

we finished the meal with some s'mores. how american was that?

carnival and castle

we went to our local village carnival recently.  the girls weren't too crazy about the loud music, cotton candy  or any of it, really.  i think they liked the ride.  we stopped by the castle on the way home for a few photos. 

let's go fly a kite...

a week or so ago, we woke up to beautiful sunshine. we decided to head to the beach for a picnic and some kite flying. unfortunately, by the time we got to the beach, it was dreary and much cooler (we are beginning to understand why many british people often find themselves eating their lunch in their cars). it was great kite weather, though and fun to explore a new beach in our new neck of the woods.

we love you, aldi!

i'm not sure if anyone else was excited about the special buys this week but we certainly were! hershey's syrup. pancake syrup. pretzels. marshmallows!

7 months and 30 something

my sweet little amelia joy is 7 months old today and to celebrate, she got her first tooth this week. she's so excited she can't sleep=)
and a special happy birthday to my dear friend mels. she's classy, she's cosmopolitan, she loves the Lord. and we just love her!

and more easter

easter!

in case you need a quick amelia fix

here she is!

we're ready for THE wedding!

comings and goings

we are very glad to have joe, abbie and the kids back in abergele.  it seems like john and amelia are already partners in crime!  i love how they are looking at each other in this photo!

and the pictures to prove it!

i meant to post these w/ the last post. sorry. it's been a long day!

mothering sunday

sunday was mother's day for us here in wales. apparently the girls thought it was also "totally 80's day" because they really wanted to wear their hair in side pony tails. if only i still had that crimper...

sleeping beauty

school daze

though i never aspired to "home school," that does seem to be what we're doing right now. we are still prayerfully considering other options. for now, maggie is learning to read and gwyneth is learning to hold a pencil and sit still. teaching maggie to read is by far the easier task. i am so thankful to the LORD for giving me the grace to do this. daily. grace. amazing. grace!

ok, i'm bragging but she wrote this all on her own!!!