This is a view of Samson's rib, the inactive volcano we climbed from a library window.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Edinburgh - Samson's Rib
This is a view of Samson's rib, the inactive volcano we climbed from a library window.
Thursday
Thursday morning Jeff and I took turns at the gym, and then we got ready to head to a local elementary school for a school play and awards ceremony. This is a school Living Hope’s teenagers will serve in this October. The Primary 7 grade did a dance to a High School Musical song and then did a play about heading to high school following the theme of the Wizard of Oz. It was very cute. Between the acts, the students would come on stage and share different memories from their time at the elementary school.
There was a tea break after the play and we were able to visit with various church members who were there. After the break, the Primary 7 students had their awards ceremony.
After that, we picked up lunch and headed to John’s house to eat and pick up the car someone is allowing us to use while we are here. Jeff got his first driving experience as we followed John to Stirling (about 20-30 minutes away). While John returned a borrowed car and visited, we went and toured Stirling Castle. We also saw the William Wallace (Braveheart) monument. There are lots of beautiful buildings in Stirling. The weather was really cold (like I was wanting a full winter coat and gloves) and raining, but thankfully after we bought tickets to the castle, the sun suddenly came out and it got much warmer!
John had Jeff drive home. He’s really doing a great job driving. I’m very proud of him and am hoping the occasion never arrives where I have to drive!
After that, we headed to church to Champions, which is a ministry for their children. There were games and snacks and then I was able to share the plan of salvation with the children. They were so fun to talk to and hang out with.
Driving home from church was Jeff’s first true solo driving experience…he did great! When we got home, we had a picnic in front of the TV and watched Spain beat Russia in the soccer game.
There was a tea break after the play and we were able to visit with various church members who were there. After the break, the Primary 7 students had their awards ceremony.
After that, we picked up lunch and headed to John’s house to eat and pick up the car someone is allowing us to use while we are here. Jeff got his first driving experience as we followed John to Stirling (about 20-30 minutes away). While John returned a borrowed car and visited, we went and toured Stirling Castle. We also saw the William Wallace (Braveheart) monument. There are lots of beautiful buildings in Stirling. The weather was really cold (like I was wanting a full winter coat and gloves) and raining, but thankfully after we bought tickets to the castle, the sun suddenly came out and it got much warmer!
John had Jeff drive home. He’s really doing a great job driving. I’m very proud of him and am hoping the occasion never arrives where I have to drive!
After that, we headed to church to Champions, which is a ministry for their children. There were games and snacks and then I was able to share the plan of salvation with the children. They were so fun to talk to and hang out with.
Driving home from church was Jeff’s first true solo driving experience…he did great! When we got home, we had a picnic in front of the TV and watched Spain beat Russia in the soccer game.
We joined a gym!
While we were in America, we definitely had decided we wanted to join a gym while we were here because 5 weeks is a long time to be away from the gym…especially with all the food that would be around us.
After we got here, I was definitely not feeling the urge! But people in the church had worked hard at getting it worked out where we could join the gym for a month, Jeff still really wanted to, and I knew that I really needed to, so we did.
Right after we joined we took our first ever spin class that is lead by Wee John (Little John) a church member. The class is so popular that you have to get a pass to go. One of our friends from church had gone early and gotten us passes and helped us get signed up for membership. Thankfully I got a bike on the back row of the full class. The first fifteen minutes of class I felt hate toward every person that had invited me to the class! By 20 minutes, I felt like I was actually going to survive it, and by 30 minutes, my competitive nature had kicked in and I was hooked! It was intense, but it was such a great feeling knowing we made it through! Wee John told us that it was the hardest class!
This gym is so phenomenal! The locker rooms look like a 4 star hotel and the machines are really great. I’m so glad now that we joined. It feels good to start the morning at the gym again.
The biggest adjustment is that all the weights are in kilograms. If someone has time to look up a conversion chart and send it to me I would be most grateful! Conversions are definitely not my strong suit! I was excited when I saw a conversion chart, but when I went over to it, it converted stones into kilograms…I know even less about stones than I do kilograms!
The gym is within walking distance so I don’t have to learn to drive to get there! One of the only things missing is all my great friends from Total Fitness in Bowling Green! I miss you!
After we got here, I was definitely not feeling the urge! But people in the church had worked hard at getting it worked out where we could join the gym for a month, Jeff still really wanted to, and I knew that I really needed to, so we did.
Right after we joined we took our first ever spin class that is lead by Wee John (Little John) a church member. The class is so popular that you have to get a pass to go. One of our friends from church had gone early and gotten us passes and helped us get signed up for membership. Thankfully I got a bike on the back row of the full class. The first fifteen minutes of class I felt hate toward every person that had invited me to the class! By 20 minutes, I felt like I was actually going to survive it, and by 30 minutes, my competitive nature had kicked in and I was hooked! It was intense, but it was such a great feeling knowing we made it through! Wee John told us that it was the hardest class!
This gym is so phenomenal! The locker rooms look like a 4 star hotel and the machines are really great. I’m so glad now that we joined. It feels good to start the morning at the gym again.
The biggest adjustment is that all the weights are in kilograms. If someone has time to look up a conversion chart and send it to me I would be most grateful! Conversions are definitely not my strong suit! I was excited when I saw a conversion chart, but when I went over to it, it converted stones into kilograms…I know even less about stones than I do kilograms!
The gym is within walking distance so I don’t have to learn to drive to get there! One of the only things missing is all my great friends from Total Fitness in Bowling Green! I miss you!
Wednesday
It was Lunch Club at church at the church today. They were so sweet. Last week they collected money and bought us a set of sheets so we can have some to put on while we wash the others (Laundry takes a long time here). They also gave the girls some Milka bars, which are excellent chocolate bars. It was so fun visiting with the different tables before we ate. The girls had 4 kids at the table where we ate, and they loved it! They have quickly made friends here. Sadly, it was the last one for the summer.
It started POURING down rain during the lunch club. When we got home, the girls had a play date with a neighbor, and Jeff and I got some work done.
John and Linda took the girls out to dinner to give me and Jeff a chance to go join the gym and try out a spin class that everyone kept recommending (more about that later!) and go out to eat at this pub that everyone keeps talking about how wonderful it is. We did join the gym and were in the spin class within minutes of joining. But after the spin class, we definitely felt like we would throw up if we ate a big meal, so we went back to the house and ate a light dinner. The girls had a wonderful time with the McKinnons and we had a nice visit when they returned with the girls.
It started POURING down rain during the lunch club. When we got home, the girls had a play date with a neighbor, and Jeff and I got some work done.
John and Linda took the girls out to dinner to give me and Jeff a chance to go join the gym and try out a spin class that everyone kept recommending (more about that later!) and go out to eat at this pub that everyone keeps talking about how wonderful it is. We did join the gym and were in the spin class within minutes of joining. But after the spin class, we definitely felt like we would throw up if we ate a big meal, so we went back to the house and ate a light dinner. The girls had a wonderful time with the McKinnons and we had a nice visit when they returned with the girls.
Tuesday
We were going to go to Stirling today, but the weather was supposed to be very rainy, so there was a change of plans and we went to Glasgow today. John had a lunch appointment, so he drove us to Glasgow and dropped us off at the Transportation Museum with directions for other options to do before he picked us up in the afternoon. The Transportation Museum was full of different modes of transportation from the past. There were cars, trains, motorcycles, bicycles, boat models, strollers, etc.
After that, we walked to the Art Museum, which is a gorgeous building. It was huge and had something for most any interest. There were lots of hands-on activities for the girls, and we were all enthralled throughout. We could have spent an entire day there, but we moved through fairly quickly in parts so that we could see it all.
After that, we headed to Glasgow University…again beautiful buildings. Inside was another wonderful museum, and the top floor was full of hands-on activities. John got back while we were in there, so he then took us to the Botanical Gardens he used to take his children to when they were young. It was massive. I went in what I thought was a small building while they were getting ice cream, but it ended up being gigantic and went on and one in multiple directions and took you through flowers and plants from all around the world. It was really neat…I was thinking of some of my friends who love growing flowers such much and wished you could be there to see them.
The girls were really tired at this point, so we saw a few more sights by car and I jumped out at the Town Centre to snap some photographs.
We were going to have homemade pizza, but we got back so late, we made them with flour tortillas instead of crust…they were really good! A new recipe to take home!
After that, we walked to the Art Museum, which is a gorgeous building. It was huge and had something for most any interest. There were lots of hands-on activities for the girls, and we were all enthralled throughout. We could have spent an entire day there, but we moved through fairly quickly in parts so that we could see it all.
After that, we headed to Glasgow University…again beautiful buildings. Inside was another wonderful museum, and the top floor was full of hands-on activities. John got back while we were in there, so he then took us to the Botanical Gardens he used to take his children to when they were young. It was massive. I went in what I thought was a small building while they were getting ice cream, but it ended up being gigantic and went on and one in multiple directions and took you through flowers and plants from all around the world. It was really neat…I was thinking of some of my friends who love growing flowers such much and wished you could be there to see them.
The girls were really tired at this point, so we saw a few more sights by car and I jumped out at the Town Centre to snap some photographs.
We were going to have homemade pizza, but we got back so late, we made them with flour tortillas instead of crust…they were really good! A new recipe to take home!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
An Awesome Neighbor
We have a wonderful neighbor that stopped by and introduced herself the first day we were here. She has a 9 ½ year old daughter that finished school this week. When we got home that first night, she had left 4 candy bars and an invitation to a play date for the girls that evening, but we didn’t make it home early enough for it to work out.
She stopped by again today and brought her daughter for us to meet. When we told her about the nettles, she told us that the antidote always grows right beside it…all you do is rub the leaf on the spot that touched the nettle, and it supposedly relieves you of experiencing any negative symptoms….wouldn’t that have been nice to know this afternoon! We are SO thankful to know in case we bump into it again!
She also dropped off some cream for us to put on our nettle stings and a bag of warm clothes for Maddie that her daughter had outgrown! It included a wool sweater she had made herself! She even walked down in the rain to show us how to use our oven...which was embarrassingly easy! She has been such a blessing to us.
She stopped by again today and brought her daughter for us to meet. When we told her about the nettles, she told us that the antidote always grows right beside it…all you do is rub the leaf on the spot that touched the nettle, and it supposedly relieves you of experiencing any negative symptoms….wouldn’t that have been nice to know this afternoon! We are SO thankful to know in case we bump into it again!
She also dropped off some cream for us to put on our nettle stings and a bag of warm clothes for Maddie that her daughter had outgrown! It included a wool sweater she had made herself! She even walked down in the rain to show us how to use our oven...which was embarrassingly easy! She has been such a blessing to us.
An Unexpected Adventure
After we finished the explorer garden, Lillias encouraged us to go see the Footbridge
over the River Clyde. Since a gate was locked, we had to head another way. We saw a sign for a Clyde Walkway that we decided to take. It was a beautiful trail that had some nice views along it. It seemed to be winding back around to take us back to the bridge that we really went to see. Unfortunately at the end, we realized we were at a dead end and were going to have to walk all the way back the same way we had come. On the trail, we all got stung by nettles, thorny weeds, that made us get these burning bumps that tingled and hurt. Thankfully the girl’s stopped hurting after a few minutes…mine on the other hand is still burning and numb hours later. (It took about 24 hours for the burning and numbness to end!) Annye told me I should add it to the list of things I’m allergic to! I agreed to carry Maddie back on my back…Annye was a trouper and knocked it out!
over the River Clyde. Since a gate was locked, we had to head another way. We saw a sign for a Clyde Walkway that we decided to take. It was a beautiful trail that had some nice views along it. It seemed to be winding back around to take us back to the bridge that we really went to see. Unfortunately at the end, we realized we were at a dead end and were going to have to walk all the way back the same way we had come. On the trail, we all got stung by nettles, thorny weeds, that made us get these burning bumps that tingled and hurt. Thankfully the girl’s stopped hurting after a few minutes…mine on the other hand is still burning and numb hours later. (It took about 24 hours for the burning and numbness to end!) Annye told me I should add it to the list of things I’m allergic to! I agreed to carry Maddie back on my back…Annye was a trouper and knocked it out!
A Synopsis of Monday
Today we all headed to church to help with the Teddy Bear Picnic, a conclusion of the preschool ministry at the church (similar to Mother’s Day Out). Both morning and afternoon classes came in the morning with an adult for lots of fun and games and activities. They played all morning and then we had lunch together. Jeff and John helped for a bit and then headed off to one of the schools, where Jeff was the panel for Grill a Christian…a chance for the students to ask him questions. He survived it! He said a couple of atheist students did come and “grill” him, but overall he felt it went well.
After all the kids left, a friend from church offered to take the girls and me to David Livingstone’s house. David was a missionary in Africa. We jumped at the chance. They had a play ground, some statues, an explorer’s garden (which was fabulous), and a museum in the actual house (which we did not go through). They had some really cool games in the Africa Pavilion, but tic tac toe was the only one we could successfully complete…guess we weren’t smart enough for that center!
More pictures later...never enough internet time!
Calderglen Park
This zipline is the girl's favorite part of the park!
They have beautiful flowers and bushes here.
House on the property.
A monkey at the zoo portion of the park.This is one of the girl's favorite places we've been.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Daily Guarantees
So far, the following have been daily guarantees while we’ve been in Scotland:
• It will rain.
• You will see beautiful scenery and buildings.
• You will meet at least one amazing person.
• You will get cold (if you’re American anyway!)
• You will receive a kiss on the cheek as a greeting.
• You will eat too many sweets!
• You will be offered hot tea.
• You will be amazed at how well the girls are doing.
• You will wonder why their butter is SO much better than ours.
• You will wonder how many pounds you will gain by the time we get home.
• You will not understand Scottish English and will answer a question that you think you hear but was never really asked.
• You will feel so blessed to have this opportunity to be in Scotland!
• It will rain.
• You will see beautiful scenery and buildings.
• You will meet at least one amazing person.
• You will get cold (if you’re American anyway!)
• You will receive a kiss on the cheek as a greeting.
• You will eat too many sweets!
• You will be offered hot tea.
• You will be amazed at how well the girls are doing.
• You will wonder why their butter is SO much better than ours.
• You will wonder how many pounds you will gain by the time we get home.
• You will not understand Scottish English and will answer a question that you think you hear but was never really asked.
• You will feel so blessed to have this opportunity to be in Scotland!
Worship at Calderwood
We had an amazing worship experience at Calderwood. We were blessed by the three baptisms and were honored as the church made special effort to introduce us and pray over us and ask God to bless our time and efforts here. They also prayed for Living Hope.
John kicked off a new sermon series entitled “Love Defined in Love Excelling.” He presented a very wonderful and practical sermon about the patience aspect of love.
On Sunday evening, we heard from a team of teens and their leaders, who are heading to Croatia in six weeks for a mission trip to continue a partnership with a Baptist church in Croatia. It was wonderful hearing stories and seeing pictures of last year’s trip and hearing plans for this year’s trip.
It was so exciting to see the recurring theme of world church partnerships between Living Hope and Calderwood and Calderwood and churches in Croatia. The two were linked together as were able to pray and give to this mission effort! Isn’t God’s church a wonderful thing?!
After church, Jeff participated in a men's discussion group. It is a mixture of believer's and nonbelievers. This week they discussed Phillip Yancey's book about prayer. He really enjoyed it.
John kicked off a new sermon series entitled “Love Defined in Love Excelling.” He presented a very wonderful and practical sermon about the patience aspect of love.
On Sunday evening, we heard from a team of teens and their leaders, who are heading to Croatia in six weeks for a mission trip to continue a partnership with a Baptist church in Croatia. It was wonderful hearing stories and seeing pictures of last year’s trip and hearing plans for this year’s trip.
It was so exciting to see the recurring theme of world church partnerships between Living Hope and Calderwood and Calderwood and churches in Croatia. The two were linked together as were able to pray and give to this mission effort! Isn’t God’s church a wonderful thing?!
After church, Jeff participated in a men's discussion group. It is a mixture of believer's and nonbelievers. This week they discussed Phillip Yancey's book about prayer. He really enjoyed it.
A Synopsis of Saturday
Saturday we went further north into Scotland to cheer on some church members participating in a triathalon or a 6 mile walk to raise money for local charities. The mountains were breathtaking – something beautiful (layers of beautiful to be more accurate) in every direction. I’ll give more details as we get the pictures on.
That evening we participated in the house group leader dinner and enjoyed some wonderful food and the chance to meet more church leaders. It was another late night (despite the fact that we left early!)
Today was their longest day – I wonder if the sun even went down. The night before, the sun was still shining at 11:30 p.m. and then back up at 4:30 a.m. We have no idea when it actually went down!
That evening we participated in the house group leader dinner and enjoyed some wonderful food and the chance to meet more church leaders. It was another late night (despite the fact that we left early!)
Today was their longest day – I wonder if the sun even went down. The night before, the sun was still shining at 11:30 p.m. and then back up at 4:30 a.m. We have no idea when it actually went down!
New Plan
I have decided I’m going to have to do brief synopsis’s of a day and then go back and give more information with pictures at a later time if I want you to be able to have any idea of what we are up to (while we’re still actually here!). So, if you’re following along, make sure you check and see if I’ve added multiple entries at once. Today I’m typing entries at home on Word and then will hopefully be able to download them quickly once I get to church. At this point, I’ve just had about 15 minutes to update at a time.
Our House
This is the wonderful house we are staying in.
This is part of the street. Our house is on the right.
This is the view from Maddie's room
We have a wonderful view from our dining room.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Lunch with the Lunch Club at church
We had wonderful food at the Lunch Club, a ministry of the church. The food was wonderful and the fellowship was sweet. This sweet lady even sent a tray of sweets home with us.
Thankfully getting there is NOT half the fun!
Maddie did well on her first flights. She was convinced that she could see the whole world from the plane. She asked halfway through the first flight, "Is someone driving this thing?" She also found out how hard it is to get comfortable on an overnight flight...even when you're little! She did sleep a good bit thankfully!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Day 3
Sorry...still no pictures. But don't worry, I took 500 the first two days alone! I now have the nickname "Snap Happy!" We don't have internet at the house, and we haven't been back at the church. We're at the McKinnons for dinner, and we have internet, but no laptop with all the pictures!
Here's a brief synopsis of what is to come!
After the lunch, we went to a park that has a wonderful playground, a petting zoo, botanical garden and walking trails...and amazingly all was free! The girls loved the zipline at the park the best.
After that, it was about 4 and we went to the house and unpacked. We pretty much hit the wall with tiredness after having very little sleep on the plane. The girls stayed awake by playing with their toys, Jeff downloaded and worked on pictures, and I had to take a walk...it was in the mid 50's, so the brisk air perked me up...the beautiful scenery didn't hurt either. After that we cooked dinner (the church was very gracious and filled the fridge for us!) and went to bed at 8 p.m. Maddie actually slept 14 hours! We were totally amazed....it's VERY un-Maddie!
The second day we went to Edinburgh...which is quite possibly my favorite city I have visited in the world up to this point in my life....John is from Glasgow and is very biased to that, so I'm open to having a new favorite! There is some amazing architecture there and I don't want to say more until I have the pictures to show.
Today, we exchanged money and checked out the mall in East Kilbride while John had a lunch meeting...after that, we went back to the park from the first day, where we repeated some of the first day activities and then took a wonderful hike along a brook.
We're now at the McKinnons for dinner and then will head to a church for a big band concert that has one of the church member's in it.
Today is mine and Jeff's 16th wedding anniversary, and it has been an amazing 16 years and I feel like we have been celebrating in perfect "Mary Beth" ways for the past three days!
Hopefully I can get pictures up on Sunday. We're heading out of town again tomorrow and then to a dinner for small group leaders tomorrow night!
Here's a brief synopsis of what is to come!
After the lunch, we went to a park that has a wonderful playground, a petting zoo, botanical garden and walking trails...and amazingly all was free! The girls loved the zipline at the park the best.
After that, it was about 4 and we went to the house and unpacked. We pretty much hit the wall with tiredness after having very little sleep on the plane. The girls stayed awake by playing with their toys, Jeff downloaded and worked on pictures, and I had to take a walk...it was in the mid 50's, so the brisk air perked me up...the beautiful scenery didn't hurt either. After that we cooked dinner (the church was very gracious and filled the fridge for us!) and went to bed at 8 p.m. Maddie actually slept 14 hours! We were totally amazed....it's VERY un-Maddie!
The second day we went to Edinburgh...which is quite possibly my favorite city I have visited in the world up to this point in my life....John is from Glasgow and is very biased to that, so I'm open to having a new favorite! There is some amazing architecture there and I don't want to say more until I have the pictures to show.
Today, we exchanged money and checked out the mall in East Kilbride while John had a lunch meeting...after that, we went back to the park from the first day, where we repeated some of the first day activities and then took a wonderful hike along a brook.
We're now at the McKinnons for dinner and then will head to a church for a big band concert that has one of the church member's in it.
Today is mine and Jeff's 16th wedding anniversary, and it has been an amazing 16 years and I feel like we have been celebrating in perfect "Mary Beth" ways for the past three days!
Hopefully I can get pictures up on Sunday. We're heading out of town again tomorrow and then to a dinner for small group leaders tomorrow night!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
We're here!!!!
Our travels went well, and we are now in Scotland! It is so beautiful! We have a beautiful house with a beautiful view. We've been shown around a bit and are about to have lunch at church with the Lunch Club. Pictures will follow! We've only been here less than an hour and Annye is already planning a second visit! We love Scotland!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
To Scotland we will go!
Can you believe this cute girl turned 7 yesterday?! She also finally lost that loose tooth that just wouldn't quit hanging on!We are all so excited about heading out today! We are all packed and will spend the morning getting the house ready for the girls to move in today! Too bad we can't just wiggle our noses and snap our fingers and have a clean house and be in Scotland in an instant! Hopefully we'll fill our day with laughter and special times together!
We hope you'll check back in and share this journey with us!
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