Tuesday was my last chance to run around Paris and get a few more sights in and boy did I ever!! I planned to go straight to the Eiffel Tower first thing and then added a few other ideas to my list to be completed as I had time or felt like it. I'm very much a laid back wanderer and not so much a "must see EVERYTHING" kind of sightseer. I made my leisurely way to the general area of the Tower and popped in a couple of stores to pick up some snacks and some more souvenirs for family members and friends. I had a good time shopping and picking things out and when I'd felt like I'd done just about all of that I wanted to for the day I went to the Tower.
I happened to come around the back side and was pleased to see that was the smart move. For some reason all the tourists coming in the front all went to the first two entrances and the back two had much smaller lines. Despite the shorter line it still took quite awhile to get on the lift to go up. It seemed like we had gone forever in it but when the operator stopped the car she informed us this was the second floor, to go all the way to the summit we would have to get off this one and go around to another elevator. I was shocked because just the "second floor" had an amazing view! I didn't know how it could get any better than that but went all the way to the top. I have to say the safety wire they have at the top kind of ruins the view and pictures you take of yourself so I think I would have been just as happy to stay at the second floor. I did want to say I'd been to the top though and because I'm only 24 I could still get the "youth" discount. At 25 you begin being charged as an adult which is several euros more expensive. Wow did I time this trip perfectly or what??
After spending a sufficient amount of time taking photos and wandering around admiring the view I made my way down to the second floor and then took the stairs from there. That was fun but ow did my legs feel it the next day! A lot of people had warned me to be careful around the Eiffel Tower because apparently there are lots of pickpockets and most of them referenced the gypsies as being particularly troublesome but I didn't see any at all. As I came out of the Tower to head to the metro I noticed several people looking across the street and wondered what they were watching. I didn't see anything for a minute but as I passed a policeman on a bicycle one of the men who sells souvenirs off a blanket pointed at another guy running through the grass on the other side of the street and began yelling. I don't know what he said but all of a sudden the policeman snapped to attention and off he went on his bike towards the man who was running. Just as he caught up to him two more policeman joined him and a bunch of these souvenir guys all came running and shouting. I just did my best to take a wide circle around them (although they certainly made it difficult as they were right in the middle of the sidewalk) and walked quickly away. For Mommy and Mamma's I just want to point out right now that it was no more violent than when the Walmart security catches a shoplifter at the door of the store (which seems to happen every other time I'm at ours these days!). :D And there were lots of policemen so I never felt in any danger.
After that excitement I decided to find the Champs-Élysées and see if I could find a mobile phone store and get a French SIM so I'd have my own phone while Amy & Charles were gone. It just makes me feel better to be able to make phone calls/texts from my own phone! I was hoping to also get internet so I could use my GPS but no such luck. I tried SFR, Orange and Virgin and all of them said they don't do internet on prepaid SIMs anymore. Oh well. For €15 I got a SIM card from Virgin with €5 credit and since it's only €0.07/minute to call within France I'm sure this should be plenty for ten days. I hope to investigate if I will be able to keep it when I come back at the end of October.
By the time I was through wandering that part of town I felt like I needed to head back to the station because I wouldn't have much more time before my train to Chantilly. However when I got there Amy called and said I could stay an extra hour so I decided to dash over to Basilique du Sacré-Coeur. I did this but realized I wouldn't have time to go inside and see anything so I just took a photo from the bottom of the hill, but was glad to see it nonetheless. My food for the day was a crépe complete (eggs, cheese and ham) and some ice cream for goûter. Yummy yummy!
I made it safely home, we had dinner, and I went downstairs to listen in on Granny's services. As soon as I had got online my friend Jen IM'd me and told me she was so glad I was safe. I was a bit puzzled until I found out there was a bomb threat at the Eiffel Tower and the area around it had been evacuated. This didn't happen until 8 PM local time however and I hadn't even been in Paris since 6 or so, and had left the area the Tower was in around noon. It was kind of spine-tingling to think about but it turned out to be nothing. I did hear though that it was the same evening that the anti-burqa law was passed so I have a feeling the two might be related.
Being able to listen into Granny's service was so very special. I didn't know but they had planned to read my last blog post and due to some technical difficulties I picked up right in the middle of it. It was kind of a shock and I felt bad for not having proofed that post really at all, they was just tearful midnight ramblings that I hastily wrote and posted as I needed to be in bed asleep.
Yesterday Amy asked if I could go to the grocery store and get the things we needed for while they were gone so she could tend to other things. I was more than happy to do it and a bit apprehensive about my first outing alone. Thankfully Cora is not very far away and I knew I could get there no problem but was wondering if I'd be able to figure enough out to find the right things at the store. There were a few things I wasn't sure about and those things I decided to wait until I consulted Amy or one of the kids. It's always difficult to grocery shop for someone else's family because everybody has their own favorite brand of this or that, much less to do it when you have another language/culture coming into play! There aren't as many recognizable brands here as you might imagine. Overall though I'd have to say the trip was a success as I got most of the things on the list and made it home by the time I needed to help make lunch for the kids. I was quite pleased with myself. :) The rest of the day was pretty much a zoo getting the kids to swimming lessons and then home to make dinner and get them in bed. Everyone was very tired and I felt sorry for Amy and Charles who I knew would still be awake for quite awhile packing and arranging things for their trip.
Today was bright and early but much easier than it might have been. Because of the excitement of getting Amy and Charles (and Audrey!) out the door the kids were up in plenty of time to get dressed and take their time with breakfast. We weren't rushed at all and got their shoes and things together and out the door to school. When Daisy and I got back it was so very quiet!! I keep thinking I hear Audrey fussing and have to remind myself she isn't here. :)
About halfway through my morning the mail lady came and what do you know, she had a big package for ME! I was so very excited to open it and when I did I started to cry. Dear, sweet Sarah had packed a whole box of all kinds of very special goodies for me! PJ pants that are super soft and my favorite colors (and actually quite needed as the only pair I brought are absolutely WAY too big for me now!), some beautiful purple jewelry, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, a BIG bag of Peanut M&Ms, gel pens, nail polish and remover pads, an iTunes gift card and so so so much more. What a very special treat to get just as I've become single mommy of four!! I just feel absolutely blessed beyond compare that God would give me such a precious friend who knows me so well!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you dear friend!!!!
Well it's about 11 so I think I'm going to do a few things in preparation for lunch. I'm very much enjoying having the house to myself and playing my music out loud. :) I have a feeling this downtime in the morning is going to be my favorite time of day!!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
my Granny
To be honest, after this week I hardly know where to start my blog post. So many conflicted emotions, so much inside and yet words seem incapable of describing it.
On September 9th at 12:05 PM, my dear sweet Granny's long silenced voice was finally restored. She was freed from her earthly body and the Alzheimer's that had slowly imprisoned her in her own body, into the presence of the Savior she loved to sing praises to. I really feel that she is where my deep love for music must have come from because I remember growing up she was always singing or humming. In fact I think I've sort of picked up her funny little habit of humming what seemed to be a random tune she would make up on the spot. In the beginning of this long goodbye I remember how special it was to take her to church and hear her still belting out hymns even though she was already forgetting who I was standing beside her.
I remember sitting in the bathroom one night when I was staying with her a couple of years ago and crying because I missed my Granny and knew she would never be back even then. I weep now knowing that my younger siblings and cousins will never have the precious memories of her that I do. I know I'm so very, very blessed because most people don't even get to know their great-grandparents and I had not only my Granny but also Oma, and Grandaddy & Grandmother Wilson.
There are many fun memories of Granny that stick in my head from when I was small. Granny was the one who stayed with us and help when Mom would have a new baby. She also often brought a special treat when she came to visit, Cookie Crisp Cereal, and I remember her taking us to McDonald's a few times. Her house was like something out of a book, she had beautiful flowers and often a vegetable garden. As a kid I loved playing her old childrens' records and using a slide projector in the bathroom to look at cartoons. There was the amazing treehouse she built (seriously who can say their great-grandmother built a treehouse??) and a big tire swing that we forever battled wasps for, not to mention cool little trails in the woods around her house and the best blackberry cobbler you ever tasted in the summer.
But I think of all the things that impressed me the most about Granny, the one thing that stuck with me the most was her prayer life. If anybody knew how to pray it was Granny. I could hear her praying under her breath a lot throughout the day, and at night when the lights were out I could hear the whispers. She prayed for protection and against spiritual warfare, for colds, and for everything in between. Because of her influence I grew to see the importance of prayer, and I noticed she didn't always just ask for things but almost always included thanksgiving. Her Bible was also very important and well read. I knew when I got up in the mornings she had been up for awhile already with her coffee and Bible on the swing. I'm ashamed to say I'm not nearly as faithful to my Bible as she was to hers.
I know my Granny was only human but so many spiritual lessons in my life I can trace roots back to things I learned from her, and one of the most remarkable things about this is I don't often remember her actually talking about these things--it was just me watching her live them out. Actions speak much louder than words. Because of the Alzheimer's Granny hasn't been the same person I knew as a kid, and I'm so grateful God allowed me as a child to observe those things in her life. Far too often we don't pay attention to spiritual lessons as children but somehow in this case I absorbed those seeds from her and they have sprouted over time. Some much healthier than others but still there nonetheless.
As we've watched her body and mind deteriorate these last few years it's been a very sad and painful process. For probably a year now I've been praying that God would be merciful to her, because to actually die from Alzheimer's is a very ugly picture. Several times she went into the emergency room with seizures and other things and I'd think we were reaching the end and she'd somehow bounce back. When I left to come here to France I had no idea this would finally be the time she wouldn't. This week when Mom told me things weren't looking good my heart sank. I wasn't wishing to be home to see her one last time, I had seen her shortly before I left for here and she wouldn't have known me anyway. Something inside of me just couldn't fathom not being at her funeral. It wasn't about what she would have wanted, I knew I could probably be sure she would be excited for me to be here and wouldn't have wanted me to cut my time short. It was just something that personally for myself I really felt I needed. Unfortunately there is just no way for me to come home in time and I'm trying to remember God knows and has a plan in all of this. He knew long before I did about this trip and knew that Granny would be coming home right in the middle and still led me here. I'm already planning to visit her grave as soon as possible when I come home.
And so I cry tonight as I did on the 9th, but certainly not sad tears for Granny's sake. She is sooo much better in heaven than where she was just a few days ago. I cried when I saw my mom's Facebook status about my Pappaw welcoming her and using his special name "Mrs. Bake". I cry for me and how much I miss them both but I know why God wanted them there with Him. Between the two of them they'll be singing all eternity. I can't wait to get there and listen to them, what a grand duet that must be!!
On September 9th at 12:05 PM, my dear sweet Granny's long silenced voice was finally restored. She was freed from her earthly body and the Alzheimer's that had slowly imprisoned her in her own body, into the presence of the Savior she loved to sing praises to. I really feel that she is where my deep love for music must have come from because I remember growing up she was always singing or humming. In fact I think I've sort of picked up her funny little habit of humming what seemed to be a random tune she would make up on the spot. In the beginning of this long goodbye I remember how special it was to take her to church and hear her still belting out hymns even though she was already forgetting who I was standing beside her.
I remember sitting in the bathroom one night when I was staying with her a couple of years ago and crying because I missed my Granny and knew she would never be back even then. I weep now knowing that my younger siblings and cousins will never have the precious memories of her that I do. I know I'm so very, very blessed because most people don't even get to know their great-grandparents and I had not only my Granny but also Oma, and Grandaddy & Grandmother Wilson.
There are many fun memories of Granny that stick in my head from when I was small. Granny was the one who stayed with us and help when Mom would have a new baby. She also often brought a special treat when she came to visit, Cookie Crisp Cereal, and I remember her taking us to McDonald's a few times. Her house was like something out of a book, she had beautiful flowers and often a vegetable garden. As a kid I loved playing her old childrens' records and using a slide projector in the bathroom to look at cartoons. There was the amazing treehouse she built (seriously who can say their great-grandmother built a treehouse??) and a big tire swing that we forever battled wasps for, not to mention cool little trails in the woods around her house and the best blackberry cobbler you ever tasted in the summer.
But I think of all the things that impressed me the most about Granny, the one thing that stuck with me the most was her prayer life. If anybody knew how to pray it was Granny. I could hear her praying under her breath a lot throughout the day, and at night when the lights were out I could hear the whispers. She prayed for protection and against spiritual warfare, for colds, and for everything in between. Because of her influence I grew to see the importance of prayer, and I noticed she didn't always just ask for things but almost always included thanksgiving. Her Bible was also very important and well read. I knew when I got up in the mornings she had been up for awhile already with her coffee and Bible on the swing. I'm ashamed to say I'm not nearly as faithful to my Bible as she was to hers.
I know my Granny was only human but so many spiritual lessons in my life I can trace roots back to things I learned from her, and one of the most remarkable things about this is I don't often remember her actually talking about these things--it was just me watching her live them out. Actions speak much louder than words. Because of the Alzheimer's Granny hasn't been the same person I knew as a kid, and I'm so grateful God allowed me as a child to observe those things in her life. Far too often we don't pay attention to spiritual lessons as children but somehow in this case I absorbed those seeds from her and they have sprouted over time. Some much healthier than others but still there nonetheless.
As we've watched her body and mind deteriorate these last few years it's been a very sad and painful process. For probably a year now I've been praying that God would be merciful to her, because to actually die from Alzheimer's is a very ugly picture. Several times she went into the emergency room with seizures and other things and I'd think we were reaching the end and she'd somehow bounce back. When I left to come here to France I had no idea this would finally be the time she wouldn't. This week when Mom told me things weren't looking good my heart sank. I wasn't wishing to be home to see her one last time, I had seen her shortly before I left for here and she wouldn't have known me anyway. Something inside of me just couldn't fathom not being at her funeral. It wasn't about what she would have wanted, I knew I could probably be sure she would be excited for me to be here and wouldn't have wanted me to cut my time short. It was just something that personally for myself I really felt I needed. Unfortunately there is just no way for me to come home in time and I'm trying to remember God knows and has a plan in all of this. He knew long before I did about this trip and knew that Granny would be coming home right in the middle and still led me here. I'm already planning to visit her grave as soon as possible when I come home.
And so I cry tonight as I did on the 9th, but certainly not sad tears for Granny's sake. She is sooo much better in heaven than where she was just a few days ago. I cried when I saw my mom's Facebook status about my Pappaw welcoming her and using his special name "Mrs. Bake". I cry for me and how much I miss them both but I know why God wanted them there with Him. Between the two of them they'll be singing all eternity. I can't wait to get there and listen to them, what a grand duet that must be!!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Musée du Louvre
So Sunday after church I got to go to the Louvre!! I must say that navigating the Paris metro is a tad more difficult than London because they didn't have little helpful tube maps laying around everywhere and obviously the language barrier. In addition my handy dandy iPhone was not being of any use to me because I still haven't figured out how to make it work in France. In London I was able to use this awesome little app that I told where I was at and where I wanted to go and it told me exactly which tube to get on and all the connections I needed to make (if any). I may or may not have taken the most direct route from Gare du Nord to the Louvre but I got there and for that I was immensely proud of myself. :)
The Louvre was just as amazing and overwhelming as everyone says it is. My plan was to follow the advice of a new friend here and just see the Egyptian exhibit and then walk to the Champs-Élysées because it was an absolutely magnificent day. I did wander through the Egyptian exhibits and somehow took the wrong door and ended up in the paintings. My priority was not to see the Mona Lisa since I've never been in the fan club but I noticed a sign pointing down a hall for it so I thought well gosh it would be silly of me to be here and so close and NOT see it, so I went to find it. Well just because there was a sign DIDN'T mean I was close to it but I did finally find the room packed with silly tourists snapping photos of the relatively underwhelming Mona Lisa in a room with quite a few MUCH bigger and to me more impressive paintings. Oh well, I can say I was there in the room and I saw it. :P Whatever that is worth...
After that I walked down to the Seine and down a bit thinking I was headed towards Champs-Élysées but I actually went the wrong way and ended up back at the other end of the Louvre. I bought a few souvenirs at a shop close that had some really cute stuff I hadn't seen anywhere else yet and strolled through the tuilleries and enjoyed the absolutely gorgeous weather.
Since I had taken awhile to get where I was and wasn't sure that I would be able to just go back the same way as I was closer to a different metro station I opted to go ahead and try to make my way back to Gare du Nord so I would have plenty of time and not miss the train back to Chantilly. Thankfully it didn't take nearly as long to figure my way back as I was starting to get the hang of it. I had plenty of time so I opted to get a sandwich from one of the restaurants in the station and also got an ice cream. Like a very naughty girl I ate my ice cream first because I didn't want it to melt. :) I also stopped at the vending machine and got a bag of peanut M&Ms, not as big as the one I bought in the States but it was bigger than your normal snack size. Unfortunately I've already eaten about half of it. :P I was able to get all the way home without further incident and was quite pleased with myself for now having successfully navigated the world's second busiest metro system in another language no less. :) Yay me!! I'm really grown up now, yes Mommy?
Fall seems to be upon us today and I know that is hard to imagine for my peoples back in Texas. It was very cool and rainy today and I felt like curling up in bed with some coffee or tea, soft fuzzy socks and a book. It also just smells like fall. Looking at the forecast (I think I finally have the right Aprémont in my weather!) it appears we might be in for more of the same the next few days. No exciting plans this week that I can think of besides school. I do ask that you pray for me as I'm a bit homesick hearing that my Granny is not doing well this week. I really hate not being at home with the family. :(
Since I have no plans I don't know when the next blog post will come unless you want to hear all the juicy details about my day. :) "Oh today I ironed and folded clothes, and made Audrey laugh, and played playdough, helped make dinner, and helped clean up..." It just gets old if I repeat the same things every day. I did put up a few pictures from the Louvre on my Picasa/Facebook so be sure to check that out. Au revoir until next time, whenever that may be!
The Louvre was just as amazing and overwhelming as everyone says it is. My plan was to follow the advice of a new friend here and just see the Egyptian exhibit and then walk to the Champs-Élysées because it was an absolutely magnificent day. I did wander through the Egyptian exhibits and somehow took the wrong door and ended up in the paintings. My priority was not to see the Mona Lisa since I've never been in the fan club but I noticed a sign pointing down a hall for it so I thought well gosh it would be silly of me to be here and so close and NOT see it, so I went to find it. Well just because there was a sign DIDN'T mean I was close to it but I did finally find the room packed with silly tourists snapping photos of the relatively underwhelming Mona Lisa in a room with quite a few MUCH bigger and to me more impressive paintings. Oh well, I can say I was there in the room and I saw it. :P Whatever that is worth...
After that I walked down to the Seine and down a bit thinking I was headed towards Champs-Élysées but I actually went the wrong way and ended up back at the other end of the Louvre. I bought a few souvenirs at a shop close that had some really cute stuff I hadn't seen anywhere else yet and strolled through the tuilleries and enjoyed the absolutely gorgeous weather.
Since I had taken awhile to get where I was and wasn't sure that I would be able to just go back the same way as I was closer to a different metro station I opted to go ahead and try to make my way back to Gare du Nord so I would have plenty of time and not miss the train back to Chantilly. Thankfully it didn't take nearly as long to figure my way back as I was starting to get the hang of it. I had plenty of time so I opted to get a sandwich from one of the restaurants in the station and also got an ice cream. Like a very naughty girl I ate my ice cream first because I didn't want it to melt. :) I also stopped at the vending machine and got a bag of peanut M&Ms, not as big as the one I bought in the States but it was bigger than your normal snack size. Unfortunately I've already eaten about half of it. :P I was able to get all the way home without further incident and was quite pleased with myself for now having successfully navigated the world's second busiest metro system in another language no less. :) Yay me!! I'm really grown up now, yes Mommy?
Fall seems to be upon us today and I know that is hard to imagine for my peoples back in Texas. It was very cool and rainy today and I felt like curling up in bed with some coffee or tea, soft fuzzy socks and a book. It also just smells like fall. Looking at the forecast (I think I finally have the right Aprémont in my weather!) it appears we might be in for more of the same the next few days. No exciting plans this week that I can think of besides school. I do ask that you pray for me as I'm a bit homesick hearing that my Granny is not doing well this week. I really hate not being at home with the family. :(
Since I have no plans I don't know when the next blog post will come unless you want to hear all the juicy details about my day. :) "Oh today I ironed and folded clothes, and made Audrey laugh, and played playdough, helped make dinner, and helped clean up..." It just gets old if I repeat the same things every day. I did put up a few pictures from the Louvre on my Picasa/Facebook so be sure to check that out. Au revoir until next time, whenever that may be!
Friday, September 3, 2010
be still and know
Much to my mom's relief I made it back to the Cross family in France after my ten day vacation in the UK. :) My foot which was so very painful by Sunday got better within about 48 hours of arriving back in France. I don't know if the ibuprofen reducing the swelling made so much difference or just not walking on it so much allowed it to begin to get better but it's been totally fine since. There is still a twinge from time to time and the spot is still sore to the touch but I'm no longer considering looking up a doctor here.
School started back up this week so we've been trying to adjust to the new routine. It's so strange having the house quiet from about 9-4:30! Just about the time we'll be figuring out this new set up though Amy and Charles will leave for Houston and it'll be just me and the kids for ten days. I think though that the changing up in routine is a good thing for me because it doesn't let me get in a rut and I have to constantly pay attention to the task at hand, and yet there is much less chaos than in my life at home so that I'm able to remember what it's like to stop and smell the roses. I really really hope that when I get home I can not go back to crazy, helter-skelter, flying by the seat of my pants like I was before but settle into more of an easygoing pace that gives me time to help those closest to me who need it and also allow for me to not live on the edge of burn-out all the time. The lady who spoke at the GEM conference was amazing and so inspiring. Why do we think we are so important that the world will cease to move if we need to draw away for some time alone with God? I know I'm so guilty of this. It seems so overwhelming at times, all of the needs that are screaming at us. This was what she talked about that helped me so much as I began in my head to try to prioritize things. From Alicia Chole's blog:
How very very true this is!! And I know I've been living in overload for far too long. It's so evident just by the way that for a year or two I couldn't even handle being at church. All I wanted to do was go home and crawl into my PJs and my bed. I couldn't handle being with people. Sometimes I still feel that way when I am getting close to the absolute-overwhelmed-overloaded moments. I remember last year at VBS, CI and CMT needing to find a quiet corner at various points and just breathe. This year was better but VBS was a different level of involvement and CMT I didn't get to help with. I feel like this last month has been so great for being able to clear my head and ground myself a bit more, I felt like I was caught up in a tornado being carried higher and higher and faster and faster. I am keenly aware of how much too easy it will be to get sucked up into the vortex of business once I'm home but I'm bound and determined to give it my best shot at slowing down.
Back on a more practical note, Audrey has really good days and really bad ones. :) Hoping pretty soon she will settle into more of a routine that she is comfortable with and works well for Amy. I do have to say that when I gave her a bath the other day she didn't get NEARLY as upset when I got her out! And I think if I'd been a hair faster she might not have cried at all. :) We ARE making progress I can feel it.
Sunday is the first Sunday of September and every first Sunday of the month means free entry to some museums in Paris so guess where I'm going after church?? I'm hoping to go to the Louvre for sure and maybe I'll just stay there all afternoon. I'm pretty excited about it!
Well as I said we've been trying to get into the school routine so no new pictures this week or exciting happenings, but I think I put up enough pictures from my trip to the UK to last awhile yeah? Spin through them if you haven't seen them all yet. :)
School started back up this week so we've been trying to adjust to the new routine. It's so strange having the house quiet from about 9-4:30! Just about the time we'll be figuring out this new set up though Amy and Charles will leave for Houston and it'll be just me and the kids for ten days. I think though that the changing up in routine is a good thing for me because it doesn't let me get in a rut and I have to constantly pay attention to the task at hand, and yet there is much less chaos than in my life at home so that I'm able to remember what it's like to stop and smell the roses. I really really hope that when I get home I can not go back to crazy, helter-skelter, flying by the seat of my pants like I was before but settle into more of an easygoing pace that gives me time to help those closest to me who need it and also allow for me to not live on the edge of burn-out all the time. The lady who spoke at the GEM conference was amazing and so inspiring. Why do we think we are so important that the world will cease to move if we need to draw away for some time alone with God? I know I'm so guilty of this. It seems so overwhelming at times, all of the needs that are screaming at us. This was what she talked about that helped me so much as I began in my head to try to prioritize things. From Alicia Chole's blog:
rest, part two
2. rest: a framework
I would like to strongly suggest that you consider purchasing a great book that will provide a spiritual, physical, and interpersonal framework for our redefining of rest: Margin, by Dr. Swenson.
Barry and I read this book years ago. Picture a straight line that represents our daily reserve of personal energy. Swenson is a medical doctor whose premise is that God designed us (physically, emotionally, relationally) to live between points A and B and that the space between B to C is on reserve for the unexpected, for crisis. BUT on a daily basis we live from A to C. So when a crisis does arise, it pushes us over into overload.
In other words, God didn't design us to live to the end of our abilities every day. We're supposed to have a buffer. If we live each day to the end of our rope, there's nothing left to hold onto when an unanticipated problem calls for something "more."
How very very true this is!! And I know I've been living in overload for far too long. It's so evident just by the way that for a year or two I couldn't even handle being at church. All I wanted to do was go home and crawl into my PJs and my bed. I couldn't handle being with people. Sometimes I still feel that way when I am getting close to the absolute-overwhelmed-overloaded moments. I remember last year at VBS, CI and CMT needing to find a quiet corner at various points and just breathe. This year was better but VBS was a different level of involvement and CMT I didn't get to help with. I feel like this last month has been so great for being able to clear my head and ground myself a bit more, I felt like I was caught up in a tornado being carried higher and higher and faster and faster. I am keenly aware of how much too easy it will be to get sucked up into the vortex of business once I'm home but I'm bound and determined to give it my best shot at slowing down.
Back on a more practical note, Audrey has really good days and really bad ones. :) Hoping pretty soon she will settle into more of a routine that she is comfortable with and works well for Amy. I do have to say that when I gave her a bath the other day she didn't get NEARLY as upset when I got her out! And I think if I'd been a hair faster she might not have cried at all. :) We ARE making progress I can feel it.
Sunday is the first Sunday of September and every first Sunday of the month means free entry to some museums in Paris so guess where I'm going after church?? I'm hoping to go to the Louvre for sure and maybe I'll just stay there all afternoon. I'm pretty excited about it!
Well as I said we've been trying to get into the school routine so no new pictures this week or exciting happenings, but I think I put up enough pictures from my trip to the UK to last awhile yeah? Spin through them if you haven't seen them all yet. :)
Monday, August 23, 2010
Highland games, some castles, and Edinburgh
The last two days have been QUITE busy and super fun! It's really impossible to capture into words and pictures the whole experience I'm having here but I can try to give you a small taste I hope.
Sunday morning we went to Crieff, Scotland which is apparently where Ewan McGregor is from, to see the Highland Games. Pictures and video are in my Picasa but there was dancing, pipe bands, some heavyweight stuff (hammer and log throwing), running and jumping contests and lots of carnival style food and shopping. It was super cool hearing all the bagpipes and seeing lots of kilts. :) After that Clif wanted to tour The Famous Grouse distillery which is the oldest one in Scotland. It was actually kind of interesting to see the process but I still think the stuff smells gross. :P Then we drove a bit through the Highlands and saw some beautiful scenery, a couple of castles and a very old church. All of these things are also in my Picasa. :)
Today I got on a bus to Edinburgh all by myself and made it there, yay me! I think the only mode of transportation I won't have used by the time this trip is over is maybe a boat. If I could figure out how to fit that in somewhere... :D In the Edinburgh bus station I was looking for a map of the city and found a flier for a free tour of Edinburgh. It sounded interesting and the last one of the day started in just under twenty minutes so I pulled out my handy iPhone and located the Starbucks it was to start in front of and headed out. It turned out to be very cool and so worth it!! He gave us so much history and really cool stories about the different buildings and things. The parts I found the most fun and random I included here.
1) Charles II's statue. So apparently he really wanted the people home in Scotland to like him and one of the ways he decided this could be helped was to have a statue of him put up. He had it made so that he wore roman clothing and was on a horse. The problem with this was that two different people made the statue of him and the statue of the horse. He had asked for his statue to be big and apparently nobody told the guy making the horse so it looks like a donkey in size, comparatively speaking. Then there was a day every year where they had a ceremony and put a crown on the head of the statue but the crown poked holes into the head of the statue and when it rained it filled up with water and made the whole thing lean. So then they had to drill a hole in the bottom of the horse to make the water drain out. I bet you can guess where some smart-aleck decided to put the hole. Anyhow the whole thing seemed to backfire on him. :)
2) Our tour guide showed us the window of a cafe and said that in that in front of that window a poor single mother wrote a book and took some of her inspiration from buildings she could see including a school for orphans. Today the woman is richer than the queen (she is J. K. Rowling). I'll just admit right now I had no idea she lived in Edinburgh at any point in time. :P But I didn't know a LOT of things.
3) Greyfriar's Bobby. A policeman in the 1800s owned him and when he died Bobby came every day to his grave in Greyfriar's Kirkyard and sat by it for 14 years until he died. They buried him just outside the cemetery (he wasn't allowed to be buried IN it) and there is a headstone for him that people leave all kinds of little doggy things at. Close by is a statue of him and a bar named after him. :) Of all the famous people buried in Greyfriar's his is said to be the most visited.
4) The Stone of Destiny. So the Scots had a special stone used in coronation of new kings and at some point the English took it to London. The Scots really wanted their stone back and it was kind of a sore point for a long time. In the 1950s there was an attempt to steal it and return it, and they did a really good job and almost got away with it before being found out and turned in. Then in the 1990s the stone was indeed returned to Scotland to be kept there until needed for a coronation.
5) I had a Dr. Pepper Zero today! I didn't even know they EXISTED. Do we have those in the States?? It wasn't a perfect DP or anything but yay me for having one!! It's been so long...
So that was today and yesterday, tons of fun and lots of things learned about Scotland! Some things I knew a little about and other things I had not a clue but all of it was super interesting. I hope to look up the free tour group in London and Paris both and highly recommend them to anyone else who should go to any of the cities they have tours in. :) So far the rest of my week is a big question mark and I have no idea what I'll be doing but I'm sure having fun making things up as I go!! :)
Sunday morning we went to Crieff, Scotland which is apparently where Ewan McGregor is from, to see the Highland Games. Pictures and video are in my Picasa but there was dancing, pipe bands, some heavyweight stuff (hammer and log throwing), running and jumping contests and lots of carnival style food and shopping. It was super cool hearing all the bagpipes and seeing lots of kilts. :) After that Clif wanted to tour The Famous Grouse distillery which is the oldest one in Scotland. It was actually kind of interesting to see the process but I still think the stuff smells gross. :P Then we drove a bit through the Highlands and saw some beautiful scenery, a couple of castles and a very old church. All of these things are also in my Picasa. :)
Today I got on a bus to Edinburgh all by myself and made it there, yay me! I think the only mode of transportation I won't have used by the time this trip is over is maybe a boat. If I could figure out how to fit that in somewhere... :D In the Edinburgh bus station I was looking for a map of the city and found a flier for a free tour of Edinburgh. It sounded interesting and the last one of the day started in just under twenty minutes so I pulled out my handy iPhone and located the Starbucks it was to start in front of and headed out. It turned out to be very cool and so worth it!! He gave us so much history and really cool stories about the different buildings and things. The parts I found the most fun and random I included here.
1) Charles II's statue. So apparently he really wanted the people home in Scotland to like him and one of the ways he decided this could be helped was to have a statue of him put up. He had it made so that he wore roman clothing and was on a horse. The problem with this was that two different people made the statue of him and the statue of the horse. He had asked for his statue to be big and apparently nobody told the guy making the horse so it looks like a donkey in size, comparatively speaking. Then there was a day every year where they had a ceremony and put a crown on the head of the statue but the crown poked holes into the head of the statue and when it rained it filled up with water and made the whole thing lean. So then they had to drill a hole in the bottom of the horse to make the water drain out. I bet you can guess where some smart-aleck decided to put the hole. Anyhow the whole thing seemed to backfire on him. :)
2) Our tour guide showed us the window of a cafe and said that in that in front of that window a poor single mother wrote a book and took some of her inspiration from buildings she could see including a school for orphans. Today the woman is richer than the queen (she is J. K. Rowling). I'll just admit right now I had no idea she lived in Edinburgh at any point in time. :P But I didn't know a LOT of things.
3) Greyfriar's Bobby. A policeman in the 1800s owned him and when he died Bobby came every day to his grave in Greyfriar's Kirkyard and sat by it for 14 years until he died. They buried him just outside the cemetery (he wasn't allowed to be buried IN it) and there is a headstone for him that people leave all kinds of little doggy things at. Close by is a statue of him and a bar named after him. :) Of all the famous people buried in Greyfriar's his is said to be the most visited.
4) The Stone of Destiny. So the Scots had a special stone used in coronation of new kings and at some point the English took it to London. The Scots really wanted their stone back and it was kind of a sore point for a long time. In the 1950s there was an attempt to steal it and return it, and they did a really good job and almost got away with it before being found out and turned in. Then in the 1990s the stone was indeed returned to Scotland to be kept there until needed for a coronation.
5) I had a Dr. Pepper Zero today! I didn't even know they EXISTED. Do we have those in the States?? It wasn't a perfect DP or anything but yay me for having one!! It's been so long...
So that was today and yesterday, tons of fun and lots of things learned about Scotland! Some things I knew a little about and other things I had not a clue but all of it was super interesting. I hope to look up the free tour group in London and Paris both and highly recommend them to anyone else who should go to any of the cities they have tours in. :) So far the rest of my week is a big question mark and I have no idea what I'll be doing but I'm sure having fun making things up as I go!! :)
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Falkland Palace and St. Andrew's
Today after sleeping in (ohhh how wonderfully I slept!) Sheila and I hopped in the car and went to see the Falkland Palace. She had never been so I thought it was fun we would experience something new together. :) It was a beautiful palace with really nice gardens (pictures inside are not allowed but outside photos and the gardens are up in my Europe album on Picasa and Facebook). We spent a long time there looking inside at the rooms which they have furnished and there were people in each room to answer questions.
After that we headed out to St. Andrew's to see the castle and cathedral ruins. That was super interesting especially the castle. Apparently once someone tried to attack the castle by mining underground into it and someone inside knew about it so they dug a counter mine to catch them (and succeeded). You can actually go down inside the mines, it was pretty cool!! Next to the cathedral is St. Rule's tower and you can go all the way to the top of that. It was QUITE a climb round and round the stairs spiraled all the way up. When we got up the view was absolutely amazing though, and the wind is crazy up there. :)
Then we walked down a couple of streets and went to the golf course. St. Andrews is the oldest golf course in the world (and I had no idea before I came here haha). We also went down to the west sands and it was so beautiful. I love the clear blue water and the sky was pretty amazingly blue too.
Tomorrow we are going to see some Highlands games!! How COOL is THAT? I'm really excited, it sounds like fun and Sheila says they've never been and have always wanted to go so it'll be a new experience for all of us. :) And hopefully on Monday we'll go to Edinburgh and see some sites there. After that I have NO idea what I'll be doing or which country I'll be in but I guess we shall see yes?? :D This is one adventure, let me tell ya...
After that we headed out to St. Andrew's to see the castle and cathedral ruins. That was super interesting especially the castle. Apparently once someone tried to attack the castle by mining underground into it and someone inside knew about it so they dug a counter mine to catch them (and succeeded). You can actually go down inside the mines, it was pretty cool!! Next to the cathedral is St. Rule's tower and you can go all the way to the top of that. It was QUITE a climb round and round the stairs spiraled all the way up. When we got up the view was absolutely amazing though, and the wind is crazy up there. :)
Then we walked down a couple of streets and went to the golf course. St. Andrews is the oldest golf course in the world (and I had no idea before I came here haha). We also went down to the west sands and it was so beautiful. I love the clear blue water and the sky was pretty amazingly blue too.
Tomorrow we are going to see some Highlands games!! How COOL is THAT? I'm really excited, it sounds like fun and Sheila says they've never been and have always wanted to go so it'll be a new experience for all of us. :) And hopefully on Monday we'll go to Edinburgh and see some sites there. After that I have NO idea what I'll be doing or which country I'll be in but I guess we shall see yes?? :D This is one adventure, let me tell ya...
Friday, August 20, 2010
trains, trains, and more trains
So I was in a total of six different train stations in the last 24 hours! How cool is that. I think my favorites were Gare du Nord in Paris and St Pancras in London because there were lots of interesting stores and cafes. By the end of the day though I was definitely feeling like Tom Hanks from The Terminal. There's just only so much you can do in those places and they don't all have free wifi AND a plug available. It seemed to be pretty much only one or the other. I did get about halfway through reading Mrs. Polifax on the China Station and I watched Fellowship of the Ring and about an hour of The Twin Towers. That helped keep things interesting. I also popped into the British Library which was between St Pancras and Euston stations (I walked from one to the other). They had wifi AND plugs but I didn't have the right converter with me and by the time I went to get it and come back the library was closed.
I ate a ham quiche for lunch, a jalapeno chicken wrap for a snack-ish and then for late dinner I had my first pasty. I don't know what was in it but potatoes for sure but it wasn't what I ordered because I asked for bacon and cheese and there was definitely no bacon. It was pretty yummy though whatever it was!
While I was online Luke popped up for a chat and quoted "London" by Brandon Heath to me. I guess I'd never heard that song before and had him send it to me. I then proceeded to make a playlist of homesick songs and had my iPod going all evening repeating those songs. It was fun in a melodramatic way to wander aimlessly around the train station singing that song and "Home" by Michael Bublé. :)
So finally after a long day I got on a sleeper train to ride to Scotland. The original plan was not to do this until Saturday and to only have to go from Cumbria but an unexpected hospital visit for my London friend meant I needed to go straight to Scotland. It's a long trip from London to Cupar! I spent the first 45 minutes watching LOTR on my laptop and charging my phone until my laptop battery died and then got all comfy and went to sleep. I dozed off and on waking whenever we came to a train station because I wasn't sure what time it was or when we'd make it to Leuchers which is where I needed to get off and catch a train to go BACK to Cupar (we would pass through to get to Leuchers).
Finally we got there and I hopped up and grabbed my stuff and plopped onto the platform. Only two other people got off at that stop with me. The first thing I noticed was the wind was VERY cold when it blew so I pulled my sweater out to layer on top of my hoodie. Then I looked at the board trying to figure out when the train would come through. Apparently whoever was supposed to be opening that station was late because the doors were all locked so I had to wait out in the cold wind. I was so very glad to see the train stop to pick us up!! Then the sixth and final train station in my trip, and Sheila picked me up and brought me to her adorable cottage where I took a shower and changed clothes and felt human again!! I hate sleeping on planes or trains. :P She also had an amazing little breakfast ready when I got out.
After that we set off to see what we could see! I put up pictures again in Picasa but I've seen two castles, a windmill, and had fish and chips already. :) I love even just driving through the countryside, it's so beautiful!! It's pretty much everything I imagined and more. :) God is so awesome, I can't believe He gave me this opportunity!
I ate a ham quiche for lunch, a jalapeno chicken wrap for a snack-ish and then for late dinner I had my first pasty. I don't know what was in it but potatoes for sure but it wasn't what I ordered because I asked for bacon and cheese and there was definitely no bacon. It was pretty yummy though whatever it was!
While I was online Luke popped up for a chat and quoted "London" by Brandon Heath to me. I guess I'd never heard that song before and had him send it to me. I then proceeded to make a playlist of homesick songs and had my iPod going all evening repeating those songs. It was fun in a melodramatic way to wander aimlessly around the train station singing that song and "Home" by Michael Bublé. :)
So finally after a long day I got on a sleeper train to ride to Scotland. The original plan was not to do this until Saturday and to only have to go from Cumbria but an unexpected hospital visit for my London friend meant I needed to go straight to Scotland. It's a long trip from London to Cupar! I spent the first 45 minutes watching LOTR on my laptop and charging my phone until my laptop battery died and then got all comfy and went to sleep. I dozed off and on waking whenever we came to a train station because I wasn't sure what time it was or when we'd make it to Leuchers which is where I needed to get off and catch a train to go BACK to Cupar (we would pass through to get to Leuchers).
Finally we got there and I hopped up and grabbed my stuff and plopped onto the platform. Only two other people got off at that stop with me. The first thing I noticed was the wind was VERY cold when it blew so I pulled my sweater out to layer on top of my hoodie. Then I looked at the board trying to figure out when the train would come through. Apparently whoever was supposed to be opening that station was late because the doors were all locked so I had to wait out in the cold wind. I was so very glad to see the train stop to pick us up!! Then the sixth and final train station in my trip, and Sheila picked me up and brought me to her adorable cottage where I took a shower and changed clothes and felt human again!! I hate sleeping on planes or trains. :P She also had an amazing little breakfast ready when I got out.
After that we set off to see what we could see! I put up pictures again in Picasa but I've seen two castles, a windmill, and had fish and chips already. :) I love even just driving through the countryside, it's so beautiful!! It's pretty much everything I imagined and more. :) God is so awesome, I can't believe He gave me this opportunity!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)