Good for the Soul

Initially homeschool co-op buddies, Katie and Julieanne's friendship goes back to third grade. The girls hit it off immediately when they were little seeing each other at church and co-op but then as life would have it, paths diverged and Katie's family went to a different co-op. About that time, our pending move to England was looming. We then left Augusta in 6th grade for the green hills of the Lake District promising to stay in touch. The girls kept up with each other and enjoyed reconnecting when we went home the next summer but then a job change took Katie's family to Connecticut. Julieanne was able to visit Katie last spring - even got to go to school and NYC together.

Katie's family has moved to

Frankfurt making visits more of a possibility. In November, we had the chance to have Katie with us, even managing a day at St. Bees School complete

with school uniform.

It was great fun to watch the girls enjoy being together again with no problem keeping the conversation flowing. Only problem was that it was too short. Julieanne said she felt like she only had time to catch up but not go deeper. We are planning to take the Chapman family up on their offer to have us over to Germany. Maybe the girls will get the chance to do more than catch up. Seeing old friends is nourishing to the soul.

Now you seem them....now you don't

April 2008 Julieanne had her braces put on to correct a serious overbite as well ascrowding. Two and a half years later with many trips to the orthodontist inbetween, they are now off!! Braces or not, JA is a girl of many faces and loads of personality - her antics keep us giggling.

School Begins

It seems that I missed a few months in there as I now stand one month into the new school year. This school year welcomes a senior, a freshman and 6th grader from the Thompson family - all at the same school. The three Thompson kids have not been in school together since AC was in 5th, JA in 2nd, and Na in pre-K back in ourhomeschooling days.

The school year started the weekend before school with a Gaudeamus concert in Carlisle Cathedral for Julieanne, a prefect planning time and hockey pre season training for AC. It hasn't let up ever since. This is the reason Anna Catherine wrote all of her university applications in August as there is little time for anything else at the moment.

Nathan went from keeping up with about five subjects to fourteen to so he has had major transitions. He said he loves school but hates the classes. Hmmm. We knew once we got to this place it would bring a fresh amount of work along with new challenges in organization. He's having to learn that just because he doesn't have written homework for the next day, there are probably still assignments he is supposed to be working

on. He is enjoying the chance to play rugby and basketball at St. Bees while knowing many students already in Anna Catherine and Julieanne's classes. He is taking golf lessons and drum lessons during the school day as well which is a bonus.

Julieanne is taking the usual core subjects of Math, English, French, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Religious studies, health and then her electives for GCSE of history, geography and PE. She

is in the school play and enjoying field hockey again. Living on house one night a week as a house monitor has brought its challenges of keeping up with her own

school work while trying to keep others on track as well. She overslept one morning on duty and was 10 minutes late ringing the wake up bell which upset a few people thus upsetting her. Mrs. Williams, the house mother, said all monitors sleep thru a bell and Julieanne just got hers over with at the beginning.

Anna Catherine has started her senior year with gusto - planning activities for the senior girls' house and getting to know

the girls from other countries. She stays over two nights a week with some rotating extra duty nights. Living on house a few nights a week has brought the beginning of the transition away from home that will inevitably come next year when she goes off to university. She is juggling an enormous school load along with hockey, cello, youth group and combined cadet forces so next year might actually be easier.

Responsibility

Dictionary.com tells me that responsible meansanswerable or accountable, as for something within one's power, control, or management.

Nathan was able

to learn that when you break a window you are

accountable. Actually, it wasn't his first broken window - he actually broke a neighbors window in Augusta on accident years ago before the Hitchcock's lived behind us. This time, Nathan was kicking his soccer ball and thought it a good idea to aim for the little plastic chairs you see in the photo. Only problem was he forgot to calculate a miss on his target. Oops! What seemed like fun turned into a not so good idea when the window was smashed. Thankfully, he came in and told us immediately, taking full responsibility. Often our kids, and their parents alike, want to explain away our mistakes or blame someone else for their part in our demise. We are in the process of teaching all three to see their weaknesses more clearly and own them. It is tough going as we are so easily deceived, forever making excuses and shifting blame. Nathan only had to pay £6 to fix this problem as his dad happens to be very handy and didn't charge for labor which could have drained his savings.

On a different side of the responsibility coin, Julieanne has been answerable to paint the fence that separates the main house we live in from the two flats. She has been earning a little extra money doing the Tom Sawyer thing. It is not a fun job as there are no friends to share the load nor is it entertaining but completing the task regardless of the fun factor is a valuable lesson.

The summer has been full of fun: army camp, Spain, Cumbria Christian Youth Camp, Summerfest, family outings, people over for meals, youth group outings, etc. Often the kids have a hard time transitioning from the fun to the mundane of life. Actually, most of life is made of the mundane. It requires 'plodding' as my father in law calls it - just being faithful to the little tasks. I feel like we give our kids plenty of chores to keep them grounded in reality but even still they can think that life has to be all entertainment which is very dangerous.

End of School

More than a month later than our American friends, our kids are finally getting out of school. The girls finished on Friday, July 2nd, only to get packing for army camp the next morning. While they have been doing the GI Joe thing or should I say, GI Jane thing, Nathan has been celebrating the end of his days in primary school.

School comes to a close much like the States with school exams, plays, parties,

awards, concerts, etc. Each of the kids had their own sports day seeing AC com

pete in the high jump and co-ed relay while Julieanne ran the 200 meters, the co-ed relay, tug of war and the high jump. Nathan on the other hand was entered in the egg and spoon relay and the 50 meter dash. Though they all had a good outlook on their events, I saw that each Thompson is a true competitor which of course won't surprise anyone that knows me or Dennis. Nathan was neck n neck in the dash but was

edged out to third in the end. He was disqualified from the egg and spoon as his egg fell just before the finish line. Julieanne won first in all her events while AC took first in the high jump and third in the relay.

Anna Catherine completed her 8 or so exams while Julieanne enjoyed her first Duke of Edinburgh hike. Nathan had several football tournaments and presentation night along with a 'Leavers disco'. The girls sang at a jazz concert which was a first for AC to sing in front of someone other than family. It was fun to watch them enjoying the moment together with Julieanne leading on the guitar.

Being in a private British boarding school has introduced us to many new traditions. One being an area of leadership known as school prefect, head of school, head boy and girl and head of house. If you are familiar with Hogwart's in Harry Potter you will remember these posts give kids extra privilege and responsibility. Hermoine took her prefect role oh so seriously. Basically, kids apply for these coveted positions having interviews with the head teacher and other lead teachers. Both AC and Julieanne are in very competent year groups but Anna Catherine's year seems to be chock full of first born over achievers. Every kid except one from her year applied for a school prefect job and he just missed the deadline for turning in the application. For head of school also known

as head boy and head girl, the application also required a presentation on some area to improve the junior and senior years given during the interview process. Then the waiting game.

The school is divided into the junior school, grades 6th - 9th and the senior school being 10th -12th. There are four boarding houses but day pupils are part of the houses as well. Julieanne was given a deputy head position for her house Bega while AC did get a school prefect position as well as head of the senior girls' house, Lonsdale. This was a huge honor for both girls bringing with it untold lessons to be learned.

Today marks the end of an era for the Thompsons as our youngest has his last day in elementary school.

We will now have all three kids in the same school; one senior, one freshman and a sixth grader.

World Cup by Julie

Most of the blog articles are by me but hopefully Dennis will write one about the World Cup; for now you can read my take on it. For the English, this is paramount to the Olympics; their national identity is tied closely with their footballprowess. Just look at the insane amounts of money the Premier League players get paid to kick a ball; it's comparable to US baseball players and star American football players. Statistics report that an average of three days holiday from work will be taken by the average English employee during the World Cup to see the matches. This year, England was hopeful it was to be their year but those hopes were dashed when controversy set in early with the team captain having an affair with another

players' wife and then injury to two star players. Nevertheless, all eyes were on this team to make it big.

Most houses were decked out with St. George's flags, people were sporting England shirts, parties were planned, large amounts of alcohol were purchased; it was big!

By the luck of the draw England was set to play America on June 26th. Being the party girl that I am, I said, 'let's have a party with

some of our English and American friends'. The English fans were not the least bit interested in watching the game with us, after all what if England lost? Seemed like a no brainer to me but then again I take sports casually. In the end, we had all of the Americans from Dennis' office over for a cookout to watch the match. Even though England and the US tied, it didn't seem much to celebrate for the English as they have a long soccer history and Americans are new to the sport. Still a tie meant Nathan could go to school Monday without having the 'mick' taken out of him which he was quite concerned about

if the US should actually lose to the English.

Every newspaper and news show focused on the English team for months, all having their opinion of what the manager should do to rouse the team to their potential greatness. In the end, they were eliminated by Germany 4-0, returning to England with their heads down. Meanwhile the Americans probably came home celebrated. In fact the United States had more fans at the World Cup than any other nation!

Normally, Dennis and I watch very little TV, in fact we didn't own a television the first several years we were married.

It wasn't until the 2000 World Cup, that we bought one. All has changed this month, we (Dennis, Nathan and I) have perched ourselves in front of the screen to watch 'football'. Over the years, Dennis has remained a loyal Spanish fan so he is thrilled that Spain has made it through to their first World Cup final ever. Icing on the cake is that we will be in downtown Madrid the night of the finals. We will go watch the game on some huge screen in a big square of Madrid surrounded by passionate Spaniards pulling for their team. Should be an forgettable night regardless of the result!

He's Back!

The 5th graders at Nathan's school got to go to Edinburgh for a week! I know, you are thinking, 'brave teachers' especially if you could see all of the health and safety forms they have to fill out over here to do this sort of thing. They had a packed schedule in order to keep the kids constructively engaged so as not to get into mischief.

Day 1 travel to Edinburgh, have bus tour and then

do team building activities at the Scout camp type place they were staying outside of the city. They even got to go grass sledging or sledding which Nathan said was a blast. He was pretty pumped to be in a room with his friend Oliver and 4 other guys but after a loud night he opted to switch to a room with only two other guys so he could sleep. I was surprised too.

Day 2 was castle building at the beach then onto the aquarium for the day ending with a movie at the cinema.

Day 3 took them to the Camera Obscura to see cool optical illusion stuff and Planet Earth. The night ended with a Ghost Walk down the Royal Mile.

Day 4 They were able to get their fill of Scottish history at the Edinburgh Castle and the National Museum of Scotland, letting off some steam that night at their disco!

Day 5 All were up early to pack up, clean up and load up with time for a shopping spree along the way before reaching Whitehaven by 4:00. Unfortunately they got a flat tire which took so long to fix they had no time to stop at the outlet stores they were so counting on.

What I found so entertaining was the headmaster's talk to the parents the week before they went on this

trip. He goes with the kids each year and knew the drill backwards and forwards. He said they try to plan many educational and fun activities for the kids but in the end all the kids are most excited about are the little trinkets they are able to buy in the various gift shops. He said you'll ask them how they liked the Castle or the Aquarium and the kids will say, "yeah, it was okay but I got this really cool pencil at the gift shop!" The next day you'll ask, 'What did you see at the Scotland Museum today?" "Oh well, saw some interesting stuff but what I really liked was this glittery pencil sharpener!" I found myself laughing because he's exactly right.

When Nathan left I told him he had to come home with two facts per day. He hadn't been off the bus 5 minutes when he was showing me the incredible trinkets he came home with: a bucket of goo, 'Noisy Putty', that makes fart noises when you pull your finger in and out of it, a green ball with penguin in it that grows when you add water, and a whoopie cushion. He is such an eleven year old boy! Could he remember the daily facts, well, not really but he had a great time and he did bring home a little trinket for each of us as well!

The headmaster talked about making sure the kids did their own packing so they would know what they actually had in their suitcase when they got there. He told us not to be alarmed if the boys came home without a shower or had somehow managed to never brush their teeth. He assured us it was a great 'growing up' experience to go on a trip without your parents. I couldn't agree more although at bedtime the night before

leaving, Nathan, who had been anticipating this day for months was now getting cold feet. Realizing he had not ever been away without some family member along too, he began to fret. I played it off as if it was no big deal but I had my doubts...mostly about the showering and teeth brushing. So as not to be without us, the four of us had each written Nathan a little note so he would have a word from home each day when he got his little envelope with spending money in it.

The girls didn't miss him terribly as their days are long and full at a different school but I really missed him. He's a chatty, thoughtful boy so it couldn't be anything other than quieter, calmer, neater but definitely lonelier without him.

They had a fantastic trip and I have to agree - Nathan did take some big steps in the growing up department. He came home with everything he took with him, he took a shower every night and actually brushed his teeth. Wow -- now that is progress!

Exasperated

Generally, I am a rather patient person but there have been a few occasions in England that I have been totally put out. Once was when we were moving out of our first rental house here. We had been exemplary renters - always paid rent on time, didn't ask for much from the owner, improved the place by adding accessories and landscaping which the landlord found 'unnecessary'. She owed us £100 towards a table we all agreed on back before we moved in. Valuing the bottom line only in this business deal, she decided to dig in and didn't want to pay the £100 but she expected us to leave the house spotless, have the carpets shampooed and the house repainted. While I was planning to leave the house extremely clean, I felt it was out of line for her to expect us to pay hundreds of pounds to 'redecorate' her house when for nine months we had patiently waited for her to have the leaking roof fixed. In the end water was running down the girl's bedroom wall, bathroom, hallway, and office walls. I was very understanding and undemanding the whole time yet this was how I was thanked?

Well, I just don't operate that way and I fussed and fumed to Dennis about it. I typically believe the best about people and apparently expect them to do likewise. I don't look at people for what they can do for me so to be viewed as 'business only' upset me. 'Why did it upset me so much' is the real question? Did I feel taken advantage of or was it the fact that I value relationship over money when the landlord was the opposite? Or perhaps something I'm unaware of?

I had another exasperating moment the other day. Dennis had finally replaced our french press with a coffee maker which he ordered on line. We received emails that it had been shipped but it never appeared. After three weeks of the coffee maker being MIA, the company decided to ship us another one at their cost. Within days, the

new coffee maker was in business on our kitchen counter. 7 weeks later, the original coffee maker made it to our house. Now, we had two very nice espresso/filter coffee makers but had only paid for one. On Saturday, I lugged the rather large, cumbersome box to the nearest Debenham's department store as you could return online purchases to the store without having to pay return shipping costs. When I explained the story to the cashier, she just shook her head and said they couldn't take it back because it would mess up their inventory since I didn't have a receipt. What? You don't want this coffee maker that I am giving back? I really didn't think I was hearing correctly. She called another associate over to confer - now they were both stumped. Nope, they said I needed to call the courier to come get it... Ridiculous. Anna Catherine wrestled the box back down the three floors and out to the car to take it back home.

On Monday, I called the phone number they gave me and explained the story. The customer service person then asked for our contact details, etc. She asked if I was Dennis Thompson. Duh? No, he was at work of course. She apologized and said she needed to speak with Dennis, nothing could be discussed with me as I wasn't authorized. In disbelief I told her that her company obviously didn't want this £100 coffee maker as I felt I was being punished for being honest. She put on her pleasant customer service voice to say she understood...yada-yada-yada. At this point I closed my ears and told her maybe I would have Dennis call back, said thank you and hung up. I was MAD! That was ridiculous! Dennis says I was mad because yet again I was told I wasn't authorized to discuss things with Dennis' name as the primary name on an account. (This has happened numerous times over here) How sad, that you can't be trusted even to return an extra coffee maker because people have screwed one another as a result of lying, cheating, bitter divorces and split ups.

I have since calmed down but just writing about it gets me riled up. I think I may have some 'unresolved issues' lurking in there - why else would I get so exasperated?

Loved Then...

I loved those crazy three then and I love them even more now!

They keep me young, humble, laughing, tired

and in prayer. Sometimes I look at them and break out in a huge smile -

I am just overcome with joy at who they are while other moments I shake my head and wonder if they were raised in a barn. At all times, I count it my highest privilege to have been chosen by God to be their mother. I am such a better woman because of them and their love. They are creative, forgiving, fun loving, sometimes helpful and thoughtful, gifted, smart, adventurous, affectionate, and accepting of me. As I said, they were loved then, and loved now even more.

Book of the Year

Unfortunately I used to be the kind of reader that sat down to enjoy a good book only when all the other work was done, I was on vacation or in bed barely awake. Being the 'lady of leisure' that I apparently am here in England, I have been able to do much more reading. I started thinking back over this year's books:

The Number One Ladies Detective Agency Series,

To Kill a Mockingbird,

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,

Three Cups of Tea,

The Woman in White,

Revelations of a Single Woman,

Authentic Beauty,

The Inklings,

Noughts and Crosses,

Knife Edge,

The Color Purple,

The Blind Side,

My Sister's Keeper,

The Last Song,

currently I am reading William Wilberforce by William Hague

Relationships: a Mess Worth Making.

I have enjoyed each book I've read but my book of the year is Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. This New York Times Bestseller, is a true story which I always appreciate, and thought provoking. It's not a happily ever after book - very realistic but powerful; love always is!

One of my favorite quotes:

“But I found out everybody’s different– the same kind of different as me. We’re all just regular folks walkin down the road God done set in front of us. The truth about it is, whether we is rich or poor or somethin in between, this earth ain’t no final restin place. So in a way, we is all homeless– just workin our way toward home.”

Several of the books I've read have been made into movies proving once again that the book is ALWAYS better than the movie. Take two for example: they completely changed the ending in My Sister's Keeper, The Blind Side shows the Tuohy family motivated by benevolence to invite inner city kid, Michael Oher to be in their family rather than their very real faith in Christ the book so clearly shows. The point is, always read the book first, it's better, whether it's a regular book or your book of the year.

Three Weeks or Four?

What started as a whirlwind three week trip back to the States to look for universities for Anna Catherine, turned into four weeks due to the unexpected eruption of a volcano in Iceland. Eyjafjallajokull's plume of ash left northern Europe at its mercy, completely shutting down the air space for over a week. Like us, most of the UK was on Easter break, trying to get home just when the air space closed leaving tens of thousands of people stranded all over the world. People had a few choices: wait it out in an airport, spend extra time at the current location at their added expense or make their way home via bus, ferry, train, taxi, etc. For many this involved horrendous journeys homeward; for us this meant an unplanned week in Augusta. Mentally, this took some adjusting as we were all packed and ready to return home. The kids and I had already been away from Dennis for three weeks which is a long time.

The morning we were due to fly out Mom went with me to the Augusta airport to begin the process of finding a flight back home

for four people. I knew we would be joining the worldwide que of stranded travelers trying to find return flights home. It took two and a half hours for the patient and winsome Delta agent to find four empty seats. However this required an override confirmation from the management as the only seats were on business class which we did not pay for; this would be

on Delta's dime. She received the confirmation and we were booked on the first available flight from Augusta to Paris, Paris to Manchester, a week later. (maybe I'll wrote more on the 32 hour trip home)

When we say we are going to the United States people over here think 'holiday' but in reality other than the refreshment from seeing precious friends and family, it leaves us worn out because we pack the day from morning til night enjoying people, running errands and seeing dentist and doctors.

Dennis and I have wracked our brains trying to come up with a more relaxing way of doing it but short of not seeing people we can't think of a solution. The reason I go home is to see people so that option is out of the question.Having this unplanned week allowed us to do some more normal things in an unhurried way. We were able to do schoolwork in the mornings, Anna Catherine was able to shadow a pediatric PT friend of ours, as well as reconnect with the youth group, we got to have some relaxed evenings with Grammy and we even got to sit by the pool for two hours.

We had had a marvelous trip home celebrating my dad's 70th birthday, sweating it out in Atlanta Centennial Park with Shelley and the kids, visiting cousin Jess in the hospital, Julieanne getting to visit Katie in CT, goofing off in the mountains with the Willis family, catching up with Grammy and Buddy, a well as many meals with special friends. We loved worshipping at First Presbyterian for three Sundays though it was a bit tricky in the beginning. The girls said they felt like strangers in the church they had grown up in.

It takes a while for people to settle in as we come back completely off their radar and just enter their sphere. In the end, Julieanne went to a girl's soccer match and birthday party for her year group, AC went to High Life and weekly prayer breakfast while Nathan settled back in without skipping a beat.

It is an unsettling feeling to not 'belong' anywhere.

We don't really fit in in England even though we are well connected; at the end of the day, we are still different.

In Augusta, though people love us dearly, life has gone on without us. People are connected to one another through

the shared experiences while we have been away, they have grown and we have too. It is one of the realities of living away that we will address once we return. It gives us a taste of the longing to fully belong as we will someday in heaven where we will be truly 'home'. As was evidenced while we were there, we will do the relational work of reconnecting and plugging in but for now we have to slide in as best we can, relationally soak up all that we are afforded and then pack up to say good bye again.