A "people house"

We have been blessed with great houses. Not necessarily beautiful houses, but great "people houses", as I like to call them. A "people house" is a house that (1) is big enough to comfortably host lots of people, (2) is not ostentatious so people feel at home, (3) is kid friendly, and (4) is located centrally so people can simply drop by. Clearly our home in Augusta at 500 Regent Place fits all these criteria. It is why we bought it.

A few weeks ago we moved house here in Whitehaven. Our original home (we are just renting) was very comfortable, and by British standards, was quite large. However, it wasn't a "people house". The only table in the house was in the Kitchen so it was difficult having more than 4 people over at a time. We really thought that we would appreciate the reprieve from always having people over, but after 6 months, we realized that that is part of who we are as a family. We therefore decided to start looking for "people house" here in Cumbria. This was a bigger act of faith than you might think. First of all, the options here are very slim, second we are constrained to a fairly small area due to the kids school, third, the house needed to be furnished, and 4th it had to be available when our existing lease was up.

I don't know why we so readily doubt God's provision. As soon as we decided to look, a house just up the street became available. It was perfect. To our surprise it wasn't going to be available until the very week our lease was up!

The house meets most of the "people house" criteria, except it's a little too fancy (ostentatious) for us. Oh well, it reminds me of God's lavish and undeserved goodness to us.

Just Looking for Something to Do

Just like back home I suppose, the young people here are looking for something to do. They are so used to just sitting around or getting together to get wasted and calling that a good time. We've started helping out with the youth at the church to provide social things and outings...you know something to do. This past Saturday we had out first get together...BBQ and games on the Beach! It was all girls but they loved it. Dennis taught them American football which was a riot. He also taught them Bocce and we shot off a stomp rocket, made pyramids (a throw back to my cheerleading days) played a few running games and just laughed. Dennis' team always managed to win...imagine that with Mr. Competitive on their team! Thankfully we were treated to a gorgeous day which helped alot. Funny thing, we were the only ones out there grilling and we even had to bring our own grill. Oh well the burgers were great. I served baked beans and coleslaw and chips. Guess where they put the baked beans? On their hamburger... At least they ate them which is more than I can say for the coleslaw. . The next night at youth group the girls gave the guys heck for not being there saying they had had a blast. It was something to do that was fun.

Another Teenager in the House

Ever since a party in the States in July, Julieanne has been celebrating her 13th birthday which really wasn't until Friday, September 19th. While we were home we joined forces with fellow friend and teen Joshua Willis for a birthday photo scavenger hunt. Teams were Great Britain vs. America on the quest to solve the photo puzzles. Teams were given a close up portoin of a photo of some place around town. They had to decode what the clip was, drive to it and take their picture in front of it. Drivers weren't allowed to give any help other than to take the picture. The winning team was the one that made it back to the house on time and the one who scored the most points as photos were scored by difficulty. Team USA,Josh's team, won but they all had a fun time racing the clock and taxing their brains to figure out what the pictures were.

While we were home we also had a few folks over for a slide show and dinner ending in prayer for Julieanne as she embarks on the teen years.

This weekend we finished our celebrating by having all of Julieanne's female classmates over for a cookout and games. It was such fun to be around all of them.

Julieanne had wanted to just play games with them so that's what we did: the classic - pass the lifesaver, the doughnut game, and the favorite...Jonathan Stamberg's animal game. It was a hit Jonathan - they loved party animal and the shark. There were even a few girls that could've given you a run for your money. We showed them a slide show of Julieanne's life which of course had loads of pictures of people they didn't know but they oooed and aahhhed over many of them because they always knew at least Julieanne. Only girls would do that.....

We ended the weekend late Sunday with a little movie/slide show Dennis had put together as a challenge to Julieanne. It was a meaningful way to enter her teen years. I pondered much this weekend and just marveled again at the lavish gift of friends to our family. I feel so blessed for Dennis, me and the children. Julieanne couldn't help but feel surrounded by people that are for her and adore her. Julieanne is fun to be around(most of the time), she's sensitive, compassionate, others centered, funny and as Dennis put it - a people magnet. She can get undone with worries and unknown situations but we are seeing growth in that department.

She is a true joy and delight!

Happy 13th Julieanne!

Live out loud!

Converting?

Back in May when it was sunny and hot, the Brits kept teasing me, telling me to enjoy it because it was the summer. Optimistically, I laughed it off. Apparently it rained much of the time we were gone and it has been rainy and chilly the majority of the days we've been back from Georgia. So just when I was about to give in and convert to the pessimistic British way of seeing weather, the sun came out. Real shocker, tonight I looked on the weather forecast for the coming week and I saw Wednesday with a sunny symbol all by itself! That probably doesn't do anything for you but honestly I don't think I've seen the sunny symbol alone since I've lived here. You can have cloudy, rainy, sunny and even snow on the same day's weather symbols. What's even more weird is you will probably experience all of those variations in the weather in one day. Thank you Lord, master of the wind and rain and keeper of the storehouses of snow for giving north western England some sunny days and a little warmth for this Georgia girl!

I Passed!

Yes, that's it...On August 21, I passed the UK driving test! I was very nervous, in fact just after my first 'manuever' or reverse parking into a bay which is reversing into a parking space and landing in between the two lines....I told my instructor to repeat his next intstruction while I opened the window and took a deep breath. I sooooo didn't want to have to take the test again - I needed to get it off my back. So for the next 40 minutes I did as he said and tried to ask a few questions. There wasn't going to be any conversation - it was strictly business until the end. Maybe once he realized I was going to pass, he allowed himself to lighten up. About half way through I took comfort knowing there were many folks praying for a successful test. After he pronounced me 'passed' I squealed a 'Yes!' I can take the "L" off the car. Remember from earlier posts they call it 'learner' but we teasingly call it 'looser.'

I got my licence as they spell it here with my awful picture and it's good til 2036....though I don't think I'll need it that long.....

Party time!!!!

Back to School They Go

Tuesday, September 2 the kids started year number two in England. Each was excited about seeing friends and starting the year fresh. Anna Catherine began her final GCSE year which is a doozy here as they have loads of coursework or portfolio types of work papers, projects, etc that go into their file along a month of exams in late May - June covering two years of material for each class. Still, it is early and she is optimistic. She began the year on Monday with a day of hockey training. She's loving the chance to do sports here since her Fine Arts school back home only allowed time for the arts. She's behind in skill no doubt since these girls have been playing for years but she has lots of heart and determination. She made the seconds team which would be like JV back home but it is full of girls her age and older so she's thrilled. She had her first match Saturday and gave it her all despite the need to learn the rules a little better.

Julieanne asked that I walk her up to Bega House where she was to start her day. Nathan and I piled out of the car but it was only a moment before friends came pouring out to greet and hug Julieanne. We were for moral support just in case but as you read, we weren't really needed. She's pumped that one of her after school activities is going to be basketball.

Nathan and I arrived to his school early, yes Thompsons can be early, and sat in the car. That's our usual plan - drop the girls off at 8:20 then drive on to Jericho Primary and sit in the car to read until 8:45 when Na goes to the playground to wait for the whistle. It came time to go in and I asked if he wanted me to walk up to the school with him since loads of other parents do. He took a look around and said, "No, Keisha and Darian didn't have any parents with them so I'm good." Out the door he climbed with a kiss and a few words of challenge for the day from mom. What made his first day 'great' was the fact that they got lockers and his was a red one on top! Oh for the simple things that please us.

Since they are at school, my days are more flexible at the moment at least until I make some concrete commitments. I'm thinking through what this year might look like for me. There are loads of options beyond the constant pull of running the house. I'm certain I want to get passed the myriad of aquaintance types of relationships I have to enjoy a few more substantial ones. I definitely want to take the time to read and pray and exercise. I'll keep helping at the kids schools though that is under development. I'm enjoying Nelson Mandela's autobiography, The Long Walk to Freedom at the moment which I highly recommend. I'll keep you posted.

Moved and Unplugged

We’ve been out of internet communication since we moved six houses up the street on August 19. Back in April we began looking around for a different house to rent after spending 8 out of 12 months of tenancy with a roof that leaked and water dripping down a few walls and ceiling which was really the icing on the cake after dealing with a rather stingy landlord. What we moved to was like a well kept secret at the end of our alley. A retired couple, who wanted to travel and live abroad while still in good health, has rented us their fantastic house. It’s like being in a vacation house with a beautiful English garden (yard with loads of flowers and fruit and vegetable gardens) The difference is we are in someone’s home rather than rental property. They left us shelves of movies, appliances, nice furnishings, a gorgeous yard, kitchen and sunroom! What a privilege – and it’s all on the same busy street into town. At the turn of the century it was a farm house, then a girl’s boarding school, then a private home. Part of it has two other flats rented out and we occupy the main house. It’s set back way off the road which is why I said it’s a well kept secret – you’d never guess there was so much land back here behind all of the houses.

When we moved from Augusta we shipped 2000 pounds of stuff and carried on 8 suitcases/duffle bags plus a cello and guitar. I ask how hard could that be to pack up and move a few houses away? Shouldn’t have been hard but somehow our stuff had multiplied – or so it seemed to me. Two American ladies, Marlene and Lynn, Marlene’s son with dislocated shoulder, AC’s three friend’s Josh, Ben and Lucy and Julieanne’s friend, Charlotte joined us like ants as we moved stuff up the street. We would load the back of the car up, I would drive it up the alley while they walked, unload it in the new house and then start again…12 times. They were a great help. Don’t ever let someone tell you moving 5 people is no big deal.

The hardest part for me was dealing with the old landlord. She develops properties for a living and at the end of the day what matters to her is the bottom line financially which is her motivator for decision making. Well, I don’t operate that way and we had patiently put up with disrepair for far too long. It shouldn’t take 8 months to fix leaks in the roof but it all came down to money because no one wanted to be responsible. Anyway, she expected the house to be returned to her in ‘pristine’ condition in order to get our deposit back. You know our family, we live large and the house though extremely clean when we were done did not look pristine. We ended up shampooing carpets, painting the kitchen and stairwell, hiring people to clean the windows and tidy the garden. She got a house better than when we found it. She bickered over a bent curtain rod which Dennis had fidgeted with for a year after we had spend several hundred pounds adding shrubs, flowers, shelves, hooks, etc. I was quite upset to have been taken advantage of requiring many a Gospel conversation with myself to beat the vengeful thoughts I was having. Were it not for the Lord’s transforming work of grace in my life, I would be a major bitty no doubt.

So we are moved and enjoying it ever so much!