"I Came To England Just to be on the Blog"

That's what David said as he happily posed for many a picture when the West

ergreens came over the the pond to Merry Ole England.

Our first stop once they arrived Tuesday was the outdoor adventure center of England, Keswick in the Lake District. Derwent Water was gorgeous and the kids were just happy to finally be here after a very long 18 hour trip. All were hungry and wanted to try fish and

chips.

Dennis' boss was back in the States so he was in charge and had to be in the office Wednesday during the day but in the evening he and Jeff hit the Whinlatter Mountain Bike Trail. While the guys were riding,

Beth and the kids and I were at the laser tag

and bowling.

We enjoyed messing around at St. Bees beach

and walking them around 'the B' as Jeff liked to call St. Bees School.Having

4 teenagers and one ten year old boy requires tolerance for noise and motion so we tried to keep active. Anna Catherine's friend Josh came to give a rugby lesson so David could go home with a new sport. Being a sports family we thought they might like to see a Whitehaven Rugby match. (That was the match where Nathan lost his shoe, remember?)

We were all set on Saturday to go for a hike up Catbells once Jeff and Dennis finished the harder Bike Trail but all plans changed when Jeff awoke in pain. On the Friday prior to their leaving Augusta, Jeff had been grippe

d with the familiar pain of a kidney stone. He had one very painful episode 5 years back while they were in the Grand Canyon so this was not a new addition to their family vacations. Inspite of the medicines he came with, the pain would not subside so he

spent the upstairs in his room. Finall

y Dennis and I took all of the kids over to Keswick to give Jeff some more room in the house to wander around. We all enjoyed a good laugh during a competitive gam

e of pitch n putt which is a par 3 golf course. However, the laughing was over when we drive up to the house and were met by Beth who said Jeff needed to go to the hospital. Thankfully, Dennis was well acquainted with the hospital and knew just what to do.

Jeff got to experience something none of our other guests have 'enjoyed' ... an overnight stay at the hospital, and a taste of England's Nationalized Health Service.

After church, while Jeff recovered in the hospital with Beth to keep him

company, we took the boys

up

Catbells for a splendid mountaintop view. The video clip at the top gives a glimpse of the beautiful scenery.

Thankfully Jeff was released that evening before we were back from the hike so they took to the streets trying to get home. We all got home just in time to head back to church for the evening youth service which Anna Catherine had been rehearsing for most of the day. We are always glad to share St. John's Church with friends.

Jeff and Dennis were able to go on a tour of Sellafield Nuclear Site on Monday which they both thoroughly enjoyed since they are engineers hailing from Savannah River Nuclear Site. Meanwhile, the rest of us walked down into town to picnic on the harbor. The day ended with the adults getting to go out to eat leaving the kids at home watching Brian Reegan comedy clips.

All in all, the Westergreens got to enjoy a day trip

to Edinburgh (in the rain) several days in the Lake District, two days in London with a bonus trip to the hospital for Jeff and lots of Thompson Time. There was plenty of Guitar Hero, ball throwing, Swing Ball and laughing. We're so glad they made the trip and know that they left with lots of good memories and photos!

Jonathan and Crystal

While over in Dublin on an exploratory trip for Perimeter Presbyterian Church, Crystal and Jonathan 'stopped by' Whitehaven. This 'stopping by' involved a 4:30 a.m. departure from their hotel in Dublin, a plane trip across the Irish Sea and then a train ride up the coast but that didn't deter them from the visit!

It had been almost a year to the day that we were in Atlanta for their wedding. Never would we have imagined that we would get to have them over here a year later! The only disappointment in that was the girls were in the States while they were over here - crazy! The Stambergs were here long enough to experience the gorgeous but nerve wracking drive over hard knot pass as well as a picnic along Windemere Lake at Ambleside (one of my favorite Lake District spots and home to the best scone and rum butter I've had in England - not that I've tried them all or anything.)We were able to pick cherries, play croquet at St. Bees beach, have some feisty games of swing ball , Dutch Blitz and Mr. X, have some good talks and pray together. Nathan had asked me before they came if he would get some time alone with Jonathan. He said, "you know, he's really means a lot to me - he's important in my life - he's like my big brother." After having lived with us a year and a half in a way that really invested in us, our whole family considers Jonathan and the other guys as part of the family. Crystal got to see firsthand just how 'at home' we all were with one another - very goofy and at ease.

We were glad for Jonathan to get to go to a men's breakfast at church and then get to play two songs in the worship service on Sunday. How cool was that!! They especially enjoyed the service as it served to encourage them for what God is doing in this part of Europe.

We may actually get to see them over here again as they have agreed to be the coordinators of a support team to some pastors in Dublin. This involves keeping in close touch with these men and the needs of their people so that the team at Perimeter can come alongside to give tangible assistance and encouragement. Jonathan and Crystal are very excited about this opportunity.

We had left Augusta just as Jonathan and Crystal were getting more serious in their relationship so we really didn't know her very well though we had prayed much for Jonathan's 'future wife'. It was a treat to get to know her a little better while they were here. Dennis and I were both so grateful for the total compliment that they are to each other! Wow- they are a great fit for one another. We also were happy to see that they have been establishing good habits in their first year of marriage to be intentional and serving one another. A serendipity to have them!

An Augusta Summer

We have started the summer where we get to experience lots of Augusta. The girls flew back home for a delightful but exhausting two week catch up trip. AC got to spend lots of time with special friend Taylor and got to practice driving with brave friends John Barrett and Matt Willis! They celebrated Sophia's 3rd birthday all in pink, played with Buddy and got to swim with the Eldridges. They loved being back at church - a true place of 'home' for them. Julieanne was able to go the EDGE youth camp which was a real highlight. They returned to England with the Westergreen family on the 14th.

While the girls were back in Augusta, Dennis and I were able to meet Matt and Pam in Vienna! When we moved two years ago, Matt asked us if he qualified for the State Farm trip to Vienna in 2009 would we meet them there? We both had quite a few challenges to make it a reality but we made it! We always enjoy time with them as we share a love of the Lord, good food, laughing, exploring, adventure and encouragement.

Not speaking German and trying to figure how to pronounce words gave us much to laugh about. Here was a particularly funny one we thought our kids would get a laugh out of.

Vienna, of course was home to many famous composers for some period in their life; Strauss, Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Brahms and Schubert but Mozart and Strauss seemed to be the city's featured composers during our stay. We did sample some of the musical heritage at a Mozart concert in the stunning Statsopper Opera House. Even though we were in the nose bleed section, we could still appreciate the gorgeous music and setting. It opened in 1869 with Mozart's, Don Giovanni. We also had a folk night with traditional songs and dances of Austria. Our last day, we rode bikes through the city down the Danube, mostly in the rain but it didn't stop us from laughing and enjoying the ride. I think Strauss must have had a romanticised view of the 'Blue Danube' because the part of the river we saw was mostly ugly mud colored not blue and lined with graffiti/ art style. The historic part of the city is wonderfully preserved and surprisingly free of lots of traffic. There are mostly trolleys, bikes, horse and carriages, pedestrians and buses. We were able to see the famous Lipizzaner Stallions at the Hapsburg Palace. Actually the stallions were on 'holiday' but the 'wild boys' and some fouls were in action as you can see.

Vienna Woods offered us a local experience of hiking through the forest for the day. The real kicker though was Dennis' 15 hour driving tour through Austria!! As he often does he looked at the map and found a few places that looked promising...never mind that they were hours away, a minor detail. It's kind of like people over here telling me they've been to America and when I ask where they've been they say Orlando and Las Vegas to which I reply, 'Oh, well you haven't really seen America - you need to go back and do the small towns'. So we took our own advice and didn't just 'do Vienna' - we did Austria. We climbed this mountainous walk through 14 gates to get to the medieval castle on top. Hochosterwitz Castle - somebody was thinking big when they chose this naturally fortified location. The castle is said to have been the inspiration of Disney's animated Snow White.

We then drove through pretty little villages -all with their standard catholic church steeple announcing the church's presence. We even drove through the scenic lake spot where our landlord currently lives. (I had tried for two days to find their little town on a map but had failed until we found ourselves driving right through it admiring it's pretty lake/mountain setting. I called them and asked them what was for supper but they were in Croatia.) The destination had been to reach the Hohe Tauern National Park which meanders through the Alps - complete with snow. The journey really was the destination.

Vienna was beautiful but the fellowship was the best part of the trip.

"Within the wider fellowship emerges the special circle of a few on whom, for each of us, a particular emphasis of nearness has fallen." Thomas Kelly twentieth century Quaker missionary, scholar and speaker.

Don't Know Where My Shoe Is

Last night we took the Westergreens and AC's friend Josh to the Whitehaven Rugby match against Barrow. It was a big televised game - all were encouraged to wear pink as they were raising money for the breast cancer suite at the local hospital. The team had a special pink rugby top for the occasion. The community was real involved providing dancing and bands and little league rugby during half time. It was great fun especially when Whitehaven shut them down 28-4.
After awhile of sitting with the family Nathan asked if he could go watch his buddies play their halftime little league match up close. He never came back and we could see him across the field chasing his friends. At the end of the game, he came back to us but only wearing one shoe. He said he didn't know where his other shoe was. We were baffled - how do you lose your shoe and not know that? We all tried hunting for it but to no avail. Nathan had paid for part of the shoes as they were more money than I was willing to pay for shoes. Now he will have to buy a whole new pair himself. I'm still baffled.

'Fine'

Dennis says I have a different reality than his which means he thinks he was 'fine' and is 'fine' but I say people who are 'fine' don't have to go back to the ER and don't lay around 5 days later with flu like symptoms and yellowing eyes. He is doing well now. The blood test showed that the liver was somehow blocked and causing the infection which seems to be gone now. The sonogram didn't show any escaped stones so it must have just been infection. He goes back one more time for blood work to get the A - okay. Now, I say he is 'fine'.

Nathan Wins Big

At this year's soccer presentation night all the kids were given trophies for being a part of the team. (we're in the day and age when everyone regardless of whether or not they even come to games and practices regularly has to get an award so we don't hurt anyone's feelings)

Nathan plays for the Whitehaven Amateurs where there are two teams for his age group - the B team which in reality is the A team and then Na's team, the A team which in reality is the B team. No one is fooled by the name switch. Anyway, Nathan primarily plays as the goalie though he would really love to be a striker or midfielder. His team never won a game this year and last year only won a couple. However, Nathan stays very busy as a player. He has stopped countless goals this year and although he obviously let balls in, he stopped far more than actually went in. He never blames his team for not defending or scoring - he just sticks to his position. At the end of each game the opponent's coach chooses a player from your team that they believe is the Man of the Match. Though we missed many games on Sunday mornings, Nathan still got more Man of the Match titles than anyone else so he received the Player of the Year Trophy for his team!

The night is a real Cumbrian experience. There are trivia games, raffles and lots of alcohol. Julie got to have pies and peas (ground beef pot pie kind of thing with flourescent green peas) We were team America for the trivia games - we lost but largely due to the fact that we couldn't always understand what they were saying. Julieanne and AC kept themselves entertained and Julie too with silly faces and giggles.

The parents of the team also choose a Parent's Player of the Year which Nathan won. A real honor. Next year the two teams will combine to make one new team and they will play full pitch. Nathan plays like fireworks - lots of speed and sparks but then fizzles out so he will need to work on some endurance.

Well done Nathan!!!!!!!!!

Southern Girl in England

Elegant, gracious, soft spoken, talented, passionate about Christ, attentive to details and people talking, not self absorbed, a great role model for the Thompson girls; these are some words that describe Julie Blakey who was just visiting here from Augusta. She is in herself, as well as represents to us, so many precious people and memories of home. The time she was here flew by taking with it incomplete activities rendering her in need of a follow up visit.

On Sunday I met her down in London for a brief, packed 24 hours. For Julie maybe the highlight was seeing famous places only known on a screen before but for me this time it was seeing the original Magna Carta, the Guttenberg Bible, Handel’s Messiah, and Alice in Wonderland all in the British Library. I didn’t see the original Winnie the Pooh which I was most disappointed about as it is one of my true favorites. Another highlight was getting kicked out of the Ritz because they have a dress code you know and it wasn’t blue jeans.

While in Cumbria we were able to experience our first English High Tea in a gorgeous old manor that was a certified member of the English Tea Guild. This was important of course for us to have the real deal! We even had a tea timer so we would know precisely when to take the tea bags out. Pinkies up! The ginger scones and strawberry truffle were the favorite tea treats. It was Julie’s favorite UK moment which I think was helped with the music playing in the background – total Julie music! Pinkies up!

Julie soaked up the stunning scenery and views from our daily drives. She thoroughly enjoyed the narrow roads dotted with obstacles such as bicyclists, sheep or other cars. She was a trooper having the traditional pub fare when in a pub and having a go at the trivia game at Nathan’s soccer presentation night.

She and AC took a day trip via train to Edinburgh where they hiked way into the sky in a medieval spire, read all of the doggie memorials at the Edinburgh castle dog cemetery and walked the Royal Mile each step with guidebook in hand.

Nathan was not to be ignored and had his date with Julie walking to town and enjoying a McFlurry. He was especially thrilled to have a new sparring partner on the swing ball game. We introduced her to some of Dennis’ work colleagues at dinner at our house, the ladies in my Bible Study, some of the kids' friends and some new friends at church. All were easily captivated by Julie’s million dollar smile, warmth and genuiness.

There was lots of talking, laughing, shopping, driving, picture taking and did I mention talking? It was great! The week ended with a powerpoint of some of the 600 or more photos Julie took complete with music and topped off in prayer. We look forward to her follow up visit.