ONE MORE ENGLAND POST.....

I just realized that I never included the pictures of flying home......near and dear to my heart......we made it and still had club seating so that Chris' medical needs could be met.



Daddy and Caleb took a nice long nap together, so sweet to watch.



Thank you Lord for an incredible trip and for keeping us safe the entire time. I love you

DEEPER LEVELS

So I've shared a lot of the activities that we did in England. I shared with you the experiences that we had. But one thing that I haven't specifically shared is what happened in my spirit while I was there. I know that God speaks to me everyday - sometimes in small ways and sometimes in big ways but this trip was definitely a time when God reached deep into my soul with His love in a life changing way.

You know, the pace of my life here in Texas is pretty intense. Working full-time and longing to still show as much love as I have to my husband and children while juggling all the details that a life like this requires......well....intense is truly the best word I can use to describe it. Before leaving for England I was functioning on the fumes of overdrive. I just kept the vision of England before me.....just get on the plane......just get us to the point to get on that plane......then we can all crash.....well, not CRASH......but.....rest greatly or relax?? You know what I mean.

I was so relieved to finally have some uninterrupted time with God. I was equipped with my bible, my worship CD's, my journal. Ready to hear from God. But honestly, I struggled focusing when I read my bible, I struggled focusing on the lyrics of worship music, and I'd fall asleep writing in my journal. I think it really took me 2 full weeks to "come down" so to speak from the intensity of my Texas world. I HAD to rest, HAD to sit, HAD to sleep.......and I didn't realize it until I was there in England. But God knew. He knew I needed time to rest before I could absorb new things, before I could really work through the experiences of the past 6 months - Chris' surgery, pressure sores, infections, Patrick's death, my grandmother's death, working full-time away from my husband and children, and very little extra time one-on-one time with God. (Not that God's time should fit into my "extra" slot, but the things that He filled my days with just didn't allow for quiet, alone time with Him).

Before I left for England I truly felt like I was holding myself together by a thread. I knew that God was the one actually holding me together, but I knew that I was on a very thin thread.....I honestly don't know how I got to work each day and how we got everything we needed on the plane!

Two weeks ago while we were still in England I read these verses in Ecclesiastes:


"For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.........A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones......A time to tear and a time to mend...."

Now that I'm home from England I can see that from February through mid-June it was a time where God "scattered my stones", where God allowed me to "be torn". My heart broke, my mind hurt, my body felt weak and tired, the pressure was too much. But HE went before me to prepare a time in England, a time of 8 weeks away from the "pressure" of regular life.......God prepared a time to gather my stones, a time to mend my heart, my mind, my soul, my spirit, my body. Much of my alone time in England, when I truly was away from all other people, I spent in tears to my God - tears of fatigue, tears of the unknown, tears of grief from the recent experiences, tears of relief, tears of rest. It was in these tears the my God allowed me to heal. And He provided 3 separate people in the last week of my visit to speak His encouragement to me. They spoke of who Jesus is, the POWER of His Name, the PROVISION, the PEACE, the KING, the NAME above all names. They prayed with me for freedom in my spirit, freedom to truly be who I am, freedom to express myself fully to God, and they prayed against fear that would hinder me........really what GOD has done is given me HOPE. HOPE in HIM. HOPE in HIS ability. HOPE in HIS power. HOPE in HIS provision. HOPE in HIS strength. I was scattered so that HE could put me together again and so that I would KNOW that it was HIM who did it. HE is the one who has saved me. HE is the one who has given me time to mend. And HE is the one who has done the mending.

So I DO stand here with ARMS OPEN WIDE singing GLORY AND HONOR AND PRAISE to the LIVING GOD. I can do nothing else. Thank you Lord.

SWEET MOMENTS

What a treat, sleeping in the morning with Daddy......our kids never sleep in bed with us, but "normal" rules do tend to bend in foreign countries on vacation. And what sweet moments they create.....





Caleb is so faithful to his Daddy. He truly is. It's warms my heart. I love it!!!

ICE CREAM WITH DADDY

So, for those of you who don't know, Daddy is definitely the source of any sweet tooth that Caleb or Alethia develop in life. He loves giving them special treats to reward them for good behavior. One of our first nights in Portsmouth he treated them to ice cream at a real restaurant. What does that mean?? It means the largest bowl of ice cream either of them has EVER seen let along eaten!! But they were determined and persistent and the gobbled it down!! Not much conversation ensued once the ice cream arrived, but many smiles were seen afterwards. It's good to have a Daddy who gives sweets!!!


(The first course consisted of complimentary coloring pages on the kids' menu....always a good sign for what is to come.....)




(I think the spoon is 1/4 the size of Caleb's entire face!!)


(You can't let hair get in the way of good chocolate ice-cream!)




Caleb and Alethia truly DO love their Daddy.....and it's not JUST because he buys them ice-cream, although let's face it, it helps!

THE STEP PARK

One of Caleb and Alethia's favorite places to go in Portsmouth was an area that we passed through almost every day. In the real world it's called GuildHall. However, in Caleb and Alethia's world it's called the "Step Park." They named it themselves the first time that they got to climb the steps and everytime they passed through they yelled, "the step park!!!" So I truly can't omit the memories of the step park from this blog!!!



(They each picked their lion's on the first day and they never switched. Every time we climbed the steps they each went to their own lion to sit by the tail. And on days when Daddy was able to join us the trip was accompanied by vigorous waving and yelling, "Hi Daddy!!!!" as they proudly sat perched in their spots!)



Next to the area of steps in a World War II memorial for all those soldiers who lost their lives in the war.







They loved it!!! And so did I - easy entertainment and certain to produce smiles all the way around!!!

KING'S KIDS

One of the great programs at King's Church is called King's Kids. It's a youth event every Friday night through the schoolyear. They have it for young kids and a second event later in the evening for the teenagers. I only visited in the program for the younger kids. Caleb and Alethia really did enjoy it, although they are a bit young for it.

What the church does is have volunteers meet at the church, divide in groups, and walk out to various locations of Portsmouth to "pick up" any children that want to attend. Then they all walk back to the church together. Parents are welcomed to attend as well if they'd like to see what their children are involved in. At the end of the night the same groups walk the children back to their homes.

The actual event is quite a production. You definitely have to prepare with caffeine and earplugs!!! It's a high-energy, high-volume event that consists of games and competitions, fun music and dancing, a skit for the kids to participate in themselves, and a life lesson about Jesus. From what I observed the children who attend are shown love, fun, support, and compassion. It's an incredible program and every person involved should be pleased with what they are doing for the Lord. They are changing lives one person at a time and probably changing the course of these children's lives for eternity!

MORE VIEWS OF PORTSMOUTH

Can't get enough......someone told me it's the second most densely populated island in the world next to Hong Kong! Isn't that amazing?? It doesn't really feel like it until you try to find a parking space - they are nowhere to be found!

VIEWS OF PORTSMOUTH

Portsmouth definitely does not look like any city that I've seen in the US. These are only a handful of pictures to capture some of the differences.....definitely not enough to truly seen it all, but I tried!










(Notice all the England flags hanging. It was definitely fun being there for the World Cup!)

VIEWS OF THE WATERFRONT

Portsmouth, England truly is a beautiful place with the water right there. We were able to get some great views from our flat and our trips down to the sea. So lovely!

COOKOUTS AND PAINTING BY NUMBERS

One of our friends from Radford, VA happened to be visiting Portsmouth for the first 3 weeks of our trip - Stephen and Nicola. Nicola is from Portsmouth and Stephen is from Christiansburg, VA so they were just back visiting friends and family. It was so great to see them! They were quick to discover the way to Caleb and Alethia's hearts - PAINT BY NUMBERS.

Of course Caleb and Alethia are more into the free-lance art these days, not being hindered by such things as numbers and lines. Nevertheless, they had a great time with their friends Abi and Ella!







Abi, Ella, and Elijah were kind enough to donate "smocks" for Caleb and Alethia's first paint by numbers experience! Those Bentons are always helping us out and keeping us together!

POSTMAN PAT

So one of the kids cartoons in England happens to be called Postman Pat. Well, fortunately for Caleb and Alethia, Portsmouth has an abundance of trucks and Postman Pat vehicles to climb on! We have found 3 at the shopping area next to our flat and 2 more at the grocery store that we go to the most. So without fail the kids have found a truck to play on almost everyday - just one of the small highlights for the kids' days!

WIMBLEDON FINALS!!

So I must admit, I've seen glimpses of Wimbledon matches this year but I've been much more occupied with following the World Cup matches. So when I awoke this morning I had no idea that it was the day for the Women's Finals. Chris got up and in his chair and spontaneously said, "Let's go to Wimbledon today. Let's hop on a train and go see the Women's Finals." Well, since I absolutely love spontaneity (it's a good thing I love it considering the man that I married.....), I immediately got excited about the idea. Chris headed for the train station and when he returned he simply said, "Our train leaves in 29 minutes, I got the tickets." YIKES!! We jumped into overdrive, got the kids dressed, bags packed and ran out the door. We got to the station with 3 whole minutes to spare!!! (Although it did turn out that we had more time, the man at the counter had told Chris the wrong departure time by 30 minutes).


(Caleb proudly and excitedly sitting on the train for his FIRST EVER real train ride!!!)


It was a picture perfect day. It really was! We got right in to general admission for a very cheap price (they let us in for 1/2 price and it was already much less expensive than I had expected) and we found a hill where you can watch the finals on giant screen. There was even a designated fenced in area for person's with disabilities where we were fortunate enough to sit.


(First view of the Wimbledon grounds)



I loved every minute of the experience.....all the people, the courts, the atmosphere, the staff......it was all great! Chris bought the kids each a giant tennis ball, which is the best souvenir ever!!! And of course, Alethia's ball is PINK - could it get any better than this??





So we got to do the kids' first train ride (that they remember), their first bus ride, and our first trip to Wimbledon all in one day!!!!

I love my husband. I love his spontaneity. I love how he grabs life and takes advantage of every opportunity. He's the best and he makes this life fun!

LOVING CALEB AND ALETHIA

Like I mentioned in my last post, we've had so many people who have intentionally made an effort to befriend us here at King's Church. One thing that has blessed me even more than those who have sought out Chris and I is the fact that people have also put forth effort to befriend Caleb and Alethia. It's so fun to see folks intentionally try to make our children feel comfortable and loved while we're here. There are so many people.

Sarah is one person who has seen the kids since day one. She is frequently at King's Church during the weekdays and whenever we've entered the building she has made a purpose to welcome Caleb, Alethia, and I (Chris is usually already there). She has gone out of her way to make the kids feel comfortable around her.....she even gave Alethia a PINK BRACELET!! It doesn't get much better than that in Alethia's eyes! I have truly been blessed by her consistency and her love.

Lee is a high school student who Chris and I fell in love with last summer. He's great!! Ever since we got here he has really tried to get on Caleb's good side. Try as he might to resist it, Caleb gives in every time to Lee's tickles and peek-a-boo's! It's really fun to watch and the kids definitely are getting to know Lee well.

Jimmy. Now, Chris and I may think Jimmy is great, and Caleb is beginning to recognize him and think he's funny, but he's got one major thing going against him on his path to building trust in his relationship with Caleb and Alethia.......he dresses up like a tiger every Friday night at King's Kids. Now, granted, he's not a scary tiger. He's a tiger who leads games and runs back and forth across a stage and gives out prizes. However, he's still a tiger and after watching Jungle Book as an intro to King's Kids where a tiger bites a bear on the bottom, I'm afraid that Jimmy has his work cut out for him. Caleb has already told me that if the tiger on the movie can bite a bear's bottom, then there's no reason in his mind why he should be safe from this other tiger biting HIS bottom. So he needs to "stay away". Keep trying Jimmy, but you may need to get a haircut and resign from your position at King's Kids to fully earn the trust of Caleb and Alethia!




Kate and Charlotte are two girls who have really impressed me! Charlotte is 14 and Kate is 17 I believe. Last Sunday they played with the kids a lot after church and they mentioned that they'd love to take the kids to a park sometime. So we all went this past Tuesday. We had so much fun and those girls certainly got a workout. They climbed, they swung, they slid, they rode, they bounced, they jumped......they did it all!!! The kids had a blast and so did I as I watched them all play!



(Pictures from a playdate with Kate and Charlotte)





So once again, the folks here are quickly welcoming us into their family......isn't that what love is all about?? They've certainly got a lot of love flowing out of this place!