Thanksgiving in Boroughbridge

I know everyone is fully into Christmas now, but I'm dragging behind with blogging.  We are still working out what our daily and weekly routines look like, and any free time I've had has been spent in organizing and finding things for our new home and after weeks of upheaval, trying to give the kids a more regular school schedule.  They were just thrilled that we had school every day last week.  But then, James actually was pretty happy about it.  He hasn't yet learned that children are obligated to complain about school.  Yesterday he said cheerfully, "I like school!"

Like so many of you, I'm sure, we had two Thanksgivings this year, beginning on Thursday with the de la Hoyde family.  You can feel introduced to Laura now!

 

We had a really lovely evening, in which I asked Del to do the honors (or should I say honours?) of reading to the kids about the first Thanksgiving.  The kids were pretty into it.

 



We were only six days into living in Capstick Cottage at this point, so things are not looking quite so bare now.  But you really don't need a fully decorated house or pictures in all of your frames to have a thankful heart, and our hearts were feeling really thankful.  It was one year ago last week that we had our first Skype call with Del.

I think KJ is selling the virtues and benefits of the kids' table in the above picture.  Only well-behaved boys and girls get to sit at the kids' table.  Otherwise you have to sit with the adults where the conversation will be very boring indeed.

 



You don't need pictures in your frames, just lots of food and a place to sit, right?  And candles.  Don't forget the candles.

We actually had two little boys for whom blowing out the candles was the highlight of the night.



On Saturday we had three other families from our church over for dinner.  Sweet Potato Casserole covered in marshmallows was probably the dish which caused the most surprise for everyone.  "So this is a main dish?"

Reflections on the Weekend

My heart is full of thanks on this dark and rainy Monday morning.

The kids had a busy day on Friday.  Thursday night Ella said, "I'm actually excited to go to bed because I can't wait for tomorrow!"  Big Daddy picked them up in the morning for a round of golf and lunch at McDonald's.  They've been waiting for a chance to wear their caps to the golf course.

I had errands I needed to run in preparation for a wedding shower on Sunday, so a super-sweet friend picked up the kids and took them to a movie.  They had all kinds of fun.  Ella was dying for another chance in the photo booth.

 

After the movie the kids met me at the mall where I was buying a gift.  KJ was working late, so we ate dinner together and made a Target run for more party supplies and a few purchases for Easter.  The kids were troopers, especially sweet nap-less James.  Ella was moaning about how tired she was until I told her we needed to buy her new shoes for Easter.  She perked up because no girl is ever too tired to buy new shoes.

Yesterday was one of those non-stop Sundays that I sometimes dread, thinking they will be stressful, but they end up being so sweet and satisfying because of the kindness of the Lord.  It was a perfect, sunny and warm day here, so warm James wore shorts to church.  This was a good thing since he's had a growth spurt, and all of his pants are too short.

Spring in the South

Sunday School was such a good time of discussing God's Word as we finished our study in Hosea.  I love how the Spirit starts connecting dots from all of the other things bouncing around in my brain, giving me fuller understanding.  Earlier in the week I'd watched the Classical Baby Poetry Show again with the kids, and I was thinking of how much I loved the phrase from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnet 43, "I love thee freely, as men strive for right."  And there it was in Hosea yesterday, "I will heal their apostasy, I will love them freely...".  Love that pursues, given freely without recriminations is a beautiful thing, and that is how God loves and pursues us.

Sometimes the real-ness of the gospel story overwhelms me.  All of these things we believe by faith really happened, and the story we're a part of is just as fantastic as Thor, when a god from another world suddenly appears on the scene.  In fact, I think that's what I appreciate about super-hero movies in general, the sense that there is more out there than what we see, that we live in a world where wonderful things have happened, where John says, "The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it...".

We had a sweet time last night of showering these two with love, blessings, prayers, gifts, and advice as they prepare for marriage.  It was encouraging seeing the body of Christ all working together to make a lovely night for two that we love.

And that's a wrap for our weekend.

Santa Fe

We're home again from an absolutely beautiful and relaxing time at Lake Santa Fe.

It has been 3 years since we made the trip as a family to visit KJ's Florida family; the last time all four of us made the drive James was 3 months old.  James ages 1-3 is probably enough of an explanation as to why there have been no long road trips for us in the past few years.  James at 4 was amazing, though.  We made the 8-hour drive WITHOUT PORTABLE DVD PLAYERS.  I call that winning.  I am thankful for God's grace in a peaceful trip.

Thanks to the graciousness of the Winter's neighbors, almost the entire family was able to come and stay comfortably with their own bedrooms and bathrooms, cribs and toddler beds.  It was such a blessing.

Our Home for the Week

I know I have family anxious to see pictures, but there are many errands to be run today, so I only have time to share pictures from the first day.  My youngest brother would groan if he read that statement.

 

The cousins in KJ's family have always been close, and it was fun to watch the second cousins have so much fun together.  Ann Elizabeth called Ella, "My Ella" all week, while Ella called her, "AE."

Sterling and James played a lot of Mario together, as well as building secret hideouts and playing with cars.

The big kids played a lot of games.

 They're not being unsociable, just playing a game against one another on their phones.

There was a lot of incredible food, compliments of Aunt Vicki, and lots of adorable babies.

There was also a lot of good conversation, and I'm glad Ella got to make memories with extended family.  She really enjoyed being around everyone.

And evening and morning were the first day.  I don't want to embarrass them when they're older, so no pictures of this online, but there was a big jacuzzi tub full of kiddos and bubbles at the end of the day.  They were loving it.

"My little vessel is as full as it can be..."

We met with my family this past Saturday to celebrate an early Thanksgiving together.  It was so good to be with everyone; it's been since Christmas last year that we were all together!  

I read somewhere last week about the idea of taking a series of pictures during a family meal, and I thought it might be fun to try a time lapse video of our Thanksgiving meal.  It was fun, and I think I learned some thing that would make the next experiment a little more successful.  I'm a novice at video production and just grateful when I can get the settings right so I can upload it!  And I'm also really thankful for these Thanksgiving images.  I hope your Thanksgiving is full of good food and light saber battles, too.  And thankful hearts, of course.  I read the perfect Thanksgiving prayer yesterday in the Valley of Vision.  It covers all of our good things in the most beautiful language.

O my God, Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects,

my heart admires, adores, loves thee,

for my little vessel is as full as it can be,

and I would pour out all that fullness before thee

in ceaseless flow.

When I think upon and converse with thee

ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up,

ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed,

ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart,

crowding into every moment of happiness.

I bless thee for the soul thou hast created,

for adorning it, sanctifying it,

though it is fixed in barren soil;

for the body thou hast given me,

for preserving its strength and vigour,

for providing senses to enjoy delights,

for the ease and freedom of my limbs,

for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding;

for thy royal bounty providing my daily support,

for a full table and overflowing cup,

for appetite, taste, sweetness,

for social joys of relatives and friends,

for ability to serve others,

for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,

for a mind to care for my fellow-men,

for opportunities of spreading happiness around,

for loved ones in the joys of heaven,

for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.

I love thee above the powers of language 

to express,

for what thou art to thy creatures.

Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity. 

Murphy Thanksgiving 2013 web from KJ Pugh on Vimeo.

A Happy Weekend

This weekend was one of the most restful I've had in a long time.  I didn't feel like there were a million things I needed to rush around and get done, and I SAW PEOPLE.  

I'm definitely suited to my life as it is now.  I like being home, taking care of it and the people in it, but oh, how much more meaningful adult interaction is to me in these days!  Especially after missing church for weeks in a row with sick kids.  I think James has still been battling a little bit of a sinus infection over the past few days, which gave him a low, random, on again-off again fever.  This kept us from being able to visit my grandparents since I was unsure what was going on, but it ended up as a relaxing weekend, so I was thankful for that.

We did two days of school in one on Thursday, so Friday was a free day from regular school work and a gorgeous day to get out with the kids.

They're so cute I can't stand it.

The kids emptied out their savings from birthday and Tooth Fairy money and went out to buy something at Wal-Mart.  New Matchbox cars and a light-up tracing pad later set them up for a weekend of play.

Saturday morning KJ took the kids for a swim while I ran at the indoor track.  It was a great way to start the day.  Working out early made me feel like I could snuggle up in our room for the afternoon and cross stitch while watching television later.  James was napping, and Ella was playing outside with friends, and it was a nice quiet house.

After embroidering handkerchiefs for Ella's birthday party, I remembered how much I enjoyed stitching.  The last time I had really worked on anything was when I had knee surgery in college.  I cross-stitched while watching movies through a lot of my recovery period, and I decided to try to find some fun things to work on at night because without keeping my hands and mind busy with something other than watching television, I fall asleep after about 30 minutes of lying in bed.  That's not really a bad thing, except that I'd rather stay up a little later and have fun with KJ.  If I'm cross-stitching, I stay awake.

I've already completed one project to be framed and put out at Christmas, and I've been working the past 6 nights on another project, compliments of creative people who design fun patterns and sell them on Etsy.  This is an ambitious, going-to-take-a-long-time-project, for my husband.

One day this:

will turn into this Van Gogh/Dr. Who mash-up.  It will be the work of thousands of stitches, and I'll be keeping up with how many nights.

Even though we're not big football fans, we were still graciously invited to eat good food with those who are on Saturday night.  We are grateful to be included. :)

Somebody buy us Alabama shirts for Christmas, because it is a sad fact that KJ and I showed up to this event in our Oxford sweatshirts.  We are pathetic.  To be fair, I think KJ would get into it more, except that he knows the only way I'll probably ever care about football is if that little guy is wearing a helmet.

And let's be honest, golf is a lot safer.

Yesterday was another gloriously beautiful fall day, and it was refreshing to my soul to be in church again.  I am so grateful for our church, for fellowship and friendship, and to be with them at the end of all things.

The end of all things is near; therefore be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.  Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:7-8).

Franco Fridays: Bouillon Chartier

On Thursday our team met with members of Emmanuel International Church to have lunch at a traditional French restaurant, Bouillon Chartier.  The restaurant is over 100 years old and someone in our group compared it to a Parisian City Cafe, crowded and popular, filled with regulars on their lunch break as well as tourists.

Tucked away at the end of an alley, it's not a place you would find on accident.

It's definitely more upscale than City Cafe, but I did say it was a Parisian version, so more upscale is implied.

Ordering off of French menus always reminded KJ and I of Barney Fife.  Not wanting to appear like he couldn't read French he would just point and say, "I'll have that."  Thankfully we had several translators to help us.

I ordered the Choucroute Alsacienne, which Google just translated to me as Alsatian Sauerkraut.  It reminded me of how we eat Corn Beef and Cabbage.

The waiter jotted down our orders on the paper tablecloth.  I don't know why I ordered sparkling water when I knew the only sparkling water I really enjoy is flavored.  Maybe I thought it would be different in Paris?

Does it look like I have enough meat?  KJ ordered the duck, I think, served with potatoes.

I think we were all taking pictures of our food at this point.  We were Americans in Paris after all.  We all really enjoyed getting to spend this time with the Paulhiac family and other teenagers in Parker's youth group.

I think there was a musical exchange going on here.  Yann showed us what a real Frenchman eats as an appetizer.

KJ tried them, but I just couldn't.  I'm not sure I could handle the texture, though I believed him when he said the flavor was really good.  We had to rush off from lunch to meet a few people we met at the Polyglot on Tuesday night.  They were accompanying us to Versailles that day.  I really think the connections we made were fruitful.