Remembrance Day, Sunday Lunch, Spaghetti Dinner

Today was a lovely day, even though the weather was drizzly and cold. There was much to be thankful for and the sense of having to say goodbye is really starting to sink in. Mike said that being here for the last two weeks is sort of like being here for the first two weeks: appreciating and noticing everything.

We went to church in the morning where the pastor, George, announced that we were leaving and then, impromptu like, asked Mike to come up and say a few words. George sort of interviewed him, just asking questions about where we're from, and how Mike and I met, and what had brought us over here, and how we liked it in England (most of the church is made up of Scots so there was some friendly jeering there), and so on. Then George asked Mike to tell the story about his being in gay ministry, and that got a good laugh. We are going to miss the friendly folks at our church, but we were glad to hear that George's sermons are available online; please go listen to at least one, just for the accent alone!

Today was Remembrance Day. People in church were dressed up more than normal--suits and ties--and everyone was wearing red poppy pins. There was a slideshow of British soldiers from different eras and patriotic slides of the Union Jack flapping in the wind and so forth. And then everyone stood for two minutes of silence. Later in the day I went for a run on the seafront and found soldiers in uniform, just wrapping up a presentation at the war memorial by the sea in Whitley Bay.

I read online that the red poppy became the symbol of Remembrance Day because of the poem "In Flanders Fields." Poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, and their red color became an appropriate symbol for the blood spilled in the war. I only had my iPhone and the sea fret was as thick as pea soup, so the photos aren't great, but I found the memorial wreaths and personal messages so moving.

After church, we walked to our favorite Sunday-afternoon spot, The Cottage Kitchen. To give you an idea of how close it is to our house and for us--for posterity, to remember our weekly walk there for lunch--we recorded this:


Yes, Merrit got his sausage and egg stottie (an oversized hamburger bun with grilled link sausage sliced in half and covered with eggs-over-medium). Mike and I ordered the roast lamb, which comes with Yorkshire pudding, gravy, and veg. (Ollie and I shared because it's a huge portion, and just £6.00...a great deal.)

Even after Ollie shared with me, he dug into Mike's meal. 

We came home and all took a big nap since it was such a foggy, drizzly day. Awesome.

Then I went for a run while the boys continued napping. Running along the seafront has been one of my favorite things about living here. It makes no difference what the weather is here: There are always people out at the coast, rain or shine. This is a big running/biking community so you never feel alone out there, any time of day or night. And there is so much variety when you get there: You can run on the sand, on the boardwalk, on the grass, up/down the steps, up/down the ramps. Mostly though, it's an energizing, spiritual place to run: the wind blowing in your hair, the seaweed-salty smell, the sound of the surf, the craggy cliffs and lighthouses and crashing waves and huge sky. This is a coastline unlike any I've ever seen. I'm going to miss it.
Tonight was also our spaghetti dinner for the neighborhood hoodlums. They have been little pranksters, playing Knocky Knocky Nine Doors and kicking open our back gate and climbing over our garden wall and, just last week, leaving markered graffiti on the wooden fence behind our garden. (The fact that they signed their names wasn't all that bright.) We asked them if they did it, they denied it, we confronted them about their names, they fessed up, Mike went and got sandpaper out of the shed, and they commenced with buffing the whole mess off.

Please note: the kid in the middle, Ben, is innocent. He just happened to be around
when the guilty parties were apprehended and coerced to undertake restorative actions.
...This whole story reminds me of a certain Tom Sawyer incident...

In all seriousness, these are sweet kids, some sweeter than others--but I have to say that the ones who're a little hard to love are the ones that have grown on Mike and I the most. I actually worry about and care a lot for two in particular and want to love on them as much as I can before we go. So, the spaghetti dinner was my idea; it was just an effort to how to show how much we have come to love these kids. Let's meet 'em:

The kids brought cards and gifts (Nerds, chocolate candies, brownies), which
was totally unexpected.

I made a plum and apple crumble for dessert.
Getting ready to go into the oven....

Dinner for seven.

Spaghetti, bolognese sauce, and garlic bread in the works.

Yeah, that is my son with no shirt on and green marker on his chest.
The boys said he did it himself but how, I ask you, did he get marks on his BACK?

These boys ate their weight in spaghetti. Everyone but Amber had seconds,
or even thirds.

Mike prayed before the meal, which kicked off a little bit of a discussion about
why we pray and what it means to be a Christian. 

Mike's New Ministry

We just got back from church and, in chatting with some of the folks we've met over the last few weeks, we were able to clear up a teeny-tiny misunderstanding.

Apparently, two weeks ago, Mike said something to a woman in the church about "working in the game industry" and she thought he said "working in gay ministry." So, naturally, everyone was intrigued and wanted to know more about how Mike came to be involved in gay ministry. 

Well...we cleared that up today...and had a good laugh.

Finding Things....

We found three great things this week:

A babysitter. Woo hoo! Mike and I went out for dinner on Friday night in Tynemouth, while the boys stayed home with Brioni (pronounced like Bryan with an "ee" at the end; how that's a nickname for Victoria, I simply can't figure out).

She is a 19-year-old college student who's been background checked and grew up in a home with two older sisters. For the last six years, her parents have taken a series of foster children in and now Brioni wants to study child psychology because she has seen kids coming from all kinds of rough situations and wants to work with kids like that as her career. She really seems to have her head on straight and the boys liked her--and didn't give her too much trouble.

For our part, we were thrilled to be out and about without the kids. First time in six months. Here we are, taking goofy pictures of ourselves, so happy to be out for uninterrupted conversation!

A church. Sunday morning, we tried a new church and feel like it's going to be a good fit for us. Yay. It's close to our house--we could walk there but not with the two short-legs in the family (no, not ME...the boys!). So, it's about a four- or five-minute drive. The church is a small Baptist church that meets in an elementary school. They have about 60 members.

We both really liked the pastor. He was funny, transparent and very humble, and had a great message; the sermon was about how Onesimus went from being a slave to a Christian and helper of Paul to one of the first bishops in the church. The pastor also had a strong Scottish accent (love that, and could listen to it all the live long day). 

There was also a special visitor this past Sunday; a woman named Grace, who traveled down from Scotland for the day; she was an older woman who has been blind since birth. She shared her story--which was, surprisingly, hysterical...she was very funny--and sang / played piano twice. What a blessing she was! 

The families with kids were all pretty much absent, because it's summer break and everyone with school-age kids goes on holiday, so we met mostly the older crowd this past week. We couldn't believe how warm and friendly everyone was. Really. After trying a few other churches, this one really stood out as unusually friendly. We were invited to homegroups, introduced to the church during the service, and there was no way we could have walked out the door without staying for biscuits (cookies) and tea....we were hemmed in on all sides with friendly people who wanted to meet the boys and find out why we were here in the UK.

So, we'll be going back. 

A trainer. I also found a cool beach boot camp class that I'll be going back to. It only runs through the end of August so my only regret is that I didn't find it sooner. (Lisa and Tina: No it's not the scary, she-man trainer I sent you a picture of! LOL) I went this morning and had a blast. 

We jogged through loose sand while tossing a 10-pound medicine ball back and forth, we did partner strength moves (and even though I didn't know anyone, I was quickly paired up with a nice girl) for about 30 mins (killer) and then did a 4-move strength circuit (squats, push-ups, crunches, and bootstrappers--a new hamstring/calf exercise I didn't already know) for reps of 10, then, 20, then 30. Woah. The jog back through the sand was tough after all that!! 

But, I'll be back on Thursday morning, ready to pay for more pain. :)

Last thing...and this is something that we need to find. My passport! I took it with me to the bank on Friday and haven't been able to find it since. I remember putting it in my purse at the bank, so chances are it's here at the house...but please pray that I find it! 

All for now. Y'all have a great day! Er, I mean...Cheers!