Inverugie Walk

Sunday afternoon was lovely. So, instead of having a Sunday afternoon nap, we headed out to Inverugie to walk around.

We parked our car at William and Diane Strachan’s home and headed out for an adventure. Hoping to get to the castle, but not turning the right direction, we walked through a field…

…beside the river…

…tromped through mud, and ended up back a the Strachans where Diane met us with fresh home-made scones.

Here’s the flickr slide-show of some of the photos.



It sprinkled on us 3 times while we were walking!

I love the photos of JR with the kids that I got, and G let me take some shots of just him. (I can’t believe that he’ll be 5 at the end of the week!)

~Daisha

Wrapping up the Time in Memphis

Gideon had his last day of preschool May 11. As soon as he got home, I got to web-cam with him and ask about his day. He was very sad about not being able to be in the froggy 4’s class. Friends will be missed, activities will be less frequent… even the trip to Scotland wasn’t enough to lift his spirits.

But…

I left a gift for him to open from me before his big program/graduation. (that seemed to do the trick)

After we finished our web-cam, G had a surprise birthday party thrown by our neighbors. (I didn’t even find out about this til I was looking at the photos.) Gideon LOVES Abi, Shelby, and Daniel. It was so sweet for Alanna and Angela to treat Gideon to such a surprise. We are blessed by such caring neighbors.



















Gigi and Papa Dan drove over for G’s program.





JR videoed the performance while Papa Dan had the camera. We watched the performance as soon as we got a chance here in Scotland once we were reunited.











Gideon did such a great job. He came down the aisle with great gusto!








Gideon LOVED having Ms. Jennifer as a teacher!




Gideon and his buddy, Parker.


Gideon and his buddy, RJ.



We are so proud of our boy!

JR snapped a few photos of G on the flights to meet us. Their flights were early or on-time. There were no complications other than the rough landing in New Jersey that caused G to throw up. But it was all contained in the bag and they both seemed more impressed by that fact than the fact that he threw up. ☺







Billy drove Naomi and me over to Aberdeen to meet our boys. We brought them home and are getting settled in.

More posts to follow… ☺

This Tuesday

This morning Naomi and I walked to the grocery store.  She thought this was amazing. :)

But this afternoon we were able to head out to William and Diane Strachan's place for a visit.  They are in the process of wrapping up their photography business, but I got a great tour of their on-site studio and office.  What a set-up they have!  Plus, their lovely home is surrounded by beautiful landscaping, and near by are storybook bridges over a winding river, fields of grazing sheep, and (get this) castle ruins!  Could you ask for more as a photographer?  I think not!  If I were in a position to buy... I'd be set!

The visit was lovely.  Ms. Diane had enough to keep Naomi entertained. :)  And we even stepped outside for a bit (just in their yard) to get some photos in the beautiful day.





Look! A "Harding Swing"! William got the plans one time when he was over and made one for himself. It was like a little bit of home. We just missed Sydney sitting on it with Naomi.




She was having fun drumming on a log re-creating music she'd just learned from "The Jungle Book".

As I type this Gideon has just completed his last day of preschool and is preparing for his big program/graduation. We web-cammed right before Naomi went to bed. And Gideon's first question was, "Why is Naomi in her pajamas?" :)

I can't believe I'm missing his "first performance", but JR is taping it and my parents are heading over. So since we'll have video of it, we may get a chance to put it up on the blog.


Wednesday morning, JR and Gideon will head this way and Thursday morning we will pick them up from the Aberdeen airport.


We "canna weit".

Monday

After finally being caught by the jet-lag, Naomi and I went to sleep at a semi-normal time last night and slept until 10!  We puttered around the Strachan's house for a bit and then were picked up by Michael Gaunt so he could drive us to Boddam for a visit with his lovely wife, Maureen.

Naomi and I spent a lovely afternoon with Maureen.  Her heart is full of love and service for others.  At a time of life when most women are learning to be content being served, Maureen is more active than most people I know, serving those around her.  I hope that I can soak up her example while I'm here.

I love the view from their front door:



The day was BEAUTIFUL!

After Michael took me back to the Strachan's, Naomi and I ate a quick bite and headed with the family to the Monday Night class.

The evening begins with fellowship/games.






As I got to meet some kids, I asked if I could take their photos. So, you can meet them too.




This is Abi.





These are sisters, Laurel and Chorus.





This is Nicole.





This is Ethian and Abi.





This is Chloe.





This is Owen who took me on a tour of his imaginary home.

When the play-time was over, we moved inside for the class time.



Billy had everyone try to copy down Hebrew from a screen to go along with a video he had that showed how scripture has been handled so that we know we have as close to the original as possible. (that's why everyone is concentrating so hard)




After the lesson, they talked about what that means to us in 2011. They had a chance to share about their week, and then after a prayer, they were allowed to buy some candy.



It is clear that all the children who come, as well as the teens who help, LOVE Monday night classes.

In Peterhead

Naomi and I arrived safely Thursday morning in Aberdeen and were greeted at the airport by Billy Strachan.  Other than the delay in Memphis and Naomi's fever on our over-night flight, we had fared well.  For being just 3, Naomi was a huge trooper and carried her bag when I needed her to and kept walking when she thought she could no longer.  She's my girl!

Jet-lag has been kind to us.  We both took about 1.5 nap Thursday afternoon, but then stayed up til a normal bed-time and were able to sleep until 7:30 the next morning.  Naomi HAS been waking in the middle of the night freaked out about not knowing where she is, but I'm hoping that will happen less and less.

Holly and Hannah Strachan have been making Naomi feel very welcomed.  :)  She is constantly the soul-center of attention whether they are playing dolls, ponies, dress-up, or Littlest Pet Shop.  The first evening, they even loaned her a "dressing gown", cuddled up on the couch and watched "TinkerBell".



The 3 of them are constantly playing something!

Friday we went over and saw the place we will be renting. It is lovely. Here, I'll take you on a little tour of 56 Copeman Avenue, Peterhead, Scotland.

Park at the end of the street, step through the gate, and walk up the stairs...


You will enter into the entry-way here:


The smaller bedroom immediately on your left has a full built-in closet and black-out drapes!


Across the hallway is the larger bedroom with full built-in closets and a HUGE bonus closet (with shelves in it)! ("Shelves in the closet. Happy thought indeed."-- name that reference)


Our lovely, clean and bright bathroom with shower over the tub:



Across the hallway from the bathroom is the "lounge" or living room.





Look! A photo of me in Scotland! I'm standing in the doorway of the kitchen.




(not pictured is the large pantry and the tiny fridge and slightly larger freezer. :)

And our "garden" (aka: yard):
(from the top of the stairs)


The Strachans have already pulled out a slide (or "chute") and a see-saw for us to put in our "garden".

We have been able to web-cam with JR and Gideon every day so far.  We are getting things set up, but can't wait to be reunited with our fellas.