Our Mission Statement

As a family of servants of God, we seek to Glorify Him by offering our lives as living sacrifices, being intentional about engaging people with Christ and the Gospel, and using the talents and training He has given us through grace to proclaim the Gospel of Grace to those near and far.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

23 April- 23 May {has it really been a month!?}

When last I blogged, Naomi was home after throwing up.  (lovely)  Well... we get on with life...

The weather continues to be rather crazy here.  We had a hail storm 25 April:

26 April, Naomi came home with a "Golden Ticket".  She was "chuffed"!

And Gideon lost his second tooth!

One evening while the Strachan's were over visiting, Holly, Hannah, Gideon, and Naomi were "doing their thing".  So much so that these were the best photos I could get of their shenanigans.


29 April I got new glasses.  (I hadn't had my eyes checked since right after Naomi was born!)  

I have started doing a discipleship class with the Young Ladies at church (ages 18-25).  We are working through this "book" right now.  

4 May JR and I were invited to John and Michelle Campbell's home with other couples from church.  We had a great time playing games and eating Chinese! :)  It was great to social with our brothers and sisters outside of our "church context".

6 May the kids had another day off school.  Since we were car-less we just stayed around the house.  These are just shots of downtime with our kids.


I had just gotten Gideon better (after a 2nd trip to the dr.) and then Naomi comes down sick!

(Oh, BTW... Since G had the antibiotic here, he has not broken out in hives nor has he needed to take his allergy meds to keep them from breaking out!)
Between both kids, I had not had both kids in school for a full week since we moved!  And I missed 3 Wednesday night services in a row... and I was supposed to be teaching the 10-14 yr olds!

Despite Naomi being slightly sick, JR and I took a much-needed date into Aberdeen on the 10th.  We hopped on the bus and went to Union Square.  We ate at a WONDERFUL latino restaurant and saw Star Trek:  Into Darkness!!!!!  Great Night.  And Billy and Fenella had our kids over for a sleep-over.

However, after the fun of the weekend, Naomi's fever spiked and she stayed in bed for 3 straight days.   We were finally able to get her an antibiotic and within 30 min. she was sitting up.  (a big improvement)

After her being so lethargic for so long, it was a great sight to me when I found her like this: 

Gideon has been busying himself with the few legos he has with him.  (the rest of our earthly possessions are sitting in customs still)


Here's some random shots of the kids being themselves:

























Naomi's preschool from VA put together a care-package for us when they were studying the letter "M".  We got it in the mail on 17 May and the whole family could not have been more excited!

I participate in the Ladies Class on Monday afternoons here in Peterhead.  This past Monday we had a Day Out.  Here I am snapping a photo of some of the ladies as we got out to shop in Dundee.  We had a nice, relaxing day out.  And they almost got me back to the building in time to help out with the Monday Night Kid's Club.  (I was only 30 min. late. ;)


Tuesday we received letters from the FXCC 3rd Grade class.  We are so encouraged when we open up these letters from home. :)
In the midst of our culture adjustment and frustrations with getting set up over here, reading cards from 9 yr. olds that say, "To the ones who share the Word of God"... it helps us keep our focus.  Thank you.

Yesterday JR and Billy flew over to FXCC to be part of the mission's conference going on there.  They will be teaching and sharing about the work here in Peterhead.  We are excited about what God is doing to connect the Peterhead congregation and the Fairfax congregation!

It is a shame, however, that after weeks of waiting, our new car wasn't ready for us to buy until JR was out of the country. :(  But the plus-side is:  WE HAVE A CAR!!!

Since we have no Scottish credit built up yet, we discovered that we did not qualify for any loans. :(  So, JR scoured the used cars and found this 2008 Jetta semi-automatic for us.  I don't know all the specs like horse-power and engine stuff... but I can tell you this:  it is fast!  and smooth, and quiet...  And the kids and I were so happy to have it this morning since it was raining and the wind was knocking us off our feet!

Yesterday afternoon, I invited Fenella to join me for the kid's "Jammin' Fitness" program at school.  The kids gathered in the gym and did a fitness routine for us.  It was hilarious.  As expected G was totally into each and every move with a HUGE grin on his face, and Naomi became a statue. ;)  It was only when they invited the parents to join in the dancing that she loosened up and danced with me.  I wasn't allowed to take photos, but there was a school photographer capturing the event.

I heard from JR last night and he was safely in Fairfax.  While we were chatting (at 9:30 last night) I looked out my window and saw this view.  
BLESSED!

Today 23 May is a big day!  Gideon is on his first out-of-town field trip... but even bigger...  Elijah Brady Porche is scheduled to be born today over in Seattle!  (my last nephew to be born... ever --according to everyone's plans) ;) His birth really highlights how far away from "home" we really are over here.  Thank God for the internet!

1 comment:

Tiffany said...

What a busy month you all have had! How much longer before you can finally get your shipment out of customs? And do you have any idea as to the cause of the hold-up? That's got to be so frustrating. I'm glad the kids (and you and JR) are being such troopers about it all, though.