A Day Between Us

Dear Austin,

I started this blog to record our memories and the special thoughts that I have just for you. Today I called home and I heard you yell in the background, "It's MY MOMMY!" What a joy you are to my heart. I wish that you were here with me today to explore England. Would you like to take a journey with me? Come see my day, sweet boy!

First, we will need to get on the bus. There are plenty of seats, although there are certain members of my cohort that I might warn against sitting next to for a long bus ride to London. (Just kidding:)



I think that you would especially love sitting next to Fred and Heather - as Heather is a first grade teacher and Fred is a firefighter. Since you want to be a firefighter when you grow up, I think that Mr. Fred would be an excellent choice.

*** side story, my co-teacher at school this year, was Ms. Spencer. Since her apt. was so close to our school, Austin and I would pick her up every morning on our way in. As summer school started, Ms. Spencer resigned from her job to look for other work. "Where is Ms. Spencer, today, Mom?" Austin asked as we drove to school. "Well, sweetheart, she has decided to look for another job. She doesn't want to be a school teacher when she grows up." "Oh," said Austin. He paused for a very long time. "Well, then, mom," he said, "She must want to be a firefighter. That is the best job."



When we arrive in London, I will introduce you to my entire PhD family. There are so many children who are missed so deeply by such loving parents in this group. They will love having you along with us for the day, Austin, and I will try to explain to you the history that we will explore.



We will start in the War Rooms - and then it will be time to eat lunch. We will find a nice park to sit and eat.



Perhaps upon the base of a huge tree.




We won't have bacon, pancakes, or any of your favorite foods, but I did bring along a salad sandwich.



After lunch, let's walk over to Westminster Abbey.



You will love all of the beautiful colors, especially in the windows.



Westminster Abbey honors so many leaders who have come before us, Austin. It will be difficult to explain death to you since you are only three, so let's just take a long break in the "College Garden" and drink tea and Capri Sun:) I actually found a Capri Sun in the cafe and drank it just for you:)



After our break, let's take a walk along the Thames River and give you a chance to look at the "rides" - aka. the eye of London.



We will take the bus back to Oxford, eat lamb for dinner, and then crawl up into bed for a good night's sleep. It will be a wonderful day.

Most of all, sweet boy, the trip to Westminster will remind me of legacy and relationships - The legacies of the many men and women buried in Westmister Abbey - and the legacy that I want to leave for you - a legacy of being a Godly mother.



I love you and miss you,

Mommy

Blessing, Peace, and a little bit of Rain!

Warning - today is going to have lots of pictures!



The morning started with Margo knocking on my dorm room door at 7:15 am. "Emily, are you awake in there?" she asked. "Uh huh." I moaned realizing that I needed to finally get out of bed. It has become something of a joke among my cohort members that I am a little tired in the mornings. I definitely don't pop out of bed easily, but rather take my time drinking a coca-cola with ice before I am ready to face my day.

We gathered in the dining hall for a breakfast of cereals, fruits, breads and jam. For anyone who has been to England before, I must confess that I am not a fan of Marmite or Nutella. Just butter for me, please! Today, Nancy spread a healthy portion of Blackberry Currant on her toast before realizing that she didn't like it at all.



After breakfast, our class met in a lecture hall type of classroom off the quad at Regent's Park College. Oxford is actually made up of numerous colleges - Regent's Park being just one of the many, and since it is a Christian school for theological learning, this is where we stay.



Class members presented 10 minute presentations this morning on various leadership themes implementing both readings from our text and class lectures. It was an enjoyable morning with several creative teaching styles.



I have to admit, however, that I was most excited when the cook ran into our room about 10:30 am to tell us that fresh coffee, hot tea, and homemade baked chocolate chip cookies (biscuits) were ready for us.



Class continued with presentations and we finished for lunch about 12:30 pm. The tradition here is to ring the lunch/ dinner bell 13 times to let everyone in the school know that lunch will be served in five minutes.



We ate a delicious meal. Since I wasn't in the mood for the main course of sausage, onions, and sweet potatoes, I ate heartily off the salad bar:)



As soon as lunch was finished, Margo and I walked across town to the busy bus station. We met a very interesting couple from New Jersey who were just stopping in England for a few days on their way back to America. They had been at an optomology meeting in Tunisia. We talked for quite awhile and then boarded the bus. Margo then made me a $200 bet, but I'll talk about that when we aren't on the blog.

After a 30 minute bus ride, we got off the bus and walked about a mile up to Blenheim Palace. Blenheim Palace is home to the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and sits on 2100 acres of land. It was a gift to John Churchill after he defeated the French in 1704. Grateful that the land was still in the hands of the British, the King decided that the warrior needed some land and a title - the Duke of Marlborough! Not a bad prize.



My favorite part of the palace was the beautiful gardens landscaped by Capability Brown. Maybe I just love the name "Capability Brown!" What do you think James, maybe for our next child?





I am always drawn to gardens, and I can never resist a good English rose garden. Oh, my goodness, I just want to pick these flowers, put them in my pocket, and take them home with me!!!



Margo wanted me to take a photo of the beautiful "blessing rose" and I particularly loved the "peace rose." That's how it felt today walking around the gardens - blessing and peace.


This is the Blessing Rose


This is the Peace Rose

As we walked back to the palace, we passed a gazebo, just a small little thing, wouldn't you say?



This gazebo is where Winston Churchill proposed to Clementine. James did it much the same way, you know. Although I don't remember a view of the lake, a rose garden, or a Greco-Roman Gazebo.

Churchill proposed here because Blenheim Palace was his birthplace.

We took the lake side path back to the palace and saw some people fishing on the lake. Margo and I are convinced that it was the 11th Duke of Marlborough who still lives in residence at the palace.

Our tour took a little longer than expected, and we soon found ourselves as the only visitors left at Blenheim. Margo mentioned that it felt like it was her own home as we walked with no one around. Margo, have I mentioned that if this reminds you of home, I am moving in???

Just as we were leaving the gift shop, rain began to fall. We pulled out umbrellas and rain coats, to little avail. We ran through the streets back to the bus stop laughing non-stop as the rain soaked our clothes, our socks, and definitely our shoes.

As soon as we arrived back at the bus stop, the rain cleared and we stood under the beautiful sun waiting for the S3 Stagecoach to take us back to Oxford.

I quickly showered and changed for dinner, and listened for those 13 rings on the bell promising another delicious meal.

The day has been full - but full most of all - with blessing and peace!

Amazing Grace, Amazing Views, and Amazing Lunches:)

Today was our "Baptist Heritage Tour" day in England. I am fascinated by the men and women who came before me in my rich faith. We toured several beautiful churches and I learned fascinating stories of the first Baptists in England. I want to work on my stories and do some more research, so tonight, I will just leave you with some pictures!


This is a picture of the church where John Newton wrote the song "Amazing Grace"




I love the colors in England! I think I will go home and plant more flowers and paint my front door green:)




This is one of the most vibrant and beautiful flowers I have ever seen!




We ate lunch at a park by the river in Bedford.




We enjoyed our tuna and sweet corn sandwiches



and great conversation with friends!

Ode to the Man Sitting Next to Me!

Dear Popular Author,

I wanted to let you know how much I enjoy reading your books. Your storytelling often leaves me laughing out loud while rapidly turning pages to read more about your delightful characters. I was so pleased to see that our local library carried several of your books. I picked them up recently to fill the hours of travel between America and Oxford. Last night as I boarded my plane, I couldn't wait to read more than the first few chapters I had just finished in the terminal. Apparently, however, mr young man sitting next to me didn't think the amazing storyline you depicted in your front cover was nearly as enthralling as his own storytelling. I am sorry that your most recent book served merely as an accessory to my coca-cola as Mr. young man shared too much information.

Sincerely,

Emily

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Dear Mr. young man sitting next to me,

You seem like a very delightful and energetic person. I am sure that your friends enjoy your company and storytelling. I need to let you know, however, that beginning a conversation on a plane with a stranger about plane crashes is never (and I mean NEVER) a good idea. I know that you wanted to discuss all of the findings of the recent AirFrance crash, but you could have at least waited until we were finished with take off to start discussing such tragedies of airplane history.

In addition, I need to let you know that I am not a professional or marriage counselor. I am so sorry that you and your girlfriend of three years are having trouble, but please don't ask me whether or not you should break up. After all, we met fifteen minutes ago and have only discussed the history of airplane fatalities. Unfortunately, it sounds like your relationship is also going down in flames.

It was an interesting ten hours with you, sir. And to answer the question you took way too seriously, Yes, I do know how to swim... but I honestly don't think it would help over the Atlantic.

Emily

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Dear American Airlines,

If mr. young man sitting next to me is on my next flight, I am changing carriers.

Emily

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Dear Lunch staff at Regent College at Oxford,

Your lunch made me almost forget about mr. young man on the plane next to me. Who knew how much I would love little finger sandwhiches with tuna and cumcumbers! Oh, I tasted heaven today at your meal! Well, what I think heaven might taste like. According to mr. young man sitting next to me I might get a taste of heaven for sure if I keep flying.

Emily

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Dear Mom and Dad,

Here are some pictures of my first day at Oxford. The flowers are sitting outside my dorm room window. So Colorful... Almost as colorful as mr. young ... Well, you get the idea!

Love you,

Emily

Happy Father's Day!

I want to write a true tribute to several "dads" in my life, particularly my own, but today I am not in a writing mood. So, we will consider this a "Wordless Monday tribute to Father's Day" to James and his father. I will write another post to my own dad soon:)

Another Summer Day

Peter Pan?



Robin Hood?



No, just Austin ready to go to the pool. He dressed himself:)

I love summer.

Celebrate Good Times... Come On!

I finished my papers - with several hours to the deadline, I might add...

I need to celebrate! How about some pictures of my boy:)

Austin at his school's field day a few weeks ago



The scooters were by far his favorite part.



and being his mommy is my favorite part!

Some Red and Some Grey

I have been working heavily for the past few days on some papers due tomorrow (Wednesday!). This week, I came to the conclusion that I needed to call in the troops (i. e. my prayer partners and my babysitters) in order to get this work finished.

Today after school, I told Austin that Ms. Kelsey (Sey-Sey) wanted to play with him today while Mommy went to the library.

"Oh, Okay mom." long pause.... "Why?"

"Well, sweetheart, mommy has some papers due this week, and I need a very quiet place to work. These papers are pretty hard. Do you think that maybe you could pray for mommy and her paper?"

(I have been trying to teach him about prayer - how we can stop at any moment and pray for something that is on our hearts or a person that we see.)

"Sure, Mom! I'll pray right now."

And this was the precious prayer that came out of the backseat of my car.

Dear Jesus,
Thank you for this day. I hope you pray for mommy and for mommy's paper. I hope that you help her to write about firetrucks.
In Jesus' name.
Amen

Long pause from mommy...

"Austin, did you just pray that I would write my paper about firetrucks?"

"Yes, mommy. It will be hard, but I think that you can do it.
First, you will need to draw a big firetruck in the middle of your paper.
Then you will need red and grey."

"Red and grey?" I asked.

"Yes, mommy," answered my exasperated son. "Once your write the firetruck, you are going to need to color it red and the ladder grey."

"Oh," I answered.

"Don't worry, mommy, you can do it!"

So, as I headed to the library to research Isaac Newton's influence on globalization I couldn't help but smile. He is right you know... "It is going to be hard, but I can do it!" It is just like a three year old trying to learn how to color a firetruck!

Summer Lovin...

There are so many reasons to love summer...

We go out looking like this.


Summer school allows me to spend less time on academics and more time on things like painting with marbles!


Five-year-old Art!




And since I am not so strapped for time, I can actually wrap presents for tomorrow's birthday party! (instead of shoving things into gift bags on the way to the party!)