Last Days in Durham

We spent our last day with Dad walking around Durham some more. Nathan made breakfast in bed for all of us.

Sunshine and brekkie. But I'm still wearing flannel snowman pajamas in July. Don't judge me.

We went and saw the Lindisfarne Gospels on Palace Green. The line was long and they were behind schedule, so I got a little seat.

One last shot of us and the cathedral

Naughty Nathan took some pictures inside the building.

Dad inside the cathedral

The cloisters

Shadows in the cloisters

My shadow

The college

Nathan tried to do a candid self-portrait, but I'm not sure what happened here.

Over to Prebends Bridge

Overlooking the river

Me and Dad

Beautiful view

 Bye bye Durham!

Our Last Independence Day in Britain

For our last 4th of July in Durham, Nathan and I decided to host a big Independence Day party. We did the same our first year with our California guests Amy and Sam. I vividly remember last year, too. It was pouring and freezing and I was majorly grumpy walking 2.5 miles home from school in the rain. We didn't do anything special. It was sad. This year was so different. We were so fortunate to have wonderful weather, my dad brought tons of dollar store decorations, and lots of friends were able to come over and celebrate with us.

Cheeky Sam came wearing his Union Jack vest (or waistcoat, as the British would say). In the middle is my dad and on the right is Rob, more sensibly dressed for the occasion.

Robin, Emily, Liz (who arrived draped in an American flag like Bruce Springsteen), Jen, and Will

Brandy, Aline, and Laura

Aline and a table full of beautiful and patriotic food

Nathan mans the grill

Jen and Sam

Jeanette and Aline

Amy and baby Florence

Brent and Jason

I couldn't resist a picture of Rob's face here.

Sam and Francis

Yum!

My love, me, Sam

Dad and Emily

Brandy, Justin, Laura, Marije

Duncan, Ben, Brandy

Camille, Violet, and their dad, Matt

Maeve, Liz, and Robin enjoying s'mores

Sam, Nathan, Francis

Emily and me

Happy belated 4th everybody! We had such a great time!

Exploring Durham with Dad

After church and Dad's marriage seminar on Sunday we did a bit of exploring around Durham. 

The graduation tent was gone, leaving behind a huge patch of yellow grass.

Baby bumps unite!

In front of St. John's, Nathan's college, after turning in his library key

The next few pictures are from around the cathedral and Palace Green.

On Monday Dad made his famous chicken fried steak, and we enjoyed it with other Americans (and one German) who would appreciate his culinary genius. It. was. amazing.

Sailing with Dad

Sorry for the blogging drought lately. Fear not. I've got a bunch of posts lined up for you every day for a good while. We arrived safely in California and (after stopping at In N Out, of course) hit the ground running with wedding stuff. My brother, Matthew, is now married to the sweetest girl, Priya, and they are honeymooning at Disneyland. More on that later.

So anyway, one of the fun things we got to do when my dad was visiting was sailing in the Lakes District with our friends Sam and Jen and their baby Will. Sam and Jen took us sailing on the Isle of Wight last summer, and Nathan couldn't wait to do it again. He had been looking forward to it for weeks and weeks.

There they go! Sam, Nathan, and my dad had a few hours on the water while Jen and I hung out with the baby.

In this placid-looking picture and among the swans is Nathan screaming, "MIIIIIIKE!!!" My dad was trying to pull Nathan's feet out of his toe holds while they were sailing in higher winds. Nathan is petrified of cold water.

Will had a serious nappy blowout and had to have a full-body wipe-down. It was hilarious to watch. We have so much to look forward to...

Afterwards we went for tea/coffee/ice cream. Uncle Nathan getting Will started early on spoonfuls of clotted cream.

Thanks for some awesome last few memories in England, Sam and Jen! We miss you already!

Goodbye England

Okay, so here's the deal.

My dad left a few days ago and very kindly took my computer to California with him so I don't have to schlep it across the ocean myself. I'm currently blogging from Nathan's computer, which only downloads pictures off of our camera if I want to dump ALL of them at once (instead of choosing which pictures you want, like on my computer). I don't think he'd appreciate a new file with over 1,000 pictures and videos, so pictures of our recent adventures may have to wait.

Remind me to tell you about our sailing adventure with my dad, eating his world-famous chicken fried steak, exploring Durham one last time, our fantastic 4th of July party, and saying goodbye to friends.

We leave our home here on Wednesday morning and will head to California for two weeks, where we'll celebrate my brother's wedding on Saturday. The next Saturday we'll have a baby shower and tell everyone whether we're having a boy or a girl. Please don't pester us about it until then! I have been very short with family who are itching to know (sorry, guys!), but I don't trust myself to talk about it at ALL for fear of giving it away! As the British would say, "Watch this space."

We head to Atlanta on July 24th to spend some time with friends and family there. We've got a week in Florida planned with all of the Parkers and their significant others. I can't wait to complain about the summer heat and humidity in Panama City, also known as the Redneck Riviera. 

After that, who knows? Nathan is still earnestly looking for work. We've had two positions fall through at the last minute in the last two months, which is disappointing, but we both feel at peace that the Lord will take care of us. Hopefully we'll have something to report on the job front by the middle of August. Please pray with us!

1. A place to live and work and serve the Lord
2. Good health for our family

We've had lots of really kind offers from friends and family to crash at their places while we wait, but I'm really ready to settle somewhere permanent. Also, regarding insurance, since I am uninsurable at the moment (two very expensive pre-exisiting conditions, you see) we have signed up for a Christian bill-sharing program. However, it doesn't cover maternity or diabetes costs (darn those pre-exisiting conditions!). Thankfully, the National Health Service here has set me up with at least 8 months worth of diabetes supplies (PRAISE THE LORD!), but we are (rather, I am) anxious about the cost of medical appointments, not to mention the bill coming when we actually have the baby. We pray on...