West End, Sister Act and horses – Week 21 (August 2010)

Have I said before how much I love having Skype?!!! Makes so much difference being able to see everyone I miss so dearly. Would prove to be a VERY wet and rainy week – roll on the sunshine in Paris and Malta soon! But the rain is a sign of God’s love too and He truly was shining down on me all week.

Got to meet up with Allyson and Archie in London, went shopping but I was pretty well behaved – well ok I only got 1 item. Then we headed to the West End to go and watch Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act. I truly enjoy the West End, Sister Act was great, a lot of messages in the lyrics and overall storyline. One line that really stays with me is “It’s the Lord’s word, why are we whispering it?” Its true with all God has done and continues to do for us why are we not bolder for Him?

Sunday was a great day spent in some sunshine (finally!) and up with the horses. Simone and Ryan bought little Megan up for her first EVER ride on a pony – totally adorable when she got on Tanner, she is only 18 months and took it all in her stride – watch out Megan’s mum and dad she might want a pony when she is older!

Able to witness God calling another person to bring His word and become ordained as a Minister – its been a great week.

Fellowship and family time - Week 20 (August 2010)

After my travels last week this week was spent closer to home. Got to spend some lovely quality time with friends and shared in some wonderful fellowship too.

Even though we are nearly 5 months into my time, I am finding it harder right now being away from NC, however God is providing me the strength and comfort I need. Got to worship with my Mt Zion family, certainly miss not being there in person but God is with us wherever we go. Truly enjoyed seeing my NC family and I know I will see them again soon.

Week was one of running errands and trying to keep dry as the weather was yuck! Managed to spend sometime with the horses in between dodging the rain showers, being in the fresh air was much needed.

We got to pick our family portrait pictures up as well – all we could say is wow, they came out really well! Mum, dad and I all spent time together; you can never replace family time and memories. Next few weeks sure are going to be busy so it was nice to have a quieter weekend.

Bath and Longleat time – Week 19 (August 2010)

Still very happy having seen people via Skype, least they don’t seem as far away now with the technology that we have in the 21st Century.

This weekend I headed of to the historic city of Bath in Wiltshire (http://visitbath.co.uk/) for a weekend away and also a trip to Longleat house and safari park. Amazing how you can take so much for granted when you live in a country and don’t experience the history of it, yet when you come back for a year you want to see as much as possible! God’s beauty is everywhere you look :)

After a 2 hour drive arrived safe and sound in Bath. I was completely blown away when I stepped inside the Bath Abbey, the stunning architecture as well, beautiful stain glass windows and all the details that date back thousands of years – managed to take a video of it. The whole city of Bath was lovely, I got to visit the ancient Roman Baths, and the history there was amazing, wondered around the city, saw The Circle and so much more. All of the pictures taken can be accessed by this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=480904&id=898345077&l=b746332758
Next stop was Longleat (http://www.longleat.co.uk/). Totally enjoyed myself, went on safari then headed for the boat safari, butterfly house, the Maze and so much more. Finally home by late evening - think I need a day off to recover from everything!

Shopping, cream tea time and a quiet weekend – Week 18 (August 2010)

Wow, we are into August already. I got a lovely surprise as I got to see all the Bethea family via Skype-so happy to see them, and yes, I did shed a tear when we all hung up. The boys are growing so quickly, least I will be back to see them next year - yeah!

Week was a busy one in work, at least the weekend wasn't quite as hectic. Went over to Wycombe on Friday to spend sometime with Simone and Megan, she is another little one growing so quickly! On Saturday mum and I ventured into Uxbridge to check out a new shopping center, yes ok, we both spent money and actually got the same jackiet, best not wear it at the same time :)

Sunday would be when I took mum and dad out for a typical British Cream tea at Stoke Park (http://www.stokeparkclub.com/). The grounds are beautiful and we throughly enjoyed our time, lets say we didn't need too much for dinner that night. We will be certain to come back again and next time sit in the gardens.

So another week down and August is a busy month with travel, looking forward to it!

Dorset weekend and a busy week – Week 17 (July 2010)

This weekend saw me heading off to Dorset for a weekend with my Aunt and Uncle in the countryside. 2 hours later on a train I pulled into Gillingham, Dorset (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gillingham,_Dorset). It’s the first time I have seen my Aunt at her home and each moment was special. With all the beautiful and stunning countryside we got to go on stunning walks with Ginny (their dog), felt as if I was on holiday!

Saturday night saw us heading off to one of the National Trust’s Heritage homes, Stourhead (www.nationaltrust.org.uk/stourhead/) where we got to enjoy an evening picnic set in stunning scenery with an amazing firework display all choreographed to music to send the evening. Many memories from that night. Next morning was off to the airfield to watch some of the micro light planes and see the beautiful countryside that God has created. Eventually after a lovely bbq for lunch I gradually made my way back to Stoke Green.

Work was busy to say the least this week, so pleased I had a relaxing weekend to cope with the hours this week would bring! Oh and of course coffee and chocolate helps to keep me going!

Time out, summer sales, technology and girls nights - Week 16 (July 2010)

Middle of July and that means summer sales galore in UK – had fun doing some bargain hunting over the course of a couple of days. Got to meet up with Allyson and Archie for their first trip to Windsor, great fun had and a nice dinner well lets say when we eventually got our food…….. Perhaps there is another reason why the place we ate at is called Ha Ha Bar and Grill!

This week I was also out with some of my old friends when we had a girlie get together. Laughed so much our sides hurt :) Lovely to see we are all still friends, some of us have known each other for over 10 years, yes time really does fly. We can also tell we are a little ‘older’ as going out during the work week for dinner a couple of times in one week left us all tired!

And lastly……SKYPE – yes ok a lot of you probably have used this technology well before me but I am finally there now! It was wonderful and mum and dad got to my family in NC for the first time face to face, let’s just say we are all still smiling about it :o) Who knows perhaps one day we will get Guto on Skype and then we will see him in person doing this..... (thanks to everyone at Chadales I miss him so much)

Race for Life 5K, horse time, London trip and rest! – Week 15 (July 2010)

No sooner did I recover from the half marathon it was time for mum and me to join over 2500 other women for the Windsor Race for Life in aid of Cancer research. Something mum never thought she would participate in but I was so proud of her finishing the 5K – we both had a lovely time and decided we deserved some ice-cream afterwards!

Horses were around a lot this week for me with checking on my friends horses and helping out at the RDA and continuing to train a horse which shall hopefully be used for RDA come September.

Work was a busy, busy one this week and I had a trip to London mid week. Guess who managed to get lost…………eventually found the correct street I was looking for but think I walked miles to get to my destination! Nice to be in London, the hustle and bustle does remind me a lot of NYC.

Had aimed to start going back to the gym more as I finally have clearance from my doctors after my bike accident in May – praise God. But it seems like I needed to rest as on both occasions I should have gone to gym in the evening I fell asleep early………. Whoops!