Happy Birthday Theo!

Today we had the privilege of celebrating Theo's fourth birthday. We went to Bekonscot Model Village as a family and allowed Theo to bring one friend with him. He chose his good friend Josiah. It was a really fun day with viewing the village, playing on the fun playground, having a picnic, and riding a little train. A fun fact about this village was that the Queen celebrated her tenth birthday there. Theo liked that fact.

 We then ended the day as a family with our traditional pizza celebration at Pizza Hut. While at Pizza Hut we made a list of things that Theo had learned in the last twelve months or had accomplished. We came up with the following:

•  to count to thirty
• to recognize his name
• to dress himself
• to put his shoes on
• graduated from St. Paul's Pre-School
• to ride a bike with stabilizers 
• to be a good big brother to Eliot 

 We then decided that we should all go around the table and say what we appreiated most about Theo. Here are the results:

•  Charles: His imaginative play and how he creates so many fun things to play 
• Erin: How he has made progress on working hard and doesn't quit when things are hard 
• Addie: How he colours (there were crayons in front of her so it may have just been the power of suggestion as Theo is not a big colourer) 
• Eliot (as spoken by Mom): How he talks to me after breakfast every morning and makes me smile
• Jack: How he lies on my bed with me and reads books 

 We are very blessed by this little boy and thank God he is part of our family.

 Kids the morning of Theo's birthday:

Theo on his birthday:

Theo receiving Miles Axelrod his present from Jack, Addie, and Eliot:

Picture of model village:

Having fun in the phone booth:

On the train at the model village:

Theo and his friend Josiah:

Theo blowing out his candles:

Family at Pizza Hut:

Last Outing in Cambridge

Last Saturday we went to Cambridge to say good-bye to our old home and some great friends. We had fantastic weather which has not at all been guaranteed this summer. We met the Tuckwells at Lammas Land had a picnic, jumped in the paddling pool, and even managed one last Anderson Boys vs Tuckwell Boys (dads included) Football Match. They won, but with the addition of Eliot to our family we think we will have a chance in a few years when our boys outnumber theirs!

In the late afternoon we headed over to city centre and enjoyed one last walk through the beautiful streets. I have so many memories pushing Jack through those streets six years ago as a new mom/mum. It wasn't nearly as peaceful this Saturday with seven kids in tow, but it was just as beautiful - a beautiful mess!  

The mess was manifested when we grabbed ice creams and enjoyed them in St. John's College gardens while we watched punters go by. We had numerous people take our picture sitting there - we must have been a sight - seven kids with ice cream dripping down all body parts. Well, to be accurate, our kids were messy, but the Tuckwell kids in true Tuckwell fashion were as tidy as could be!  

Progression of trying to get our kids to all smile at the camera:

On our way back to the car, we had one last unplanned sight to see and that was a rather intoxicated man bridge jumping. This involves climbing out of your punt onto the bridge you are getting ready to cross under, over the bridge, and then jumping back into your boat as it comes back on the other side. As Charles keeps pointing out we don't know for certain that this man was drunk, but I am fairly confident that you would not do this sober. It was entertaining and a good example to Jack of what 'drunk' means since he had recently asked about this when reading the Bible. 

All in all, it was a fabulous day. But even more important, it was a fabulous three years in Cambridge. Part of our heart will always be there because of how many rich memories we have - primarily of becoming parents.; but also of arriving and experiencing deep loneliness and then watching God surprise us beyond our imagination with friends that are just so very special and dear to us - friends that have truly become like family. 

As I watched the kids exchange hugs in the car park, not really understanding how long 'you will not see these people for a long time' really means, tears welled up in my eyes. Good tears. Something wouldn't be right if we had lived in a country eight years and were not sad to leave it. And so to the Tuckwells, and many others, we say thank you for being part of our England. You have made it what it is to us.

PS - And yes, Eliot did enjoy the day - he just didn't make it in many of the pictures!

Olympic Torch

We had the chance to see the olympic torch go through our neighbourhood. It was a very fun memory and one I hope the kids will remember.

A bus before the torchbearer getting us excited: 

We were waiting happily:

Addie too!

Eliot was anticipating the arrival of the torch as well:

Jack talking about what we were up to:

And the actual torch: 

Friends

There are loads of things we have learned from living overseas for eight years. I would love to write a post about all those things but in the meantime I will share one.

 When you have a baby overseas the first friends who come to visit you in the hospital, loving you like family would, will forever hold a special place in your heart. Thanks to Jonathan and Stacey for being such good friends to us then in 2005 and now in 2012. Your friendship has made us better people. Thank you.


In 2005 with Jack:

And in 2012 with Jack:

I've got hands!

Now that Mom doesn't swaddle me completely I have to figure out what do do with my hands. This seems to work well!

Last Day of Work

I had my last day of work before maternity leave started back in March but was slow to record this post - only now getting around to it when Eliot is 2 months old!  Apologies. 

My last day of work was a little bittersweet as I did really enjoy my job. It was made a little easier as the traffic home from Cambridge that day was awful taking me almost 2 hours instead of the usual one. I thought that this was God's way of reassuring me that I didn't want to make that drive weekly anymore!  Our good friends the Byuns had arranged a pizza party between the two families to celebrate my last day and I just barely made it to my own party before it was time to put the kids to bed!  When I finally did get home I was greeted by this sign from Jack. I really appreciated the sign but had to chuckle; this was hardly my 'last day of work' - as any mother knows my workload was just about to pick up dramatically. That said, I wouldn't change it for anything, and was very appreciative of Jack's drawing of Mom on the Hway (highway). 

Jack's Notes

Lately Jack has gotten into writing us notes. We find notes everywhere - under our pillow, on the refrigerator, on the front door, etc. I took pictures of a couple of notes he had written a few months back that were still on the refrigerator (and then through them away without guilt!). Here are the letters (with Jack's own phonetic spelling) and the stories behind them. 

This first note dates back to March when I was still working. I told Charles to make sure that the kids got some yogurt for lunch the day I was at work primarily because they were about to reach their expiration date. Yogurt is a treat for the kids and Jack wanted to make sure that Charles did not forget so when I came down for breakfast the next morning this sign was prominently displayed on the front of the refrigerator. I  am fairly sure Charles would have sussed out that that note was from Jack not me.

This second note dates back to February or March. Periodically we have Pathfinder Parties at our house (the 11-14s group at church that we lead). The kids love it when we host these parties because they adore the Pathfinders. We have struck a deal with the kids that they are allowed to stay up a bit late and greet the Pathfinders provided that they then go to bed happily when we say it is time. Every time is it a challenge for the kids to go upstairs and go to bed when there are 10-15 pre-teens downstairs being loud and crazy. For the most part, they have taken to the challenge and responded well. One particular night I was very impressed with their 'going to bed' so I decided I would leave them a note on their bedroom floor thanking them for going to bed so well. I thought Jack in particular would like this since he is so into letter writing. I thought he would really like getting up in the morning, finding the letter, and then reading it to Theo. And it appears by the following letter that he slipped under our bedroom door the next morning that I was right!