Christmas Photos

We enjoyed a Tex-Mex dinner Christmas Eve with American friends (to the bafflement of some of the Brits we know). I guess Tex-Mex and Christmas cuisine aren't compatible ideas to them? Here Sophia's holding the farm set our friends gave her.

All five candles lit and all doors opened on the calendar: Christmas has come!

Christmas morning before going to church, Sophia finally got to open the presents. My parents watched her open their gift in real-time via Skype, which was cool.

Wes promised to make Sophia a special Christmas cake that now he thinks was a dose of humility after two very successful birthday cakes for her plus a couple of pies that turned out well. We're not sure what went wrong, but what was supposed to be a two-layer chocolate cake with truffle icing is now molten chocolate crumble cake when we shovel it out of the pan and re-heat it in the microwave. Sophia was happy with it.

London-Wide FREE Project

The last week of January many central London CUs will hold their own mission events during the day, then join together for larger evening events, each with a clear presentation of the gospel by UCCF’s director, Richard Cunningham, who’ll be giving talks on life, death, and resurrection from the book of John.

For more info, search on Facebook for the London-Wide FREE Project.

Black is Slimming, Right?

A few people have asked for an updated tummy shot, so here it is. I'm 38 weeks today--due date, January 1.

More Snow

View 1 from our back window.

Sophia likes the snow this year. Last year the disappearing sidewalks and roads scared her, and she wanted to be held, rather than touch the snow.

View 2 from our back window.

Facebookers, see http://wbsenglish.blogspot.com, to view this video.

Monkey in the Manger

Quoting Sophia: This is a picture of "Monkey in the manger."

Snow '09

Facebookers see our blog, http://wbsenglish.blogspot.com, to view this video.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

Christmas party game for the kids at the English-teaching group where Sophia and Betsy volunteer.
Top and Bottom: Mincemeat pie to be eaten at Guy's CU's Christmas Carol Service--both are Christmas favorites in the UK.
Counting down to Christmas--Sophia's Advent Calendar and our Advent Wreath

"Joy to the World"

Facebookers, see our blog at http://wbsenglish.blogspot.com, to view this video.

This is for all of you who wanted a sequel to "Wild Thing."

Ring Around the Rosie

Facebookers, see our blog, http://wbsenglish.blogspot.com, to view this video.


A new form of entertainment Sophia's recently devised.

A Striking Resemblance?

Last Thursday morning Sophia made this picture of Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus in the stable at our church's Moms' and Toddlers' group. Afterward we went to the grocery store and bought this jar of pimento-stuffed green olives. Sophia saw them sitting on the kitchen counter and exclaimed, pointing at the jar, "That's baby Jesus!"

What do you think? Is the resemblance a striking one?

Sophia Live...

Facebookers, see our blog, http://wbsenglish.blogspot.com, to see these Sophia videos.


Members of the well-photographed generation...they know what to do.


A budding Bob Ross?

King's College London Guy's Campus CU Weekend Away

Facebookers, see our blog, http://wbsenglish.blogspot.com, to see this slideshow & video.





Wes, Sophia, and I spent last weekend in a neighboring county with 15-20 students from King's College London, Guy's Campus Christian Union. Over the course of the weekend Wes gave four talks from John's gospel.

Usually Sophia and I don't attend CU Weekend Aways, but the students of the CU worked really hard to accommodate us. Most of our time was spent at a local church where the students were staying, and Sophia loves being at church. Two of the main reasons are because church for a 2-year-old means cookies at tea breaks and toys in the creche (nursery). As you can see from the photos and video, Sophia enjoyed both last weekend.

It was also a good time for the students--a time to get to know each other better and study the Bible together, both as ends in themselves, but also as precursors to the CU's Mission Week next week. Please pray for the students as they put on special events Nov 16-20 to blanket their campus with the good news about Jesus.

Work of Art?

Here is Sophia's rendering of the classic American child Thanksgiving craft, the hand-turkey. We turned this into invitations for our British neighbors to join us for pumpkin and pecan pies later in the month. I thought the caption was necessary in case, being unfamiliar with hand-turkeys, our neighbors wondered what on earth we'd put through their mail slots.

What We've Been Talking About

Facebookers will have to go to our blog, http://wbsenglish.blogspot.com, to view these videos of Sophia.

As these videos reveal, a large portion of our daily conversations deal with pottying and naughtiness.




Transcript of beginning: "Yeah, you can try to. Let's take your diaper off. Can go pee pee on the potty. Get some chocolate."

IFES/World Mission Prayer Night

Wes and a colleague are responsible for organizing this event on November 6 for London students to pray for ministry among university students around the world. What's IFES? Read on...

UCCF (our organization) is part of a global mission working in over 150 countries: the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship is the US branch). IFES is a fellowship of students, staff and supporters: a third of a million people with one goal - to bring glory to God by establishing a vibrant gospel witness among students in every nation. We're an evangelical movement, committed to a high view of Scripture - its preaching, teaching and study. We seek to help students recognize the Lordship of Christ in every aspect of life and thought. Staff aim to provide Biblical models of leadership and ministry, where possible encouraging students themselves to take leadership responsibility on campus. All IFES national movements seek to present a culturally-relevant witness to Christ, working in close partnership with the Church in their country, wherever that's possible.

Source: http://www.uccf.org.uk/links/ifes.htm

Spelling Bee

Facebookers will have to go to our blog, http://wbsenglish.blogspot.com, to view this video of Sophia.

How British!

I wish I had a picture of it!

This afternoon I walked past a man making cement in a mixer on the sidewalk. The electricity supply cord to the mixer had several outlets on it, and plugged into one of them was an electric kettle (THE way to boil water here). I wondered if the kettle were simply used to make tea while working or if boiling water was necessary to make cement. On the way back, I stopped to ask. The man assured me the kettle was used only for tea--"You need plenty of tea to keep you going," he said. I chuckled to myself because if one wanted to capture Britishness in a snapshot, this scene was certainly a good candidate.

Only One Life: This Thursday

We'd appreciate prayers for this event, which is taking place Thursday night, and at which the director of UCCF is speaking. Please pray that a lot of students from our 4 operating CUs (Guy's, Goldsmiths, London South Bank, and Avery Hill) will make the effort to attend. This evening is meant to encourage Christian students to make the most of the short time they have in university to live for Jesus and share Him with their friends and peers.

Photo Shoot

Facebookers will have to go to our blog, http://wbsenglish.blogspot.com, to view this slideshow.

My friend Julie wanted to practice her budding photography skills on us last week, and here are some of my favorite results.

Like Uncle, Like Niece?

Bobby, this one's for you...

A few days ago Wes was feeding Sophia in the kitchen while doing something else at the same time. I was in another room and heard Sophia repeat, "It's here; it's here." Initially Wes struggled to understand what was where--what was she talking about? Then, with some more help from Sophia, he figured out that she had a raisin up her nose! We're still not sure how it happened. Did the bright idea dawn on Sophia that her minuscule nasal passage was just the place to shove a raisin? Or was it that in her effort to shove a handful of raisins into her mouth, a stray specimen was inadvertently shoved in the wrong orifice?

Now whenever Sophia eats raisins, we repeat to each other that raisins don't go in noses; noses are just for breathing. Naturally, Bobby, this episode made me think of your tendencies at a similar age.

I Fought the Pie, and the Pie Won

Perhaps I should've known after 28 years of avoiding making a homemade pie crust it really wasn't going to be as easy for me as I'd watched it be for my mom. Those of you who know my culinary tendencies will not be surprised to learn that up until Saturday, I've always purchased a pie crust and added a homemade filling--on the three occasions I've actually ever made a pie at all. My mom makes this crust that almost tastes of shortbread--very buttery--a recipe she got from her mom. I watched her make it for my birthday; then she wrote out the recipe and just about convinced me it really wasn't that hard. So I was thinking I'd try to make homemade pecan and pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving this year but had the sense to realize I should practice first. I'd been asked to bring a dessert to church Sunday, and so I decided I'd try to make a pecan pie (canned pumpkin is hard to come by here). Making the filling wasn't too bad, but the pie crust wouldn't. Without boring you with a play-by-play of what went wrong, I think the consistency was off, which then made it impossible to get the rolled out crust off the countertop and into the pan. Wes had taken over by this point, and he tried I don't know how many times. In the end, in exasperation, he just patted the dough into the pie plate with his hands. He told me I still ought to take the pie to church, but I was utterly ashamed of how it looked--not a fluted edge in sight. He called it rustic-looking. It did look better once it came out of the oven, so we ended up taking it, me with my tail tucked between my legs. The filling tasted fine; Wes thought the whole thing tasted fine, but the crust was anything but shortbread-esque. Wes assures me if he takes over the whole process from start to finish, next time he'll be able to produce a superior pie crust. Perhaps like our children's birthday cakes, pie crust making will now be handed to Wes, or else we may be having store-bought crusts for Thanksgiving after all.

Freshers and Following

The first couple weeks of the fall term were quite busy but with a lot of positive things happening in our CUs. Here's an overview:

London South Bank University--Now has a CU meeting on Monday nights. Through a UCCF website, Wes connected with several Freshmen keen to get the CU up and running again (there wasn't really one operating last year). Bev, who's taking the lead, has experience starting up a CU from her time at post-secondary school and her contact with another UCCF staff worker. A couple of local churches are willing to help lead Bible studies, etc., which is a great help to Wes and the students. There were about 6 at the first meeting, but it looks like some others may join shortly. See a poster they've created to advertise the CU above.

Goldsmiths-—A lot of Freshmen (around 10) came to a pancake party the CU gave the week of Freshers, and there were 30 at the first CU meeting, including a lot of new faces, which is huge compared to the 7-10 we had at an average meeting last year. A Freshman named Wes has already gotten involved by leading worship at the first CU meeting. Sadie, a student impacted by her time at Forum earlier in September, is the main leader and is keen to put some more structure in place. Chris, who also went to Forum, will still be helping but feels leading's not for him right now. Dave, Wes' relay worker this year (intern), might train some Goldsmith’s students on how to lead Bible studies in the next couple of weeks.

University of Greenwich, Avery Hill Campus—-Saw 5 new Freshmen at the first meeting, which is great, but they're all nursing or midwifery students who are often super busy on their courses and training in hospitals, etc. Please pray for Alex, who's leading the CU on his own and has a lot of other things on his plate, as well. It would be great if one of the new students, who did an internship at his church, might be able to share the leadership load, but as he's studying nursing, time might be a problem.

University of Greenwich, Maritime Campus—-A lot of Freshmen signed up for information about the CU at Freshers Fayre, but only two came to the first meeting besides David from last year. Please pray that David won't get discouraged.

Guy’s—-1) Wes' relay worker, Dave, chatted with a non-Christian guy during Fresher's week while he was helping people move into their dorms. The two of them might continue to meet up this term. 2) A lot of people attended a Starbucks quiz night/gospel presentation that was a joint effort between Guy's CU and another campus. There Wes talked to a nominal Iranian Muslim, a British atheist, and a German Catholic. Please pray that the German girl will come to more CU events and be loved and listened to by the students there. 3) Dave, Wes' relay worker, has started leading a course for students interested in investigating the claims of Christianity. It will run for about the next month.

Wes and Colleagues on UCCF's '09 London Team

Freshers Next Week

Please pray for Freshers' week this coming week. Our Christian Unions will try to make their presence on campus known to Freshmen coming to register for classes. Below is what's happening at Guy's during Freshers.

Forum '09

To see the video and slideshow, Facebookers will have to go to our blog at http://wbsenglish.blogspot.com.

Forum, UCCF's annual Christian Union student leaders' conference, took place the first week of September with about 700 students in attendance. Sorry it's taken me so long to get this posted!





Here are some highlights: Sandrine, a Cameroonian student from another school near Guy's, was encouraged from attending because this year there was a focus on what God's doing among student movements in French Speaking Africa and France. She was involved with IFES, UCCF's sister organization, on her university campus in Cameroon, and now from her attendance at Forum wants to talk to her friends in the UK about Jesus, too.

Sadie, a Goldsmiths student who attended, now has a better understanding of what UCCF is all about and wants to be more involved with the Christian Union this academic year.

The seminar Wes and another staff worker led on Doubt and Suffering went well. A student from a London uni said he found it helpful.

Wes came away feeling that Christians around the world need to pray for France. There are very few Christians there, and it is quite difficult for Christian workers there who are doing a similar job to Wes' among university students.

A Good Visit

Sophia and I had a great time seeing my parents as they passed through London en route to the Middle East. Wes got home from Forum last night, so the 4 adults got in a couple of good Euchre games before my parents had to leave this morning.

This photo of me affords a pretty good view of how the baby bump is progressing at 23 weeks.
Sophia is now the proud owner of 14 more bracelets, a new cell phone and set of keys, and a Mrs. Potato Head, among other gifts that came back from the US for her.

The sugar doughnut at McDonald's has become a tradition on Grandma & Grandpa's visits.

Waiting for the train to Central London

We met an old Mercy Ships friend near Big Ben one night this week. This was the first time Sophia saw the clock in person.

Gearing Up for Forum

Wes is packing his bag, preparing to leave tomorrow at 6:30am to meet two of his students and head to Forum, UCCF's student leaders' conference, which happens in Shropshire, England, near northeast Wales. Forum is for university students across the UK who lead the Christian Union on their campus to receive teaching, worship together, and get ideas from other CUs as they start a new year. Please pray that the week will energize our students for the mission ahead of them this year, for good weather (not too much rain), and that no cases of swine flu will crop up.

"Wild Thing"

Facebookers will have to go to our blog at http://wbsenglish.blogspot.com to see this video.

Here's Sophia's rendition of "Wild Thing;" she really likes this song. I hope you can understand most of it.

Baby Inside and Out

Profile of bump at 20 weeks

On the outside

On the inside

I had my 20 week ultrasound today, and Wes and Sophia also got to see the baby. Everything looks as it should, so that's a great answer to prayer. If you want to know the gender, send me a message. My father-in-law wants to be surprised, so we're trying to keep from spilling the beans.

Barcelona

Facebook viewers will have to go to our blog at http://wbsenglish.blogspot.com to see the slideshow.

I could sum up our trip in several key words: friends, warm weather, just adults, lots of food, laid-back, and Gaudi. Keep reading if you want more.

We had a pleasant 4-day trip to Barcelona this week. Friends from Texas, the Aycocks, were excellent companions, translators, and guides. We also got to see Betsy's friend from years ago, Rick Menzies, and his family, who live in Barcelona. We saw lots of Gaudi's architecture (my favorite was Parc Guell), and we ate lots of food--tapas, paella, cafe con leche, and more. One day we took an hour train ride and a cable car up to a monastery in the mountains, and the last morning we went to the beach.

Sophia stayed with friends in London, the Weavers, to whom we are forever grateful. She had a great time there and was well behaved!

Mixy Moo

Facebook viewers will have to go to our blog at wbsenglish.blogspot.com to see this video.

Wes and I were playing Go Fish with Sophia's animal cards one night in Keswick, and, naturally, when it came time to shuffle, I thought of Mixy Moo. (This is the way my mom taught us to "shuffle" our Go Fish deck as little kids.)

So, this video is for you, Barbie. Not sure if I've got the tune right, but I'm handing down your legacy, and Bo loves the song.

Keswick (Kezick)

Facebook viewers will have to go to our blog at wbsenglish.blogspot.com to see the picture slideshow.

Last week was quite the week--several highs and lows. One pro was getting to see a part of England we'd never been to before, and the scenery was so beautiful! I'm told the Lake District is known as the Alps of England. Not quite the same height, but still awe-inspiring. Another pro was informing incoming Freshmen (or their parents) about how to hook up with the CU on the campus where they'll be studying in a month and a half.

The ride to Keswick was trying--it took us 2 hours to figure out how to get out of London, and then we still had 6 hours to go, during which Sophia threw up twice. We figured out it was from looking at books while in the car (which also makes Wes sick), so no more reading and riding! Then, Wes slipped a disk in his spine (or "squidged" a disk, as the doctor told him), which had him in bed for a couple of days and makes all the things we take for granted--like bending over, standing up straight, and walking--a painful challenge. He's more mobile now, but we'd appreciate continued prayer on that one.

A Double Dose

Happy Early Birthdays, Aunt Sarah and Aunt Chelsey! Sorry to lump your videos together in one day, but we didn't know if we'd have much Internet access while in the Lake District this week, and we wanted you to know we're thinking of you both as we prepare to head out. Hope you both have great birthdays this week!

For Aunt Sarah


For Aunt Chelsey

Transcript: It's Aunt Chelsey's turn.

For Fun

Transcript: look like a bunny, and you smell like one...

Facebook viewers will have to go to wbsenglish.blogspot.com to see these.

Culture Shock?

If urine samples gross you out, don't read this post.

One cultural difference we've wondered about since living in the UK this time around is the approach toward taking urine samples. Our doctor's office instructed us to bring a sample along to an appointment in any washed bottle we had at home. And now that I'm receiving prenatal care and have to provide samples regularly, I've been given a vile to bring full to each appointment then take home, wash, and use again the next time. Good idea from a recycling point of view, but I'm wondering why at my midwife's clinic in the US I had to follow 5 or 10 carefully prescribed steps to produce a sample properly? Are both methods equally valid?

Gearing Up for Keswick

We're getting prepared for a 6-hour drive to the Lake District Saturday. Wes'll be manning a UCCF booth for a week at a Christian convention there that's been running since 1875 or so.

It's supposed to be rainy (it is England, after all), so we're making sure we have our boots (Wellies) with us this time, so we don't come home covered in mud like we did after the torrential rains of Forum last year. Sophia has just acquired some new red, Paddington Bear boots with which she's very pleased.

I'm not sure what Sophia and I'll be doing, but we'll be glad to be with Wes for the week. Also, the scenery is supposed to be beautiful, so hopefully we can take nice walks, and I'll try to get some good pictures.

Please pray for a peaceful journey to and from Keswick (pronounced Kezick) and for Christians at the convention to be interested in supporting UCCF's work among university students in the UK.

A Grinding Experience with Cardamom

Today was my last day teaching English to Shakiba from Afghanistan (left) and Negeste from Eritrea (right), so I made them recipes from their countries. They were both quite pleased with their gifts, so I guess the recipes turned out to be authentic enough. The fruit kabob with lime, pineapple, and watermelon for Negeste wasn't too hard. And I thought the Afghan cookies were going to be fairly simple, too--only a handful of ingredients and steps. After all, I was using a cookbook of recipes from around the world for kids. Perhaps the problem is that the cookbook was made in the US and my grocery store in the UK didn't carry cardamom in any form except pods. So, following the instructions on the back of the bottle, I split open the pods (usually with some difficulty with a knife) and tried to gently crush the seeds (with the back of a spoon). No gentleness was needed. Those seeds did not want to crush. Perhaps it would've been an easier experience if I'd had better equipment. In the end I probably spent an hour and a half or more trying to crush a tablespoon's worth of cardamom seeds with a knife (the knife was Wes' idea and worked better than any of mine). So, my kitchen floor has a lot of semi-crushed cardamom seeds on it now. Needless to say (for those of you who know my culinary tendencies), I don't anticipate using cardamom again any time soon. Can anyone use half a bottle of pods?

Eight Years

Saturday a friend watched Sophia for us so we could go to Wes' student's wedding and then enjoy a Greek meze afterward to celebrate our 8th anniversary. I don't think the baby cared for something I ate, but it was an interesting experience. We rarely think to take pictures of ourselves, so since we did Saturday, I thought I'd put this one up on the blog. If it looks like I've suddenly gotten taller, it's because we propped the camera on the bookshelf opposite, and Wes had to squat so the top of his head didn't get cut off.

Grateful

I'm grateful to have been well-looked after by kind friends this week while Wes has been studying in Cambridge.

Happy Birthday, Grandma English! (With a Touch of Narcissism)

Happy Birthday, Grandma! We love you!

Being part of a digital generation, Sophia loves watching videos of herself, which is difficult when the video is still being taken! Here she's saying, "You want to see Sophia on the couch?"

Out-Take:


Facebook viewers will have to go to our blog, wbsenglish.blogspot.com to see this.

Happy Birthday, Aunt Jamie!

With love from all of us.

Facebook viewers will have to go to our blog at wbsenglish.blogspot.com to see this.

Reading to Baby

Sophia is taking good care of the baby she got for her birthday. I hear a lot of things from my conversations with her repeated in her conversations with baby. For example, I overheard her the other night asking baby if she wanted to read a book, and this was what was happening in the living room. Too cute not to capture on video.

Transcript: peach smoothie, cheese, butter, jam [reading from a book of foods]

Facebook viewers will have to go to our blog at wbsenglish.blogspot.com to see this.

The Birthday that Keeps On Giving

Sophia's enjoying the contents of another package that came in the mail for her birthday. Thank you, Aunt Chelsey, et al.


Facebook viewers will have to go to our blog, wbsenglish.blogspot.com, to see the video.

The Claw Attacks a New Generation

I realize only the Englishes of this world may get what's going on in these videos, so I'll try to explain it to everyone else. This is something Wes' dad used to do with his kids.

"The Claw's dead." (Limp hand; child's defenses are down.)
"But his brother's not." (Attack with other hand.)

Sophia liked this so much in the bath tonight that she started saying it, too.

Jamie, hopefully this will begin to satisfy your Sophia-video-withdrawals.

Facebook viewers will have to go to our blog, wbsenglish.blogspot.com, to see these.

"Happy Birthday, Sophia!"

Sophia has been saying this to herself for several days now. At 2 she's starting to understand what comes with a birthday--cake and presents and cards--and she's enjoying them all. As you can see from the pictures, Wes made a fantastic cake. Sophia's stuffed animals, Monkey and Bunny, became a single unit at some point in the last year: She calls them "Monkabunny"; hence, the Monkabunny cake.

Eureka!

Sophia should be feeling pretty good. She's making out like a 2-year-old bandit. She's been getting a steady stream of birthday presents since we were in Texas at Easter and the big day isn't actually until Saturday. Grandma & Grandpa are visiting and since they came she's gotten new books, new sunglasses, a sand and water table in the garden, a "big girl" bed, and a tricycle, with more presents to come this week. Plenty to play with with Grandma & Grandpa!

Bank Holiday

Yesterday was a bank holiday in England--basically a Monday off for a lot of people, unless you're unfortunate enough to work in a grocery or other store that's having a big sale. A friend took us to see Winston Churchill's home, Chartwell, in Westerham, Kent, which is only about a 20 minute drive from us. As you can see from the photos, the gardens are lovely. The weather was fickle at points but was warm and sunny in the afternoon.






Sophia enjoyed the child's playhouse built in the garden by Churchill for his kids.




Sophia was pleased with the many benches Chartwell had to offer. (Benches are a big favorite right now. We must try every one we pass.)