Lots to be thankful for, but lots of prayer requests too....

Where to start.... Sorry I haven't posted in a while. As most of you have been, it has been really crazy here. About a week and a half ago, Gareth had to have an area of skin removed on his back.

The first biopsy came back with "yucky cells". We went to the Dr. and I explained that he would prob. have a few stitches, but he would be fine. (like I know) They numbed his back, OK, 20 pricks with a needle, then took enough skin that he has 10 stitches. I couldn't believe it. I did get to watch the whole thing. REALLY NEAT! If you are squeamish, I wouldn't recommend it:0)

Anyway, his results came back yesterday, and they feel that they got all of the pre-cancerous cells, and they had not turned in to cancer yet! PRAISE GOD!! He will get his stitches out on Monday and then in a month or two, be re-checked all over again. HUGE PRAISE!!!

Liam was at the Dr. this past Monday. He is still having stomach/bowel issues. They have tested his blood for a few different things. He now has an appointment with a specialist at Children's. If this blood work comes back ok, I am not sure what will happen next. He was tested for lost when he came home, then tested again a few months later. Then, it was off to the allergist, and still no results. Please pray that God will open some doors in this department. We really need some answers!!

Alex had her first day of school Monday. She has had a great week!! Thank you Lord for wonderful teachers. Her teacher this year seems so nice and Alex loves her already.

On a final note, my friend Patty's dad died this past week. He had had surgery to remove part of his lung of cancer. He came out of the surgery ok, but then had some complications a few days later and went home to be with the Lord on Monday night. The funeral today was encouraging as he was a man who Loved and Lived for God. Please keep Patty, Dave and their kids as well as Patty's mom and family in your prayers.

Off for a night of dinner and a movie with my hubby now that the kids are asleep. I just love Saturday date nights at home. I just hope I can stay awake tonight:0)

GREAT NEWS!!!!

I know I haven't posted in a few days, and for that, I'm sorry. We are getting back in to the swing of things. I am pretty busy with PTA stuff, and Gareth is working a lot of hours!!

So the big news for today........

The boys received their US Citizenship!!!! WHOOHOO!!!!!

Praise God!! He is good!!

It took a while, (over a year) but it finally happened!!!!

First day home!!

The kids were all up in the night last night, but slept later than I thought they would. We ended up getting out of the house by 8 and heading to Chick-fil-a. From there we went to my parents to pick Charlie up. He was ever so excited to see us!! It was so much fun to watch the kids with him!

While I was away, my husband bought a new car. Yup, you read that right. He was having issues with his truck and never really got over the bad deal he got on it at purchase. Anyway, he is a wheeler and dealer, so he ended up trading his truck in for another Nissan. I don't mind as the payments are lower, and he got a GREAT DEAL, but it was quite a surprise. The other surprise is that it is a manual. I have no idea how to drive a manual. He knew this when he bought it, but since it cut a couple thousand off the price, he figured he could teach me. So.....this morning he took me out while the kids bonded with grandma. Believe it or not, it only took an hour and I was driving on the roads. It is actually a lot of fun. This evening we even went out with the kids in the car. I was def. nervous to do that, but Gareth said he was confident I could do it:0) Alex did laugh quite a bit when I stalled on a hill, but other than that, it was pretty uneventful!! Gareth was a very patient teacher. He will def. be teaching the kids how to drive when that time comes.

We did get 90% unpacked and then went to my parents house for the evening. It was good to see dad after 6 weeks, and mom had some women over for a jewelry party. Always nice!!

At the moment, everyone is asleep but me. (and charlie) Off to read a book and try to wind down. You would think I would be exhausted. Maybe it will hit tomorrow.

Home sweet home....with a little drama attached!!

There is always drama with the Jenkins travelers, right?? We stayed at my sister-n-law's for a few reasons Tuesday. One, my father-n-law was having surgery on his knee, so we were out of the way, and 2, we could take the tube from Sarah's straight to Heathrow airport. No changing from the train to the tube and then changing lines on the tube again with 3 kids and 5 suitcases. Once we got on the line at Sarah's it was an hour straight shot.

Is anything ever that easy with us???

We pull up to the tube station, everyone hops out. Thanks to Steve (Andy's brother) who came over to help out with his car. We head in, only to be told that the station and trains have closed. There was a robbery and they were chasing the criminals down the train line. YUP! nice. They then proceeded to tell us which station to go to next. We piled everyone in the car to drive to that station about 15 minutes away. Wouldn't you know it....."we have now closed this station".... Ok, one more try to another station. We get there....."a train has broken down. No activity at this station". You have got to be kidding me. It was then that Sarah and Steve offered to just drive us. Over here, that isn't a big deal, but the traffic over there is just awful to the airport most times. Thank you Lord for clearing our way. After over an hour of trying to get on the tube, we had clear sailing to the airport. Thank you also Sarah and Steven for taking an afternoon out to run us around.

The journey continues.......

We get to the airport, still in time. We go to do our computer check in only for the computer to tell us that they can't check us in, we need to see an attendant. Great!! We head over and hand the gentleman the print out that we were printed. He picks up a phone and makes a call to then tell us that the flight is overbooked. (Ok, not really our problem) He will see what he can do. Are you ready for this???? We ended up getting upgraded!! WHOO HOO!!! All 5 of us in the bulk head seating of World Traveler. (not first class where some sit backwards. I wouldn't feel right doing that with kids anyway. It was the one between first class and economy) What a difference it made for us!!! Although no one slept, I have never been more comfortable on a flight! Leg room, air hostesses that don't leave you alone. It is going to be hard going back to economy after that:0) We did hit quite a bit of yucky weather, so the flight took almost 9 hours, but we landed safe and sound!! Thanks to mom who picked us up at the airport. Liam did the same thing to her that he did to Gareth. Kinda gave her the cold shoulder, but I am sure that today, he will warm up:0) All of the kids fell asleep on the way home. Considering it was 3 in the morning according to their body clocks, I can't believe they lasted that long.

We are all up now, bright and early. We are headed to Chick-fil-a for breakfast and then over to get Charlie!! We have all missed that little dog!! All in all, great trip!!! We had a great time!! Now, unpacking and back to reality:0)

Terrific Tuesday!

Today was just gorgeous!!! This morning I packed and then we met our friend Nikki and her little boy Callum at the park. I ended up getting quite a bit of sun. It was supposed to be chilly and rainy....typical British weather, it was hot and sunny. Sarah (g's sister) and Andy(her husband) came to get us this afternoon. We are spending the night here for easier traveling tomorrow. Also, Joe had surgery on his knee today, so he was able to come home to a quiet house:0) Anyway, we came over here, the kids played really well before going off to bed, and then Sarah and I went out with about 8 of her friends. We had such a nice time. Tomorrow, we are on our way home. We will head out about noon our time. We arrive home about 8 est. I am not looking forward to the flight, but it comes with it huh??

We have had such a wonderful summer!!! i am so happy that we decided to bring the kids. i think that they have all enjoyed their time here and really gotten to know their relatives and their father's culture. On a side note, fashion. It tends to be that whatever happens here, happens at home about 6 months to a year later. Fluorescent colors...coming back in. Yup, all I have seen is a lot of bright orange, pink and green. I couldn't bring myself to buy Alex any, but I am sure she will want it soon. Also, saw lots of men in Capri's. Not saying any more on that, just stating the facts.

Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow as we travel. I would appreciate it!!!

Monday!

Sorry that I am just doing Monday's post. It has been a little crazy:0) Monday......Gareth and Alex took a trip with Joe down to Bex Hill to see nanny Russell. They were gone most of the day. The boys stayed home with Nanny. They both still have head colds. I spent the morning finishing our Christmas shopping and wrapping presents for family over here. Yes, I know i am crazy, but I am usually done by this time of year. By being over here and delivering them already, we have saved on a bunch of postage. I also had more options on what I could buy people. Normally it has to be smaller b/c of having to mail it. Not this year. At the end of the day, I was tired, but really enjoyed myself. Last night, Gareth and I went out for a bite to eat after the kids were asleep. It was really nice!!! I will post a bit later about the rest of today!I can't believe that we are down to 1 day left!!

Sunny Sunday to go with the Sunny Saturday!!

We ended up skipping church this morning. Liam was up in the night. He and Callum both now have pretty bad coughs. I can't tell if they are colds or allergies.
The weather was gorgeous today!! Not a single drop of rain! Beautiful, 70 and no humidity!!
We had a wonderful Sunday roast, and then G took the kids to a train museum with his dad. This evening, G's Uncle Dave and Auntie Gill, invited us over. We took the kids to the park, and then just had a nice visit. The kids are just off to sleep. I am going to wind down and then try and sleep myself. G, and mum and Joe are already out, so I am having a little quiet time. Tomorrow is going to be a pretty busy day!!

Sunny Saturday!!

It didn't rain at all!!! Mum and I went to a craft fair while G took the kids down to his dad's allotment. They dug in the mud and had a great time!! This afternoon, G, Joe, Alex and Callum went to Welling United, the local soccer team's game. Mum and I hung out with Liam. We fed the kids dinner, got them a bath and then watch ~total wipeout~. An absolutely funny show where people try and complete obstacles. I wish we had it in the U.S. after putting the kids to bed, we treated to an Indian take away! YUM!!! Nice adult night. We chatted and just hung out. It was really nice!! I can't believe that our summer is almost over. My sister and her kiddos go back to school Monday. The time has just flown!! I am excited to go home, but getting a little sad that we have to leave too:0)

not a nice title:0)

I had a title prepared that i am not going to use!! We took the kids out for a "night out" at the london zoo. They only do this once a year, so we thought that it should be a nice night and good treat!! The zoo costs money over here, so we figured that we would pay to go to this rather than a normal day at the zoo. It was from 6:30-10, so even though we knew it would be a late night, we figured the kids would enjoy it! We arrived after an hour and a half train, tube and bus journey. We stood in a line that we were told to get in to. G asked 3 times if we should go on through b/c we already had tickets. no, no, stand here we were told. 20 minutes later, and a bit fed up, G walks all the way to the front to then be told, if you have a ticket, come on thru. Could the evening have started out worse?? They were supposed to have feeding times and talks through out the zoo. We would get to an area 5-10 minutes ahead, and no one would be able to tell us where the feedings were happening. after this happened a few times, we finally said, fine lets just go look at the animals. It was 8:15, and we walk up to the giraffe's, only to be told they are now going to bed. Same thing happened with the reptiles, and the penguins. Needless to say, we got home after midnight, we tired and disappointed kids. At least we had some family time and if this was the only bad day we have had this whole trip, we really can't complain too much:0)

Torrential rain Thursday!!

Did i spell that right??? Can't really think tonight, but I wanted to post before the day ended.

We went in to central London today and spent the day with G's sister and the kids cousin's. We started out at some museum's. Fun, but b/c it is the school holiday over here now, they were packed!!! We then went over to the south bank, and the kids played on the play ground, and we watched some street performers. We treated to ice cream, and then decided to head to the Princess Diana memorial. By the time we took the underground there, it was pouring! I don't mean just raining, I mean pouring!!! We waited it out, and then decided to catch a bus to Oxford St. We were meeting G's dad for dinner and that is where his office is. We had a nice meal, the kids behaved, and this was the first time that G's dad had all 5 of his grandchildren together at one time. As we were leaving the restaurant, it was 7:30, and we had been out since 9:30am, again.......rain. Torrential rain!! We waited it out a little, then just had to go for it. WE GOT SOAKED!!! We took the tube to the train station, and after an hour journey, we walked home to get SOAKED again!!! The kids had fun and it was fun to watch them, but it was after 9 by the time we walked in the door. That meant hot baths and settling down for everyone. They are just getting off to sleep at 10:30, so we will see what kind of a night we have.

I know I am rambling on a bit. I am still a bit under the weather, but trying to push through. I am going to take a little break tomorrow while G goes out with the kids in the morning. Maybe that will be enough to get me back on my feet 100%. Right now, I feel like I could sleep for days!!! On a side note, I am sorry that I haven't been posting on anyone's blog's. I am trying to keep up, but this computer seems to freeze everytime I try and post on blogger!!

Beautiful day in Brussels!

Well, even though I didn't sleep last night, (up coughing all night) we headed out this morning at 6 to catch the train to Brussels. I was not about to let a cough and head cold stop us!

It took about an hour and 45 minutes to get there by train. (the euro star) We had a wonderful day! The weather was beautiful, although a bit hot compared to English weather these days. We really had no idea what to expect. We did have a travel guide, but of course, we didn't pull it out until we got on the train:0) I will post pics when I get home. I will say that my favorite parts were the National Cathedral, but in the 12th century and the Royal Palace. I was very surprised at how spread out the tourist things are. We walked a lot, but wouldn't have seen everything we did without getting a tour bus. I am gonna get off to bed now, but once I have pics, I will tell you more about our day.

I will say that I am thankful to my husband for his wonderful sense of direction and the fact that he can speak french. I was totally reliant on him today and I appreciate everything he did to make today go smooth!!! Thanks also to my in-laws who watched the kids today so that G and I could have a day out. I know it was exhausting, and we really appreciate it!! It is after 11, so I am off.

Melissa, let Anna know that Alex misses her as well! She has asked a few times if she could call, but with the time difference, it gets a bit difficult. Every time we are home to do it, you guys would still be in bed asleep:0)

Misery!!

Dont' feel well at all! Horrible head a chest cold. Didn't end up doing much today. Tomorrow is off to Brussels. Hoping that I am feeling better then. Will fill you in.......

Mudchute!

I am trying to come up with more clever titles for my daily blogs. Today, we went to Mudchute farm. The kids had a great time! Alex fed horses by hand and loved it. Eventually Callum did it as well. Liam finally walked up did pet them, a little, but it was bit to overwhelming for him:0) It was amazing how friendly they were. They were in the fields and would just come up and see you. They were beautiful. From there we went to St. Paul's Cathedral. We walked to Covent garden again to see some street performers, and then had a ice cream break before heading home.

Once we were back in SE London, we headed to dinner with some friends. What a lovely time we had. Nicki, and Rich, Gareth's friends from school, and when they were 8 came to dinner. Nicki's little boy Callum who is 6 months older than Alex came as well. It was so nice to see them together. They get on so well, and were great at dinner. Yes, Nicki's Callum is where we got our Callum's name. So tonight, it was big Callum and little Callum. After dinner, we had a trip to the park to let the kids let off some steam. We must have walked about 5-6 miles again today. It is 10pm and the kids have finally wound down and gone to bed. My head is pounding at the moment, so if this doesn't make sense, sorry. I am off to try and sleep it off!!

August 2!! Happy Birthday Callum!!!

Today was Callum's 5th birthday!! How amazing that he is 5!!! Gareth flew in this morning, and I maneuvered London enough to go meet him at the airport. His flight landed 30 min. early, so I ended up getting there just in time. When we got home, the kids were thrilled. Well, all but Liam. It took about 2 hours before he would go up to daddy and the rest of the day he was still a little reserved. Kind of surprised me, but he was really tired as well. By tomorrow, he will be himself again:0)

My sister-n-law came over and brought Ben and Tom along for the party. We had a pirate theme, with green cupcakes, I know, you are thinking...yum!! Anyway, I was able to find balloons with Callums name on them. I was also able to find candles that spelled his name. We had green jello shaped like a bunny, played pass the parcel, and pin the tail on the donkey. All in all Callum said, "I am 5 and I had a great day". I am so glad that we have him to celebrate over. He is such an amazing little boy and has really come so far. His smile just lights the room and he can be such a character. I can not wait to see what the years hold for him and what God has in store. Callum, we are so proud of you. We love you and we are so thankful that you are our son!!!

Happy birthday to my friend Reba too. Sorry I didn't get a chance to post on facebook until now. Wait, although I am getting ready for bed, it is only 2 or 3 o'clock there, so maybe i am still ok:0)

Happy Anniversary to D and D too! Hope you had a great day!!!

August 1!!

Today was a pretty laid back day. It started with the sun shinning, and it look to be beautiful out. I did some laundry and put it out to dry. We then cleaned the house and organized everything to make room for Gareth.
I then decided that the kids needed a treat, and since my in-laws won't be back until late tonight, I told them that we were going to head up to the shops and get lunch out! I was a little too tired to walk all the way today, so we attempted to catch a bus. We usually walk, so we had never caught a bus from this spot, but I figured we could try. We waited for about 5-7 minutes and then told the kids that if we wanted lunch anytime today, we should just go ahead and walk. So, off we went. A few minutes later, I hear Liam, who is very independent these days and wants to "walk by himself" everywhere, say "mommy bus". "our bus". Now i really didn't think too much of it, but I turned around and sure enough, it was our bus. He puts his hand out like he was going to stop it and I just laughed. Sure enough, the driver pulled over and after a little running, we were able to catch our bus and save some walking. The driver said, "it was too cute, I couldn't not stop". It was so funny!!
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Anyway, we headed to the shops, ate at a most popular place for the kids, but that i can't stand, and then we walked around. I had a few last minute things to get for a little boy's 5th birthday tomorrow, so it worked out really well!

So, I have fed the kids, bathed the kids, done 2 more loads of laundry and trying to find somewhere for them to dry as it is now raining out, then we are all off to bed. Gareth catches his flight over in a few hours. I am sooooo excited. I have butterflies in my stomach. I am headed out by myself in the morning to meet him. Please pray that he has a safe flight, and that I can navigate the trains and tube by myself tomorrow. Sorry if I seem to be rambling tonight, but the kiddos are a bit wild at the moment. Off to calm them down:0)

On a side note, today would have been my grandmother's 97th birthday! Grandma, you are still in our hearts and thoughts!!!