At this point if you are still checking in to see if I'm updating this blog you are a very patient and hopeful person. At this point in my journey I'm not terribly focused on blogging because it is just about time to go home! I'd appreciate your prayers of thanksgiving for this incredible experience and for a safe return on Thursday.
Since the last entry we have been visited by friends from North Carolina and South Carolina and my parents. Mac Sasser and his 2 children, Ben and Claire, came through Bridge of Allan while touring Scotland. Also, Laura Harley from Charleston came up from Edinburgh for church and lunch. What fun!
We also got to celebrate Katherine Mae's first birthday!! What fun that was incorporating some new Scottish traditions into our celebration. After our 5 day trip "up north" we decided to take it easy in the lowlands staying close to Bridge of Allan. So we went to a kids farm fun park, a sheep auction (no additions to the family to report, but we were offered 4 quid per kilo for Charlie), and just enjoyed more everyday adventures around Bridge of Allan.
Our latest and last treat has been my parents coming for a 4 day visit. Together we have gone to Balmoral Castle (where the royal family vacations in the summer) and Stirling Castle (the best one in Scotland), and enjoyed many meals (fish and chips!), church, and just hanging out showing off our "Scottish home". Grammy and Gramdaddy's visit has also afforded Laura and I a chance to get out for a couple of dates! We went for a proper "high tea" one afternoon and took the train into Edinburgh for lunch, shopping, and sight-seeing. What a gift to us! The boys meanwhile enjoyed showing their grandparents their favorite spots in Bridge of Allan. (I believe they showed them their favorite ice cream parlor more than once!)
So we are winding down this amazing experience. Tomorrow we must pack up, clean up, and try to put the house back the way it was before we got here. That is really hard - we went through "baby-proofing" the house (rearranging breakables, furniture, etc.) five weeks ago and now we can't remember where things were! Nothing like coming home to a puzzle! Sorry, Gillian and Alastir.
So I'm off to say good byes. Sad to be leaving, looking forward to coming back when possible (learned a Scottish phrase: "Haste ye back" which I assume morphed on it's way over the Atlantic to "Ya'll come back now, ya hear?"), but also looking forward to being back in Morganton. Thanks be to God for this adventure.
Cheers!
-MRB
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| Katherine loved opening presents from her new Scottish friends! |
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| And a "Scottish Tradition" of a jello mold to deconstruct and enjoy on your first birthday! |
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| At the funpark a good time was had by all! |
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Enough of this "history stuff", Dad, I want to have fun!
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| Me too! |
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| Our first sheep auction - couldn't understand a word anyone said. |
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| Somehow we got stuck with this one. |
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| This one, too. |
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| Glad to take this wee Scot home! |
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| Grammy and Gramdaddy: welcome to Scotland! |
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| Our best friends in Scotland: Iain, Tori, Oscar and Mia |
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| Children with crossbows: is this a good idea? |
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| Look at that deep concentration. |
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Even at Stirling Castle, Laura still finds her way into the kitchen.
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| A view inside St. Giles cathedral, Edinburgh |
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| The John Knox House in Edinburgh |
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| On our "date" to Edinburgh I take her to a Cathedral and a dead theologian's house and she still stays with me. A nice lunch and a whisky tasting experience helped even things out, I suppose. |
