Look How Far We've Come (Before)

So a few months ago, I wrote a post about Our 'Right Now' Home. When we first moved to England, there were a lot of changes going on in the flats of our building. We started out on the ground floor, while our permanent home was being worked on. Well, it's been a while now, but we're upstairs, settled in, and doing great! I recently went back through and looked at the pictures from September/October, when the transformation was going on.

Here's a quick look at all the work they did remodelling the flat for us! We are SO grateful!

Here's how the kitchen looked when the process began:

The black box under the microwave is the portable oven they were using before. (Can you see the remnant of what was once a fireplace?)

The toilet was dived from the rest of the bathroom. There used to be a law that said the toilet had to be at least two doorways from the kitchen, so they divided the bathroom to fulfil the requirements.

This was the previous tenants living room... it will become our dining room. Again, see where an old fireplace had been filled in. (Remember, you're looking at old English buildings, where there once was a fireplace in almost every room.)

Main (what will be our master) bedroom.

Previous dining room (our eventual living room). Wait to see what happens to the blue carpet!

Baby's room (that will be our guest room).

And then the demolition began.......

Plaster walls had to be stripped, filled, replastered, repapered, then painted

The gutted stage.

Bare floor boards. I asked if there was a way to keep them. But they were too spaced, not finished, and just not right for keeping exposed.

Bare walls.

We're getting cupboards in.... and in the distance, there's a tub and toilet! (Thanks, Michael!)

The couch that was left from the previous tenants.

Ooh.... getting close..... Needs some painting, but it's almost there......

They got my pot rack hung!!!

Can't wait to get that sunlight!

Built in bookcases are going in......  (We thought about buying bookshelves, but it's such an old building, nothing is straight or level. The left bookcase is about 10 inches deep, the right is about 14 inches deep!)

You can see my greige paint going up on the right side of the window! We're nearly there!

What's it going to look like when it's done? 

Check back soon for the FINAL REVEAL!!!!

TO BE CONTINUED................................!

♬ For its Arsenal..... Arsenal ♪ ♫

So, I have several posts waiting in the wings to be written up, but today was eventful enough I had to share it right away!

I went to my very first football match today! (That's soccer, to all my American friends!) John and Lucy had an extra ticket and asked if I was interested. I know, I know, it's amusing. Saying I'm not much of a sports junky would be a massive understatement. In fact, I realised, in the first five minutes (in which, the first point scored put everyone into a frenzy), that I'd actually never watched an entire football game!

Nevertheless, I did watch it in its entirety... both 45 minute halves! And though I asked more embarrassing questions than I care to admit, I actually kept up with it fairly well and enjoyed myself. Arsenal vs Everton... end score: 4-1 (Arsenal proceeds to FA Cup semi-finals!)

Quite honestly, the most interesting part to me was just watching everyone and comparing it to U.S. events. So here's what I noticed:

1. No alcohol is allowed in the actual stadium. I list this first, because, frankly it has such an impact on the other items in my list. The concessions sell it in the lobby, but fans have to drink it there and can't take it back to their seats.
2. The game is less of an event. In the U.S., there are vendors walking around, people milling back and forth for food and souvenirs, games being played on the big screen, and everyone is chatting, joking, talking..... here, it's all about the game. They'll cheer, and chant, and be involved, but it's all based on the plays on the field and all done together as a crowd.
3. There's more of a group feel than an individual feel. Maybe this is my American independence coming out, but it was weird to see the clan of Arsenal fans... flow together, stand together, chant together, hug each other. It's hard to explain, but it was there. There wasn't individual groups partying while others watched the game (maybe again, due to the less party, more business attitude.)
4. Everything was more orderly. Now.... I've heard that if the match gets heated, this can change. (This was an FA Cup match, and not a Premier league game, so it's not quite an intense as others could be.) But again the crowd worked more as a unit, there weren't crazy drunks rambling around. Though whether thats because drinking isn't allowed in there, or what, I don't know. The stadium was cleaner (again, fewer food vendors). And the pitch sidelines were so calm, especially compared to American football, where a dozen burly men come and go off the field with every change of possession.
5. These folks are serious about their football! Whether its in the songs and chants, cheers and hugs, or in the unison curses hurled at the field, these Brits love their team. Though, really, when I think about it, its not much different than Alabama, and their identity as either an UA or Auburn fan. It's the real deal... your team is your passion. And that's probably where I'm just a bit left in the dust.

Anyhoo... it was awesome. So much fun, and I'd love to go again!

I'll leave you with a clip from the match. Penalty kick for Arsenal... first attempt was nulled by a yellow card, and tensions were high for the second attempt. For his sake, I'm glad he made it. Its a tough crowd. :-)

Feliz Aniversário, Isabela!

Last weekend we celebrated the birthday of our friend, Isabela! She's from Brazil, and as we wanted her to feel at home, we did our best to make it a "Brazilian" party. What's a Brazilian party, you might ask? She wondered too.

Well, in our small world, a Brazilian party is a place decorated with more colour than the British can stand in one place, with streamers, and banners, and samba music playing in the background. Each room was a 'place' in Brazil... Sao Paulo- where Bela lives near, Fortaleza- where her hubs, Rodrigo, is from, and the Amazon- because we needed another Brazilian place. :-) We had a matching game for Brazilian animals, some trivia questions, and signs posted randomly with funny facts about Brazil. The birthday girl was able to find a caterer in London who makes salgadinhos- traditional birthday finger food of fried dough with different meats inside. (Think something between a dumpling and a chicken nugget!) We made brigadieros and beijinos de coco (amazing candies made from condensed milk and chocolate or coconut)! And of course, we had plenty of acai juice and guarana on hand to wash it all down with!

It was a fun night, and they swore our Portuguese rendition of Happy Birthday was 'just right', though I think they're being VERY gracious! :-) You can judge for yourself at the end!

*The blue sign says "Fortalezan children don't fear the boogie man or monsters under the bed. Instead, they fear the hairy leg in the wardrobe!* (So says Rodrigo!)

When No One Understands

We live in an age of fierce individuality. Whether a result of this era, western civilization, or the impact of technology and social media, we are more and more focused on self than ever before. Sadly enough, Christians are no exception. Our spiritual walk is highly individualized. We want a bible catered to our place in life (Eg: the Women’s Bible, the Grandmother’s Bible, the Couple’s Bible, Bible magazines for teens, the Serenity bible [12 step recovery help]). We don’t want to commit to a local church because our Christian walk is a private issue.  We want to be more ‘spiritual’ than ‘religious’.

We say the right things, speaking highly of community or of ‘doing life’ together, but when it comes down to it, we don’t really want what that involves. Scripture commands encouragement, exhortation, accountability, (Mt. 18:15-20, Eph. 4:11-16, 2 Tim. 4:2-5), and we use those words often, we fall kicking and screaming when someone dares use it against us.

I had the opportunity to have a talk with friends the other week regarding areas for growth in my life. We had set a time to meet, and I was ready, looking forward to the chance to grow. Or so I thought. I was good until we hit the point in the conversation where they pointed out the specific areas I was weak in (read: areas I was sinning in). Instantly my muscles tensed, my stomach knotted, and my guard went up. My head reeled with the thoughts, “They don’t understand! They don’t know what I’ve been through! They don’t know how hard I’ve already worked on this!” My heart cried, “They’re judging me! The bible says not to judge! They need to be forgiving and have grace where I’m struggling!” These are good friends, friends who love me, who want to help me, but as soon as my individualized spirituality was threatened, I balked. When someone challenged me in an area I didn’t want to be challenged, I bristled.

And I think that’s a normal reaction. At least, normal in the sense of common… not in the sense of it being what it ought. You see, we want to think we’re unique. Heck- we’re told we’re unique from childhood—by self-help gurus, school-teachers, even Christian leaders.

We cling to that originality desperately, but it’s that same individuality that leaves us so isolated. Look at the teenager who whines that his/her parents just don’t get them. Or the employee who says no one knows what its like to work for such a terrible boss. Or the mother at home with yet another sick child, believing that nobody understands how alone and tired she is.

It’s not that each of those situations isn’t hard. They are extremely hard! In fact, they’re so hard, that God knew we couldn’t handle it by ourselves! So He left us help.

He left us an instruction manual of what to do and how to respond.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Tim. 3:16-17

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Phil. 4:8

He gave us warnings that we’ll feel alone, but not to turn into ourselves but seek others for help.

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jer. 17:9.

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. Prov. 15:22

He gave us the church, a group of people just like us, struggling to make godly choices, to encourage us when we’re doing well and give us a good ‘talking-to’ when we’re doing poorly.

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Prov 27:17

If we say nobody understands us, we essentially say that no one has the right to speak into our lives. If we bemoan the fact that what we’re going through is special, then we begin to believe that a new set of rules applies to us, not anyone else’s advice, not even scripture. In truth, we’re not special. We’re not unique.

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Ecc. 1:9

And thank goodness! Because really, who wants to be alone in this world? Who wants to be such a special case that even God doesn’t know what to do with him?

Fortunately, we’re not.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to feel sympathy for our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin. Heb. 4:15

So be comforted by this, and work towards this. It means we have no excuse. It means we’ll have to work hard. It means we’ll have to endure some tough conversations. But it means we can grow. And it means we’re not alone.

*I’m happy to say the conversation with my friends ended well, and has opened the door for better communication between us. You might even say our friendship is better than before... Imagine that!

How well do you know your London skyline?

Can you name everything in this skyine? Don't worry- we'll give you an intro to some of London's most famous buildings. By the end, you'll be a pro!

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Its been a while since my last post. I'd say it's been just crazy busy but I'm not sure that's entirely true. I've been sporadically busy and alternately lazy. My apologies.

We've been able to take several walks down in the city lately. I say 'down' in the city, and every time, I'm just amazed at the idea. We live 3.4 miles north of London bridge... from some of the most famous landmarks in the world! Granted, there are days the motion of the city are overwhelming and I find myself longing for a cornfield, but I am still shocked to hear myself mentioning places I'd only heard about in books and movies. But its real, its here, and so are we. It really is amazing!

Anyhoo, while walking through these streets, I'm constantly amazed at the architecture all around me. There are centuries of art found in the brick, granite, concrete, and glass that line the streets of London. I thought I'd point out a few we've seen lately. (By the way, these are 'touristy' photos, not art. My camera battery hasn't been charging, so I'm only using my iPhone. Please don't judge me!)

All right, we'll start with an easy one. It's from a different angle, but can you name this building?

I'm going to guess you said either one of two answers: 1. Big Ben or 2. Parliament Building. With which your response would be correct, but insufficient. The building is actually the Palace of Westminster. It is where Parliament meets (so #2 would be correct). For those who said Big Ben, here's a bit of confusing trivia. The tower was originally called St. Stephen's Tower, or the Clock Tower. In 2012, at Queen Elizabeths Diamond Jubilee, it was renamed Elizabeth Tower. Big Ben is the bell located in the top of the tower. Told you it was confusing. 

Here's another angle of the Big Westminster Ben, St Stephen, Elizabeth, Tower of Westminster from the other side. Can anyone tell what famous structure is at the left side of this picture?

It's the London Eye, (or the Millennium Wheel,  or one of three sponsoring names it's had since it was built.) Basically a £30 ferris wheel that gives you a great view of London.

All right, what about this?

Nope. Not London Bridge. Tower Bridge. (Don't you love how these Brits try to confuse us tourists?) London Bridge is actually a very uninteresting concrete structure that looks super boring but connects cool parts of town. Tower Bridge is the famous one, so called because of the Tower of London (aka: Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress), which has all kinds of history locked up in its walls. *Extra credit: neither of these bridges were involved the the collapses of nursery rhyme fame.*

All right, this one is for the movie buffs. It's a side view, but you should be able to pick it out if you know your films!

It's MI6! Can you see the rounded part in the front that was M's office that exploded in Skyfall?! We were surprised how small it was. And how close we could get to it. (We were with 15 feet at one point.) However, I'd assume the blocks/windows are pretty secure. I'm trying to decide if the US takes security more seriously, or if we just have more real estate to play with!

The following tower is the tallest in London (and the tallest in the EU). (Sorry you can only see half of it

The Shard- so named because it looks like a shard of glass piercing the city skyline. At least this name makes sense (and doesn't have 4 other names). I can see this building from my street, and it's a reminder of how close I really am to all the hubbub. Today we walked right past it to go to Maltby Street, a tiny foodie market on the south side of the Thames. So much fun!

Can you pick out the dome in the center? Any idea what that is?

What about in this picture?

That is St. Paul's Cathedral. Well, the new St. Paul's Cathedral. The old one was burned down in the great fire of 1666. Rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren (who rebuilt half of London after the fire), it now sits at the 'centre' of London on the Thames. Off on the right side you can see a few other skyscrapers. Ten points to whoever can name three of them.

Here's another angle:

We'll start from left to right. The curvy block on the left hand side is 20 Fenchurch Street, better known as The Walkie Talkie because of its funny shape. However, this past summer, the architects were in a bit of trouble with the concave glass tiles on the south side of the building reflected light in a concentrated area, melting bicycle seat, peeling paint, and damaging/melting the panels on some poor blokes Jaguar.

In the centre of the picture is 122 Leadenhall Street, or The Cheesegrater. You can't see it so much from the front, but a side view shows you why.

It's due to finish construction this year. And I'm starting to ask where architects are getting their ideas these days? What's next, the colander?

On the far side of the picture was a shiny oval-shaped building. Can you name it? Here's another shot: 

The Gherkin (or properly 30 St Mary Axe) is in the heart of London's financial district. It's faceted mirrors and torpedo shape make it seem to sparkle on sunny days. I like this building!

Across the corner from it stand a building exactly opposite in design. Where The Gherkin stands in sleek minimalistic beauty, Lloyds of London is a complicated steam-punk styled mass of blocks, tubes, and shafts.

Appropriately nicknamed The Inside-Out Building, Lloyds has all its utility workings on the exterior of the building. Plumbing, air-conditioning, elevators... all are housed in tubes and ductwork visible from the street below. It has an industrial flair to it, less artistic, but cool in its own way. The architect, Richard Rogers, also used a similar design for Paris' Pompidou Centre, using a different colour for each utility. The hubby and I thought the Lloyds building looks like something out of DC comics, though we were debating whether from Gotham or Metropolis. :-)

Just a street over is this little corner. In front of St. Helen's Bishopsgate (an evangelical church in downtown London) is this adorable courtyard. I felt like all it needed was a black and white filter and it could have been from a century ago!

Hope you've enjoyed your tour of London architecture. Hopefully with time I'll have some prettier pictures to share of each of these. But I had fun touring and thought I'd pass it on. Now if I can only keep all these names straight!

And... just for the fun of it, here's a picture out my back window.... a rainbow! :-)

I'm so grateful to be here. I can't believe I can call London my city!

Christmas Grotto

Hi Everyone! I HAD to get this post out before Christmas, as I've told a few friends about it, and frankly, its just too good to leave unshared!

Several friends back in the States have asked if Christmas in London is all classy and traditional and Dickens-ian. To which I reply a resounding NO! So here are a few pics to support my declaration.

This is a house just a minutes walk from us. It just cracks me up to see the decorations stop abruptly at the edge of the townhouse!

However, the following house is the real inspiration for my post! Its just a couple blocks away, on a corner lot, and they take their decoration seriously! There are lights all over the house, on the roof, and they even built a 'deck' for their nativity, since they have a wall that would keep you from seeing it in their yard.

But the kicker is the 'grotto'.

To the side of the house, they have a one-room building that they keep decorated. In summer, it hosts a koi pond and plastic lawn ornaments, such as chickens. (I kid you not, plastic lawn chickens keeping watch over golden koi!) For Halloween, they stuck a life-size Dracula in the corner... which freaked me out a little.

But Christmas is their true love, and they go all out, with a Christmas village, polar bears, penguins, wise men, Frosty, and of course, several Santas (because simply one Santa in the room would obviously be insufficient!) all accompanied by a children's recording of Christmas songs. Apparently, its quite well known/loved among the families in the area. The owners used to decorate the whole house inside and out and give tours before Christmas, until the government decided they were pushing the limits of 'residential' zoning and becoming too 'commercial' in their enterprise. :-) My questions lie less in the zoning, and more in the disbelief that parents were actually okay with children going into a stranger's home for the decorations! I assume the children were accompanied, but still... it rings a bit... strange to me. I leave you to judge for yourselves.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you "The Grotto"

And lest you feel like you're still not fully informed, I took a video for you. (Apologies for the car noises in the background.)

I'm sorry, I'm sure they are lovely people, but every time I walk past, I think of this:

** On a happy note, my friend came up with this and I told her I'd post it and make her famous! Don't buy an expensive back-of-seat mount for your iPad for kiddo entertainment. Just make a hole in a gift bag the size of your iPad, slide it in, pull the strings out one side and tie around your headrest! Brilliant!

An Honest Christmas

I have a confession to make: I lied.

Well, not so much lied, as I gave a false impression of the truth. (I know, Mom, same thing.)

But its a Facebook thing, so does that count?

We all know it happens, and I think we all do it at some point or another. You know what I mean- that bit where we take the best of ourselves to post on Facebook while hiding the worst. We post fun, gregarious pictures that make our lives look fantabulous, while in reality, reality is rather mundane. Don't get me wrong- I don't necessarily want to go to a depressing 'realistic' Facebook where everyone posts every bad mood, poor grade, worry, fear, and mess. I've had a few friends who made that their norm, and quite honestly, its depressing. But it's tricky to find a middle ground.

Anyhoo... here's my boldfaced lie:

Looks cozy, right? A fireplace with candles, Christmas decor, and twinkle lights reflecting in the flame. It was cozy, and it did make me smile to see, so it wasn't all a lie. But let me tell you about the reality behind this photo:  the hubby is off to the side (you can see his arm on the right edge), after having just given up on a project that wasn't working for the evening. Me? I'm on the sofa across from the fireplace, where I've been all day with a cold, in my leggings, mens flannel shirt (that I sewed in hopes of looking cuter in it), and knee socks that are bunched around my ankles because they're too tight to go up to my knees without cutting off circulation. My day consisted mostly of fooling around on the laptop, too sick to be very profitable, too stubborn to actually sleep. (Though the hubster did eventually make me take a nap). After minimal food and various glasses of water, tea, and lemonade (the boring British version of Sprite), I ended the evening by throwing up in bed. Don't worry- I had a bucket.

See? I lied. It wasn't a wonderful cozy evening of reading and cuddling by a fire. I was miserable and searching for something to make me happier. And when I found it, I shared it. Trust me, you didn't want to see anything else described in my day!

I did manage to do a little bit profitable. Do you mind if I share? I promise to be honest in my presentation.

I did get a few more Christmas decorations up. I love decorating, especially for Christmas! There's so much potential for sparkle, and lights, and glitter, and fun! But life doesn't always deliver just that.

*Side note- That eucalyptus hanging is from the Pinterest post that said if you hang it in your shower, it makes your bathroom smell nice. They lied.

Okay, so for the sake of honesty, I admit. I edited these pictures. Trying to photograph a room by Christmas light makes it all weird and orangey-yellow. Oh, and windows... yeah. Not black and lovely, just a mirror for everything else in the room that distracts from the main subject. 

Honestly, I'm pretty happy with our decor this year. It feels cozy and warm. And there's a bit of nostalgia with the paper stars, glittered leaves, and cranberry/popcorn garlands. But can I tell you a secret? I wasn't necessarily going for the vintage look. (I just posted an article about hipsters faux nostalgia). In truth, we have cranberries, leaves, and paper because they're cheap. Christmas decor is stinking expensive until after Christmas, which wasn't an option for this year! So we made do... and its enough.

In fact, that's what I'm working to learn right now-- that concept of 'enough'. I love The Nester's philosophy that "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful." I want to believe that. But in a day of Pinterest and Facebook and my natural perfectionism, its darn hard!!!

And by the way, a London Christmas doesn't look like this:

Right now, our London looks like this:

Yep- cleaning crews blowing damp leaves off the grass and cement. Did you know that London doesn't get snow? It'll snow once or twice a year, making the roads a muddy slushy mess before melting away.

Fortunately, we do have pretty things like this house-way, and December blossoms.

Its been an interesting holiday season. I've known about the 'real reason for Christmas' for years and years. We've read Luke 2 every year for as long as I can remember. But still, its so easy to yawn through the story, complain about a Christmas Eve/Day service, and then race back home for the 'real' fun. **Can I admit it, I still LOVE getting presents!** But I feel like this year, God's asking me if He's really the most important. If there's no snow on the ground, no family on Christmas Day, and if my homemade gifts/decor really aren't super impressive and Pinterest-worthy, can I still be joyful? Can I still praise Him? Can I still be thankful for the blessings he's giving, materially and spiritually? To be honest, I've not done so great this year. I've found myself 'bah-humbug'-ing a few too many times.

But I AM blessed. I have family at home who loves me a lot, and technology means I can call them whenever I want. I have old friends and new friends here in London who have opened their lives to us, and invited us to share houses, meals, and parties over the holiday. I have a sweet, newly renovated home, and a church that let me borrow craft supplies to decorate cheaply. I have a Christmas tree with white lights and sweet decorations from our pasts. I have the love and care of a godly man who seeks to serve me and make me smile on a daily basis. And I have the gift of salvation- bringing joy and comfort to my darkest days. His word and His Spirit never fail, never disappoint, and provide peace beyond December 25, if my heart will seek Him.

So here's to an honest Christmas in London, where its grey and wet and 53˚, and God is teaching me about joy more than ever!