June 24, 2009

You might remember from our last blog a picture of a piece of wood that we saw in St. Nicholas Cathedral. (If you do not remember, now would be the time to scroll down to that blog to read about it). I promised to tell about the neat thing we discovered after downloading the photies. This is the cool thing we saw:

I thought it was very cool that reflected in the glass containing the wood, dating back to a tree that was alive during the time of Christ, was the shadow of a cross. It is as if it is suggesting that the wood could have easily been the very wood used for making the cross of our Lord and Saviour. I also like how the light is in three separate sections: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three parts - one Light.

Friday, June 12th, we were busy getting ready for Dave and Rob to travel down to Top Barn Farm in Worcester, near Birmingham. Angus Buchan, a South African farmer Dave speaks of regularly, was the main speaker. There were over 2000 men from various countries at the farm to worship. Dave had a lovely time with his dad. They were both refreshed and revived by the Spirit. Dave was extremely pleased they went as God used that time not only to allow he and his dad special time together, but also to draw Rob to a place of deciding to seek the Lord's face daily and placing Him at the head of his life again. Praise God!!! When Dave and Rob came back from their trip Rob was a changed man! His speech was different, his face was different, and he seemed happier than I've ever seen him before. Dave was tearing up that whole day because he was overcome with joy and gratitude. What a blessed time!

As soon as Dave and Rob left on Friday, Joshua, Daniel, and I walked up to a park in Winlaton. We had lots of fun kicking around the ball and playing on the slide. Joshua met a couple of little boys that he had fun with. We walked home and then had spaghetti for supper. (It's one of Joshua's favourites).

Saturday, June 13th, we stayed at home all day. Mark, Louise, and Katie came over for a couple of hours. Daniel and Katie were having a grand time together, of course! Mark kept us entertained with stories of his childhood while Katie kept us in bruises with her tackling. Haha!

The rest of that day Joshua and Mummy watched Animal Planet because they were showing a really cool documentary about monkeys. Anyone who knows Joshua very well knows that he is not really a boy, but a monkey and will understand our enthusiasm in learning more about his family. =) Mummy made some yummy burgers that night which we quickly devoured in order to finish watching the monkeys.

Sunday, June 14th, we wanted to go to church, but Mark was to collect us for the Metro Centre mid-morning... dilemma. In the end, we decided to go ahead and go to church and leave Mark a note explaining where we were. We were really glad we went to church. We attended the same one we had last week. The people were, again, just so lovely. The speaker for that week, as they have no pastor, was preaching about Job. The speaker's main focus was how God brought Job to humility; teaching him that we are all so small and powerless in comparison to the greatness and power of the Lord. I found this to be very interesting.... especially when Dave got home and said that was the focus of the messages they had heard at the farm!

As soon as the service was over, I hardly had time to turn around and there stood Mark. Perfect timing! We went to the Metro Centre where we met up with Louise and Katie. We ate at Burger King; I had a peri-peri chicken wrap (something you cannot find at the Burger King in Oklahoma). Then we did some shopping around. Louise is quite the enthusiastic shopper! She was making me laugh at how she had been 'looking for one of these forever'; no matter what it was she picked up. Haha! It wasn't long, however, that all three children were obviously needing to take a nap so Mark dropped Joshua, Daniel, and me back at the house.

We didn't have too long of a wait before Daddy and Grandpa were home!!! YAY!!! Then we listened to stories of their weekend with excitement. The joy of listening to the stories was to be short-lived, however, because washing and packing was to be done as we were to leave the next day for Ireland.

While we were in the middle of our packing (at about 11pm), Rob calls us from the backyard. This is what we found....

For those of you who have never seen one before, it is a hedgehog. We had fun watching it roll up in a ball. Dave reckons it must have been eating slugs because it's face and hands were so slimy. GROSS!

Monday morning, June 15th, had us up early to head out to the airport. Rob dropped us and our plane was out of there by 8am. Through the window on our flight we saw some very pretty things that God made. When we landed in Ireland we grabbed a taxi and headed over to Lee and Eric's house. We were sooooo excited to see Lee!!!!!! It is not that we were not excited to see Eric. He just happened to be at work so we didn't get to see him when we arrived. Dave and I walked down to the nearest shop to pick up some milk and cream while Lee made us some German pancakes... Yummy! After breakfast we all had a lounge around and then we walked to the shopping centre to get some groceries for our stay. Most importantly, we needed some scones! We just couldn't go any longer without some yummy scones with strawberry jam and whipped cream.

By the time we got back, Eric was at home!!!! Joshua ran to him and jumped in his arms as we were walking our last block.. sooo sweeeet! They soon went to the backyard to play soccer while we all had fun drinking tea and nibbling on our scones.

After supper we just sat around and chatted and chatted. FUN TIMES!!!

Tuesday, June 16th, we stayed at home the whole day. Dave, Joshua, and Daniel played soccer.

Joshua was wishing Uncle Sesic was at home and not at work.

We just hung out together with Lee all day. Soon Eric came home and we played Carem, a game board that his grandfather had made. It has to do with flicking a shooter at a coloured ring in order to sink it in a pocket. I would say that it is very similar to playing pool... only with your fingers.

Wednesday, June 17th, we had big plans so as we were getting ready Daniel had fun watching Silly Songs with Larry. He danced and danced to 'The Song of the Cabu'.

We soon walked to the bus stop in order to catch a bus to downtown Dublin. Our first stop was the Nursing and Midwifery campus of Trinity College; Lee is a student there.

We walked from there over to the main Trinity College campus. It was pretty!

We walked through the big wooden doors into a vestibule that lead into the courtyard.

Once in the courtyard, a large structure lead to a lovely park.

Our first objective was to find food because we were all hungry since it was already 2:45pm. Once our bellies were full, we were eager to head over to see the Book of Kells.

• The Book of Kells is one of the most famous manuscripts in the history of the world and was completed in about 800 AD. The vellum (calfskin) manuscript contains transcriptions of the four Gospels, lavishly illustrated and ornamented. It is the most elaborate manuscript of its kind to survive from the early Middle Ages. The scribes and artists who created the Book of Kells were monks who lived in a monastery on the remote island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland. The monastery was founded late in the sixth century by an Irish monk, St Colmcille. (bookofkells.com/the-manuscript)

Wow, that was amazing. Can you imagine being the one who did that???

After the we walked up to the Old Library. I don't know how many of you like looking at old, old books, but we just LOVE it!!!

We left there and walked...

over to Marks and Spencer, a fantastic English department/grocery store. It's like Walmart... only way more upscale. Joshua was thirsty, so he had a small carton of juice.

After that, we walked over to Avoca where Lee got us some more YUMMY scones. From there we went over to the bus stop. Joshua was excited to get on this bus because it was a double-decker. Eric was at home when we arrived. He and Joshua we quickly out the door for some soccer playing as Lee cooked the chicken and David and Amy settled Daniel for a nap. As it was Wednesday night we had home group. We sang lots of songs, many of them were written by Eric. One that we really enjoyed was the creation song (don't remember the real name of it). It was a fun song! Eric played the guitar for us while Joshua accompanied with the maracas. Lee played her drum, which has a proper name that escapes me, while Dave added more shaking percussion.

Dave read from the Word and we prayed. After that, Lee finished preparing supper while Dave and Eric chatted and Amy went upstairs to have a good cry (she was wishing to be in Oklahoma for her Papaw's funeral). I just LOVE how God speaks to every heart in a different way using the same words!

Thursday, June 18th, Eric woke up early to go rent us an SUV so we could do a little bit of site-seeing. While we were waiting getting ready, Daniel had a little bit of a trip and got a good scrape on the noggin. I just knew it was going to leave a huge, ugly bruise, but it didn't discolor a bit.

Joshua got involved in 'Winnie the Pooh'. He ended up taking it along in the car.

Soon we were off. Lee and Eric's house is in Dublin and we were heading to where I was pointing. We drove through Port Marnock and Malahide on the coast before heading up to Newgrange. Newgrange was amazing! Older than the Egyptian pyramids. The chamber is in the shape of a cross!

• The Megalithic Passage Tomb at Newgrange was built about 3200 BC. The kidney shaped mound covers an area of over one acre and is surrounded by 97 kerbstones, some of which are richly decorated with megalithic art. The 19 metre long inner passage leads to a cruciform chamber with a corbelled roof. It is estimated that the construction of the Passage Tomb at Newgrange would have taken a work force of 300 at least 20 years.

This pic was taken as we were walking to the visitor centre.

Here is Newgrange as seen from our bus.

The view from Newgrange was just amazing!

I really Loved the pattern on the stone. This pattern is seen in so many megalithic artefacts, yet one can only speculate as to what it actually means. I like to believe that it symbolises the Trinity - three, yet one. This is the entrance. Even Amy had to stoop a bit to get into the door. The opening above the door is where sunlight will shine through during winter solstice and light up the tomb.

We crossed a bridge over a river between the bus and visitor centre.

After awing at the mound work we hopped in the SUV again to head over to Ardgillan Castle.

• The name Ardgillan is derived from the Irish "Árd Choill" meaning "High Wood". Ardgillan is a large country house with castellated embellishments built by the Rev. Robert Taylor in 1738. It stands on the elevated coastline commanding magnificent views of the Irish Sea. The house consists of two storeys over basement, which extend under the south lawns. Robert Taylor was a grandson of the Thomas Taylor who worked with William Petty on the mid 17th century Down Survey of Ireland. The house remained in the Taylor family until 1962 when the estate to Heinrich Potts of Westphalia. In 1982 the estate was sold to the County Council. (dublintourist.com/details/ardgillan_demesne.shtml)

The castle was just stunning! You can see in the photo that it is right on the coast of the Irish Sea. Just BEAUTIFUL!!! We decided that if we were to ever live in a castle this would be the way to do it!

The castle had a huge, beautiful rose garden that then lead to the secret, walled garden.

We found a cute little door leading into the secret garden.

We spotted two love birds.

Joshua sniffed the peonies that were the size of his head.

Joshua and Dave thought they should brush up on their karate chopping skills just in case we ran across any wild beasts in the secret, completely surrounded by wall, garden.

There are those love birds again.

Mommy and Joshua enjoy a nice stroll together.

We walked around the back of Ardgillan.

This was the view at our backs.

When we were leaving the car park we noticed a lovely rainbow stretched across the sea.

So we travelled to the sea!

Where Joshua had a quick frolic in the water.

Joshua's clothes got very wet from his fun in the sun (or, water, as it were) so he had to ride back home without any clothes on... just his coat. As soon as he walked into the house he ran upstairs to get some clothes on. This is what he came down wearing....

DANIEL'S CLOTHES!!!!!!!! hahahahahahahaha!!! That boy Cracks Me UP!

The rest of that evening was spent eating supper and playing 'Settlers of Catan', a FUN game that Dave and I plan to purchase as soon as we return to the states!!!!

Friday, June 19th, Eric was back to work so Lee, Dave, and I enjoyed ourselves by just lounging around and playing more 'Settlers of Catan'. When Eric came home he joined in our leisure.

I'll stop here and finish with Part 2 in a day or two.

Apologies

Please forgive us for not posting a blog as of yet. We are currently in Ireland with Lee and Eric and having a wonderful time, however, we did not bring our computer and do not want to monopolize their computer. The connection is also not that great so we would not be able to download photos. We return to Newcastle on the 22nd. We promise to post a blog either late evening the 22nd or earlyish the 23rd. Thank you for your patience =)

June 11, 2009

Sunday after Rob and Joshua returned from the allotment we all just napped around the house. Not much exciting happened that evening.

I promised a pic of Katie's birthday party and here it is. Louise was getting the bubble machine to work while Katie looked on.

Monday we rode in Tracey and travelled up the north-east coast to view a few castles. We traveled thru Wansbeck district into the district of Alnwick.

Our first stop was Warkworth Castle.

• The magnificent cross-shaped keep of Warkworth, crowning a hilltop rising steeply above the River Coquet, dominates one of the largest, strongest and most impressive fortresses in northern England. The castle's most famous owners were the Percy family, whose lion badge can be seen carved on many parts of their stronghold.Wielding almostkingly power in the North, their influence reached its apogee under the first Earl of Northumberland and his son 'Harry Hotspur', hero of many Border ballads as the bane of Scots raiders and a dominant character in Shakespeare's Henry IV. Having helped to depose Richard II, these turbulent 'kingmakers' both fell victim to Henry IV: the next three Percy Earls likewise died violent deaths. Still roofed and almost complete, the uniquely-planned keep dates mainly from the end of the 14th century. It presides over the extensive remains of a great hall, chapel, fine gatehouse and a virtually intact circuit of towered walls. Half a mile from the castle, tucked away by the Coquet and accessible only by boat, stands a much more peaceful building: the late medieval cave Hermitage and chapel of a solitary holy man. (english-heritage.org.uk)

Joshua and I saw a path that walked down and around the castle and thought it might be fun to explore it. I set off to join the path while Joshua found it more fun to roll all the way down the hill. We followed the path down to the river where Joshua pretended to fall in.

When we walked back up, Joshua spotted a short-cut through the brush that went straight up the hill, of course, he wanted us to take it... so we did. As soon as we reached Dave (who had volunteered to stay at the car with a sleeping Daniel), Joshua wanted his Daddy to see the amazing short-cut as well. Mommy sat with Daniel while admiring the gorgeous cross detail in the stone.

"Alas! and did my Savior bleed, and did my Sov’reign die? Would He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I?.... Thus might I hide my blushing face while His dear cross appears. Dissolve my heart in thankfulness, and melt my eyes to tears." (Ralph Hudson)

Tea and biscuits sounded yummy when David and Joshua came back from their expeditions. We had with us a large flask of tea, some bananas, meat pies, apple juice, and pb&js. Daniel ate a whole banana crazy fast! Dave asked, "Was that banana good?". Daniel replied with a british accent, "Nana good".

Once we all had our tummies warmed up, we were off to the next place of interest. On the way, we passed a Spar, which made us excited because we often shopped at the Spar in Zimbabwe.

Our next stop was Dunstanburgh Castle in the small, harbor town of Craster. One must walk well over a mile to reach it because that is how close the nearest public parking is. We were blessed with the parking, though; after we had nibbled on our packed lunch, we were getting out of the car and about to go pay for a parking ticket when a sweet, older couple drove up to us and gave us their full day ticket that they were no longer needing. (Yahoo.... LOVE it when God blesses us in small ways like that!)

As we were beginning our walk, we noticed a place one could stop to get tea with fresh scones (YUMMY!!!) so we thought it would be great to get some on our way out.

Here we are, stopping to overlook the North Sea just before stopping

to get a Flaky ice cream.

David took some time down near water's edge to contemplate the wonders of his Creator.

Joshua wanted to have a quick frolic in the sea while David looked on from below and Mummy and Daniel watched from above.

Finally, we make it to within view of the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle.

• Dramatic Dunstanburgh Castle was built at a time when relations between King Edward II and his most powerful baron, Earl Thomas of Lancaster, had become openly hostile. Lancaster began the fortress in 1313, and the latest archaeological research carried out by English Heritage indicates that he built it on a far grander scale than was hitherto recognised, perhaps more as a symbol of his opposition to the king than as a military stronghold. The innovative gatehouse, for instance, competed with the new royal castles in Wales. The earl failed to reach Dunstanburgh when his rebellion was defeated, and was taken and executed in 1322. Thereafter the castle passed eventually to John of Gaunt, who strengthened it against the Scots by converting the great twin towered gatehouse into a keep. The focus of fierce fighting during the Wars of the Roses, it was twice besieged and captured by Yorkist forces, but subsequently fell into decay. Its impressive ruins now watch over a headland famous for seabirds. (english-heritage.org.uk)

Joshua bought a postcard with many of the castles we visited or will visit. He is pointing to the picture showing the very castle site that stands behind him.

He wants to send this to Carston.... Carston, be looking for this in the mail! =)

Daniel has become quite the hugger of late. He gives such good ones! He will wrap his arms about one's neck and say loudly, yet sweetly, "I oh you" (that is his way of saying I love you).

Here he is giving one of these tight squeezes to David's head!

On our way back, we ran into my parent's summer cottage. It faces the North Sea and has a lovely garden just in front where one can sit and watch the sea gulls practice ballet.

(ps.... my parent's do not really have a summer cottage)! ...hahaha.

We stopped to watch the fishing boat dock. Joshua found this fascinating!

As we walked on and got close to the car park, we noticed that our previous plans of having tea and scones were not to be. The kiosk was already closed! =( Boo-hoo... guess we really didn't need it after all.

So, we passed the day ticket on and headed out to Bamburgh Castle.

• Home to the Kings of Northumbria this magnificent coastal castle was completely restored in 1900. Collections of china, porcelain, furniture, paintings, arms and armour. It is the home of the Armstrong family, and the building is all in use which maintains a welcoming lived-in atmosphere. A Royal Centre by AD547, the rocky outcrop has been occupied since the prehistoric period. The present fortress is the result of restoration and expansion over the centuries, a building of historic and general interest with the public tour passing through the museum room, grand kings hall, cross hall, armoury and the Victorian scullery. Live archaeology during July and August, complete with children's dig pit, a tea-room and gift shop. (ntopsearch.com/VisitBritain/en-GB/Details.aspx?contentID=122968)

As we were walking down to the castle we passed a famous, English, red phone booth and could not pass the opportunity to take a pic.

We also passed a tea room that captivated our attentions and appetites!

We walked on to where the cricket ground lays just near the castle. Joshua ran around on the cricket grounds. That boy ran all day, I think.

This cross is placed in the side of the hill where the castle stands (the castle is above the cross). The cross commemorates the men from the area that fought in WWII.

Dave took it easy as we walked up to the castle.

Joshua stood on a cliff ;) as we walked up to the castle.

We walked around the castle by the sea. So peaceful and pretty; shame we had to leave.

It took us about 45 minutes to drive home from Bamburgh. We could see Alnwick Castle in the distance as we drove home.

That evening we crashed as soon as we walked in the door. It was a great day!

Tuesday morning was a good time to let Daniel catch up on sleep. Dave and Rob went to B&Q to purchase some cement for the braai at the allotment. They came back, after secretly eating some yummy steak and onion stotties, to collect Joshua. All three of them soon headed up to the allotment to finish the work they had begun on the braai.

That evening we walked to downtown Blaydon to watch the runners coming in from the burn. David and Joshua had visions of running in it themselves while Daniel had more interest in what his Mummy was doing.

The runners came from all parts of the globe. Unfortunately, we missed the very first ones coming in, but we got to see most of them finish the race. I tried to convince David to run in it wearing only a Speedo, but he insisted that he was way too fast and didn't want to make everyone else look so bad. HAHA!

Near to the finish line were some fun things for the kiddos. Joshua had a ball bouncing all around the bouncy, trampoline thing. After he finished with that, he was a little hot so Dave treated Joshua to an ice-cream twister.

We made it home after climbing up Shibdon Bank.... yeesh.... that is one long, steep climb. I am happy to say that my fitness level must be increasing a little, at least, as I didn't have to stop not once and I wasn't huffing and puffing like I was last time either. Of course, I was not carrying heavy packets in my hand.... hmmm... maybe I don't have so much to boast about after all!

Wednesday was a good day to see some Newcastle sights. We hopped on a bus to downtown Newcastle and began our journey by walking towards St. Nicholas Cathedral. As soon as we rounded the bus station we spotted a Starbuck's which Dave and I could not pass up. We shared a Cafe Mocha... Mmmm! Joshua quickly proclaimed his hunger, so we were out of Starbuck's in search for food. As we walked, we passed a band playing some very strange instruments, yet the sound was lovely! Then we found a Gregg's where Joshua got a sausage roll and Mummy and Daniel got cornish pasties.

With food in our tummies, we were keen to continue our adventure. After a brief walk, we arrived at St. Nicholas Cathedral.

• In 1194, we have the first reference to the dedication of the church to St. Nicholas. The first wooden building was rebuilt in stone towards the end of the twelfth century and was twice damaged by fire in the first half of the thirteenth century but repaired and extended in the following years.

  Towards the end of the fourteenth century, in order to allow more light into the church, the walls were heightened and a clerestory inserted.

  Patrons of this improvement work included Nicholas Sabram, three times Member of Parliament, in addition to Roger Thornton who died in 1429, and Robert Rhodes who died 45 years later, two of the greatest benefactors of churches in Newcastle.

  By the end of the fifteenth century with the addition of the splendid stone crown and tower, the church was in very much the same form as we know it today. (stnicholascathedral.co.uk)

The church was old, but amazing! We didn't read the brochure about it because we thought it cost more than it should so we did not find out the age of the church or the original size, but as the pews were sitting on old tombstones we assumed it was not always so large.

Dave and Joshua took time out to pray together at the altar.

Daniel and Mummy stood in awe at the stained glass windows.

David spotted a seemingly arbitrary thing tucked away in an unobtrusive spot. At first glance one would think it was merely a block of wood in a frame, but upon closer inspection of the document, one will read that the piece of wood dates back to a tree that was alive during the time of Christ!

Amy took a photo of the document. When we downloaded our photos, we noticed a very cool thing about this photo. Can you guess the neat secret????? (the answer will be revealed next blog).

Just around the corner from the cathedral is the Castle Keep of Newcastle.

• The Castle Keep of Newcastle upon Tyne was built by Henry II between 1168-1178, it is one of the finest surviving examples of a Norman Keep in the country.

  It stands within a site that also contains: an early motte and bailey castle built by Robert Curthose, the son of William the Conqueror: an Anglo-Saxon cemetery and a Roman Fort (Pons Aelius). (museums.ncl.ac.uk)

We found the unfinished stair. It was begun, but the work was abandoned during an attack; the stair was never completed.

We also found a little mouse crawling out of the hearth.

Here is the well room, Joshua's favourite room. If he doesn't watch it, he just might fall in!

Unable to take the push-chair up and down the many steps, and also leaving our baby carrier at the house, we had to improvise.

One never know who one will run into while touring a castle. Here we have just met Sir Talks A. Lot and Lady Froggy Face.

Joshua displayed the face of constipation on the Queen's lou.

This is Amy and Dave's favourite room... the Chapel. The acoustics in there are absolutely amazing!!! Amy sang 'Agnes Dei', Dave whistled, and Joshua yodeled.

We left the Castle Keep and walked down and across a very long bridge in order to cross the Tyne.

Once on the other side we passed The Sage Gateshead, which is a music centre. Joshua rolled all the way down this hill as well. (not where the rocks were).

This is the Millenium Bridge. It is also called the 'Blinking Eye' because it is shaped like an eye and when it tilts it looks like the eye is closing.

The bridge was supposed to tilt at 6:15 pm so we had time to wait. Joshua and Dave wanted some ice-cream while they rested. Daniel just rested.

The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art was just across the way, so we went to have a looksey in it. They had a neat display using blocks. The kids were allowed to try their hands at making a block structure of their own.

Joshua made a beautiful structure!

When we walked out of Baltic we had a sit-down in the middle of the bridge to wait for the tilt.

Unfortunately, they cancelled the tilt (often happens) and we were soon heading back to the bus station. Joshua said his feet was about to fall off because they hurt so much, but he managed to make it to the station with feet intact.

When we got to the Winlaton Station it was beginning to spit (sprinkle). We walked toward home and stopped at the Spar to get some nourishment before heading back down the hill. As we were walking, we heard someone yelling, "David, David, David". We turned around and saw Lorraine (Uncle John and Aunty Laura's daughter) walking toward us.

After having a quick hello with Lorraine we were on our way home where we ate and put up our aching tootsies.

Joshua laid on the blow-up bed with Dave while Amy began blogging, but he was soon to be put to bed along with Daniel.

Then Dave watched a movie (that he did not see the end of) while Amy continued downloading photies.

Thursday morning Amy got back to her blogging. That afternoon Dave, Rob, and Gramps went out to purchase a tent. The one we were going to purchase (for only 20 pounds) was sold out so they ended up getting a whole camping starter set for which Gramps generously donated half of the cost. -Thanks Gramps!!!

Now we are sitting here in the living room listening to Gramps's stories of running as a young lad, traveling to Cape Town for 65 pounds (three people including food), and living in Rhodesia.

Finally, I am done with the longest blog ever and I am DONE!! So I am not saying another word.

Until next time....