These are a few of my favorite things...

I finally recieved the package I sent to myself while in the States. It is difficult to understand the infatuation with comforts from home, particularly food, until you have been an expat. So I hope you will bear with me. Here is what I sent myself:

Laffy Taffy
Butterfingers
Reeses peanut butter cups
various flavours of Jello
Jello chocolate pudding, instant, cook and serve, and fat-free sugar-free
chocolate Pop Tarts (Josh's treat)
Kraft parm. cheese
Band-aids
Dove deoderant (I can find it here, but I figured I'll get it cheap at Costco)
Starburst jelly beans (this really excited me as I forgot I sent this)
various flavors of instant mash
pasta sauce mixes
taco mix
Scotch tape
mini Oreos
cookies-n-cream Hershey bars
Andies cherry chocolates

Feels like Friday

I worked today so it feels like tomorrow should be Saturday rather than Sunday.

I got off early enough for Josh and I to have a date. The weather was actually pretty decent today, as opposed to the cold, grey, wet weather we have had the last couple of weeks. We went to the botanical gardens and ate at their cafe. Well, we didn't ONLY eat there, but as it was a date we decided to eat there rather than plan our outing around a homecooked meal. It was a very enjoyable date. We then got ice cream at a stand and sat in a park that overlooked the city.

I guess it was a full week. I arrived at work on Monday to the sirens going off. The delivery guy didn't set the alarm right when he left. I had to stand outside the building with people walking by wondering why I was just standing there. We watched our first football (soccer) game. I worked 4 whole days! rather than the 2 that has been the norm lately. Josh had his first week of work. He gets to carry a purple key! Josh has been working hard on is dissertation. I got to talk to Andrea on the phone! Yep, that's our full week. It doesn't sound like much, but that's how I like it. Of course, there are the everyday chores in there as well: cooking, shopping, dishes, laundry. Every one of those made slightly more difficult by some crazy thing or another. :)

Longest day of the year!

My mom and Stacey are both priviledged to have their birthdays on the longest day of the year. Happy birthday to you both!

We were out late last night due to a necessary World Cup game watch at Sam and Peter's. We were walking back to our flat at nearly midnight. I had a hard time taking my eyes off of the norther sky because I could not believe how much light was still in the sky. About a month ago it just seemed like a light glow, like from city lights or something, but this was definate sunlight. It reminded me of our flight back to Scotland in May. The sun was only our of sight for a few hours, and while it was there was always a red glow on the horizon. It was so pretty.

Well, I do go on and on about the light here (or the lack thereof during the winter) but it is our first year here and it just amazes me. It will all be old hat next year.

http://www.camvista.com/scotland/edinburgh/histedin.php3?pageMode=nonjava

Here you can see for yourself how light it can be at night. Remember that we are six hours ahead of Chicago time.

My ABCs

Ok, I am going to copy this from Steph's blog.

Accent: Chicagoan. North American. I would say I have none, but now that I get asked where I am from on a regular basis, I guess I realize that I do.
Bible Book that I like: Romans
Chore I don't care for: Dishes. They just never go away! I wish for a dishwasher one of these days.
Dog or Cat: none. I would love to have rabbits again.
Essential Electronics: Now that I have lived without all of my small kitchen appliances, including a microwave, for nearly a year, I know they are not essential, but I sure do miss my blender! My camera is definately essential.
Favorite Cologne: Be Delicious by DKNY. I hope to have some one day.
Gold or Silver: White gold
Handbag I Carry Most Often: I don't carry a handbag except for special events. Now my over-the-shoulder water-proof Eddie Bauer bag that Andrea picked up for me is very essential.
Insomnia: I have been having a hard time getting back on Scotland time. It is especially difficult now that it is still light until well after 10pm. Very annoying when I have to get up at 5am!
Job Title: shift supervisor in training/full-time housewife
Kids: we are child-free
Living Arrangement: living in student housing near the top of an ancient volcano with a castle at one end of our road and a palace at the other. Cool, huh? City-centre. We actually look forward to getting away from all of the tourists!
Most Admirable Trait: Hospitality. Loyalty.
Naughtiest Childhood Behavior: Hmm...Maybe mom can pipe in on this one...
Overnight Hospital Stays: never
Phobias: walking over bridges with water underneath. I also fear having to talk on the phone here (might get an accent I can understand!).
Quote: The amazing thing is not that you die. The amazing thing is that you live.
Religion: Christianity
Siblings: 1 younger brother, Stevie!
Time I Wake Up: It has been very difficult getting out of bed before 8am now that we can't seem to go to bed before midnight, but somedays I have to get up for work at 5am.
Unusual Talent or Skill: not sure I have any. Can anyone think of something for me?
Vegetable I Refuse to Eat: califlower, brussel sprouts
Worst Habit: especially at work, I start something, have to go do something else, then forget the original project. I have many unfinished projects going at the same time.
X-rays: teeth, back, chest (one year when I moved from one building to the next at college I strained myself-everyone had to move at the same time, I ended up having to use the stairs, and I had to get to work at a certain time-and popped a hole in the lining around my lungs, or so the doctor said. To this day I will still get a slight pain in that area of my chest if I strain my lungs.)
Yummy Stuff I Cook: flourless chocolate cake (does baking count?), Chicaog-style deep dish pizza, my husband loves my Boston baked beans.
Zoo Animal I Like Most: monkeys in all kinds, shapes, and sizes.

Sunsets

As I have stated before, we get some great sunsets here. Take a look at flickr to see some of the pictures I took a couple of weeks ago from our window.

American Bacon!

You may have heard me mention that the bacon here is quite different. For one thing, you have to use oil to fry it. It does not render ONE BIT. I did not even figure out the oil bit until after trying to cook with it a few times. We never really eat bacon. I only use it for soups. I learned that I have to get what is called streaky bacon, as it has more fat, but it still doesn't render.

So, I was at the grocery store getting bacon for Boston baked beans when the familiar yellow package jumped out at me. Oscar Meyer! American! My heart lept and I thought "I can make BLTs! Never mind that I have never made a BLT in my life and haven't missed it one bit. Your stomach and mind do crazy things when you are away from what is familiar.

I made our BLTs for lunch today. When I was frying up the bacon (without oil!) I first thought "wow! grease!" Then I thought "wow! A LOT of grease!!" I made up some chipotle mayo to give our sandwiches a little kick. We used spinich rather than lettuce, as I posted about before and sprinkled on some of my home grown sprouts. So I guess they should rather be called BSTS: bacon, spinich, tomato, and sprouts. :)

Sprouts!

I made a feeble attempt at growing sprouts a couple of months ago. I didn't have adequate equipment, or I just didn't know what I was doing. Last time we were at the healthfood store I saw a jar for growing sprouts. It was only 4 quid so I figured it wouldn't be much of a loss if it didn't work and it was worth a try. I was happy to see wee sprouts the day after I started them and just 6 days later they were ready to be 'harvested.' This was my dinner tonight. We never even eat lettuce anymore. We always use spinich in it's place for salads, sandwiches, and even tacos. I sprinkled on some sprouts and a wee bit of cheese, added Costco's Ceasar salad dressing and Voila!

I 'harvested' my alfalfa sprouts just yesterday. This container was full and now this is all that is left. We have been enjoying them on our salads and even on our BLTs today (that's another post). I am now trying millet. We will have to be patient as we find sprouts that we like (I liked the alfalfa).

Bummer!

Yesterday was such a slendid day! The sun was bright and warm. It must have gotten close to 80, or at least felt that way with as warm as the sun makes you feel here. Of course, I had to work. And work I did! We must have sold a record amount of Frappaccinos. It was constant. The same kind of weather was forcasted for today, my day off. I had plans to take walks and read in the park. I was disappointed when I woke to find a thick fog when I opened our curtains. I could not see the city below. I knew it would be colder. I put on my capris and threw a light sweater over my short sleeves just incase. And yes, it was colder. Probably mid 50s. And with the dampness of the fog it feels colder. I had a bit of hope a couple of hours ago when the fog seemed to be getting thinner and I could see the city, but alas, the city is lost again!

Tuesday in the park

Yesterday was probably the warmest it has been since we got here, reaching around 75 degrees. Of course, I had to work, but with daylight stretching well past 10:00, we could still enjoy the weather after dinner.

As many of you know, we are without a freezer (yes, STILL) and it has been a dream of mine to get a pint of ice cream and savor it in the park. Well, more like gobble it down as savor is not in Josh's vocabulary, and I was sharing with him. :) So we packed up a couple of spoons, some books, and my camera and headed out to the grocery store to pick up some Ben and Jerry's. We then found a nice spot in Prince's Street Gardens under the castle and dug in. Ice cream never tasted so good!

During our stay in the park there was a Scottish country dancing event going on. It was £2 to get in, but it was easy just to watch. I went to snap some shots, leaving Josh to read Origen...

Uh, well, he was supposed to be reading... :)

Again, look for more pictures on flickr--> (not just now, though. I have to work on dinner...)

Our favorite spot

Saturday was a sunny day so, true to Scottish style, we rushed out and enjoyed it while it lasted. We love to go up Arthur's Seat. Josh said he wouldn't mind going up every weekend, but we have only been up half a dozen times. This was the first time I didn't freeze once we got up top! The breaze was warm and the sun actually started to bake me (even though it was only in the lower 60s)! Josh was thrilled that I dind't ask to go back down after just a few minutes and he could enjoy looking through his binoculars. I laid out my jacket that I didn't need and took a wee nap. We enjoyed the scenery for nearly an hour. Here are some pics of our favorite spot in the city (though the River Leith is coming in with a close second). I can't believe we live down the street from this!

Look for more pictures on flickr-->

Our first Scottish wedding!

I do not want to post wedding photos before the bride and groom see them,

but I thought it would be ok to share some impertinent photos to give you a wee

taste of the wedding.

We got to help out with decorations the morning of. Sam was VERY organized and we knew what to do without her even being there.

As someone on my forum recently posted, one cool thing about living in Scotland is men roaming around in kilts and no one does a double-take. I must admit, I did do a double-take when I our minster showed up in these. :)

That's us trying our best to keep up during the ceilidh. And that's Bungie dancing with his wife. *gasp!* It felt a little better knowing that there were many there from England who did not know the dances either.

It's now over four and a half years since our wedding. I think other than the bride and groom, we were the cutest couple there. :)

American mac and cheese

We had a very late lunch yesterday, 3pm. We went to the rehearsal of our friends' wedding in the morning and stayed out to do some shopping. We picked up a rotisserie chicken and that was our lunch. I figured that would be our dinner, too. But no. Two hours later my husband is asking was if for dinner. :) So I tell him we can have mac and cheese, something easy, and he is excited. Dilema: do we have the British mac and cheese, or the American mac and cheese that I just brought over? Since I felt a little sick I decided NOT to have the British one, as it smells strongly of BO. :( I had forgotten how much better the American one is! Even though it wasn't the white cheese, which was the cheese of choice back home.

So, if anyone should ever happen to need the box of macaroni and not use the cheese...DON'T PITCH IT. Send us the little packet of cheese. I have plenty of macaroni here. Though we really don't need too much of it, as we are TRYING to eat more healthy, it is a nice meal to get together quickly on those nights where we really don't feel like doing much. :) Cheers!

10pm

10pm and still light.

That's SUPER-Deli to you

I was just notified that I got the supervisor position. I am actually excited about it. I am looking forward to having more responsibility and hopefully making an impact on the store and the others I work with. We are hoping to move to the Stockbridge area when our lease is up with the university. Though it is months away I am already getting a little too excited and looking at flats online. It is a nice area.

Interview

I just had my interview with the district manager for the supervisor position at our store. I think it went well and he said he thinks it looks ok to move ahead, but he would talk to my manager and let me know on Monday...

So, how does a Starbucks interview differ from any other interview? Coffee tasting! I was told that I would be expected to put together a coffee tasting for us. It was suggested to me that I pick up some cheese and use a coffee that went with cheese. It just so happens that with my ASDA delivery yesterday I got Wensleydale cheese with blackcurrants and apple. SO, I ran home after work to cut some up, put it on a nice plate, and took it to my interview. Turns out that he had never had it before, but he thought it was glorious. He went on about it through the whole interview. And there we are at my interview, smelling, then slurping wee samples of Sulawesi and eating cheese. :)

Things I Brought Back

I thought you might get a good laugh if I were vulnurable and listed some of the things I brought back to Scotland from America. Notice, things I brought back. Josh reminds me that this was all my doing, that he would have been just fine without any of these things, though he does benefit from the use of some of them.

We went to America with 3 suitcases, because we did not want to deal with the trouble of 4 suitcases on the bus, train, and el, and walking through the airport and in the city. Though most of what we brought consisted of souveniers and things we would leave at home, I had to talk Josh into allowing another 'wee' suitcase. It was only the size of a carry-on, but it was almost the heaviest. Oh, and the weight limit went down from 70lbs. to 50lbs. which Josh was happy for, but it made it a bit more tricky.

So, here goes:

CANDY-
Reeses peanut butter cups
Butterfingers
Twizzlers
Hershey's cookies n cream
M&Ms (we get it here, but it just tastes different)
Laffy Taffy
Jolly Ranchers
Sweet Tart shockers (the last three just looked good in the store, but I have been enjoying them!)
Junior Mints
2 boxes of chocolate covered espresso beans from Starbucks, which I can most definately get here, but it is WAY cheaper there, especially with my discount (one was, I think, stolen at the airport)

Toiletries:
toothpaste (just cheaper)
toothbrushes from Costco
Motrin from Costco (pain reliever can only be bought in very small quanities here)
Nyquil capsuls from Costco (cold medicine does not work here!)
Tylenol sinus and allergies from Costco
Q-tips
hand sanitizing wipes

Food:
PICKLES!!! (just one small jar)
plain, white, normal vineger
Goldfish
Sweet Baby Rays!!! (thanks, Bessie)
chili cheese Fritos
maple syrup
Tollhouse chocolate chips from Costco
Newman's Own family recipe Italian dressing
Almonds from Costco (very expensive here)
Kraft parmasian cheese (I got some stuff at Costco here that was terrible!)
Teddy Grahams
pudding mixes
Jello mixes
oreos
Lipton tea bags for my special sweet tea

Crafts:
Paper Source cards and envelopes
clear bags for my cards
bookmark sleeves
my quilt, started ages ago
fabric for a new quilt
yarn
a needle felting kit
I thought I would bring back tonnes more crafts stuff, but I figured if I brought back any scrapbooking stuff, I would have to bring it ALL!!!

Misc:
pens
socks and other unmentionables ;)
old clothes that I fit into again!
better trainers for work
2 Taste of Home magazines
plasters (band-aids, just haven't found any good ones here yet)
Victoria's Secret lotions and body sprays
deoderant
a Cook's Illustrated cookbook

Things I would have loved to bring but could not pass customs if I tried:
Carnation (?) flavored coffee creamers - creamer in coffee is not done here, let alone flavored. No such thing as half and half, just use milk. I usually use double cream, which is like heavy whipping cream.
cheese - they pride themselves on good cheese, but I haven't found anything that works good for me yet, though I did have a soft cheese with cranberries in it recently, which was nice.
steaks - meat is expensive and it just tastes different
Chicago style deep dish pizza - though I have learned to make a mean pizza myself!
Ann Sather cinnamon rolls - though I make a pretty good one now
Mario's Italian ice (thanks for the treat, Boog)

I also would have liked to bring graham crackers, but I knew they would crumble too much. I was DELIGHTED to have s'mores on our camping trip. I made them every change I could.

I was looking for a garlic mix to add to butter for garlic bread. I used to get it at Costco, but they didn't have it when I looked. :(

Well, now you can see the things we have to do without here on a daily basis! :) Some of these things are available, but I took the opportunity to get them in the States as it is cheaper there. Others, I manage to do without just fine, but when they were staring at me in the grocery store I wondered how I ever LIVED without them. ;) Actually, I only then remembered that it existed. So, there you go. Laugh all you want, but it is amazing what things you find bring comfort to you when you are in a new country and still figuring out that courgette is zuccini and the yogurt tastes different and to get half and half you have to mix milk with single cream (or is it double? I can't remember.).

They noticed!

My first day back to work was yesterday (Sunday) but today was the first day I saw some of our regulars. I got quite a few "I haven't seen you in a while" and "You've been on holiday, haven't you?" and a "You're back!" It felt good to be missed. :)

flickr pics

I am in the process of posting some of our pictures on the flickr site. Because many of the pictures involve children I am just posting most of the pictures as private, to be viewed only by friends and family. If you are in one of these 2 catagories and would like to view the pictures, just e-mail me and I will send you an invite.

Scooby, the Feezor dog

Arrived!

We made it home very tired, but in one piece. Josh is sleeping and I can't believe I am still awake. I did get a lot more sleep than him. During our 8 hour layover in Amsterdam Josh took a quick nap. I didn't hesitate to tell him the instant he opened his eyes that I could not stay awake any longer (someone needed to watch our possessions). So, he let me sleep. I woke up a couple of times, determined to get up, but the final time I actually sat up and Josh said "Our plane leave in an hour and a half." OH, NO! I felt so bad that I had slept that whole time and didn't let him sleep. It still weighs heavily on me. :(

Anyways, thank you for your prayers. Our long flight to Amsterdam went by fairly quickly. We didn't sleep at all, though, as the row next to us was overflowing with toddlers. When it was time to sleep, they woke up and decided that it would be great fun to scream at eachother the whole time! I give credit to anyone traveling with a child, but I was a bit annoyed that the parents didn't even try to calm the kids down. Well, it wasn't even the kids that we were most astonished at. The row in front of us was the one with the big emergency exit door. So, there was lots of space there for people to stand around and stretch and wait for the toilet. One of the men in the row yelled at anyone who stood in the way of his TV, even if they were waiting in line for the toilet. He even yelled at the flight attendant to do something about it (it was all in Dutch, so I don't exactly know the conversation). Appearantly, while I managed to doze off for a minute, Josh said he yelled at one guy who finally yelled back. And do you know what was on the screen? Nothing but a map showing how far we had flown. Oh, and next to us was the guy who was REALLY angry about the kids in the next row. Every so often he would grunt and push himself out of the chair and walk to the front of the plane. Sometimes he would go to the toilet and slam the door. I don't think he was even trying to sleep or anything. And he even shut off Josh's air blower (the thing on top that blows cool air on you). Later Josh asked me to put mine on because he was getting too hot.

It felt good to get on the bus and know that we were nearly home. But then we had to lug our suitcases up the Mound and up a couple of flights of stairs in our building. Our suitcases are now unpacked, but our flat is a disaster. My counter full of American foods waiting to find their space in their new home. Since I didn't go grocery shopping I just ran down the street for some chips. And guess what I had with them...Sweet Baby Ray's! (thanks, Bessie)

So, it's back to normal life. As we were nearing Scotland I felt sad that a month had gone by so quickly; 2 weeks of anticipation and 2 weeks of holiday. I did actually start to wonder if it was a good idea to decide we would stay another 2 years. Everything in America was so familiar and I felt like I would just be spending the next 2 years as an outsider. As we flew over the mountains in Scotland my heart softened and I happy to see the country we had been getting to know over the last 8 months and would explore more fully in the next couple of years. As we were dragging our suitcases up the Mound, everything around me was familiar, and it was good to be back home.

Going home

It's hard to believe that 2 weeks is already gone. It has been a nice visit with family and friends. We hope that we can see some of you one the other side of the pond.

I have been spending the last 2 days rearranging everything in our suitcases to fit all of the American goodies I picked up during our visit. The hard thing is the weight limit. It is down to 50 pounds from the 70 pounds when we moved to Scotland. So, while we are able to spacially fit more in the suitcases, we cannot fit more in due to the weight limit. I also have a 15 pound box that I am mailing myself. Josh is thankful for the lower weight limit because he doesn't want to lug 140 pounds through the airport. :)

Please pray for a safe trip and that it will go by quickly. We will be taking a train tomorrow at 11:00 to Chicago. Then we will take the el to the airport. Our flight leaves O'hare at 4:40pm. We fly into Amsterdam where we will have an 8 hour layover. Then we will arrive in Edinburgh at 4pm where we will take a bus into the city centre.

Well, in the next few days I will try to get some pictures posted.

First Week

It was a long day one week ago when we flew home for a visit. We did not sleep at night because we were going to leave our flat at 1:45am to catch a bus to the airport. The next bus was an hour later and we figured we should be there about 3 hours early for our international flight. When we arrived I wondered if the airport was open! I had never been to an airport in the middle of the night. There were about 20 people there and they were all sleeping. Even the Costa worker was sleeping!

We found out that we didn't need to be there that early because check-in didn't even start until an hour later. I had seen another one of our buses arrive during that time. So, we checked in, got on our plane and headed for Amsterdam. A one hour flight, then a 2 hour layover. The next flight was 8 hours. I really wasn't looking forward to the long day.

We flew KLM and I have to say that though they were the cheapest, we enjoyed (as much as you can enjoy a long flight) flying with them. We had a great attendant and the food (which, by the way, we didn't have to pay for) was good.

We arrived in Chicago about an hour later than we were supposed to, so we had to rush to our train, or the 'el'. We were going to take the el to our train downtown which was going to take us to Indiana where my mom would be picking us up. We had about an hour to get downtown. Not positive that we would make it to the train in time (the next train left an hour and a half later), we boarded the el to later hear "Because this train is delayed, we will run express until Jefferson Park." Praise God! At least that would cut out 3 stops. I think it was because of this that we actually did make it to our train with about 5 minutes to spare.

So, another hour train ride until we could relax. 17 hours from the time we left our flat, we made it home. We still had a few hours to make ourselves stay away in order to get on the right time schedule. 48 hours from our last real sleep (we were able to nap a little on the plane), and we were finally in bed. We slept good, but we were up at 5am.

I forgot to mention that we were sort of 'stuck' in our seats for the long flight. We were by the window and the isle seat was occupied by an elderly lady who did not speak English. We hated asking her to get up any time we wanted to move around, so we just wanted for her to go to the restroom, where we would jump up and do some walking. She only got up twice during the entire flight.

It has been an enjoyable week seeing family and friends again. We have been spoiled by everyone. We have been out to eat and had some of our favorite foods ready for us at home. Our church in Chicago had a wee get-together when we arrived and served Chicago style deep dish pizza for us. MMM! Today we will get have lunch with Josh's sister and brother-in-law who have driven down from Michigan to see us. We will also be looking forward to camping and a get-together with some of my friends from high school this weekend.

I thought it would feel strange to be back, and some things are a bit strange. I am still having the problem of looking right first when crossing the road. But it does feel like we have not been gone so long. It has been good to pick up with people again like we have not been so far away for so long. Whatever sort of accent I might have had is totally lost now. :)

Easter Play Pics

Our minister took some great shots of the Easter play we participated in. Just wanted to share a few with you. We can share more when we come home if you want to see them.

All photos by Bungie

Botanic Gardens and River Leith

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that Josh took a holiday and we went to Edinburgh Castle one day and Botanic Gardens another day. Here are some pictures I promised from the Gardens and with River Leith Walk. More on flikr. Take a look...

Play pictures

Here is the site for the photographer's pictures of the Easter play. Josh is in a few (see if you can spot him) and I am in one, walking behind Jesus as he is carrying the wood beam.

http://www.archphotography.info/a_frame.php?nav=3&snID=10160

Money for Janelle

I mentioned early about raising money to help send a girl in the Philippines to school. Well, we are nearing the time for her enrollment and I will need to wire the money shortly (hopefully before we go to the States). Please let me know if you can help in any way, even if you can only give money later. I need about $300 more.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter, everyone.

Thank you for your prayers for the play. We could not have had more perfect weather, and we have gotten so many wonderful responses from people at the play. They said that it was very powerful.

Josh and I are still pretty wiped out (I just got up from a wee nap and Josh is still napping). We are also a little sunburned from being outside most of yesterday and half of Friday.

Saturday morning was perfectly sunny and the temperature was very pleasant. By the time we were beginning the play it got overcast, but this was not so bad as we didn't have to squint at the sun. Everything went pretty smoothly except for a few mic problems. Speaking of mics, it was pretty tricky switching them out there in from of 4,000 people! The crucifixion was powerful and I almost teared up. I did hear a few sniffles out in the audience. After the play it started to sprinkle just as we went inside to change. Perfect timing!

I was just listening to this song and thought it was good to reflect on today:

Come to the table and savor the sight

The wine and the bread that was broken

And all have been welcomed to come if they might

Accept as their own these two tokens

The bread is His body, the wine is the blood

And the One who provides them is true

He freely offers, we freely receive

To accept and believe Him is all we must do

Chorus

Come to the table and taste of the Glory

And savor the sorrow, He's dying tomorrow

The hand that is breaking the bread

Soon will be broken

And here at the table sit those who have loved You

One is a traitor and one will deny

And He's lived His life for them all

And for all be crucified

Come to the table He's prepared for you

The bread of forgiveness, the wine of release

Come to the table and sit down beside Him

The Savior wants you to join in the feast

Come to the table and see in His eyes

The love that the Father has spoken

And know you are welcome, whatever your crime

For every commandment you've broken

For He's come to love you and not to condemn

And He offers a pardon of peace

If you'll come to the table, you'll feel in your heart

The greatest forgiveness, the greatest release

Chorus

Come to the table He's prepared for you

The bread of forgiveness, the wine of release

Come to the table and sit down beside Him

The Savior wants you to join in the feast

Michael Card

Keep praying!!

Ok, we really need those prayers to come this next 2 days.

We have a tech rehearsal today with mics. It will go as long as it takes. Josh and I have to be there early to get into costume for a photo shoot and he has to practise raising the cross. We get there at noon (6am for most of you, so pray as soon as you read this!), we start rehearsal at 2 and go til we can get through it.

Tomorrow we have to be there at 8:30 and rehears until 12ish. We have lunch together at a nearby church. We then have a photo call at 2 and the performance is at 2:30! Two and a half hours later we will be done! We then have a cast party at a local pub.

It is going to be a very tiring 2 days and we will be wiped out for Easter Sunday. Our church is having an early service, then meeting at a local cafe for brunch. We will do a very small dinner at home with a gammon and some veg (whatever I can scrounge up, as I did not plan ahead enough to go grocery shopping).

Please also pray that we will be able to contemplate through all of this. We have really enjoyed going to holy week services in the past, but could not do it this year as we are busy with rehearsals. I guess it is just one of those years that we are helping to provide something others can be blessed by rather than recieving the blessing, though I know we will be blessed, too.

Thank you for your faithfulness.

Edinburgh Castle

Josh took a holiday from his studies last week. We finally got to visit Edinburgh Castle together. I was there a few months ago, but just did a quick run-though.

The picture below is the ceiling in the sitting room in Mary, Queen of Scots' apartment. It is said that this is where she gave birth to her son, James VI.

The '1566' painted on the right side is the year of his birth.

As always, there are loads more pictures on flickr. More coming, too, from our walk along the River Leith...

Pray for good weather

My little chat box got pushed down because of the ticker, so I am putting this prayer request in here. Please pray for good weather next Saturday. We had a very bone chilling rehearsal today, complete with hail and rain. We will all be out there with sandles and of course no gloves or hats. The soldiers will be bare legged and Jesus will be half naked on the cross. Last year was cold as well during the play. You can even see in pictures that Jesus' legs were purple! Please pray that there will at least be sun, which will warm us up significantly.

As for the earlier mentions hail and rain, it was very appropriately sunny during the beginning of the play, then during the trail and crucifixion it proceeded to hail for about 10 minutes, then it turned to rain for about 10 minutes, then it got bright and sunny again at the resurrection. :)

Going home

It has been a whirlwind of a week. Just this week we got the crazy idea into our heads that we might make our visit home sooner, rather than wait until September. The time just seemed right and we were able to find a pretty good deal on tickets (if we left just 5 days later than the date we chose, high season starts and ticket would have cost us $400 more altogether). So, I was able to secure the holiday from work and we purchased tickets yesterday. Just 19 days to do, and you can follow along with my ticker...