Well, just one more note about something that is quite different here in Scotland. Church. It doesn't feel like Holy Week here.
As I've shared with some of you, we have been church shopping since our arrival and we really miss our St. Luke's family and friends. The majority of churches in Scotland are part of the church of Scotland or what we would consider the Presbyterian church. There are church buildings everywhere but not many of them are filled on a Sunday morning or at any time for that matter. I really took for granted that we lived in the "Bible Belt" and could choose a variety of spirit filled churches to attend on almost every corner!
And I don't know about you, but I really need a community of believers to serve with on a regular basis. Not only does it help me learn and grow spiritually but it reminds me of my purpose, and Lord knows, I need to be reminded. We believe that is also gives our children the opportunity to realize that they are part of a much bigger community.
In our search, we've attended 4 Episcopal churches and one Church of Scotland parish. It really breaks your heart to see these beautiful churches with empty pews, except for a few very elderly souls, and not enough money to turn the heat on. We have few friends that attend church on any regular basis and the ones that do, attend St. John's Renfield, the above stated Church of Scotland parish. Although we like this church and it seems to have the most children of any church we've been to, I never feel like I've truly worshipped when I head home. Maybe it's just me. The music is wonderful but the sermons and the rest of the service seem hollow. Having been raised in the Episcopal Church, I do tend to expect a little more pomp and circumstance than the rest of my family but this church just doesn't fill me with the spirit. They have an interim pastor and he is "old school", a little gruff and certainly behind the times. One Sunday, during a Baptismal service, he preached about the woes of the children in our society and how horrible they are. Certainly not the great, hope filled Baptismal lessons I am used to hearing. After that particular Sunday, we tried the another new church and have been attending there ever since.
St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, the cathedral for the diocese of Glasgow is a beautiful church with a great mix of people in the congregation. I love the liturgy, although at times it can seem a little more formal than what we were used to at St. Luke's. There is a children's class during the service that the boys enjoy and we've met a few other families with young children. Scott and I will head there tonight for the Maundy Thursday service and we will attend yet another new church in Dunbar this weekend!
I was warned about the spiritual void that I might experience here as compared to our life in Dallas but I guess I wasn't quite expecting it to be this challenging! We will continue to search and pray for the Spirit to lead us to our new church home in Scotland.
Thursday, 20 March 2008
Catch Up
Well, I apologize for taking so long to get things posted. It's been busy here as we enjoy a little spring weather (raining again hence the reason I am blogging again!). Scott had a last minute trip to Dallas a few weeks ago and we were a little jealous as he was able to see his whole family and eat real Mexican food! He has also been working long hours when in town so I've neglected the things that take extra time like updating this blog!
Mother's day in Scotland was celebrated on Sunday, March 2nd. The boys each made a beautiful card at school. We had a nice lazy day and enjoyed being together at home.
The boys have been busy at school with Spring Projects as well as preparing to move to the new Prep School building next week. Christopher had to give a talk about his favorite dinosaur last Friday. He chose the Velociraptor and he did such a great job! He's reciting a poem aloud in class today. Ethan is working on a verbal presentation about a person from the Tudor era. He has chosen Guy Fawkes, famous for the failed plot to kill James I and take over Parliament. And Charlie is enjoying play dates with his buddies from his class.
We have also been busy searching for and starting extra curricular activities. Charlie has started a music class, Christopher a sports class, Enjoy-A-Ball , and Ethan is awaiting the start of a fencing class.
Our weekends have been filled with birthday parties, movies, Wii and playing outside. Ethan went to a party this past weekend in his Easter suit as they were headed to Malmasion (very fancy French restaurant) in a Hummer Limo and then on to the cinema. There were 5 boys and 5 girls in attendance and they were all quite excited to be dressed in their party clothes and off to such a grown up venue! The rest of us went to a friend's house for a tapas party and then home to wait up for Ethan.
This past Sunday we hopped on our bikes and rode along the Forth and Clyde Canal (crosses Scotland between Edinburgh and Glasgow connecting the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde). We can access the path along the canal about 1/4 mile from our house. We headed East and once we were out of the city we enjoyed beautiful scenery and wildlife (swans and deer). We rode about 10km to the Stables Pub near Kirkintilloch where we enjoyed a proper pub lunch and a nice cold beer. We then rode a little further to catch the train back into the city. The train into the city centre has bike racks and plenty of space so we were pleasantly surprised by this journey. What we did not realize was that the train from the city centre to our neighborhood did not have bike racks and it was
extremely busy so we became a fire hazard blocking the exit! Scott and I were a little stressed out but the boys were having a ball on this adventure! Next time we'll ride home on our bikes!
We're off school and work tomorrow and Monday. We're headed to Dunbar to a friend's beach house on Saturday to enjoy our Easter weekend there.
I hope that each of you have a wonderful Easter weekend! Blessings.
Monday, 3 March 2008
Weather
When we returned from the Christmas Break, we had horrible, rainy, cold weather for about 3 weeks straight. Since then, we have experienced all kinds of weather. The sunny days give me hopes about the things we can do outdoors this spring and summer and the rainy days give us excuses to be inside sipping cocoa and reading books.
People talk about the weather constantly here and most admit to this excessive talk about it. The multiple seasons in a day remind me of Texas weather; only a slightly colder version. Today, we woke to beautiful snow on the ground and we've had flurries all morning. Unlike Dallas residents, Glaswegians seem to take it all in stride. Everyone was motoring about just like normal this morning. Even the dedicated commuting cyclists were out and about.
Now that is something that I have noticed quite a lot here. Many people cycle to work and walk their dogs in all kinds of weather. On Friday, we had 40 mile/hour winds and heavy, heavy rain but I saw many cyclists on their way home from work and many people walking their dogs.
It makes me feel lazy when I see them. I certainly didn't walk Missy enough in the good weather much less the bad weather in Texas. And I don't have the confidence on my bike to ride through this traffic and I haven't seen any children riding in the rain yet so I'm not sure how I could manage the commute to school! Nevertheless, it does make you stop and think about your Carbon Footprint.
We took advantage of the sunny weather on Saturday and went to the Edinburgh Zoo again. It was a great day and it was nice to be outside in the fresh, frigid air!
Wonder what tomorrow will be like?!?!
People talk about the weather constantly here and most admit to this excessive talk about it. The multiple seasons in a day remind me of Texas weather; only a slightly colder version. Today, we woke to beautiful snow on the ground and we've had flurries all morning. Unlike Dallas residents, Glaswegians seem to take it all in stride. Everyone was motoring about just like normal this morning. Even the dedicated commuting cyclists were out and about.
Now that is something that I have noticed quite a lot here. Many people cycle to work and walk their dogs in all kinds of weather. On Friday, we had 40 mile/hour winds and heavy, heavy rain but I saw many cyclists on their way home from work and many people walking their dogs.
It makes me feel lazy when I see them. I certainly didn't walk Missy enough in the good weather much less the bad weather in Texas. And I don't have the confidence on my bike to ride through this traffic and I haven't seen any children riding in the rain yet so I'm not sure how I could manage the commute to school! Nevertheless, it does make you stop and think about your Carbon Footprint.
We took advantage of the sunny weather on Saturday and went to the Edinburgh Zoo again. It was a great day and it was nice to be outside in the fresh, frigid air!
Wonder what tomorrow will be like?!?!
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
Swimming Gala
Here is a picture that I took of Ethan at his Swimming Gala on Monday. I learned shortly after taking it that cameras were not allowed in the competition! Oops. Anyway, the gala was a competition for The Glasgow Academy classes Prep 5 - Trans (Jr high) just like a swim meet at home. Ethan qualified to swim the 25 meter Breaststroke and he did great! We were very proud and it was fun to see a school competition! Ethan swims at school every Friday morning for PE.
Tuesday, 19 February 2008
Winter Holiday in the Borders
The boys enjoyed a full week off for their Winter Holiday and we took advantage of it by heading to a holiday home in the Scottish Borders. This is the area south of Edinburgh and Glasgow and north of the border of England.
The house we rented was in a village called Gattonside over looking the River Tweed and the larger village of Melrose. It was a wonderful house with lots of space, a yard and a beautiful view. There is tons of history and plenty of Scottish countryside to see so we enjoyed little outings each day.
We visited the Dryburgh Abbey (abandoned in 1544; they were tired of defending it from the English), the Jedburgh Abbey (almost destroyed that same year) and the Melrose Abbey (which we could see from our house). Each Abbey was amazing and they have done a wonderful job of preserving the structures after fire and battle. http://www.discovertheborders.co.uk/search/type/Abbeys.html
The Borders are also famous for being the home of Sir Walter Scott, the poet and writer that changed the image of Scotland from a land of the savages to the romantic countryside that we know! We traveled to one of his favorite places high in the hills for a look at "Scott's View" where you can see for miles and miles. It's just as you would imagine, beautiful rolling hills with patchwork farmland, sheep and cattle dotting the landscape and the River Tweed winding it's way through the scene. Really breathtaking.
The day that we were in Jedburgh happened to be the day that they were celebrating "Hand Ba", a tradition for 250 years. As we entered the town and were walking toward the abbey, this little old lady came and told us to "watch out, it's crazy up there. Keep your children close, they might get hurt, today is Hand Ba". We were thinking, what in the world could be happening? We stopped in the information center to ask and they explained that Hand Ba' is the traditional ball game where the Uppies and the Doonies manhandle a leather ball stuffed with straw to get it to their side of the town (Up or Down). They form a scrum and scramble to get the ball then throw it in the direction they want it to go and the mob chases the ball and forms a scrum again. The legend is that the Scots cut off an Englishman's head after a battle and used it as a ball and therefore the game was born. http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Having-a-Ba39-in-Jedburgh.3781198.jp
Well, Scott Nicol was so excited as we guided our 3 small children into this crowded town! We were there in time to see the teenagers start their game and it was quite interesting. The whole town shuts down for the day (notice the boarded windows in the pictures) and everone is in the town square. We watched for a while as the scrum moved back and forth, up and down in the town and then Scott stayed to watch the adults have their turn while the boys and I went onto the Abbey. Scott said the adults scramnble was not near as fun as the teenage one! It was a treat to see this crazy tradition. (Also notice in my pictures the boys climbing the Abbey's walls at the end of the scramble to get cut through the town; maybe they were uppies headed uptown?)
On Saturday, Scott enjoyed a guided tour of the River Tweed for a little fly fishing, and then our friends Jo and Andrew Waddell and their 3 boys Jude, Sol and Casper came for a late lunch. We had such a great visit. We'd been enjoying the blessing of sunshine our whole vacation and so we had lunch then went outside for a game of rugby. We also walked across the river on the footbridge for ice cream at the local sweet shop. It was such a wonderful day!
We continue to enjoy the blessings of this beautiful country each time we have a chance!
The house we rented was in a village called Gattonside over looking the River Tweed and the larger village of Melrose. It was a wonderful house with lots of space, a yard and a beautiful view. There is tons of history and plenty of Scottish countryside to see so we enjoyed little outings each day.
We visited the Dryburgh Abbey (abandoned in 1544; they were tired of defending it from the English), the Jedburgh Abbey (almost destroyed that same year) and the Melrose Abbey (which we could see from our house). Each Abbey was amazing and they have done a wonderful job of preserving the structures after fire and battle. http://www.discovertheborders.co.uk/search/type/Abbeys.html
The Borders are also famous for being the home of Sir Walter Scott, the poet and writer that changed the image of Scotland from a land of the savages to the romantic countryside that we know! We traveled to one of his favorite places high in the hills for a look at "Scott's View" where you can see for miles and miles. It's just as you would imagine, beautiful rolling hills with patchwork farmland, sheep and cattle dotting the landscape and the River Tweed winding it's way through the scene. Really breathtaking.
The day that we were in Jedburgh happened to be the day that they were celebrating "Hand Ba", a tradition for 250 years. As we entered the town and were walking toward the abbey, this little old lady came and told us to "watch out, it's crazy up there. Keep your children close, they might get hurt, today is Hand Ba". We were thinking, what in the world could be happening? We stopped in the information center to ask and they explained that Hand Ba' is the traditional ball game where the Uppies and the Doonies manhandle a leather ball stuffed with straw to get it to their side of the town (Up or Down). They form a scrum and scramble to get the ball then throw it in the direction they want it to go and the mob chases the ball and forms a scrum again. The legend is that the Scots cut off an Englishman's head after a battle and used it as a ball and therefore the game was born. http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Having-a-Ba39-in-Jedburgh.3781198.jp
Well, Scott Nicol was so excited as we guided our 3 small children into this crowded town! We were there in time to see the teenagers start their game and it was quite interesting. The whole town shuts down for the day (notice the boarded windows in the pictures) and everone is in the town square. We watched for a while as the scrum moved back and forth, up and down in the town and then Scott stayed to watch the adults have their turn while the boys and I went onto the Abbey. Scott said the adults scramnble was not near as fun as the teenage one! It was a treat to see this crazy tradition. (Also notice in my pictures the boys climbing the Abbey's walls at the end of the scramble to get cut through the town; maybe they were uppies headed uptown?)
On Saturday, Scott enjoyed a guided tour of the River Tweed for a little fly fishing, and then our friends Jo and Andrew Waddell and their 3 boys Jude, Sol and Casper came for a late lunch. We had such a great visit. We'd been enjoying the blessing of sunshine our whole vacation and so we had lunch then went outside for a game of rugby. We also walked across the river on the footbridge for ice cream at the local sweet shop. It was such a wonderful day!
We continue to enjoy the blessings of this beautiful country each time we have a chance!
Monday, 11 February 2008
Cycling in the City
Exactly one week after our snow, glorious, snow day we had this sun, glorious, sun weekend. It was so mild and nice this weekend and we all loved being outside!
We cleaned up the bikes, pumped the tires and headed to the Botanic Gardens. Charlie rode on the Trail-a-bike for the first time and he felt so big like "the brothers." It's just about 2 miles to the park and so we cycled there, had a picnic, played at the park and then cycled around a paved path near the Kelvin River. It was wonderful to be outside and to utilize some of our outdoor toys!
The boys are on Winter Break this week so we are enjoying a lazy day. Ethan, Christopher and I went to see the musical Dr. Dolittle on Friday night. It was brilliant! And tomorrow we will go and see the "Wee Fairy Tales" at another theatre. We are enjoying this city and all that it has to offer for our family!
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.
Saturday, 2 February 2008
Snow, Glorious Snow
We have had quite the weather this week! One day it rained, snowed, sleeted, hailed, and was sunny all in the same day! My friends say that winter in Scotland is just like that, you really do not know what the day holds. We are learning to dress in waterproof layers at all times!Last night we had a beautiful snow fall so we woke to a winter wonderland. The boys had a great time playing outside with the neighbors.
Just like most snow days in Texas, the snow was gone by noon. We're hoping for more tonight!
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