Pictures on the Wall

After almost a year we started to hang pictures today.  It was great hanging out with the family on a cool wet day, plus our house feels more like home.

LIFE

We finally have signs of life other than moss and weeds. This patch of flowers reminds of Texas bluebonnets--fields of blue that look like a lake from a distance (J said the same thing).

One Year

J and I arrived in Norway one year ago today. It has been a year of adventures, both exciting and frustrating. Kim reached her one year mile stone on March 1 (actually Feb. 29). We are looking forward to all that is to come.

Break Out The T-shirts

Wow! The temperature finally smashed the 60 degree (16 C) barrier today. Back in Houston this would mean adorning at least a light sweater or jacket, in Norway not so--break out the t-shirts (and shorts for others).

Winter Journeys

Europe has several airlines that offer low rates making travel across the continent quite affordable.  Having time off of school paralleling American Thanksgiving we jetted off to London.  Our stops included Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey (I had to drop something at Isaac Newton's burial location), The London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Harrods Department Store, Stamford Bridge Stadium (home of the Chelsea soccer team) and two shows ("Stomp" and "Billy Elliot").  We also got experience a ride in a double decker bus (the real kind, not the on-off tourist bus), a traditional black taxi and The Tube.

Thanksgiving Dinner was disappointing--we were told about this nice family friendly Italian restaurant which turned out to be a pizza joint with terrible service.  The food was not bad, but we were to frustrated to enjoy it.  We did make up for our misfortune by having wonderful meal the following night.

A few days after Christmas we were off to Copenhagen, Denmark.  Two of our days were spent at Tivoli, one of the world's oldest and most visited amusement parks.  This park remains open much of the year regardless of the weather--just dress well and away you go.  One of the strangest sights we saw were what looked like the round charcoal grills used for barbecues.  These "grills" were spread about the park with glowing coals to warm yourself up--no nets, screens, warnings, etc.  We also visited Ripley's Believe It Or Not, Guinness World Records and Experimentarium (a fantastic science center that is totally hands on).  Our hotel room had a view of nightly fireworks from Tivoli.

We are very thankful that we have such great opportunities to travel.  Travelling allows you to see, experience and understand the world more; and at the same time appreciate where we come from.

London icons--Big Ben, Parliament, London Eye, double decker bus and nose of little black taxi.

Big Ben

Westminster Abbey

London Eye

Tower of London

Tower Bridge (not the London Bridge)

Stamford Bridge Stadium

Harrods Department Store

Piccadilly Circus

The London Underground aka.The Tube

Experimentarium--Copenhagen

Guinness World Records

Ripley's Believe It Or Not--Picture made of toast.

Tivoli--Copenhagen

Tivoli--Copenhagen

Tivoli--Copenhagen

First Guests

In early October (2012) we had our first guests.  The church we found was hosting a conference and a couple from the worship team stayed at our house.  Mike and Bethany were from Detroit.  What a blessing it was to have "familiar faces."  We had such a good time that they extended their visit.  During the day Mike and Bethany were able to do some travelling and enjoy some of the sights of Norway.  In the evenings we laughed, shared stories, stayed up late, jumped on the trampoline, and spent time spoiling Joshua.  These wonderful guests were just the scratch we needed for our itch.