Wyatt Will Do It

A month ago I thought I was being funny, and wrote on our car. And then took a picture (of course). This is what I thought the result was:
And if you can't tell, it's says: "Wash me! (Wyatt)"


What I didn't find out until later on was that the result actually was that Wyatt had to wash the car. (Haha, if I thought this would work every time, I'd write all my instructions to him on there...).
Which is kind of funny. I really hadn't meant it that way, I just wanted the picture.

However, it got me to thinking, and Wyatt really will do things like that. He is such a hard worker when he chooses to be. If something really needs to be done, Wyatt is your man. Speaking of men, He's going to be fifeteen today. Which as an older sister is a bit of a strange thought. But when you have a brother who works hard to act like a fifeteen year old, be mature like one, and love Jesus, it makes it believable.

I think you are such a hard worker Wyatt, and I'm really proud to be your sister. Happy Birthday!!

Caroline Ann

Beautiful Days

I think beautiful days come in many different forms and appearences. Just like people. :)

The beautiful days we've been having this week are fog filled with a bit of rain in between. But I think it's beautiful. :) Especially when you stop and look at all the little things around you!



I loved the water slowly dropping off the berries on our tree. And the tiny reflections you could see in the droplets.

Water laced onto spider webs looks pretty amazing as well. It ends up showing the intricate detail of spider webs that are harder to notice otherwise.

I think all of it though points back to one thing--a creative designer.

And I sure am grateful to know Him. :)

Caroline Ann

Never Boring

Often I make the statement to people that our family is "never boring". And this is true. We can be loud and obnoxious. But never boring.
We're all rather interesting people and even one of us could probably keep a boring family on their toes. Wyatt especially adds laughs into our lives though.
Today after looking out to the street, and seeing my brothers, I thought I'd take a picture, and let you see a fine example of our creativity and "unboringness". =P
That's a bike, a jumprope, an old toy car... And Wyatt and Jefferson.

Caroline Ann

Time Does Fly--But I won't forget!

Time is flying, I can't believe we've been here a month already! Kinda crazy.
After being here a month--I LOVE IT!! Alaska has been such a HUGGGE blessing.
God really did know what He was doing when he moved us here. =P
There have been so many wonderful things we've enjoyed. Both physically and spiritually.
For me... I've never felt so completed by Jesus. And He completes me in a way nothing else can. It's amazing to say the least.

Anyway, 'lil update there, but I just wanted to assure any blog readers, that I haven't forgotten my promise to blog...
Hehe I have a really good post coming soon this week, so look for it. :)

In the mean time, have you ever tasted raspberries straight from the bush? I hadn't until coming here. I'd had blackberries and blue berries, but not raspberries. And let me just say--they are amazing! The Smith's neighbors have a huge bush in their yard, and they've let us pick from it. :D
Hehe. :) Yummy huh?


Caroline Ann

"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:31-34

We Don't Stop

We don't stop. We really don't. For some reason, I thought we would once we moved here. I mean, we had one of the craziest years possible last year with all the different countries we visited, (Thailand, New Zealand, Japan, England, Italy, Tunisia, Malta, Greece, Ireland, Scotland, Morocco) and all the people we had in our home and all the things we went out and did. It was amazing, but we really didn't stop.

So when moving to Alaska, I imagined we'd stop. Take a break. You could say we took a break, if you want to count unpacking three shipments of our stuff while my dad was working. But all done. :) We're busy again. =P

A couple pictures from yesterday:
The weather was beautiful, so I spent a bit taking pictures in our yard. This is one of my favorites. :)


Then I headed over to a ropes course to take pictures of our friends the Smiths.

Doesn't Rachael look like superwoman or something in this one? :D

Lily didn't do the ropes course, but she still got her picture taken. :)
Then we had icecream--no pictures, I was occupied. =P

And then off we went to support Governor Parnell. :)


We never stop, but I think I like it that way. Especially when I bring the camera along. (Thanks mom for all the fun things you let us do!)

Caroline Ann

Ripples in the Water

Isn't that a neat picture? I thought it was when I took it of Lily the other day... And the more I looked at it, I thought, there has to be a spiritual application for this!

I thought about it for two days, and then it came to me:

So if you have completely still water, and you touch it, it makes ripples. And ripples have a tendency to expand and grow bigger. And reach a much bigger amount of water than you ever could have touched with your finger.

And I think sometimes things aren't the greatest in life, and they're just sitting there, doing nothing. But when you try, make an effort, do something about it, what you did can have a bigger impact than ever imagined. Especially when you're doing something God has called you too.

I'm still praying about what God wants for me here, I don't completely know yet. But I do know, whatever it is, He wants me to make a difference--be the ripples in the water.

They start out small, but they sure can get big. (Especially when God is using you as His finger)

:)

Caroline Ann

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:1-2

Little Girls

It's fun to be a little girl. :) And to dress up. And it's fun to be a big girl, and watch the little girls grow up. :)

In the past couple months I've seen my sweet sister go from a little girl to more of a big girl. And in those couple of months Kate and I have gone from sisters, to sister-friends. :) We're sisters (besides the genetic thing) 'cause we don't always get a long, and it's not ALWAYS fun to live together, but we're also friends. And we have a lot of fun together! It's also fun because we've started to share friends.

Yesterday I took pictures of Kate and her friends (which are also my friends) Lily and Carly.

And taking them made me think of being a little girl, and growing up. :) Little girls (at least the ones that really are little girls, not little girls trying to grow up too fast) embrace and enjoy the little things in life a lot more than a lot of the world Things like twirling around in a dress. :) (I know I've passed hours of my life this way). And using the creative minds God gave them to play, and practice for life.
(Two of my personal favorite games were children in the wilderness and baby dolls.)

And yet as little girls grow up, they don't just enjoy playing together, but being together. And talking together, and hopefully learning to fellowship and encourage each other spiritually.

And I enjoy watching them, and being a part of it. :)


And since I've mentioned my amazing not-so-little sister... Isn't she beautiful?

Caroline Ann

"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6

I got Nothin'

I sheepishly write this. I know it's been months. We were busy in London. (Haha, my boring routine, QUICKLY changed and became a fast paced, amazing race, all the way up to getting to Alaska).
I'm done making promises to blog. Because I know, and I'm sure you know, I'm not always capable of keeping them. But I am going to try to blog here. Really. I really mean it this time. But yet, I don't make promises. ;)

Another thing I have been inconsistent at unfortunately, is reading my bible. Amidst the craziness of life in London, it often was forgotten and pushed aside. :\ Which was obviously a very bad idea on my part, as the days I DID have my bible times, were often the best days I had while I was there. It makes me wonder what blessings I may have missed. =\

So, I resolved to read through the old testament in the next couple of months. Just a chapter a day, so that I could really study it. Journaling on what I learned throughout. So this is part of my entry for yesterday: (Heh, I share it with no pride, but only to share an honest picture of my heart.)

August 10, 2010
I'm ashamed at already being so inconsistent in studying God's word. The past three days have been hard ones for me, and instead of going to Jesus for help, I avoided Him. Until I'd done and said things that needed forgiveness.
Today I prayed with Him for a long time though, and probably will more as I go to sleep. And I so want to honor Him. I so want to let nothing separate us. I so want to do His will.
Lord. HELP me! I fall so short. And I need your strength. 'Cause I got nothin'.
I don't think I begin to understand what you've done for me, and the extent of how you love me. Please SHOW me, let my eyes see and my heart understand who you are, and how to fear you.
I think that is the key to so many things in my life. If I really feared you, I would obey, honor, trust and love you implicitly. And yet I don't, because on my own, my sinful heart I don't think has that capacity.
Help my heart God. Please make it like yours. There are so many things to want to do in life, things I know you want me to do. But I got nothin'. Give me something Lord. To offer the world, and most importantly to offer you.
--------------------------------------------
THEN, after writing that, I read my bible. Matthew 5. And there are so many wonderful things in that chapter. But just a couple lines blew my mind away. I'd read them before, and at times they'd had a similar effect, but the timing was so perfect. So God.

So: Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." I wrote in my journal, "sort of an answer to prayer. Despite my unrighteousness, God can make me righteous and He wants to! He can fill me."
I have that desire, that thirst (though at times spiritually I'm probably more like a starving, dehydrated delusional person in the dessert. But I'm by an oasis. And yet I'm too proud to refresh myself. (I'm not always very bright... I look back on different times and think... "I was DUMB") )but anyway, I have that thirst, and I am so unrighteous, but God wants and can change me. That's encouraging.

Two verses later:
Matthew 5:8: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." after reading that I wrote, "That's pretty powerful. They will SEE God. Have a deep relationship with Him, communicate with Him. I don't really know what it is to be pure in heart, but that can be a life long goal, which I know God has the power to help me achieve." So, I am now striving to be pure in heart. I can really only imagine what that truly looks like, but I know I want it.

And lastly:
Matthew 5:48: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect." And Wow. Just to end the chapter like that. In my mind I put them all together last night (for me, maybe not for anyone else) like this:

1.He will fill me if I seek Him. 2. Through seeking, running after Him, He can make me pure in heart and I can SEE Him. 3. Be perfect. He's given us His Son, His spirit, His word. He can give us His strength to run after Him. There are no excuses. Be perfect.

And on my own, I got nothin', I'm just a broken vessel. But it's the treasure in me that is something.

Caroline Ann

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." --2 Corinthians 4:7

Lack of Internet, Lack of Interest

I haven't blogged in a while, despite my resolution to be faithful at it. But there is a reason for this... For one, we did not have Internet for a while. And though we have it now (via our neighbors wifi) we still only have one computer, so the Internet is often not available...
Also, also we have done some neat things, and made some neat friends, we haven't generally done a lot.
Let me give you an example of what our typical day has been in the past few weeks:

Get up.
Sit around.
Do school.
Sit around some more.
Eat dinner.
Stare at each other.
Go to bed.

HOWEVER, this is all coming to an end, and we are starting to get involved in my dads school and venture out on field trips. :) This past week we went and had tea with the other families from the school, and were given a welcome presentation and overview of the year by a British Admiral. The next day we went on a field trip to the British National Museum with an Australian family we had met the previous day...
So, our typical days are getting less and less typical again. Which, is typical for our family. =P

Anyway, things have started happening, so I am going to start blogging again... I actually have some really neat pictures from our walk to church last Sunday that I will post relatively soon.
Living in London is going to be good though. :)

Caroline Ann

Camden Market

Today, after staying mostly inside all week, our family spent a lovely day at Camden Market.

I had planned on taking lots of pictures--there were many fascinating subjects to be photographed. However, I ended up carrying my coat the majority of the day, as the weather was beautiful, but warmer than I had dressed for. I have all the pictures I wanted to take clearly stamped in my memory though, so hopefully next time I'll be able to go back and capture a few of them. :)

I think you can find just about any type of person at the Camden Market. From men with purple Mohawks and pants dripping in chains, to sweet Chinese women serving up large servings of rice noodles and chicken. (Which I must say, was quite excellent.) I was laughing at the Tex-Mex stand (it did literally say that) right by the Chinese food. And then you had Italian food, and Japanese food, and German food, and--well, you get the point.


For any of those who will be visiting us, or visiting London in general, the Camden Market is a must! I don't think I'll ever get tired of it. There is so much to look at, and so much to browse through (and possibly purchase). There are more clothing shops than one can possibly even glance at in one day (including one called the Punky Fish... haha, I got a kick out of that), and then bunches of old antiques waiting to be rediscovered. :) Haha, I sound like I'm advertising, but it really was wonderful.

And as far as purchases go, I bought a beautiful leather journal... It has 240 pages, which I think will be quite perfect for journaling whilst in London. I've titled it, "Living in London", and I can hardly wait to start filling it's pages. (And Nana, if you happen to read it, all of the journals didn't have lines!)

I could go on, but I think you'll just have to come see it for yourself!
Happy second day of the year! :)

Caroline Ann

By the way, part of Camden Market, is Camden Horse Market. Not that there are really horses--besides the one that Jefferson stuck his head into anyway. ;)

2009 Numbers

The end of the year is always a good time to "count" your blessings, and as I started contemplating this concept, I decided to come up with some numbers for 2009.

To begin, one of my biggest "numbers" is nine. Including America (which would be Texas, California, Hawaii and Alaska) this year I went to a total of nine countries. America, Thailand, New Zealand, Japan, England, Italy, Tunisia, Malta and Greece. I still can't quite believe it. Plus Samoa and Guam, which aren't countries or states.
Amid those nine countries, I also slept in a total of 30 different beds! I think that may be a record for me, considering my family doesn't allow sleepovers. And those 30 different wonderful places and homes I was able to visit were all an incredible blessing, each in their own way.

Even more of a blessing than the countries I have been able to visit, have been the friends I have made. And for me, when it comes to friendship, I like the real thing. A shallow aquaintence based on the amount of fun people have with each other doesn't cut it. If I had to pick my top five I have made this year, it would be my sister, Ashlee, Rachael, Rosie and Hannah. :)
More this year than ever before I've been able to become friends with my sister, not just sisters who have to love each other no matter what. My prayer is that this upcoming year will really help solidify the relationship that we are building day by day.
Ashlee... You were an answer to prayer. It's that simple. I have learned so much from watching you, and have been so spiritually encouraged spending time with you. We didn't get to spend near as much time together as we would have wished, BUT, the sweet times we did have will forever be imprinted in my memory. :)
Rachael--I LOVE YOU! Though we've known each other before, living life with you in Hawaii was so amazing. I miss you so much, and look forward to spending time with you again, whenever God may grant me that much wanted wish. Thank you so much for loving me through the good bad and the ugly. I know you've seen it all.
Rosie!! Haha, how can I even begin to describe my friendship with you??? You are so much fun to be around, and so incredibly talented and optimistic. I know that if I acted more like you at times, our house would be more pleasent. =P I am so glad you are having such a marvelous time in D.C., I sure do miss you though! Feel free to hop across the pond. ;)
Last, but most certainly not least, Hannah! I am so glad that I got to see you again. And I really value the conversations we've been able to have, both on facebook and over the phone. I hope that we're able to spend more time talking once I get more settled into London. I'm sorry I'm always so busy! But I am so blessed to have you as a friend! Happy New Year, dear! :D

In 2009, I was also given a lot of wonderful experiences. And for these I can generally thank my mother! :) I learned how to sail, play tennis, french braid (Hey, I've failed at this for YEARS... though I still have a long way to go.) and... run... Running was more my father and best friend than my mother. She wouldn't do such a thing to me. lol. I dislike running to a great extent, but slowly and surely I'm getting better at it. Though I must say, I started running in Hawaii, where the weather was almost always perfect. Now I'm in London. I'll let you know how it goes...

Most importantly though this year, I've obtained four things: grace, peace, forgiveness and joy. All from my Savior of course. I will try my best to explain this, it's been something I've been contemplating this whole Christmas season, but it still isn't completely clear in my own mind... So bear with me.
I wish I could say that in 2009, I messed up the least I ever have. But naturally that would be lying, and would add yet another offence to my 2009 offense list. Thankfully, I don't actually have a list, since I'm forgiven for everything I've done. God's grace has continued to be so abundant and prevelant and visible in my life. And though I sin, and I do fall, I have a peace that I haven't had before. The reason for this I believe is because I'm not afraid of myself any longer. Because I know I can rely on my Savior and trust Him, no matter what. And that where I am weak, He is strong. And when I can't walk, He will carry me. Before I tried to resist temptation on my own, and I've found this year, often, I don't even have the strength to ask for help in my moments of weakness. So how could I expect to suceed? And yet somehow I did expect to, and thus became afraid when I found I couldn't. (An easy way to sum this up would be stupidity.) It seemed hopeless. And God has shown me this year, through a slow and continual process, that I am not alone, I do not need to be afraid, and that I can suceed in resisting temptation, because of Christ's strength, not my own.
And this knowledge and assurence has brought great joy into my heart and life.
God is good.

To conclude, I will say that I have made a New Years Resolution this year. I haven't really ever made one before... And this year, I am going to read through the bible completely.
I have read the whole bible, but not in one year, on a consistent, daily basis of being in the word.
Like everything in my life, I know I am going to need the Lord's help. But I am so thankful that He is more than happy to extend it. :) I just need to ask.

I wish you all a very Happy New Year! May God do wonderful things in your life in 2010, just as I know He is waiting to do in mine!

Caroline Ann

12 Days of Christmas

I’m back! :) Our cruise and trip to Rome was incredible. We made memories that we’ll have forever… Being gone a total of 12 days gives me a lot to write about—in fact, I could write a whole blog post for each day! But, as I don’t have that kind of time, and eventually you’d be sick of reading everything, I’ll just try to write a paragraph for each day. It’ll still be kind of long, but I’ll try to be concise and short without losing too many details. :)
On the first day of Christmas, Jefferson threw up on my knee… All over my knee. This was while we were squeezed into the back of a taxi on the way to the airport… Listening to our driver talk about Afghanistan—that’s where he is from. Originally he was a policeman and then a professor, but since he had to leave the country, he now drives cabs in London. His story was amazing. And it made me so incredibly grateful to be an American. God has blessed our country so much.
Once we arrived in Rome we took another taxi to our apartment my mom had found via the internet… (Which turned out to be GREAT by the way!) On the way we kept seeing these “American Circus” signs. The joke was that it had arrived. ;)

On the second day of Christmas we saw the Coliseum. The architecture and engineering was remarkable. I couldn’t get over it. On our tour, we found out that after people were done using it for entertainment the Coliseum served as: a fortress for several different families, a botanical garden, a tobacco factory, and generally, the city quarry.
It was very eye opening though, seeing and standing in a place where so many human lives have been lost, and simply for the form of entertainment. And as horrible as it sounds—people still seemed to be entertained by that today. Whether in countries with crumbling governments and evil people pervading in authority, or in America, when people watch the “news”. Not that the news is completely bad, but often it’s the horror stories that are covered, because it’s the horror stories that people tend to watch the most.

On a lighter note, the third day of Christmas we saw the forum. And went to a huge museum, (I’m blanking on the name of it right now) who’s specialty seemed to be naked statues. My brothers got a kick out of those though… In one particular section, certain, em, areas were covered with a leaf. Which looked extremely comical. The question of the day was, “What did it take, to rate a leaf?” :)
I also didn’t bring the right shoes to walk on cobble stone streets. Whoops. By the end of the day I was limping… That evening I wore tennis shoes.

On the fourth day of Christmas we met up with the Shaws!! =) God was really good too, because their first train leaving from Florence got delayed, and we all ended up on the same train together. Then we all walked (in the rain) to our cruise ship—no need to take the free shuttle that was offered. =P
We had an amazing time with them though, no matter what we did. Both Rachel and Tim are getting so grown up, it’s kind of weird for them not to be little any more. Rachel is HILARIOUS. So it Kate on that note. So usually someone was laughing on account of one of those two. : )
This was also the day I earned my nickname from Rachel—cruise mommy. Yes. Mommy. The Italians running the ships teen zone had seen Rachel and I together, and when they asked how old she was (I thought they were asking the both of us) and I replied, “I’m fifteen” the cracked up (for quite a long time) and informed us through fits of giggles, “We thought you were her mother!!!” Cruise Mother indeed.

On the fifth day of Christmas we got off at Savona Italy. The daddies bought matching hats (on accident), we toured a fortress, and sipped hot chocolate in a café. And it was real hot chocolate too—sludgy, thick, creamy hot chocolate… So good! We sat there for over and hour, the girls played nertz, the parents talked, and the boys… well, they entertained themselves with toothpicks. Toothpicks of war rather. A lot can be done with empty sugar packets, a straw and toothpicks. : )
Oh, and at the end of the day, once again, I was voted a mother by the Italians…

On the sixth day of Christmas we sailed and pretty much just relaxed, it was really nice. I also learned how to play football-tennis. It’s tennis, with a lot of the same rules, except with your legs. I was one of like two girls who played, and of course was the only American, and I needed a lot of practice. But the kids were gracious. :)

On the seventh day of Christmas we went to Tunisia. This was probably my favorite place we toured. I could have spent days there… A couple hours barely did the country justice. =) We took a cruise excursion though, and they bused us out to Carpathian ruins. We were actually able to go down into them and walk around, not just look down into them. I could have spent a whole day wandering around down there… Instead of the twenty minutes we had. But it was wonderful, even though short.
Afterwards we went down into the city and went to the market and several different shops. And there, we got to do one of my favorite things ever—haggle and barter. :D I got some good deals on some silver jewelry, in fact, I got it for almost nothing. The man who I was bartering with, kind of got carried away and just wanted to sell it. I ended up paying 15 dollars for something priced at 65 Euros. Which would be 104 dollars. :) Originally I had told him 10 dollars, but he had thought I meant Euros, which would have been 18 dollars, so technically, I paid less than the original price he laughed at me for offering. :D

On the eighth day of Christmas we went to Malta. And there, I bought a beautiful painting from a local artist. Something I’ll have forever. Well, at least forever on earth anyway. : ) Malta was so beautiful, and all the buildings so old. Yet most of them were very well kept up—so that was very neat to see.
When we got back on board we still have most of the afternoon ahead of ourselves, so Kate, Rachel and I decided to play nertz. Enter the Italians. We had barely started our game when two Italian boys walked up, wanting to know if we could teach them (right after we had sat down, a whole group of kids walked into the room talking). Haha, we did indeed teach them, it was hilarious, but it worked. After a game or two they wanted to learn to play “Go feesh”. Apparently they had heard of this American game, but had never been able to play it for themselves. Believe it or not, it was easier to teach the Italians Nertz, than it was to teach them Go Fish. Certainly something I never expected.
Before we knew it though we had the attention of the whole room and, oh probably 10 or so boys playing cards with us. The Italian girls stayed on the other side of the room and stared at us for quite some time, but after much waving and smiling on our part, decided to at least walk over and say hi. :) It was a lot of fun trying to communicate with them, quite a few of the boys knew SOME English, and we used a whole lot of hand motions, and any Italian words we knew. Later two kids joined us who knew more and were able to translate a whole lot.

On the ninth day of Christmas we went to Olympia Greece. It was beyond beautiful. The area surrounding the ruins was such an eye feast… I can’t even begin to describe it.
Also, on this day, I realized I had no clue what day of the week it was. That had never happened before! It wasn’t until I was able to look at the ships itinerary for the day that I realized it was Thursday… I’d forgotten by the next day though. It was such an odd feeling.
As this was Christmas Eve, we all dressed up (it was a gala night) and went to dinner, read the Christmas story, and then later went to Mass. I’d never been to mass before… Especially a Mass that had things being said in sixth different languages. It was kind of neat though, because the priest spoke a lot of Latin, and we were able to pick out phrases and words we knew from what we’d learned in school. :)

On the tenth day of Christmas we actually celebrated Christmas. It was cold and wet that day, but we ended up having a great time. Not near as many people were out and about on account of the weather and the holiday, so we pretty much had Corfu to ourselves. A couple shops were open though, and I was able to purchase two Christmas ornaments to add to my collection. (I’m collecting Christmas ornaments from around the world). One of them was carved out of Olive wood, so that was exciting. :)
God was also really good, because we decided to get something small for Yuri, one of the teen leaders. Earlier in the week the girls and I were able to talk to him about Jesus for forty-five minutes or so… I think it was a good conversation, you never know what God is going to do. And because of that we thought we needed to get him something. Mrs. Shaw had the great idea of getting him a card, but as we were looking all the cards were in Greek. A language neither us nor Yuri spoke. Back to my God being good statement though, we were able to find a card in English, that had a message which echoed what we had been talking to him about. So we wrote a nice note thanking him, and put chocolate in the card. When we gave it to him, his response was very positive. For which we were grateful. :)

On the eleventh day of Christmas we sailed back towards Italy… This was probably one of my favorite days though, because the main thing we did was play games with our Italian friends. Over the course of the week we had taught them nertz, go fish, speed and spoons. All of which were generally a pretty good hit. It was fun to watch how much we could communicate with people who didn’t really speak our language.
After our group had grown huge, and we had gotten kicked off the floor where we’d been playing spoons, we searched for a table to accommodate us all. And in the process decided to play a board game. A couple of the guys left, and game back with Risk. Which I had never played before, and certainly hadn’t read the directions in Italian… lol. We only played for so long, but it was a lot of fun.
Actually, the reason we didn’t play for all that long, is because it took a really long time to set up (and explain), and by the time we started playing, my parents said Rachel and I had to go run.
We ran. The Italian boys ran with us. Lol. Twenty minutes of running has never gone so quickly. The guy who ran the most was our friend Luca, and he was in flip flops! Afterwards Rachel and I agreed to go to the pool with them, which is where we taught them Marco Polo. Haha. It was quite funny actually, just because it’d be like them trying to teach us to play George Washington or something…

On the twelfth day of Christmas we traveled back.
Honestly, it was hard leaving. Right now, I’m in moving mode, which means that I’m ready to settle down and make friends in a new place. And we did settle down and make friends… We just had to leave them after nine amazing days. :\ Some of those kids were just acquaintances, but others, I think I could be really good friends with for a long time. So that was hard.
I’m back in London though, after taking a ship, train, plane, tube and walking to get there. : )

And that conclude my twelve days of Christmas. If you read it all, thanks! Sorry it was so long… So much to say… I could have written ten times as much as I did. =P
I hope you have all had a very Merry Christmas!

In Christ,
Caroline Ann

London--First Impressions

See, it's only been two days, and I'm blogging again! I really am going to blog. :)
We are leaving for Rome early tomorrow morning, so I thought I'd blog a couple of my thoughts on London before I leave. Since we've been here four days now, I've had plenty of time to form my "first impressions"... A lot of them are things I was surprised about actually.

London is what a lot of people say it is when talking about the weather--it IS very dark, cold, and wet. But I will say, to me anyway, it isn't dreary. There is SO much going on, so much life and business, that it doesn't come off gloomy. If maybe I was somewhere all by myself on a deserted street it might be, but I have yet to come upon that situation. I will also add, with my family, things are never dreary or gloomy. I mean, when you have a mother who marches up and down the empty metro car--singing. It really can't be. :)

The typical, "London" things are all here, as promised... Double-Decker buses, red telephone booths, lots of people wearing black (although they often have colorful scarves or hats on...). But, aside from that... There are quite a few things that I haven't expected.

I had heard that London was international, but when I heard international, I thought "this side of the world international"... But it really is literal! There were Chinese and Japanese people at church! (And we've seen them everywhere). It just kind of through me for a loop. It was so fantastic though on Sunday morning in church, praising my Lord, with people of every nation! Literally. As a side note, the building was old and BEAUTIFUL... I'm sure I'll take pictures of it and post it here eventually. The service was wonderful as well, and the church may very well be the one we go to. Which would be a first, as we tend to pick a church, oh, half a year after we start looking for one.

And speaking of the beautiful church reminds me of the architecture... It's fabulous! Hardly an ugly building in the city. I knew there were old and beautiful buildings in certain parts of the city, but I had not expected the whole city to made up in them! I'm not sure exactly why I'm surprised, considering how old London is.

And the rumour that food is bad in London is completely untrue. We've eaten three meals out, and though eating out isn't cheap, the food has been fantastic thus far. We've had Italian pizza (pietsa ;) at a place called Pizza Express (it's a chain apparently) and it was WONDERFUL! We also ate Burgers and Chips (well, my parents got Nachos and pork loin) at a local pub, which was quite tasty as well. At this particular pub, children were allowed, but parties with children under fourteen have to eat in a certain part of the restaurant away from the bar. Speaking of the bar--that's where you order! The menus are on the table, and then once you know what you want, you walk up to the bar to give them your order. The bar tender then hands you a tin pail with silverware and condiments, and some sort of marker with a number on it, so they know which table to deliver the order too. I wonder how long they've had that sort of system.
And while I'm onto food, I really like Tesco! It's a grocery store here, we've seen both big and small ones. They're prices are very reasonable, and they have lots of fresh food, whether it be produce, fruit, or bread. :) This evening I grabbed an delicious Gala apple and a small French baguette for 61 pence. (The "penny" for the pound).

A couple small bits and pieces and then I'll wrap up... :)
It has gotten dark very early, but four the light is dimming, by 4:30 it is gone.
I've heard Ambulance sirens constantly... Probably an average of five or six a day. I hadn't expected that at all. Good chance to pray for people though.
The people have been extremely nice. Often they are very busy, but if you stop them to ask a question, they are more than happy to help. Tonight when I was purchasing some groceries at Tesco with Kate, I was short two pence due to tax... I wanted to use a debt card, and had to explain that I was an American, and didn't have any more change as I had just arrived in the city. The man smiled and said, "No, no, it's fine, I'm sure you'll come back to the store. I'll take care of it, because you are an American." (He said this with an Indian/British accent).
Oh, and we found out yesterday, that in the tube tunnels, if you feel a sharp turn, it's because of the Plague pits from the 1300's. When they were originally digging the tunnels, they had to dig around them as to not to disturb them. Kind of a weird thought that they are still there, but yet they are.

Anyway, that's my "first impressions" of London. Hope you enjoyed, or at least endured them. :) As I said at the beginning, I'm leaving for Rome in the morning. Which means that I won't have internet access for at least the next couple days. Which means no blogging. But it doesn't mean I've forgotten. =P I'm not sure whether or not I'll have internet on the cruise. We shall see. But even if I do, there won't be a huge amount of time to write, as we will be with our friends the Shaws! :)

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas! Remember that JESUS is the reason for the season. AND that it's a great time of year to share with people about Him. People seem to be in a better mood at Christmas in general. :)

We get back to London on the 27th, so you CAN expect to hear from me sometime after that.


Merry CHRISTmas!
Caroline Ann

The Big and the Little

First of all, I am really officially blogging again. Things were kind of crazy in Hawaii, and I just didn't have the time I suppose. Not that we aren't going to be busy here--we are. But living in London I believe will induce me to just HAVE to write about all the wonderful things I experience. :)

Now that my little announcement is out of the way, let me share my thoughts on a subject that came to my awareness yesterday. I'll begin with a short story...

So, we had landed in London at about 10:15 in the morning. It had taken quite a long time to actually get off the plane due to the large amount of people on board... So many people in fact that it was quite difficult to even obtain my coat which was in the overhead compartment. (On a side note... When I did finally get to it, and started to pull the coat down, my tennis rackets came toppling down upon the young man's head behind me. I didn't know they were on top of the coat. Oops. He was very gracious though.)

All that said, I was rather tired and jet lagged, and just ready to collect our baggage. All thirteen pieces of it... And thus I was walking rather briskly through the airport, with a mission. Jefferson had been walking beside me, but suddenly stopped. A moment later he came running into me, stopping the progress of the both us. He was visibly excited about something.

"Caroline, Caroline! Guess what??"
"What Jefferson?" I replied, as I picked up my pace again.
"That lady back there... Caroline, that lady, she was speaking... ITALIAN!" He's jumping along beside me for joy at point.
"Oh, that's nice, Jefferson." As I say this I'm thinking, ummm, Italian?? That's why you just about knocked the both of us down on the airport floor?? WHICH is probably germ infested!? Probably. (Mostly it just sounded like good justification.)
"Yeah! She said, (he goes into an Italian accent) "le pasa porte." Which means she was speaking Italian! Can you believe it?"
"Cool Jefferson."

End of story.

Anyway though, as I got to thinking about it, I realized that Jefferson hadn't been to Italy... Sometimes I forget we didn't always have him... So no wonder he was excited. He hadn't heard a "real-live" Italian speak Italian.
And then as I pondered the episode some more, I realized that most American seven year-olds haven't been to Italy... Or fifteen year-olds for that matter. And that maybe I had taken it for granted a little bit, that I had that amazing experience of living in Northern Italy for three years. I mean, that was a big part of the younger years of my childhood. Sometimes it's easy to take the big things for granted.

Satisfied that I had thoroughly contemplated this event, I went on through the rest of my day.
Later... I was trying to get ready for bed and was about to take a MUCH needed shower (the floors of the airport may only be so germ-infested... But all the seats and doorknobs and restrooms... You name it, probably are. Not to mention the planes themselves...). Unfortunately... the hot water was gone. ALL of it. I decided it wasn't that big of a deal and I would just wait. An hour later, it had warmed up to maybe a little bit above freezing... Great. What a way to get sick right before you travel to Rome... And with how hard it is for me to keep warm... That would do it.

HOWEVER, my ever resourceful mother saved the day! (Again). We, or rather she, decided to run the water from the bath, but heat up water in a water heater-something-or-other, provided in our apartment. Then pour the hot water into my bath. After a couple of those, it would be warm enough to bath in. And that is what she did.




I will say, the drain of the bathtub wasn't working quite properly... So by the time the water wasn't frigid, there wasn't but probably three inches or so left in the tub. At that point though, I wasn't picky, I was grateful. VERY grateful.

And as I went to bed last night, I once again realized that I had taken something for granted. A little thing like water is easy to take for granted... Because, well, it's water. And it's EVERYWHERE. But not everyone has it. Or if they do it might not be clean. In fact, it could be poisonous. So I have much to be grateful for. Don't I?

And then I realized, that in comparison, Italy isn't so big after all. It has been something God has GIVEN me. Memories that he has allowed me to make and remember. But Italy is extra, it is little when you're talking about water, something that keeps our bodies alive and clean. So it was really the other way around I suppose.

And I use Italy only as an example in my life, that I was reminded of yesterday. But there are many other things that we have that others don't, such as going out to eat, whether for special or because we feel like it, going see movies on the big screen, having access to multiple stores where we can buy clothes... We, as Americans, are very blessed. And I pray we remember it, and not take it as something we deserve, but something we've been given.

Anyway, to wrap this up... I now live in London. And I'm not going to take a day of it for granted... I am extremely blessed to have this unique opportunity.... Haha, someday I may never even be able to afford visiting here... Much less living. God is good. :)

AND, I look forward to keeping you updated, via my now active blog ;), on all my adventures.

In Christ, (the greatest travel agent)
Caroline Ann

I'm Guilty

This is pretty pitiful... I haven't updated since right before I left for Thailand.

And it isn't because I haven't had anything to write about.

I ALWAYS have stuff to write about.

I mean, I've only in the past couple months: Gone to Thailand, gotten another dog, found out we're moving to London, taken a last minute trip to New Zealand and lived every day life....

That's not much? Is it?

So, my apologies. I've probably lost all you people on this blog thing, but I'm sure you'll eventually come back. Since I've eventually gotten back to blogging. Or so I think anyway.

We have been busy though, that I can assure you.

So, long story short, for those of you who don't know... Thailand was GREAT! Although I did get sick halfway through, and was sick for a total of 19 days after that... Plus like another month of recovering from being sick. Yeah, that was fun.... But God is good. =)

London, I can barely WAIT to get there... I can't believe we are actually going. It's kinda like a dream. But not horribly since I am living in Hawaii after all. :P We're leaving some time around Thanksgiving and will visit family on the way. Also something to be excited about. :D

New Zealand really was fantastic, the people were amazingly down to earth (or at least at the bottom anyway...) and friendly. The scenery was BEAUTIFUL! And of course you've got to love going on trips with my mother... It's always an adventure.

Every day life just continues to get more interesting, we did end up with this puppy who we need a home for... She's such a darling. It's a shame we can't keep her... I'll probably have to write a seperate post about her later. But Annie really is wonderful, she's a honey, though she sure does know how to slober on herself when we leave... (She has a couple seperation anxiety issues...)

And I am currently finishing up my last couple days of school. Woot!! Then I have a month break and I'll start up again. But that month sure will be nice... =)

Anyway, I am guilty for not posting in so long, but things just kept coming up.

I'll post again soon!

Caroline Ann

Thailand Trip Itinerary

Alrighty, we are heading to the airport shortly, but as promised, here is my travel itinerary!

Friday:
We leave 11:30 am from Honolulu settling in for a 9 hour and 10 minute flight.

Saturday:
We arrive at the Tokyo Narita Airport at 3:40 pm.

We have a 3 hour layover before taking off at 6:45 pm heading for Bangkok.

We arrive in Bangkok at 11:50 pm and should meet up with the rest of our team at the baggage claim (they arrive 11:45 pm, so we should all get there about the same time).

Sunday:
We spend the night at the Siam Piman hotel

That day we get an introduction to Thailand and then fly to Chiang Mai at 3:45 arriving at 4:55. Upon arrival we will check into the hotel where we will be holding the conference that week.

Monday:
Touring in Chiang Mai

Tuesday:
Pre-conference preparations and childcare

Wednesday:
Conference

Thursday:
Conference and "Parents night out" (A night where we keep the kids from the conference for the evening and the parents can enjoy some time by themselves.)

Friday:
Conference; Worship Service

Saturday:
Travel up mountain to bungalows; local touring

Sunday:
Hike to rural village for ministry to school, mothers, and community

Monday:
Ministry to nearby Thai elementary school, begin travel home.

Depart from Chiang Mai 7:15 pm

Arrive in Bangkok 8:25 pm

My mother and I say goodbye to the team and depart from Bangkok 10:30 pm for a six hour flight.

Tuesday:
We arrive at the Tokyo Narita airport at 6:15 am

We have a 15 hour layover in Tokyo and spend the day touring. =D

We depart from Tokyo at 9:00 pm for a 6 and a half hour flight.

Tuesday:
We arrive in Honolulu at 8:30 am.

Well, I need to go, but there you have it!

A couple prayer requests:

That we would have Safe Travel
That our bags would both come in!
That we would find our team really quickly.
That we would be able to bless those who we come into contact with during the trip
That I would be completely cheerful, no matter HOW tired I am. =)

Thank you so much! God bless!

Caroline Ann

Covered in Prayer

I know I haven't updated in a long time, I've just been pumping over here trying to get all my school done! It's been crazy!

I have to say though... Amidst it all, I have had such a peace, it's been amazing. I know a lot of people are praying for me, and if you are one of them, thank you so much!! I couldn't have gotten as much school done as I have without you guys. Seriously. God is so good.

Our father continues to amaze me as he cares for not only the big things, but the little things. Everything for Thailand has come in place so beautifully, it's been amazing to watch.

My mother and I are leaving tomorrow, so please keep praying. The journey is about to begin! I plan on posting our itinerary tomorrow before we leave so you will know what is going on each day.

During the trip I should have Internet access a few times, in which I plan to update my blog, so check back soon!

I'm not done with my school marathon, I'm at the final stretch, so I need to go back to running! However, once again, thank you, I really have felt covered in pray this week. It's been amazing.

I'll post my trip itinerary tomorrow. Be looking for it.

Caroline Ann

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!" -Philippians 4:13

Christmas in Hawaii

I wrote the majority of this on Friday (the 26th) but then our power went out... Which is a different story. Anyway, sorry it took so long to finish. =)

Our Christmas was WONDERFUL! I really wasn't sure what it would be like, I mean, it wasn't snowing, there wasn't snow... it wasn't even cold! And those to me used to be some of the most important aspects of the Christmas "ambiance". It was amazing to me though, watching God quietly tell me all throughout the Christmas season, "It's about ME. Focus on me." Thankfully I listened to his advice and had one of the most memorable Christmas yet.

It really is all about Him, and the fact that he came as a little baby in order to be able to say, "You suffer? I suffered. And I suffered out of love for you." Is mind blowing. He understands it all. There is nothing on this earth that we can tell him that will take Him by surprise or not be comprehendible to Him. What an amazing God. I seriously can't wait to bow down at his feet someday.

What a privilege and honor it will be,
To live in holy eternity,
With the Christ who lived on earth and died on a tree,

Out of his love for a sinner like me.

How empty Christmas would be if it weren't for Him! The very thought of it gives my heart great joy.

As far as that picture, representing my Christmas... It was taken from our new hammock, with my new camera! =D Very exciting... Seriously though, at that moment, it felt like life could hardly get any better.

Haha, minus a husband and kids, but I suppose I need to wait patiently for that for a couple years. =P

The weather really was gorgeous! It couldn't have been prettier actually. Funny too how much i loved it, considering it was the exact opposite of my ideal winter wonderland. Isn't God good to give us variety in life? And even more so, to use that variety to teach and train us? I hope you had as marvelous a Christmas as I did!

Caroline Ann

Bye Bye Puppy!

So, for those of you who don't know.... We had to give our precious little puppy back last Thursday night!

She had some small aggression issues, but they were slowly getting worse, despite all we were doing to prevent them.

My parents were really concerned that she would seriously bite one of us or a neighbor someday and we'd have to put her down.

She had come such a long way, but not quite far enough. Last Wednesday night she bit me. My body language was not threatening her, but she was resource guarding her leash, and when it got stuck under a door and I tried to retrieve it for her, she snapped at me. It broke the skin. Not horribly, but enough that it could really be a problem in the future.

Sorta the last straw.

Our family doesn't quit things when we start them very easily. We don't just give up when things don't work out. So this was a hard decision based on that factor as well. Not just the fact that we love our, used to be, puppy, and she'd really become a part of the family!

My mom even loved her, she doesn't even like dogs!

The above is quite a statement, it may be a once in a lifetime thing people, so feel privilege to have seen it. ; )

We were grateful though, because the lady, Mrs. Abbot, who we bought Indee from REALLY wanted her back...

Like, asked for her back, type of wanted her back.

So she does have a happy home... And she won't attack any little children since she will spend the rest of her days with her parents (Mrs. Abbot's dogs) running around the living room, and being allowed to act almost anyway she pleases.

Haha, our "joke" is that Indee thinks she went to summer camp (It really was more equivalent to boot camp actually) and came back home.

As sad as the ordeal was... We did meet Mrs. Ness! And I have not a clue what we would do without her in our lives! =D Just yesterday I had the privilege to go bake Christmas goodies with her. That woman really amazes me... I will love her forever! And Mrs. Ness, if you read this, never forget that!

Well, you now all know the sad tail (haha) of our dog. Whether it will be our only dog I know not, but I do know that whether it be a dog or a family member, HE gives and takes away, and because of HIM, my heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be your name!

Caroline Ann

The Race is On!

I feel really bad... My poor blog sorely needs to be updated. I just haven't had the time though! You would think December would be a great month for blogging. Not so this year anyway...

This time in exactly three weeks I will be in Thailand! I can hardly believe it's almost here. I'm REALLY excited, I can hardly stand it. Well, hold on a sec, I can wait, 'cause I do have this one little thing... SCHOOL.

I've been bogged down in school, to say the very least. It's been tough. I am very well organized, so that will help immensely, but still, organization doesn't eliminate the amount of work to be done. I get Christmas day off! Woohoo! But that's really my only school free day. Fun huh?

Never the less, I am choosing to have a good attitude and trying to enjoy the time of year. I mean, it only comes around once, so school or not, you might as well!

H0wever, if you could lift me up in prayer... I really can't think of a time when I've had more school. I know God will use this as a teaching opportunity though!

The race is on though, the countdown has started, I have a lot of school, and I am feeling the pressure! So, here are a couple things that you could pray for:

1) I would be extremely efficent (like more efficent then I have ever been would help!) and choose to concentrate and not let my mind get distracted.

2) That despite the work, I will find time to enjoy Christ and the celebration of His birth!

3) That I would have really good bible times. (Heh, and that I would also have them amidst everything) Please pray that the Lord will draw me into His word... I so desperately need it!

4) That not only would I work really hard, but that I would get good grades. Especially since the majority of my work is for semester finals.

I know you guys are all really busy, but if you've read this. THANK YOU! I will try my best to keep you updated.

Caroline Ann