Daily Grind

Feeling a little mental after staring at the computer all afternoon. I was not built for the Geek Squad. This afternoon I set out on a mission.

1: find cheap hotels for the youth group going to church camp.

2: find cheap hotel for traveling parents.

3: find cheap flight to UK for hubby.

Nearly four hours later all things were accomplished. Yay! It could have been much sooner but alas, one would need more brains than I had to spare today. Two hotel rooms were needed for the camp kids. And I thoughtlessly marked only one in the "name-your-own-price-don't-look-back" deal. So it took a little bit to attempt to obtain the same price for the same hotel. It all worked out. We love discount travel sites!

And....back again!

Wow, summer is half over and I have barely been home. Ach well, it's all good! I made it back safe and sound. The flight was early of all things. Here are some of the pics from the trip. (as you can tell, adults were not the priority:)

Tim was resting with Ellie, and James was being a stellar brother by providing the pacifier.

Ever the little Ham.

Sunday afternoon nap time.

Painting the ham....Woodstock. He was a very colorful pig.

Her favorite pastime.

We threw a shower for Meg (Aaron's wife-to-be{all that cause I am no good at French}) .

Our Grandma Altena has made most of her grandchildren a cross stitched picture for their wedding showers. Each one is perfect, except for one mistake. She does it on purpose to remind us that nothing is perfect, but that it can all come together to make something beautiful.

Grandma Altena with her second great granddaughter.

We "took the kids" to the park on the last night I was there. Looks pretty suspicious.

Three generations.

God is good, family is such a blessing.

Little Bits of Fun

Lanette, my sister, and her husband Tim had a little baby girl two weeks ago. Ellie Marie. I headed out on the next flight (not quite, but it worked out really well) to go see the little munchkin. We have been bonding ever since. We even manage to catch some sun with James on the river last week too. Very fun.

He was pretty sure that the air mattress was designed for him.
She has the sweetest yawns. She is mostly quiet, loves to sleep, and loves to watch the world go by.
I love being Auntie 'Nyna'!

And Back Again

The two weeks went very quickly and now we are back on the 'other side' of the water. There are a ton of pictures, I am really sorry about that!

Everything went extremely well and we are grateful to the Lord for His upholding mercy. We went to Scotland for the main purpose of retrieving our belongings and attending the yearly church meetings in Edinburgh.
There were some tensions about the church meetings owing to the fact that in the months leading up to them, the call which was extended to Bert had not been upheld by Presbytery. The General Assembly was to re-consider this action and decide whether to reverse the decision and then under what leadership to place the congregation. All of this was slightly stressful till I remembered that the Lord is indeed Lord over all things especially the church. Thankfully the decisions went very favourably, and now we trust that all will be well in the coming days for Smith's Falls.

The church were the meetings were held.

The men that make motions come up the the front of the Assembly, stand on either side and vote by raising their hands. Then the rest of the Assembly follows which ever motion they agree with. If there is only one motion and it is unanimous they do not bother with raising hands, but simply stomp their feet on the wooden floor to show their approval. You hear the low rumble fill the church.

The whole group on Thursday.


Not a great picture but just to prove that a little teasing is always in order.

Bert with 'all' his worldly possessions on his back.

Mr. MacKay and Mr. MacKenzieMany of the ministers in Scotland wear the clerical collars. I thought it was just in the Catholic churches but it is very common even among Protestant churches in the UK.

On the streets of Edinburgh.
Kiddie park in Glasgow. James would have loved the trash cans.There were a ton of old cars on the road. Must have been some antique race.


On the Isle of Skye

It was a motor home...seriously, but it was smaller than most cars!Shauna and Murdo Mac Donald
Alisdair and Moira Mac Kenzie
Katie and me


The only Nessie we have seen...
Western Highlands...


Noddy...

Streets of Perth...last time I was there, the red car didn't fare so well.


All the bags waiting to be packed in the car. We came with one full suitcase and six empty ones. We came back with seven very full ones. But now all our stuff is finally together. Yay!

For a 2 GBP you can get a endless cup of cappuccino. Brilliant way to past time till the flight. Also a good way to stay awake on the flight...
Platform 9 3/4 has to be around somewhere....

So anyway we are back safe and sound.