Catch Up - Almost

Hey blog world. I will catch you up soon in pictures. But for now, my family's here and we're enjoying London at Christmastime. They embrace the whole 12 Days of Christmas thing, so the holiday spirit is still going strong! And we are loving it.

I'll leave you with this: 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2012!

Masquerade Pics

I'm a little bit over facebook right now, so I'm posting stuff on here, 

rather that setting up new albums there. Enjoy!

Alex, Martin, and Shara

Dancing Divas 

{friends from church} 

Alex, Martin, Shara, and me 

{my mask was a big hit, but it looks ridiculous in most of these pics. Oh well.}

Alex, Martin, Shara

Dance floor 

{upstairs}

GG, GG's friend, Charlie, and Me

{GG's mask had feathers!!}

Katie and Me

{love}

Our table

{downstairs}

Shara and Me

{two americans in london. love her!}

London... and Paris!

We've been busy!

Halloween came and went with several parties (people here love Halloween... who knew?). Hult rented out a bar near the Gherkin for a full-on costume party.

{Grant was a 1970s soccer star. He was a big hit!}

We went to a Swedish birthday party from my classmate Elin--so fun!

I attended a Hillsong London Sisterhood event and met Mrs. Anna Smith, got a signed copy of her book(!) and explored Surrey (perfectly English!).

Wednesday we had dinner first at Wahaca (the only decent Mexican food in London) with Grant's Peruvian classmates, Alejandro and Fiorella. Then we made our way to the dazzling Lyceum in West End/ Covent Garden.

Grant and I have had a packed week with school, but managed  to see The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre (beautiful, moving, powerful, and awesome).

             


Tomorrow night Grant has tickets to see Incubus at the Alexander Palace (aka, "The People's Palace," aka, "The Ally Pally") with a fun group of guys from church.

I am attending Hillsong's VELOCITY Masquerade Boat Party!! The tickets sold out earlier this week!! {There should be 300+ people at this kick-off event!!} I have several classmates coming! And the usual fun crowd from church. It should be amazing, with drinks, nibbles, a DJ, masks, and fireworks on the Thames as we cruise from Embankment to Putney Bridge!!!!

And now for the best bit: WE'RE SPENDING THE WEEKEND IN PARIS! Yep. Can't wait. We've booked our eurostar tickets from King's Cross/ St. Pancras to Gare du Nord, Paris {from the center of London to the heart of Paris!} Oui oui!

We're staying in the Eiffel Tower District and plan to see as much as we can before returning Sunday night. I can't wait! I've written too much already. I'll give you the details of Paris when we get back!

A Treat for You

Just for those of you who read and follow my blog. Here's a shot of the Lady Chapel {aka: Albert Memorial Chapel} of St. George's Chapel at Windsor. Stunning, isn't it?



And a few Guards just walking around on duty in the Lower Ward of the palace.



And finally, we have had a guest in our backgarden today. I was sitting in bed reading this morning, when something outside caught my eye... a fox! I'm pretty sure it was just perusing the garden for things to snack on, but still....

I have limited iPhone evidence. After I show it to Grant, I'll see if he confirms or denies my claim that a fox is what I saw. {I wish you could have seen me trying to record this darting, quick little creature outside the french doors of our bedroom.... He was a good distance away, I was perched on the edge of the end of our bed, trying to get a shot that worked, all the while battling the curtains to stay open without dropping the phone... that could've been a noteworthy sight in and of itself, had you been here this morning...!}

One Month

It's officially one month today: we've lived in London, dealt with the transition of moving, found a flat we call home, mastered survived public transport, and seen some pretty awesome sights.

London is amazing and intoxicating and the energy here is vibrant.

There is this beautiful combination of Old World and New World here where you can plan an outing to the largest occupied castle in the world {more on that later!} or just wander around randomly and have an equally intriguing encounter with this great city and its surroundings. We love it.

Today, we went to Windsor.

Private apartments of the Queen

Back Gardens and State Rooms

We got a deal on tickets and got to be a part of history, too! They just reopened The Round Tower for the first time in 30 years - it's a trial run for August and September only - and we got to be in one of the groups.

Loved it. The view was unparalleled!

You can see all of the surrounding royal grounds, gardens, and park, as well as the Thames River Valley and London skyline. We took the train out there, packed a picnic lunch (yum!), and toured the castle - tower, state rooms, upper and lower wards, St. George's and Lady Chapel {aka: Albert Memorial Chapel}. Followed it up with a quick jaunt through Great Park - The Long Walk to George III's statue - and a look around the charming and picturesque town. I know why it's the Queen's favoured residence.

My Favourite Part: The Norman Gate

Lingo

Forgive me, but I must write these phrases down so I don't forget our funny and sometimes embarrassed or flustered transition into the local lingo.

British : American

Jumper : sweater
Pants : underwear
Trowsers : pants
Ice lolly : popsicle
Knickers : ladies' panties
Left luggage : baggage check (a good one to know!)
Chips : fries
Crisps : potato chips
Fag : cigarette
Frogs : French people (ha!)
Fanny : vagina
Mate : friend (boy or girl) this has replaced the old-fashioned "bloke"
Bangers and Mash : sausage and potatoes
Scottish egg : hard-boiled egg, wrapped in a sausage meat mixture, coated in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried
Holiday : vacation
Let : rent
Flat : apartment
Lift : elevator
Loo : toilet
Toilet : bathroom/ powder room
Licenced : restaurant that sells alcohol (ie, all of them. And yes, Mama, that's how they spell it ;)
Off-Licence : liquor store
Afters : dessert
Snogging : making out
Rubbish bin : trash can
On offer : for sale
Torch : flashlight
Wellies : (rain) boots
Petrol : gas
Pissed : drunk
Half eight : 8:30 (not 7:30)
Cheers : hi, bye, thanks, and many other conversational uses (when in doubt, say Cheers!)

Hillsong: Our Home away from Home

{The other 1/2 of that previous post's excerpt}

Hillsong London has been the other surprise.

We love it. I mean, we knew the reputation that precedes it: awesome worship, solid theology. What we did not know was THE PEOPLE. Oh my goodness, the people. I cannot explain to you the full extent of my gratitude for their welcoming openness.

We filled out the requisite "Welcome Card" thinking it would be weeks before either of us heard anything. Nope. People had called us and set up coffee for later that week! We have met more people and made new contacts in this otherwise overwhelmingly huge city. We've attended drinks (several times), dinner (twice), a Hillsong party (amazing. they rented out an entire bowling alley/ 2-story bar and maxed out its occupancy), a birthday party (South African braai!), and a clothes swap with tea and cakes (just the girls).

These people are completely open with their hearts, homes, experiences, contacts, and calendars. It makes me wonder why we tend to be so guarded in our relationships and friendships. It seems to me (looking back) that I would almost expect people to prove their worth--jump through a few hoops at least--then I would take the time to invest in them. Not these people. You want a look at first century church... it is here. And it is beautiful. And humbling. It will absolutely bring you to your knees when you witness giving, sharing, and generosity at someone else's expense (making cupcakes from scratch just for you; going out of his way to include you in his birthday party; journeying across town to meet you just because you're new and don't know the area; making a special trip to the store to be sure they have enough -- for you).

We find ourselves, in the still darkness of night, asking, "Why do they do it? Why do they give and give and give and then give some more? Have they never been burned? Do they not end up with crushed expectations? Is there ever a return on their investment?" {If I'm honest, I'm still trying to figure out how they do it without being constantly disappointed, constantly heart-broken over people and things that didn't turn out the way they thought.} I know why they do it. I know it's because the love of Jesus in them runs over into the lives of others.

Here's another happy surprise: knowing that His love spills over and being the recipient of that love are two entirely different things. Wow. Blown away is an understatement.

We're adjusting quite nicely and I have to admit, at least 95% of that has to be because some sweet, real, authentic, raw, un-churched church people decided to take us under their wing and share their world with a couple of strangers who, honestly, may not even be here a year from now... which makes their commitment to us all the more dear. How do they do it? I'm amazed {and am learning MUCH about myself and my motives and my heart}. London and God's grace is treating us well. Thank God for Hillsong London. Seriously.

God has done great things for us and we are filled with joy! {Ps 126:3}

Our Flat: After

Ok. So the full list of pics are here.

I was going to include a few on here, but the blogger uploader was taking FOREVER! We like it; it's a work in progress ;)

Flat 2: First Night

So here's a quick vid of our new flat. It is a very rough cut of a very rough "before" apartment, but I just didn't want to forget what moving REALLY looks like ;) And I have no shame, so I decided to share it with you all, too. Move-in date: 24 August 2011. Tomorrow marks one week.

A few things about this video:

1. Notice the Coke--in our hearts, no, we have not left Atlanta ;)

2. Notice the music. We're an eclectic pair (Counting Crows and Brad Paisley. Impressive, I know).

3. Notice the "neutral" color palate {read: apparently, completely white-washing everything makes it "neutral"}

4. Notice the incredibly attractive tall man. I kinda love him a lot.

5. To answer your question: No, I have not yet figured out the washing machine. Nor have I attempted another load of laundry since. Pity the kind and very patient tall man.

There will be pics of the "after" coming soon. Bear with me and my slow/ spotty internet connection.

London Life

Life is busy but oh so good. We just got done with church: Hillsong London. The worship is amazing and I think we may have found our church home here. At least for now. 

Pics are hard to share because I've used up my allocated Internet usage for the MONTH on my phone and we won't have Internet at our flat until MID-September...! But I'll do my best to show you the before and after of our little place as soon as I can!

Life is so different here, but were taking each day and every experience as a gift from God to learn more about this curious little corner of the globe. Historically speaking, so much of the American government, mindset, and Anglican/ Episcopal church came from over here, there is MUCH to learn and observe... And were not even in school yet!

London with its 13 million people is truly a melting pot of language, culture, religion, philosophy, color, and ideas. It's all fascinating really--if you hold it up to the light and look at it from the right perspective: Choosing joy and embracing the little daily difficulties with a smile, knowing that our lives are being changed and molded by each of them in great and tiny ways that we may never know but will forever appreciate. 

Life is so good and God is so faithful. What more could one ask for??