England…finally.

Disclaimer: This will be a long post…I have a lot of catching up to do!!

England.  It was wonderful.  Brandon and I are SO THANKFUL that we were able to go on such an amazing trip.  Yes, the flight, the new culture and accents and spellings…they were all really neat; but for me, the cherished moments were the ones I had with all the family, both immediate and extended.

I love my family.  Seriously.  I know that is a gracious gift from the Lord.  I really enjoy the time that I spend with them.  It is incredible that I can love a family so much that I see so infrequently.  I love that I can have not seen my cousins for years, and enjoy them as though we were neighbors!  I just love to catch up with them!!   Brandon, Jane, and I had the best time chatting with family over tea (Jane had a bottle) and playing games…SO WONDERFUL.

Okay, here’s the trip in pictures:
To begin, we flew out on Christmas eve, also my birthday. So, Brandon made me a birthday breakfast.  I love him so much!

Yes, waffles with raspberries and cream…delicious. Oh, and did I mention trick candles?

As for the flight, we didn’t take any pictures, but here are some videos. Jane did a stellar job, which is a huge answer to prayer. She slept almost the entire overnight flight from New Jersey to London, and she took two monster naps on the flight back. Praise the Lord.

Once we arrived, my Mum picked us up and drove us to Gu’s (my grandmother) house in London. She turned 90 on December 6th, and it is hard to believe when you see how well she is doing. She was so excited to hold Jane and sing her songs.

After a much needed nap, and after all of the out-of-towners arrived, we drove down to Dorset where my Aunt and Uncle live. The Rekerdres, Rogers, and Wrens stayed in a cottage called Taddlestones nearby.

The cottage was adorable, and perfectly suited for our needs. Although, I don’t think it was built for tall, American men.

The village where we stayed was called Tarrant Monkton. It was adorably quaint, complete with pastures of sheep, thatch-roof cottages (like ours) and old church buildings.

We spent time together in the cottage, ate yummy English breakfasts, and played games…so much fun!!

Chris playing airplane with Jane

Delicious.

Christmas dinner

Now, there are a few English family traditions. Two of which are Donkey and Uno. We have to play these games when we are together. Donkey is a card game in which you are trying to get rid of your cards and not end up with the donkey. Whoever does loses the game and becomes a spectacle, hence the carrot. And, well, Uno is…Uno.

Dan was the donkey.

We also took several day trips around Dorset. One day we went to see the school where my uncle teaches; another day everyone went to the sea side to explore (Brandon and I stayed back so that Jane could finally get some consistent naps!). Dorset is beautiful.

Jane and her cousin Milly (she’s around two and a half months older than Jane)

Chatting at a pub

The culmination of the trip was a celebration of Gu’s 90th birthday. We had a really nice dinner at the Langton Arms pub, then came back and had cake.

Gu and her two daughters

My cousins Ben and  Hannah with their niece.

Lizz, Milly’s mum, at dinner.

In memory of Tadcu, Ben and David ordered Kronenbourg 1664, my grandfather’s favorite beer.

Gotta have the fish ‘n’ chips

Gu with her birthday cake

Gu told us stories about when she was a little girl in Wales.

My mum labored over a book that recounts Gu’s family and childhood. She scanned and edited hundreds of old pictures…really neat!

Gu read us a speech that she had written. It was beautiful.  I am heart-wrenchingly encouraged to see a fellow believer finish well. She is unashamed of the gospel, and you can see that it has transformed her life.

Then we played some more games.  Chris lost Uno.

Oh, and how could I forget, one of the best Christmas gifts given this year:  the Powerball.

And, Brandon in a telephone booth.

After several days in Dorset, Gwen, Chris, and Dad headed back to America, and the rest of us headed back to London.  While in London, Mum and Gu took care of Jane during the day; and David, Brandon, and I did some sightseeing. It worked out well for everyone. Brandon and David made up fake histories about the sights, which were ridiculous…we had a blast.

Tower of London

Tower Bridge

St. Paul’s Cathedral

Buckingham Palace

David making a false history of Buckingham Palace

Big Ben

The Underground stop for Gu’s house.  It is very nostalgic for me.

I have no idea what David is doing here…

One of the days we took a walk to the park where Tadcu would take us when we were little.

The last full day we were there, Rodney, a family friend, took us on a driving tour of London…he knew everything about everything…it was amazing! Later, our wonderful friends Vanessa and Will came down from Cambridge to see us. I so enjoyed the time to catch up.

Well, that is it. I am sure there is more to tell, but this post was definitely long enough. I will leave you with one of Brandon and David’s fake histories.  Delightful.

Oh, and just for the record, I do not advocate cheap shots about the American Revolution…David is a silly billy.