Hiccups start and a lost blanket, found

In baby news, I am at 27 weeks and have been feeling my little guy's rhythmic movement that I'm told I can chalk up to a case of baby hiccups :0)

In Nora news, she lost her "blankie" for the first time yesterday. We left it at church after evening service, and by the time we discovered our mistake, the church was locked up and we were unable to contact the man who has the key. Poor girl. I think I had it almost as hard as her as I lay with her and she kept hitting her pillow (where she lays her blankie at bedtime) crying for it. I wanted to fix it for her so badly and I just couldn't. I did reach Matt (the man with the key :0) this AM, but was unable to meet him until the afternoon, so nap time today was almost as bad as last night. What finally settled her down was when I prayed for her aloud asking our Heavenly Father to return her blanket to her and in the meantime give her peace. He answered both -the latter almost immediately and the former a couple hours later. I know eventually we'll have to break her of the attachment (maybe before she goes to college...), but I'm glad that time is not now. I imagine we'll also stick more to our rule of leaving blankie at home!

Fireworks in April

Stephen and I enjoyed quite the fireworks show just now from our bedroom window. It was a fun surprise -started at 10pm, lasted about 15 minutes. We're not sure what the occasion was. It's funny how such things are more a matter of course here in this posh University town. Two Saturdays ago I went into town for groceries and discovered throngs of people on the sidewalks and hundreds of flowers strewn on the roads. I had just missed a parade organized by one of the most prestigious clubs at the University. Stephen saw it from where he was working in the Classics library and said it was impressive -bagpipers, students in costumes depicting historical St. Andrews figures, horses and carriages. I was sorry to miss the excitement.

Nora and I met Stephen for a picnic lunch today. We ate our PBJ sandwiches, fruit and salt & vinegar crisps (as opposed to chips, which are french fries) on a bench overlooking the sea. Unfortunately, it was a cool day, so it was a quick lunch followed by a leisurely cup of coffee at a cafe nearby.

I have one more week of work (or three days or 13.5 hours) I am so excited! I'll miss the cheery regular customers, getting to know my co-workers and the paycheck, but I'll be glad to leave the work. I would never want to work full-time in food service. It can be exhausting work. Friday was the type of day that made me glad I was nearly done -trays of dirty dishes lining the kitchen floor, demanding and rude customers (why is it more often than not that they're American? sigh.). I may just have nightmares. Okay, so I'm being dramatic. Let me just say, this experience has taught me that I never want to own or operate a restaurant.

Tonight was "Lost night." We get together with a couple one weekend night a week to watch a couple episodes of the TV series. We're nearly through season 1 and so far almost nothing has been resolved. I hear from people who are current with the program (season 3) that many of the same mysteries are still unresolved. No doubt the show will be canceled before such resolution is reached. It's bound to happen...So, why do we put ourselves through it? I could attempt to wax philosophical about what we learn about our culture from the show, but I'll be honest and say that for me, it's mostly about the down time :0)

Stephen turns in a draft of his last paper of the semester on Monday. Then it's time for revision and turning in final drafts. His semester officially ends May 18, but he hopes to be done about a week before that and into his summer project at that point. I'm so grateful for my hardworking man.

The Brownfields come May 21. Yeah! We'll spend a few days with them here and then travel to England for a couple days. Then early June, my mom and sister come and I'll fly back to the States with them June 13th. It's all coming up so fast! Thankfully, "packing up" only involves deciding what we can fit in four pieces of luggage and unloading the rest on our friends here. We're in a furnished apartment so I'm just talking about things like clothes, shoes, books, toys, souvenirs, toddler equipment (do I have room for that potty chair and booster seat somehow?!).
That's all for this random news update. Have a good Sunday!

The colors of St. Andrews...

One of my favorite homes in St. Andrews. I love how cozily it is situated. It's inviting in the winter when smoke rises from the chimney and in the spring when framed with flowering trees.

Stephen gave me a hard time about the Shell station in the foreground, but you are supposed to know that I was meaning the yellow fields in the distance :0)

This type of pink flowering tree (yes. I'm no horticulturist.) is one of the most common in St. Andrews right now.

Nora color coordinates with the flowers.

On the street where we live...This picture doesn't do it justice, but I tried to capture the amazing range on color -differing greens, white, orange, yellow, pinks and purples -highlighted all the more by the background of stately gray stone homes.

Earlier note:
It's rained a bit more than usual over the last week, but we've had enough dry spells to catch some of the brilliant colors on camera.

Addendum:
"Rained a bit more than usual" =for being in Scotland, we don't get all that much rain. Apparently, St. Andrews is one of the driest parts of the country. Suits me!

Our girl

Nora has developed a number of new "faces" recently. This is her pouty look that reminds me of some pictured looks I've seen of Stephen has a kid. She's also experimenting with new sounds -everything from "clucking" her tongue to copying the sound of a passing car or my computer booting up.

I'm learning how to have more flexibility and joy in motherhood these days. Our recent schedule combined with evening tiredness has required me to do more housework with Nora in tow. She views such activities as a game rather than chores, and insists on being involved. She loves to wash dishes and mop and sweep and throw clothes in the washer. She also loves to cook and asks to"stir" whenever she sees me preparing food. Sometimes she's content to just watch. Yesterday, she was sitting in her high chair watching me make dinner. At one point, I had my back to her and when I turned around she was ripping the lettuce leaves I had drying on the counter into bite-size pieces. I was impressed at what a good job she was doing without instruction. (You realize how much kids pick up by just watching you!) I got her a bowl and encouraged her to finish the task. Glad that she was occupied, I focused on the dish I was making. Several minutes later, I saw the salad creation above. Apparently, to a toddler, Cheerios go with everything.

Having a daughter is so much fun! Nora is becoming quite the little lady. It's hard to say whether it's natural inclination, guidance or a little of both. She frequently requests to wear dresses (and twirl for us to hear praise of her appearance), sits still to have her hair done (and then admires herself in the mirror -"preddy") and loves to shop. Now for the challenge of knowing how to encourage femininity without vanity...

Yeehaw!

The Shipp family is headed to Texas this fall. Stephen will begin PhD study at the University of Dallas. I'll be working on my tan and riding horses most days...Right. Stephen taught Nora a new word this week -"yeehaw." She says it very enthusiastically. It's so cute.

I'm excited about the warmer climate, if not the landscape, of Texas. Stephen tells me I have no idea what I'm saying. Do I know what over 100F degree temperatures feels like? As I sat in the sun today, temps in the 60s, neither too hot or too cold, I did begin to wonder if I'll be able to endure Texas summers. Still, I look forward to something new even as I savor more all the great things we have here.

First, let me say that I'm grateful to the Lord for His continued faithfulness to our family. In His timing, once again, He has guided us. It's wonderful to have more concrete direction for the next step. When we were in the midst of the decision, there were times when as I lay in bed at night, I would begin to feel an irrational anxiety. God, in His grace, would give peace. I don't know how people who don't have that "peace that passes all understanding" make decisions. Without it, I'm sure I would be unable to function for worry.

With that said, I don't look at Dallas as the promised land. I am preparing myself, at least trying to, for a hard season. Stephen will be entering an intense academic program -much more demanding than St. Andrews as far as the time it will require. In addition to some part-time work, that adds up to less family time overall. Part of the reason we decided to "go for it" now is that we still feel called as a couple to minister to college students in the class room and in our home, and we realize that there will never be an easier time to get through this next phase. So, we're gearing up and buckling down for all that grad school with a young family will involve. Even now, Stephen is studying longer hours and on Saturdays. But that has to do more with the other decision we made.

Within days of deciding to go to Dallas, we decided to also return to the States earlier than planned. I'll be heading back in mid-June at 33.5 weeks pregnant on an airline that does not allow women more than 34 weeks pregnant to travel (talk about the Lord working out timing!). Stephen will finish (Lord willing) his master's thesis more than a month early and meet me in Tennessee by mid-July. As crazy as this sounds, we are more at peace about this than we were at having the baby end of July/ early August and then settling in Dallas by the end of August having obtained a passport for the baby and moved all our things from Tennessee. So, yes, this way, even with a separation of almost a month, Stephen and I will have much more time to relax as a family before starting in Dallas thanks to the Lord opening up this new possibility.

Well, that's our update in a nutshell or a nut U-haul. I see that the post is getting quite long. I could say a lot more though, believe me, with all the time we've put into planning and praying and getting counsel. And I really am so excited because I see God's hand so clearly in working out the details to this point. I could go on and on, but will close instead with another praise to our gracious Heavenly Father for His mercy on His people.

Little surprises...

Surprise #1: I stopped in ConPanna ("my" coffee shop) yesterday to pick up my wages and confirm the hours I was scheduled to work this week. The owner informed me that a gift had been left for me. She asked me if I had met "George" and I replied I had not. "George" is a regular early-morning customer, somewhat eccentric, usually donned in a kilt. Word is that he goes to bed at 6:30pm and wakes up in the middle of the night, at which time he begins to crochet (a small business or ministry? not sure). Apparently he learned there was an American girl at the shop who was pregnant and I received a crocheted wool blanket for the baby. I'm not sure I'll ever met him, but I suppose I should write a "thank you." The surprises of small town life...

Surprise #2: Stephen arrived home yesterday with a small library -6 Jane Austen books for me and 5 Paddington Bear books for Nora. The paperback volumes were printed on the dime of the Daily Telegraph and given out free for months at local coffee shop with purchase of a drink, I believe. Anyhow, Stephen heard from a guy at our church who works there that the promotion had ended leaving stacks of volumes in the storage room. He invited Stephen to come and pick some up at his convenience. So, Stephen did yesterday, buying a cappuccino so as not to be totally cheap. Still quite the deal for us. I love free books.

Not your typical news story...

Stephen forwarded this fascinating article to me yesterday. It's quite long, but worth the time.

Joshua Bell is one of the world's greatest violinists. His instrument of choice is a multimillion-dollar Stradivarius. If he played it for spare change, incognito, outside a bustling Metro stop in Washington, would anyone notice? Click here for the full story.

Following a Risen King

Phillippians 2:5-11

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Easter snapshots

Fingernails that shine like justice

My husband and daughter are dancing to Cake. I never thought I'd see the day.

My husband just strained his neck. Yeah, that's more like it. heeehe :0)

Nora's tatoo and weighty decisions

Nora has done pretty well coloring and drawing only on paper...until today. Even as I corrected her, I had to admire the creativity.

We are in the midst of a number of big decisions concerning our plans post-St. Andrews. Please pray for us if you think of it. Things should be more settled within the next week, I think. I am so grateful God has our steps planned out. That confidence is my peace.

Nora at play

At the park...by the time I snapped the picture, she was already at the bottom of the super-fast tube slide. She loved it!

She also loved climbing up the stairs for this slide. (no worries, Stephen was behind her most of the way :0) This is the slow slide. It took Nora about a minute to scoot herself down it.

Nora's new umbrella. If I could spell it out the way she says it, I would. It is the most adorable thing to hear.

"Cool" (What Nora says whenever she puts on shades. Note also the necklace. She's such a girl!)

Very "Nora" things -sitting in her doll's stroller and trying to put on her sunglasses. She doesn't get them over her ears, but tries to sit very still to see if they'll stay put anyway...)