Greece

We spent last weekend in Greece, visiting Athens and enjoying a weekend cruise to a few Greek islands. It was absolutely fantastic and incredibly gorgeous!



We spent an evening in Mykonos, walking among all the white and blue buildings, with a row of windmills towering over us on the top of the island. The kids dipped their toes in the Aegean Sea and we watched the most beautiful sunset over the water.


We spent some time in Kusadasi, Turkey, where we strolled through the markets and looked at all the beautiful rugs and trinkets. It was really an interesting, colorful place!

We loved Patmos, where we relaxed on the beach and looked down on one of the most beautiful views we've ever seen. At the top of the island, we visited the cave where John spent some time and was thought to have written the book of Revelations. Very cool.


We climbed on the rocks in Crete, and learned a lot about the interesting history there. The kids were such good travelers but mostly loved the pool on the ship and our teeny tiny cabin with bunk beds. :) I loved the orange trees lining all the streets!




One of our favorite stops was Santorini, where we got to ride donkeys up the side of the island to reach the homes that perch on the top and sides of the cliffs. The sight of those homes was so fascinating! We loved walking through the small streets and imagining what life was like there.



We ended our trip with a few hours in Athens, where we visited the Acropolis and all the incredible ruins there, some that were built in 500 BC! My favorite site was the Temple of Olympian Zeus - the size of those columns was just astounding.

We are so grateful to have seen such beauty, and created such wonderful memories together. Our eyes have been opened to so many things that I have never even considered before. This world is such a beautiful place!

Spring Break

We had a fabulous spring break last week. The weather couldn't have been better, and we kept busy and had lots of fun. We had a few days of parks and playing and relaxing, and a few days of adventures and visiting new places.

We went to Claydon, a lovely country house not far away. The interior was so ornate and really pretty. We walked around the grounds, visited the little church next door, and ate lunch in the tearoom. It was a perfect little day out.

We also went to Waddesdon Manor. It is so interesting to learn the history behind all these homes and families - we are so lucky to live so close to such beautiful places. We loved the playground and the aviary and all the free space to run and play and climb.

We had such a nice week together. Today we are back to work and school and everything else, but we are looking forward to our next adventure coming up!

Go for a Walk

One of our favorite things to do here is go on walks in the countryside. A couple of weeks ago, we went on a gorgeous walk with some of our friends, from the village of Souldern to Aynho and back. It was so much fun to walk and talk with friends and enjoy the beautiful views.




I'm grateful to live in such a gorgeous place, and have such wonderful friends.

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March has come and (almost) gone so quickly, it is just a blur to me. We've had some hard things happen, which has made me more grateful for what I do have. We've been strengthened and blessed and watched over greatly.

My mom dropped everything and came so far to help us and love us. It meant the world to me, and Matthew and Anna couldn't have been happier.

My family is so important to me, and I'm so grateful that I've got them. Spring is upon us, and we have so many opportunities and adventures coming up to look forward to. Without the hard parts, I know I wouldn't appreciate the good parts so intensely. It is hard when your expectations are not met, when your plans have to change, and when your dreams have to stay dreams for a while. But just because things are different, it doesn't mean that they aren't wonderful.

"Happiness, not in another place, but in this place...

 not for another hour, but this hour." 

- Walt Whitman

February

February started with a bit of snow, but it is ending with rainbows and sunny days! It is still pretty chilly, and always windy, but it sure feels good to see the sun more!

Matthew is busy making piles of Legos on every surface in our house, and asking me to write math equations for him to solve. Anna is busy writing her own recipes and trying sooooo hard to read real chapter books. Catlin is busy helping at the school and re-upholstering an arm chair. Joseph is busy actually doing most of the work on the re-upholstery project and being awesome at everything he does. February has been pretty great!

London

We went to London last week and took the kids to the theatre to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

Matthew and Anna were so enthralled with what was happening on stage, and it was so fun to watch them. Anna kept asking if the people on stage were real. :) The set and actors were really great, but we (I) wished they had used the original music from the movie instead of new, modern songs.

We walked back to the train station just as it was getting dark. It was such a fun day out together!