Rose is Rising!

Rose turned three at the end of August and I just can't believe how much she seems like a big girl these days. Her sentences come with fewer errors now and she is starting to pronounce most of her words correctly. I'm always sad when that happens  - ha!

 She is full of life and personality! For a long time we thought she was going to be quite tame and mild in comparison to Madison, but we are finding she has her own sort of spunky personality that comes out when she is comfortable in her setting. She's starting to stand up for herself more with Maddy and become her own little person. I love it!

She has started recognizing letters and numbers well and enjoys counting and listening in on Maddy's homework. She has started drawing stick people pretty well and plays so well on her own.  
In fact just yesterday, just found my lipstick and decided to draw some little people all over our fridge -ha! I had to laugh because Maddy has done much worse with permanent marker! And at least this cleaned up with a baby wipe ;)

She is getting taller each day and is gaining on Maddy pretty quickly. I think in the long run she may end up being taller than her big sister, but we'll see!
I hardly ever have her in the stroller any more.We walk hand in hand down the side walk. **Sigh!

Here are some of her sayings that I actually have been writing down since the end of Spring and through the Summer and am just now getting a chance to post them. So she speaks more clearly now, but I love remembering the little things she says and how she says them ;)

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Rose Says:

After we dropped Tim off at work, "Mom, I miss Daddy! I Love Daddy!" As she looks out the window, "I love car; I love house; I love tree!"

When racing Maddy, "You winned. I losed! Maddy, I wan losed!"

"Hey Mom! I eat all my apple, that great?!"

When I catch her with the tv turned on (without asking) she quickly said, "Daddy say I watch a tv".
Me- um, honey - Daddy's not even home. That one's not gonna fly ;)

Rose after I flushed the toilet, " I like a waterfall mama!"

Looking out the window at night, "I wan a moon come down!"

In the back seat of the car in angry voice -"There a hair on me!" or "There a booger on me!" or There a dirt on me!"

Requesting her favorite song(This little light of mine), "I wan a sing a sunshine!"

Requesting Jesus Loves me, "Sing a God a Bible"

On a sunny day in Aberdeen (which are few and far between), "Thank you God a sunshine!"

"Is that yours milk" "Is that yours doll?"

"I have a scratch on my belly - maybe Maddy do it, maybe mama did it, maybe castles do it!"

When playing princesses or ponies, "You be this one mama and I be this one".

"Eww - bugs! we don't eat bugs, no no no!"

"Mom, you tell me if I say stupid. Ok? Did I say stupid? You tell me if I throw up, ok? Did I throw up mommy?"

Oh this silly little girl. I just love her :)

Exploring St. Andrews {Crail + Anstruther}

It's hard to believe, but we've been in St. Andrews for 3 weeks already! We are unpacked and starting to feel settled. We are living in a little village just outside of St. Andrews called Strathkinness. It's so tiny it doesn't even have a convenience store, only a pub, primary school,  church and a post office.

We're definitely out in the Scottish countryside! You might think I would feel isolated, but I'm enjoying the peace and the quiet. We have a lovely view of the Eden Estuary and down into the city of St. Andrews.

The blue in the distance is the Eden Estuary that leads to the North Sea

If you look closely in the distance you can see the towers in St. Andrews!

The drive "into town" is only about 5 minutes for us, so we're certainly not far from the things we need. We feel very blessed. Everyone here seems friendly and helpful. I pass neighbors and local villagers on my way to drop Maddy off at school each morning or at the park on the way home. It seems like a really tight knit community and I'm looking forward to becoming part of it. It's certainly been hard to leave our dear friends in Aberdeen. But it sure does help when you land in a place where you feel at home.

One of the added bonuses of moving is the opportunity to explore a new part of Scotland.
Last weekend we took the short drive down to two fishing villages on the fife coast called Crail and Anstruther. It was a gorgeous 70 degree day and the sun was shining.  It was so nice spending time as a family and getting to see some beautiful scenery!

{A Few Pictures of Crail}

The girls playing at a park right on the coast. 

I think their favorite part was throwing rocks into the water.
They could have done that all day I think!

And I could have just stood their looking at this rugged coast all day!

A corner of the Crail harbor

Full view of the Crail Harbor

{Anstruther}

The last bits of our fish and chips from Anstruther Fish Bar - oh my, so good!

Gorgeous place to enjoy your fish and chips overlooking the harbor

They have won multiple awards for their battered haddock that is pulled right from the North Sea each day!

The girls enjoying some very brightly colored ice cream ;)

The cute shops

Looking at the shops from the other side of the harbor

Love this little fishing village!

Showing the girls a sea urchin that was left in the lobster trap.
We even got to see a boat come in with buckets full of lobsters!

Gorgeous place to enjoy the view!

On our way home we pulled over by a wheat field to get a close up look of the hay bails. 

Love these three!

They loved how BIG it was!

Crail and Anstruther were definitely worth the visit. Such quaint little fishing villages!

Letters from the Kingdom of Fife

                 Here is a little update on our summer and recent move to St. Andrews. 

                  You can access it here. 

From Aberdeen to St. Andrews!

We are blessed!

We moved last Friday morning and spent the weekend unpacking and getting settled. We were able to do a little exploring of the new area as well. Then on Wednesday, we got Maddy started in P1 (kind of like Kindergarten). She has met a new friend named Elspeth and has really enjoyed her time so far (what a relief!). She seems to really like her teacher too.  I can't believe she is growing up so fast! She and I were both feeling a mix of emotions - anxiety, pride, excitement etc - but all in all she is doing well and the Lord has cared for her (and me). I'm so thankful!

Isn't her little uniform adorable?

From Aberdeen to St. Andrews

In August our family will be moving south an hour and a half to the town of St Andrews for Tim to finish his PhD studies as his professor took a post there. There are SO many more details in this newsletter Tim wrote and it's much more eloquent than I could say it all ;)

But I will say, that it will be terribly hard to say good bye to our friends here. It's only been 2 years, but it seems like we have bonded like college kids away from home ;)  We have absolutely loved our church here and the fellowship of families through the university. God has been so good to our family.  But as hard as it will be to move on,  I am encouraged that God has been clear again in directing us and caring for us along each step of the way. 

We just told the girls and they were excited. We got to visit yesterday and looked at two prospective schools Maddy would go to for P1 (Kindergarten) and even got to view a flat that might work out nicely for us to rent. We're excited to see what God has for us in the days ahead. It should be a busy summer. The girls and I will be back home with family during the month of July and then we come back, pack up, and go! 

You know what is ironic, is that just prior to finding out about this big change, I was thinking how comfortable I was and how easy things had gotten. I like to be comfortable. Haha! But it's so good for us to be stretched sometimes so that we continue to rely on the Lord and not ourselves. 

He is always faithful! A friend shared this verse recently and it has been a great encouragement to me. It's not just about our financial needs, but also our spiritual and emotional needs. 

"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches

 of his glory in Christ Jesus." Philipians 4:19