Letters from the Kingdom of Fife ~ May 2014

Tim wrote up a little update about his work and our life here in St. Andrews 
over the past few months that you can read here.

But as always, I'll add my two pence ;)

~ Believe it or not we are 4 months away from having lived in the UK for 3 years! It's been quite the adventure. We are starting to feel really settled here in St. Andrews after our move here from Aberdeen last August.

Rose and her dear friend Anna Jane going for a walk. 

Maddy is absolutely loving life in primary 1.  She has great friends and enjoys her teachers and the social aspect of school as well as the learning process. That's my girl! I'm so proud of her ;)

Maddy and her P1 friends over for a tea party ;)

And Rose started preschool (nursery) in November and loves having her own space for learning and exploring apart from Maddy (bossing her around) ;).  We are feeling quite happy and blessed!

I won't lie though; autumn and winter were pretty rough for me as it took some time to adjust to a new town, a new house, new people, and kids in school!  Not to mention that it was getting darker each day! I struggled with depression and anxiety in a deep way as I have only faced one other time in my life.

But God (as always) was faithful to carry our family through those dark days. Our church and divinity community were a wonderful support to me. And we are also thankful for good and FREE medical care here that helped me get back to feeling myself again. Needless to say, that's why I took a break from the blog for several months. I just didn't have it in me to share what was going on at that time.

A friend passed a video onto me that I found very helpful during that time.  It's called, "I had a black dog and his name was depression",  a helpful resource for myself and my family and friends about what it is like to live and struggle through depression and anxiety.  Even though it only scrapes the surface of the struggle and doesn't go into the spiritual ramifications of the illness, it does a great job of explaining what the battle is like to someone who has never faced it themselves. And IT - IS - A - BEAST!  I'm so thankful for my dear husband who is a rock and walked through each anxious and sad day with me. I couldn't have done it without him. He is a gift from God to me for sure.

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 

Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

I'm happy to say now that I feel settled and very happy in our little village. I've gotten to know most all of the mums at Maddy's school and we chat on our walk to and from school and at the park after school while the kids play. Her school is p1-p7 and has only 85 kids. I love it! It's quite a lovely little community. I've also gotten involved with 2 ladies Bible studies through the Divinity School here which I am thoroughly enjoying. As well, we have settled into our church in St. Andrews and are feeling quite connected to that body of Christ. God is so faithful to care for us wherever we go!

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

  He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.[a]

 

    He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness[b]

    for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,[c]

    I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

    your rod and your staff,

    they comfort me.

#021 You Might Live in Scotland If...

...this is what you look like after walking to and from your daughter's school to pick her up in the rain ;) Yes, I have a car - but why would I drive it 5 minutes down the road silly?!

#reallifeselfies

# 020 You Might Live in Scotland If...

...You find 3 MINI Coopers parked right next to one another. 

#019 You Might Live in Scotland if...

           
 ... your daughters are asked to wear tartan to school to celebrate Burn's Day!

Love our wee lassies and this chance to appreciate another culture. 

There are also many Burns Night Suppers held to celebrate the day throughout the UK which traditionally include haggis, Scotch whiskey, and recitation of poetry by Robert Burns.

One of his most famous poems is the Addresss to Haggis. 

Don't ask me what it means - I have no idea ;)

1786

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the pudding-race! Aboon them a' yet tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye wordy o'a grace As lang's my arm. The groaning trencher there ye fill, Your hurdies like a distant hill, Your pin was help to mend a mill In time o'need, While thro' your pores the dews distil Like amber bead. His knife see rustic Labour dight, An' cut you up wi' ready sleight, Trenching your gushing entrails bright, Like ony ditch; And then, O what a glorious sight, Warm-reekin', rich! Then, horn for horn, they stretch an' strive: Deil tak the hindmost! on they drive, Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve Are bent like drums; Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive, Bethankit! hums. Is there that owre his French ragout Or olio that wad staw a sow, Or fricassee wad make her spew Wi' perfect sconner, Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view On sic a dinner? Poor devil! see him owre his trash, As feckles as wither'd rash, His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash; His nieve a nit; Thro' blody flood or field to dash, O how unfit! But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed, The trembling earth resounds his tread. Clap in his walie nieve a blade, He'll mak it whissle; An' legs an' arms, an' hands will sned, Like taps o' trissle. Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care, And dish them out their bill o' fare, Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware That jaups in luggies; But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer Gie her a haggis!

I attempted a meal like this for our family last January. I know a lot of people who really like haggis. I don't believe I will be one of those people. I tried. I honestly did! 

However, I did liked the mashed neeps and tatties ;)

Front: Neeps (turnips)
Back:  Tatties (potatoes) 

Sliced haggis ready to fry. Although I am told that I should not have bought it already sliced and maybe I didn't buy the right kind?! To be honest, I'm not sure it would have made a difference :)

Haggis cooking 

The final product: tatties(left), neeps(right), and haggis. 

I'm glad we tried it nonetheless. It was quiet the experience. 

And Tim actually really liked the whole meal!

#018 You Might Live in Scotland If...

                 .. your 3 year old asks you for beans on toast for lunch :)

Apparently she has it at nursery (preschool) as a snack 

and now it's her new favorite! 

#017 You Might Live in Scotland If...

...this is the view from your kitchen table on a rainy day. 

We are beyond blessed!

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 ;)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 :)

Menu Plan Monday ~ Sept, 23, 2013

Chicken Tacos

Lemon Dill Salmon

Spinach and Sundried Tomato Pasta

Lentil Soup

Whole Chicken in the Crockpot

# 016 You Might Live in Scotland If...

Your child wears and adorable uniform like this: 

She was trying to catch the fog in her mouth ;)

Now that it's cooler, she also wears a blue sweatshirt (they call jumper here) overtop.
 She can also choose to wear the white and blue checkered dress underneath as well. 

Another difference is that the schooling goes by primary and secondary instead of by grades like I am used to in the states. I'm sure many places around the world use this system. But it's all new to me having a daughter in full time school now!

So the equivalents in the states would be:
Nursery = preschool
P1 = kindergarten
P2 = 1st Grade
P2 = 2nd Grade
...and so on and so forth...

We just had Maddy's first parent teacher conference meeting last night and all seems to be going pretty well. She is one of the youngest in her class (if they turn 5 by February, they start P1 that school year). And of course she has a December birthday, so that's that. But she seems to really be enjoying school and setting well. She is working hard even when the work is hard, which makes me proud!

She did ask me one morning if it was a school day and when I said yes, she said, "Oh dear!" When I asked her why she said school was SO long and there is TOO much teaching - haha! Sounds about right for a child's first year in school. I know it will take some time of adjusting. 

I have gotten to help in her classroom which has been really nice to see what they are up to and how she is interacting with her classmates and her teachers. She seems right at home there.

It was quite hard for me at first for her to be gone 9-3, but she seems to be enjoying school and growing more each day. She has made lots of friends in and out of her class and loves playing at the park with them after school. I tell you what though; I sure do soak up every moment I get with her outside of school! I can't believe how quickly this little gal is growing up! I'm thankful for the gift she is to our family!

Menu Plan Monday ~ Sept, 16, 2013

East Baked Chicken, grilled broccoli

Baked Mac and Cheese, salad

White chicken Chili

Beef Stew

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

More great menu ideas at orgjunkie

Menu Plan Monday ~ 9.08.13

Monday (Breakfast)

Veggie Omelet and toast

Tuesday (Soup)

Chili and cornbread
* I also added a some brewed coffee, brown sugar and cayenne. 

Wednesday (Meatless) * Never got to this last week!

Cheese and Vegetable Stuffed Shells

Thursday (Mexican)

Beef tacos 

Friday (Crockpot) * Never got to this last week!

Sloppy Joes

* More great menues at orgjunkie

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!