Thanksgiving in Prague

Chris and I wanted to go somewhere different this year for Thanksgiving...Prague, Czech Republic seemed like the perfect destination! We have been wanting to travel to Prague since arriving here almost a year ago. Everyone we talked to simply raved about the "Golden City". We had our hopes set high, and we were not disappointed. We arrived on Thanksgiving Day, around the time that we should have been eating turkey & dressing! Instead, we checked into our hotel and set off to explore this gorgeous gothic city. Our hotel was situated in the middle of the famed Wencelas Square and we couldn't have been more pleased with the location. We were able to trek the entire city on foot, and we did...believe me, we did! We went to the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, St. Vitus's Cathedral, Kampa Park, Old Town Square, and the Jewish Ghetto. We slept late every morning, but as soon as we were up...we were walking! Chris, (miracle worker that he is!) got me to let go of my PLAN and just go with the flow. I have to be honest, it was probably the most fun trip that we've ever been on together! Who knew that planning could restrict the glory of adventure??!! It was cold though, really REALLY cold. We somehow had forgotten that Prague used to be a part of Russia, and the weather was definitely RUSSIAN! But, we bundled up and found some great little shops that we could get warm in if we really needed to :) They were getting ready for Christmas and had Christmas trees up, lights turned on, and holiday music playing throughout the shops. It was a great way to start the holiday season!
We loved Prague, just as we have loved every place that we have been able to go this year. Moving to England has been such an incredible journey, and such an amazing blessing. We are constantly reminded of how lucky we are to be in this place at this time in our lives. We are so thankful to have such a supportive & encouraging family, wonderful friends, and the opportunity to travel all over God's great Earth and experience the beauty that He has provided us.
We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Happy Veteran's Day!!!

When I was younger, I just thought of Veteran's Day as an extra day-off from school in November. It was always just a bonus since we knew the Thanksgiving holiday would be coming up shortly thereafter! I never really gave much thought to what it meant, or took the time to celebrate it for what it is...a day to honor those who have served. Now that I am a military wife, today seems to be a little more poignant. Did you know that there are 24.9 million military veterans living in America today? (I didn't, I had to look it up!) But isn't that number amazing? That so many men & women have fought for our Great Nation so that she can be greater still, is absolutely incredible. And it's not about politics (Ha! Me, politics?!) No, it's about sacrifice, dedication, honor, & integrity. It is about doing something for the greater good, it's about believing in your heart that our freedom is worth something, and it's about doing whatever it takes to protect your home, your family, and your country. Today is a day to celebrate those people who gave, and continue to give, of themselves for something bigger...whether it be in Europe for Armistice Day, England for Rememberance Day, or America for Veteran's Day. So make sure that you hug a veteran today...for they truly, truly deserve one!! :)

Three Girls in Oslo

Melanie, Wendy and I all headed up to Oslo, Norway on Saturday morning (a little rough since the Crud Tournament was the night before) to embark on some Norwegian "girl time". We'd been searching for a fun travel location for a few months, when Wendy & I both found a great deal on airline tickets to Oslo. We quickly booked the tickets, found a hotel, and started envisioning ourselves shopping to our hearts content (a vacation w/o our husbands...oh the shopping possibilities!!) Little did we know; however, that Oslo is the most expensive city in Europe!!! Heehee...oops, no turning back now! So, we geared ourselves up for a great trip with a little less shopping :)

We arrived on Saturday mid-day and set off to find our hotel, after a quick trip to McDonalds, of course! We stayed just off the main road (Karl Johan's Gate), and our hotel was perfect for just the three of us. We visited the Oslo City Hall, where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, and then went to the Nobel Peace Prize Center. They were having an exhibit on Freedom of Speech, but we were "shooed" out before we really got to look around...something about them being closed or some nonsense like that :) We then walked along the harbor to Akker Brygge...just FYI, it's not actually a bridge like I thought it was! I took the picture on the left from there...it's of the Akershus Fortress which was built in 1299. We did some shopping in the shopping center there before heading to TGI Friday's for dinner. It was so nice to sit down at a normal restaurant and actually have some delicious food and nice waiters. The prices were insane, but I have to say, I think it was worth every penny!

On Sunday morning we got up (a little late thanks to me forgetting to change the time on my phone) and headed to Holmenkollen to see the ski museum and the ski jump tower. That's me posing w/ a troll outside of the ski museum...he was pretty cute! The museum was cool, and the ski jump was amazing! I can't believe that skiers actually ski off of that thing, it was unbelievably tall and extremely steep! From there, we made our way to the Viking museum (after roaming around Oslo for awhile, chasing a bus, several stops into convenience stores to ask for directions, and lots of laughter). That museum was pretty interesting as well, but very small. We then went to the open-air Folk Museum, and then to Vigelandsparken (or Vigeland Park to you non-Norwegian speakers!). The Folk Museum was great...it was the perfect time of year to visit w/ the trees being so beautiful, everything seemed to just glow. Vigeland park is huge and a sculpture garden runs right up it's center. We walked through it in it's entirety and took lots of pictures of the beautiful Norwegian scenery. For dinner we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. Why go all the way to Oslo for American food, you ask? Ummm, try living in England for a year, and I'm pretty sure that's where you would pick as well!! :) We stayed up late both nights, just chatting and catching up. Those girls are so much fun, and I couldn't have asked for two better travel partners! We had a wonderful trip, and I'm already planning the next one :)

A Time to Remember

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. ~Stanley Horowitz

I love the fall...the beautiful leaves, the crisp cool air, the delicious smells, and the memories that seem to swirl around me during this time of year. My Nana's birthday was today. She passed away almost two years ago, yet I felt her spirit embrace me from the moment I woke up this morning. She loved the autumn leaves, the deep purples & the bright reds. She loved to listen to the sweet morning songs of the birds who resided outside her window. I remember the little things that she noticed as the weather turned cooler...and today, maybe for the first time, I noticed them too. I took the time to enjoy the golden serenity of this evenings sunset, and the silly crunching sound of the leaves under my feet as I walked around our village tonight (I might have joyfully kicked a few piles too!!). I laughed as two colorful pheasants scrambled across the street, trying to find refuge in the too tall grass. I treasured the soft smell of smoke coming from chimneys, and imagined families cuddled up together, safe and warm inside their homes. My heart ached to share these things with her. As I sit here now, I remember her...her unconditional love, her goodness, and the simple things that she cherished. She was loved, and she is missed...and I really like to remember.

When in Rome...

Our first stop was Rome, one of the places that Chris and I have always wanted to visit together. We woke up early and headed to the "Stardust Lounge" to wait for our tour number to be called. Try to picture an immensely crowded room, filled with anxious cruisers, all of whom just know that THEY will be the ones who missed their tour! It was quite comical actually! Anyway, our number was called and we were soon herded to the buses. Our tour guide, bless her heart, seemed to have done one too many tours of Rome and wasn't just the most enthusiastic lady we've ever met. Thankfully, she's the only one who seemed to be this way, as all of our other guides were unbelievably helpful & kind. But, we did get to see all the major sites. The Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, and many of the arches that leave their mark throughout the city. We then headed to Vatican City and the beautiful St. Peter's Basilica. It was so fun to look out and see the same view that the Pope has each time he speaks from the church steps. We stood in a seemingly never-ending line (there's a picture of us standing in it on the left), but eventually made it inside the most spectacular church we have ever seen. The sheer size of it is enough to move you, but add to that the beautiful mosaics, sculptures, writings and design, and it just simply takes your breath away. We saw Michelangelo's "pieta`", which is now my most favorite work of art. It just leaves you speechless when you see it in person. We were also impressed with the 9 foot tall letters around the dome that had this message: "you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. ...I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven....". Such magnitude and grace. I just can't explain how beautiful it was.

We ended our tour there, did a little shopping in St. Peter's Square, and (of course) had some wonderfully delicious gelatto before getting back on the bus. The day was everything that we hoped it would be!

Cruise Tidbits

Much to our dismay, we are steadily getting back to our daily routine here in England. Gone are the leisurely mornings, the relaxing days by the pool, and the delightful midnight chocolate buffet! Yes, sadly, we are back to the grind...but at least we have pictures and made memories that will last a lifetime.

I think the best way to write about this trip is to cover a different place every day. We got to see and experience so many amazing things that if I tried to write about them all tonight, I'd be here til next week!! So, first just let me say that our cruise line (Norwegian) was just awesome! We flew to Barcelona early on a Sunday morning and then caught a cab to the port. Now THAT was an interesting cab ride!! Our cabbie got lost and actually had to pull over and look at one of those gigantic maps on the side of the road. He also didn't speak a WORD of English. He knew less English than Chris and I know of Spanish, so we quickly knew we were in for an adventure! We understood about 3 of his words..."andale" (hurry), "cinco" (five...we're still not really sure why he was screaming this), and "oh" (as in "oh, oh, oh", which he said over and over and over again!!). We really couldn't help him at all because we were too busy laughing in the backseat, really hoping that we didn't miss the boat!

The ship was just incredible. There were two swimming pools, 12 restaurants, a spa, a fitness center, a huge theatre, a casino, & so much more. It was overwhelming when we first boarded, we didn't stop getting lost until our 3rd day at sea! I played Bingo (those of you who know me, know that I'm a huge bingo fan) and won about $70! We also played Blackjack and won a little money there too! BUT, the thing that I'm most proud of winning is the bottle of champagne that we won while playing the Newlywed/Not So Newlywed Game! We were competing against 4 other couples, one of which had been married 64 years! We also did a Murder Mystery Dinner. We'd never done one of those before, and it was actually really fun. Chris ended up being the "murderer", and completely fooled everyone all night...pretty funny! We also got to see some wonderful performers. Magicians, singers, dancers and even a Cirque du Soleil type act that was unbelievable. They really turned the ship into something spectacular!

More tomorrow :)

Cheers!

This is why I love working with children!!

So, I went to work today and in my class we were talking about cities and states. Here's just a just one excerpt of our 30 minute discussion....

Me: "So Caleb, what city and state were you born in?"
Caleb: "Mississippi"
Me: "Okay, that's the state, but do you know the city?"
Caleb: "Uhhh, Mrs. Duncan (insert very exasperated little face here) I was a baby when I was born, how do you expect me to remember what city it was in?"

LOVE IT!

Anyway, we're obviously back from our WONDERFUL cruise. I still have trouble putting into words just how amazing this trip was. Don't worry, pictures are coming soon! We're still trying to get acclimated to being back at home...not having someone cook for us, not having constant entertainment, and not having a pool to lounge around by all day long. And that was just on the boat!! We're thankful to be home safe, and to have had the opportunity to explore some of the most beautiful places on earth. What a blessing that was :)