Not surprisingly, it has been an obscene amount of time since I last wrote. It is noteworthy, though (so mark something!) that I made short memos for when I did get time (or just the motivation) to write here. So rather than start over, I thought I would share with you the tidbits of information that I’ve saved for just this occasion.

Fish and chips – greasy, large portions, did I mention greasy?!, no ketchup, good Still greasy and still love them!
Two Mile Bottom – have a Two Mile here PA friends We haven’t visited this area yet, but it looks like a great place for a picnic.
We got our car on Friday – missed it a lot! Yes, our car is a bit large for some of the roads here, but we still love it!
Washer/Dryer – not user friendly! NO CHANGE THERE!
House – so far, so good..kids love it, gotta get used to the smaller spaces, but should do nicely We have come to love our house and our neighborhood here in Thetford. Have made some amazing friends in the area as well.
Casey and I went shopping in Bury – lots of options, Nutshell is smallest pub in England – will go back and take a pic! We’ve ventured all over the area for shopping and sight-seeing. Love it all!
Notable word differences – garden/yard, cheers/thank you, no worries/no problem, lorry/truck, roundabout/ their version of red lights – crazy!, lounge/living room, en suite/ bathroom, yard sale/car boot, figured out/sorted, quid/pounds, have a go/give something a try, and the list goes on and on and on…
Jacob is doing well in school, and Chloe will try to get in this week Jacob is in 2nd grade now and Chloe started Kindergarten. Both are enjoying this new year.
Jacob is riding the bus today. Not ordinary school buses at all – coach luxury liners are what they’re called. Tour buses as we would know them. He’s excited. All still applies here, but now it is Chloe’s turn to be overly excited about the bus ride.
Utilities are a bit confusing, but working on it I think there will always be things that are ‘odd’ or different about living abroad, but we have come to love the lifestyle here and are looking forward to our years in the UK.
On the way to school, which is about a 20min ride by car, there is a stretch of road that makes me smile every day. At the crest of a small hill, the trees on either side form a canopy over the road. The kids call it ‘the tunnel of trees’. On both sides of the road, farmland stretches as far as you can see. It is an absolutely picture perfect place. I don’t know why it affects us the way it does, but hopefully I can take a picture for you that will help to capture just a small bit of our favorite place. This place still represents a small piece of God’s amazing creation for us. I hope some of you will be able to experience it for yourselves.

Now that the school year has begun, we’ve settled back into a somewhat normal routine. Jacob has started 2nd grade and is enjoying his class so far. Chloe finished her first week of Kindergarten and if the smiles on her face everyday are any indication, she loves it! Jonah is trying his best to convince us that he needs to enroll in ‘wittle kool’ just like his big brother and sister. As soon as this excruciating phase in his life – potty training – is completed, we will be going post haste to enroll him in Preschool.
Paul will be taking a few vacations away from the UK this year. Some he is looking forward to, others not so much. We hope to purchase another laptop soon so that communicating will be easier. Thanks to Skype and Facebook, we should be able to keep in touch fairly frequently. I am just thankful that his ‘trips’ will fall during the school year so that the kids and I have something to keep us busy. If anyone is planning a visit, that would be the time! HINT HINT! Of course, I understand if you really need to see Paul too, so I guess summer is open as well.
We have been blessed to meet some amazing people. Our house has become the weekend hangout, it seems, and we love it. We even gave into the pressure and purchased a Wii – complete with Guitar Hero.
Did you just feel the earth shudder?? I cannot believe we own a video game! I am thinking that it is going to be my saving grace during the long, dark, daddy-missing winter. But did I mention that I cannot believe we OWN video games now?? Sorry, off on a bit of a tangent there. Where was I?
Friends…right! The neighborhood where we live is filled with great people, some that we have gotten to know quite well. And, as the ‘it’s a small world’ saying goes, we have become great friends with a family that grew up literally minutes from Paul’s family! In fact, Stacey’s mother and Paul’s mom have met, Paul and Stacey went to the same high school (albeit a few years apart), and Stacey is pretty certain that she once worked with our sister-in-law! And here we all are, in our little corner of England.
I'm sure I have many stories to tell, some you might even want to hear, so pray that I have the motivation to do this again before 6 more months have passed. Hearing from friends and family helps so LEAVE COMMENTS please!
Love and blessings to all.....B