Back in Glasgow

We've been back in Glasgow for just over a week now. It's comforting to know that some things haven't changed (e.g., it's still cold and the pace of life is still slow) and some things have changed for the better (e.g., our flat has laminate flooring in the bathrooms now and we found out this morning that our church has had heat for the last few weeks). Here's a quick recap of our time recently...

December 12-31: after multiple flight delays, a 28 hour day, and Josh being sick (on and off of the plane), we arrive in Huntsville; spend time in various parts of Texas visiting family and friends, and have a great time seeing everyone for Christmas.

January 1-26: travel around Texas spending time with family and friends; quickly tire of living out of a suitcase; enjoy a family activity of the flu, lose a week to doing nothing but feeling bad.

January 27-31: Troy at conference (where his papers/presentations were well received, thanks for asking).

February 7: leave Texas for Glasgow.

We really enjoyed getting to see everyone, though we missed doing some things on the list and seeing some people--including the people we only got to see for a short time. The flight back to Glasgow landed (amazingly) early and was blissfully uneventful. It took several days for the entire family to get over the jetlag, but we're all good now.

Josh and Caleb started at the Glasgow University nursery on Monday and Wednesdays. They are in different classrooms, which is fairly new for them--being apart that is. Besides being tired and at times lethargic, the both seemed to have good days. The downside of the new nursery is that it's a little farther from our flat and is more expensive--we had to walk for about 35 minutes in 25 degree weather on Wednesday, luckily it wasn't raining. But it is a very good nursery program. They teach Josh's class French and do lots of learning and physical activities with them. The classrooms are sectioned into several areas where they can do crafts, role play, messy play, read books, etc. Plus this nursery is just off of campus and is exclusive to Glasgow University faculty/staff/students. This means that the population is very diverse.

Melissa is trying to get her Arbonne business off of the ground and get us all settled back into the flat and the way of life. She's doing a good job at all of this. Troy is back in school doing research and teaching a little.

This week has been pretty fantastic, at least from the weather standpoint. We've seen the sun every day for a significant time period, including several days of blue sky. It's been in the upper-30s or lower-40s during the day, so the boys have enjoyed getting to go outside and play. The grass is still bright green and there are wildflowers that look like tulips blooming everywhere.

We had a good day back at church today. People remembered us after being gone for so long. The church has had an influx of new people in the past few weeks...which is absolutely amazing for Glasgow (one of the harsher places in Europe for religion). Keep us and the church in your prayers as we get more involved there and see what God has in store.